Author: AC

It’s the final gameweek of Bundesliga football before the winter break kicks in and the headline act is on Friday night where leaders Dortmund host Borussia Monchengladbach. Our midweek acca was ruined by Borussia Dortmund failing to score a second goal at relegation-threatened Fortuna Dusseldorf — suffering a first defeat of the season in the process — but we’re looking to finish strongly with a perfect four-from-four. We’ll…

We’ve reached the penultimate week of the regular season. The playoff spots are beginning to get booked and the battle for the wild card spots is getting hotter and hotter. Last week we saw the three leading teams in the league struggle. The Chiefs and Rams lost whilst the Saints stumbled to a narrow victory over the Panthers. In the background the Bears and Steelers…

Before Trent Alexander-Arnold missed Gameweeks 16 and 17 he was one of the most reliable sources of points in defence, scoring 73 Fantasy Premier League points in just 13 appearances. But during Liverpool’s crucial win over Napoli he picked up a nasty foot injury. Over 21 per cent of Fantasy Premier League players still own the injured full back, all of whom will be…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was given his first taste of management at Manchester United as a youth coach. Winning trophies back in his previous coaching involvement at the club, as well as his work with young players in Norway, means Solskjaer understands the process of shining gems and helping prospects develop to the point where they are useful in a first-team environment. Michael Carrick and…

“I’d love to see two or three — and not players you have to Google and say, ‘Who’s that?’” is one of the great lines in modern English football. It had a bit of everything: the spice of an ambitious player calling out his own club for their lacklustre signings, contextualised by a current, technological example. In an age when Premier League footballers are…

Spurs return to Premier League action after a victorious north London derby in the Carabao Cup, hoping to build upon their recent good form and ignore the rumours circulating around manager Mauricio Pochettino and Old Trafford. They'll fancy their odds, considering Everton have not beaten them in the league in the past 12 attempts. However, Richarlison will be a man to watch out for,…

On a cold day in Chorley in the early 1920s, a male professional goalkeeper challenged Lily Parr to beat him from the penalty spot. His tone was condescending. From his point of view a woman could never strike the ball with enough power, let alone sufficient accuracy, to beat him from 12 yards. Parr accepted, determined to show him up. He saved her shot,…

Game of the weekend When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was relegated with Cardiff in 2013/14, few expected his next Premier League job to be with Manchester United. The Norwegian is indeed the man occupying the hot seat at Old Trafford until the end of the season, following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho on Tuesday. The Red Devils are 11 points adrift of the top four,…

BVB lead the way going into Christmas Borussia Dortmund suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of lowly Fortuna Dusseldorf in midweek. However, they’ve been in scintillating form under new manager Lucien Favre and still sit six points clear of their nearest challengers. Their next two games will go a long way to finding out if they are the real deal…

Test your knowledge with our quiz Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment as Manchester United manager earlier this week makes him the fourth man to sit in the Red Devils hotseat since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have all graced the Old Trafford touchline during that time. But can you remember the players each of the ill-fated…

Playmaker was dropped again for North London derby Teams need their star players to step up in tense matches against their biggest rivals. But Arsenal boss Unai Emery left Mesut Ozil out of the squad entirely for Wednesday’s North London derby defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Emery admitted that he’d left the World Cup winner out for tactical reasons. After previously benching the midfielder against…

The debate of who will succeed Jose Mourinho as next Manchester United manager has dominated the headlines since the 55-year-old's departure. But following years of muddled thinking in the transfer market and on the training ground since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, there is a growing sense that United must also appoint a new director of football to oversee operations above the next…

Mauricio Pochettino has inched closer to winning his first trophy with Tottenham Hotspur with a comfortably victory against rivals Arsenal. For a competition that has often seen second strings played by the top Premier League clubs (and even the not-so-top Premier League clubs) all the way up until the final, there were two sides out at the Emirates that, bar a few omissions, were…

The first north London derby of the season was always going to take some beating. The lead exchanged three times, six goals in total, two penalties – one as a result of a highly suspicious tumble from Heung-min Son – seven cautions and a late red card all made for a heart-thundering watch for anyone invested in the game. The crackling excitement of that…

It was almost a nightmare start to a youngster’s Premier League career. Oliver Skipp, making his first full appearance in the competition after a three-minute cameo in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-1 triumph over Southampton earlier this month, was caught in possession in the fourth minute of Saturday’s clash with Burnley, forcing Moussa Sissoko to intervene and prevent a goalscoring opportunity for Sean Dyche’s men. The…