Good morning lads and lassies of soccer. To celebrate that the Bundesliga finally comes back I bring you the transcripton/translation of a pretty interesting video I had watched some time ago, related (and literally titled) "Which La Liga team fits each team of the Premier League?"
Now, I know the issue about fans that have simpathy for "second" teams is polarizing and as we all know after last year, it can become something completely vomitive, but this video is indeed trying to give fans of Spanish clubs reasons to like a particular English club, and with that said, tbh I believe at the end of the day most fans, plastic or not, do feel at least some simpathy for some clubs above others excluding their own. From the small town fan who supports their local club but also the "big" team that challenges for the league in the top division, to the Ultra that hates every club of their country that isn't his but do likes a foreign club of which he befriended their respective Ultras in the past, I'm pretty sure that most football fans do feel at least a bit of simpathy for some particular club of a foreign league.
But well, that discussion shouldn't be the topic of this. The fact is that these Spaniards of the video do like particular English clubs and to guide other similar Spaniards analyzed the situation and created this "guidebook" about which Premier League club "currently" fits each La Liga club, and that is what will be shown here.
With a last emphasis in the "currently", there's nothing else to say as preview. Just remember that these aren't my opinions and I'm only sharing what they decided.

Newcastle United & Athletic Club

Both are clubs that come from the northern parts of their countries. The Basque Country literally faces the English Channel, while Newcastle is in North-East England, facing both Scotland and the Northern Sea.
Both have pretty big stadiums with almost the same capacity (52k and 53k respectively) that also coincidentally are in the center of their respectives cities, something that is laudable in these modern times where stadiums are being designed to be in the outskirts, and not few clubs are forced to traslate them from their original places because of the economical advantages.
And another thing that united them is that they are one of the few historical rich clubs that doesn't have a derby rival in their city. So, if you're born in Bilbao you better fucking support Athletic and there is no room for debate about it, and something similar happens in Newcastle. And in the same way, the derby that the clubs have actually have (Sunderland and Real Sociedad) goes beyond football and is a derby between the whole cities.
They faced each other in the 94/95 UEFA Cup Round of 16 and what highlights it was that it was an epic clash that ended in a global 3-3 draw where Athletic won thanks to away goals, and that in the second leg had a pitch invasion from Basque fans that after celebrating with their team, went to laud the away stand, as the English visitors had been great and even cheered for Athletic after the end of the match, thing that a lot of old fans from both clubs would remember forever.
That match would be so iconic for some that Rob Lee, one of the best Newcastle players of the last decades, would require his farewell match for the Geordie team to be... against Athletic. And such wish was granted.

Crystal Palace & Getafe

Both are clubs from the south of the metropolitan areas of the capital of their countries. Selhurst for London and Getafe for Madrid respectively.
Both are managed by tacticians with a similar ethos: Bordalás and Hodgson. The parallels of both teams are easily spotted when you watch both teams: strong rigid defenders, fast strikers, sitting back and counterattacks, the whole 4-4-fucking-2 package, et al.
Vicente Guaita played for both teams, and in fact was directly tranferred from Madrid to London.
Both have blue as their main colour,

Liverpool & Real Madrid

Both are the European royalty of their respective leagues. Real Madrid is just the most successful in history and nobody comes close, while Liverpool has the double of Champions Leagues than the second most succesful English team and only Milan between them and Real.
Both stand out for their mentality and comebacks. Istanbul and Lisbon, for example, are among the most dramatic Champions League finals in the whole history. One team comeback from a 3-0 in the first half, the other tied and later won a match that they were losing until the 90'+3.
Xabi Alonso, Steve McManaman, Alvaro Arbeloa, Dudek, Antonio Núñez, Rafa Benitez, Michael Owen, Fernando Morientes and the greatest of all, Nuri Sahin, served in both clubs.
Both stand out for being the best teams of the 20th century in their countries by far, which nevertheless suffered many years of drought after the golden years until they eventually achieved an epic again, being Mijatovic's goal and the penalty saved by Dudek, the final actions that crowned them for the first time in decades as European champions for the seventh and fifth time, respectively.

Norwich & Valladolid

Both won the league cup of their countries in the same years (84/85).
Both highlight for the atypical colour of their kits (violet and yellow/green).
Both are the biggest teams of relatively isolated counties.
Mohammed Salisu plays for Valladolid and has been linked to Norwich.

Bournemouth & Eibar

The two smallest stadiums of each league. Dean Court has a capacity of barely above 11,000 in a league where the average is above 40k, while the Municipal de Ipurua has only... 8164 seats.
Likewise, both are clubs from pretty small cities that almost nobody would know if it wasn't for their football teams. Lets just say that Eibar isn't exactly in the same tier of the other Basque cities like Bilbao, San Sebastian or Pamplona, while Bournemouth only has 190k inhabitants and was founded as recently as the 19th century, something strange for English standards.
And finally and ringing the same bells, they are two small teams that were promoted to the top tier for the first time ever in recent years (2014-15) to the first division, and that also coincidentally, have never descended from that time despite their (lack) of historical status.

Burnley & Alaves

Both are extremely physical and defensive teams that also highlight for their lack of possesion (the lowest and second lowest of their leagues respectively).
Turf Moor and the Estadio de Mendizorroza have almost exactly the same capacity (20k).
John Guidetti played for both.

Sheffield United & Mallorca

Both are clubs with over a century of history, however, both are currently united by their quick promotions of recent years. Few clubs do it each season, but those who climb two divisions practically in-a-row, even less.
The English club was in the third tier of the English pyramid from 2013 to 2017, after which they won the promotion to the Championship after becoming champions with 100 points. After that, they finished 10th in their first season there, just to assure the promotion in dramatic tones after Leeds implosion in the late stages of the 18/19 season.
Meanwhile the island club was even more epic in their promotions. After failing to Segunda B (the third tier of Spanish football) for the first time in 40 years, they fired everybody but 4 players, but still were able to win their local group of the division and later compete in the final play-offs that gave the promotion spots, and in that they first assured a promotion spot and later become champions of the division. And then? they arrived to the Second Division with the hopes of not being relegated, but overperformed and in an epic way assured the last position that gave a spot to the play-off for the final promotion spot, and despite losing 2-0 in the first leg of the final, the won 3-0 the second leg and completed their return from the Third Division to La Liga in the fastest possible way.
Finally but not less important, both have red in their kits.

Brighton & Levante

Both are small clubs from coastal towns.
Both won the promotion from the second division in 16/17.
Brighton logo shows a seagull and they're known as such.
Levante's coast has a record for having the biggest number of a certain breed of seagulls in the whole world.

Leicester & Villarreal

Both are clubs that are relatively small when it comes to historical status... and for the same reason both were part of some of the best underdogs stories of the world in recent decades.
Villarreal, the Yellow Submarine, comes from a small Valencian city of around 50k, and despite having a history of almost a century, they never reached the top division until 1998, just to be relegated in the same year. But they didn't gave up and came back to La Liga as quickly, and this time they stayed, and in what a way! Pellegrini's Villarreal spearheaded by Román Riquelme and Diego Forlán surprised Europa by ending third in La Liga just behind the Galacticos and Ronaldinho's Barca and won the right to play the 2005/06 Champions League, in what would end being their greatest moment in history so far by eventually reaching semifinals and barely losing the chance of playing the final in their first season thanks to some cursed penalties against the Arsene Wenger club. Even in defeat, the history that they made was epic as few others.
But one that actually was it even more was what Leicester did exactly 10 years later in the Premiership. From barely avoiding being relegated to win the whole league was a FIFA Career-esque story, and for the same it will be remembered forever.
And finally, what made even more iconic both legendary performances was the charisma of some of their players. Vardy, Forlán, Riquelme more precisely.

Southampton & Leganés

Southampton are called the Saints and their stadium is named St Mary's.
Leganes' stadium is called after a religious figure (Virgen de Butarque).
Guido Carrillo and Mauricio Pellegrino served in both clubs.

Watford & Granada

The Pozzo family: originally known from being the owners of Udinese in the Serie A, eventually the Italian family diversified their investments, first buying the small Spanish team in 2009, and later the English one in 2012. Because of financial reasons they sold their participation in Granada in the late 2016, aye, however, there was a timelapse that lasted years were both clubs where effectively in the same hands.
And for the same reasons, a number of players have been "property" of both clubs. Isaac Success and Adalberto Peñaranda the most iconic of them.

Chelsea & Atletico Madrid

Both are pretty big clubs in the capital but that have lived in the shadow of their historically bigger neighbour for more time than not, a certain Arsenal and Real Madrid respectively.
An impressive number of illustrious names have passed through both teams, and not few times from one to the other and even in some times back again: Fernando Torres, Diego Costa, Filipe Luis, Thibaut Courtois, Mateja Keman, Tiago Mendes, Maniche, Radamel Falcao, Jesper Grönkjaer, Hasselbaink, Morata, and more.
Both suffered for tragic defeats in the Champions League final, Chelsea in 2008, Atleti in 2014 (and 2016). One team had their captain slip and missed the crucial penalty, the other ended losing a final that was winning until the 90'+3. Coincidentally, all those finals were between teams from the same country.

Tottenham & Sevilla

Both have white jerseys.
Both were managed in recent years by Juande Ramos.
Both are famous because of their fierce rivalry with a neighbour, that makes them part of one of the most iconic derbies in their country.
Both are clubs that have a long history and that in recent years have had a pretty great period, but still weren't able to truly displace or replace the historically bigger clubs from their place.
Diego Armando Maradona.

Manchester United & Valencia

Both are of the biggest clubs with the biggest fanbases of their country, and both are currently underperforming when you see their historical status, which enrages such fans.
Both have some of the worse owners that a big club that want sportive instead of just financial success could have, and that are one of the main causes of their decline in recent years: the Glazers and Peter Lim.
And fanbases of both clubs also hate the right-hand of their owners that is the most direct responsible of the sportive issues of their clubs: Anil Murthy and Ed Woodward.
Peter Lim is also a big Man United fan and the owner of restaurants and pubs with Mancunian thematics in his Asian domains... and is also a partial owner of the Class of 92's creation, Salford City.
Gary Neville and Juan Mata are some names that both clubs share.
And finally but also most important: Valencia played against Valencia in Valencia.

Everton & Real Sociedad

Both are proud clubs with an illustrious history despite being the smaller club compared to their more famous neightbours, and also are clubs that these days suffer more time than not.
Both had their peak in the 80's, with Everton two leagues and one cup, exactly the same numbers than la Real. That decade would also be the last one when they had any major success, with Sociedad only being able to say that they ended second in the 02-03 La Liga and the Toffees with that they won a FA Cup in 95'.
David Moyes.

Manchester City & Barcelona

Pep Guardiola, of course.
Also of the first stages of the changes after the arrival of the Sheikh was the creation of a sports city for young players, imitating la Masia, probably the second most famous thing of the Spanish club.
And another was the bet for a female team, in what now both are powers, unlike their historical rivals that are shamefully far behind them on it despite their historical status.
Also beyond Pep there are other people that both clubs share: Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, financial director and sports director respectively of both teams in the past and now.
Claudio Bravo played for both, although with different kind of performances.
And finally, not a few Barcelona fans today complain that the closest thing to the Barca that touched the sky today is Manchester City.

West Ham & Espanyol

Both are clubs of a big city where there are bigger teams. West Ham is arguably the 4th biggest London club these days after Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, while Espanyol are the second biggest but loyalist club of Barcelona, where there is a certain secessionist bigger Catalan club.
Both are clubs that have been almost all their history in the top division and yet have never won it. Likewise, both had their peaks and almost did it in the 80s, where both ended 3rd, in almost the same year (86' and 87').
Both were clubs that had an old stadium as traditional as loved (Estadi de Sarrià and the Upton Park) that were eventually replaced by stadiums built by the city for the Olympics (Espanyol eventually left his one though).
Both have never being relegated to the third division of their countries despite being some of the oldest clubs around.
Both had their bittersweet European moments, sweeter definitely for West Ham though.

Wolves & Real Betis

Both are the club with most Mexicans of their league, Raul Jimenez vs Diego Lainez plus Andres Guardado respectively, what makes their teams far more popular than what they should in the CONCACAF giant.
Joey Guðjónsson and Alfred N'Diaye played for both clubs.
Six Portuguese have played for Betis in this century. Six Portuguese play for Wolves this season.
They played a friendly last year.

Aston Villa & Celta de Vigo

Both are related to the sky-blue colour.
Both clubs are characterized for having a player that is almost a demigod for the fans and club overall: Jack Grealish and Iago Aspas.
Those demigods are local players who have been fans of their club since they were children, and love them so much that played for them even in the second division.
Both teams currently have their great derby rivals in the second division (Birmingham and Deportivo La Coruña). -They played in the late 90s in the UEFA Cup.

Arsenal & Osasuna

Both are related to the colour red.
Both are known for having local fans closer to the left-wing of politics.
Nacho Monreal, Carlos Vela and Fran Merida played for both teams.
Both won their league in 1953.

*and that's it. Hope that you liked it as I did. Do you have any opinions about how to make this even more accurate? feel free to share them.

