Author: BenEvans22

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Fantasy Football Tips, who’s in and who’s out?

Getting ready for the return of the Premier League next week and wondering what changes need to be made to your fantasy teams? Here are 4 players you should look at offloading and 4 players you should look to bring in.

OUT

Danny Ings: The forward has had one of his best scoring campaigns for Southampton this year, netting 15 goals in 29 appearances. Although this is an impressive record, I wouldn’t bet on Ings picking up where he left off. Southampton still have a number of big games against Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United so will we see the Ings we saw before the Coronavirus pandemic halted the season? I don’t think so.

IN

Marcus Rashford: Injured before the season was stopped so perhaps a surprise to suggest the Englishman should be added to your teams, however, on 14 goals in the league this year and beginning to truly show that the hype that existed towards the beginning of his career, is real, I’d expect to see Rashford add to his goal tally in the remaining games he and Manchested United have to play. Especially considering United only have 1 of the ‘top 6’ left to play.

OUT

Tammy Abraham: Another forward. Abraham has been terrific under Frank Lampard this season, making up for his side not being able to recruit any big-money forwards at the start of the season. 13 goals in the league and has shown that you don’t always need money to do well in the Premier League. Despite this, Chelsea have some big fixtures left to play, with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool still in their way. Chelsea will continue to push to stay in a Champions League spot come the end of the season, but I don’t see Abraham adding too many more to his tally.

IN

Rui Patricio: The Wolves goalkeeper has been impressive in between the posts this season, collecting 8 clean sheets in total. The Portuguese is an ideal replacement for any fantasy side. Wolves’ remaining fixtures aren’t as challenging as some of the other teams pushing for a place in Europe this season, so expect his clean sheets record to go up.

OUT

John Lundstram: One of the surprise players this season, with over 100 points on fantasy football this year, he’s been a great little edition to anyone looking for a cheap player who brings in points. Arguably his sides’ player of the season. However, I don’t see him bringing in the same number of points as he previously was, I’d like to be proven wrong with this one, given just how well he and his side have played this season but, right now, I don’t see it.

IN

Harry Kane: Perhaps not scored as many as he usually has by this time in the season, with just 11 in the league this year, but there’s still games to be played. Suffered some injury setbacks before the season was halted but he’ll be rearing to get back to his scoring ways. Spurs still have a North London Derby to look forward to and we all know Kane loves a goal against the Gunners. Bring him in.

OUT

Jordan Henderson: I wouldn’t have predicted the Liverpool skipper to be one, if not the, top performer in the league this year. He’s truly shown why he and his side deserve to lift the Premier League trophy for the first time this year. I don’t see Liverpool taking it easy against any side that they have left to play, even if they do clinch the title with games remaining, but, I think it’s unlikely Henderson is gonna be someone who gets you lots of points in the remaining games. Currently on 99 points and coming back from an injury, I think it’s time to swap him out.

IN

Todd Cantwell: Bit different for the last one. The young Englishman has been another, like Lundstram, who despite only being a cheap 4.7 on fantasy football, has been one the best performers. A solid 100 points for someone playing for, bottom of the table, Norwich City, is not too shabby. I’d be surprised if he isn’t picked up by another Premier League club if and when his side get relegated. Norwich still have some challenging games to play but that didn’t stop him before the season was stopped. Bring him in as one of the cheap players who will get a consistent number of points each game.

MY FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM:

Former United Player, Young, Offers Coronavirus Advice from Italy

“Always use gloves from moment you get out of your car!…Keep the gloves on until you are getting back in the car.”

Inter Milan and former Manchester United defender, Ashley Young, has shared advice on his twitter page about how to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

The England defender moved to Italy, in January, the worst affected country in Europe, with more than 6,000 reported dead overall.

The 34-year-old created a thread on his twitter page (@youngy18) and started it by saying, “Hi everyone, just wanted to share my thoughts given I’m currently living in Italy, the epicentre of the virus.”

He went on to discuss the situation in Italy currently, “Realistically a supermarket is now your main risk at spreading this virus and even catching it. Speaking with family and friends at home it sounds like going to get food is just crazy. Remember, lockdown means lockdown!

