List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

With former top 100 recruit Tobias Merriweather entering the transfer portal, here are a few intriguing potential destinations for the former Notre Dame wide receiver. Where could he end up?

Newcastle United are planning to firm up their interest in Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips during the January transfer window.

It was a pre-season friendly with a legacy, one that sparked an interest in Pep Guardiola. As he did his research – even with nothing at stake, he wanted to be prepared – he took heed of a manager who plied his trade almost 6,000 miles away, in a league that attracts little attention in England. On Sunday, for Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur, he will share a touchline with Ange Postecoglou as peers: in 2019, they worked within the same wider footballing family, but the similarities may have ended there. Postecoglou coached Yokohama F Marinos; the City Football Group have a stake in the Japanese club and as Manchester City prepared for the 2019-20 season, they faced Yokohama, part-way through a J1 League campaign that saw them crowned champions. “I saw some games before,” Guardiola recalled. “And I said, 'wow, there are things that I like'. I said to the players that I know we are not ready because it is pre-season but we are going to face a good team who can challenge us.” City won 3-1; as Guardiola readily recalled, they had better players. Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling scored that day. The starters also included Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Rodri, Leroy Sane and David and Bernardo Silva. But it formed a conviction in Guardiola that it was worth keeping an eye on the Australian manager in Japan. “He makes football a better place,” the Catalan explained. “Because I'm a manager but I'm also a spectator and I enjoy watching them a lot with the approach they have.” Now they meet as two treble winners, and if Guardiola’s trio of trophies includes the more prestigious prize of the Champions League, Postecoglou did a clean sweep of the Scottish silverware with Celtic. But there is one triple manager of the month this season, and it is the Tottenham head coach. “All Spurs fans and people in England can admit the impact has been big,” Guardiola said, and if, after a stunning start, Postecoglou has suffered three straight defeats, Tottenham are unlikely to go on the defensive at the Etihad Stadium. “If you ask him whether he will change because they are playing against us? Absolutely not. This is not going to happen,” Guardiola said. “I know they lost their last games but you see how they play: courage, high line. It doesn’t matter who jumps to the ball, a lot of combinations, using the keeper for the build-up and arriving in the sides, incredible runners from everywhere, so dynamic. In a few months, you recognise perfectly his team.” All of which reminded him of his initial impression in Japan – “the build-up, how intense their high-pressing, how they use the keeper for the build-up; it was true,” he enthused – and sounds distinctly familiar. They are all traits of Guardiola’s football. A few weeks ago, explaining his tactics, Postecoglou deadpanned: “I’m just copying Pep, mate.” As Guardiola realised, he was not being entirely serious. “It was a joke,” he said, outlining a couple of differences. “I'm not the only person when I was born to become a manager to play a high line. It belongs to him. I would say that sometimes my full-backs go inside [into midfield] but their full-backs go to the pockets, they are attacking midfielders. I never seen that before or use that. It belongs absolutely to him.” That use of full-backs to get into the inside-forward positions, ahead of the midfielders, is an indication of Postecoglou’s boldness. He is an idealist after the trio of pragmatists, an adventurer after the dullards, the Antipodean antithesis to Antonio Conte, Nuno Espirito Santo and Jose Mourinho. And yet, even amid a decidedly mixed few years for Tottenham, they have often had the habit of beating City with the kind of approach – deep defending and quick counter-attacking – that is scarcely the Postecoglou ethos. “You see his team and the influence from the manager is there, compared with the past,” Guardiola said. “You see Antonio Conte's Spurs: you see his stamp, [they] play the way he wants.” The difference does not just lie in the dugout. Guardiola infamously branded Tottenham “the Harry Kane team”. There is no Kane now, and he is reluctant to attach another label to them. “I wouldn't do the same mistake, otherwise my colleagues are angry at me and I don’t want that,” he said. In a way, though, they are the Son Heung-min team: the South Korean has seven goals against City. But with their reinvention as attackers, they are the Postecoglou team. It is a reason why Guardiola is so excited by Sunday. “I think that is such an incredible advert for our game and for our sport,” he said. “When two teams want always to go forward, it's always nice to watch, all the time. It's impossible not to see an interesting game when both teams want to try to do it.” And this time, he won’t have to seek out footage from Japan to watch Angeball. Read More Man City boss Pep Guardiola praises Ange Postecoglou’s impact at Spurs Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou provides Rodrigo Bentancur injury update The answers to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter quiz Guardiola urges Man City fans to come to Spurs clash because it will be ‘fun’ Postecoglou up for challenge of taking injury-hit Spurs to Man City Tottenham boss Postecoglou provides Bentancur injury update

