And that is quite literally that - it’s time for me to close down this blog for the day and be quiet. To fermez la #BOUCHE, as the French might say.
Thanks for reading - have a great weekend, enjoy the football, and good luck to your team. See you next time!
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Bad news from the bean counters at the Emirates.
Arsenal have been left to count the cost of their failure to qualify for the Champions League, posting a £27.1million loss in their latest accounts:
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Infantino: 'health is beyond anything'
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has said ‘health is beyond anything’ when asked about the prospect of football postponements, or matches taking place behind closed doors, due to the current coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking in Belfast ahead of Saturday’s annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board, Infantino said: “The health of persons is much more important than any football game. The health is beyond anything and that’s why we have to look at the situation and hope that it will decrease rather than increase.
“At the moment it looks like it is still increasing. If games have to be postponed or played without spectators until it is over then we have to go through that.”
Infantino said he thought the European Championship would still go ahead in June but that the world governing body was monitoring the situation. Asked whether March’s international friendlies could be called off, though, he said: “I wouldn’t exclude anything at this moment. I hope we will never have to get into this direction.”
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If you’ve taken the ball to the corner flag ahead of your imminent weekend escape from the office, why not take our sport quiz of the week? It’s right here:
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Could the coronavirus lead to the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics? Football-wise, is it going to affect Euro 2020? We take a look at the current state of play across various sports here:
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Watford team news: Ismaila Sarr came off the bench against Manchester United last weekend, following a hamstring injury, so Nigel Pearson may restore him to the starting line-up for Liverpool’s visit tomorrow evening.
Kiko Femenia and Danny Welbeck - who like Sarr have been suffering from hamstring injuries - are also nearing a return to first-team action.
Nigel Pearson says the Hornets are almost back to having a fully-fit squad, as Daryl Janmaat has returned to training and is available for selection after a knee injury.
GOOD NEWS for Southampton ahead of their meeting with West Ham: Kyle Walker-Peters is back in training, and available for selection.
BAD NEWS for Southampton: Attacking talisman Nathan Redmond is still out with a muscle injury.
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Burnley team news: Ashley Barnes and Matt Lowton are out for the trip to Newcastle, and winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson also looks likely to be on the sidelines after sustaining an injury in training. But the good news is that top-scorer Chris Wood has recovered from the hamstring strain that kept him out of last week’s win against Bournemouth.
Newcastle team news: It’s good news on the fitness front for Newcastle United and their manager Steve Bruce. He says Jonjo Shelvey is back in the frame for this weekend’s match against Burnley, along with Javier Manquillo.
“Jonjo’s trained for the last ten days or so, so it’s good to see him back,” Bruce said. “[Javier] Manquillo’s back, so it’s good to see him back as well.
“All of a sudden we’ve got probably 20 outfield players to choose from rather than what we did two or three weeks ago with probably 12.”
Andy Carroll and Paul Dummett remain out for the clash with Sean Dyche’s mob, though.
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Yes! It’s match preview time again.
‘Steady’ Eddie Howe vs. ‘Super’ Frankie Lampard, AKA AFC Bournemouth v Chelsea, AKA #BOUCHE:
Brighton & Hove Albion team news: After a hamstring injury, Dale Stephens has returned to training this week, and is available for selection for the 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday. Jose Izquierdo remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Crystal Palace team news: Mamadou Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate are expected to be fit following respective hamstring and ankle knocks. But the Eagles manager Roy Hodgson will leave a decision on Luka Milivojevic, who has been ill, until the last minute.
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Leicester City team news: Defensive midfielder Hamza Choudhury is available for selection again after serving a one-match suspension. Wilfrid Ndidi, another midfield lynchpin, is back in training after having knee surgery.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said on Wednesday: “Wilf Ndidi has been training so we’ll see how he is on Friday. But if he’s not right for this week we’ll look for next week, which is good news for us. We have to be cautious. We don’t want to lose him again.”
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Norwich team news: Sam Byram, Onel Hernandez, Timm Klose and Christoph Zimmermann are all ruled out for tonight’s visit of Leicester City, which kicks off in under four hours’ time.
Klose is a long-term absentee due to a knee injury, but manager Daniel Farke says he is not far away from a return to action. Pretty Klose, I guess. His centre-back colleague Christoph Zimmermann misses a second game with a hamstring injury.
