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Aston Villa have received a triple blow ahead of their Premier League encounter against Liverpool on Saturday at Villa Park.

Dean Smith’s side are due to welcome the Premier League champions this weekend in their bid to maintain their perfect start to the 2020/21 campaign.

Having avoided relegation on the final day of last season against West Ham United, Villa will be hoping to finish much higher up the standings this season. Their good start can certainly contribute to that.

But their stunning run could be hampered by the latest news that could concern the Villa Park faithful.

Birmingham Live reported that three players will be missing for the crucial clash against last season’s league-toppers. Having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Stoke City on Thursday, Kortney Hause picked up a groin injury and will not be available for selection.

Bjorn Engels is still struggling with a thigh strain and the game against Jurgen Klopp’s side just comes too soon for him, looking at the Leicester City match after the international break as his targetted return date.

With Wesley still recovering from knee ligament damage, Orjan Nyland will also not be in the matchday squad at the weekend.

Playing against the reigning champions is difficult enough. But when your side has to face them with injury problems makes it even more challenging.

Villa will be in for a game. With Liverpool also being knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Thursday, they will be wanting to turn their fortunes around almost instantly.

That being said, none of the players listed above started during their 3-0 victory against Fulham in their last game. Whether this will influence Dean Smith’s thinking of his tactics, remains to be seen, but it will certainly impact his options off the bench.

Whatever happens, the Villains will have to go toe-to-toe with the Reds to prove they have what it takes to secure their Premier League status once more.

Will Villa struggle against Liverpool with their injury woes? Join the conversation by commenting below…

Plymouth Argyle manager Ryan Lowe has been tipped to take a managerial vacancy at a former Premier League club, although local media have dismissed the likelihood of him defecting from Home Park.

According to Plymouth Herald, the 41-year-old is highly unlikely to leave the Pilgrims for the vacant manager’s job at Bolton Wanderers, having been installed by some bookmakers as the favourite for the gig in Lancashire.

Plymouth Herald added that Argyle have a “long-held policy” of refusing to comment on any speculation linking their players or management with moves to other clubs.

Plymouth Herald identified three key reasons as to why Lowe is unlikely to leave Home Park for Bolton. Firstly, he is under contract at the Pilgrims for another two years, so the Trotters would need to pay a large compensation fee to release him from that commitment, something which seems most unlikely given the parlous financial state of a club just relegated to League Two.

The media outlet also claimed that Lowe is fully focused on his current role, having already drawn up transfer targets for 2020/21, while adding that his previous as manager of Bolton’s local rivals Bury would not make him an ideal fit for the Trotters.

The 41-year-old has done a tremendous job so far at Plymouth, guiding them to an immediate promotion back to League One having won 24 of his 45 matches in charge (53.33%) and gained 68 points from their 37 league matches (1.84 per game) before the season was abandoned.

The Liverpool native has only just masterminded Plymouth’s promotion out of League Two, so it would make very little sense for him to drop back down to the division by taking on a role at a club who have suffered two successive relegations and whose financial woes nearly drove them out of business last year.

Lowe is on to a good thing at Home Park and all the signs from the Plymouth Herald are that he has no intention of putting his efforts into anything other than building upon the fine work he has done so far with the Pilgrims.

Plymouth fans, do you expect more clubs to target Lowe as a possible candidate for managerial vacancies? Share your views in the comments section below!

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O Cruzeiro sofreu a sua primeira derrota no Campeonato Mineiro. E o momento não poderia ser pior: jogo de ida da semifinal. Após 11 partidas de invencibilidade – nove vitórias e dois empates –, a equipe comandada por Deivid deixou o estádio Independência, na tarde deste sábado, com um revés por 2 a 0 para o América-MG. O tropeço pode custar a classificação à final do Estadual.

