Aston Villa officials have been dispatched in recent months as Unai Emery and co eye a £30 million-plus star this summer.
Villa chasing top four as transfer plans commence
The Villans are currently locked in a battle with Tottenham for Champions League football next season, and all the riches which come with it.
Unai Emery personally wants to sign "superstar" for Aston Villa
He could cost more than £25m.
ByCharlie Smith Apr 4, 2024
The Midlands side have taken a fair few by surprise after what has been a hugely successful season for Emery, who has attracted praise from big names in the beautiful game, like Man City boss Pep Guardiola.
“[They are] excellent the way they play,” said Guardiola on Villa during his pre-match press conference last week. “Unai Emery and the consistency in every season, Villa is impressive and always he has done really well. It’s not a surprise the quality of him and his management and the quality of the team.
“I didn’t watch all games because I don’t think all managers watch all the games of opponents. I think he’s playing the same system. They have really good set-pieces and transitions with the two incredible fast players up front.
“The shape is really clear what they do. They can do high pressing and afterwards defend very well with a back four or back five and a really structured line. [They have] an exceptional keeper. That is why they are where they are, fighting to be there.”
Pipping Spurs to a top four finish would truly be the cherry on top of what has been a hugely successful campaign, but as Emery seeks to make history with Villa, club chiefs are working on backing him this summer.
The Villa boss has been given funds to spend over the last few windows, but reports suggest that they want to strengthen further in key areas. They could see a defensive reshuffle in the summer, with Villa thought to be eyeing a move for left-back Ferdi Kadioglu among other targets.
New names could also appear at centre-back, and it is believed they're taking a very keen interest in Wolves captain Max Kilman.
Villa officials dispatched as Emery eyes Kilman
According to HITC, Aston Villa officials have been sent to run the rule over Kilman since the start of 2024, as they join the race for his signing alongside a host of other top flight sides.
Max Kilman's best league performances for Wolves this season
Match Rating (via WhoScored)
Wolves 3-0 Everton
7.89
Luton Town 1-1 Wolves
7.69
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
7.36
Everton 0-1 Wolves
7.36
Man United 3-4 Wolves
7.35
The 26-year-old has been a mainstay and crucial star in Gary O'Neil's side, meaning Wolves will be demanding £30 million-plus for any interested side. He's been performing at a very high level for Wolves for quite some time, so it's perhaps a surprise he hasn't secured his big move away yet.
Members of the press, like Jacqui Oatley, have also branded Kilman as "pure class" and "nationally underrated".
His resignation comes less than five months into his two-year contract with the BCB
Mohammad Isam17-Dec-2019The BCB has accepted Charl Langeveldt’s resignation as the Bangladesh bowling coach after he emailed the board explaining that he has an offer from Cricket South Africa. Akram Khan, the BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman, confirmed Langeveldt’s departure less than five months into his two-year contract.”Langeveldt said he has offer to work in South Africa’s senior side, which is why he requested the BCB to let him go,” Akram told the Bengali daily on Tuesday. “We have decided to release him.”Langeveldt’s link with a role in the South Africa team is part of an overhaul in their coaching setup, which saw Mark Boucher named head coach recently.Langeveldt, who was appointed by the BCB on July 27, came in as part of a similar overhaul in the Bangladesh coaching staff. He replaced Courtney Walsh, while Russell Domingo took over as head coach in place of Steve Rhodes. Daniel Vettori later joined as spin-bowling consultant, replacing Sunil Joshi.With Bangladesh touring Pakistan next month, the BCB has exactly a month to replace Langeveldt although Champaka Ramanayake, the BCB academy’s bowling coach, could take over on a temporary basis as he has done in the past.
Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has warned Erik ten Hag that his reconciliation with Jadon Sancho could "blow up in his face".
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Sancho set for a fresh lease of life in Manchester
Has put aside his differences with Ten Hag
Rashford's future in doubt
WHAT HAPPENED?