Onel Hernandez is expected to be out for eight weeks after surgery on a knee injury. Meanwhile, Byram will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring complaint.
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West Ham’s Tomas Soucek has been added to the Hammers’ injury list, much to the chagrin of manager David Moyes. They’ll have to do without him for the visit of Southampton tomorrow - here’s the match preview:
Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere are both on their way back - Yarmolenko is closer than Wilshere, by the sounds of it:
TEAM NEWS
— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 28, 2020
Yarmolenko (Thigh): "He played 60 minutes in a practice match and is getting closer but not ready to return just yet."
Wilshere (Hernia): "He returned to doing work on the pitch and is progressing."
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After manning this very blog earlier on, the irrepressible Barry Glendenning turned his attention to The Fiver. Read it right here:
Here’s Jamie Jackson on the latest injury to Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte:
As far as commercially-related football player banter goes, Liverpool have come up trumps with this YouTube video for the club’s official coconut, oil and milk partner, Chaokoh.
Sit back, relax and marvel at Jordan Henderson’s actually quite impressive acting skills:
And if you can believe it ... the bloopers and outtakes clip is even more hilarious:
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In news that broke a little earlier today, Tranmere’s League One match with Fleetwood which was scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed. The pitch is unplayable, so they say.
In women’s football, Chelsea take on Arsenal in Nottingham tomorrow in the Continental Cup final. Here is Suzanne Wrack’s preview:
In seemingly-very-random-kick-off-time news, Red Bull Salzburg’s Europa League match with Eintracht Frankfurt will kick off behind closed doors at 5pm GMT today.
The match was scheduled to take place last night, but was postponed due to a storm warning.
“This is going to be quite easy - in fact, I’m thinking of fielding our reserves,” Brendan Rodgers said of tonight’s match. NO! Wait. That’s wrong. This is what he really said:
“All the games are difficult, and Norwich have shown that they’re a dangerous team.
“We’ve seen that when we drew here earlier on in the season. They sit at the bottom, but for us, it doesn’t really matter where they are in the league. They’re a good side, they’ve got creative players, they’re a dangerous team to play against, especially at home, where they’ve had some very good results.
“I saw their performance against Liverpool, one of their last games at home, and they played very, very well.”
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There is, of course, a Premier League match occurring this evening, as Norwich City take on Leicester City at Carrow Road.
Canaries coach Daniel Farke was asked if Norwich can pull off a miraculous escape, like Leicester in 2014-15, at his press conference yesterday:
“To be honest, it shows that everything is possible and that’s a great example. Everyone was writing them off and then they got seven wins from their last ten.
“If I’m honest, we weren’t on our top level in the last game [a 3-0 loss at Wolves], so I don’t want to speak about winning seven of the next ten games. It’s more important that we are focused on being back at the top of our game.
“What I want is that we leave our heart out on the pitch, always work and show great unity and spirit as well as tactically smart behaviour to be at the top of our game. Then everyone can say, ‘they tried everything’.”
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If you missed it (ICYMI, as the social media editor would put it) here are 10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend:
Handshakes have been banned at Newcastle and West Ham because of the coronavirus outbreak.
High-fives are clearly still OK at Manchester United, particularly if you’re wearing goalie gloves:
Sergio 🤜🤛 @D_DeGea ⛔#MUFC pic.twitter.com/W6aQ7m5zii
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 28, 2020
Who remembers the time when Brighton played Palace and the referee gave five penalties in 27 minutes?
It rings a vague bell with me. Here’s Richard Foster with a piece from 2018, on the match that took place all the way back in 1989:
Everton team news: Morgan Schneiderlin sustained a torn meniscus (cartilage) in the match against Arsenal last weekend, and will be out for an unspecified amount of time. He had surgery on the injury this week, according to the club website.
Meanwhile, winger Theo Walcott has recovered from a knee injury and could return to the starting line-up at home to Manchester United on Sunday. Left-back Lucas Digne, who also missed last weekend’s defeat at Arsenal with a calf problem, faces a late fitness test as he has been training on his own this week. Midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin (thigh) remains a long-term absentee. Anthony Martial is a doubt for Manchester United’s return to Premier League action at Goodison Park.
