Fixture

Showing 8:05PM, Thursday 16th March: Manchester United Vs FC Rostov

Manchester United will be without injured captain Wayne Rooney for the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie against FC Rostov.

Forward Anthony Martial is also ruled out, but the Frenchman, Luke Shaw and Bastian Schweinsteiger trained with a younger group of players away from the first team on Wednesday.

FC Rostov are without captain Aleksandr Gatskan, who is suspended.

The tie is level at 1-1 after the first leg in Russia.

The winners of the Europa League will earn a place in the Champions League – an attractive prospect for United, who are only sixth in the Premier League.

Midfielder Marouane Fellaini said: “All the staff want to be in Champions League next season. We will do everything to be there.”

Match stats

  • The clubs met for the first time in Russia in what was Rostov’s maiden encounter with an English team.
  • The journey from Rostov to Manchester is around 3,000 km.

Manchester United

  • Manchester United’s record in 10 meetings with Russian sides is won two, drawn seven, lost one. The sole defeat was a 2-1 loss to Zenit St-Petersburg in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup.
  • United have won all four of their Europa League home games this season, scoring 12 goals and conceding one.
  • United got to the last 16 of the competition in 2015-16, but the Uefa Cup/Europa League remains the only major Uefa trophy they have never won.

Rostov

  • Rostov have not won in their past five European away fixtures (drawn three, lost two).
  • The Russian side are making their first appearance in the spring phase of a European competition. This is the 14th fixture of their longest European campaign to date, Champions League assignments included.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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Showing 7:45PM, Wednesday 15th March: Monaco Vs Manchester City

Manchester City will not sit back and defend their first-leg advantage when they face Monaco on Wednesday for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals, says manager Pep Guardiola.

City beat the French side 5-3 at the Etihad Stadium on 21 February.

Monaco have scored 123 goals in all competitions this season and Guardiola believes it would be foolish to let them attack.

“The best way [to defend] is score goals,” he said.

“When one team scores many goals and you think about just defending, you kill yourself. The idea is to try and attack.

“We scored five goals when it’s not easy to score against them. What you have to do is go to score goals.”

Guardiola, who takes charge of his 100th game in Europe on Wednesday, has no new injury concerns for the trip to Stade Louis II.

Striker Gabriel Jesus (foot) and midfielder Ilkay Gundogan (knee) are the only senior absentees.

Captain Vincent Kompany will hope to feature for only the second time since November.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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Showing 7:45PM, Tuesday 14th March: Leicester City Vs Sevilla

Leicester have a near full-strength squad available as they aim to overturn a 2-1 deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie with Spanish side Sevilla.

French midfielder Nampalys Mendy will be missing after he suffered a knee injury during training.

The second leg represents the Foxes’ first home knockout game in Europe’s premier club competition.

They were outplayed in the first leg in Spain but were given hope thanks to Jamie Vardy’s second-half goal.

The first-leg defeat was Claudio Ranieri’s final match as City manager before he was sacked, nine months after leading them to the Premier League title.

Since then they have won both their Premier League matches 3-1 – againstLiverpool and Hull – under Craig Shakespeare, who has been appointed as boss until the end of the season.

Shakespeare says his players will approach the match with renewed self-belief thanks to their recent form.

“It will be a special occasion at the King Power,” he said. “The atmosphere will be electric. I’m expecting the team to take the momentum from the two results, to take the confidence they’ve gained from that and really play on the front foot.

“That’s not saying we’ll be open as we know Seville have some very, very world-class players. But it makes for a very interesting game because of the away goal.”

Asked whether Leicester could trump last season’s unlikely title win by winning the Champions League, Shakespeare replied: “Why not?

“We’re in it. There’s no free game in football. You have to try and win every game.

“You have to show that determination, that competitiveness, and we need to show that in abundance on Tuesday night.”

Jorge Sampaoli’s La Liga side have played four games since the first leg, drawing the last two 1-1, at Alaves and at home against struggling Leganes.

Head-to-head

  • Sevilla claimed a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture, the first time they had ever faced Leicester City in European competition.
  • Leicester have never beaten Spanish opposition in European competition (D1 L4; also Atletico Madrid in 1961-62 Cup Winners Cup and 1997-98 Uefa Cup).
  • Seven of the past nine times a side has lost 2-1 away from home in a Champions League first-leg knockout tie, they have failed to go through.

Leicester

  • Leicester City are the first team since Malaga in 2012-13 to finish top of their group on their Champions League debut.
  • The Foxes were one of only four teams to win all three of their 2016-17 Champions League home group games (Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich & Barcelona being the others).
  • Of the sides still in the competition, Leicester have the lowest average share of possession this season in the Champions League (39.6%).
  • Riyad Mahrez has been directly involved in three of the four goals Leicester have scored at home this season in the Champions League.

