All posts by h716a5.icu

Leeds United left-back Junior Firpo will be available to face Tottenham this weekend, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Ayling and Shackleton to be fit?

Firpo might not be the only Leeds player returning from injury this weekend. LeedsLive shared a story on Tuesday, hinting right-back Luke Ayling and youngster Jamie Shackleton could both be in line to return from their respective injuries.

Ayling has been out for the last eight matches with a knee injury, whereas Shackleton missed the 1-1 draw with an unknown problem, which isn’t thought to be serious.

Firpo has been absent in the Whites’ last five games in all competitions, but he’s now been given the all clear.

The Latest: Source shares update

Football Insider shared a story on Wednesday morning regarding Firpo’s condition.

They were informed by a Leeds source that the Spaniard is now fully recovered from his recent injury issues and is in contention to take on Spurs on Sunday.

Firpo suffered his muscle injury in Marcelo Bielsa’s ‘murderball’ session, but it seems as if he could follow Ayling and Shackleton in returning to the matchday squad.

The Verdict: Good news…

The versatile Stuart Dallas has filled in for Firpo, with Pascal Struijk even featuring at left-back against Leicester City prior to the international break.

However, with Firpo now ready to go, that will give Bielsa the flexibility to use Dallas back in midfield and Struijk at centre-back in a three-man defence, with Spurs likely to use two centre-forwards given Antonio Conte’s preference for a 3-5-2 system.

That could allow Firpo to come straight back in at left wing-back, with one of Ayling or Shackleton potentially on the opposite flank – Bielsa will surely be relieved to have natural full-backs filling the position rather than shifting his utility men out there.

In other news: ‘Someone Bielsa quietly admires’ – Phil Hay hints at Leeds move for ‘fantastic’ player. 

Many Liverpool fans have hailed the performance of Fabinho in the Reds’ 3-2 Champions League win over AC Milan on Twitter.

Fabinho played all 90 minutes and put in a solid shift in the middle of the park alongside Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita as the Reds kick-started their European campaign off with a winning start.

Henderson’s brilliant strike from outside the penalty area in the 69th minute was the winner at Anfield after Mohamed Salah had levelled the scoring.

Ante Rebic and Brahin Diaz had put the Italian side ahead in a remarkable few minutes just before half-time, but Jurgen Klopp’s side edged over the line to earn their first win of the competition this term.

Fabinho boasted an 89% pass completion, completing 47 of his 53 passes, and won eight of his 11 ground duels (73%) in a very impressive outing by the Brazilian midfielder.

The 27-year-old also created two chances, succeeded with six of his seven tackles and made four interceptions (thus winning the ball back a total of ten times) as his control in the middle helped Liverpool to victory.

Liverpool fans buzzing with Fabinho performance

These Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to react to the Brazilian’s performance at Anfield, with one fan claiming him to be the best defensive midfielder in ‘world football’.

“He’s so good, I don’t know how people don’t rate him”

Credit: @liegrr

“He is class”

Credit: @Ciah90022378

“Best cdm in the world”

Credit: @Jordabyrne

“underrated”

Credit: @dino_yudistira

“monster”

Credit: @iamkathir_

“Incredibly underrated, best dm in world football easily”

Credit: @flawlessshirts

In other news, Liverpool fans have flocked to striker’s social media activity. Find out more here.

Cricinfo previews the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders in Durban