England must beat the Netherlands at Wembley to keep their hopes of topping their Women’s Nations League group and qualifying for next summer’s Olympics alive. The Lionesses suffered a shock defeat to Belgium last month, having also been beaten by the Dutch in September, and sit third in Group A1 after four games. The Lionesses have suffered a World Cup hangover and their first real dip in form after going unbeaten in their first 30 matches under Sarina Wiegman. It means England face must-win games against the Netherlands tonight and Scotland at Hampden on Tuesday to have any hope of topping Nations League Group A1- but they also need results to go their way. England sit three points behind the Netherlands and one point behind Belgium with two games remaining and the Lionesses must reach the Nations League final to secure Great Britain a place at next summer’s Games. Follow all the live action in the blog below and here are the England vs Netherlands latest odds. Read More What do the Lionesses need to do for Team GB to qualify for the Olympics? The Lionesses are back in ‘must-win’ mode: Here’s why it can suit them Beth Mead on her England return: ‘The things I’ve dealt with have made me a stronger person’

Going into week 13, how do the NFL MVP Power Rankings stack up?

As we enter Week 5 of the NBA MVP race, there's still a clear frontrunner in Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. But, he faces stiff competition.

Newcastle United host Manchester United on Saturday night with just one point and one place between them in the Premier League table. Their relative standings might be in close proximity but the two clubs feel worlds apart right now – even as they share a curious overlapping in many factors this season. Both clubs drew in midweek, in Champions League matches with a huge amount resting on the outcomes. The Magpies, of course, earnt the better result but perhaps ended up feeling worse; such is the rollercoaster of emotions within football, holding Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw but conceding in the final minutes to a hotly debated penalty. The Red Devils, meanwhile, threw away a two-goal lead much earlier in the game and still could have won their match, eventually leaving Galatasaray with a 3-3 draw. Neither currently stand to progress in their groups, and both face an uphill battle domestically to regain a top-four place to return and try again among Europe’s elite in 2024-25. It’s the visitors to St. James’ Park who seem to have a host of problems stacked against them: an underperforming, big-money goalkeeper, a manager facing increased scrutiny, a litany of off-field problems this season, an ongoing takeover moving at glacial pace and mutiny among the fanbase towards the current owners, who now look like staying in place. Against that, Newcastle as a club look cohesive and together: a coaching group who have clearly improved the squad, remaining progressive in competitive terms compared to only two years ago and gradually adding to the memorable occasions on home soil. And yet, it’s Man United who come into the game ahead in the table, United who have taken more points across the last four league fixtures and United who have a far shorter injury and absence list to contend with. Such a convoluted mix of truths and perceptions is not uncommon, but this head-to-head in particular looks a potentially defining one in the battle for top-four places. Despite initial appearances, it’s tough to go against Newcastle as being in the better frame of mind to emerge with precious points. Their work rate, team chemistry and near-impeccable home form are all big factors for this fixture in isolation against Ten Hag’s team, who still appear tactically fractured and very brittle mentally when periods of matches go against them. Add in the fact they do not score a shed-load of goals – just 16 is the lowest in the Premier League’s top 12 – and that their away wins this term have all come at teams ranked 14th or lower, and it becomes even more difficult to see the Red Devils pulling off a morale-boosting victory. Looking in more granular detail at the head-to-head battles which might shape the match brings up a wider-lens, longer-term rivalry: players up against each other for places in England’s Euro 2024 squad. With Mason Mount well out of the picture for now, Man United hold perhaps three who would be seen as general certainties under Gareth Southgate: Harry Maguire, now a first-teamer again at club level; Marcus Rashford – woefully out of form and shifted to the right flank recently – and Luke Shaw, just returned from injury at left-back. Maguire appears untouchable, in part due to a lack of elite-level alternative candidates, but arguably the same cannot be said for the other two. Having switched wings, Rashford may now be in direct confrontation with two names of interest to the Three Lions, including one player suggested in some quarters as being so in-form that he cannot be continually overlooked: Anthony Gordon, Newcastle’s left-sided forward, as well as Tino Livramento, nominally a right-back but excellent on the left against PSG. It might be fanciful to suggest Livramento might usurp a senior so quickly and outside his normal role, but with a dearth of consistently available and excellent left-back options around for Southgate, it’s not an impossibility either, particularly if he defends the way he did at the Parc des Princes with regularity. Further forward it’s a different story. By the numbers, Rashford is still having an effect on United’s attack in terms of the basic dribbling and shooting traits he brings, but his end product has been woeful. He takes more shots than Gordon – total number and per 90 league minutes – yet fewer are on target. His decision-making can come into question at times too, with more shots blocked this term than anyone else at Man United has even attempted, Bruno Fernandes aside. And there’s the fact he has tallied just two goals total across all competitions, one a penalty, against Gordon’s five. The Newcastle man has found the finishing touch which had previously been conspicuously lacking, even thriving when asked to lead the line for the team – while Rashford, who has had several stints at the same job at Old Trafford, appears further away than ever at being a regular centre-forward, now even shifted away from his preferred left flank. As considerations for the national team, they overlap in plenty of attributes: ball-carriers at pace, direct runners behind the defence, hard workers defensively and a goal threat in central areas. Form, by its very nature, will ebb and flow. It’s no secret which of the two is nearer their peak right now, and if April and May – a time of trophies and international selections – seems a long way away, one team appears to be far better placed to give their forward a platform to consistently succeed. One game in isolation won’t decide the fate of these clubs, who pushes for a top-four finish or indeed who makes the final 23 for England. But if the game is decided by the in-form Gordon in particular, expect the calls for inclusion to only grow louder – and Rashford is the obvious candidate who would need to make way. Read More Newcastle boss Eddie Howe believes more VAR ‘would ruin the game’ Newcastle did not deserve penalty heartbreak - they were robbed by VAR Champions League: What do Man United, Arsenal and Newcastle need to reach last 16? Alan Shearer rages at ‘disgusting’ penalty decision as Newcastle denied famous win Newcastle let down by ‘poor’ penalty call to leave Howe ‘hugely frustrated’ PSG vs Newcastle LIVE: Champions League result and reaction