Team Preview - Manchester United [Premier League 2019-20 - 15/20]

Manchester United

by CrebTheBerc

Welcome to the triumphant return of the Premier League Previews, a series where a fan gives an overview of his team for your perusal, and I get an excuse to take pot-shots at other clubs. This will run until the eve of the Premier League, taking a look at each club in turn. Today we're with the most successful team in English domestic football, Manchester United.
About

Established: 1878
Stadium: Old Trafford
Capacity: 74, 879
Official website
Wikipedia page
Club subreddit

Last season

Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
6	38	19	9	10	65	54	+11	66

Last season started off with a bang as we quickly sealed the double transfers of Diogo Dalot and Fred. Unfortunately the rest of the transfer window was a shit show as we chased targets the board wouldn't sanction the funds for (Ironic now I know) and Mourinho quickly descended into his infamous 3rd season meltdown.
Early signs were there as we lost 3-1 to Brighton in the second week with individual defensive errors key to the loss, followed by a comprehensive 3-0 loss to Tottenham featuring Ander Herrera as a CB. Mixed results followed culminating in a fantastic 3-2 comeback against Newcastle which many speculated save Mourinho's job with rumors circulating that he was on the edge. We then went on a run of 9 games that saw us win 3, draw 4, and lose to both City and Liverpool. For anyone who somehow didn't see the Liverpool game, it was the most lifeless performance I've seen from a United team. We conceded 36 shots, more than last place Huddersfield did over both of their games against Liverpool last season, and Mourinho was sacked the following day.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as a caretaker and went on an incredible 11 game unbeaten streak including wins against Tottenham and Arsenal. We managed a fantastic comeback against PSG in the Champion's League off the back of a controversial penalty and Ole was signed on permanently to many fan's delight. Unfortunately the season again went to shit. In our final 9 run of games we barely beat Watford and West Hame while losing 5, drawing 2, and getting knocked out of the FA cup and CL with mostly poor performances.
At the end of last season most fans seemed to want Ole backed in the transfer market along side an experienced DoF appointment. Assuming those two things happened I think most fans were cautiously optimistic, especially with Chelsea's ban and Arsenal's financial situation.

This season

As things stand the expectations for the next season are somewhat precariously balanced. We've addressed 2 huge issues in the team transfer wise with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire (deal yet to be finalised) shoring up the defense and Dan James joining as a depth option on the wing. We are currently linked heavily to Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic to a lesser extent. Bringing in Dybala would definitely improve the team and Mandzu would turn the window into a major positive.
We still have a lot of issues however. Despite winning all of our preseason games there are massive questions in midfield. Pogba remains our only creative option and Scott McTominay has stepped up as his undisputed partner in a double pivot. Outside of those two our options are extremely limited. Matic has continued to regress and has looked very poor, Pereira is better farther forward and overall hasn't offered a ton, and Fred is far too inconsistent in his performances. We desperately need a midfield reinforcement which looks unlikely to arrive. RW is also a concern, however we seem determined to wait for Jadon Sancho so we will make due with a variety of options there.
To turn to the positive, several of our players look much improved from last season such as Anthony Martial who's work rate has been praised in preseason. Our young stars have also shone and look ready to hopefully contribute this season. Regardless, this will be another transitional year for us, although hopefully we stick to a plan this time. The board seem prepared to back Ole long term and play the long game, however I don't think any United fan really trusts Woodward or the Glazers so who the fuck knows what will happen.
For now I think most United fans would be happy with the summer assuming we bring in Dybala, with the note that we need a winger and midfielder next season. From there I think we'll have to see if our performances can improve from the end of last season and figure out what to do if they don't. The main goal is top 4 and decent cup runs with youth involved.
Transfers
Highlights

Player	Type	From	To	Fee(£m)
Daniel James	Transfer	Swansea City	Manchester United	18 million
Aaron Wan-Bissaka	Transfer	Crystal Palace	Manchester United	45 million

All incoming/outgoing transfers Full 2019-20 squad
3 players to watch out for
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
We've been crying out for a proper right back for a while now and in his appearances so far he's looked very impressive. He's a wall in defense and has showed good moments of quality forward, combining well with Pogba too. I know it's only preseason but he already looks to have filled a huge hole in the squad.
Scott McTominay
Scotty has become something of a fan favorite recently, he keeps things simple but does them very well. Since impressing in the second half of last season he has kept his upwards trajectory and in many fans opinion has earned a starting spot to start the season.
Marcus Rashford
Fell out of form and carried an injury to finish the season, but looks energetic and hungry this preseason. Whether he starts out wide or up top is kind of up in the air(and maybe moot as our front 3 will be flexible), but we have high hopes he'll continue developing and break his current scoring record(13) this season
Honorable Mention: Mason Greenwood
The 17 year old looked extremely composed in our final game of the 18/19 season and has continued that in preseason. With the RW spot open and his performances so far, he may be in line to have somewhat of a breakout season this year
What the fans think
Thanks to /Reddevils for their help.

How do you think this season will go?

We will finish top 4, but not very comfortably and we'll lose some big games (Liverpool, City) by quite a lot. In Europa League some kids who at first won't play in the Prem will shine and become first team players, whilst gradually phasing out older ones. Ole will finish the season as our manager and everyone will expect bigger things in the next one.

SloGeorge

better than some think, not as good as others think but lots of people will be pissed off. It will be very tough breaking the top 4 but with consistency we can do it. I will say a fourth place finish and no trophies. I consider that a fantastic season for us atm.

Caesar3890

We are all hyped and I think we have made some of the right moves in terms of transfers and our ambition in style of play, but I still think we will have some woeful performances and make it a fight to finish top 4. Pogba will drive us all mad but somehow still be statistically our best player, we wont finish the transfer window as we hope and we will still have obvious problems that just wont be addressed properly - OGS has a lot of pressure to make it work and make it work fast.

bell-91

Which player is going to be your star of the season and why?

Wan-Bissaka, Two-Bissaka, Three-Bissaka, four. Having an actual right side will do wonders

its-pepsiman

Paul Pogba. On his day, he’s the best midfielder in the league (and maybe the world). I think he’ll be playing in a double pivot with McTominay, but with less defensive responsibilities then when he was in the pivot under Mou. He’ll probs be playing box to box, his best position I think, and should score up a range of assists considering he’s easily our most creative player. I expect a 25 g+a season from Paul.

ItchaBoiSid

I think Rashford is going to have a really good season and repay the faith Ole has shown in him. This is going to be his first full season as the main striker so I think he will have a 20 goal season

Mark_12201

How do you think the team will line up?

4-2-3-1 - this is assuming we sign Maguire. I would also expect to see a new signing in the no10 position, most likely Dybala, in for Mata. Lingard probably the least nailed-on out of the rest of the lineup (James and Greenwood will challenge for that spot) and Matic could fade as the season goes on with McTominay and Fred ready to come in. The rest of the team basically picks itself right now.

Skeletonise

Either in a 4-3-1-2 with Martial and Rashford spliting out wide with an attacking midfielder pressing and playing like a false nine. Or in a 4-2-3-1 with inside forwards. Against more defensive teams you would expect Mata to start and in bigger matches Lingard would be more likely to feature somewhere. In both systems expect Martial and Rashford to be totally fluid and swap positions a lot. In the Europa League and League Cup expect a lot rotation and chances for youngsters such as Tuanzabe in defence, Chong on the wing, Gomes as a 10/winger and Greenwood as a striker.

Pasta_is_quite_nice

De Gea, AWB, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Pogba, McTominay, Mata(maybe Dybala), Lingard, Rashford, Martial
is how I feel we'll start the first few months but by the end I wouldn't be surprised to see Greenwood or Gomes in that team.

tocitus

Wrap Up

by NickTM
The Manager: Remember how Man Utd started the season with Jose Mourinho in charge? Remember how Ole Gunnar Solskjær came in and put together such an impressive list of results? Remember how Manchester United then locked him down to a three year contract after every fan in the world plus every ex-United player in the media was so jubilantly calling him the second coming? Remember how that form immediately turned to shit, winning only two more league games from then 'til the end of the season? God, that was fun, wasn't it?
The Team: Lacking talent has not been Manchester United's major issue over the past couple of seasons despite their lack of Premier League titles to show for it. Victor Lindelöf and Chris Smalling - and, one would imagine, Harry Maguire too soon - protect David de Gea, who remains one of the best goalkeepers in the world despite a down year by his lofty standards last season. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has taken a step down in terms of club prestige to generously help out Manchester United at right back, allowing the Ashley Young as starting right back era to gracefully come to a close. Luke Shaw looks to have finally locked down his spot on the left of defence after first being dropped and then subsequently dropping some weight under Mourinho. Nemanja Matic still patrols the defensive midfield - albeit with less effectiveness than in the past - alongside Paul Pogba, whose ongoing angst about getting paid obscene amounts of money to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world wore thin months ago. Up front, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial support a striker, although whether that's going to be Romelu Lukaku or Marcus Rashford remains to be seen. It's a strong squad with, crucially, a lot of depth; Eric Bailly, Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata, Marcos Rojo, Fred, Diogo Dalot, Scott McTominay, Daniel James, Matteo Darmian and Phil Jones are just some of the squad options, offering a wealth of experience and quality. Issues still remain in areas of midfield, but there should be enough there to challenge anyone on the pitch.
Why to like them: Juan Mata. Aaron Wan-Bissaka's a good South London lad.
Why to dislike them: If you're not English, it's difficult to sum up the depth of feeling generated by Manchester United. The most effective way I've found is this: they're the Dallas Cowboys. They're the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Ferrari, the All Blacks, the Roger Federer if Federer was a dickhead, the Australia cricket team circa about 2007, the Floyd Mayweather, the Jon Bones Jones. That alone should get you to dislike them.
Now, to hate them, I'm not certain it's possible unless you grew up in England during Manchester United's dominant years in the past two decades. At least a third of the kids in your class would be Man Utd fans, whether you lived next to the stadium or in Land's End. They were, of course, obnoxious in the extreme, flaunting their plasticity for all to see and preening themselves in the reflection of their team's dominance. Now, that's just kids being kids, sure, but the issue is it kept going when they were adults. Hundreds of them, everywhere, chatting bollocks about how Federico Macheda was going to be the next Van Nistelrooy and having their eyes glaze over when you mention you support a club not in the Premier League. These hordes of milquetoast, half-and-half scarf wearing bellends decrying how unfair it was that Chelsea were spending so much money, and no, it's fine that Man Utd do the same because we earnt it, you see. Never mind Manchester United were one of the earliest examples of getting artificial investment via John Henry Davies funding their entire 80,000 capacity stadium for free, giving them a huge competitive advantage in the nascent era of football that established the future trajectories of so many clubs. Oh, and of course it's fine for them to bash Chelsea and Man City and what have you, but the moment anyone says a word against precious Manchester United it's all "jealousy" and that most vacuous and vapid of rallying cries, "hated, adored, never ignored", a pathetic and overplayed attempt to spin other peoples' dislike into a positive like a thin-skinned, emoji-obsessed athlete on Twitter.
And then there's the wailing and gnashing of teeth when the team they supported because they were good fails to win anything, oh dear lord. If you've never been in a bar filled with Manchester United fans when they fail to win a game then good grief that needs to be on your bucket list. You'd assume the walls were about to cave in and planes to drop out of the sky with the amount of angst on display. They treat it like it's their god-given right to be winning football games and any calmer or more rational voice is immediately drowned out by the chorus of "but we're MANCHESTER UNITED", as if being good ten years ago guarantees you success for the rest of eternity and being a 'big team' means losing is somehow completely unacceptable on any level. Their tiny plastic brains proceed to melt out of their ears and thousands across the country drop dead, with nothing of value lost.
Summary: Think I blacked out for a moment there. Anyway, you'd assume Man Utd could capitalise on some of the issues from the sides that finished higher than them - Chelsea's transfer ban, Arsenal's failure to address a leaky defence - are having at the moment. On top of that, they also don't have to contend with Champions League football, and although they're back in the Europa League for the first time since 2015-16 (in which they won it) it's quite a different beast and you'd expect key players to be able to get more of a rest. If De Gea can find his form again, if Harry Maguire lives up to his transfer fee and doesn't end up the next in a long line of underperforming Manchester United centre-back signings, and most importantly if Ole Gunnar Solskjær can prove his worth as a manager in a season that will likely prove the litmus test then the sky's the limit. It's a team capable of challenging for the title with a bit of luck and a few wobbles from the teams above them. Whilst that isn't that likely, you definitely wouldn't bet against a top four finish, and signs are that that'd be considered a pretty successful season all considered.