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Manchester United team news: Striker Anthony Martial is a doubt for the Red Devils’ trip to Goodison Park on Sunday. Martial was injured in training on Wednesday ahead of the 5-0 thumping of Club Brugge on Thursday night.
“He went off during training and had treatment,” said Solskjaer, speaking after the match on Thursday night. “He reported this morning and had a fitness test. It’s not his hamstring, it’s his thigh, in and around the knee.”
Solskjær added that new signing Odion Ighalo will be ready if called upon.
“Odion has definitely shown what type of a striker he is. He will be ready for Sunday,” Solskjær said.
Marcus Rashford (back) and Paul Pogba (ankle) remain long-term absentees, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Axel Tuanzebe and Tim Fosu-Mensah to get some minutes under their belt before returning to first-team action.
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Relegation-threatened Watford entertain relegation-unthreatened Liverpool in the Premier League tomorrow evening. Here’s the match preview:
How about another nice, historic hit of video content off the Premier League’s Twitter feed? Are you keen? Of course you are.
On this day in 2010, Tottenham defeated Everton thanks to goals from Roman Pavlyuchenko and Luka Modric - and a howling miss by Landon Donovan:
🇭🇷 Corluka ➡️ Kranjcar ➡️ Modric 🇭🇷
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 28, 2020
The Croatian trio helped @SpursOfficial beat Everton #OnThisDay in 2010 pic.twitter.com/FJp10ppCML
West Ham team news
The Hammers will be without Tomas Soucek and Ryan Fredericks for tomorrow’s Premier League date with Southampton. January signing Soucek suffered a hip injury at Liverpool on Monday night and faces three weeks out, while Fredericks had a shoulder operation this week. Jarrod Bowen could make his full debut after two substitute appearances since his deadline-day switch from Hull. Kyle Walker-Peters is back in contention for Southampton’s trip to the London Stadium. The Tottenham loanee has shaken off a calf concern and has trained all week with the south coast club.
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Now, here’s Jacob Steinberg with news from the Spurs camp:
Here’s a story on that UEFA Europa League draw from earlier, in which Wolves were paired with Olympiakos and Rangers booked a date with Leverkusen. Sevilla v Roma is another tasty tie ...
Here is Stephen Cross, of the Hammers United supporters’ club, on why he and others will protest against the board on Saturday:
Chelsea team news: Pulisic, Kante, Abraham and Hudson-Odoi are all missing for the visit to Bournemouth on Saturday, says Frank Lampard.
‘Pulisic is still injured and Kante is still injured,’ he said. “Abraham is injured with the same problem as before. We’re trying to find a solution with him. It’s frustrating that he has come in and out somewhat but he’s injured for tomorrow.
Asked how long Abraham would be sidelined, Lampard said: “I don’t know, we need to see. I speak to the doctors every day about it but we are not actually clear on that one.
“At the minute he’s not doing anything active for the next couple of days. So I don’t know. And I don’t know how long that will be. Callum is another one who isn’t fit this weekend.’
On Pulisic’s groin injury, Lampard said: “The projected time out was a lot less than what it’s turned out to be. I had a similar injury myself as a player and was out for three months, the worst injury I had so I can certainly sympathise and speak with him about the detail of the injury because it’s not an easy one.
“I actually re-injured it trying to be too keen to come back so I know it’s a delicate injury. I expected him back quicker but knowing the injury I can see that it’s a difficult one.’
Frank Lampard reports that Pulisic, Kante and Abraham are out injured for the game tomorrow. Abraham's injury is the same as the one he has been suffering from recently. Loftus-Cheek is in the squad. #BOUCHE
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 28, 2020
Those quotes courtesy of the Chelsea website.
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Spurs team news: Sissoko, Foyth and Sessegnon are all still sidelined for the meeting with Wolves on Sunday afternoon:
TEAM NEWS:
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 28, 2020
🇫🇷 @MoussaSissoko (knee) is continuing on-field rehabilitation.
🇦🇷 @JuanMFoyth (groin) returned to training with the squad earlier this week.
