Hercules will be out to extend their four-match home winning streak when they host Barcelona in La Liga action on Saturday.
Esteban Vigo’s side have been in brilliant form at their Estadio Jose Rico Perez home, scoring 13 goals in their past four wins there, but interestingly did not keep a clean sheet in the same streak.
Hercules’ away form has been the opposite of their home equivalent, going winless in their past eight, and not scoring in their past six league trips, in a clear indication the 12th-placed side in the Spanish top flight is exponentially better in front of their home faithful than elsewhere.
Barcelona, however, do not seem to mind the venue and enter the match as strong favourites as they seek to maintain their spot on top of the league.
The Catalans can increase their lead with a win and anything but a Real Madrid victory, but the boys from the Bernabeu should take all three points in their trip to Osasuna on Sunday.
Fifth side Espanyol can close the gap on the top four with a win over third-placed Villarreal at the Estadi Cornella El Prat on Sunday, while fourth-placed Valencia can protect their three-point buffer on Espanyol with victory over Racing Santander away from home on Monday.
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Atletico Madrid can claim sixth place back from the in-form Athletic Bilbao when they welcome the Basque side to Estadio Vicente Calderon on Sunday.
In other fixtures on Saturday, Malaga and Real Zaragoza do battle in a relegation six-pointer, Mallorca host a Sporting Gijon side who are on a rare two-game winning streak, bottom-placed Levante welcome 10th-placed Getafe, Real Sociedad can get back onto the winners’ list when they host Almeria and Deportivo La Coruna take on eighth side Sevilla.
Manchester City’s standards have been so high in a season that has seen them march relentlessly towards the Premier League title, as well as lifting the EFL Cup, that a run of three defeats represents easily their worst spell of the season.
The high-profile nature of the matches – which arguably made up their biggest of the season – means that the timing of the slump could not have been any worse for the former Barcelona manager.
That means he takes his side to Wembley to face Tottenham on Saturday with his side suddenly rattled and slightly vulnerable and has no shortage of questions to answer ahead of the trip to North London.
Football FanCast have taken a closer look at some of the issues that will be occupying Guardiola’s mind as he looks to get his side back on track and avoid making it four defeats in a row on Saturday…
Should Aguero be recalled?
Soccer Football – Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg – Manchester City vs Liverpool – Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain – April 10, 2018 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola sat in the stands Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
On a night when City needed goals against Liverpool, Aguero was left on the bench as Guardiola went in search of thrust from wide areas and midfield control.
It nearly paid off and if City had gone in 2-0 up at half-time as they should have – if Leroy Sane’s goal wasn’t disallowed for offside – then we might be viewing Guardiola’s decision in a different light.
However, the fact remains that it didn’t come off and the City boss surely has to consider bringing the Argentine back into the starting eleven here.
Who should play in holding midfield?
As City lost their heads in the second half of last weekend’s Manchester derby, Fernandinho picked up his tenth booking of the season and that means that he will miss the next two matches.
That could pose something of a problem for Guardiola because there is no obvious candidate to stand in. Ilkay Gundogan could deputise as a conservative midfielder or maybe the Catalan – ever the innovator – could move John Stones into the role.
Either way, there should be space in the hole for Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli to exploit and one of Guardiola’s main concerns will be how to plug that gap.
Who is Spurs’ biggest threat?
Harry Kane is now back in the fold and – after a week of consternation – it was decided that he was back among the goals with a glanced strike against Stoke to leave him four behind Mo Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.
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However, with the English striker still not quite at his sharpest, it is Christian Eriksen who may well represent the biggest threat to Guardiola’s vulnerable backline.
As we’ve mentioned, there might well be space in behind the City midfield and the man valued at £63m by Transfermarkt will fancy his chances of getting away from Kyle Walker and exploiting it.
Speculation has been changing daily as to whether David de Gea will be leaving Manchester United at the end of the season.
United’s No.1 has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid as a long-term replacement for 33-year-old Iker Casillas who has been linked with possible moves to fellow Premier League sides Liverpool and Arsenal this summer.
de Gea signed for the Red Devils in 2011 and after a shaky start – which saw many slate him as he couldn’t match up to the brilliance of Edwin Van der Sar. Since then, his form has greatly increased and this season he has helped United into the top three which has sparked the interest from Spain. Superb goalkeepers are hard to find the two best in the world Casillas and Gianlugi Buffon have split the goalkeeper spot in the FIFA World XI for the last seven years.