In Italy going to the supermarket is surprisingly calm… no fights over food, no stripped shelves and most certainly no abusing staff members for limiting food or any reason at all! And in almost every case it’s usually just one person shopping for a household!”

Italy have been under lockdown regulations since the 9th March and since then, the number of new cases has continued to increase but reassuringly at a lower rate.

Other advice Young posted included: respecting the new regulations, in regards to supermarkets’ specific guidelines, using gloves more frequently, keeping a distance from others and arguably his most important point, treat everybody that’s not in your household as if they have the virus, because you just don’t know.

He finished by reminding everyone to stay safe and to stay indoors. A classy touch from the former Premier League champion.

Former Wales rugby captain, Sam Warburton, has also been spreading positivity over his social media platforms.

On Instagram, he has posted regularly during the UK’s lockdown began. His posts have included a video of himself asking people to stay at home in order to stop the spread and also videos of himself playing with his daughter to show how he and his family are staying positive throughout these uncertain times.

He has also given a big shout out to all of the NHS workers working “day and night” to help stop the spread of the virus.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-KGUB5pB3U/

Stay home and stay safe!

Premier League Matchday 29 Results

Liverpool 2-1 Bournemouth (LIV: Salah, Mane, BOU: C.Wilson)

Arsenal 1-0 West Ham (ARS: Lacazette)

Crystal Palace 1-0 Watford (CRY: J.Ayew)

Sheffield United 1-0 Norwich City (SHU: Sharp)

Southampton 0-1 Newcastle (NEW: Saint-Maximin)

Wolves 0-0 Brighton

Burnley 1-1 Tottenham (BUR: Wood, TOT: Alli)

Chelsea 4-0 Everton (CHE: Mount, Pedro, Willian, Giroud)

Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City (MUN: Martial, McTominay)

Leicester City 4-0 Aston Villa (LEI: Barnes x2, Vardy x2)

If Phil Foden was Playing for Any Other Club than Man City, He’d be Starting for England by now.

If Phil Foden was playing at any other club that is not Manchester City, then he would be starting for England by now. Foden has been described by his manager, Pep Guardiola, as the most “talented” player he has ever seen. But, because of the quality and depth already in City’s squad, Foden isn’t being given the chances that he would be elsewhere. It’s time for him to start games on a regular basis.

You would think that someone who has been described as the most talented player he has ever seen, by Guardiola, someone who has managed over the likes of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi, would be starting every game for their club. Unfortunately for Foden, he is playing in a team which includes the likes of; De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan. So, playing week in and week out has proved to be Foden’s problem.

Foden joined Man City at the age of 8 and has been a player there ever since. He’s not once been sent out on loan and made his senior debut at the age of 17 in a Champions League game against Feyenoord, becoming the youngest City player ever to play in a European game. Since then, he’s played over 60 games for his side but with only started 5 league games.

He has proved on several occasions why he is good enough to be playing, potentially even starting for England, by now. Most recently in a man of the match performance against Aston Villa in the League Cup final. He has 10 senior goals for his club to go alongside his 10 assists also. However, there is no doubt that if this young man was playing for anyone other than Manchester City, his numbers would double.

It was revealed at the start of the season that this would be David Silva’s last in English football. Many would argue that it is all but impossible to replace a player who has achieved so much with the club but Guardiola, himself, has stated that Phil Foden is that man. Therefore, if Foden still isn’t starting far more regularly next season and City decide to try and bring in a replacement for the Spaniard, then Foden seriously must consider whether staying at the club is the right move for his career.

If he wants to be playing for England, competing in World Cups and European Championships, and showing everyone that he is as talented as Guardiola has proclaimed him, he needs game time. Serious game time. And if he isn’t going to get that at City, he needs to start looking elsewhere.

