Yearly Archives: 2017

The brightest young talent of Real Madrid – Marco Asensio has had a real chance of becoming a Barcelona player in the summer of 2014. Then he was a part of the Mallorca squad and had his first season as a professional player already behind him.

The main reason Asensio didn’t join Barcelona was that the Catalans offered Mallorca 2.5 m. euros plus 2 m. euros as bonuses. The Vermilions wanted the whole amount at once. However, Barcelona were interested in another player – the Brazilian fullback Douglas, who costed them 5.5 m. Andoni Zubizarreta had to pick only one of these two players and decided to buy the Brazilian, which was a huge mistake.

Marco Asensio had another offer in 2014. He could have also become a player of Athletic Bilbao, but that was unrealistic when it came true that both Barcelona and Real Madrid are interested in him. In fact, Marco has always been a fan of Real Madrid and the offer from Los Blancos have always been like a dream to the young winger.

The 21-year-old winger has already become an integral part of the Real Madrid’s first team. He had a really successful first season with Los Blancos, winning everything possible with the club. Asensio scored 3 goals in La Liga last campaign. In addition, he found the net on 3 occasions in The Champions League, including a goal in the final against Juventus. Asensio also found the net on his debut for Real Madrid – in the UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla last year. He is also now a part of the Spanish national team, having made 3 appearances for La Furia Roja.

In conclusion, Barcelona should really regret about that mistake. Moreover, the Catalans recently parted with one of their best players Neymar. If they had signed Asensio, they would have now the best possible replacement of the Brazilian.

The season in The Premier League is underway as the first two round are almost in the history. The Red Devils have increased a lot their performance since the last campaign, in which they left in 6th position. The Jose Mourinho’s players recorded two victories of 2 games, but the most impressive was the result – 4-0 in both matches.

After the defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup final, the Portuguese manager has worked a lot on improving the performance of the players and it became clear after just 2 league matches. On the opening day The Red Devils smashed West Ham United 4-0 at Old Trafford. Romelu Lukaku showed that he fits the scheme very well. The striker scored the first two goals against The Hammers, giving United the needed security. Martial and Pogba were the other goal-scorers. However the goal-scorers weren’t the most important thing, but the performance itself. Manchester United looked very strong in defence. In addition, Nemanja Matic already seems to be adjusted to the team.

Last Saturday Manchester United made pretty similar performance to those from the first round in The Premier League. This time The Red Devils gave Swansea City no chance, winning with the same score – 4-0 at The Liberty Stadium. Bailly was a little bit lucky to send the ball into the net in the added time of the first half, but during the second half Man United were just uncompromising playing on counter attacks and scoring 3 goals within the last 10 minutes. Mkhitaryan provided 2 assists, while Lukaku bagged another goal for himself.

With this power in attack, Manchester United have made it clear that they will be among the main title contenders this campaign. Moreover, Romelu Lukaku will surely fight for the first place in the goal-scoring chart. We must admit that these two opponents weren’t the strongest, but in a division like Premier League it is very important to win the matches against the weaker teams if you are to fight for the title!

The Wolves are very close to sign the Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez. According to the English medias, The Foxes are asking for 35 m. euros plus bonuses for one of their key players. Riyad Mahrez is expected to travel to Rome on Wednesday for a medical test. The contract of the Algerian forward will be for 5 seasons, while his annual salary is going to be about 3 m. euros.

AS Roma are interested in the Foxes’ winger, because they already sold Mohamed Salah to Liverpool and are now looking for a deputy of the Egyptian player. There are rumours that if The Wolves couldn’t sign Mahrez, they will try to buy Juan Cuadrado of Juventus. However, Riyad Mahrez’s style looks the most similar to Mohamed Salah’s and the Algerian player will probably fit the best in the tactics of The Wolves.

The 26-year-old winger spent 4 seasons at Leicester City. Riyad Mahrez moved to Leicester on 11th January 2014. He was one of the key players, when The Foxes won the Premier League title in 2016. Riyad Mahrez scored 35 goals in 138 appearances for Leicester City in all competitions. He has already taken part in 30 matches for the Algerian national team and has scored 8 goals for his nation. He was a part of the Algerian team at the World Cup in 2014.