The English winger has sorted out his differences with Ten Hag and is already playing an important role during pre-season. However, former United striker Yorke believes that things could sour again between the two men if the Red Devils do not start winning matches when the new Premier League kicks off in mid-August.
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WHAT DWIGHT YORKE SAID
“It’s a really bizarre scenario there with Jadon Sancho and one I don't think either party expected to be in," Yorke said in an interview with BoyleSports, who offer the latest
“Ten Hag wasn't meant to win the FA Cup, but he did. Jadon Sancho wouldn’t have expected Ten Hag to win, which would’ve led to the manager being sacked and his return. But Sancho has got three more years on his contract and he's one of the highest-paid players. There are only very few clubs around the world that will be able to afford his salary, so he's not going anywhere so that's caused a little bit of a dilemma.
“How do you settle this? You have a man-to-man conversation and try to settle the whole disagreement. The problem is if they don’t get off to a good start and they’re losing football matches. I think fingers will start to be pointed at each other again. It’s a situation to watch and it’s all well and good trying to make up but if things go belly up then these things can blow up in the face of the manager.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Yorke also warned United against putting Rashford up for sale, with it widely reported they are ready to listen to suitable offers. The England international endured a bleak run of form that saw him score just eight goals in 43 appearances in the 2023-24 campaign.
“If it’s £40 million or £50 million then it would be nothing in the modern game and he’s so much better than that, with the ability he has shown us in the past," Yorke said.
However, the former striker believes that a £100 million bid would be difficult for new part owners INEOS to turn down.
"United should keep Rashford, but £100 million would create a dilemma," he added.
"If PSG for instance are to bid £100 million, it would really stir up the pot because that is a huge amount of money even though he is still one of United’s best players.”
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WHAT NEXT?
While Sancho has been rediscovering his form under Ten Hag, Rashford struggled against Rosenborg and was subsequently rested against Rangers due to an alleged niggle. The Red Devils will now fly to the United States for the next phase of their pre-season where they will lock horns against Arsenal, Real Betis and Liverpool respectively before flying back.
You can disagree with the solution the ECB have come up with, but you can’t fault the urgency
Andrew Miller03-Oct-2019Cricket’s administrators love a good warehouse, don’t they? From England’s kit launch in the Tobacco Docks in May, to the arrival of the World Cup captains on the set of Dragons’ Den later that month, and now back to that favoured hub of multiculturalism, Brick Lane, where the World Cup countdown had been set in motion back in 2018, the urban-chic metaphors were once again climbing the exposed brick walls as The Hundred took its most decisive step yet into existence.Bedecked with funky lights and blocky fonts to fit the brutalist surroundings, the day’s chosen venue was awash, quite literally, with snackable content. There were casually scattered team-branded helmets on the floors, and actual bowls of crisps and popcorn on every surface, as KP flexed its brand muscles and showed the gathered media that its sponsorship of the ECB’s newest innovation wasn’t merely a chance to have a very public giggle at one of the ECB’s oldest betes noires.But on this, the morning after the night before that was the PCA Awards dinner, England’s icon players looked more in need of bacon than Butterkist – not least the heroically hungover Chris Woakes – as they rocked up to give their collective blessing to cricket’s latest edge towards edginess.ALSO READ: Russell, Maxwell but no de Villiers for main draftThe timing of this event was cruel but apposite for the players, for Woakes’ eyes in particular bore testimony to the japes that had carried on into the small hours at the Roundhouse in Camden, where cricket’s glitzy end-of-season bash had had more than your average summer to celebrate in 2019.And thus, as he fronted up in his new team’s garish orange-and-red kit – a “grower”, as he obligingly put it – Woakes and his partied-out team-mates were already galloping gamely into the brave new world that awaits in the transformative summer of 2020.The Hundred. It Is Coming. And that is a fact which will continue to cleave the sport like a Brexit referendum. For some, this morning’s unveiling was the opening of a new portal to hell; for others (mostly, but not exclusively, in the ECB high command) it was the most concrete development yet in a project that is as exciting as it is agenda-setting and, as some would claim, essential for the long-term health of the game.Jason Roy models the Oval Invincibles’ kit•Getty Images