🏴 @RyanSessegnon (hip) is continuing on-field rehabilitation and is unavailable this weekend.#THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/9ptl6Q1nJB
For those needing, Pep Guardiola’s full press conference from earlier is available on Manchester City’s YouTube:
BBC reporter: “There’s been a lot going on at Manchester City this season with the Uefa investigation, Premier League investigation, there’s been a story this week about claims of your emails being hacked, there’s coronavirus, talk about your contract - how would you describe your season off the pitch, has it been a bit unique in that sense?
Pep Guardiola: “Well ... a little bit, yeah. [laughs]”
“Johan Cruyff told me once the problem with managers at big clubs is that 70% is issues off the pitch, and 20-30% is on the pitch. In that time, I thought - he’s crazy - but again, he was true. You have to handle it.”
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After six years of delays, Inter Miami will play their first-ever league game this weekend. There are still obstacles to overcome though, writes Chris Smith:
The football never ends - it’s the Carabao Cup final on Sunday! Aston Villa v Manchester City, to see who wins that.
Ahead of the showpiece occasion, Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that Manchester City are a fantastic team, and Pep Guardiola is a fantastic manager:
“We’re massive underdogs against a world-class team, but I can only name one or two other teams who wouldn’t be underdogs going into the game against City,” Smith said. “They’re a fantastic team, no matter which 11 they put out, and they’ve a fantastic coach which is why they can go to the Bernabeu and get a result. But I like sometimes being the underdog because we can go and have a good fight without people expecting anything of us.”
On the team news front, Smith confirmed that midfielder John McGinn will definitely miss the final, having done his level best to recover from an ankle injury sustained before Christmas.
What is it about young footballers and romance-based reality shows? Gavin Willacy is wondering ...
Burnley coach Steve Stone has returned to the club following the conclusion of an independent investigation, according to PA media. Former Nottingham Forest midfielder Stone, the Clarets’ under-23s coach, was placed on an “agreed break” in October following reports of an allegation of bullying.
Burnley did not make public the reason for 48-year-old Stone’s absence, nor have they disclosed the findings of the investigation. The Premier League club revealed in October that the matter was being handled independently and Stone has now returned to the club.
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More Moyesy now, courtesy of West Ham’s official website.
“Every game is the biggest game of the season, as you’re required to win every one. We’ve got eleven games to go and every one is going to be big. I think the players have done a good job in recent matches in different ways, but we need to show better quality when we’ve got the ball and got opportunities. I think we’ll go into the game [at home against Southampton] confident and feeling that we’ve got a good chance of winning.”
On Southampton’s recent strong away form, Moyes had this to say:
“Up until the last week or two, they’ve had a good record and are very hard working and high pressing. Sometimes it makes it easier away from home when you play that way. Without the ball they’re excellent and we’ll need to be ready for them.”
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Like Newcastle, West Ham have apparently banned handshakes at the training ground due to fears over the coronavirus.
“We have supplied all the players with hand gel to keep with them. We’ve also agreed to no shaking hands at the moment, just fist bumps,” Moyes said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of Southampton. “If we score tomorrow, of course they’ll be able to celebrate!”
Why not just replace handshakes and fist bumps with military salutes? They involve no physical contact, and may even help to improve discipline in the ranks.
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Bournemouth team news now ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea’s visit to the south coast tomorrow.
Nathan Ake and Jefferson Lerma might both be back to face Frank Lampard’s side after missing last week’s defeat by Burnley. Ake had concussion and Lerma had a rib knock.
Coach Eddie Howe said: “Nathan has trained this week so, hopefully, should be okay providing there are no ill effects from his head injury. It’s a similar case with Jeff and he has come through a couple of days’ training.”
Howe added that David Brooks, Arnaut Danjuma, Chris Mepham and Lloyd Kelly continue to make progress as they recover from injuries.
He said: “They are running on grass but haven’t joined us in training yet. Chris is a bit behind the others and they are improving quite quickly. We would hope to get them back in training, if not next week then the week after.”
The Cherries sit 16th going into the match, just two points above the relegation places.
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Let’s have another helping of Klopp quotes. Here he is, denying that midfielders Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are competing for a starting spot in his Liverpool juggernaut:
“They’re not competing against each other and hopefully they don’t see it like this. It’s not like this,” he said during his press conference earlier. “They offer naturally different things. Naby can play better, obviously, and has played better. But that wasn’t the reason the (West Ham) game was like it was.