A Raposa, agora, necessita de um triunfo por dois ou mais gols no compromisso de volta, marcado para o próximo domingo (24), no Mineirão, para assegurar a chegada à decisão do torneio regional. O Coelho, por sua vez, pode até perder que garante a vaga. Vale lembrar que, no ano passado, o time celeste foi eliminado pelo arquirrival Atlético-MG nesta fase da competição.

RelacionadasCruzeiroFábio critica postura do Cruzeiro em derrota para o América no MineiroCruzeiro16/04/2016

O Cruzeiro manteve a ideia de jogo que agrada ao técnico Deivid. Com posse de bola e trocas de passe, a equipe ocupou todos os setores do gramado e evitou que o adversário chegasse ao ataque. O trio de meio-campistas formado por Henrique, Lucas Romero e Ariel Cabral deu dinâmica à equipe, mas não foi o suficiente para os homens de frente aproveitarem. No único lance de perigo, Rafael Silva até balançou a rede, mas a arbitragem assinalou posição irregular do jogador, que realmente estava à frente do último defensor.

O América-MG quase não incomodou Fábio, mas deixou a etapa inicial em vantagem. Adalberto foi o único atleta a finalizar contra o gol adversário. E o zagueiro que, no primeiro lance, mandou nas mãos do goleiro balançou a rede no segundo. Ele aproveitou desvio de Sueliton após falta cobrada por Tiago Luis e balançou a rede a dois minutos do fim.

Na volta do intervalo, Deivid alterou o esquema do Cruzeiro. O treinador sacou Ariel Cabral e colocou Elber. A intenção era atuar com três homens municiando o centroavante Rafael Silva. No início da etapa complementar, a ideia não foi bem-sucedida. O América passou a ter mais espaços e criou boas chances de marcar. Fábio evitou os gols de Victor Rangel e Bryan em dois lances consecutivos. Na sequência, Tiago Luís tentou encobrir Fábio e, por pouco, não conseguiu. A bola atingiu a trave esquerda do visitante.

E o América-MG seguiu em cima do adversário. Com muita espaço no meio de campo, teve ótimas oportunidades, todas criadas por Tiago Luis. O meia-atacante, inclusive, foi quem arquitetou o lance que acarretou no segundo gol do Coelho, marcado por Victor Rangel.

FICHA TÉCNICA
AMÉRICA-MG x CRUZEIRO

Motivo: Partida de ida, semifinal do Mineiro 2016
Data/hora: 16/04/2016, às 16h20
Local: Arena Independência, em Belo Horizonte (MG)
Árbitro: Igor Junio Benevenuto
Assistentes: Marcus Vinícius Gomes e Magno Arantes Lira
Cartão amarelo: Tiago Luis, Sueliton, Claudinei (América-MG); Lucas Romero, Ariel Cabral (Cruzeiro)

Gols: Adalberto – 43’/1ºT (1-0); Victor Rangel – 30’/2ºT (2-0)

AMÉRICA-MG: João Ricardo; Pablo, Sueliton, Adalberto e Bryan; Leandro Guerreiro, Claudinei, Tony e Tiago Luis (Ernandes); Rafael Bastos (Danilo) e Victor Rangel (Borges). Técnico: Givanildo Oliveira.

CRUZEIRO: Fábio; Mayke, Léo, Bruno Rodrigo e Sánchez Miño; Lucas Romero, Henrique e Ariel Cabral (Elber); Alisson, De Arrascaeta (Matias Pisano) e Rafael Silva (Allano). Técnico: Deivid.

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De todos os jogadores do atual elenco vascaíno, um em especial tem motivos para estar mais ansioso neste início de semana: Yago Pikachu. O lateral-direito tem uma bonita história pelo Paysandu e muitos gols no Mangueirão, palco do duelo entre Vasco e Remo na próxima quarta-feira, pela Copa do Brasil.