As for the rest of those who know and love the sport in its current guise, the whole shebang remains deeply and uncomfortably conflicting – like the feeling I got as a kid, when Angus Fraser and Robin Smith were dropped for the 1994-95 Ashes tour and I briefly found myself wishing unspeakable and damning ills to befall a team that I could no longer call my own.It didn’t last, of course (my antipathy, that is, not English cricket’s ills – those cracked on for another decade of Ashes misery) and that is the hope, or rather expectation, in and around the sport at this critical juncture.The ECB’s fervent belief is that, once the angst and the anger has subsided by this time next year, all that will remain is a top-class cricket tournament that gives some TLC to a sport that truly does need it – whatever you think of the existing merits of the county structure, and no matter how extraordinarily successful England’s overworked elite players were in framing the zeitgeist this summer.Chris Woakes of Birmingham Phoenix, one of the eight new teams competing in The Hundred•Getty Images
For the hosting of the World Cup was a once-in-two-decades opportunity, and the manner in which the trophy was won was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. As in 2005, on the eve of cricket’s disappearance from terrestrial TV, the sport got extraordinarily lucky at precisely the moment it needed it the most, and then as now, the ripple effect will be sufficient to sustain the game for the next five years at least.But after that, where does the sport’s next adrenalin shot come from? For, as the administrators have clumsily tried to explain for the best part of 18 months, this really isn’t about those who already know what they like about cricket. It’s about those who might not otherwise engage with it, but will stumble upon the odd match when they are expecting to see Homes Under The Hammer on the BBC next summer – or who might find themselves listening with unexpected interest to what Eoin Morgan has to say when he pops up on The One Show or Newsround.And, in due course, it will be about those who pop out to the corner shop, or get the round in at the pub, or open their packed lunch on a school outing, and see cricketers being marketed on the backs of their packets of Skips, or Tyrells, or McCoys, or Pom-Bears (the toddlers’ gateway snack). Without wishing to pay undue homage to a corporate giant (or to gloss over its contribution to childhood obesity) it has been easy to overlook quite what leverage The Hundred’s title sponsor can offer to the fledging competition. With that calibre of stable-mate, and regardless of what else happens as this brave new world takes root next summer, it is not going to pass unnoticed.Does any of the above justify the “massive punt”, as Wisden put it, of shredding the fabric of the game to hand over the plum weeks of the English season to eight untested teams, and a format that has been played at a professional level in just a handful of trial runs? Self-evidently not. The only thing that is going to justify The Hundred’s creation is the quality of the competition. On that note, the condensation of eighteen teams to eight, and the who’s-who of international talent (India excepted for the most part, of course) that will make up the draft next month will form the truest means to whet the appetite.ALSO READ: Harbhajan Singh throws hat into Hundred ringThat is not to say, however, that the animosity that already exists will be easily glossed over. I know colleagues who simply will never forgive the betrayal that has brought the game to this point, and as for the gaffe-ridden shambles that has been The Hundred’s PR, it simply beggars belief that so many errors can be made so often by so few. Even Thursday’s pre-announcement “sizzle reel” couldn’t help but join the catastro-shambles, spluttering into three false starts like a petrol-starved Trabant as the assembled media arched those habitually cynical eyebrows once more.But, once again, it’s necessary to stop and breathe, and remember. It’s not about us. It’s not about people who will read this take of The Hundred’s latest developments, and sigh. It’s about people who don’t yet know what they want from a game that has never previously appealed to them, and who won’t instinctively know, for instance, that the Nathan Barley-esque hipster-wibble that screeches out of The Hundred’s vapidly awful website is contrived nonsense.Or is even that another observation that misses the point? Perhaps, as they announced on Thursday afternoon, Welsh Fire’s “hunger will prove the haters wrong” (even those from Somerset and Gloucestershire?). Maybe Manchester Originals are able to “laugh in the face of limits”, maybe Trent Rockets’ “volume [is] up, ready for launch”, whatever TF that means.Joe Root of Trent Rockets, one of the eight new teams that competing in The Hundred•Getty Images