“Then Oxlade came on, really fresh and with his natural skill, having direction, speed, it’s a different player. In different situations we need different players and they all are exceptional. Until the change, we were more fixed in positions. It wasn’t flexible enough or unpredictable enough, we were too easy to defend, we didn’t really come through. In other situations we were too high on the wings and were hit on counter-attacks.”
Don’t forget! You can drop me a line on email or Twitter @LukeMcLaughlin should you so desire.
More quotes from Liverpool manager Klopp, who has been speaking about the dramatic 3-2 win against West Ham on Monday night - the first time his team have trailed in a match since against Aston Villa in early November last year:
“I watched the game back, and in that game being 2-1 down helped us a little bit because the direction after that, a lot of things were different,” said Klopp. “I didn’t know it was the first time since Villa, but the boys reacted well and that’s the only thing we have to know. Some people used the word complacency, that they saw glimpses of that. I didn’t see that at all.
“It’s a long season and the concentration level can drop from time to time in all teams, in games and between games. How much the boys fight for a result is exceptional. There is no fear about anything, but we also don’t take it for granted that there will just be one or two goals up. This game (against Watford) will be tough. I said it, 100 per cent. I don’t want people to think we are going to win 6-0. It just will not happen.”
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A Twitter trip down memory lane from the Premier League - and a goal by Benito Carbone for Bradford in 2000:
A sublime finish from Benito Carbone 👌#GoalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/sdxnN93JCi
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 28, 2020
Influential Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte will be out for three to four weeks, says manager Pep Guardiola, following the injury he sustained in Madrid in the Champions League tie earlier in the week.
The Frenchman will therefore definitely miss this weekend’s Carabao Cup final, a Manchester derby and the second leg against Real Madrid.
“Life is not easy and always in the world the people who survive are the ones who cope with the bad moments,” Guardiola said. “It is what it is. Accept it, work hard to come back as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile German international winger Leroy Sane, who has been out with a knee injury since the Community Shield, will play for Manchester City’s under-23s against Arsenal on Friday.
Guardiola said: “I don’t want to put targets on him, we want him to play the game then speak with him, (about) how he felt.”
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Ahead of the Premier League leaders’ trip to Watford tomorrow, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp says Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Xherdan Shaqiri are making progress as they recover from injury - but all will be ruled out this weekend.
“Hendo is running, Millie is running and even more. It was not enough for this game now, but we will see – especially with Millie – what we can do for Tuesday [the FA Cup tie against Chelsea],” Klopp said.
“I’m not sure about Hendo, and Shaq not yet, but they are all coming closer.”
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In Serie A, Juventus v Inter Milan on Sunday night - a crunch clash as far as the title race is concerned - will be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Bianconeri released a statement last night announcing the move. Juventus top the table on 60 points, Lazio are second on 59 with Inter Milan in third on 54.
Juventus said the decision is part of “urgent measures regarding the containment and management of the epidemiological emergency that is COVID-19.”
Meanwhile on the Reuters news wire, news that the entire Swiss league football programme for the weekend has been called off due to the ever-worsening coronavirus outbreak:
The Swiss soccer league (SFL) has called off all of the weekend’s football matches after the government banned large events expected to draw more than 1,000 people as a measure to curb the new coronavirus epidemic. The SFL also said that it would have to consider playing future matches behind closed doors in order to finish the season.
“The five matches in each of the Super League (top tier) and the Challenge League (second tier), which were scheduled from Friday to Sunday, will be postponed to an indefinite date,” it said in a statement. “The SFL will inform about the further course of the championship in close cooperation with the authorities and the clubs next week.”
The average attendance for the Swiss Super League this season is 11,116. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Switzerland has risen to 15, and more than 100 people are in quarantine.
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Now for a story off the wires stemming from Celtic’s 3-1 Europa League defeat by FC Copenhagen last night. Ugly scenes reported by PA media:
A player and steward from FC Copenhagen have been charged over an alleged assault on a police officer during the club’s Europa League match with Celtic. Michael Santos, who scored in the 3-1 victory at Celtic Park, and the steward were spoken to by Police Scotland, according to the Danish club.
Footage from the televised game appeared to show an incident involving another Copenhagen goalscorer, Pep Biel, in which the club say he was grabbed by “an official”.