It was previously thought that Buffon would be retiring in the summer with Juve starting to look for a replacement but the 37-year-old has insisted he isn’t ready to hang up his gloves just yet. He told the press, “If I continue at this level physically and mentally, I can guarantee another two or three years at the top level. I’m not a number two, I want to be a 40-year-old who is still number one.”
Whilst the goalkeeper has been one of the best in the world for some time he may not be the right signing for United.
The Red Devils’ reserve shot stoppers, Anders Lindergaard and Victor Valdes are 30-years-old and 33-years-old, respectively. This means that signing Buffon would leave them with three goalkeepers over 30 and no youngsters to develop. There are plenty of young talented players out there in Europe and maybe United need to look at the upcoming talent like Jack Butland.
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The 22-year-old Stoke player has had a mixed season so far. In October he joined Derby on loan where he was an immediate success; he was soon called back by Stoke and has since been back-up for Asmir Begovic. Since returning to Stoke he has only played in FA Cup and League Cup matches but he has recently signed a contract extension to keep him at Stoke until 2019. Despite this Butland is regarded as a superb goalie and while it was believed Begovic may leave the Potters at the end of the season it looks like this might not happen.
Butland began his career at Birmingham City and established himself as a well-renowned player; he has represented England at all age groups and in 2012 he became the youngest goalkeeper to play for the senior England team. With strong reflexes and a big frame he was once one of the most sought after English players with many expecting him to be Joe Hart’s main challengers for the Three Lions but his career seems to have hit a slump and maybe a move to a club where he can develop under some of the best coaches in the world is what he needs.
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There are a lot of ifs and buts about Man United’s goalkeeper situation but if de Gea leaves and they end up on the lookout for a new goalie a lot more research needs to be done about just what they need. Do they want a straight replacement or will they let Lindegaard or Valdes step up the plate and bring in a protégée?
Arsenal are preparing to sell Gervinho in the summer, and use the funds to sign Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Reports in the Daily Mail say that Arsenal are ready to accept a £12million bid from Galatasaray in the summer, and will use the money to bring Liverpool shot-stopper Jose Reina to London.
The Turkish giants are keen on the 25-year-old after seeing impressive performances in the African Nations Cup for Ivory Coast, and are looking to add to their star line-up including Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder.
Gervinho has struggled with the club’s fans over recent months, and has received criticism for some poor performances in Arsenal colours. The Ivorian will be looking to turn that around and help the Gunners into the Champions League spaces in the league table.
Arsenal have already lined-up their next transfer move as soon as Gervinho is sold, with the club ready to bid for Reina. The Gunners have been linked with the Spaniard for a few years, and are ready to turn that interest into a solid offer.
Reina had been one of the best ‘keepers in the league for many years, but this season mistakes by the Spaniard have cost Liverpool, most notably his error at the Etihad against Manchester City that stopped Liverpool earning a superb away win against the champions.
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Aresnal’s best chance of signing Reina will be if they can offer Champions League football, and will need to take all 3 points at home to Reading on Saturday to keep chasing that 4th place in the league.
West Ham United could have Andy Carroll available for Monday’s Premier League clash with Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium.
Carroll has not represented the Hammers since picking up an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the early stages of 2018.
The 29-year-old returned to first-team training earlier this week, however, and has been tipped to play a part against Stoke on Monday night.
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Carroll, who was linked with Chelsea in January, has only scored two Premier League goals during a disappointing season, and has been the subject of ridicule from West Ham fans throughout the campaign.
There is no question that the Englishman is a monster of a centre-forward on his day, but the West Ham fans are questioning how long it will be before he is back on the treatment table.
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The Hammers are not quite out of the woods when it comes to the threat of relegation this season, and Carroll, who is valued at £9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, might well have a big part to play.
A selection of the Twitter reaction to the striker’s return can be seen below:
Even though David Ospina and Arsenal slumped to a disappointing 3-1 Champions League home defeat to Monaco in midweek, the Colombian shot-stopper, who has been in fine form recently, has done himself no harm in retaining the No. 1 jersey at the Emirates Stadium.