Links

Team Preview - Watford [Premier League 2019-20 - 10/20]

Watford

by TheJeck

Welcome to the triumphant return of the Premier League Previews, a series where a fan gives an overview of his team for your perusal, and I get an excuse to take pot-shots at other clubs. This will run until the eve of the Premier League, taking a look at each club in turn. Today we're out of London but paradoxically still on the Tube line as we visit Watford.
About

Established: 1881
Stadium: Vicarage Road
Capacity: 21,577
Official website
Wikipedia page
Club subreddit

Last season

Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
11	38	14	8	16	52	59	-7	50

It's safe to say most Watford fans were apprehensive going into the 2018/19 season. Javi Gracia becoming the first head coach since the Championship to remain in charge from the previous season was a plus, but only the permanent acquisition of loanee Deulofeu and goalkeeper Ben Foster looked to improve the first team, with fans crying out for a striker and centre back. Paul Merson and Phil McNulty each proceeded to predict Watford's relegation for the fourth successive year.
However, the Hornets came flying out of the traps, winning their first four league games, including a comeback to win 2-1 against Tottenham. This led to Gracia being awarded the Manager of the Month award for August. Despite continuing to put in largely good performances, some poor finishing and defensive errors meant that Watford won just two of their next twelve games, slipping from the lofty heights of 3rd to a season low of 12th. During this time they were knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by Tottenham, in a game bizarrely played at Stadium MK due to the unavailability of Wembley or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
December, January and February brought better fortunes, with Watford only losing three games in all competitions in this time, all to top six clubs, despite playing 9 out of their first 11 games of 2019 away in all competitions. The depth in the squad was utilised in the FA Cup, with the team reaching the quarter final without putting out a full strength side, much to the anger of Chris Sutton. A full strength team was played for this quarter final against Crystal Palace, who Watford beat 2-1 for the third time in the season to progress to Wembley. In the league, the Hornets were embroiled in the race for Europa League football, periodically reaching the hallowed 7th spot before swiftly dropping out. A 1-0 win at home against Marco Silva's Everton was a highlight as Watford continued to struggle against the top six.
The FA Cup Semi Final was the match of the season for Watford. Up against a Wolves side they were also competing for 7th place with, Watford found themselves 2-0 down with 11 minutes to go, with goals from Doherty and Jimenez, the latter celebrating with a mask which drew comment from the usually reserved Troy Deeney. However, a sublime lob from Gerard Deulofeu gave Watford hope before a stoppage time Deeney penalty took the tie to extra time, where Deulofeu added a second to take Watford to their 2nd cup final in history. In the league, a 2-1 win against Huddersfield put Watford in 7th with three out of four games left at home. If they won all these they were guaranteed European football. u/TheJeck, not wanting to miss a minute of the race for Europe, ran a mile from Watford Junction station to make it to the fixture against Southampton for kick off - only for Shane Long to score the fastest goal in Premier League history. Twat. Watford drew 1-1, then lost 2-1 to Wolves to effectively end our hopes of coming second. A 3-0 loss to Chelsea confirmed that we would take just 3 points from games with the top six, and a 4-1 defeat to West Ham meant that Watford finished 11th, just the third match this season they finished outside the top ten.
However, there was still hope of a first trophy in the clubs history and a Europa League spot to boot through the FA Cup final. With Jose Holebas' suspension rescinded, Watford were full strength going into their match with league champions Manchester City, who were gunning for an unprecedented domestic treble. However, it was not to be, with City running out 6-0 winners. Regardless, at 5-0 down the Watford fans all started chanting and waving fans, showing what a successful season it had been in their eyes.

This Season

It has been a quieter transfer window than usual for Watford, with just two arrivals at the time of writing. The Hornets have been crying out for a new centre back since last summer and Craig Dawson brings Premier League experience at a low price. Tom Dele-Bashiru is a promising young midfielder who didn't quite make the grade at Manchester City. Watford are also currently in negotiations for Rennes winger Ismalia Sarr for what would be a club record fee, which have been going on for several weeks, making it quite the Sarr-ga (I'm not even sorry). In January Watford will finally complete the signing of Fluminese striker Joao Pedro, widely seen to be a hugely promising talent and already being watched by several of the world's biggest clubs. The fact that Watford have already secured his signature is a testament to the scouting network in South America.
In terms of departures, only Miguel Britos has been released from the first team squad, with veteran goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who was "99% sure" he would retire, signing on for another year. Some young players have been loaned out, most notably promising defender Ben Wilmot to Swansea. In terms of business to complete, Watford will want to finally get the Sarr signing over the line as well as find a loan for youngsters Cucho Hernandez and Pontus Dahlberg.
With Javi Gracia having been at the helm for one and a half years and arguably the most important transfer business of keeping the likes of Doucoure and Deulofeu taken care of, expectations going into the new season are higher than they have been since the 1980s. Relegation is seen as a possibility but not a real concern, with fans believing we will finish mid table or possibly top half.
Transfers
Highlights

Player	Type	From	To	Fee(£m)
Miguel Britos	Perm	Watford	Released	Free
Craig Dawson	Perm	West Brom	Watford	5.49
Tom Dele-Bashiru	Perm	Man City	Watford	Free
Joao Pedro	Perm (Jan 20)	Fluminese	Watford	2.25

All incoming/outgoing transfers Full 2019-20 squad
3 players to watch out for
Gerard Deulofeu
The La Masia product made his loan at Vicarage Road permanent last summer, and despite injury disrupting the start of his season and a new position at striker ended up top scorer, with some eye catching performances such as his hat trick against Cardiff and his super-sub appearance in the FA Cup Semi Final. With a full pre season and more positional familiarity, he can achieve big things this season.
Etienne Capoue
Last year's fan's Player of the Season is a criminally underrated player by non Watford supporters - the work he does in the defensive midfield brings the best out of players around him. Has struck up an excellent partnership with Doucoure over the past 18 months which should continue into this season.
Domingos Quina
Doubt he'll be starting at home to Brighton, but Quina has all the potential to be a Premier League star. Signed from West Ham on deadline day last year after turning up in the car park ten minutes before the deadline, Quina showed his creatively, comfort with the ball at his feet and ability to hit long range shots with either foot in his handful of appearances last season, and will keep the first team firmly on their toes.
What the fans think
Thanks to /Watford_FC for their help.

How do you think this season will go?

I expect us to finish around mid table. Very quiet transfer window in both regards so far. We have all of the same squad that got us to the cup final and should really have got us into Europe if Deeney, Cathcart and Foster hadn't decided to shit the bed in the final few games of the season; however the other teams around us have significantly strengthened though hard to see us finishing above West Ham, Everton, Wolves, Leicester now.

barely1egal

I’d say we will end up roughly in the same place as last season. We added Craig Dawson, so our defense should be better, but I don’t think we’ll have as good run of form against outside of the top 6 as we did last season. I’d say we will end around 9th place, maybe have a decent cup run again as well.

MuchAire

Last season was fantastic, and everyone will be looking to build on 11th. Another cup run is probable, but I think we'll struggle to improve much in the league. We'll be safe from relegation but are lacking some quality and depth compared to Everton, Wolves and Leicester. In my opinion we'll be fighting for top half with West Ham, Bournemouth and whichever of the promoted clubs hits the ground running, with some strong home games against the top six (Liverpool excluded). A cup exit in the semis to a top 6 team.

QuantumPenguin

Which player is going to be your star of the season and why?

I'd have to go for Deulofeu. He grew into his striker role over the Season, building up a decent partnership with Deeney later on in the Season. He is woeful in the air, isn't as positionally aware like Gray by drifting out wide at times when he needs to stay more central and has a penchant for doing too much rather than take the easier option but he's very quick, has developed a fairly good finish and becoming more consistent in his performances, slowly but surely. Still has a good amount of work to do but made leaps and bounds last Season in converting his role out wide to a central one.

Powerjugs

Doucoure. He was usurped by Capoue last season in terms of being our best cm, or even our best player. If he wants to go to a UCL team, as he has stated, then he needs another top season, like he did on 17/18, and I think he will. Deulofeu will want to prove last seasons scoring antics weren’t a fluke. Could also be a breakout season for Domingos Quina.

sk8boardJ

Star of the season will be Gerard Deulofeu of course but I think Etienne Capoue will quietly have another season as one of the best midfielders outside the top 6 and the same for Ben Foster being one of the best keepers outside the top 6. Del boy being our top scorer. Another name to mention that I hope gets some serious game time and becomes a star of the cups is Domingos Quina, very excited whenever this lad plays.

BrkBid

How do you think the team will line up?

Gracia predominantly uses 4-2-2-2, and has sparingly used 4-2-3-1 last Season. Against QPR in the Friendly very recently 5-3-2 (Wing backs) but we will be using 4-2-2-2 again this Season as our main formation. This is our current squad and probable line up, assuming we sign Sarr.

Powerjugs

Foster will be number one but Bachmann has been brought back to challenge. Javi typically plays 4 at the back, expect Dawson to partner Cathcart with some fullback rotation. Deeney and Deulofeu will start together up front most weeks; we rely heavily on their mentality and skill respectively. I'd expect a flat 4 midfield, but Javi does tinker from time to time. Hughes-Capoue-Doucouré-Sarr(?) most likely, with some shakeup to fit in Quina or play Hughes more centrally.

QuantumPenguin

I expect the exact same 4-2-2-2 as last season, but with Dawson substituting in for Mariappa which will look something like this. If Sarr does come as has been strongly suggested, I expect he will take one of Hughes / Pereyra's positions.

barely1egal

Wrap Up

by NickTM

The Manager: I've got to say, Javi Gracia is probably one of the least notable coaches in the league to me. He's just... there. There's no doubting his experience, though, having had spells in Spain, Greece and Russia before plying his trade in the Prem. Last season was about as good as a generally mid-table club can hope for; never in any danger of relegation whatsoever, a highest league finish since the formation of the Premier League, a cup final run and all done with a positive net spend.
The Team: Watford bring to bear a hugely multinational squad, with 17 nations represented in the first team squad alone. A well-balanced side, the hugely-experienced trio of Ben Foster, Craig Cathcart and Adrian Mariappa make up the goalkeeper and centre of defence respectively. Gracia favours something approaching a 4-2-2-2, presumably partially as a way of including all of his talented central midfielders, and so Aboulaye Doucoure, Etienne Capou, Will Hughes and Roberto Pereyra can all be found on the pitch at the same time. Up front, the mercurial Gerard Deulofeu supports Troy Deeney, who is entering his tenth season at the club. It's a strong side across the board, but despite the excellence in the centre of the pitch questions might be being asked of old warhorse Deeney if he gets off to a poor start given his 9 league goal return last season. The addition of Craig Dawson is likely a good one given Mariappa has generally found most of his success at Prem level as a rotational utility player, but it's probably fair to say Cathcart and Dawson comprise a pairing that is merely OK rather than particularly good. It's lucky, then, that Ben Foster remains one of the better keepers in the Premier League behind them.
Why to like them: Gerard Deulofeu is a delight to watch, and to an extent that also includes the entire team as individuals. There are a lot of players in this Watford side that can pull off moments of magic, be it a splitting pass or a tricky run. You've also absolutely got to respect a manager who casually pulls out a 4-2-2-2 like his team is a classic Brazil side. Watford also properly commit to a proper colour scheme and motif but refuse to restrict themselves to boring features like 'only stripes' or the like, which thematically I absolutely appreciate given the ongoing plague of boring strips in football. Isaac Success has a cracking name.
Why to dislike them: Watford fans, lemme be honest, you lot have some problems. First on the list is probably that weird way you're trying to start rivalries with other fanbases because nobody cares about your team. I've seen some Watford fans sniping at Everton of all clubs, which, let's be honest, would result in the worst-named rivalry of all time. You just know that the press would make it the Z-cars derby. There's also the way you all seem to have 'ackshuyally I think you'll find it was only affray' bound to a macro. And then there was the reaction to the FA Cup final, in which the absolutely embarrassing capitulation the team displayed on the pitch was glossed over by that most shithouse of obfuscations: "our fans outsung theirs!". Come on now. You can do better. I believe in you, Watford fans.
Also of note is the ongoing delusion by some members of the media that Watford is somehow in London, which isn't their fault but somehow still irritates. Speaking of the media, Troy Deeney's also a shit cunt who you absolutely know is lining himself up for a post-playing media career as 'the controversial one' on a panel of pundits.
Summary: Watford look like they're in a great place for the foreseeable future, but there's a very definite glass ceiling on the midtable of the Premier League. Their ambition in that regard will be to make it into Europe, but that's as unlikely to manifest consistently as it is for anyone outside of the top six. If you look downwards rather than up, it also seems unlikely for Watford to really be at a risk of relegation given the strength of their side. Much more likely would be a pop at domestic silverware, and Gracia seems to be willing to commit to a deep cup run once more. Whilst cups are by nature unbalanced and risky, a team that's anchored in midtable is often one of the better bets for getting to the final given their ability to play first teamers without risk of losing too much on weekends. Expect Watford to go for it again as they bounce around somewhere between 13th and 8th.

Links

Team Preview - Manchester City [Premier League 2019-20 - 20/20]

Manchester City

by ibpants

Welcome to the triumphant return of the Premier League Previews, a series where a fan gives an overview of his team for your perusal, and I get an excuse to take pot-shots at other clubs. This will run until the eve of the Premier League, taking a look at each club in turn. Our final preview of the season analyses our reigning champions, Manchester City.
About

Established: 1880 (as St. Mark's)/1894 (as Manchester City)
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Capacity: 55,097
Official website
Wikipedia page
Club subreddit

Last season

Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	38	32	2	4	95	23	+72	98

It went well. It went very well. After Manchester City’s Centurions season in 2017/18 saw them run away with the title setting all manner of records as they went, there was a lot of expectation that we’d see a much closer race in 2018/19. That proved to be the case as City finished 2 points shy of their record-setting total and only won the league by a single point, yet it was still the second highest points total in Premier League history and was topped off with a unique domestic clean sweep (3 or 4 domestic trophies depending on your feelings about the Community Shield).
The season kicked off with confident 2-0 victories over Chelsea in the Community Shield and Arsenal in the league opener before Kevin De Bruyne’s injury problems began (injury problems that would plague the majority of his season). His absence didn’t prove to be as pivotal as many feared/hoped, however, thanks in no small part to Bernardo Silva’s formidable season.
After the opening months City had dropped just 4 points and were looking strong, and then December happened. The packed month included 9 matches across all competitions and it took its toll as City lost 3 of their 7 Premier League matches.
Heading into January with Liverpool still unbeaten the title looked lost until the top two met at the Etihad. A true heavyweight clash delivered in entertainment and saw City take all three points by the very finest of margins as John Stones made a vital clearance through the legs of Mohamed Salah with just 11mm to spare.
After beating Liverpool City dropped just 3 more points, ending the season on a remarkable 14-game winning streak to claim the first back-to-back Premier League trophy in 10 years.

