Connect with us

EPL

What’s at stake for every club ahead of Women’s Football Weekend

Published

on

Sportvectru banner ad


Women’s Football Weekend is days away, and every club in the WSL will be taking part, with matches set for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

It’s extremely tight both at the top of the league and at the bottom going into the final stretch of the season, so here’s what every club is playing for ahead of the weekend.

Magdalena Eriksson

Chelsea FC v Manchester United – Barclays Women’s Super League / Visionhaus/GettyImages

After a period of time where Chelsea were second in the league, they’ve managed to go top once again. The side currently have a two-point lead and a game in hand, which puts them in a really good position to successfully defend their WSL title yet again.

That being said, unlike the two Manchester clubs who are also fighting for the title, Chelsea are in the Champions League, and after their loss to Barcelona in the 2021 final, the side are clearly hungry for European glory.

Emma Hayes will have to manage her squad well to ensure that form doesn’t dip in the league. Manchester City is no easy task.

Alessia Russo

Chelsea FC v Manchester United – Barclays Women’s Super League / Visionhaus/GettyImages

Manchester United will have been disappointed after they dropped to second in the table after their 1-0 loss to Chelsea just over a week ago, although a first ever top three finish and Champions League qualification was always the primary goal for the Red Devils coming into the season.

As the end of the season approaches, all they can do is pick up as many points as possible, Their run in is arguably more favourable than their rivals, with Arsenal and Manchester City to face at home.

But winning at Old Trafford against West Ham this weekend will be crucial.

Alex Greenwood - Soccer Player

Manchester City v Arsenal – Barclays Women’s Super League / Visionhaus/GettyImages

Manchester City suffered a huge blow after getting knocked out of the FA Cup at the hands of Aston Villa. Gareth Taylor’s team will have to put aside the shocking loss, and look to make a late push for the title.

They are level on points with Manchester United, but have a goal difference of +18 compared to +29 on the other side of twon.

They arguably have the most difficult remaining fixtures as well, having to face all three of United, Arsenal, and Chelsea, who they come up against this weekend. If they can manage big performances against the rest of the top four, they may have a fighting chance at domestic glory.

Katie McCabe, Frida Maanum

Arsenal v Liverpool FC – Barclays Women’s Super League / Catherine Ivill/GettyImages

It would be a long shot for Arsenal to win the title at this point. Despite only being five points off of Chelsea, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where all three clubs above the Gunners collapse so close to the end of the season.

The main objective that Arsenal can realistically aim for is a top-three spot, to qualify for the Champions League next season. Not playing in Europe’s best competition would be a blow for the side that is just starting to show signs of getting back to what they once were a decade ago.

They have to make sure there are no banana skins on Saturday against a Tottenham side suddenly buoyed by a recent win.

Alisha Lehmann

Manchester United v Aston Villa – Barclays Women’s Super League / Naomi Baker/GettyImages

Aston Villa have had a fantastic season so far, and are showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. They sit fifth in the WSL table and are unbeaten in 2023 ahead of facing bottom club Leicester at home.

Their win against Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final saw Rachel Daly score the winning goal in the 97th minute to knock out the three-time winners. Manager Carla Ward called it ‘the biggest night’ in the club’s history, and the team will want to continue to impress in the league.

Should they finish the season in fifth, it would be a massive improvement on their ninth-placed finish last season, and a sign of what could come if the club are willing to put some proper investment in the team.

Katrine Veje

Everton FC v Manchester United – Barclays Women’s Super League / Visionhaus/GettyImages

A few seasons ago, Everton, along with Manchester United, were tipped to become challengers to what was then the big three: Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City. While United have certainly made that a big four, Everton have failed to meet those expectations.

As of late, they’ve particularly struggled up front, having not scored a goal since their match in late January against West Ham. The Merseyside derby will be a perfect chance for them to find their shooting boots in front of big home support at Goodison Park.

Viviane Asseyi

Reading v West Ham United – Barclays Women’s Super League / Ben Hoskins/GettyImages

West Ham have dipped in form since last season, already accumulating nine losses, their overall total in the 2021/22 season. Their last league win came in December and questions may be asked about Paul Konchesky if his team’s form continues to fall.