Premier League Matchday 28 Results

Norwich City 1-0 Leicester City (NOR: Lewis)

Brighton 0-1 Crystal Palace (CRY: J.Ayew)

Bournemouth 2-2 Chelsea (BOU: Lerma, King, CHE: Alonso x2)

Newcastle 0-0 Burnley

West Ham 3-1 Southampton (WHU: Bowen, Haller, Antonio, SOU: Obafemi)

Watford 3-0 Liverpool (WAT: Sarr x2, Deeney)

Everton 1-1 Manchester United (EVE: Calvert-Lewin, MUN: Bruno Fernandes)

Tottenham 2-3 Wolves (TOT: Bergwijn, Aurier, WOL: Doherty, Jota, Jimenez)

More fixtures to be played in this particular matchday.

UEFA Champions League Round of 16 1st Leg Results

18/2/20

Atletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool (ATL: Saul)

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Paris St Germain (DOR: Haaland x2, PSG: Neymar)

19/2/20

Atalanta 4-1 Valencia (ATA: Hateboer x2, Ilicic, Freuler, VAL: Cheryshev)

Tottenham 0-1 RB Leipzig (RBL: Werner)

25/2/20

Chelsea 0-3 Bayern Munich (BAY: Gnabry x2, Lewandowski)

Napoli 1-1 Barcelona (NAP: Mertens, FCB: Griezmann)

26/2/20

Lyon 1-0 Juventus (OLY: Tousart)

Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City (RMA: Isco, MCI: Gabriel Jesus, De Bruyne)

City Get Huge Away Win Against, European Kings, Real Madrid

Manchester City won 2-1 against Real Madrid in a tight affair at the Bernabeu. Goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne meant that City would go into the 2nd leg with the advantage.

It was the home side who started stronger. Their first chance came 16 minutes into the half. A ball into the box by Isco was headed out but fell to the feet of Raphael Varane who blazed a shot over the bar.

City‘s best chance of the half came minutes later, on the counter attack. De Bruyne was given some space to run at the defence and in typical fashion played a brilliant through ball to Jesus who cut inside and found his shot saved well by Thibaut Courtois from close range.

Madrid continued to create chances and their best came through Karim Benzema. Ferland Mendy’s pinpoint cross into the box was met well by the Frenchman who headed the ball low but Ederson was down quick to save. His save was however pushed into Vinicius who just couldn’t control it in time and instead fell over the ball giving City the chance to clear.

Pep Guardiola was later forced to make an early change as star centre back Aymeric Laporte was unable to continue through injury, in which he was replaced by Fernandinho in the 33rd minute.

The last chance of the half came again from Manchester City. A corner came in, which Courtois came out to punch clear, but didn’t get the contact he wanted and allowed Jesus to get a shot towards goal but thanks to the number of players on the goal line, Madrid were able to clear. The half time whistle came soon after.

Both teams picked up where they left off in the first half. City with the first chance. A powerful run by De Bruyne through the middle led to him playing in Riyad Mahrez, who could’ve passed, but instead he saw as his curling shot went wide.

Another shot by Mahrez is saved well by Courtois, who had to get down quick. Madrid found themselves on the counter once again but City dealt with it, with Ederson saving a simple header in the box.

The home side found themselves ahead in the 60th minute after a mistake by City. An intercepted pass by Luka Modric gave them the chance to pounce. The midfielder played in Vinicius who spotted Isco free in the middle. He picked him out and Isco, who took a touch before shooting, expertly fired Madrid ahead making it 1-0.

Both sides were clearly amped up by the opening goal. Sergio Ramos had a chance to get their second later on after a pass back into the box by Isco but he couldn’t direct it on target.

Substitute Raheem Sterling got immediately involved. He picked the ball up outside in the Madrid half and passed the ball to De Bruyne who looked up and saw Jesus running into the box. The Belgian dinked a ball towards the far post and Jesus was able to get there ahead of Sergio Ramos and headed it past Courtois in goal. City had their vital away goal.

Sterling involved again. Just minutes after their equaliser City were awarded a penalty after Dani Carvajal took down Sterling with a lunging challenge. The penalty was scored by De Bruyne who sent Courtois the wrong way, making the score 2-1 to the away side.

Madrid found themselves in even deeper water after their captain Ramos was sent off for taking down, the last man, Jesus, outside of the box. The resulting freekick was saved simply by Courtois.