This Season

While the squad is (on paper) quite comparable to the ones that set both the highest and second highest Premier League points totals in consecutive seasons, the loss of Vincent Kompany is difficult to quantify. Cynics might reasonably point out that City are losing an ageing centre-half who only plays sporadically and is prone to occasional hasty decisions meaning they will just have to give more minutes to a younger centre-half in John Stones, who also appeared sporadically and is prone to occasional hasty decisions. In a strictly material sense that might all be true, but in among Kompany’s hasty decisions was an improbable 30-yard potshot in the 70th minute against Leicester that won the match and kept the title race in City’s hands. It’s his remarkable force of will, his experienced leadership, and his eagerness to carry the weight of the team on his shoulders when no one else can that will be missed with the departure of Kompany and it remains to be seen if there is anyone that will step and lead in the same way.
There’s some change at the back for City this season. Stones and Laporte are expected to be the first choice central pairing, but Otamendi (as the most experienced centre-half in the squad, capable of playing on the right or left side, and probably the best aerial defender in the squad) is likely to be leaned on more this coming season than last. The fourth spot will likely be a straight head-to-head between Fernandinho and the promising young Eric Garcia. At fullback there’s a little more attacking impetus than previously - Zinchenko increasingly looks like a real left back, but Mendy’s injury troubles continue, so Angelino has been brought back to maintain the depth that the outgoing Fabian Delph provided but with more of an attacking mindset. On the right you can expect Walker to finally get some days off with the introduction of another attack-minded option in Joao Cancelo.
The future of the number 6 position looks to finally have been figured out with the signing of Rodri after various misfires in the transfer market and with any luck we’ll have the joy of watching a fully fit Kevin De Bruyne all season. It remains to be seen what role David Silva will play in his final year, especially with Phil Foden needing all the minutes he can get if he is to replace the Spanish stalwart long-term.
Should Sane stay It will be the same again up top with quality depth abound all vying for their place in the matchday XI. Riyad Mahrez began finding his feet at the tail end of 18/19 with a run of strong performances so the hope, should Sane leave, is that Mahrez will continue that form and prove an ample replacement for the upcoming season.
Last season there was a need to prove that the 100 point season wasn’t a fluke. 98 points and 5 out of 5 pieces of domestic silverware later it’s been pretty well established that City probably are in fact that good and may well be able to continue putting up these kinds of numbers until either Pep leaves or the rest of the league adapts (whichever comes first).
Transfers
Highlights

Player	Type	From	To	Fee(£m)
Rodri	Perm	Atletico Madrid	Manchester City	£62.5m
Joao Cancelo	Perm	Juventus	Manchester City	£26m + Danilo
Vincent Kompany	Perm	Manchester City	RSC Anderlecht	Free

All incoming/outgoing transfers Full 2019-20 squad
3 players to watch out for
David Silva
Worth watching out for if only because this is likely to be the last Premier League season for one of the league's greats. On top of that, with the departure of Vincent Kompany, David Silva will be the most senior member of the dressing room and is widely expected to take on the captaincy. Despite making his name as an archetypical number 10, David Silva has managed to stand out as a dynamic and modern number 8 - while at 33 he may not be quite the player he once was but he continues to provide much of the creativity in the final third so enjoy him while you can.
Rodri
The number 6 position in general will be one to watch this season. In previous years Fernandinho has been undisputed first choice, but at 34 years of age he can’t last forever. Ilkay Gundogan started to make a case for himself in the run-in last season having finally added a little extra defensive nous to his already outstanding passing range and ended the season as a starter. New signing Rodri (at age 23) appears to be the future of the number 6 role - touted by many as Busquets 2.0 and now training under the same coach that brought Busquets to the world’s attention, Rodri’s ascent seems inevitable, but arriving in a new league and playing rather a different style of football will test his adaptability in the short-term.
Kevin De Bruyne
Not exactly a hidden gem here but your life can only be improved by watching out for a fully fit KDB. De Bruyne was among the very best players in the League (if not world) in 2017/18 but struggled significantly with injuries and missed much of last season. It may seem like a stretch to say that he was “missed” given the levels City reached last season but when he’s in the team City can transition much more efficiently and there’s always a sense that one pass could cut open even the most resolute defence.
What the fans think
Thanks to /MCFC for their help.

How do you think this season will go?

Last season was an unprecedened success, winning every domestic trophy possible. The aim for this season will obviously be to continue on as we have been domestically, and improve in Europe. The past two campaigns have been disappointing, and I think we can do better - but will we? It's hard to say. However, I think we're the most equipped team to fight on two fronts - especially after signing Rodri, in a position we've always lacked cover - so I think retaining the title is feasible, and I'd be happy with an improved performance in Europe.

ElliotDX

I think we'll win the league. I think our fixture schedule is fairly kind to us (easier run-in than Liverpool and most of our tricky away games are in the first half of the season when we're usually on fire). I trust our players a lot more this time around - although you could argue that the Old Guard carried us in the final weeks of last season, the younger players have got experience and confidence now, and I think that's invaluable.

lmh971

Which player is going to be your star of the season and why?

KDB has looked frightening ever since he came off the bench at the FA Cup (not to mention his performance against Tottenham before his last injury). He seems angry and frustrated about last season, as if he's got something to prove. I think he's a shoe-in for our player of the season if he can stay fit. I can also see Jesus and Mahrez really coming into their own this season; both of them suffered from low confidence last season, and I think the summers that they had and their great performances at the end of last season signal a lot of growth from both of them.

lmh971

I think we'll win the league again. This time around I don't think it'll be a close title race like it was last season. We'll get around 93 points while Liverpool will finish second and get around 88 points. In the FA and League cup, I think we'll win one the two and may get knocked out early in the other one. I think this season in the CL, we'll finally reach the final but lose the final.

Max0699

Gonna go with Bernardo Silva. Let him play his own game and he is one of the best in the league. You would be hard pressed to find many better in the division. Down and up the pitch he works tirelessly. Never gives up. Gonna be hard to find anyone to outperform him this season. Run, pass, shoot, tackle, he can do it all. Around him he has an aura of a greatness.

FreeLook93

How do you think the team will line up?

4-3-3 like always, but with even more depth. Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko; Rodri/Dinho, Silva, KdB; Sterling, Aguero, Bernardo, should be our first choice starting XI. Rodri vs Dinho is anyone's guess. If Mahrez steps up, we might see Bernardo moved to the midfield paired with KdB. Aguero will continue to start over Jesus, Nico will likely rotate with Stones and Cancelo (if he comes) will rotate with WalkeZinchenko. We might even see Mendy play a full match before the season ends.

blueradium

And now we come to the hardest part, predicting the line up. Desert any dreams on consistency at the door. You are going to see a lot of rotation from City this season. Never assume we will have everyone healthy at the same time, but if we do I think this is how we will line up.

FreeLook93

4-3-3 formation
Ederson
Walker-Stones-Laporte-Zinchenko
De Bruyne-Rodri-D.Silva
B. Silva-Aguero-Sterling

Max0699

Wrap Up

by NickTM

The Manager: The legendary Pep Guardiola. Not much to say about him that hasn't already been said at length. A managerial genius, Guardiola's dogmatic adherence to the style of play he passionately believes in is no deterrence to the outright dominance of his teams. With 28 pieces of silverware in his collection as a manager alone, he's as close to a guaranteed title win as you can get from a manager of a top club. Entering his 11th year of top-level manager, his brilliance remains undimmed.
The Team: Simply put, Manchester City's team is terrifying. It's unlikely any club team has brought to bear this level of depth in talent in the Premier League at very least. Ederson holds court between the sticks in his third season at the club, and Aymeric Laporte partners one of Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones just in front. Danilo has been replaced by Joao Cancelo at right back, and Oleksandr Zinchenko's highly successful conversion to left back makes him the leading contender for that spot. It's in midfield where the team wins their games, though, a superlative array of talent fronted by Silvas David and Bernardo, held together by Fernandinho (and the newly arrived Rodri) and powered by Ilkay Gündogan's dynamism. An attacking trio containing Raheem Sterling, the supremely reliable Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus will be affected but not brought low by the unfortunate loss of Leroy Sane. That's without even mentioning the brilliance of the returning Kevin De Bruyne, the promise of Phil Foden or the absolute talent of Scott Carson. It is a glittering squad.
Why to like them: Guardiola's teams play football 'the right way' (tm) and whilst their style of play isn't necessarily my favourite, it's hard to not appreciate the sheer fluidity of attack and technical prowess being displayed. Raheem Sterling has also blossomed from the kid with a dodgy agent who sacked off Liverpool at a moment's notice to England's leading attacking talent and icon for the fight against discrimination in football.
Why to dislike them: Their owners essentially launder the image of a brutal, oppressive regime as well as their own grimy reputations simply by owning a successful football team, and it clearly worked for City fans. Personally, despite all the fanboying over their playstyle, I'm not really much of a fan. Pep Guardiola has a tendency to be unbearably smug at times. Also, they're really fucking good, so it's fun to watch them lose.
Summary: Got it in the bag, surely? Man City replaced their major first team loss in Danilo and propped up Fernandinho's advancing age with his heir apparent in Rodri. Their strength in depth continues to be unrivaled, and Raheem Sterling continues to improve as Sergio Aguero has shown no signs of slowing down. The major questions for me revolve first around losing Leroy Sane, which takes away not just some options in depth but also a truly direct runner that City could well miss against certain teams. More notable might be the intangible loss of Vincent Kompany, the City legend departing to Anderlecht as player-manager. Kompany's leadership and will to win were obvious even in one of his numerous spells on the sidelines, and when he got on the pitch he'd produce moments of brilliance that have kept Man City alive when they were faltering - the most recent being that wonderful goal against Leicester that sent them top. It's a strong team with a lot of experienced leaders, but it's hard to calculate the value of such a talisman until he's gone. With all that said, you'd be a fool to bet against them retaining their title, and you have to make them favourites at this early stage.

Links

Team Preview - Newcastle United [Premier League 2019-20 - 8/20]

Newcastle United

by AjaxTreesdown

Welcome to the triumphant return of the Premier League Previews, a series where a fan gives an overview of his team for your perusal, and I get an excuse to take pot-shots at other clubs. This will run until the eve of the Premier League, taking a look at each club in turn. Today from way down south we're going way up north, with Newcastle United.

About

Established: 1892
Stadium: St James' Park
Capacity: 52,354
Official website
Wikipedia page
Club subreddit

Last season

Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
13th	38	12	9	17	42	48	-6	45

Pre-season began 12 months ago with a lot of Newcastle fans filled with hope after a 10th placed finish. Mikel Merino and Aleksandar Mitrovic were sold to Real Sociedad and Fulham respectively, with their replacements being Ki Sung-Yeung on a free and Salomon Rondon on loan. Chancel Mbemba was also sold to Porto, while Fabian Schär and Federico Fernandez came in at centre back. Martin Dubravka and Kenedy returned to the club after impressive loan spells, with Dubravka signing permanently. Yoshinori Muto was also signed from Mainz as the most expensive purchase for us at £9.5m.
An awful start to the season saw us fail to win in our first 10 league games. In fairness, we did play 5 of the eventual top 6 in this time, but it was still a shocking run. Despite decent performances against Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City, we completely bottled games against Cardiff, Leicester and Manchester United, throwing away a 2-0 half time lead at Old Trafford. A scrappy game vs Watford in early November was our first win of the season. We beat Bournemouth and Burnley in our following two games, instilling hope into the fans that maybe we weren't terrible after all. We then won 1 game in our next 9. ¯\(ツ)/¯
22 games into the season, we sat in 18th place on 18 points. we were 3 points away from Brighton in 15th and 7 points clear of Huddersfield at the foot of the table. Gameweek 23 saw us hosting Cardiff at home. We won 3-0 with a strong performance in a game that could have been the biggest result of our season, but 10 days later Manchester City came to St James' Park and we made headlines around the world by winning 2-1, in one of the biggest shocks of the season. Our midfield that game was Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff, who was thrust into the limelight after being praised by Pep Guardiola. The fans' mood was at an insane high, boosted again 2 days later when Miguel Almiron's arrival finally broke the club's record transfer fee.
The back to back victories and Almiron's arrival revitalised the team, narrowly losing to Tottenham, drawing with Wolves and beating fellow relegation candidates Huddersfield and Burnley quite convincingly. A 2-0 defeat away to West Ham dented the team's form (we only picked up 4 points from the next 4 games) and saw Sean Longstaff ruled out for the remaining 9 games of the season with a severe knee injury.
The following game saw us do what Manchester United had done to us 5 months prior. Everton led 2-0 at St James' Park at half time, but a Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez masterclass saw the game finish 3-2. This signalled the beginning of an unplayable run of form for Perez, scoring 8 goals in 9 games including a hat trick against Southampton in what might be the best performance I've ever seen from a Newcastle player. The final 3 games of the season saw us draw to Brighton, lose to Liverpool in the dying moments thanks to Origi being the biggest clutch player alive and a comprehensive 4-0 victory against Fulham. A 13th placed finish was far better than we hoped for after the winless streak at the beginning of the season. At the time we were overjoyed, but everything that has happened with the club since has made the positives from last season somewhat bittersweet.