Going to Old Trafford, where they lost in 2021 and where Aston Villa got hit for five in December, is hardly a favourable way to get back to winning ways.

Melissa Lawley

Liverpool FC Women v Chelsea FC Women – Barclays Women’s Super League / Visionhaus/GettyImages

The Merseyside derby will be the perfect chance for Liverpool to build upon their 2-1 victory over Tottenham. Matt Beard’s side are surely to stay in the WSL for a second season in a row and will be looking for revenge against Everton after the Blues defeated them 3-0 at Anfield earlier in the season.

Shelina Zardorsky

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United – Barclays Women’s Super League / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages

Tottenham edged past Leicester to end a run of nine successive WSL defeats after sacking former manager Rehanne Skinner.

The goal for Spurs ahead of Women’s Football Weekend, and for the rest of the season, is not to get dragged into a relegation battle. After their tough fixture against North London rivals, Spurs have some favourable fixtures, which should see them pick up enough points to remain in the league.

Rachel Rowe

Reading v West Ham United – Barclays Women’s Super League / Ben Hoskins/GettyImages

In the last three seasons, Reading have finished 5th, 7th, and 8th, respectively. They now sit in 10th, and boss Kelly Chambers has said that her sole focus is staying in the WSL, saying: “I’ve not thought about anything other than keeping the team up.”

Reading have one of the smallest budgets in the league and are the only club in the WSL that are not backed by a men’s Premier League side, which has always proven to be a challenge. They play Brighton this weekend, followed by Leicester, the two clubs below them in the league, two huge opportunities from proper ‘six pointers’.

Poppy Pattinson

Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea FC – Barclays Women’s Super League / Alex Davidson/GettyImages

Brighton are only one point above the relegation spot as it sits going into Women’s Football Weekend and it looks like it will come down to the wire in terms of who will be playing in the Championship next season.

The Seagulls do have an FA Cup semi-final lined up with Manchester United to look forward to and the slim possibility of a trophy may even galvanise this squad in the final matches of the season.

Their last WSL fixture will be at home against Leicester, which may end up being their most crucial game of the season. But starting with a trip to Reading on Sunday would be a huge boost.

Josie Green

Manchester United v Leicester City – Barclays Women’s Super League / Matt McNulty/GettyImages

Leicester were more or less the better side in the first half against Spurs last week, but yet again were fruitless in front of goal.

This weekend, they will face an in-form Aston Villa before having to take the likes of Arsenal, and Chelsea.

As mentioned above, their last match of the season, against 11th place Brighton, may be what decides who goes down.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

EPL

Mohamed Salah’s record in the Europa League

Published

on

Sportvectru banner ad


Though Liverpool have become accustomed to the Champions League, their star man Mohamed Salah is no stranger to Europe’s second-tier competition, the Europa League.

Jurgen Klopp’s outfit now have time to reflect and recuperate after finishing 5th in the Premier League and out of the Champions League spots for the first time since the 2014/15 campaign.

Unai Emery – now in charge of high-flying Aston Villa – put the sword to Liverpool in the final of the 2015/16 Europa League final, with Coke’s second-half double proving crucial for Sevilla that day.

As they exchange their Tuesday and Wednesday nights for Thursday’s, Klopp, who had pledged to make the Europa League “our competition” will look to Salah in particular to prevent a repeat of that torrid night in Basel seven years ago.

Mohamed Salah, Frank Lampard

Mohamed Salah battling it out with Chelsea captain Frank Lampard / Michael Regan/GettyImages

FC Basel plummeted out of the Champions League after failing to meet their aim of reaching the group stage in 2012/13.

The Egyptian King, in the infant years of his career, made more appearances from the bench than he did as a nailed-on starter in Basel’s Europa League campaign but he was a star nonetheless.

Salah scored his first of eventually many goals on the European stage in the quarter-finals as Basel edged past Tottenham on penalties after drawing 4-4 on aggregate scoring.

His scoring exploits did not halt there as his future employers Chelsea were at the hands of a Salah double in west London. Although the Egypt international crashed out of the competition thanks to the Blues, his Europa League showings earned him a rightful move to the English giants a few months later.

Salah helped Basel to their best-ever finish in the competition, performing when it mattered the most and often being the difference-maker.