Copenhagen said a steward “tried to prevent a clash” before being taken away by officers, with Santos also speaking to police. Both have since been charged over the incident.
A statement on the Danish club’s website said: “After Pep Biel’s 2-1-goal at Celtic Park there was turmoil in front of the FCK fan section after an official grabbed Pep Biel during the celebration. One of our stewards tried to prevent a clash and was led away and talked with Scottish police. Michael Santos also talked with the police, who subsequently have charged them both. They travelled home with the team, and we are now waiting to see if the Scottish police will pursue the case. We will co-operate if they want more information from the club.”
Thank you Barry, and good afternoon to our readers everywhere.
Let’s crack straight on with a couple of match previews for this weekend. Will Steve Bruce give Dwight Gayle the nod to start for Newcastle against Burnley?
As for Brighton & Hove Albion, they are winless so far in 2020, something they’ll be desperate to remedy in tomorrow’s lunchtime game against ‘local’ rivals Crystal Palace. Watch out for those Patrick van Aanholt free-kick thunderbolts ...
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That’s all from me for today, but worry not - I’ll be handing over the reins to Luke McLaughlin, who’ll bring you news from the rest of this afternoon press conferences as they take place.
The Telegraph reports ...
“There is no guarantee Liverpool would be crowned Premier League champions if the season was curtailed by the coronavirus,” they say, in news that could cause panic on the red half of Merseyside.
The broadsheet also reports that there is no guarantee the bottom three clubs in the Premier League would not be relegated, with no specific regulation in place governing such a scenario.
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Europa League: It’s difficult to imagine Wolves or their supporters being particularly intimidated by anyone left in the draw, but they’ll be happy enough to have got Olympiacos, conquerers of Arsenal in the last round.
Rangers fans, meanwhile, can look forward to a trip to Cologne, which is the place to stay if you’re heading to the BayArena for a day or two. Currently fifth in the Bundesliga just six points behind Bayern Munich, Bayer will prove challenging opponents for Steven Gerrard’s men.
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Europa League: As Manchester United fans across the world Google “LASK”, I can reveal they’re an Austrian club, from the Upper-Austrian state capital Linz, who normally play in the 8,000-capacity Waldstadion. As this is not deemed fit for Uefa’s purposes, they have been playing their Europa League home games in the 21,000-capacity Linzer Stadion.
Europa League round of 16 draw
- Istanbul Basaksehir v FC Copenhagen
- Olympiacos v Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen
- Wolfsburg v Shakhtar Donetsk
- Internazionale v Getafe
- Sevilla v Roma
- FC Salzburg or Eintracht Frankfurt v Basel
- LASK v Manchester United
- Matches to be played on 12 and 19th March
Europa League
LASK v Manchester United
Europa League draw
Salzburg or Eintracht Frankfurt v Basel
Europa League draw
Sevilla v Roma
Europa League draw
Internazionale v Getafe
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Europa League draw
Wolfsburg v Shakhtar Donetsk
Europa League draw
Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen
Europa League draw
Olympiacos v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Europa League draw
Istanbul Basaksehir v FC Copenhagen.
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Europa League draw: Giorgio is still holding court before an audience who are almost certainly hopeful of getting this over with as soon as possible so they can have lunch. Less jawing and more drawing, please.
Europa League draw: Uefa deputy something-or-other Giorgio Marchetti is currently addressing a fairly bored looking audience of besuited middle-aged men ahead of the big draw. He introduces former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann, who will be assisting with the draw.
Europa League draw: Dashing Uefa media man Pedro Pinto is chair proceedings in Nyon. Depending on you whereabouts, you may be able to follow them here ...
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Europa League draw ...
We’re less than 10 minutes away from the draw for the Europa League’s Round of 16 in Nyon.
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Brighton news: Speaking ahead of his team’s lunchtime game against Crystal Palace tomorrow, Brighton manager Graham Potter insists Neal Maupay and Glenn Murray provide ample options in the club’s fight for Premier League survival. Potter has been alternating the two strikers in recent weeks, with summer signing Maupay getting the nod last week and scoring in the draw at Sheffield United.
“Both can play together or on their own, we’re lucky to have both of them and they’re different types of players in their own right,” Potter told the club’s official website.