This Season

At the time of writing, Summer has been nothing short of disastrous so far. The season ended with some optimism that Rafa Benitez was going to sign a contract extension, we would sign Salomon Rondon permanently and that a wealthy group from the Middle East were interested in buying the club and finally ending Mike Ashley's reign as the owner of the club. Rafa left has left and signed for Chinese second division Dalian Yifang, with Rondon joining him. The takeover seems to be dead in the water, with Steve Bruce being appointed as manager on a 3 year contract. As of yet, there have been no players signed to the senior team, while Ayoze Perez and Joselu have been sold. We're expecting Joelinton to be announced in the next few days for what will be another record breaking fee, but I'm not optimistic that he will be good enough to drag us up the table.
The most I can currently hope for this season is a relegation battle that sees us narrowly stay up. Right now, I'm not sure I'll even care by the time we get past January. A sad reality that a good number of Newcastle fans are facing.
Transfers
Highlights

Player	Type	From	To	Fee(£m)
Ayoze Perez	Permanent	Newcastle United	Leicester City	30
Joelinton	Permanent	Hoffenheim	Newcastle United	40
Jose Salomon Rondon	End of Loan	Newcastle United	West Bromwich Albion	N/A

All incoming/outgoing transfers Full 2019-20 squad
3 players to watch out for
Sean Longstaff
Longstaff's recovery from injury is something I worry about a lot. Rolando Aarons' progress at Newcastle was similar; a handful of promising appearances ended by severe knee injuries. We have slapped a £50m price tag on him to ward off Manchester United this summer, which I hope we don't end up looking foolish for. Longstaff's tireless work rate, tidy passing and his threat from range (he scored numerous screamers when at Blackpool 2 years ago) will be instrumental if he returns as strong as he was last season.
Florian Lejeune
While Fabian Schär and Jamaal Lascelles have been the centre backs to receive the plaudits in the last 2 seasons, Florian Lejeune has gone somewhat under the radar when he has been equal to, and sometimes even better, than the pair of them. His involvement in the squad has at times been restricted by the two anterior cruciate ligament tears he has suffered, despite him returning from both of them in half the time footballers usually take to recover. Lejeune's positional awareness and composure on the ball made him a consistently effective defensive partner to Lascelles and Schär, while his passing accuracy and range on the left side of a back 3 was a great asset to the attacking movements under Rafa Benitez. With Steve Bruce likely opting for a very direct approach this season, Lejeune's distribution will be very important.
Jonjo Shelvey
I wanted to say Miguel Almiron, as the only player remaining from the Perez-Rondon-Almiron front 3 that was so promising last season, but I think Jonjo Shelvey could be very pivotal player. A number of Rafa's outcasts from last season like Dwight Gayle, Rolando Aarons and Jack Colback will return to the fray much to the dismay of many fans. It's Shelvey however, that catches my eye. Shelvey has talent that few players in the Premier League possess, a pinpoint accuracy with diagonal long passing that is a dream to any wide player capable of exploiting space. The downside to him is just about everything else. His poor work rate and lacking athleticism means he often can't provide adequate cover to the defence and his temper (albeit improved in recent times) means he is always a potential red card. He's a player to watch for better or worse. His performances could result in us gaining 10 points this season, or losing that many.
What the fans think
Thanks to /NUFC for their help.

How do you think this season will go?

Not as well as any of us want it to, but also not as bad as many think it will go. So (optimistically) somewhere between 11-16.

MilburnStand

I think we'll finish 13th if (and it's a big if) we make another couple of decent signings. I loved Rafa, but he would often freeze players out of the team for unknown reasons, and I think some of those coming back will have something to prove. My call for player of the season is Shelvey for that reason, I think he'll be called back in and his long Hollywood passes will work well with Almiron and another fast winger (ASM?).

spinynorman1846

We will all get increasingly annoyed as historically 'smaller' clubs than us like Wolves, Bournemouth, Watford and Leicester take an easy three points from us home and away. Their owners have actual ambition for their clubs and have proper facilities and coaching. We've got Steve Bruce in command and some wheelie bins for ice baths. The big 6 teams will beat us despite our plucky performances, we will play out grinding draws or fluky 1-0 wins against other relegation fodder teams like Brighton and Sheffield United. Meanwhile beloved ex-players like Shola Ameobi will get airtime on Sky Sports to tell everyone how great Mike Ashley is. If we don't get relegated then it will be a miracle, some fans hope that we do go down because they believe Fat Mike might be more likely to sell if we are in the Championship/League One.

EdgarAetheling

Which player is going to be your star of the season and why?

Lejeuene. He's arguably our best player but his time with us has been marred with injuries. However, when he has played he has given us that boost we needed out from defence. He's a ball playing centre-back who also has great defensive capabilities. A trio of him, Schar and Lascelles will be key for us this coming season.

The_White_Django

If Almiron can carry his form over despite losing the two players he linked up so well with it'll be him. If Joelinton can find his feet and score the goals to keep us up then him.

SilenceoftheRedditrs

Isaac Hayden. He was quality at the back end of last season, and his personal problems appear to have subsided/been resolved to an extent. Hopefully, this means he will push on and make a case for a potential national team call up.

ThinWhiteMale

How do you think the team will line up?

GK Dubravka
Back 5: Manquillo, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, Ritchie
MF: Longstaff, Hayden, Shelvey
ST: Joelinton, Almiron

EdgarAetheling

Formation.

MilburnStand

Dubravka. A back 5 of Manquillo Schär Lascelles Dummett and Ritchie. Longstaff and Hayden CMs, Almiron Joelinton Muto the forwards.

wingardium_leviosah

Wrap Up

by NickTM

The Manager: Well, beloved manager Rafa Benitez finally decided that enough was enough after his contract expired in the summer and went off to enjoy being filthy fucking rich in China, smuggling his boy Salomon Rondon through customs along with him. Equally beloved owner Mike Ashley decided that the logical choice to replace this Champions League-winning, multiple time La Liga-winning, two-time UEFA Manager of the Year was with... Steve Bruce. Oh boy. Look, as much as I like to use this section to poke some fun, I'm still a Palace fan, and thus I can't quite bring myself to align myself anywhere other than in line with your average Newcastle fan's reaction towards him. It was a pathetic appointment. Bruce, fresh off jumping ship from Sheffield Wednesday as soon as he saw an opportunity in the Premier League - managing to land Newcastle in hot water legally whilst he was at it, true to form - arrives with a mediocre track record in the Premier League and a spell managing bitter rivals Sunderland for one and a half incredibly average seasons. Baffling.
The Team: Benitez managed to cut out quite a lot of the deadwood and refresh the squad significantly during his tenure, which left Newcastle with a team that was reasonably balanced and able to compete across the pitch. Unfortunately, his departure was followed in quick succession by the aforementioned Salomon Rondon's loan finishing and also Ayoze Perez, a flaky but talented forward, departing to Leicester City for a hefty £30m sum. In order to compensate for the shortfall up front, a huge £40m was shelled out for Hoffenheim's Joelinton, who arrives with an okay-but-not-really-that-good goal record spread across two years out on loan at Rapid Wien and one at his former parent club. Much will be expected of him between donning the coveted number 9 shirt and the so-far limited effectiveness of last year's signing Yoshinori Muto. Elsewhere, the defence will look to continue the form that saw it become the most effective unit in the bottom half, and much has been made of the admittedly limited gametime Sean Longstaff has had in the Prem so far. Ultimately, it looks like Newcastle will be relying heavily on Joelinton to hit the ground running and Miguel Almiron to really show his class tucked in behind him.
Why to like them: I quite like DeAndre Yedlin as one of the United States' attempts to plonk a superlative athlete on a football pitch in hope he'll become a superstar. Miguel Almiron's a treat to watch play, and if the team loses there's always the faint hope one of their fans will go full Little Mac on an ungulate.
Why to dislike them: Half their identity is based on beating a League One team that they haven’t beat in 8 years. Their fans claim to hate Mike Ashley - which, let's be honest, they get a little hysterical about given they make him out to be absolute footballing Lucifer when there's probably half a dozen owners in English football alone that you'd choose him over - and yet have had about one sort-of-effective protest in the entire time he's been an owner. They're still so mentally broken by a bedsheet some bloke had scribbled a half-baked pun on that there's genuine animosity towards Aston Villa to this day. Couple that with all the proclaimations of being a 'big club' despite not really ever having achieved that much comparatively and you can see why so many fans in England often end up a little irked by them.
Also, Steve Bruce can fuck off, the pudgy northern mercenary wrister.
Summary: Newcastle weren't really good last year, and you feel the strength of Benitez' management was the thing really holding them together. With Rafa gone and an already significant outlay spent on a single transfer, things look even more grim this season. You wouldn't bet on Steve Bruce to maintain their integrity defensively, their forwards have been weakened at very least in depth, and whilst the midfield is solid it's not entirely inspiring. If you can find good odds on a midseason managerial sacking, I'd be tempted.

Links

Team Preview - Southampton [Premier League 2019-20 - 5/20]

Southampton FC

by NickTM

Welcome to the triumphant return of the Premier League Previews, a series where ~~a fan~~ I, in this case, gives an overview of ~~his~~ a team for your perusal, and I get an excuse to take pot-shots at other clubs. This will run until the eve of the Premier League, taking a look at each club in turn. Today we're staying on the south coast and taking a day in Southampton.
About

Established: 1885
Stadium: St Mary's
Capacity: 32,384
Official website
Wikipedia page
Club subreddit

Last season

Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
16	38	9	12	17	45	65	-20	39

Southampton underwent what some politely call a 'transition year' last season out. A raft of player turnover marked the close season; Dusan Tadic, Guido Carrillo, Sofiane Boufal, Jordy Clasie, Harrison Reed, Josh Sims, Florin Gardos and Jeremy Pied all left the club on loan or permanently over the summer, with Wesley Hoedt, Cedric Soares and Steven Davis all being shipped out on loan in the winter window. Manolo Gabbiadini also returned to his home country in January after a spell in which he generally failed to catch fire in a way the Saints had hoped. To bolster the squad, Celtic's Stuart Armstrong was brought in alongside centre back Jannik Vestergaard, Norwegian forward Mohamed Elyounoussi and Manchester City's Angus Gunn, the latter introduced with expectations of being the team's goalkeeper potentially for the next decade or beyond. Finally, Danny Ings arrived on loan, seeking to revive a career that had stalled due to a succession of nasty injuries.
Despite this, Southampton endured the first half of the season in something close to a full-blown crisis. A win against Crystal Palace in September proved the only one for months, and as the season wore on and the team's position slipped ever lower in the table, so the stakeholders began to feel the heat. First to go was vice-chairman Les Reed and he was followed swiftly by technical director Martin Hunter before the axe finally fell on manager Mark Hughes, who left the club after 8 months with a brutal record of 3 wins in 22 league games. His replacement was, seemingly, already lined up, and within two days Ralph Hasenhüttl had been confirmed as manager. His first game in charge was an important loss in a relegation six-pointer against Cardiff, but in their manager's first home game Danny Ings scored twice and Charle Austin netted five minutes from time to claim a 3-2 victory over Arsenal and change the entire complex of the season.
From there, Southampton slowly but surely dug themselves out of trouble. A draw against Chelsea highlighted the newfound defensive competence of the team and wins over Leicester and Everton soon followed, the Saints pulling off a critical win against Fulham to drag themselves out of the relegation zone. Three more wins in the next five games consolidated them as relegation rivals faltered, and eventually a back-and-forth 3-3 against Bournemouth sealed their Premier League status for another season.

This Season

Well, the subreddit certainly seems to have bought into the cult of Ralph. They're not the only ones buying, either; Southampton moved quickly to bring in one Che Zach Everton Fred Adams, who continues his meteoric rise from non-league to finally end up in the Premier League. Other reinforcements also came in attack, with a £20m outlay enough to turn Danny Ings' loan into a permanent transfer. The final signing so far was Moussa Djenepo, a hugely talented winger from Standard Liege. Elsewhere, a fond farewell was said to the continually underrated Steven Davis, whilst Matt Targett and Jordy Clasie both departed.
It's clear Hasenhüttl has a vision for how he wants his team to play, so it's likely Southampton will be trying to employ his favoured hassling, high tempo style, and the signings so far underline that. Che Adams is a particularly intriguing player, as the dominant Championship striker failing to make the grade at the Prem is a well-worn trope, but he most definitely fits Ralph's style and his time in the lower leagues has furnished him with a wealth of experience and gamesense despite his relatively tender years. Danny Ings is, of course, a known quantity, having departed Liverpool with a fair amount of love from the fans, and the insurance of having a proven Premier League quality striker cannot be overstated for a team that battled relegation last year. If everything works out and the team pushes upwards in the table, Djenepo's raw talent will become all the more enticing with more freedom to play.
Saints fans will expect to be heading back towards the realms of the table they've made their own in recent years as opposed to slumming it in the bottom third, and despite their travails last season the core of the team is still very strong. It'd be a brave man to bet big against them making the top half again.
Transfers
Highlights

Player	Type	From	To	Fee(£m)
Che Adams	Perm	Birmingham City	Southampton	15
Moussa Djenepo	Perm	Standard Liege	Southampton	Undisc.
Danny Ings	Perm	Liverpool	Southampton	20

All incoming/outgoing transfers Full 2019-20 squad
3 players to watch out for
Nathan Redmond
Saints' reigning player of the year began to show some properly impressive form under Hasenhüttl, and expectations are accordingly raised.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
It's hard to understate Højbjerg's influence in midfield, and he's often the driving force behind much of what Southampton do well on the pitch.
Moussa Djenepo
Who knows how his season will pan out or even how much he'll be involved, but there's a reason young, tricky wingers always engender such excitement amongst the fans. If he settles in and hits form, Djenepo could well end up looking like a masterstroke.
What the fans think
Thanks to /SaintsFC for their help.

How do you think this season will go?

The season is looking promising with Ralph having a full pre season and premier league experience. The team have made some good signings and we could come around mid-Table. I’m being optimistic and thinking 10th is doable.

SheenoW_

A strong mid table dropping to around 13th at the lowest, a slow start to the beginning of the season but once the rhythm gets going with the newer manager and players I feel it well gel together quite quickly.

Sat_At_My_Desk

I'm quietly optimistic with how this season will go. Despite the fact we continue to ship out the deadwood and reduce the size of the squad, we have brought in some electric forwards in Che Adams and Moussa Djenepo. Hasenhuttl has given us a glimpse of what is to come, and with a full pre-season under his belt, I'm hopefully that we will find ourselves back in the top half like we were a few seasons ago.

conman14

Which player is going to be your star of the season and why?