The takeover of Everton FC by 777 Partners is facing increasing scrutiny from Premier League officials studying the

The FA Cup reaches the third round proper as clubs from the Premier League and Championship enter the competition. 64 balls will be in the hat as English football’s most prestigious cup competition intensifies. Manchester City are the defending champions after beating cross-town rivals Manchester United in an historic derby final at Wembley in June. The club’s seventh FA Cup triumph was followed a week later by Champions League success as Pep Guardiola’s side secured a treble. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the draw. When is the FA Cup third round draw? The draw for the third round proper of the 2023/24 FA Cup will be held at about 1pm GMT on Sunday 3 December. The proceedings will be conducted in advance of the second round tie between Eastleigh and Reading, which kicks off at 1.30pm. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the draw live on ITV1 as they build-up to live coverage of the Eastleigh vs Reading match from 12.40pm GMT. Registered users will be able to stream via ITVX. Which teams are in the draw? The ball numbers are as follows: 1. AFC Bournemouth 2. Arsenal 3. Aston Villa 4. Birmingham City 5. Blackburn Rovers 6. Brentford 7. Brighton & Hove Albion 8. Bristol City 9. Burnley 10. Cardiff City 11. Chelsea 12. Coventry City 13. Crystal Palace 14. Everton 15. Fulham 16. Huddersfield Town 17. Hull City 18. Ipswich Town 19. Leeds United 20. Leicester City 21. Liverpool 22. Luton Town 23. Manchester City 24. Manchester United 25. Middlesbrough 26. Millwall 27. Newcastle United 28. Norwich City 29. Nottingham Forest 30. Plymouth Argyle 31. Preston North End 32. Queens Park Rangers 33. Rotherham United 34. Sheffield United 35. Sheffield Wednesday 36. Southampton 37. Stoke City 38. Sunderland 39. Swansea City 40. Tottenham Hotspur 41. Watford 42. West Bromwich Albion 43. West Ham United 44. Wolverhampton Wanderers 45. Maidstone United or Barrow 46. Wycombe Wanderers or Morecambe 47. Notts County or Shrewsbury Town 48. Chesterfield or Leyton Orient 49. Aldershot Town or Stockport County 50. Alfreton Town or Walsall 51. Blackpool or Forest Green Rovers 52. Cambridge United or Fleetwood Town 53. Bolton Wanderers or Harrogate Town 54. Wrexham or Yeovil Town 55. Crewe Alexandra or Bristol Rovers 56. Peterborough United or Doncaster Rovers 57. Eastleigh or Reading 58. Gillingham or Charlton Athletic 59. Stevenage or Port Vale 60. Newport County or Barnet 61. Oxford United or Grimsby Town 62. York City or Wigan Athletic 63. Sutton United or Horsham 64. AFC Wimbledon or Ramsgate Read More Barnsley kicked out of FA Cup over rule violation Guardiola urges Man City fans to come to Spurs clash because it will be ‘fun’ Tottenham’s evolution represents a gift and a curse against Man City Guardiola urges Man City fans to come to Spurs clash because it will be ‘fun’ Tottenham’s evolution represents a gift and a curse against Man City Postecoglou up for challenge of taking injury-hit Spurs to Man City

For the second offseason in a row, former five-star quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is entering the transfer portal. Here are five potential landing spots for the former Clemson and Oregon State starting quarterback.

UD Las Palmas return home on Friday night after four weeks away, welcoming Getafe in the curtain-raiser for the weekend's action in LaLiga EA Sports. Their play

Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic has discussed his future plans amid transfer interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.