The Preview by George Binoy29-Apr-2009Match factsApril 29, 2009
Start time 12.30pm (10.30GMT)Big PictureBrendon McCullum will have to step up after Gayle’s departure to prevent his team from free-falling•Getty ImagesThe first match of Wednesday’s double-header in Durban is between two teams that are at the bottom of the league – Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers. Kolkata’s campaign has been plagued by all sorts of issues – multiple-captaincy, a mystery blogger, players being cut from the squad – and they are presently second from bottom with three defeats in five matches. Bangalore is the only team with a worse record. They’ve lost four matches on the trot after winning the first one.Bangalore had to contend with the loss of Rahul Dravid, who returned to India for the birth of his second child, in the last game against Delhi Daredevils. They did not fare too well, with their batsmen managing only 149 runs. The top order continued to be a concern: Bangalore have lost an opener for a duck in each game and invariably ended up two or three down by the end of the Powerplay, leaving an out-of-form middle order with too much to do. Tomorrow’s match is likely to be Kevin Pietersen’s last in this tournament – the Lord’s Test against West Indies begins on May 6 – and he will be keen to sign off with a win.Kolkata are also likely to lose their most valuable batsman, Chris Gayle, after this game and his absence will hurt them because the rest of the batsmen are struggling for momentum. Their bowlers took a pounding against Mumbai Indians but they are likely to perform much better against Bangalore’s batsmen.Form guideBangalore: Mark Boucher cracked a brisk 36 in his first match, against Delhi, but there’s little else to shout about for Bangalore. Apart from Jacques Kallis, the rest of the batsmen average below 20 with Robin Uthappa bringing up the bottom with 38 runs in five innings. There’s almost no good news on the bowling front too. Their highest wicket-taker, Anil Kumble, has taken only one wicket in the last four games (after taking five in the first). Kallis has appalling figures of 1 for 135 from 11 overs.Kolkata: Gayle is Kolkata’s highest run-scorer with 107 in four innings but he’s 11th among the top run-getters in the tournament. Brad Hodge hasn’t pulled his weight as an overseas player – 70 runs in four matches – and neither has the captain Brendon McCullum. Ishant Sharma, with four wickets and an economy of under seven runs per over, is Kolkata’s best bowler but their other medium-pacers have failed to provide adequate back-up.Watch out forOut-of-form captains: Bangalore picked up Pietersen for a whopping $1.55 million and made him the captain as well but he has done nothing of note in the tournament. Pietersen has scored only 80 runs in five innings but looked to have regained form against Delhi before an ill-advised switch-hit ended his cameo. He will be itching to leave the IPL with a match-winning performance. One captain who’s done even worse that Pietersen is Kolkata’s new leader McCullum. He’s one half of a potentially devastating opening partnership with Gayle but McCullum’s devastated only to the tune of 26 runs in four innings. McCullum will have to step up after Gayle’s departure to prevent his team from free-falling.Team newsBangalore’s worries begin with their opening combination. Uthappa’s been given extremely long rope and, if they don’t drop him, Bangalore must consider pushing him down the order. The other options for the opener’s slot are Virat Kohli and Wasim Jaffer, who hasn’t played a match this season. Most of overseas players they’ve used – Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn – haven’t contributed significantly with either bat or ball and Bangalore could give allrounder Roelof van der Merwe a go.Bangalore: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Jacques Kallis, 3 Kevin Pietersen (capt), 4 Robin Uthappa (wk), 5 Roelof van der Merwe/Ross Taylor, 6 Mark Boucher, 7 B Akhil, 8 R Vinay Kumar, 9 Pankaj Singh, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 KP Appanna.Kolkata have 11 Indians in their squad, out of which they have to select seven, and eight overseas players at the moment, out of which only four can play. The overseas options, apart from those who played the last game against Mumbai, are Moises Henriques, Charl Langeveldt, Mashrafe Mortaza and Angelo Mathews and they won’t help strengthen the batting which is the main concern. Anureet Singh did not bat against Mumbai because of an injury and he could be replaced by Murali Kartik.Kolkata: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), 3 Brad Hodge, 4 Sourav Ganguly, 5 Laxmi Ratan Shukla, 6 Yashpal Singh, 7 Arindam Ghosh, 8 Ishant Sharma, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Murali Kartik, 11 Ashok Dinda.Head-to-head recordMcCullum smashed 158 off 73 balls to annihilate Bangalore by 140 runs in the opening game of the IPL last season. Kolkata won their home game at the Eden Gardens as well by five runs after Bangalore were restricted to 126 for 4 in 16 overs.

Australia’s first day of cricket on their tour of South Africa didn’tso much answer questions as raise more of them

