⚽️LIVERPOOL vs MAN CITY at ANFIELD
What role will the Reds' famous citadel play in this Premier League title clash?
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It’s a standout Sunday for Premier League football, as Aston Villa and Tottenham duke it out for the fourth and final ticket to the Champions League next season. But they’re just opening. The headliner? Liverpool vs. Manchester City at Anfield.
This is the big one in recent times, the title-decider. This is pedigree, this is football heritage, this is the two great managers of the Prem’s last decade going head-to-head. It’s Pep Guardiola’s masters of control against Jürgen Klopp’s heavy-metal band, Mo Salah vs. Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland vs. Virgil Van Dijk. Whoever wins here will be top of the league.
City come into this one having seized 28 of the last 30 points available, cruising into some indomitable form as their biggest weapons return from the sidelines. Liverpool have their own injury woes, but key men—including Salah—are returning. Plus, they have Anfield. City won there in February 2021, without a proper crowd due to COVID, but before that their last league win away at Liverpool was in May 2003.
For the podcast this week, John Williams joins the show to discuss what role the Reds’ famous citadel might play in deciding this decisive encounter. The author of two books on Liverpool Football Club—Red Men and Red Men Reborn!—traces the story of this legendary ground and what he expects to see on Sunday.
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THE HEADLINES
➡️Two Brighton fans were stabbed by a masked gang in the Italian capital ahead of their Europa League match with Roma on Thursday. Both men are reportedly recovering well, and one of them made it to the Stadio Olimpico for the match.
➡️This week in the Champions League: Real Madrid survived something of an onslaught from RB Leipzig at the Bernabeu to progress to the quarterfinals after Loïs Openda missed a host of chances for the German side. Man City sailed past Copenhagen 6-2 on aggregate. Both PSG and Bayern Munich advanced having been heavily favored to do so against Real Sociedad and Lazio respectively.
➡️Getafe’s complaint against Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham has been dismissed after the Spanish FA found no credible evidence he called Mason Greenwood a “rapist” during a match on February 1. According to Marca, a lip-reading expert hired by the FA was unable to determine whether Bellingham said “rapist” or “rubbish.”
➡️Thomas Tuchel is reportedly interested in returning to Chelsea or joining the project at Manchester United after he leaves Bayern Munich this summer.
➡️BlueCo, the vehicle through which Todd Boehly and his consortium purchased Chelsea and Strasbourg in recent years, announced losses of £653 million for the period of March 2022 through June 2023. Chelsea lost over £90 million in that period.
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SATURDAY
MAN UNITED vs EVERTON (7:30am ET, 12:30pm GMT)
The Red Devils are licking their wounds after a derby-day disaster last weekend, though the problems run far deeper than that this season. United have a -2 goal difference after 27 matches with just 37 goals scored, and they’re now 11 points off the Top Four. Erik ten Hag may just be looking to save some face as the rumors swirl that he could be out the door by the summer. Everton come to Old Trafford in desperate search of points, without a win in their last 10 Premier League matches. They’re hovering five points clear of the relegation zone with another points deduction (possibly) on the way for alleged financial improprieties.
CRYSTAL PALACE vs LUTON TOWN (10am ET, 3pm GMT)
WOLVES vs FULHAM was also an intriguing one in this window, but this feels like the kind of match Luton absolutely must win if they want to make it a relegation scrap. Palace have a new manager in Oli Glasner and they’ll hope it’s a whole new era, one which Eberechi Eze ushered in with a glorious free kick against Tottenham last week. They blew that lead, however, and they won’t be at full force until Michael Olisé returns at the end of the month. Luton must find a way to snatch something here.
BOLOGNA vs INTER (12pm ET, 5pm GMT)
The Felsinei have been a delightful surprise this season under head coach Thiago Motta, who once represented their opponents here with distinction. Bologna have a dynamic young squad of future stars like Joshua Zirkzee and the Scotsman-in-Italia Lewis Ferguson, and they find themselves in the Champions League places with 11 matches to go. Their opponents here are absolutely formidable, however: Inter are running away with the Scudetto, 15 points clear of Juventus in second with an astonishing +56 goal difference. They’ve lost just once this season and don’t seem to mind whether they’re playing home or away.