Mahrez scored 6 goals in 36 games for Leicester in The Premier League last season. In addition, he bagged 4 goals in The Champions League, helping the team to reach the quarterfinals of the competition.

The rumours for eventual move of Riyad Mahrez to Roma started immediately after Liverpool bought Mohamed Salah. However, now the deal looks closest than ever. There is still a chance Riyad Mahrez to stay at Leicester City, but most likely he will sign for one of the strongest teams in Italy – AS Roma.

The Spanish forward Lucas Perez has declared that he is unhappy at his current team Arsenal. The reason is that he didn’t receive a lot of playing time. The 28-year-old Spaniard has only started 2 Premier League matches last campaign. He managed to score one goal in the league. Perez added 3 goals in the local cups and a hat-trick in The Champions League.

A few months ago he had the chance to sign for a team from China, but the club didn’t let him go. The chiefs persuaded him that he will play more during the next campaign. However, now with the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette, he has even given his shirt number (9) and the Spaniard will now play with 28 number on his shirt. That made the Spaniard declare his determination to leave the Emirates as soon as possible.

Even though, Arsenal paid Deportivo La Coruna £17.1 m. to have the forward in the squad, Arsene Wenger didn’t use him a lot in the matches of the team during the last season. However, Lucas Perez proved that he is useful and managed to score a hat-trick in his only start in a Champions League game – against Basel. Perez also took part in 4 games of the FA Cup for Arsenal and scored a goal against Sutton United in the 2-0 victory.

In my opinion, Perez is a very good player, but he must receive his chance to prove his qualities. On the other hand, I don’t think that this will happen as Wenger has already signed Lacazette. Moreover, there are players like Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, Joel Campbell in the team, which is going to limit his playing time at the Emirates Stadium. At both ends, it won’t be difficult for a player like Perez to find a new team, but it is sad that he will leave the club that way.

Alvaro Morata has recently become one of the best forwards in the European football. The 24-year-old striker is too good to sit on the bench, which is going to happen if he stays at Real Madrid.

The Spanish international forward started his professional career exactly at Real Madrid. He was a part of the Los Blancos’s second team in the period between 2010 and 2013. Meanwhile he managed to record 37 appearances and 10 goals for Real Madrid’s first team. However, it’s always difficult to find a place among the regular XI of Real Madrid, no matter how good you are. That’s why, on 19th July 2014, Juventus bought him for about 20 million euros. Morata had a very successful spell at the Italian giant. The Spanish forward scored 27 goals in 93 matches for Juve in all competitions (2 seasons). He was a key player in Juventus’ road to the Champions League final in 2015.

To continue with, Alvaro Morata returned to Real Madrid one year ago and showed he’s worth the 30 million euros Los Blancos paid to have him back in the team. The striker scored 20 goals in 43 games in all competitions for Los Blancos last campaign. He was really effective, because he was in the starting XI on only 18 occasions!

With the beginning of the summer transfer window, Morata was firstly linked with Manchester United. Jose Mourinho wanted the Spaniard to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who left the team this summer. However, The Red Devils gave up of Morata, because of the high transfer fee. Then, there were rumours that Chelsea are going to sign the 24-year-old forward.

The latest rumours send Alvaro Morata to AC Milan. The Italian club is making a good selection. They have already bought Andre Silva, Lucas Biglia, Ricardo Rodriguez and many other good players. The Red and Blacks are ready to pay 70 m. euros, which sounds like a good offer.

The England’s top ever international goal-scorer Wayne Rooney has returned to his favourite club – Everton. The forward left for Manchester United in 2004 and became the captain of The Red Devils in 2014. However, after 13 seasons at Old Trafford the England’s star returned to the club, in which he started his magnificent football career.