Brydon Coverdale in Potchefstroom20-Feb-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Mitchell Johnson went wicketless but he wasn’t the only one who struggled on the opening day © Getty Images
Australia’s first day of cricket on their tour of South Africa didn’tso much answer questions as raise more of them. Their first-choicespinner Bryce McGain was belted, their backup fast bowler BenHilfenhaus was the most dangerous of the fast men and there was noreal chance for either Andrew McDonald or Marcus North to gain anadvantage in the battle for the No. 6 spot.Ricky Ponting chose to field on a flat pitch but even he musthave been surprised by the lack of penetration from his bowlers.Imraan Khan’s fifth first-class century created the early problemsbefore the wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn, who had been so out of form that he wasrecently dropped by the Titans, batted his way into touch with anunbeaten 95.At the close, the South African Board President’s XI hadreached 393 for 5 with Kuhn and David Wiese (44 not out) at the creaseand Australia will be hoping that whenever their batsmen get anopportunity they enjoy it as much as the locals. Khan’s 100 from 111balls was fluent and he drove a series of sweetly timed boundariesdown the ground when the fast bowlers overpitched.He also took a liking to McGain, who was punished for droppinguncharacteristically short and was also struck down the ground withease. McGain finished his first day of bowling for Australia with theunflattering figures of 2 for 126 from 19 overs and he may have had aglimpse of what Jason Krejza felt in the warm-up game ahead of theTest series in India.With Nathan Hauritz rested – along with Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke, who has battled back soreness – it was the perfect opportunity for McGain to confirm hisplace in the side for next week’s first Test in Johannesburg. Thingsbegan well when he had Alviro Petersen caught at midwicket in hisfirst over but there was little joy for the rest of the day.Kuhn and Vaughn van Jaarsveld both used their feet to McGain andslammed him for sixes down the ground and his only other success camewhen Gulam Bodi was adjudged caught behind for 48. Bodi was clearlyunhappy with the decision but McGain was thrilled; he had a secondwicket to go alongside the 18 fours and four sixes that were struckoff his bowling as he struggled to find much drift and turn on anunhelpful surface.The fast bowlers didn’t have much more to celebrate, althoughHilfenhaus and Peter Siddle were impressive and collected a wicketeach. Hilfenhaus entered the game as the fourth choice behind Siddle,Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger, but his ability to swing the balland create opportunities will force the selectors to consider him forthe first Test.He should have had the centurion Khan caught at first slip for 9 butNorth, playing his first match for the senior team, put downthe simple chance. Hilfenhaus did manage to remove the other openerBlake Snijman, who was caught behind off a superb outswinger, and hemoved the ball in to the left-hander Khan and drew a string ofinside-edges before Siddle reaped the reward.Siddle had Khan caught at mid-on and Australia hoped that, with thescore at 192 for 3, it might be a turning point. They were especiallyoptimistic when McDonald’s first over brought the wicket of vanJaarsveld, who drove to cover and was well caught by the divingPhillip Hughes. But then came a 107-run stand between Bodi and Kuhn,who continued to attack McGain and added further pain for theAustralians.Neither Johnson nor Bollinger picked up a wicket -though Bollinger should have had an early one when Snijman hooked tofine leg and was misjudged by Hilfenhaus – and the day ended with theAustralians pleased that they were playing in front of a couple ofhundred locals in Potchefstroom rather than thousands in Johannesburg.They have two more days to answer the questions that remain hangingover an inexperienced squad.

A round-up matches played on 22nd March in the 2008-09 Royal Bank of Scotland Cup

Cricinfo staff23-Mar-2009Group DHabib Bank registered a comfortable 111-run with over Lahore Eagles at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Younis Khan made an unbeaten 126 and received excellent support from Khaqan Arsal and Shahid Afridi – both scored half-centuries – as Habib Bank piled up 311 for 3. Younis’ innings was laced with six fours and two sixes while Afridi struck some lusty blows towards the end. Lahore Eagles slipped to 53 for 3 in reply and though Muntazir Mehdi and Sheraz Butt helped them recover somewhat with a 87-run fourth-wicket partnership, they were always behind the asking rate. The innings folded for 200 with Shahid Nazir and Abdur Rehman bagging three wickets each.Karachi Zebras collapsed to an 88-run defeat against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at the Gaddafi Stadium, while chasing a target of 239. They lost their first two wickets for 19 after which a 54-run stand between Fahadullah Khan – who top-scored with 48 – and captain Sheharyar Ghani lent the innings some stability. However, things went downhill from then on as the Karachi batsmen failed to offer much resistance, losing their next seven wickets for 77 to be bowled out for 150. Yasir Shah, the legspinner, took 3 for 26. Earlier, SNGPL were struggling at 78 for 4 before a 104-run partnership between captain Misbah-ul-Haq – he made 61 – and Khurram Shehzad helped them post a competitive score. Mansoor Ahmed’s leg spin fetched him a five-for, but his effort went in vain.