It’s scary to look at such witterings objectively and realise that the sport has no option but to wish this new enterprise well, but it seems also that it is a vital part of the process. According to the American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, interviewed on the BBC’s Politics Live show on Thursday morning, the world has become so polarised in the social media era that we will “never again” have a shared sense of what is good, bad or downright ugly.And if Haidt’s analysis had in mind global events rather more weighty than a salty-bar-snack-themed cricket competition, then the fury that The Hundred has generated is an interesting test case – and certainly a telling rejoinder to the sort of unequivocal joy that this country felt when Jos Buttler whipped off those bails at Lord’s, or when Ben Stokes belted that drive through the covers at Headingley.We can only hope to feel that sort of communion again, and we surely will given half a chance. But it will not happen if the sport’s relevance in the interim dwindles to vanishing point. That is the point of The Hundred. You can disagree with the solution the ECB have come up with, but you can’t fault the realisation that the status quo is unsustainable.Well, obviously, you can… and you can point out until you are blue in the face the strategic errors that holed the sport beneath the waterline in the early 2000s, and left it relying on miracle matches to keep the sport’s fires burning in the interim. But it’s probably time to start gargling the kool-aid, and accepting that what will be will be. Because this is the chosen path to a brighter future, and there is genuinely no going back from here.
As we saw in this year's edition of the Carabao Cup final, where Liverpool managed to overcome Todd Boehly's Chelsea in a 1-0 win, the Reds' academy is bursting at the seams with talent.
However, it's not like this season's group of academy graduates isn't just a one-off 'golden generation.' Over the years, the Merseyside clubs' youth teams have produced an abundance of talent with many going on to have long, successful careers in the Premier League.
Of course, arguably the most famous of those who rose through the ranks at Liverpool is that of Steven Gerrard.
The current Al-Ettifaq manager was one of the best midfielders of all time in England's top flight and managed to amass a total of 710 appearances across all competitions for the Reds. During that time, he managed to contribute to a total of 343 goals and cement himself as one of the all-time greats.
Another example of a success story from within Liverpool is that of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The 25-year-old has been with his hometown club for the entirety of his youth and senior career.
After bursting on the scene thanks to his first senior appearance for Liverpool in 2016 against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the League Cup, he was quickly able to establish himself as a first-team regular.
Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He has played a total of 303 times for Jurgen Klopp and, despite being just 25-years-old, has managed to etch his name into the history books of the Premier League.
During those 303 games, he has assisted his teammates a total of 86 times, with 58 of those managing to come in England's top flight. A feat which has only been matched by his teammate, Andy Robertson.
Since the left-back's arrival in the summer of 2017 for the meagre fee of £8m, the pair have been in something of a competition to see who can get the most assists in a season.
With the way that Klopp lines his team up, the full-backs are often involved in the attack. However, in recent months, he has started to play Alexander-Anrold in a much more advanced role, which has allowed him to be involved in the attack more often than not.
He is now facing compettiong from a certain Conor Bradley, a young star of recent times since breaking into the first-team set-up. He relished a battle with Ben Chilwell in the Carabao Cup final and has already registered five assists this term.
Despite the prominent rise of Alexander-Arnold and Bradley, for some of their academy talent, it feels as if it isn't meant to be. This was, unfortunately, the case for Ben Woodburn. He was a player who had the world at his feet and a young individual who should have been in Bradley's shoes now given the billing he received as a teenager.
Ben Woodburn's rise from the Liverpool academy
Woodburn joined the Reds' academy whilst he was young and first represented the team at an U7s level. His talent was so obvious that Liverpool even arranged for a driver to pick him up and drop him off at their Kirby base to get the youngster to training.
After spending some time within the youth ranks of the club and even being made a part of the Reds' "Futures Group," at just 15-years-old, he was placed within the U18s squad.