Nathan Redmond, at the start of last season he was an unpopular figure with the Saints fans but he comes into this season as our reigning Player of the Year and for good reason. Hasenhuttl’s high-octane style suits him down to the ground, he’s gone from stuck on the wing for a side who constantly slowed down play in the final third to being a more central player in a team that aims to win the ball high up, break forward, and get shots off quickly. He’s always had bags of talent but poor decision making, playing in a team with a clear tactical plan that suits his qualities should lead to him getting at least 10 goals this season.

TheRalphExpress

Ward-Prowse added a whole new side to his game last season under Hasenhuttl, adding an edge that he never showed early in his career - this means that is finally set to establish himself as a starter in the team, after showing plenty of promise but never really finding a permanent role up to now. His set piece ability is also up there with the best in the league.

conman14

Either Che Adams or Nathan Redmond. Both have a lot to prove and had good previous seasons which will hopefully continue into this one.

Sat_At_My_Desk

How do you think the team will line up?

---------------------------Gunn
-----------Bednarek-----------Vestergaard
Valery-----------------------------------------------Bertrand
------------------Höjbjerg----------Romeu
Djenepo--------------------------------------------Redmond
--------------------Adams----------Ings

The-Wanderer-01

If Ralph moves towards his 4-2-2-2, maybe something like this? Though as others have mentioned, 5ATB is also a possibility against stronger teams.

conman14

Hasenhuttl is known to prefer the 4-2-2-2 but has spoken a lot about changing formations mid-game, has a history of changing formations from game to based on opposition with us (my favorite example is lining up in a 5-2-3 with wingers against Wolves to exploit the space behind their wing backs in a match we won 3-1 thanks to our wingers finding those spaces) and hasn’t been shy about making clear tactical alterations within games.
We’ll likely see the 4-2-2-2 used, along with some variations of a 5-3-2/5-2-3 from time to time but we won’t be beholden to playing in one particular formation by any means.
In terms of the players nailed onto the team sheet, that’s probably Gunn, Valery, Bednarek, Bertrand, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, and Redmond with Ings, Che Adams, Vestergaard, Romeu, and Djenepo also getting plenty of playing time. I reckon we’ll see a lot of Michael Obafemi off the bench as an impact sub, with room for another one or two academy players to earn themselves plenty of playing time
TheRalphExpress

Wrap Up

by NickTM

The Manager: Given the amount of times Ralph Hasenhüttl's name has come up in this preview alone I'd be amazed if you need that much more of a breakdown of him, so I'll keep it short. The former RB Leipzig manager already dug Southampton out of quite a hole last season, and his penchant for an aggressive and fast style of play should make Southampton intriguing viewing.
The Team: As mentioned earlier, it's surprising a team of this assembled talent managed to dance with the drop so much last season. Ryan Bertrand, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Mario Lemina, Nathan Redmond, James Ward-Prowse; these names are just a sampling of a laundry list of proper Premier League-level players that should be finding their level again this season. It remains to be see what will happen in regards to Mario Lemina and Charlie Austin appears to have had a slapfight with his manager, so expect more of both ins and outs in the coming weeks.
Why to like them: James Ward-Prowse is a bit of a throwback player, a not particularly quick sort-of winger with a deadly delivery of the ilk that's just nice to still have around. Their Twitter signing announcement videos actually hit that lovely sweet spot where they're clearly putting effort in, but it resulting in a tongue-in-cheek bit of fun rather than some horribly overblown and dramatic 2 minute long biopic. Everyone loves them a bit of Danny Ings, noodle tendons and all. Shane Long's name can be shortened to Shlong.
Why to dislike them: Jesus Christ how can you fuck up red and white stripes so badly?! It looks like you've got to get rid of leftover black ink. Also, it's incredibly uncharitable to dislike their existence fuelling others fans' shite banter about how they're a Liverpool B team, and yet...
Summary: Not too much to say that I haven't already, I feel. It'd be surprising to see them anywhere below 14th given their array of talent, but I suspect most Southampton fans would be happy with simply going the season without getting into a proper relegation scrap. The team is young and talented and has time on its side, so a year of consolidation wouldn't be the worst thing by any means, but I expect good things nonetheless.

Links

Aston Villa | Sheffield United | Norwich City | Brighton

Team Preview - Bournemouth [Premier League 2019-20 - 7/20]

AFC Bournemouth

by bluecherry94

Welcome to the triumphant return of the Premier League Previews, a series where a fan gives an overview of his team for your perusal, and I get an excuse to take pot-shots at other clubs. This will run until the eve of the Premier League, taking a look at each club in turn. We're continuing our seaside theme today with AFC Bournemouth.

About

Established: 1890
Stadium: The Vitality Stadium (Dean Court)
Capacity: 11,329
Official website
Wikipedia page
Club subreddit

Last season

Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
14	38	13	6	19	56	70	-14	45

After the first 12 games of last season and sitting pretty in 6th place, rumour has it that certain Cherries fans had started picking which destination they'd prefer for a Europa league 1st qualifying round away day. However after yet more long-term injuries and a resulting loss of form the season fizzled out to a safe 14th place. Don't let the 14th place finish fool you as in my opinion this was the season where the most progression was made since promotion to the Premier League, with the team pulling off some brilliant results (see Bournemouth 4 - 0 Chelsea) and a slight tweaking the style of play, producing scintillating football at times.
The emergence of the deadly "front 4" providing goals and assists galore saw Callum Wilson finally get his deserved international call up and debut goal against the USA, resulting in him being linked to Chelsea for £40m+ in January. Ryan Fraser narrowly missed out on being the top assister in the Premier League to a certain £130m Galactico and has in result been linked with the likes of Everton and Arsenal for £30m (with a year left on his deal). David Brooks has emerged from young boy into a £50m player linked with Manchester United and Josh King continues to be one of the most criminally underrated strikers in the Premier League. With these 4 signed at a combined £13.4m, I'd say the efforts of Eddie's long term planning are coming to fruition.
As has been the issue with every campaign since promotion however, the defence has been the issue. 70 goals were conceded last year, a figure beaten only by Fulham and Huddersfield, who will be playing for Championship glory next season. However a return of 56 goals scored, the most outside the top 6 make up for this. Don't ever say you don't get value for money at Dean Court.
The final couple of games gave reason for optimism however. A brilliant debut against Spurs for young Irish keeper Mark Travers came as a pleasant surprise, as well as promising performances from young fringe players such as January signings Chris Mepham and Dominic Solanke as well as academy product Jack Simpson.
Overall, another entertaining season of good football was left with the bitter-sweet taste of what could have been after that early season form. Injuries to Lewis Cook and record signing Jefferson Lerma were absolutely key, and came at the same time as the drop in form, which is no coincidence. It is hard to complain as a Bournemouth fan, but you get the feeling that fans are starting to get frustrated at a stale-ness within the club. No progress has been made on a new stadium and the cups still seem to be an opportunity to give fringe players some minutes. The new training ground is however under way, so the pavilion outside the ground can stop being used for training soon enough and hopefully can be used as a tool to attract better players to the South Coast. As if the beach and the prospect of a house on Sandbanks was enough!

This Season

After spending £31m (Transfermarkt) on Chris Mepham and Dominic Solanke in January of last season, I wasn't expecting too much from the business this summer. Eddie had been chasing Mepham for what seemed like an eternity, so I'm excited to see what he'll bring to the table this season and Dominic Solanke seems to be hugely rated in the England setup, however he has a job displacing King or Wilson up top.
So far only 2 signings have come in, and they can now be described as very 'Bournemouth' signings. We seem to have found a niche in attracting some of the best young British talent in the Football League and offering them a chance at breaking into a team in the Premier League. Lloyd Kelly comes in for £13m as a highly rated left back who, again is highly rated in the England setup and performed well at Championship level last season for Bristol City. We've also signed right-back Jack Stacey from Luton Town who, I confess I don't know much about but he seems like a full back who loves to get forward and scored a few goals last season as well.
We're rumoured to be looking for a Goalkeeper, Centre Midfielder and a StrikeWinger in the rest of the window. We've been strongly linked with Jack Butland, who could go down as one of the best signings in our history if completed as he was very close to Jordan Pickford in competing for England's #1 spot, but his stock has dropped after playing for an underperforming Stoke in the Championship. That superb shot-stopper is still in there however and could be a massive signing. We also seem to be heavily linked with Philip Billing from Huddersfield. From afar I've heard stories about him having a bad attitude when not picked which you never like to hear, but Eddie could go after Anna from Love Island for all I care, I'd still back him to make the right decision on signing a player.
In terms of exits, we've managed to start being able to get good fees for our players. £20m rising to £26m for Tyrone Mings is a great deal for all parties. It's such a shame it hasn't worked out for Tyrone and I truly wish him all the best at Villa. Whoever managed to convince Sheffield United to not only target Lys Mousset, but fork out £10m for him deserves a heavy commission as a result of that sale. You can see he's got ability, but he's too friendly with Jordon Ibe and I don't think that's helped his attitude. It was a sad moment to see Marc Pugh finally leave, however it's absolutely the right time. As of the time of writing this, Harry Arter is still with us and I would love to see him charging around our midfield again.
To use the old cliche however, the best business this summer has been to retain the aforementioned front 4. Wee man (Ryan Fraser) still hasn't signed a new deal as of yet. With 1 year remaining I'd be gutted to see him go on a free, but I heard someone saw he liked a tweet begging him to sign a deal. Looking forward to the official announcement in the coming days.
I'd love to see us have a go in the cups, I've always said it would be a dream to see Bournemouth at Wembley and I feel we're established enough as a Premier League side to be able to afford the risk of a deep cup run. However as always, the priority has to be staying in the league.
Transfers
Highlights

Player	Type	From	To	Fee(£m)
Lloyd Kelly	Transfer	Bristol City	Bournemouth	£13.3m
Jack Stacey	Transfer	Luton Town	Bournemouth	£4m
Lys Mousset	Transfer	Bournemouth	Sheffield United	£10m
Tyrone Mings	Transfer	Bournemouth	Aston Villa	£20m

All fees from Transfermarkt
All incoming/outgoing transfers Full 2019-20 squad
3 players to watch out for
David Brooks
It's hard to put Brooksy in as a player to watch out for after a break-out season last year, but boy does he have talent. Dejavu occured when he got injured during the 4-0 battering of Chelsea which ruled him out for a while. I can see him progressing further this year and providing more game deciding contributions, could be one to watch out for in the Fantasy League too as he's got bags of goals and assists in him.
Lewis Cook
Had injuries not been a concept, Lewis would be a sure starter in England's midfield. Yet again his season was ended early with a ligament injury and he's only just come back into training. However given an extended run of games he can build a formidable partnership in midfield with yellow card machine Jefferson Lerma to put him right back in contention for another England call up.
Chris Mepham
As mentioned above, Eddie had chased Mepham for 18 months prior to him actually signing in January last year for £12m. Another one of those 'Bournemouth' signings who can come from the Football League and make an impact at Premier League club. Steve Cook and Nathan Ake have become the standout centre-back partnership for us over the last 2 years, however if last season's 70 goal concession is on it's way to being repeated, something will have to change and from the few performances (bar his debut away at Arsenal) he put in last season I can see him progressing to be a real leader in the team. I've seen him touted as a future Wales captain and I'd love to see him also develop the leadership qualities to be a key part of our team to come.
What the fans think
Thanks to /AFCBournemouth for their help.

How do you think this season will go?

We should be capable of making the top half of the table. I wouldn't be surprised if we fall somewhat short of this ambition at the start of 2020 when we have a number of easier fixtures. With another possible league cup quarter final in the mix this would be very much on the cards in my mind. I'd hope for 52-54 points if we're playing as good as we can but 46-48 would be expected.

Teddythesecond

It's going to very much depend on us getting over our injury problems, because they seem to rear their ugly head every season, but I am quietly optimistic of challenging our high points total of 16-17. If we get the luck we can maybe do a Wolves. We have a nicely settled team and I think that will work in our favour over buying lots. I wouldn't mind two or three new ins to replace outgoings though.

nidriks

We’ll finish on our highest points tally to date, but not highest table position. We’ll be plagued by injuries a couple of these will be out for long periods (Wilson, Fraser, Brooks, Lewis cook) that will result in some non-starters having to step up.

AnUpsideDownOwl

Which player is going to be your star of the season and why?

David Brooks or Lewis Cook would be the best bets. Brooks is extremely technically gifted and I fully expect him to be one of our highest contributers in combined goals and assists next season. With the Euros coming next summer he should be attracting all sorts of admirers so this might be his last season with us. Cook on the other hand is essential to how Eddie Howe wants us to play. His passing ability is unmatched in our squad and he sets the tempo of how we play. He's back from a lengthy injury so I'm hoping his presence could revitalise the squads performances. Might not contribute in goals and assists but will certainly play a decisive part in whether or not we have a successful season.

Teddythesecond

It could be any one of four or five. At Bournemouth we don't really seem to do star players, but put it down to a team effort. Saying that, Ryan Fraser is going to be a key player, simply down to the fact that we still don't know for sure that he is staying. If Fraser stays then his partnership with Callum Wilson is again going to be pivotal.
I'm excited to see how our midfield shapes up this season too. Lewis Cook has the ability to really cement himself as a future England staple, and I really believe Jefferson Lerma can show how good he really is in his second season in England. Lerma is the tough man in midfield we have cried out for for years (ever since Marvin Bartley in L1 really - different standard, of course) and I can't wait to see Jeff terrorise his opponents again come August. At the back I expect Nathan Ake will be as dominant both positionally and in the air again. That man just has a sixth sense on where to be and when. On the right I hope that young David Brooks can continue to show the ability he served up in his first Premiership season last year.

nidriks

Lewis Cook back from injury is ready to show us the quality that we know he has and start to fulfill his potential

AnUpsideDownOwl

How do you think the team will line up?

