Category: Football

Football’s Christmas period is, like the World Cup and European Championship, a law unto itself. The concentration of a huge number of games into a short space of time means bizarre things will happen on the pitch, like Cuco Martina scoring one of the goals of the season or Stoke – Stoke! – being involved in a seven-goal thriller. Essentially, the base level for…

Welcome to the BetBright STATZONE, where we give you the stats and you make the decisions! It’s ‘Week 20’ in the Premier League as we head into another full round of fixtures this 26th (Boxing Day) and 27th of December. We get going at 12:30pm with newly-promoted pair of Fulham hosting Wolves – and with Wanderers having only lost one of their last 10…

Two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang proved key for Unai Emery's side, as the Gunners got back to winning ways in the Premier League immediately following their shock defeat at the hands of struggling Southampton. Sead Kolasinac was also a tireless presence down the left-hand side. Mesut Ozil returned for the home side to take the captain's armband, on an afternoon where Unai Emery had…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first game in charge of Manchester United could not have gone much better. Goals, confidence and positivity – three things that had blatantly run out in the dying months of the Jose Mourinho era. Paul Pogba returned to the centre of midfield for the Red Devils, after his well-publicised tough relationship with Mourinho, aligning with past comments from Solskjaer about whether…

In the first 55 minutes at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea enjoyed 75% possession and completed almost four times as many passes as Leicester City. Claude Puel’s side were penned in their own penalty area, Jamie Vardy starved of possession in his own postcode as Leicester midfielders dropped deeper. Chelsea supporters waited for the opening goal like an expectant child on Christmas morning. And then, after…

Cardiff City fans may give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a mixed reception on his return to south Wales this weekend, as the former Bluebirds boss heads back to the scene of his first managerial job in the Premier League. After Jose Mourinho's sacking earlier in the week, the Norwegian coach was appointed on an interim basis at Manchester United. His spell in the Welsh capital…

The funeral cortege trundles slowly towards Doncaster Rovers' Belle Vue stadium. Joined by hundreds of mourners, the congregation approaches the grounds bearing wreaths, banners and handmade memorials in remembrance of the departed. It's the final day of the 1997/98 season and Doncaster are playing host to Colchester United. Only today's match is just a mere footnote to the real reason why many of the…

For possession-obsessed top clubs, the search for the modern, high-aggression centre-back with a satin touch and the passing range of a cruise missile has become incessant. Many top teams are now intent on a level of technical skill whereby all players – and at a push the goalkeeper – could be capable of playing in central midfield, if asked. For the biggest, having a…

In the eternal circle that is the Premier League season, we have revolved back around to the January transfer window. Like a snake eating its own tail, football is doomed to repeat itself forever. So we must tolerate the return of gossip, speculation, transfer live blogs, warchests, raids, swoops, wantaway players and spending sprees. Given that Unai Emery has only had one transfer window…

There he stood in a corner of the ground, the Salford Warhol in a beanie hat. Paying tribute to the astonishing transformation of his home town club, Charlatans front man Tim Burgess chose Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium to push his Bands FC initiative, a funky project aimed at bringing together through the trading of badges and Panini-style cards the related communities of pop and…

A small, puffy weal of skin just under Brad Barritt’s left eye is the only outward sign of the ironmongery and embroidery that have mended the face of the Saracens captain. A crack in his cheekbone last season needed a metal plate inserted, and Barritt played a European quarter-final away to Leinster a few days later. Another fracture this season required another plate in…

Deciphering whether 2018 was a good or bad year for Real Madrid is difficult. On one hand, they claimed their third successive Champions League title, taking the club’s total number of European Cups to 13 – almost double the number of their nearest competitor, AC Milan (seven). And yet on the other hand, 2018 witnessed a dramatic unravelling of the club. On the face…

For all that links the two, there are many differences between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, not just as players, but as people do. Of course, much of what we know about the character of the duo comes through the prism of public perception. It’s difficult to know what is real and what is merely brand image, but it’s fair to adjudge that Messi…

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…