Ospina has come into the side after Wojciech Szczesny’s horror show in the Gunners’ 2-0 defeat to Southampton on New Year’s Day. Since then, the ex-Nice keeper, who signed for a £3m fee from the French club in July, has enjoyed an extended stay in the starting XI and hasn’t looked back. The 26-year-old has dominated his box, made some excellent saves, and proved to Arsene Wenger that he’s more than worthy of keeping Szczesny out of the side.
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Ospina has recently admitted that his inclusion in the team of late, could have made life a little awkward between himself and the Polish goalkeeper. In an interview with the Evening Standard, the Colombia international said; “Unfortunately for us goalkeepers, that’s just the way it is.
“The rest of the players have got more possibilities of playing. But we do maintain a good relationship and we have to in the training sessions because otherwise it becomes difficult for the team and for the coach.”
Szczesny had been the regular Arsenal No. 1 since the 2011-2012 season, when he played all 38 of the Gunners’ Premier League games. Some may feel his omission from the first team is a little harsh on a player, who’s served the north London club pretty well over the last few years.
Having said that, the Poland international hasn’t covered himself in glory in recent months – as well as some shaky performances in the Arsenal goal – his error-filled display against the Saints, was followed up by being caught smoking in the changing room showers after the defeat, the Mirror reported. Wenger obviously didn’t take too kindly to the 24-year-old’s poor error of judgment, and Szczesny has yet to feature in the league since.
It’s still unclear whether the ex-Legia Warsaw keeper is still being punished by his spell on the sidelines, but nonetheless, Ospina has come in and proved to be a more than capable replacement for Szczesny. In the six Premier League games Ospina has featured in, he’s only conceded four goals, and kept an impressive three clean sheets in the process.
The Gunners may have an awful lot of work to do to turnaround their 3-1 deficit against Monaco in the Champions League, but they are still on course for one of the much-coveted top four places, and are still fighting strong in the FA Cup. With Wenger opting for his Polish stopper in the last two FA Cup games, it proves that both keepers are going to play vital roles in the way Arsenal’s season is going to pan out.
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If Szczesny previously found life easy at Arsenal prior to Ospina’s arrival, then he’s certainly being kept on his toes now. For the first time in a long while, Wenger now has two top class goalkeepers at his disposal, and the commanding Colombian is doing no harm in keeping the No. 1 spot at the Emirates for the foreseeable future.
When the January transfer window closed three weeks ago a lot of Tottenham supporters were asking questions of Daniel Levy as to why he didn’t ensure at least one striker was brought in to maintain the Champions League push.
There was the feeling that a huge opportunity to strike a blow to their rivals, for the rest of the season, had been lost.
Levy softened the blow at least by making sure that Lewis Holtby arrived six months before schedule, coughing up the necessary £1.5million fee to attain his services.
This though was not enough to remove the nagging doubts amongst Lilywhites supporters. Their chairman had to have a reason for why he did not go for broke and sign the missing attacking piece to the jigsaw alongside Defoe and Adebayor.
An explanation that seemed to fit the bill would be that Tottenham simply had to spend within their means financially. A lot of fans had reluctantly accepted that Levy was a businessman who had done a great job over the years, so they had to understand his judgement.
There had to be a longer term view and most would have warranted Levy using the stadium as an excuse for not generating enough income to provide money for the transfer kitty. But would such an argument really hold any real steel?
White Hart Lane has been seen as one of the main contributors to Tottenham not quite being able to consistently hold their seat at the Champions League table in recent seasons. The 36,320 all seater stadium may sell out every week, but it does not provide anywhere near the income that their neighbours at Arsenal down the road enjoy.
It is a sore wound that while the Gunners netted around £5million for the last derby match at The Emirates when the reverse fixture is played at White Hart Lane in March the estimated return will be around half that figure.
This is no secret but is this any excuse for failure if Tottenham fail to finish amongst the top four and once again tussle with Europe’s elite clubs this season? No, certainly not.
I am sure nobody affiliated with Tottenham Hotspur will look down upon having a long term view, but isn’t using the stadium as a weapon to not spend just a smokescreen for the fact that Levy has left AVB with not enough tools to succeed?
In terms of net spending Mr Levy backed Harry Redknapp in his last two seasons at the club to the tune of over £50million. This season AVB has just £500,000 in net spend.
The performances on the pitch have not suffered as a result. The Portuguese manager has managed to bring the very best out of Gareth Bale, but he has also managed to bring on players such as Sandro this season too, much to his credit and not his chairman’s.