Sevilla

  • Sevilla have reached the Champions League knockout stages in three of their four appearances. However, they have never gone past the last 16.
  • No team has kept more clean sheets this season in the Champions League than Sevilla (five, same as Juventus).
  • Sevilla are yet to lose on the road in the Champions League this season (W1 D2), keeping clean sheets in all three of those games.
  • Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi has attempted more passes than any other player this campaign in the Champions League (610).
  • Samir Nasri has only recorded one goal and one assist in 17 Champions League knockout games.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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Showing 4PM, Sunday 12th March: Liverpool Vs Burnley

TEAM NEWS

Captain Jordan Henderson will miss his third game in a row for Liverpool as he continues to struggle with a foot injury.

Daniel Sturridge is ruled out with a hip injury, while Roberto Firminho and Dejan Lovren are doubts.

Midfielder Steven Defour and Johann Berg Gudmundsson remain out for Burnley, but Tom Heaton is fit after illness.

Joey Barton is available after recovering from a hamstring strain.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on playing the ‘smaller’ sides: “People say I don’t have a Plan B or whatever. Yes, we know how to play. (We) have to cover specific spaces and make the right decisions.

“We can’t just say we can only concentrate on counter attacks, set pieces, whatever. It’s an all-round challenge.

“My job, how I understand it, is to help them find the right decisions easier. That’s what training is for. We have to prove it on the pitch.

“In this moment I’m not sure we will win against Burnley but I’m quite optimistic. We’re ready for the fight.”

Burnley manager Sean Dyche on reports linking Andre Gray and Michael Keane with transfer moves: “I’ve said many times it’s that balance between people looking at your players and wondering where that will go, then equally the respect where it shows that people are taking Burnley Football Club seriously.

“That’s good for the club that people are recognising that.

“It’s certainly good for myself and the staff to realise that we do work with these players and they do develop and improve. The more we do that, the stronger the team gets, and I think that’s been shown over a long period now.”

Head-to-head

  • Liverpool have played Burnley five times in the Premier League, winning the first four by an aggregate score of 11-0.
  • However, Burnley beat the Reds during their last meeting, a 2-0 victory at Turf Moor in August.
  • Their last win at Anfield was in September 1974. They’ve drawn one and lost eight of their nine visits there since, scoring once and conceding 19 goals.
  • They could do the top-flight double against Liverpool for the first time since 1929-30.

Liverpool

  • The Reds are looking for back-to-back wins in the league for the first time this year.
  • They have only won three of their last 13 matches in all competitions.
  • Liverpool have scored 19 goals in the opening 30 minutes of Premier League games this season – five more than any other club.
  • They are unbeaten in 17 Premier League home games against promoted sides since losing to Blackpool in the 2010-11 campaign (W12, D5).
  • A Liverpool win would equal their tally of 16 league victories for last season.
  • They have scored an unrivalled 58 league goals this season but Stoke are the only team in the top half of the table to concede more than the Reds.

Burnley

  • The Clarets are yet to win away this season, a run of 13 league games (D2, L11), and have won only four of their 51 Premier League away matches overall (D8, L39).
  • Burnley, along with Hull, were the last team to remain winless in their opening 14 away matches of a Premier League season, in 2009-10.
  • They have also kept just one clean sheet away from home this campaign – a 0-0 draw at Manchester United in October.
  • If Burnley avoid defeat they would be only the second promoted team in 14 Premier League seasons to remain unbeaten at Old Trafford and Anfield in a single campaign.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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Showing 5:30PM, Saturday 11th March: Arsenal Vs Lincoln City

TEAM NEWS

Arsenal pair Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi have both been struggling with illness and could miss out.

The Gunners will assess Mesut Ozil, who complained of sickness after Tuesday’s defeat by Bayern Munich.

Lincoln are without Peterborough loanee Lee Angol, who scored a hat-trick on debut against Braintree on Tuesday but is cup-tied for Saturday’s match.

Regular starters Nathan Arnold and Matt Rhead should return after dropping to the bench in midweek.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on criticism from supporters: “I have worked very hard for 20 years to make our fans happy and when you lose the games, I understand they are not happy.

“I do not want to judge that, I am not able to. I live in my daily work with my complete commitment.

“I think I’ve shown since I’m here that first of all I love this club, that I’m loyal to this club and that I make the right decisions for this club.”

Lincoln manager Danny Cowley on Wenger: “He’s forgotten more than I know. He’s a pioneer.

“We’ve got huge respect for him as a man and as a manager.

“If we get on the right side of the result, it would be the biggest upset in the history of the greatest cup competition in the world.”