Rooney made his debut for The Toffees in 2002 against Tottenham Hotspur and made an assist in his first game for Everton. He scored his first professional goal in the League Cup against Wrexham. However, his star raised after his late winning goal against Arsenal in the Premier League on 19th October 2002, just 5 days before he turned 17. During his first two professional seasons, when he was at Everton, he managed to score 17 goals in 77 appearances.

The 31-year-old player recently became the top England’s goal-scorer. He has bagged 53 goals in 119 appearances for The Three Lions. Wayne Rooney also became the Manchester United’s best goal-scorer of all time. When he started his career he was used a a centre forward, but he has proven he can play as a midfielder. However, Ronald Koeman has said that he is going to use Rooney as a striker. Everton paid Manchester United about £10 m. for Wayne Rooney.

At both ends, with the departure of Romelu Lukaku there will be some problems in attack, but Wayne Rooney will boost the team’s strength as he is a real leader and he is still a very good player, who knows how to win matches!

Wayne desperately wanted to come back to the club. I have no doubts about his qualities, even though he is now 31 years old. He knows how to win titles. He has the ambition and the winning mentality, which we need. So, I am really happy that he is back. He loves Everton and will be very useful. Ronald Koeman

The Toffees have already spent about £96 m. this summer. The Dutch legend and a manager of the team – Ronald Koeman signed the best young English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, the captain and key player of Ajax – Davy Klaassen, the former player of Barcelona Sandro Ramirez, the young Nigerian forward Henry Onyekuru and the English international defender Michael Keane.

To continue with, Koeman used the last few matches of the last season to give a chance to some of his young talents. Ademola Lookman, Tom Davies, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Mason Holgate became an integral part of Everton’s first team. Lookman and Calvert-Lewin were key players in England’s triumph at the World Cup U20, the second one even scored the winning goal in the final match. Holgate reached the semi-finals of the Euro U21 with the English national team.

Moreover, the club will surely not sell its stars. Romelu Lukaku became the second-best goal-scorer of The Premier League with 25 goals last season. The 24-year-old forward has already scored over 50 league goals, so he will remain the main weapon in attack for The Toffees. Ross Barkley, James McCarthy, Morgan Schneiderlin and the experienced player Gareth Barry will pull the strings in midfield. Furthermore, the club has a lot of good defenders. Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman and Ashley Williams have proven they are quality players in defence. In addition, Jordan Pickford will fight for the starting position of a goalkeeper with the experienced Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg and the Spaniard Joel Robles.

The Ronald Koeman’s players finished in 7th position last campaign with 61 points, 8 behind the 6th-placed Manchester United. So, The Toffees qualified for The Europa League. However, the aims in front of the team will be connected with a good performance in European club competitions, but maybe the goal will be a place in The Top 4.

The main reason for the Toffees’ good performance during the last campaign was the home form (13 victories and 4 draws of 19 home matches). I think that they will be even more impressive in the next campaign. If you love the risk you can place a bet on the team to finish in Top 4 (odds of about 11.0). However, I would prefer the less risky bet (Everton in Top 6 – odds of 3.75).

Crotone dramatically survived in the Italian Serie A. The Sharks recorded a vital victory in the last round against Lazio at home. Nalini and Falcinelli scored two goals for the hosts until the 22nd minute of the match, but Ciro Immobile scored from the penalty spot to bring Lazio back in the game. However, Nalini found the net again 15 minutes after the break and secured the three points for his team.

Meanwhile, Empoli lost their visit to Palermo and appeared in the relegation zone. Nestorovski opened the score for Palermo in the 76th minute of the match. Then, Bruno Henrique doubled the score with 6 minutes to go. The only goal for the visitors was scored by Krunic in the 87th minute

That sensational final of the season sent Empoli in Serie B, while Crotone will spend at least one more season in the first division. The Sharks deservedly avoided relegation. They were in a great shape, recording 6 victories in their last 9 league matches. Moreover, they only lost once in these games (to Juventus away from home). It’s interesting that Crotone won 20 points from their last 9 games and they finished with a record of 34 points, which means they finished as one of the teams in the best form in the division.

The 3-1 victory against Lazio was the second occasion of the season for Crotone, in which the team scores more than 2 goals in a single game. The Sharks scored 34 goals in 38 games, which is less than a goal per game on average. However, who cares as they kept their place in Serie A?