In the summer, Levy showed his capability to have foresight. He did this by sacking Harry Redknapp and seeing that a vibrant new manager would revitalise the club when a time desperately needed it. He gave Villas Boas a Premier League platform to flourish which he has gone on to thrive upon.
It is though possibly more interesting that Levy showed his ability to see into the future of the club in the transfer market too when he sanctioned the signing of Hugo Lloris.
At the time, signing the French international may not have been a pressing need but he was willing to take the gamble and sign a world class keeper for an £8million fee.
This January, Levy was required to make the same courageous move in ascertaining a striker. AVB may have said that signing a striker was unlikely but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t have wanted one.
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It may turn out that Tottenham have enough quality in their squad to get over the line and into the Champions League places. If this is the case it will be down to the superb man management of Villas Boas. Levy would have to thank his lucky stars should this happen.
Whatever the outcome, the issue of White Hart Lane won’t go away and ensuring a solution so the club can bring in more money to be able to fund transfers is pivotal, but this is not the current underlying issue.
If Daniel Levy wants to support AVB for the long term he may want to seriously consider protecting his boss by ensuring the nucleus of the side stays put, as well as ensuring that he backs his manager to the hilt in the next transfer market.
Should Levy continue to take such unecessary gambles on transfer issues in years to come it won’t be White Hart Lane that scuppers their Champions League ambitions. It will be losing his star players who fail to see their future in North London and a young and talented manager in the form of Andre Villas Boas.
Most teams that head into a two-legged tie 3-0 down from the opening fixture, will not feel too optimistic about their chances of progression.
Manchester City supporters, though, are not giving up, and it is hardly a surprise given how scintillating the team have been this season.
Pep Guardiola’s men have a 16-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, and will tie up the title with a win over Manchester United this weekend.
The Cityzens have been beaten just once in 31 top-flight games, and that was by Liverpool, who are the ones holding onto a 3-0 advantage over their fellow North-West outfit in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
City were stunned in the first 45 minutes of the encounter as Jurgen Klopp’s men went 3-0 up thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane.
City did not register a single shot on target, and frontman Gabriel Jesus suffered plenty of criticism from supporters as a result.
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Ahead of next week’s second leg, some fans are hopeful that Raheem Sterling, who was brought on to a chorus of boos from the Liverpool crowd on Wednesday night, will be the saviour.
The England international is heavily disliked by Liverpool supporters due to his decision to leave them for City in 2015.
Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.Comment from discussion When Sterling makes it 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg.
West Ham’s revival this season has been down to several important factors; Big Sam’s boys have been rejuvenated by their new signings who have brought about a distinct improvement in front of goal, and solidified by strong leadership at the back which is in no small part down to Winston Reid.
The New Zealand international has gained many plaudits throughout his time in the Premier League for his tough tackling and solid aerial qualities, despite an uneasy start to his East end career back in 2010. With the January transfer window now upon us and West Ham’s defensive leader slowly moving out of the shadows and into the spot-light, would a reported move to Arsenal really suit Winston Reid? Or would it simply be a step too far for the towering centre-back?
The Kiwi star didn’t exactly have the greatest start to life at Upton Park, as playing at right-back under Avram Grant, his Premier League debut ending in a resounding 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa. Since West Ham’s timely relegation to the Championship that season however, Reid has come on in leaps and bounds to be one of the most promising centre-backs in English football.
The 26-year-old, who previously plied his trade with Danish outfit Midtjylland, has subsequently become a main-stay in the West Ham back four for his more than solid performances. His reading of the game is near flawless, he has the calmness necessary to make it in the Premier League, and his strength in the tackle would leave even the most burly strikers bruised.
One area of Reid’s game that has not received as much praise however is his often unpredictable distribution from the back. The New Zealand star isn’t exactly the most confident on the ball and he lacks the pace to get himself out of tricky situations, with the defender’s touch often cause for concern around Upton Park.
Such technical deficiencies would seem to throw his potential move to Arsenal remain in doubt. We all know that Arsene Wenger prefers players who are comfortable on the ball and can be categorised as ‘proper footballers.’ Whilst Reid may be one hell of a ‘proper defender’, it takes a certain style and finesse to play at the very top. At this current stage in time, that particular area of Reid’s game may be holding him back.