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After further impressing with the older age groups and in training sessions, the attacking midfielder was called up to Liverpool's first team and was given some game time in their pre-season friendlies for the 2016/17 season.
In fact, in November 2016, alongside Alexander-Arnold and Kevin Stewart, Woodburn signed his first professional deal with the club and later went on to make his senior debut for Liverpool in that same season.
GK – Loris Karius
RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold
CB – Lucas Leiva
CB – Joe Gomez
LB – Alberto Moreno
CM – Kevin Stewart
CM – Emre Can
CM – Ovie Ejaria
RW – Sheyi Ojo
LW – Ben Woodburn
ST – Divock Origi
Speaking on the aforementioned trio getting their first senior deals, Klopp said the following: "This is really positive news, of course, and it's brilliant we have acted decisively to show our intent with our young players.
"With Kev [Stewart] it is maybe a little different. He is, of course, established with us now and making a contribution as an important member of our first-team squad.
"Trent spends most of his time with the first team in this moment and is progressing each and every day. Ben is in those earlier stages and has a lot of developing to do still – but wow, what an exciting talent he is.
"All three of these players are big talents and are at different stages of their development, but it is development that is key, and they must continue to learn and improve to achieve their full potential."
Ian Rush also chimed in with his thoughts on the youngster and claimed that he thought that he was a "top talent."
Woodburn's senior Liverpool career
During a solid debut campaign, Woodburn managed a total of nine appearances for the Reds' first-team squad and even became the Anfield club's youngest-ever goalscorer after slotting one past Leeds in a League Cup quarter-final.
However, in the 2017/18 campaign, Woodburn's appearances started to drop off somewhat, with the Wales international only managing to play in two senior games. He was, however, named on the shortlist for the 2018 Golden Boy award.
After this below-par term, this was when the youngster spent time out on loan with other clubs in order to find some game time and attempt to reinvigorate his development.
#5 Vinicius Jr
#4 Patrick Cutrone
#3 Justin Kluivert
#2 Trent Alexander-Arnold
#1 Matthijs de Ligt
His first loan move was to that of Sheffield United where he managed a total of eight appearances but didn't manage to chip in with any goals or assists. Granted, his time with the Blades was cut short due to an ankle injury which resulted in the Reds recalling him.
The following three seasons were also met with underwhelming spells at Oxford United, Blackpool and Hearts. Across each of these spells with the clubs, he only amassed a total of 57 appearances whilst contributing to a mere 11 goals.
Indeed, the injuries he has suffered throughout his short career need to be taken into account, however, it feels as if Woodburn was a talent which has been wasted.
Ben Woodburn's current club in 2024
At just 22-years-old, the attacking-midfielders Liverpool contract was allowed to be run down which meant Woodburn had the chance to move from his boyhood club on a free transfer.
This opportunity managed to allow Liverpool's youngest-ever goalscorer to find himself playing for Preston North End in the Championship.
Following his departure, he left a message to the Reds on his Instagram which expressed his gratitude for the time he spent at Liverpool.
Although you'd have hoped that this story was going to end with the now 24-year-old finding his feet at Preston, this couldn't be further from the truth.
In the two seasons he has been at Deepdale, the youngster has managed a total of 62 games and has only managed to score three goals. To make matters worse, none of those three have even come in the 2023/24 campaign.
Despite being touted as one of the next best things at Liverpool, it now seems as if his career is stagnating and all that promise he once showed is nowhere to be seen.
It's sad to think that, if he had kept on the same sort of development path as his former teammate, Alexander-Arnold has, he could've also had a 2023/24 Carabao Cup winners' medal around his neck.