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah celebrating his goal in Fiorentina’s 2-0 win at home against Tottenham / Gabriele Maltinti/GettyImages

Wedged in between his other two Europa League campaigns came his least successful one, with just a goal and assist apiece.

12 days after scoring his first goal for the club against Sassuolo, Salah added one to his European CV against, once again, Tottenham. Spurs had become a familiar sight for the tricky winger and a match-up that he flourished in.

Bearing in mind his spell in Fiorentina was merely a loan, Salah enjoyed positivity for the majority of the season and spurred his side into the semi-finals of the Europa League. His influence – goals aside – was undeniable, though his game time was limited on the centre stage.

A theme begins to reoccur with Salah and the Europa League as he helped Fiorentina – very much a surprise package of the 2014/15 Europa League season – reach the semi-finals of the competition for only the third time in the entirety of the club’s history.

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah celebrating his goal in the first leg of Roma’s round of 16 tie against Lyon / Jean Catuffe/GettyImages

Salah’s most recent Europa League campaign came just before his high-profile move to Liverpool, featuring in six games for Roma in 2016/17.

The Italian side endured a torrid campaign in Europe, preventing Salah from showing the footballing world his undeniable talent. Domestically, Roma finished in second place and secured themselves a spot at Europe’s top table for the following campaign, but cracked under pressure when vying for European silverware in the same season.

Neither goal amounted for anything in this term, either. Roma’s four-goal thumping over West Ham’s conquerors in Astra Giurgiu was already wrapped up before Salah’s effort came, and he managed to grab his second of the competition in a last 16 defeat to Lyon.



Source link

Continue Reading

EPL

Erling Haaland set to beat Premier League record set by Thierry Henry 20 years ago

Published

on

Sportvectru banner ad


Manchester City’s goalscorer-in-chief has set the Premier League alight in his inaugural campaign, breaking record after record and is closing in one Thierry Henry’s long-standing achievement.

Though goals are Erling Haaland’s forte, he has also dished out the odd assist, taking his goal involvement tally to a highly respectable 44. His latest lay-off to Phil Foden at Brighton matched the Premier League record of total goal involvements in a single season.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry set the same record two decades prior, but the new kid on the block will want to leave the Frenchman in the dust by surpassing it in City’s finale at Brentford.

Both Premier League cult heroes in their own right, but with Haaland’s career still in his infancy, he has all the sufficient tools to surpass Henry’s legacy. Marry that up with Pep Guardiola’s ideology and we have an all-timer on our hands.

His arrival divided opinion: some believed he was the world-beating attacker that City craved while some were under the impression he couldn’t hit the heights of the likes of Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah. Oh, how wrong were they.

Guardiola muttered that Sergio Aguero was irreplaceable upon his departure but has been proved entirely wrong by Haaland’s first season in England. An audacious chip over Lukasz Fabianski recorded his record-breaking 35th goal of the campaign, but was just the latest of many to remind us what an alien talent the Spaniard has at his disposal.

Month

Goals

Assists

August

9

1

September

2

0

October

6

2

November

1

0

December

3

0

January

4

0

Feburary

2

1

March

1

1

April

6

2

May

2

1

Two hat-tricks in August had rival fans trembling and City fans relishing in the presence of their new focal point, but few understood what the phenom was capable of.

Next up for the 22-year-old is to eclipse old-timer Dixie Dean, who set the all-time goal record across all competitions – a total of 63 back in 1927/28.

At the rate that Haaland is excelling at, Alan Shearer and Andy Cole’s joint-record of 47 goal involvements in a 42-game campaign could be his next season, although he has four fewer games to manage it.

Should he remain in the Manchester City ranks for years to come, surely Shearer’s 260-goal record is in jeopardy?

Month

Goals

Assists

August

2

2

September

4

2

October

0

1

November

3

2

December

2

0

January

6

1

February

2

2

March

0

2

April

3

3

May

2

5

Amazingly, Henry failed to secure the Golden Boot in this monumental season, with Ruud van Nistelrooy taking the award back to Manchester with him.

The former France international remains the only player to notch 20 in both goals and assists, though, and given Haaland’s speciality in being the finisher rather than the provider, this record seems to be safe for the foreseeable future.