The West Ham man would nevertheless provide the Gunners with some much needed tenacity and resilience at the back. Wenger’s side have displayed a distinct lack in defensive meanness in recent years, with some pundits even going as far as labeling them as push-overs. In that respect, the promising centre-back could be the perfect addition down at the Emirates.
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Perhaps Arsenal will decide to wait until the summer on this one as with Reid’s contract with the Hammers is due to expire. Wenger could be shrewd enough to pick him up on the free should an club not come in for the Kiwi first.
Wherever Reid eventually ends up he will likely prove a success, even if that means he loses the hero status he currently has at Upton Park. With any move to the Emirates requiring the utmost ability with the ball however, perhaps Winston Reid’s defensive qualities won’t be enough to see him make it to the Emirates this January.
There’s a strange obsession in football whereby people want to see this Barcelona team—arguably the greatest any of us have ever seen—play in England to prove one thing or another. Barcelona performing a full league campaign in England will either legitimise the claim that Barcelona are indeed the best football side we’ve seen, or it will hammer home the idea that this team have been cuddled and comforted to glory through the lack of fight from La Liga teams.
Underneath it all, in waters that aren’t as muddy as people would like them to believe, Barcelona’s dominance is an indirect attack on English football. It’s a claim that the greatest team, the greatest player and the most breathtaking football didn’t come from English shores. Fans want to be proved right that the Premier League is king and that the kings of football would become mere peasants when thrown in against the heavy-hitters from the English game.
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Well I’m not having any of it. I’m not saying Barcelona could win the Premier League, I’m saying they could do so in equally convincing fashion as they have done in the past when they lifted the Spanish crown. They won’t like it “up ‘em” when they go up north and the rain beats down a little harder? Quite the opposite: they’d thrive under it, they’d play faster and with greater ferocity. The stakes would be raised and so would their game. The idea that Barcelona have never played a difficult, tough or physical opponent is wrong. And more often than not they’ve won.
Who has been the greatest threat to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona? Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese manager ruffled their feathers when he was in charge at Inter Milan and during that two-legged Champions League semi-final. Barcelona could have won, maybe they should have won. Julio Cesar was one of the world’s best goalkeepers that night in the Camp Nou. Bojan should have converted while at the same time not having his perfectly legitimate goal ruled out. The most important factor of that game is that Barcelona didn’t shy away, they didn’t hide when a physical team came to town and they still played their fantastic brand of football.
Would their style of play work in the Premier League? Why not? Many clubs have tried to emulate what they’ve done, either by adding players who they believe are good enough to recreate that level of football, appointing managers who follow that line of thinking to the Catalans and the Dutch, or going on to hire people who held significant roles in the conversion from theory to practice.
The idea that Barcelona wouldn’t like to travel to Stoke City or square-up to one of Sam Allardyce’s teams is nonsense. Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Everton, and whoever else you want to name have gone to places like that and won. Manchester United is and will remain for a long time the highest standard of Premier League football – they’re the best England have to offer and have been so for the best part of two decades. Barcelona toyed with them, drew them in and delivered crippling blow after crippling blow. United, Chelsea and City are the standards Barca have to live up to in England, not Stoke. Barcelona have beaten the best England has to offer and will continue to do so in the future.
And lets look to another important factor in the current makeup of this Barcelona team. Tito Vilanova’s team are greatly different to Guardiola’s. Ok, the principles remain the same but this is Vilanova’s team now. They’ve played against the most lethal natural no 9 in the game and their closest rivals in the La Liga title race and annihilated them. They enjoyed the occasion, it was something different and it was an Atletico Madrid who weren’t afraid of the obvious gulf in class in various areas of the pitch.
Barcelona have to travel to Pamplona every season and face the always tricky and noticeably English style of Osasuna. Barcelona have to travel to Sam Mames and face the noisy crowds in Bilbao. They’ve had to face Mourinho’s “dirty” tactics and his decision to deploy Pepe as the destroyer in midfield. They came through each of those hurdles not unscathed, but with further evidence that they can do it against the rougher sides in the game.
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Guardiola was far too meticulous, far too aware and far too good to allow his sides to fall at the hands of physicality. They have their enforcers in the team, but Barcelona’s group as a whole are far tougher than they may look.
It would be an interesting experiment to see the results of Barcelona in English football. But as I’ve said time and again in the past, it’s not needed. Would they win the Premier League? They’re the best team in Spain, the best team in Europe, former world champions. English football is not that special.