Yorkshire 255 for 2 (Kohler-Cadmore 96) beat Leicestershire 201 by 54 runsYorkshire Vikings finished just five runs short of matching their highest team total in Twenty20 matches as they defeated Leicestershire by 54 runs in the Vitality Blast North Group match at the Fischer County Ground.Led by an unbeaten 96 from opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore, they plundered an impressive 255 for two from their 20 overs – and that after Leicestershire had won the toss and opted to bowl first.The innings contained 19 sixes – one short of the English domestic record of 20 set by Essex against Surrey at Chelmsford only last week – and easily surpassed the 223 they made against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2017 as their highest away from home.One more six and it would have beaten the 260 for four they amassed at Headingley, also in 2017, as their biggest total on any ground.With Leicestershire’s batsmen clearing the ropes 12 times in their 201 for four, the match equalled the domestic record of 31 sixes also set in that Essex versus Surrey encounter.Kohler-Cadmore crashed eight sixes as he went close to a second century in the format, having faced just 54 deliveries.He was backed up by half-centuries from Adam Lyth and West Indian Nicholas Pooran, the latter hitting six maximums.Lyth and Kohler-Cadmore had given their side an exceptional start, crashing 76 off the opening six overs, which included a 50 off 21 balls from left-hander Lyth.Lyth had some good fortune at the start, almost out without scoring as an uppercut off left-armer Dieter Klein just cleared Callum Parkinson on the third-man boundary, the fielder stretching to get his hands on the ball but unable to make the catch or prevent a six.Thereafter, he tucked into a mixed bag of Leicestershire bowling to pick up two more sixes and six fours to pass 50 for the 13th time in this format. Kohler-Cadmore got in on the act too, launching Colin Ackermann’s off-spin for a huge six over mid-wicket in one of two overs in the Powerplay that cost 20 runs, the other bowled by seamer Ben Mike.Lyth fell slog-sweeping left-arm spinner Parkinson but Kohler-Cadmore continued the big-hitting onslaught. Having walloped Parkinson’s opening delivery over the mid-wicket boundary, he plundered more maximums off Aaron Lilley and Parkinson again to complete a 31-ball half-century.The rate of scoring slowed a tad in the middle overs but it was a short-lived respite, as West Indian big hitter Nicholas Pooran picked up the mood. The wicket-keeper batsman was only one delivery behind Lyth in reaching 50 from 22 balls, with four fours and five sixes.Pooran cleared the rope three times off Parkinson in the most expensive over of the night – one which cost 27 runs – including one hooked off a shoulder-high full toss and another pulled over long-on from the subsequent free hit, before he was caught at wide third man for 67 off Dieter Klein.Yorkshire were lacking bowlers Matthew Fisher and Josh Poysden through injury, while Steve Patterson and England’s Adil Rashid are currently being rested, and Leicestershire’s 55 for one after the Powerplay overs was respectable enough but they needed to score in total 27 runs more than their highest score in T20.South African seamer Duanne Olivier conceded 41 from his first three overs, lofted twice over the leg side boundary by compatriot Neil Dexter before taking a measure of revenge by bowling the batsman behind his legs.But when Ackerman and Aussie blaster Mark Cosgrove departed in quick succession, any real hope of Leicestershire coming close to Yorkshire’s total had effectively gone, despite a lively partnership of 61 in six overs between Aaron Lilley and Lewis Hill for the fourth wicket, each contributing four to the sixes tally.
Gareth Southgate was reportedly asked to explain his call to axe Jack Grealish from the England squad, such was the shock at his Euro 2024 omission.
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Grealish left out of 26-man England squad
Three Lions team-mates shocked at decision
Southgate asked to explain call by senior player
WHAT HAPPENED?
Manchester City star Grealish was a high-profile name cut from England's final Euro 2024 squad on Thursday, with former captain Harry Maguire another noteworthy casualty due to injury. Now, reports one senior Three Lions player spoke to Southgate to try and understand the decision to drop Grealish and explain it to team-mates, while others rallied round the 28-year-old.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
The report adds that Grealish, who was said to be 'stunned and upset' by the news, did not have the best season for City but had hoped he had done enough to convince Southgate he deserved to play for his country at the Euros. It will be a matter of time whether or not this hurts England's chances of winning the tournament in Germany.
DID YOU KNOW?
On Thursday, Southgate explained his decision to leave out the former Aston Villa man – who scored just three goals and bagged one assist in 20 Premier League games for City this season.