Boruc, Kelly, Ake, S Cook, Smith, Lerma, L Cook, Fraser, Brooks, King, Wilson. Formation: same 4-5-1 horseshoe when off the ball and using King and Wilson's speed to counter while relying upon Brooks, Fraser and Cook to make the right decisions to keep up the counters momentum, 4-2-2-2 on the ball with Fraser and Brooks working the space on the wing while Cook controls the tempo until we facilitate an opening with Wilson and King plugging the space in front of the opposition back four.

Teddythesecond

Line up

nidriks

Agree with matey above: Boruc Smith Cook Ake Kelly Brooks Cook Lerma Fraser King Wilson

AnUpsideDownOwl

Wrap Up

by NickTM

The Manager: Eddie Howe has been highly rated since before he even stepped foot in the Premier League, and since then his reputation has only grown. With a glowing track record of developing talent and what is clearly quite an effective recruitment team behind him, that Howe is entering his seventh full season as manager is something of an achievement for Bournemouth themselves, given the bigger clubs that were circling every time they dumped one of their managers. His commitment to decent football has won Bournemouth a fair amount of admirers in the media, and for good reason.
The Team: Pace is all over this team, from the quick off the mark Nathan Aké at the back to Jefferson Lerma's charging around in midfield to the absolute array of quick forwards. Jordon Ibe, Dom Solanke, Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas, Ryan Fraser and especially Josh King all have pace to burn, and the threat of it alone is enough to keep teams off-balance. It was nice to see Callum Wilson return with a good haul of goals last year after some particularly nasty injury travails, and Bournemouth fans will be hoping Lewis Cook pulls off something similar. It's also a very English team, which will probably keep them afloat when the Faragian blackshirts march on Westminster next year and burn anyone with a particularly foreign sounding name at the stake.
Why to like them: Artur Boruc is always worth keeping an eye on in case he does something utterly insane. The aforementioned pace means some quite gorgeous raking through ball counterattacks can occasionally be seen, and when in more thorough possession of the ball Bournemouth's attractive style of play is pleasing on the eye.
Why to dislike them: Despite their reputation for positive football, a constantly overlooked feature of Bournemouth teams over the last few years has been their cynical fouling and approach to play that gets constantly glossed over by pundits in favour of talking about how plucky and small they are. Personally I've always had a small, nagging vendetta against them ever since a Bournemouth fan a few years ago adamantly insisted Junior Stanislas was better than Wilf Zaha.
Summary: Another season in the Prem for the smallest team in the league, and it's another season where they'll be hoping to stay up with authority. Enough time has passed now that lots of people are expecting them to push on a little this year, and if injuries don't rear their ugly head they could well be on their way to the top half.

Links

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[OC] AFC Ajax 2018/2019 Season Preview

On wednesday, July 25th, Dutch club AFC Ajax will start their competitive season with a home game in the 2nd Champions League qualification round against Austrian team SK Sturm Graz. This makes it the perfect time to look back at the preseason campaign, transfers and more. So let’s do it!
Preseason
Because Ajax finished in 2nd place last season in the Eredivisie they have to start their competitive season on July 25th. This meant that our preseason began while everyone else was still going crazy about the World Cup. Our first real training session was June 20th, while in the days prior some players took some individual tests.
All of this was without players like Nico Tagliafico, Lasse Schöne, Kasper Dolberg and Hakim Ziyech, who were all present in Russia. We also missed Donny van de Beek, Noussair Mazraoui, and Matthijs De Ligt, who had played internationally in recent weeks before the World Cup. These guys were expected to be back at the club the next monday, when the squad left Amsterdam for a training camp in Klosterpforte, Germany.
Before that however, Ajax played their first preseason game against VVSB Noordwijkerhout. This amateur team is active in the Tweede Divisie, the 3rd highest level of Dutch football.

VVSB - Ajax: 0-7

Ajax won this game rather easily, which ofcourse was to be expected against an amateur team. Goals were scored by Teun Bijleveld (0-1 & 0-2), Kaj Sierhuis (0-3 & 0-5), Dani De Wit (0-4), Klaas- Jan Huntelaar, (0-6) and Hassane Bande (0-7). Highlights
Ofcourse it’s nice to start the season with a win but more than that can’t be said about this game. On to the training camp in Germany!
During this training camp we played 2 games against German amateur teams. The first one against SC Preussen Münster 06, playing at the 3rd level of German football.

Ajax - Preussen Munster: 1-3

Goals by: Kevin Rodriguez (0-1), Rasmuss Kristensen (1-1), Martin Kobylański (1-2), Lucas Cueto (1-3). Highlights
Not a good game from Ajax obviously, but it has to be said that Ajax played with 2 completely different teams in either half. Only the second game of the season, let’s move on quickly.
Ajax - SV Lippstadt 08: 9-0
And so we did, with a game on the last day of this training camp. The opponent was SV Lippstadt 08, active at the 4th level of German football. In this game first team goalkeeper André Onana played his first game of the new season. Slowly but surely the squad is getting back together.
Goals by: Noussair Mazraoui (1-0 & 5-0) Zakaria Labyad (2-0 & 6-0), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (3-0 & 4-0), Dani De Wit (7-0, 8-0 & 9-0). Highlights
Good to see another big win, and nice to see every goalscorer scored multiple goals, topped by Dani De Wit’s hattrick.
This concluded Ajax’ first training camp of the preseason.
As has been costumary in recent years, from now on Ajax plays 2 games per day for the remainder of the preseason. The first double header was played back in the Netherlands on July 7th. First against Danish team FC Nordsjaelland and the opponent for game 2 was FC FCSB (formerly known as FC Steaua Bucuresti).

Ajax - FC Nordsjaelland: 1-3

Our first game against a more serious opponent - FC Nordsjaelland plays in the Danish Superligaen - and it showed. Nordsjaelland was the more dangerous team overall, playing on the counter attack. Although we were mostly playing with our ‘B’ team.
Goals by: Andreas Skov Olsen (0-1), Karlo Bartolec (0-2), Mathias Rasmussen (0-3), Dean Solomons (1-3). Highlights

Ajax - FCSB:

Goals by: Florin Tanase (0-1), Carel Eiting (1-1). Highlights
All in all a pretty boring game. Not much happened on either side.

Ajax - Anderlecht: 3-5

This game was not announced beforehand and (as far as I’m aware) not open to the public. The scheduled game against Anderlecht was later in the day, so this game was played between both teams ‘B’ squads.
One notable thing that happened in this game was the horrific injury of Hassane Bandé. A hard sliding tackle caused him to suffer a broken fibula and he tore the inside of his ankle. I apologise for not knowing the proper term of what I mean. But this means he will be sidelined for 6 months. (Tackle around 1:20-1:25 in the highlights a little bit later on, you don’t see any gross stuff but just in case you don’t want to see it.)
On to the game itself, which was a real goalfest, which we were on the losing side off.
Goals by: Edo Kayambe (0-1), Kaj Sierhuis (1-1 & 2-3), Mohammed Dauda (1-2), Ryota Morioka (1-3 & 3-5), Knowledgde Musona (2-4), Sebastian Pasquali (3-4). Highlights

Ajax - Anderlecht (Announced game): 1-3

Goals by: Ivan Santini (0-1 & 1-3), David Neres (1-1), Landry Dimata (1-2). Highlights
We’re getting closer and closer to the start of our season, because now it’s time for the 2nd preseason training campl. This time we will be in England for a week, playing 2 games on July 19th. League 1 side Walsall FC and newly promoted Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers FC will be our opponents.

Wolverhampton Wanderers - Ajax: 1-1

Goals by: Donny van de Beek (0-1), Ruben Neves (1-1). Highlights

Walsall - Ajax: 2-0

Goals by: Andy Cook (1-0 & 2-0).
This concluded the preseason games that we had to play before the game against Sturm Graz next wednesday. However, om August 3rd Ajax will play another practise game against VFL Wolfsburg, where former Ajax player Riechedly Bazoer currently plays. This will be 8 days before the first match in the Eredivisie, at home against Heracles Almelo.
Preseason Conclusion
Obviously the preseason games did not go how we wanted them to go. Our only wins came against amateur teams very early on and the play itself wasn’t anything to be proud of either. Caveats being that we still don’t have all our players back from their holidays and/or injuries and the fact that new signings Daley Blind and Dusan Tadic barely haven’t made any minutes (Blind) or haven’t played at all (Tadic).
However not everything was just bad. One big positive was the inclusion of 16 year old midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, who is one of the club’s biggest talents, especially in his age category. The young midfielder dared to pass defenders and had some good passes in his arsenal.
I personally thought (although I seemed to be in the minority on this point) that it was clear how we wanted to approach certain aspects of the game, namely the pressing when trying to capture the ball. This was definitely not flawless but the idea on how to do it was visible.
The offensive link up play was also very nice to see at times. Quick one touch combinations and forward passing will clearly be the intention this upcoming season.
Our preferred formation will as always be a 4-3-3 with a defensive center midfielder. Other than that we could play some games or at least parts of games in a 3-4-3.
Ajax - Sturm Graz
Head coach Erik Ten Hag said the following about the starting line up against Sturm Graz:
I knew beforehand that I would have a suitcase full of question marks. But the most important thing is that we were able to bring guys towards the full 90 minutes. We won’t be in absolute perfect shape, but no team will at this point.
We have trained really hard, which we needed in the build up. Now we will take it a little bit easier. I am sure the players will be much fresher on wednesday. There are still 3, 4, or 5 positions which I have doubt over going into the game against Sturm Graz.
Starting 11 prediction
GK Onana RB Kristensen RCB De Ligt LCB F De Jong LB Tagliafico CDM Eiting (Youth player) RCM van de Beek LCM Ziyech RW Neres ST Huntelaar LW Lang (Youth player)
I think this will be the starting line up based on the game against Wolverhampton. Left winger Noa Lang played in place of Labyad because he has to sit out a suspension from last season with FC Utrecht and as I sad earlier Dusan Tadic has not played for us yet. I do however think that he will come on as a substitute in the second half, and ultimately be our starting left winger with Labyad as his replacement once the season is properly underway.
Maybe Daley Blind could start, but I think that’s just a little bit too soon. I think Frenkie De Jong will start as left centre back because he did against Wolves (and he played there a bit last season) and in particular Maximilian Wöber had a rough pre season and, ever since he got injured last season, he’s had a difficult time. Additionally I think new signing Perr Schuurs will be used as a replacement for Matthijs De Ligt at right centre back.
Bringing this back to wednesday, this will essentially mean that offensively we will play a 3-4-3 with Frenkie moving forward into the midfield.
Defensively I think this will mean that CDM Eiting will have to help Frenkie deal with the attackers.
I think Blind will be our starting left sided centre back which ideally would mean that De Jong will move into that CDM spot to serve as our playmaker, leaving Eiting on the bench.
Lastly it is interesting to point out why I chose for Huntelaar instead of Dolberg.
Ever since Kasper Dolberg suffered an injury last season which made him miss quite a large portion of the season he hasn’t played a game from start to finish. I think it’s a safe bet that he will play later on in the second half but the best decision is to take it easy with him and gradually increase his playing time. He will be our starting striker during the regular season.
How I think we will line up once everybody is healthy and there won’t be any more outgoing transfers
GK Onana RB Mazraoui or Kristensen RCB De Ligt LCB Blind LB Tagliafico CDM De Jong RCM van de Beek LCM Ziyech RW Neres ST Dolberg LW Tadic
I haven’t included Veltman mainly because he has a pretty bad ankle injury as of right now, so we’ll have to wait to see how he will return. I also think Mazraoui and Kristensen are 2 talented young guys who could be going for that starting right back spot regardless of Veltman is there or not.
Transfers for the 18/19 season
Incoming:

Perr Schuurs, CB, 18 years old, Netherlands (from Fortuna Sittard)
Hassane Bandé, LW, 19 years old, Burkina Faso (from KV Mechelen)
Zakaria Labyad, LW/CM, 25 years old, Morocco (from FC Utrecht)
Dusan Tadic, LW/RW/CM, 29 years old, Serbia (from Southampton FC)
Daley Blind, CB/LB/CDM, 28 years old, Netherlands (from Manchester United)

(Sidenote, the positions I listed are positions where I know they can play and where I think they could play in case there will be any other out going transfers.)
I think we’ve done some great business here. A good mix of youth and experience and players who can play on a multitude of positions. The obvious headliners are Dusan Tadic and the returning Daley Blind. (I only included that because it still cracks me up.)
It’s very sad that we won’t be able to see Bandé play this season, but we’ve talked about that earlier so I’ll leave it at that for now.
Perr Schuurs is known in the Netherlands as one of the biggest domestic talents, especially for the centre back position. He will make appearances this season but he’ll mostly play for Jong Ajax (2nd team), getting prepped to be the replacement of Matthijs De Ligt.
The only criticism I have concerns the transfer of Zakaria Labyad, and it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with his abilities or whether or not he will be useful for us, because I think he will be.
The criticism lies in the fact that it appears that the only reason we decided to buy him was because coach Ten Hag wanted him. The two have a history at FC Utrecht. The scouting department did not recommend him. But, like I said, I think he will still be useful to us coming off the bench.
Now let’s look at the first team players who have left us.
Outgoing:

Mitchell Dijks, LB, 25 years old, Netherlands (to Bologna)
Nick Viergever, CB/LB, 28 years old, Netherlands (to PSV)
Justin Kluivert, LW, 19 years old, Netherlands (to AS Roma)
Deyovaisio Zeefuik, RB, 20 years old, Netherlands (to FC Groningen)
Mateo Cassierra, ST, 21 years old, Colombia (loaned to FC Groningen)
Amin Younes. LW, 24 years old, Germany (to [unknown])

I debated with myself over including Zeefuik, because he played most of his games in Jong Ajax. He has however played some games for the first team so I decided he should be included here.
The biggest eye catcher for international football fans is obviously the departure of Justin Kluivert, both for his last name, and the fact that he is the best player out of this group. Personally I am very sad to see him leave. He is a young, talented player who I think has a bright future ahead of him. It’s a shame he left us at this young age, while he hasn’t played that many first team games for us yet. However he didn’t want to renew his contract which was ending at the end of the season after this upcoming one so we had to sell him now to get some money out of it.
A lot of Ajax fans have been giving him shit for leaving us in the way he did and because they feel like he isn’t ready for it yet. I agree with the latter but ultimately I just hope he succeeds.
For Dutch fans the other remarkable transfer is the one from Viergever, moving to our biggest competitor for the Eredivisie title, being PSV.
During his time with us he had had some good moments, highlighted by his goal against Schalke 04 in the Europa League under Peter Bosz. But all things considered the coaching staff and club management felt like he isn’t good enough anymore and that we have to move forward. This, combined with the fact that his contract was running out, freed the way for him to move to the team from Eindhoven. I hope he personally does well there.
Now to talk about the big mess surrounding Amin Younes. As you’ll see in the comments I completely forgot about him so I added this in later. Where to begin..?
He lost his first 11 spot to the younger and more goal focused Justin Kluivert. Because of this he was set to leave us last winter on a permanent deal to Napoli. This ultimately did not happen. He even denied signing a 5 year deal with the Italians which would’ve gone into effect this summer after his deal with us had ended. Following this the Serie A club showed documents which allegedly had 31 of his signatures on them.
After this whole mess VFL Wolfsburg showed interest. For Younes this was looking pretty good until VFL Wolfsburg called off the transfer because ‘the obstacles before the transfer weren’t taken away’. Whatever that means.
On top of all of this he also suffered a pretty severe injury which means he won’t be able to play for months.
Napoli chairmain De Laurentiis would be willing to talk about a transfer for him if a team was willing to put €20.000.000 on the table.
Last player I want to talk about is Mitchell Dijks. Not because he was especially valuable to us or anything but for the fact that he was set to leave us in the 2016/17 season.
During the January 2017 transfer window we loaned him out to Norwich City, which included an option to buy. He played 15 games in the Championship for them, scoring 1 goal. I think everybody was under the impression that he would join them permanently at the start of the 17/18 season, but that deal fell through because they could not reach an agreement on pay. His contract also ran out and now he signed a 5 year deal in Italy.
Thoughts about the transfers
Everything considered we have had a good window. We got rid of the players we didn’t need anymore and brought in players who can contribute immediately and set us up for the future. Tadic and Blind will ofcourse be expected to take the lead this season as 2 of the most experienced and best players in the squad.
This concludes my season 2018/2019 preview for my team AFC Ajax! I hope you enjoy reading it! (If you’re not too put off by the absolute wall of text that is..)
Bring on the season!

[Stream-Live]@@Liverpool vs Manchester City EPL 2018 (Live) Stream ...

Liverpool vs Manchester City Live Stream - TOTAL SPORTEK
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The Reds host Pep Guardiola's side, hoping to end their unbeaten run in the league, but will do so without €160 million departure Philippe Coutinho wwwtotalsportekcom,,,manchester-united-live-stream,,, Free live Streaming of Manchester United premier league 2017-18 matches right here starting with game against FC Basel and Man City Liverpool vs Manchester City LIVE updates - Team news and build up wwwliverpoolechocouk › Sport › Football › Liverpool FC 18 mins ago - The Manchester City bandwagon rolls into Anfield this afternoon, as Pep Guardiola's high-fliers look to extend their remarkable unbeaten record City can extend their lead at the top of the Premier League today, but Jurgen Klopp's Reds will arguably give them their sternest Liverpool vs Man City: Live stream, TV channel, kick-off time and team https:,,,,,,wwwthesuncouk,,,,,,liverpool-vs-man-city-live-stream-tv-channel-time-kick-off,,, 14 hours ago - Premier League leaders Manchester City travel to Anfield to face a Liverpool who want to keep putting points on the table to secure a Champions League place Liverpool vs Man City LIVE SCORE: Latest updates from Premier https:,,,,,,wwwthesuncouk,,,sport,,,football,,,,,,liverpool-vs-man-city-live-score-goal-updates 14 hours ago - Visitors City will be looking forward to getting back into the Premier League after successful outings in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup Liverpool vs Manchester City live stream info, TV channel: How to https:,,,,,,wwwcbssportscom,,,,,,liverpool-vs-manchester-city-live-stream-info-tv-channe 15 hours ago - It's a top-four battle at Anfield with City in first place Liverpool vs Manchester City, Premier League: team news wwwtelegraphcouk › Sport › Football 8 mins ago - Liverpool vs Manchester City, Premier League: team news, suspensions and betting odds Mohamed You can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League from 3:30pm Alternatively you can join us for all the big build up from 3pm with our Telegraph Sport live blog Match Preview - Liverpool vs Man City | 14 Jan 2018 - Sky Sports wwwskysportscom,,,football,,,liverpool-vs-man-city,,,preview,,,373321 2 days ago - Liverpool take on Manchester City at Anfield - in a match you can see live on Sky Sports Premier League - on Sunday looking to become the first team to beat the runaway Premier League leaders in the top flight this season Liverpool vs Manchester City Live Stream | ВКонтакте https:,,,,,,mvkcom,,,login?act=security_check&toal_page=us 32 mins ago - STREAM TV BOURNEMOUTH VS WEST HAM LIVE ONLINE 5 hours ago West Ham United vs Newcastle United Live Stream Free TOTAL SPORTEK Watch every Arsenal match live streaming links here for the 2 17 18 season vs Everton Norwich City Swansea Tottenham and Manchester City Online West Liverpool vs Man City: TV channel, stream, kick-off time, odds & match wwwgoalcom,,,en,,,news,,,liverpool-vs-man-city-,,,15011aek7tn661i2gffqour5mk 2 days ago - Liverpool and Manchester City will face off on Sunday with the visitors seeking to increase their advantage at the top of the Premier League and the Reds looking to consolidate their top-four status Both sides return to league action after featuring in the FA Cup last weekend, with City also coming from Liverpool Manchester City live score, video stream and H2H results https:,,,,,,wwwsofascorecom,,,liverpool-manchester-city,,,rU Liverpool Manchester City live score (and video online live stream*) starts on 1412018 at 16:00 UTC time at Anfield stadium, Liverpool, England in Premier League - England Here on SofaScore livescore you can find all Liverpool vs Manchester City previous results sorted by their H2H matches Links to Liverpool vs

AFCB V Manchester City [02/04]

Premier League tie between AFC Bournemouth and Manchester City

AFCB x - x Manchester City

Bournemouth have never scored a home goal against City in three previous attempts.
Manuel Pellegrini's side have scored just six goals in their last 10 away league games.
With four defeats in the last six games, City's title challenge has unravelled and their top four place is now seriously under threat. West Ham and Manchester United are just a point behind, with Southampton only four points back.
Via: Simon Brotherton / BBC Sport
Live Streams: /soccerstreams
Date:
02/04/2016
Kick off GMT:
15:00 GMT converter
Venue: Dean Court
Referee: Robert Madley (Previous AFCB: Norwich Home)
WhoScored Prediction: AFCB 2:1 Man City!!
Form Guide:
AFCB: LDWWWL
Man City: LLLWDL
Previous Meeting:
17/10/15 Man City 5:1 AFCB
AFC Bournemouth Predicted Starting XI:
---------------Boruc---------------
Smith - Francis - Cook - Daniels
---------------Surman-------------
Ritchie ----- O'Kane------- Gradel
---------------Grabban-----------------
----------------King--------------
Subs: Elphick, Pugh, Iturbe, Federici, Distin, Grabban, Gosling
Man City Starting XI:
Team News:
AFCB:
Callum Wilson has returned to training but won't be rushed back, leaving Tyrone Mings as the only long-term absentee for Eddie Howe.
Junior Stanislas and Harry Arter both look set to miss out with respective injuries, but Josh King is expected to recover from a calf injury in time.
Man City:
Manuel Pellegrini has been given a boost ahead of their trip to Bournemouth with both Kevin de Bruyne and Samir Nasri both back in training and on course to make the matchday squad. Fabian Delph is a bit behind his two teammates and will require a late fitness test.
Vincent Kompany, Raheem Sterling and Joe Hart are all still injured, while Nicolas Otamendi is a doubt. City are hoping Martin Demichelis will recieve a fine and not a ban after being charged for breaking betting rules.
Teams News via WhoScored

Live Updates:

4 King and Grabban combine in a great counter attacking move that stemmed from Francis's accurate clearance. King gets pushed out too wide and can find the goal or a pass.
6 Silva and De Bruyne link up in AFCB penalty box. Cook manages to put it out for a corner.
6 GOAL AFCB 0:1 City. Fernando volleys the ball past Boruc after recivint the ball froma pretty poor corner. Again a set piece we concede from - should have done much better with such a dismal corner.
9 Commentator just noted that the goal was the 14th we have conceded from a set piece, the 2nd most behind Swansea.
11 GOAL AFCB 0:2 CITY Silva puts a great ball in the across to De Bruyne who volleys in in the Boruc's bottom left. Where was Smith and Francis?
16 De Bruyne is allowed a shot from outside the box, goes well over. He looked very free there, where was the marking? (Surman??)
18 GOAL AFCB 0:3 CITY. Navas swings in ball from the byline and reaches Augero who headers it softly into the goal. Cook nearly gets it off the line but goes to Boruc who didn't look that interested in stopping it. How Auguero was able to win that is beyond me. Smith doing a pretty bad job of defending so far.
21 EH decides to bring King to the right wing, and moves Ritchie into the middle. Trying to stop the midfield from being overrun.
24 Fernandinho very nearly makes it 0:4 with a shot from just outside the box - Boruc looked beaten as it hit the crossbar.
27 Cook goes forward for Gradels deep free kick. Terible delivery which De Bruyne clears easily.
29 AFCB's corner routine sees a deep cross to the head of Cook, who nods it to the middle of the 6 yard box where Daniels can't quite divert it from Callebero's parrying hand. Best chance so far.
32 Smith puts in a great ball to the penalty stop between the two CBs. Grabban, in lots of space, headers it over. Perhaps had enough time to bring it down on his chest there.
34 Gradel's mistake lets the ball run behind to Daniels, who whips the ball into Grabban who heads it over. A much better effort from the striker than the previous.
HT AFCB 0:3 Man City
46 [Sub] Pugh ON King OFF
67 [Sub] Elphick ON Smith OFF - looks like Franno gone to RB.
68 O'Kane with great chance to grab a goal but can't get it on target. Nasri has just come on - wtf is going with his hair?
74 Elphick gives away the ball to Aguero whos tess up Kolorov with forces a decent save from Boruc, and AFCB manage to nick back the rebound off Aguero and clear.
89 Surman's free kick hits the body of players in the box, Daniels headers it down to Grabban who has a great chance - offside unfortunately.
93 GOAL AFCB 0:4 CITY. O'Kane and Ritchie give Kolarov too much space, who forces he way through and smashes it beyond Boruc.
FT AFCB 0:4 Man City
Highlights:
Post Match Interviews (Audio):
Match Report:
Match Stats:

AFCB		Man City
Shots
	Shots on target
%	Possession	%

Taking into account that the hosts managed to slot three past this foe in the reverse fixture as well, count on Manchester United to rack up the goals tally this weekend. Manchester United vs Norwich Betting tips. Manchester United -1.5 Asian Handicap @ 1.80 (4/5) Over 2.5 goals @ 1.50 (1/2). Norwich vs Manchester United Predictions, Betting Tips, Match Preview, Head-to-head stats (h2h), Form Guide & Team News; English Premier League Analysis 2019/20 Norwich City vs Manchester United Latest Odds Norwich have beaten both Burnley and Tottenham in the cup this season but are 13/2 (7.50) outsiders with bet365 to win this one in normal time. Norwich City vs Manchester United Free prediction - 27-Jun-2020, Free betting tip, preview, H2H, latest results. Free 1X2 betting tip by JonnY. Norwich v Manchester United preview, prediction and odds By Harry Kettle on October 26, 2019 @HJKettle Embed from Getty Images. Manchester United will try and get back to winning ways when they square off with Norwich City at Carrow Road on Sunday. ... If you’re interested in taking a punt on Norwich v Manchester United, head to the betting ...

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Norwich City vs Manchester United Prediction & Preview 27 ...

Manchester United vs Norwich City, Premier League 2015/16: Where to watch, preview, betting odds and possible XI

[Translation] Which La Liga club fits each Premier League team?

Newcastle United & Athletic Club

Crystal Palace & Getafe

Liverpool & Real Madrid

Norwich & Valladolid

Bournemouth & Eibar

Burnley & Alaves

Sheffield United & Mallorca

Brighton & Levante

Leicester & Villarreal

Southampton & Leganés

Watford & Granada

Chelsea & Atletico Madrid

Tottenham & Sevilla

Manchester United & Valencia

Everton & Real Sociedad

Manchester City & Barcelona

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