“They’ll both score goals. All things are possible. Everybody’s fired up and ready, everyone’s had a good training week and wants to play. It’s a challenge because you have to choose the right combinations and team. But I’m delighted with the spirit, quality and togetherness that the lads have been showing this week - now we have to transfer it into Saturday.”
Brighton are seven matches without a win in the Premier League, drawing the last three, and they head into tomorrow’s game four points above the relegation zone. Potter has called on the supporters to play their part in helping the team return to winning ways against their rivals.
“My message to the fans is to enjoy the game and get behind the team in the right way in order to help us get the three points,” he said. “It’s a big game for our fans. I understand that football is an emotional experience and that people can get disappointed or frustrated, but our fans are fair-minded and know we need them. They’ve been brilliant with us so far this season and we want to give them something to cheer this Saturday.”
'It hurts, big time': Mikel Arteta on Arsenal's dramatic Europa League exit to Olympiakos pic.twitter.com/NTUroubSSR
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) February 28, 2020
Europa League draw: A gentle reminder that the draw for the last 16 of the competition is coming up at 12pm (GMT). In the UK, fans of Wolves, Manchester United Rangers will tuning in with particular interest to see who their team’s are paired with as we approach the business end of the competition. FYI: unlike in previous rounds, there are no restrictions on teams being drawn against each other, so we could get an all Premier League clash, or an Anglo-Scottish affair.
Those last 16 teams in full: Basel, Bayer Leverkusen, Copenhagen, Eintracht Frankfurt or Slazburg, Getafe, Inter, Istanbul Basaksehir, LASK, Manchester United, Olympiakos, Rangers, Roma, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk, Wolfsburg, Wolves.
Newcastle v Burnley team news: Jonjo Shelvey is back in the Newcastle squad for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Burnley. The midfielder missed the last six games after misplacing his shin-pads, but returned to training this week after finding them under the passenger seat of his car. He was joined by defenders Emil Krafth (ankle) and Javier Manquillo (hamstring).
However, loan signing Valentino Lazaro is suspended following his red card at Crystal Palace last weekend and Ciaran Clark will miss the rest of the season with ankle ligament damage, joining fellow defenders Paul Dummett (hamstring) and Jetro Willems (knee ligaments) and striker Andy Carroll (hamstring) on the sidelines.
Burnley striker Chris Wood will return to contention after missing last week’s home win against Bournemouth with a hamstring injury. He has returned to full training and boss Sean Dyche must decide whether to recall him or retain Matej Vydra, who has chipped in with cracking goals in each of Burnley’s past two games.
Midfielder Johan Berg Gudmundsson has had a minor setback in his recovery from a hamstring problem, while Ashley Barnes (hernia) and Matthew Lowton (knee) are still out.
Southampton news: Ralf Hassenhüttl and his Southampton side travel to West Ham this weekend, hoping to pile the misery on hosts who sit one place above the relegation zone and have not won a league match since New Year’s Day. West Ham will take heart from the fact that they have won all three league games they have played against Saints since Hassenhüttl took charge.
“At home we had very tight games, and West Ham once we were without any chances,” he said. “With two big mistakes we went two down and then it was difficult. So we’re really keen to show a better performance because we have to. This opponent so far was not our best. But records are there to be broken, as always. And it’s important to go there with all the self-confidence we’ve created in away games and show a different face.”
Carabao Cup final: Like a gun-toting maniac in a cheese shop, Aston Villa skipper Jack Grealish has been shooting the breeze withSky Sports ahead of leading out his beloved Aston Villa against Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday. A year after being appointed Villa captain, young Jack says his growing maturity has helped him realise what he wants to achieve in his career.
Grealish previously made headlines as a teenager, earning himself a reputation as a wrong ‘un after being pictured passed out in a gutter on his summer holidays. While most of us who have been there, done that and vomited down the front of the T-shirt could see the funny side, some po-faced commentators felt compelled to clutch their pearls and swoon like Victorian ladies.
“I feel like everything that’s happened in my life, good or bad, football-wise has set me up to be the person I am today,” he said. “I wouldn’t change anything. Everyone knows I had a bit of bad press when I was a bit younger, but like I said, I wouldn’t change that for anything. That’s made me who I am today. When I was young I might have been a bit immature at times, but now I know what I want to do in my career - I want to play for England, I want to play for Aston Villa, I want to win trophies. That’s the aim.”