Except for Empoli, Palermo and Pescara were the other two teams to be relegated, but that was obvious from a long time ago. SPAL and Hellas Verona already won promotions from the second division, but there is still to be determined which will be the third team, which will find a place in the division.

Manchester United won their last league match of the campaign – 2-0 against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. Jose Mourinho played a lot of youngsters and despite of the lack of experience The Red Devils won the three points.

The game was the senior debut for Josh Harrod, Demetri Mitchell and Angel Gomes. Moreover, there were also youngsters like the goalkeeper Joel Castro, who played his second match with Manchester United’s shirt, Scott McTominay, who also appeared for second time, and the 19-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe (5th official game for United).

The game started brilliantly for the 21-year-old midfielder Josh Harrop, who showed a great piece of skills and sent the ball into the back of the net in the 15th minute of the match! With that goal Harrop became Manchester United’s 100th different goal-scorer in The Premier League. If you haven’t seen that goal – you must watch the replay, because this player is one of United’s hottest prospects for the future.

Just 4 minutes later Paul Pogba scored the second goal of the game, giving Manchester United a solid lead. That was Pogba’s 5th Premier League goal of the campaign.

However, Jose Mourinho saw a lot of potential in his young players, who showed a wonderful performance and won the three points. With the victory, The Red Devils finished with 18 victories of 38 matches and only 5 defeats, recording 69 points, which meant they finished in 6th position in the final standings.

It was very interesting, when the Portuguese manager attended the press conference after the match. He sat on the chair in front of the few reporters and stayed there for a few seconds. Then, he immediately left the room demonstratively. Maybe he was in a hurry, because Manchester United will play their most important match of the season on Wednesday – The Europa League final against Ajax.

Tottenham played their last match at the legendary stadium White Hart Lane yesterday against Manchester United. The Spurs won it 2-1 and maintained their brilliant performance at home this season. The Mauricio Pochettino’s players recorded 17 victories and 2 draws of 19 games at White Hart Lane in The Premier League, but their performance away from home costed them the title.

The game was marked of several milestones. Harry Kane scored his first ever goal against Manchester United. That was the English forward’s 28th goal of the season in all competitions. His goal secured the three points for The Spurs. On the other hand, Wayne Rooney’s consolation goal for The Red Devils was his 7th at The White Hart Lane Stadium, which made him the most prolific visiting goal-scorer at this venue.

To continue with, the hosts were better on the pitch and deservedly won the game. Victor Wanyama opened the score after a great header in the 6th minute. Then, The Spurs kept on going, but they couldn’t find the net again before the break. Just 3 minutes after the half time, Harry Kane doubled the score for Tottenham Hotspur. However, Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match for Manchester United in the 71st minute, fixing the final score.

Now The Spurs will move to The Wembley Stadium, where they will spend a minimum of one year, before returning to north London. The new capacity of their stadium will be 61,599. White Hart Lane have been Spurs’ home since 1899.

With the victory against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur will finish in 2nd position in The Premier League. The last time they did it was in season 1962 – 63! So, no matter Spurs couldn’t win the title – that’s a great performance for them. However, with the team Mauricio Pochettino has built, The Spurs will surely fight for the title next season. They will again play in The Champions League. The only sad news is that they will not play at White Hart Lane.

Middlesbrough recorded a very important victory in The Premier League against the last team in the standings – Sunderland. The Boro won 1-0 and kept their chance to avoid relegation, as they are now 6 points down from the 17th-placed Hull City. In addition, Middlesbrough have a better goal difference, which can be valuable at the end of the season.

On the other hand, Sunderland left 12 points behind the 17th position with 5 games to go, which means that The Black Cats have almost been relegated. No wonders Sunderland are the last team in the standings, as the last time they won a game in the league was on 4th February (4-0 against Crystal Palace).