Head-to-head

  • The sides have not met in a competitive fixture since 1915 and this will be the first encounter in the FA Cup.
  • The 26 previous games between the sides all came in the second tier, with Arsenal winning 13 times and Lincoln claiming six victories.
  • The Imps have never won away to Arsenal, losing 10 and drawing three of 13 matches.

Arsenal

  • Arsenal have only lost one FA Cup tie against a lower league club under Arsene Wenger – against Blackburn, of the Championship, in the fifth round in 2013.
  • The last time the Gunners lost to non-league opposition in the FA Cup was in 1911, when – as Woolwich Arsenal – they lost in round two to Swindon of the Southern League.
  • They have reached this stage of the FA Cup 12 times under Arsene Wenger, progressing to the semi-finals on 10 occasions.
  • The Gunners have won 18 of their last 20 matches in the FA Cup (D1, L1).
  • Theo Walcott has scored six times in his last four FA Cup appearances – although his last FA Cup goal at the Emirates was in January 2012 against Aston Villa.

Lincoln City

  • Lincoln are the first non-league side to reach the last eight of the FA Cup since 1914 – when QPR (of the Southern League) were beaten at what was then called the fourth round (it was the equivalent of the quarter-finals).
  • The last non-league team to play in an FA Cup semi-final were Swindon in 1912.
  • The last time a non-league team eliminated two top-flight sides in a single FA Cup campaign was in 1914, when Millwall knocked out Chelsea and Bradford City.
  • They have lost just two of their last of their last 24 games in all competitions (W19, D3).
  • They scored with their only shot on target against Burnley in the last round.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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Showing 7:45PM, Friday 10th March: Juventus Vs AC Milan

For the past five weeks, we’ve been seeing Juventus seemingly playing the bottom third of the Serie A table. One by one, be it a regulation battler or a team sitting in the mid-teens and not too worried about their status for next season, Juventus faced them as a busy but relatively soft domestic schedule has been the bread between the Champions League Round of 16 being the obvious meat in the middle of the sandwich.

Now, as we get closer and closer to being able to count the number of league games Juventus has left with just our two hands, there’s no relegation battlers this time around.

There is another night of Friday football to be had.

And it’s, oh, just a little Juventus-Milan rivalry action happening as well.

 Juventus has faced Milan twice since that early-season crapfest at the San Siro. There’s been the Supercoppa loss in Doha. There’s been Juve’s win in the Coppa Italia. So when you think about there being any kind of revenge factor for what went down back on Oct. 22 — and no, I’m not talking about my 30th birthday — it’s not like this is Juve’s first crack at Milan since they lost at the San Siro. It’s a little bit different compared to when they faced Inter at Juventus Stadium a month ago as they avenged a different early-season loss to a Milan-based club at the Giuseppe Meazza.

Juventus did something they hadn’t done in their previous 26 Serie A matches this season over the weekend against Udinese — finished with a draw. It was a pretty forgettable performance, to be honest, and anything close to that kind of effort probably won’t get the job done against a Milan side that is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to one of Serie A’s final European places.

You know Milan will want to come into Juventus Stadium and do what they failed to do when they rolled into Turin for the Coppa Italia.

That’s win.

And we know that another Juventus win will, at least temporarily, put even more distance in between Roma and Napoli as Max Allegri’s squad continue to steam right on toward winning a sixth straight Scudetto.

Source: blackwhitereadallover.com

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Showing 6PM, Thursday 9th March: FC Rostov Vs Manchester United

Manchester United will be without suspended defender Eric Bailly for their Europa League last-16 first leg tie against FC Rostov in Russia.

Bailly was sent off in the previous round against Saint-Etienne, while captain Wayne Rooney and full-back Luke Shaw miss out after being left at home.

Midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan could return after a hamstring injury.

The Russian side will be without goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanayev but have an otherwise fully fit squad.

United face a difficult 2,100 mile trip against a side who after fifth in their domestic league and have lost at home just once in their last seven European games.

Rostov go into the match on the back of a superb 6-0 victory at the weekend, while the Red Devils drew 1-1 against 10-man Bournemouth.

Manager Jose Mourinho said: “It is a bad draw in every aspect. It is far, it is difficult and comes in a bad period for us.

“It is difficult because they are a very difficult team. They had a very good Champions League campaign.”

The Portuguese boss also criticised the condition of the pitch at the Olimp-2, which has a capacity of 15,000.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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Showing 8PM, Wednesday 8th March: Manchester City Vs Stoke City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola awaits news on whether captain Vincent Kompany will be fit enough to play.

He remains without long-term injury victims Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan.

Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri is available after missing five matches with a calf problem.

However, Marko Arnautovic, Glen Johnson and Bruno Martins Indi are doubtful, while Wilfried Bony is ineligible to play against his parent club.