– O resultado do sorteio me deixou bastante feliz. Terei a chance de reencontrar familiares e amigos, além de voltar a atuar no Mangueirão,que conheço muito bem. A torcida do Vasco é muito grande em Belém e acredito que a festa na nossa chegada será tão linda quanto no Espírito Santo e em Brasília. Se receber uma oportunidade, vou buscar fazer o que fiz no Paysandu. Busco fazer gol em todos os jogos, mas ainda não saiu. Quem sabe ele não sai na minha cidade, contra um adversário que enfrentei muito – disse o jogador.

A relação do jogador com o estado vai ajudar mesmo é a comissão técnica do cruz-maltino. Natural do Pará, Pikachu costuma acompanhar o futebol do estado e sabe muito bem como vem o elenco atual do próximo adversário cruz-maltino.

– Sigo acompanhando bastante o Campeonato Paraense. O Remo manteve a base do elenco que conseguiu o acesso para Série C no ano passado. Além disso, eles contrataram alguns jogadores importantes. A principal jogada deles é com o Eduardo Ramos e temos que neutralizar. O Jorginho ainda não conversou comigo, até porque tivemos um jogo importante antes da estreia. Quando estivermos falando de Copa do Brasil, vou passar para ele algumas informações – revelou Yago Pikachu.

A fresh transfer report has left many Celtic fans fuming this week.

According to The Times Chile, Man City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo is a target for the Scottish Premiership champions with the veteran set to be out of contract at the end of the season.

It’s safe to say that his arrival wouldn’t go down well with the Hoops’ faithful, here are just a few reasons why…

The 37-year-old was brandished everything from a “calamity” to being “shocking” with the Citizens backup stopper playing just 16 times this season, mostly from domestic cup competitions, fans at Parkhead really don’t want to see him make the switch north.

As per the aforementioned source, Celtic are also looking at Burnley’s Joe Hart and Watford’s Ben Foster yet it’s only one man they really desire – current loan star Fraser Forster.

How’s your Celtic knowledge? Always been a loyal fan? Well can you spot Stilian Petrov from John Hartson? Give it a go if you’re brave enough …

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The Saints loanee has been Neil Lennon’s regular glovesman this campaign, recording 17 clean sheets in 39 appearances in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

Although it remains to be seen if they can land the 6 foot 7 giant permanently this summer.

Some members of the Hoops’ faithful are so adamant that they are better off without Bravo that they have suggested that backup goalie Scott Bain is even a better option.

The 28-year-old has been at Celtic since January 2018 and has made a total of 46 appearances.

Clearly, the overwhelming majority of the Bhoys fanbase would be against signing the veteran stopper. As per Spotrac, the 37-year-old is lavishing it up at City on £80k-per-week, something that Celtic could probably do without spending given Bravo’s age.

AND in other news, Celtic fans discuss Kristoffer Ajer amid fresh reports…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Paul Merson insists the north London derby has lost its edge and has called on Arsenal to appoint former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, per The Debate, via HITC.

What’s he said?

The Gunners have sacked Unai Emery, while Spurs replaced Pochettino with Jose Mourinho just a fortnight ago.

Now, with Arsenal on the hunt for a new manager, Merson has implored the club to appoint the Argentine, reasoning that the rivalry between the two clubs is nowhere near as feverish as it once was.

Asked if he would look to appoint Pochettino, he said: “I would. I think them days are long gone of Arsenal-Tottenham. It’s not their biggest game anymore.

“If you ask the Arsenal players and the Tottenham players, I think they would rather beat Chelsea or Man United.

“You ask the foreign players [of Arsenal and Tottenham] they have grown up watching Man United, and teams like that. They want to beat Man United.

“Tottenham and Arsenal isn’t the biggest game anymore. For the fans it is, but it’s not for the players. If I was Arsenal, I would get Pochettino. Would he go? I don’t know.”

A testament

This is, ironically, perhaps a testament to the job that Pochettino did at Spurs.

They finished above the Gunners in each of the last three seasons and are currently ahead of them under Mourinho’s management.