The Boro were on a run of 16 Premier League games without a victory. So, that was their first league win for 2017. It’s interesting that Middlesbrough are the lowest scoring team in the top 10 English divisions this campaign. The Steve Agnew’s players have only found the net on 24 occasions this campaign. However, they have performed better in defence. They have conceded 43 goals in 34 matches, keeping a clean sheet on 10 occasions.

So, nothing unusual about the final score of 1-0 in favour of Middlesbrough. The only goal of the match was scored in the 8th minute. The midfielder Adam Clayton played a long ball to Marten de Roon and the Dutchman put the ball behind Jordan Pickford to open the score. 10 minutes later Stewart Downing found himself one on one with the keeper, but his shot was saved by Pickford.
In the 34th minute Didier Ndong made a good attempt from a long distance, but Brad Guzan parried the ball away. 2 minutes after the break Wahbi Khazri tried his luck from a free-kick, but the American goalkeeper again made a good save.

At both ends, Sunderland will surely relegate to The Championship, while Middlesbrough are still in the battle. However, The Boro have a very tough schedule. They will play Manchester City, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool in the remaining 4 matches, which means that their chance is very little.

One of the most interesting matches in The Champions League quarterfinals will be between the teams of Juventus and Barcelona. This will be the 10th match in the European club competitions between these two teams. The fans still have fresh memories of the Champions League final in 2015. In that match The Catalans beat the Italian side and lifted the most prestigious European trophy.

To begin with, Barcelona made one of the greatest turnarounds in the previous round against the French champions Paris Saint-Germain. The Luis Enrique’s players lost the first leg 0-4, but managed to beat The Parisians 6-1 at home and made it to the quarterfinals! I am sure that this victory has boosted the confidence of the Spaniards and they will only improve their performance in the matches by the end of the season.

Juventus had much easier task against the Portuguese club Porto. The Italians recorded 2 victories and found a place in the next round of the competition. However, Juventus have been very impressive this season, as they have only lost once in their last 17 competitive matches. The club from Turin is again the leader in The Serie A and has already found a place in the Italian cup final game.

On the other hand, Barcelona also qualified for the domestic cup final match. The Catalans have won 9 of their last 12 Champions League matches. However, Barcelona lost twice away from home in the competition this campaign and Juventus must take advantage of it.

When playing in the knockout stage of the European club competitions, Barcelona have knocked Juve out of the tournament twice, while the club from Turin has also done it on two occasions. The last time these two teams met in the quarterfinals of The Champions League was in 2003. The first leg finished with a 1-1 draw in Turin, but Juventus managed to win the away game 2-1 and found a place in the semi-finals.

Taking a look back to the Champions League final from 2015 at Olympiastadion Berlin, we must say that Barcelona have kept their players, while 6 of the Juventus’ players, who were among the starting XI are not anymore in the squad. However, Rakitic opened the score in the 4th minute, giving Barcelona the lead, but the Italian club equalized through Alvaro Morata. Then, Suarez and Neymar scored to clinch the victory for Barcelona.

The Spurs maintained their good performance. They recorded a comfortable 2-0 away victory against the tough team of Burnley. The Clarets had a record of 9 victories 2 draws and 3 defeats at Turf Moor before the match against Tottenham Hotspur. That was the Spurs’ 4th consecutive victory in The Premier League, which boosted their chance of winning the title.

To continue with, Tottenham had the first real chance to open the score in the 31st minute, when Dele Alli missed on an open goal after a good play by Eriksen. The strengths were pretty equal and The Spurs had to wait until the 66th minute to score the first goal of the game. They took advantage of a poor clearance after a corner kick and Eric Dier put the ball into Burnley’s net. 10 minutes later Heung-Min Son doubled the score after a great assist by Dele Alli.

The leaders Chelsea lost 1-2 to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge, which means that The Spurs have melted the difference at the top to 7 points, which is not an impossible task for them. Actually, the Tottenham Hotspur’s schedule until the end of the season isn’t that bad. There are only 2 difficult matches – against Arsenal and Man United at White Hart Lane. The Mauricio Pochettino’s players will also meet Swansea City, Watford, Bournemouth, Leicester City, West Ham United and Hull City. Reasonably, they are able to win all these games! And if they do it – they will probably win the title.