Despite the astonishing nature of the Arsenal forward’s exploits in the attacking third, they were still five points adrift of the league summit as none other than Van Nistelrooy’s United won their seventh Premier League title.





Source link

Continue Reading

BUNDESLIGA

All permutations for Europe and relegation

Published

on

Sportvectru banner ad


The end of the Premier League season is upon us and it has certainly been a thrilling campaign with lots of drama along the way.

While the title may have already been wrapped up by Manchester City at the expense of Arsenal, there is still a huge amount to play for all over the rest of the table on the final day of the Premier League season.

The primary focus will be on the relegation zone where only one team has already had their fate sealed, which is Southampton. Some eyes will also be on the various European qualification spots. Here are all of the permutations you need to know about to enjoy the final day of the 2022/23 Premier League season.

Read 90min’s full match previews here

The Champions League race in the Premier League has been thrilling this season, but Manchester United actually brought it to a close on Thursday night when they easily beat Chelsea 4-1. It means that Manchester City, Arsenal, Man Utd and Newcastle will be the Premier League’s representatives in the Champions League next season.

All that is yet to be decided in the top four is who will finish in third place. Man Utd are now two points ahead of Newcastle so they just need to win against Fulham to make sure that they keep third. If they draw and Newcastle win away at Chelsea, the Geordies would nab third due to goal difference. The only real desire to finish third is due to bragging rights and stature, rather than anything too tangible beyond a couple of million in prize money (which, relatively speaking, isn’t a lot).

Position

Team

Goal difference

Points

1

Manchester City

62

89

2

Arsenal

40

81

3

Manchester United

14

72

4

Newcastle

35

70

Similar to the Champions League battle, the Europa League battle was expected to go down to the wire. As it turns out, Liverpool are guaranteed to finish in fifth place and Brighton are guaranteed to finish in sixth place, meaning they will be England’s Europa League participants next season.

There is actually a chance that three teams enter the Europa League next season from the Premier League, but only if West Ham win the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina. That has no bearing on the Premier League table going into the final day.

The Europa Conference League slot is where the interest lies on Sunday, with three teams fighting for seventh place in the Premier League. Seventh in the Premier League gets this spot because Man Utd won the Carabao Cup and they already have a European spot. The teams in question are Aston Villa, Tottenham and Brentford.

Aston Villa are the team in pole position so all they need to do is equal or better the results of Brentford and Tottenham. If Villa are beaten, Brentford do not win and Spurs draw, Spurs will get seventh on goal difference.

Tottenham will also get seventh if they win and Villa draw or lose, while Brentford are going to have to beat Man City and hope both Villa and Tottenham draw or lose if they are to qualify for Europe for the first time. The Bees are certainly the outside bet.

Position

Team

Goal difference

Points

5

Liverpool

28

66

6

Brighton

20

62

7

Aston Villa

4

58

8

Tottenham

4

57

9

Brentford

11

56

This is where the majority of the focus will be on the final day of the 2022/23 Premier League season, as three teams are all vying to finish in the place above the relegation zone.

Everton are currently the team in a position of strength, while Leeds United and Leicester City are in the bottom three. All of the power lies with Everton as if they win their game, Leeds and Leicester’s results are irrelevant.

Leicester and Leeds are level on points. Leicester need to win their game and hope that Everton either lose or draw. Leicester can finish level on points with Everton if they win and Everton draw, but Leicester’s goal difference is better and they would be safe. They also have a better goal difference than Leeds so if Everton draw and both Leicester and Leeds win, it is Leicester that would be safe.

Leeds also simply have to win their game and hope that Leicester lose or draw, with Everton also losing. If Leeds win and Everton draw, they would be level on points and Leeds would need to beat Tottenham by three clear goals in order to get the goal difference swing on Everton.

The clearest way of viewing it is that if Everton win, it is game over. If Leicester and Leeds both lose or draw, it is game over regardless of what the Toffees do.

Position

Team

Goal difference

Points

17

Everton

-24

33

18

Leicester

-18

31

19

Leeds

-27

31

20

Southampton

-37

24



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Home
Live Scores
Use App
Live TV
Channel