“You cannot ignore when you are in front the priority is to contain and block the game,” said Nuno. “We help each other in every situation, give balance, help each other, clear things off the line.” They are also ahead of 12 other Premier League teams in many of the key defensive metrics, making the...
Team selections for Wolves and, after that, trips Bournemouth and Brentford, will be shaped by the fitness of their key men. Not a chance will be taken. That, in turn could have a negative impact on results, which haven’t been great to start with. United’s current 14th-place might get even worse, with the accompanying loss...
The pre-match build-up was more rock concert than football match, with flames and pyrotechnics lighting up Villa Park, fireworks flying over either side of the stadium from the roof of the towering stands. The trademark stern expression of legendary former Villa manager Ron Saunders gazed down from the giant screens before kick-off as one of...
Manchester City again spent the second most on agents – a little over £52m – followed by Manchester United with an outlay of £33m. Aston Villa (£25m) and Newcastle (£24.3m) complete the top five biggest spenders, with the current Premier League top two of Arsenal (£22.8m) and Liverpool (£20.8m) following behind. West Ham (£19m), Tottenham...
Any team without Vivianne Miedema, Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood would drop their level. City’s extensive injury list, which includes those key players, has severely impacted their campaign and thrust their lack of squad depth into question. Jill Roord, Aoba Fujino, Rebecca Knaak, Laura Coombs, Naomi Layzell and keeper Ayaka Yamashita have also...
When Forest lost at Everton a year ago they were just one point above the drop zone, but managed to stave off relegation. Few could have predicted their achievements this season in reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and challenging for the Champions League but they are now in danger of slipping down the...
Northern Ireland will play their final home Nations League game against Poland at Seaview on Friday, 30 May. The game in north Belfast next month will kick off at 19:00 BST. Tanya Oxtoby’s side last played at Seaview, the home of Irish Premiership side Crusaders, in October 2023 when they drew 1-1 with Hungary in...
PSG beat Bayern Munich to Doue’s signature based on last season at Rennes. He scored four goals and had four assists in 31 Ligue 1 appearances with 17 starts last term, but also created 27 chances from open play. This season he has reached another level, having created the most open play chances per 90...
Hampshire have appointed former Essex batter Paul Prichard as interim head coach of their women’s side following the departure of Charlotte Edwards. Edwards took the role last November, after a successful stint with Southern Vipers, but left last week to replace Jon Lewis as head coach of England. Prichard joined the coaching staff at Utilita...
Birmingham have certainly spent lots of money in their quest to return to the Championship at the first attempt – more than any other side at this level, even Wrexham, could match. Their spending last summer was understood to have topped £25m to bring in 17 new players, including paying seven-figure fees for Emil Hansson,...
Leicester’s current run of eight games without a goal at home equals that of Manchester City in May 2007. And with table-toppers Liverpool next to visit, a new record could very well be set. Van Nistelrooy is only the second manager in Premier League history to lose eight successive home games in the competition, after...
Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson says that his side need to be “realistic with expectations” this season despite getting off to a winning start in the County Championship. Bowler Mohammad Abbas left the county in February and star batter James Vince announced his decision to only feature in white ball competitions, leaving them with a younger...
“I only know how to compete,” he said to himself when he retired from playing in 2004. Managing was the only option for the former Barcelona and Spain forward. As a coach, Luis Enrique has copied the philosophy of his former team-mate Pep Guardiola from the beginning. He hasn’t brought anything truly new to the...
BBC Pronatalists, a controversial fringe group almost exclusively from the political right, claim that some of the most powerful people in the US government are sympathetic to their cause. But how much influence do they really have? Listen to Stephanie read this article Simone Collins is sitting in her 18th century cottage in Pennsylvania, dressed...
Pep Guardiola’s frantic body language released every frustration suffered in a season of mediocrity as the clouds lifted and the sun finally shone on Manchester City at Bournemouth. Guardiola has cut a tortured, agonised figure for most of a campaign in which the form of his Manchester City side fell off a cliff after claiming...