In conclusion, The Blues see to have a more difficult schedule, as they will play against Man City and Southampton at Stamford Bridge and will have to visit Manchester United and Everton. The easier matches for the Antonio Conte’s players will be against Watford, AFC Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Sunderland. For sure, the competition for the first place in the Premier League’s is still not decided.

Manchester City couldn’t win their game against Stoke City at The Etihad Stadium, finishing with a goalless draw. With the one point they recorded, the Josep Guardiola’s players are now 10 points behind the leaders Chelsea and winning the title looks like a miracle.

There were no good goal-scoring chances for Manchester City during the first half of the game. The Potters managed to create two good opportunities, but they were denied by the goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero, who started his 8th Premier League game of the campaign. Kolarov had the best chance to score for the host, making an attempt from a free-kick, but Lee Grant tipped the ball away.

After the break, The Citizens were quite more active in attack, but Stoke City were very strong in defence, making the life of Man City’s forwards very difficult. In the 54th minute, Sane organized a good counter attack, passing the ball to Aguero, who shot towards the goal, but a Stoke’s defender cleared the ball with a header. David Silva had the best chance to score for The Citizens. He made a great one-two pass with Fernandinho in the 72nd minute, but the Spaniard’s shot went just wide.

3 minutes later, the Spanish playmaker tried his luck from a distance, but he couldn’t find the target again. In the 76th minute, Otamendi’s header went above Stoke City’s goal. However, with 3 minutes to go, Sergio Aguero went past 3 defenders, but his shot found the side netting. The substitute player Iheanacho could score in the added time of the game, but he also couldn’t find the target from a close range.

To conclude with, The Citizens will now hardly reach the first place in The Premier League and they will surely concentrate on their performance in The Champions League, where they have a very difficult game against Monaco away from home.

Manchester City showed a great character, turning things around against Monaco on Tuesday! The Pep Guardiola’s players managed to win the game against the leaders in The French Ligue 1 5-3 at The Etihad Stadium, securing a good result before the second leg.

Both teams showed a wonderful performance in attack and made us spectators of attractive attacking football. The Citizens took the lead early in the game. Raheem Sterling opened the score in the 26th minute after a great dribble by Sane. However, The Monegasques managed to equalize almost immediately. Radamel Falcao sent the ball into City’s net. 1-1!

In the 40th minute of the match, the most talented player of The Monegasques – Kylian Mbappe gave his team the lead. He is compared with Thierry Henry and we have to say Mbappe’s playing style and physique is quite similar.

To continue with, the second half started with a penalty kick for Monaco, which was missed by the Colombian goal-scoring machine Radamel Falcao. Just 8 minutes later, Sergio Aguero scored after a mistake by the goalkeeper Subasic. 2-2! And it looked like Manchester City were controlling the game, but this time Falcao found the net for the second time in the game and shocked the Guardiola’s players.

However, the great team spirit of The Citizens kept them aware of winning the match. They managed to score three more goals from the 71st until the 82nd minute, securing the advantage before the second leg in Monaco. We must say John Stones managed to score his first goal in The Champions League!

At both ends, the second leg will be extremely difficult for Manchester City, because Monaco are among the strongest hosts in the major European leagues. The Monegasques have scored 46 goals in 13 matches at home in The Ligue 1, having won 11 of these matches!

It’s a real rarity to see Barcelona playing like that! The Catalans were smashed by Paris Saint-Germain and only lost 0-4 in Paris last Tuesday. Now, the Luis Enrique’s players have very low chances of reaching the quarterfinals of The Champions League.

To begin with, the last time Barcelona were humiliated like that was in 2013, when The Catalans lost to Bayern Munich twice (0-4 away and 0-3 at home) and were eliminated from the competition. Lionel Messi was invisible on the pitch against PSG, losing the ball every time he touched it. With such a performance, Barcelona will hardly win a trophy this season, maybe except the Copa Del Rey, in which they will play Deportivo Alaves in the final match.