A round-up of the second leg of Pro20 semi-final matches

Cricinfo staff17-Feb-2009
Robin Peterson’s all-round skill levelled the series for the Warriors © Getty Images
The Warriors beat the Eagles by ten wickets in their second-leg replay in Port Elizabeth, thus forcing game three of the Pro20 semi-finals.Set just 102 to win, the Warriors eased to victory on the back of a thumping opening stand between Justin Kreusch and Robin Peterson. Peterson capped a memorable outing, backing three wickets with an unbeaten 49 from 31 balls. One shot summed up the mood he was in – a reverse-swept six off Thandi Tshabalala.Kreusch scored a more sedate 42-ball 44. The opening par was aided by some sloppy work in the field by the Eagles, who dropped three catches.The Eagles had chosen to bat and were derailed by Juan Theron and Peterson, who shared six wickets to bundle them out for 101. The Eagles slipped to 20 for 2 in four overs, after which a third-wicket stand of 33 between Morne van Wyk (13) and Dean Elgar (24) steadied the inning somewhat.Peterson’s left-arm spin fetched him 3 for 24 and his strikes hurt the Eagles the most. Peterson dismissed van Wyk lbw and bowled Ryan Bailey as the Eagles slipped to 69 for 4. Kreusch cleaned up Elgar to make it 75 for 5, Peterson took out Ryan McLaren, and Theron returned to snuff out the tail and finish with 3 for 16 off four overs.The best-of-three contest is level at 1-1.

A number of Manchester City supporters have taken to Twitter to send their love to the club’s former player Pablo Zabaleta after he returned to the Etihad Stadium for this year’s Soccer Aid over the weekend.

The Argentine left City in 2017 after nine years at the club, winning two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup along the way, and has always been fondly remembered for his time in Manchester. He made 333 appearances during his time at the club, with 12 goals and 27 assists to his name.

Zabaleta enjoyed three years at West Ham United before retiring in October 2020. He is currently working with ESPN covering La Liga, where the 36-year-old played with Espanyol before moving to England on the 2008 transfer deadline day.

In Saturday evening’s Soccer Aid event, Zabaleta joined the likes of Roberto Carlos and Clarence Seedorf in the World XI as goals from Kem Cetinay and Lee Mack earned them victory in the charity event.

City fans show their love at Zabaleta video

Lots of Manchester City fans were happy to see Zabaleta return to the Etihad after footage of him arriving at the stadium was shared by @City_Xtra on Twitter, with one supporter dubbing the 36-year-old a “legend”.

“Legend… Where’s his statue?” 

Credit: @energylevel

“He actually played so well, could do a job at LB for us”

Credit: @IIM109

“the GOAT”

Credit: @thebigkun

“He earned all my respect. This is a typical character”

Credit: @erique_kun

“Best right back”

Credit: @tito_kyp

“The legend”

Credit: @Taguero_10

In other news, lots of Manchester City fans fume about a potential ‘bidding war’ for a clinical striker. Find out more here.

Lots of Manchester United fans have been slamming the display of Anthony Martial in their clash against Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

The France international did not have the best of games and was subsequently subbed off just before the hour mark for Jadon Sancho.

He only managed 13 touches of the ball in his time on the pitch, by far the fewest out of any of his teammates to have started (Sofascore).

Martial also lost possession on five occasions, meaning that he lost the ball every 2.6 touches on average.

Considering that he only managed one shot on target and no dribbles either (Sofascore), the striker will be hoping to do better to keep his place in the starting line-up going forward.

Manchester United fans on Martial display

These Red Devils supporters slammed Martial’s performance on Twitter, with one United fan going as far as to claim that the 25-year-old was ‘shocking’:

“Martial was absent all game. I’m very worried”

Credit: @PMLEGEND

“Martial stank up the place like I’ve never seen before”

Credit: @ZackblackMJ

“Martial’s nightmare is over!!!! He was only sharp enough to get to the ball today!!! Rest looked beyond him!!”

Credit: @neo2992

“Martial was a false player in this game”

Credit: @IamSeloma

“Sancho on Martial off. No surprise at all!! He doesn’t offer enough, simple as!”

Credit: @AzumaNelson

“Martial is shocking. Sell him off to Everton and be done with it”

Credit: @DeanConway3

In other news, this Man Utd player’s display was slammed against Leeds

Manchester City have been boosted by the recent news that Liam Delap has signed a new long-term contract, which should keep him at the Etihad until 2026.

What’s the word?

After a phenomenal season with the U23s, it is no surprise that City have worked quickly to tie Delap down for the long-term, as he looks destined to have a huge future in the game.