He said: “In the attacking positions we’re blessed with a lot of options and [James Maddison] and Jack [Grealish] give us something different. They were tough calls, but we back our decisions but recognise we could’ve gone a different route. It was sad to have to deliver that news to them.”
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WHAT NEXT?
While winger Grealish heads off on his summer break, England have their final Euro 2024 warm-up match on Friday against Iceland. After that, they begin their European campaign against Serbia on June 16 in Germany.
يحل فريق كرة القدم الأول بنادي برشلونة، ضيفًا على فياريال، ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري الإسباني، لإطار الجولة السادسة.
برشلونة صاحب العلامة الكاملة، يدخل المباراة مع بعض الشكوك بعد الهزيمة الأولى في الموسم، يوم الخميس الماضي ضد موناكو في ملعب لويس الثاني.
وحقق برشلونة فوزًا على جيرونا في الجولة الماضية بالدوري الإسباني برباعية لهدف، ويتصدر الترتيب بـ15 نقطة، بينما فياريال في المركز الرابع برصيد 11 نقطة، حيث لم يخسر حتى الآن في الليجا.
طالع أيضًا.. موعد والقناة الناقلة لمباراة برشلونة وفياريال اليوم في الدوري الإسباني.. والمعلق
برشلونة يغيب عنه فيران توريس بعد تعرضه للطرد في مواجهة جيرونا الماضية، بالإضافة للاعب الوسط داني أولمو الذي أصيب في نفس المباراة.
ومن المحتمل أن يدخل فليك بنفس التشكيل الذي واجه به موناكو ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا يوم الخميس الماضي، حسب ما أشارت العديد من المصادر الإسبانية. تشكيل برشلونة المتوقع أمام فياريال في بطولة الدوري الإسباني اليوم
The Catalan has made history by winning a fourth successive crown to make it six in total, but which was his best?
Champions again. And again, and again. Manchester City have a vice-like grip on the Premier League title, and good luck to anyone who tries to take it away from them. The Cityzens are celebrating their 10th English league title, their eighth in the Premier League era and their sixth under Pep Guardiola.
And this one is extra special, as they have become the first team in English football history to have won four consecutive crowns. Ever since winning their third title in a row last year, Guardiola had set his eyes on doing something that no team had previously achieved. And as he tends to do, the Catalan has pulled it off.
Not that he will be ranking it above any of his previous five title wins in Manchester, however. Two days before beating West Ham to secure the elusive fourth crown, Guardiola said: "Don't ask me which is more important because every one has been so important. All of the five Premier Leagues we won were so difficult and a there was lot of effort behind them."
But which was the most impressive? GOAL re-lives all six of Guardiola's Premier League triumphs with City, taking into account entertainment, difficulty and how enjoyable they were to watch…
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62020-21: Emphatic turnaround
By their own ridiculously high standards, City made a terrible start to the 2020-21 campaign, dropping points in five of their opening eight games, leaving them in the unthinkable position of 13th place in the table. Having made such a bad start after surrendering the league to Liverpool the previous season, there was genuine uncertainty about Guardiola's future.
While the team were at their lowest ebb, however, City showed faith in their manager and gave him a new contract in November. It did not immediately galvanise the team as City dropped points in three of their next five games, but they started cooking up something delightful soon enough, winning 15 matches in a row, their second-longest winning streak ever.
Yet despite that ruthless run, which helped City wrap up the title with three games to spare, there was an underwhelming feel to this triumph. That was mostly due to the fact almost every game was played in an empty stadium due to coronavirus restrictions, but it was also the least impressive in terms of points (86). They also scored fewer goals than in any other season under Guardiola.
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52022-23: Haaland pounces on Arsenal
This was the season in which Erling Haaland landed on English shores and immediately owned the league, scoring at a breath-taking rate and demolishing records each week. His 36 goals played a huge part in City winning a third-consecutive title for the first time in their history, while Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne all played their part in a stunning run of victories from February to May as City chased down Arsenal.