Paris Saint-Germain looked extremely strong in attack, putting under pressure the Barcelona’s defence during the whole game. Angel di Maria, who had a birthday, opened the score in the 18th minute after a brilliant free-kick. PSG’s new signing Julian Draxler doubled the score 5 minutes before the end of the first half after a great assist by Verratti.

Everybody expected Barcelona to play better during the second half, but the things only got worse. Di Maria was unstoppable and bagged his second goal of the game in the 55th minute. With 19 minutes to go, Edison Cavani sent the ball into Barca’s net for the 4th time, securing the astonishing victory for The Parisians.

At both ends, it’s time to wonder whether is this the end of an era for Barcelona. The Catalans will surely be eliminated from the Champions League. They are also struggling in the Primera Division, where they can’t show their real face, lying in the second place and with 2 less matches to play than Real Madrid. Will this defeat affect the Barcelona’s players’ psyche? I think, yes, they will find it very difficult until the end of the campaign.

Liverpool vs. Southampton

The Saints won the first leg of the semi-finals 1-0 at The St. Mary’s Stadium. Nathan Redmond scored the only goal of the game in the 20th minute. Southampton missed lots of goal-scoring chances and now, at Anfield, Liverpool look like the favourite for reaching the final match. The Reds have lifted the trophy on 8 occasions, as the last time they did it was in 2012. They have become the runners-up on 4 occasions. On the other hand, The Saints have never won the cup!

Liverpool have only lost once at home this season – the last round’s game of The Premier League against Swansea City 2-3, while The Saints have only won 3 of 16 visits this season. However, Southampton will be glad if the game ends with a draw! The Claude Puel’s players have only won twice in the last 10 visits to Anfield. So, the history is on the Liverpool’s side. You can give it a try, betting on a home victory at 1.50, or The Reds to reach the final at 1.80.

Hull City vs. Manchester United

The Red Devils have a comfortable advance of 2-0 after the first leg. Hull City must do something extraordinary to find a place in the final, which will hardly happen! Moreover, The Tigers have lost 21 of 30 matches between these two teams. In addition, 11 Hull City players are sidelined. Ryan Mason has undergone surgery on a fractured skull, Mbokani and Elmohamady are on an international duty, Will Keane is suffering from a knee injury, while Robert Snodgrass is doubtful.

Manchester United have only conceded 7 goals in the last 10 games against Hull City, which again shows the extremely small chances for The Tigers to reach the final game. Furthermore, it’s been 17 matches since the last Red Devils’ defeat in an official game! You can place your bet on United victory at 1.50.

Arsenal showed a great team spirit against Bournemouth last night! The Gunners managed to earn a point, after being 0-3 down in the 58th minute. Arsene Wenger should be glad with the point, because his team played awfully during almost all the match.

The Cherries shocked The Gunners early in the game, as Charlie Daniels opened the score in the 16th minute. He was completely unmarked on the left flank and Arsenal’s defence should be blamed about the first goal of the match! Just 4 minutes later Granit Xhaka made a silly error and committed a penalty against the unstoppable Ryan Fraser. Callum Wilson converted it into a goal to double the score for his team!

The winger Ryan Fraser showed his pace again during the second half, when in the 58th minute he outplayed Bellerin and nutmegged Petr Cech to see his name on the score line! We must say that the Spanish defender Bellerin showed an extremely bad performance. It looked like the situation for Arsenal can only go worse, when Alexis Sanchez found the net with a diving header in the 70th minute!

Then, the substitution Lucas Perez, who came on in the 63rd minute, scored an outstanding volley just 5 minutes after the first Arsenal’s goal of the night! To continue with, in the end of the match The Gunners took advantage of the referee’s decision to send off Simon Francis. Olivier Giroud, who made two assists, equalized for Arsenal in the added time and “stole” the point for his team!

At both ends, The Cherries should be very disappointed with the final score of the game, but they must be proud of their performance! On the other hand, Arsene Wenger must change a lot if he wants to see his team back in the battle for the title, because Arsenal looked terrible, especially in defence, during the whole match!