Head-to-head

  • Manchester City have won three of their last four league matches against Stoke, scoring four goals in each victory.
  • Stoke have scored just one goal in their eight Premier League visits to the Etihad Stadium, in a 1-0 win in August 2014.
  • The Potters have lost their other seven Premier League matches away at Manchester City by an aggregate score of 19-0.
  • Manchester City are aiming to do the top-flight double against Stoke for the only third time, after the 1933-34 and 1966-67 seasons.

Manchester City

  • Manchester City have 55 points after 26 league matches this season. Only in their two title-winning campaigns have they had more points at this stage of a Premier League season.
  • City’s current four-match winning run is their longest in the division since they took maximum points from their opening six fixtures this season.
  • However, they have kept only one clean sheet in their last 13 home fixtures in all competitions.
  • John Stones could make his 100th Premier League appearance.

Stoke City

  • Stoke have lost five of their last six away matches in the top flight.
  • None of the Potters’ nine league wins this season have come against teams currently 11th or higher in the table.
  • Stoke could remain unbeaten in top-flight away fixtures against both Manchester clubs in the same season for the first time since 1980-81, when they won 2-1 at Manchester City and drew 2-2 at Manchester United.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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Showing 7:45PM, Tuesday 7th March: Arsenal Vs Bayern Munich

Arsenal will be hoping to avoid further embarrassment in the Champions League as any hope of progressing past Bayern Munich would require a miracle.

A 5-1 loss in the last-16 first-leg encounter looks likely to condemn Arsene Wenger & Co. to a seventh consecutive exit at this stage of the competition, meaning the Gunners will need to score at least four goals without reply to reach the quarter-finals.

The first-leg loss prompted further fierce speculation over Wenger’s future beyond the end of the season, with the Frenchman since insisting he will remain in management into next term be it at the Emirates Stadium or elsewhere.

Arsenal remain in the FA Cup, handed a second date with a non-league team in the form of Lincoln City, leaving fresh silverware still a possibility come the end of the season, but Tuesday’s encounter will be about maintain pride and avoiding yet another humbling loss at the hands of the German giants.

TEAM NEWS

Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey returned to full training for Arsenal on Wednesday so Saturday’s trip to Anfield to face Liverpool could come too soon for the pair.

Koscielny had to be withdrawn with a back injury during the first leg, his absence coinciding with Bayern scoring three goals in 10 minutes which effectively ended the tie.

Ramsey may not be fit enough to start, though a place on the substitutes’ bench is a possibility. Santi Cazorla and Mohamed Elneny remain sidelined.

Bayern are without suspended captain Philip Lahm, who picked up a yellow card during the first leg, while David Alaba is a doubt so Juan Bernat is likely to come in.

Jerome Boateng could make his long-awaited return from a shoulder injury to line up in the depleted defensive line, while Franck Ribery will be hoping to make the XI after returning in midweek following a month out.

Source: standard.co.uk

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Showing 8PM, Monday 6th March: West Ham United Vs Chelsea

West Ham are optimistic that striker Andy Carroll, who has been out for a month with a groin injury, will be fit to make his comeback on Monday.

However, winger Michail Antonio serves a one-game ban.

Chelsea winger Eden Hazard is expected to be available despite suffering a knock in training.

They could name the same side which began the 3-1 win against Swansea, with Cesc Fabregas again likely to be preferred to Nemanja Matic.

Head-to-head

  • West Ham have won their last two league and cup home games against Chelsea, both by 2-1 scorelines.
  • The Hammers’ victory in this fixture last season is their only win in the last eight Premier League meetings (D2, L5).

West Ham United

  • The Hammers could draw three successive Premier League games for the first time since a run of four draws between March and April 2016.
  • Andy Carroll, who has scored in two of his last three games against Chelsea, is one short of 50 Premier League goals.
  • Manuel Lanzini has scored seven times in 11 Premier League London derbies – compared to just four goals in 38 games against sides from outside the capital.

Chelsea

  • Chelsea have kept two clean sheets in their last eight league games – having recorded 10 shut-outs in the previous 12 top flight matches.
  • Antonio Conte has lost two of his three away London derbies in the Premier League, at Arsenal and Tottenham, but won at Crystal Palace.
  • Diego Costa has scored in 54% of his Premier League appearances, a higher proportion than any other player to feature in at least 20 matches.
  • Costa needs two goals to reach 50 Premier League goals, and could become the fifth quickest player to reach that mark after Andrew Cole (65 games), Alan Shearer (66), Ruud van Nistelrooy (68) and Fernando Torres (72).
  • Pedro has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last nine games in all competitions, scoring seven and setting up three.

Source: bbc.co.uk

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