ARSENAL vs BRENTFORD (12:30pm ET, 5:30pm GMT)
The Gunners are seeking their eighth-straight victory in the Premier League, which would be their best-ever run under Mikel Arteta. If they can get it, they’re guaranteed to gain ground on one or both of their adversaries in the three-horse title race. Brentford are in some ghastly form, taking seven points out of the last 30 available, but Thomas Frank’s side haven’t gotten many breaks and they’re probably better than their 26 points would suggest. That said, they are in danger of getting dragged down into the relegation scrap.
SUNDAY
ASTON VILLA vs TOTTENHAM (9am ET, 2pm GMT)
Spurs came storming back after going 1-0 down to that aforementioned Eze magic last time out, and Ange Postecoglu’s side are just about sticking around in a Top Four race where Aston Villa are in the driver’s seat. It’s a season that has soared past expectations for the Villans: Unai Emery’s men are five points clear of their opponents here with 11 matches to go, though Spurs have a game in hand. There are matchups all over the pitch here, and this one should be kinetic: if they want a ticket to the Champions League next season, Tottenham must go to Villa Park and win.
LIVERPOOL vs MAN CITY (11:45am ET, 4:45pm GMT)
The hype was insufficient, apparently, so we got some salt this week to round out the flavor. Liverpool stalwart Trent Alexander-Arnold came out with the opinion that the Reds’ trophies “mean more to us and our fanbase” than City’s do to them and theirs, citing the relative financial power of the two clubs. Then Erling Haaland hit back before the week was done: “If he wants to say that, OK,” the big Norwegian told Sky Sports. “I've been here one year and I won the treble and it was quite a nice feeling. I don't think he knows this feeling.”
Get the full preview of this one above, but here’s one more detail from this week: Haaland has now scored as many Champions League goals as Sergio Agüero, and it took him 42 fewer games. Can the Norwegian seize the moment in the Premier League this weekend?
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THE FPL STOCK MARKET
Gameweek 28 is a double for Bournemouth and Luton Town, so you’ve got to look at getting their players in. That particularly goes for Luton, one of just eight Premier League teams with a match in Gameweek 29. (The FA Cup did a number on the fixture list, so it may be the moment to play your Free Hit chip.) Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Newcastle are all off for this upcoming FPL bloodbath, so you might also want to lean on Aston Villa and Tottenham, the other two teams in the top six for FPL points:
⬆️As far as Bournemouth, I’d go for Dominic Solanke (£7.1m) despite some indifferent recent form, or Antoine Semenyo (£4.5m) for a cheap option. Justin Kluivert (£4.6m) is also a cheap midfield scorer. Neto (£4.6m) is an option at goalkeeper, but I get the feeling they may not keep clean sheets here. I would probably steer clear of their defense with Marcos Senesi a major injury doubt.
⬆️For Luton, Carlton Morris (£5.1m) needs a look up front, while Chiedozie Ogbene (£4.9m) is more of an outside shot. Tahith Chong (£4.7m) has goal or assist returns in his last three matches from midfield, and Alfie Doughty (£4.7m) is a great option going forward (and taking set-pieces) from defense.
⬇️Kyle Walker (£5.5m) has been a fixture in my team for most of the season, but City haven’t been keeping many clean sheets and he’s a rotation risk.
⬆️West Ham are playing next gameweek, so Jarrod Bowen (£7.9m) and Mohammed Kudus (£6.8m) and James Ward-Prowse (£5.9m) are all options. Lucas Paquetá (£6.0m) is back but not quite firing so far.
⬆️Fulham are also playing next week, and Rodrigo Muniz (£4.5m) is in fantastic form.⚽︎