The 12-match winning streak put City back on track towards the title, yet they were helped by a dramatic collapse from the Gunners, who had been top of the table for 32 out of 38 weeks and held an eight-point advantage with nine games to go. Mikel Arteta's side let the pressure get to them and dropped points in six of their next eight games, chucking away two-goal leads to draw at Liverpool and West Ham, while also drawing 3-3 at home with soon-to-be-relegated Southampton.
The momentum was very much with City when they welcomed the Gunners to the Etihad Stadium in late April, and Guardiola's side hammered them 4-1 to take back control of the title race. They clinched it less than a month later when Arsenal were beaten by Brighton and then Nottingham Forest.
It was undoubtedly a stunning finish from Guardiola's side, spearheaded by Haaland, but Arsenal certainly lent them a hand.
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42021-22: Who needs a centre-forward?
City had waved farewell to all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero in the summer of 2021 and played much of this season without a centre-forward. They did not get off to the smoothest of starts, either, dropping points in four of their opening 10 games and falling into third behind Chelsea and Liverpool. But soon enough they got into their usual groove, winning 12 games in a row between November and February.
They took top spot for the first time in December and never let it go, although Liverpool pushed them mightily close. City got off to a dreadful start in their final game of the season against Aston Villa, falling two goals behind, but they roared back to score three times in the space of six minutes, with substitute Gundogan starting and completing the epic comeback.
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32023-24: Winning a three-horse race
City had experienced big changes over the summer of 2023 by parting with the serial-winners Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte. Then on the opening day of the season, they lost Kevin De Bruyne for more than five months to injury. But they shook off those difficulties by winning their first six games, equalling their best-ever start to a campaign, with Phil Foden finding the best form of his career.
Their longest wobble came while Rodri was suspended, the Spaniard missing all three of their Premier League defeats, the last of which came in December. The return of De Bruyne, meanwhile, was crucial and helped them get over the line, although at times it wasn't always pretty, such as in April's scrappy win at Forest. City also had an underwhelming record against their rivals, winning just two out of eight matches against the top five.
But this title was still hugely impressive, as they had to see off not one but two title contenders. Liverpool faded in April but Arsenal, unlike the previous season, pushed them right to the bitter end, showing none of the frailties they had previously exhibited. In the end, City just had more mettle and that's why they will go down in the record books as the first team in 135 years of English football to win four titles in a row.
Vinicius Jr is being billed as a potential Ballon d’Or winner, but the Real Madrid star is eager to point out that he will always put “teams first”.
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Brazilian star shining in Spain
Chasing down European glory
Now forms part of global elite
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Brazil international has been in dazzling form for the Blancos this season, helping them to the Liga title and another Champions League final. His exploits across the 2023-24 campaign, as he becomes a talismanic presence at Santiago Bernabeu, have led some to suggest that a Golden Ball could be heading his way.
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WHAT VINICIUS JR SAID
Vinicius has said of that debate, after helping Real past Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals: “Everyone talks about the Ballon d'Or but I'm very calm. I want to win another Champions League with this team. I can do great things this season and then I have to go with Brazil [for the Copa America]. I always think about the teams first and then me. We were able to place the best team in the world in another final. We have 25 stars in the team, all of us have worked hard to achieve our aim which is to go to London [for the Champions League final] and to win La Liga. We have won La Liga, we are going to London.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Vinicius has had plenty to contend with on and off the field during his time in Spain, but the 23-year-old forward is unlocking full potential to become part of the global elite. He added: “I came here [to Madrid] when I was young, 18. I was criticised a lot and that made me work a lot more in order to be ready when the time came…I train every day to improve…I'm now here, in another final. I've never worked in a group that is as united as ours is this season. This group works a lot.”
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WHAT NEXT?
Real, who wrapped up a domestic crown with four games to spare, are set to face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on June 1. Vinicius will be hoping to figure prominently in the contest, having previously netted a winning goal for the Blancos in their 2022 showdown with Liverpool.