Spurs, then, probably do have bigger fish to fry; they want to beat the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool to prove that they are among the best teams in the league.

Playing and beating Arsenal, though, will always hold a special place in the hearts of supporters, regardless of their league position.

Watch Man United vs Tottenham Live and Free with Amazon Prime

And after Pochettino turned Spurs into a better side than the Gunners, to join them would be close to sacrilege.

Spurs fans had better hope that their ex-boss feels the same way, instead of agreeing with Merson’s surprising take.

Meanwhile, Spurs are set to be rivalled by Premier League giants for a Ligue 1 star.

Hopefully this mindset trickles down to the fans and all areas of the club, because Arsenal need a renewed sense of unity now more than ever.

Barcelona had a really successful evening when they hosted Celta Vigo at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

The Blaugrana managed to snatch away all three points with a good performance and a 4-1 victory, courtesy of Lionel Messi and his sublime hat-trick that included two free-kick goals.

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But even though Messi was very much the star of the show once again, Ernesto Valverde should be satisfied with a couple of other performances as well.

Ousmane Dembele started the game on the bench but once he was introduced later on, the young Frenchman really did impress.

Many of the fans were quick to actually recognise that and felt that they should give him some support as he deserves it.

Some of them called him Barcelona’s biggest threat next to Messi, and one fan even compared him to Cristiano Ronaldo.

It seems that they have not yet given up hope on their talented forward.

You can see some of their reactions and comments down in the tweets below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Daily Star, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is weighing up the decision to send young goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher out on loan, with Preston interested in his services.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the 20-year-old glovesman has made two appearances for the first-team this season, with both of those coming in the Carabao Cup.

Kelleher firstly kept a clean sheet in the 2-0 win over MK Dons, before saving a penalty in a shootout win over Arsenal to hand his side a 5-4 victory in the battle from 12 yards – the scoring had finished 5-5 before the shootout took place.

The report states that Klopp is weighing up the decision to loan the player who the club feel could be a first-team starter in the future.

Loan would make perfect sense for everyone involved

Loaning the Republic of Ireland U21 stopper out would be the best option for everyone involved.

That wouldn’t be the case if Kelleher was the only option behind Alisson Becker, but Klopp has Adrian to rely on for the cup competitions so he should feel comfortable enough to sanction a loan exit for the 20-year-old.

The former Borussia Dortmund boss has already described the academy graduate as a “sensational talent”, so in that respect, it would be unfair on the youngster to restrict his game time to a few cup appearances here and there – doing that will not see Kelleher make significant improvement anytime soon.

Furthermore, a loan to Preston seems like a good option given Alex Neil’s side’s form right now – they are flying high in the Championship and are on course to mount a genuine challenge for promotion.

Loaning Kelleher out would help the keeper’s development, while also allowing Adrian to make more appearances – it is a move that just makes too much sense for the European champions and is one that should be completed in January.

It’s not an understatement to suggest that Manchester United is an incredibly toxic place to be at the moment.Their defeat on Sunday against Newcastle United puts the club just two points above the relegation zone heading into the international break, which couldn’t have come at a better time by the looks of things.The players look tired, miserable, out of answers, without confidence, nervous, abysmal, and completely out of their depth. But where did it all go so wrong for the 20-time champions of England?Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Gary Neville is usually spot on about everything he says about his former side, and during his post-match analysis for Sky Sports, he determined that Old Trafford had been brought to its knees by consistently poor and aimless recruitment. Alexis Sanchez, Radamel Falcao, Angel di Maria, and Romelu Lukaku to name a few wayward signings, off the top of our heads.

However, while Neville suggests spending the way out of the problem is a sound solution, we’re not entirely sure Jake Humphrey agrees…

Liverpool, who currently sit top of the table having won all eight of their opening games, signed Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino for a combined total of £97m – a prime example of smart, football-minded business.