The Citizens announced on Friday that the 18-year-old had penned a new deal until 2026, which will no doubt delight Pep Guardiola, as he now has a player to put into the first team in the near future.

The Spanish manager had suggested earlier in the summer that Delap would become part of the first-team squad at City this season, although he has been heavily linked with a loan move to the Championship, despite City having thus far failed to replace Sergio Aguero.

A boost for Guardiola?

Considering Delap’s sensational form with the academy sides since joining from Derby County in 2019, there seems little to suggest that the teenager can’t be a regular with the Citizens in the future.

Last season saw the striker contribute 24 goals in 20 Premier League 2 games, firing City to that title, whilst he also scored on his professional debut in City’s 2-1 win against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup.

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Delap also made two substitute appearances in the Premier League and FA Cup, which suggests that he is certainly in Guardiola’s thinking, and perhaps after a season on loan in the Championship, we could see him starting on a regular basis in the 2022/23 Premier League season.

When speaking about Millwall’s interest in signing Delap on loan, manager Gary Rowett was quick to sing his praises, saying:

“Liam Delap, quite simply, is the best young striker around at the moment and every single Championship club, I’m sure, would be interested in taking him. Of course, we’d be interested. But, at the same time, I’m sure everyone would be interested in him.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“577936”]

Therefore, it is undoubtedly a boost that he has committed himself to City, and everyone involved with the club will surely be excited to see more of him in the future.

And, in other news… Southampton miss out on 61-cap “leader”, Hasenhuttl will be gutted 

Tottenham Hotspur could launch a surprise bid for James Ward-Prowse before the end of the transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, who claims that Spurs are among the teams prepared to test Southampton’s resolve after losing star striker Danny Ings, with Jannik Vestergaard also likely to depart.

Mauricio Pochettino wanted to sign the 26-year-old during his time in charge of the Lilywhites, having once dubbed him the “perfect role model” when in charge at St Mary’s Stadium, and he remains highly-rated within the North London club.

However, they face fierce competition from Aston Villa, who have him as their no.1 target to bolster Dean Smith’s midfield and have certainly splashed the cash throughout the summer so far.

Eriksen’s heir

After securing the signature of Cristian Romero, Spurs’ attentions are believed to have turned to adding creativity to Nuno Santo’s squad, so that could explain why Ward-Prowse has now emerged as a serious option.

The North Londoners have struggled to provide goals outside of lethal frontline duo Harry Kane and Heung-min Son and the issue may stretch back to the departure of Christian Eriksen to Inter Milan some 18 months ago.

Indeed, the England international bagged 54.4% of all their league goals scored last season, whilst the pair both hit double figures for assists and they also led the squad for key passes (1.4 and two) per game, via WhoScored.

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It’s evident that the likes of Tanguy Ndombele (0.4), Dele Alli (0.6) and Giovani Lo Celso (0.8) have failed to step up ever since the Dane’s exit.

Ward-Prowse would provide Nuno with a much-needed threat that could help take the burden off of Kane and Son, even more so with his set-piece ability, another attribute that has been lacking for the past season or so.

Match of the Day 2 pundit Peter Crouch described him as “[David] Beckham-esque” last season, via the Daily Echo. “We know how deadly he is from set-pieces. It’s just undefendable at times,” he added. “When you’ve got someone in your team like that, who can deliver on a sixpence. It’s just so key.”

The £27m-rated dynamo, who has now been capped eight times by England, delivered eight goals and seven assists for the Saints, even despite their late-season struggles.

No player still at the club, besides the aforementioned duo, managed more than seven goal contributions in 2020/21.

Ward-Prowse averaged 1.6 key passes per game last term, which was more than Kane and just behind Son, so that only reinforces just how impressive his creative exploits could be in North London.

Back in January, Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl lauded his midfield maestro as “unbelievable”, having racked up more minutes on the pitch than anyone else.

He told their official website: “Ward-Prowse played once again but he’s a machine. He can play all the time he’s unbelievable. He, in the last week, is always the guy who runs the most, fighting for everything and a real captain today on the pitch.”

It remains to be seen if the south coast outfit would be prepared to sell their captain, and at what price, but if Fabio Paratici and Daniel Levy see an opportunity to do so, then they must splash the cash.

Spurs could be about to finally replace Eriksen and that’s a prospect that should delight Nuno and the fans alike.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops exciting Spurs transfer claim that’ll leave fans buzzing…