Watford news: Nigel Pearson’s side will get a chance to end Liverpool’s astonishing 27-game unbeaten Premier League run when the champions elect visit Vicarage Road tomorrow. dropped two points all campaign.
“We’ve got our own agenda and that is to save our own season and I think that is enough,” he said. “For players to go into these games, if they can prove they are capable of playing against the best sides of the country, that is the motivation players need.
“But we have to win games for our own season, not necessarily to change history for another club. It’s about our season, our own circumstances and if that’s a spin-off from it [ending Liverpool’s unbeaten record], it is a spin-off from it.”
Since a 3-0 win at Bournemouth on 12 January, Watford have been knocked out of the FA Cup and dropped back into the relegation zone.
Manchester United news: Ahead of his side’s visit to Goodison Park on Sunday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is convinced this group will not fold like a deckchair in a similar fashion to the Manchester United side that capitulated and lost 4-0 on their last visit to Everton.
“That was the lowest I’ve been,” Solskjaer said. “I think you all know that and remember that. That was a capitulation. We had absolutely nothing about us, even though their goals were more or less counter-attacks from set plays and long throw-ins.
“Everything you didn’t want to see you saw in that game. Against Everton at home, they’re hard to play against with two up front. They put players in the box and we knew what we were up against. I’m 100 per cent sure we’ll put a better performance up.
“That was the day, the lowest. I knew probably before then but one or two had their last chance, more or less, but we had to get to the summer first. I can with hand on heart 100 per cent say these boys will never give in and never give up like that team did. These are the boys we want to build the next team around.”
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Europa League: Bruno Fernandes is shaping up to be a very astute January signing for Manchester United and was on the scoresheet again as they walloped Club Brugge at Old Trafford to go through 6-1 on aggregate. Over to you Jamie Jackson ...
Europa League: Wolves ensured they’d be in the last 16 tombola for today’s draw by finishing the job against Espanyol that they started so emphatically at Molineux last week. Sid Lowe saw Nuno Espirito Santo’s side lose on the night at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, but breeze through 6-3 on aggregate.
Europa League: Celtic joined Arsenal in crashing out of the tournament, their manager Neil Lennon declaring he and his side “shot ourselves in the foot” as they were put to the sword by Copenhagen. Ewan Murray was there ...
Europa League: In case you missed it last night, Olympiacos supporters created one hell of a din at the Emirates last night, getting fully behind their team and making far more noise than the home fans as the Greek side eliminated Arsenal from the Europa League. Nick Ames was there for the Guardian.
Newcastle news: No end of Newcastle United players and coaching staff could be left hanging should they forget their club has introduced a training ground handshake ban in an attempt to guard against the spread of the Coronavirus.
The club has put a stop to a morning ritual of players and staff shaking hands each morning as fears over the spread of the disease increase. “There’s a ritual here that everybody shakes hands with everybody as soon as we see each other every morning - we’ve stopped that on the advice of the doctor,” said Steve Bruce. “We’re like everybody else. Thankfully, we’ve got a superb doctor here and he will keep us informed of what we have to do. We’re like everybody else, we’re glued to the TV for where it’s going to go next and let’s hope it doesn’t get any worse in this country.”
Asked if he had known anything like it in the past, Bruce added: “No, not a all. Look, in confined areas like we’ve got here ... there was a time over Christmas when if there’s a virus knocking around - which is not Coronoavirus - then you have to be careful so we’re a bit mindful of it, the fact that a bug can sweep through. “We had four or five at Christmas and two of my staff, so you stay at home, basically. But it’s always something you’re looking at.”
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Something for the weekend ...
Ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final and another busy weekend of Premier League action, we’re here to bring you all the football news that’s fit to print - and much more that isn’t – as various managers pitch up to training ground media rooms to face a barrage of interrogatory projectiles from the journalists they respect and admire so much.
Away from “pressers” we’ll bring you any other matters of interest (warning: may not be of interest to everyone) that crop up as the day meanders by, before your footballing weekend gets under way when Norwich attempt to get back to winning ways when they host Leicester City tonight.