The full time whistle meant Pep Guardiola would be the happier of the two managers. Madrid will travel to City in two weeks time 2-1 down with two away goals conceded. All eyes on that game.

What’s Next for Fury After Stunning Win Against Wilder?

Taken from the BBC.

In case you are living under a rock, on Sunday morning, Tyson Fury became the World Heavyweight Champion of the World, after beating Deontay Wilder in seven tantalising rounds, thus taking his WBC world title off him. After this win, what should Fury do next?

Before getting properly into this, it must first be said that as of this morning, Deontay Wilder has come out and said that he will be activating the rematch clause in their contract and has blamed his loss on his 40lbs costume that he walked out in, saying that it ‘weakened his legs’. He blamed other factors such as; his trainer throwing in the towel and that Fury wasn’t actually hurting him. No matter what the excuses are, the point is, he wants the trilogy fight.

Fury was able to knock down Wilder in rounds 3 and 5 and before he could do it again in the 7th, his team decided he’d had enough and threw in the towel. It was potentially the best performance of Fury’s career and the fact that he has said that he still feels he could’ve given him more makes me fear for the next person who steps into the ring with him.

Straight after the fight, the other World Heavyweight Champion of the World, Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn tweeted this out:

Twitter then began getting excited with AJ’s promoter openly calling for a fight between the two champions. Hearn has since released a video stating that “this fight will happen.” Also, he mentions how if AJ has to fight Pulev, he will and if Fury has to fight Wilder again, he will but inevitably both fighters will win and Hearn has promised that both teams will do “everything”, to make this fight happen.

So, could a unification fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua be closer than we think? This is the fight everyone now wants. Everyone is in agreement that Fury will most likely beat Wilder again in their third bout, whether that’s under the same circumstances as last time or even if it’s a points decision, Fury will win so a fight between the two World Champions must happen.

Dillian Whyte has also openly stated that he will challenge Fury for his title and believes he is the man to ruin his unbeaten record. It’s unlikely that this fight will happen in the near future given that Fury will most likely have to accept the rematch against Wilder and if and when he wins that, a unification fight with Joshua is the fight most likely to follow.

In terms of predicting a winner between AJ and Fury, it seems incredibly difficult to see anything but Fury winning at this moment in time but we all know Joshua is capable of a huge performance and he is, at the end of the day, a world champion. My money will be on Fury however.

It will be interesting to see how soon the rematch with Wilder will be announced and when this year it will take place but right now it’s looking like Fury will need to win that fight and then move on to the unification fight with AJ, assuming that he wins his fights in the meantime also.

There’s a lot to look forward to in the boxing world right now…

Taken from the BBC.

Cardiff Met 3rd Win 2-0 Against USW 2nd in Scrappy Affair

Cardiff Met 3rd beat the USW 2nd team 2-0. Goals from Isaac Atherley and Effy Kazard were enough to take all three points at the USW Sport Park.

USW started quickest with a couple early warning shots from outside the box but it was Cardiff Met who were the first to test their opposing keeper. A freekick from distance by Atherley required saving by the keeper.

Shortly after, Cardiff Met were up and running. Atherley picked up the ball on the edge of the box, he was able to dribble past two USW defenders and blast the ball past a diving keeper and into the top corner to make it 1-0.

A mistake by Cardiff Met keeper, Steff Rhys Jones, gave USW the chance to equalise but he recovered and put the striker off before the shot could be taken.

The away side went in at half time the happier of the two sides at the break.

Approaching the 60th minute, Cardiff Met found themselves on the counterattack. Forward, Kazard, was through but before he could take the shot, he was brought down and gave the referee no choice but to point to the spot.

The penalty was taken and scored by Kazard who placed it under the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner. USW clearly unhappy with the decision to give the penalty by the referee.

An awkward bounce later allowed Met’s Will Tucker to be one on one with the keeper, but he rushed his shot and dragged it wide of the post.

 The away side continued to look for a third with Rhys Thomas and Harrison Price both coming close, but the score finished 2-0 with Cardiff Met coming out on top and stealing all three points.

A disappointed USW 2nd team travel to Cardiff University 3rd for their final game of the season and will hope to bounce back.

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