Month: November 2024
A blunt attacking display in defeat to Inter on Wednesday night highlighted many of Arsenal’s recent problems. Martin Ødegaard’s return cannot come soon enough.
There are worse problems to have in football than being overly reliant on a player like Bukayo Saka.
It’s an issue that almost every other club in world football would love to have, and yet an injury-ravaged Arsenal are starting to feel the strain of their reliance on their star man.
In the absence of a key player in Martin Ødegaard and a lack of form from other attackers in Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard, Arsenal have leaned even more heavily on Saka of late, and both he and the team have suffered.
After limping out of England’s UEFA Nations League tie with Greece last month, Saka missed two Arsenal games due to injury – the 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth and a somewhat uninspiring 1-0 home Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Since then, he has played all but five minutes in three Premier League and Champions League matches, and even came off the bench for 28 minutes at Preston in the EFL Cup.
Manager Mikel Arteta has previously insisted that Saka should aspire to be like “the top players in the world. They play 70 matches [a season], every three days and make the difference and win the game. If you want to be at the top, you have to be able to do that.”
There’s little reason to be surprised, then, that Arteta is happy to play Saka as often as he does. He demands a lot from Arsenal’s best and most exciting attacker, and understandably so given his ability and genuinely exceptional output.
In nine Premier League games this season, Saka already has three goals and seven assists. Only Cole Palmer, Mohamed Salah (both 12) and Erling Haaland (11), none of whom have been injured this season, have more goal involvements than him.
But with other key attacking players either missing through injury or lacking in form, the reliance on Saka has become genuinely problematic.
When Arsenal have other threats for the opposition defence to worry about, Saka is an incredible weapon. When those other players aren’t around or performing as well as they can, it is much more difficult for him to influence games.
He has been one of the players impacted most by Ødegaard’s absence. In the Premier League last season, Ødegaard passed the ball to Saka more times (322) than any other combination of non-defenders apart from Man City pair Mateo Kovacic and Rodri passing the ball to one another. And simply looking at that raw number doesn’t take into account the quality of the passes Ødegaard provides, or the areas he helps Saka get into. This term, Thomas Partey is the player passing to Saka the most, and he will be doing so from deeper positions than Ødegaard would take up.
Meanwhile, with Martinelli underperforming on the left flank, there is even more pressure on Saka to perform. In the defeat to Inter on Wednesday night, it was all too apparent that the game plan was just to get the ball to Saka and see what he could do, with Martinelli inept and ineffective on the opposite side of the pitch.
Arsenal have had problems in attack bubbling beneath the surface for a few weeks now. They have failed to score in three of their last six matches, and have particularly struggled to break teams down in open play. They have scored just 13 goals in open play in 10 Premier League games so far this season.
At San Siro, they lacked ideas and resorted to crossing the ball all too much, putting in 46 crosses overall. Their total of 33 in open play was their second highest in their 248 matches under Arteta (excluding extra-time), after the 37 they attempted in the 3-2 comeback win over Bournemouth in March 2023, when they were piling forward against a low block until finally finding a winner in the 97th minute.
Arteta has cut a frustrated figure on the touchline in recent games/ Getty Images
Crossing isn’t intrinsically negative, particularly against a team like Inter who sat back and invited pressure. But it clearly wasn’t working on Wednesday and it was concerning that Arsenal were so clearly lacking in other ideas.
Seeing cross after cross go into the box, it was impossible not to think of Arteta’s words after a November 2020 defeat at home to Wolves, when Arsenal had attempted 33 crosses in vain.
“I think it is the first time in the Premier League that we put 33 crosses in,” Arteta said. “I am telling you that if we do that more consistently, we are going to score more goals. If we put the bodies we had in certain moments in the box, it is maths, pure maths, and it will happen.” He was widely ridiculed after saying that, and many would have thought before this week that that was an approach this new, improved, title-challenging version of Arteta’s Arsenal had left in the past.
But perhaps the approach and performance against Inter shouldn’t be all that surprising with Ødegaard absent. Since the start of last season in Premier League and Champions League games, Arsenal have averaged 9.3 open-play crosses per game when Ødegaard has played, compared to 13.6 per game when he’s been missing. That’s an increase of 46.2% in Arsenal’s crosses when the Norwegian isn’t playing.
That’ll be in part because Ødegaard is the main Arsenal player who gets on the ball between the lines in central areas, allowing them to attack through the middle of the pitch. He averaged more touches in the zone just outside the opposition penalty area – known widely as ‘Zone 14’ – last season (5.3 per 90) than any other teammate to play at least 1,000 minutes.
Rice and Partey have been the only saving grace so far this season/ Getty Images
This season, Partey and Declan Rice – both defensive-minded midfielders – are Arsenal’s most prolific players in that crucial zone (min. 200 minutes played), and they are averaging just 3.8 and 2.9 touches per 90, respectively.
What’s more, with Ødegaard absent this season, Arsenal have needed more from Martinelli on the left flank to take the strain off Saka, but he hasn’t shown anything like his best, and so there has been an even greater reliance on the Englishman.
Last term, Arsenal created 43.0% of their chances down the right third of the pitch. That was a higher proportion than any other team in the Premier League, showing just how much they relied on Saka.
But this season, their imbalance is even more extreme, with the proportion of chances created down the right side jumping up to 51.4%, which is unsurprisingly the highest in the Premier League in 2024-25 by some distance.
A reliance on a player as gifted and threatening as Saka isn’t really a problem and hasn’t caused too many issues over the past few seasons, in which Arteta has turned Arsenal into genuine title contenders.
But without others taking some of the pressure for attacking output off Saka, Arsenal are suffering. Ødegaard’s return could not be better timed.
Credit: Ali Tweedale | Jonny Whimore | Matt Sisneros | OptaAnalyst
- Mourinho said to want Newcastle United job if Eddie Howe leaves
- Fenerbahce boss sees Magpies as ideal club to help him return to Premier League
- Portuguese legend recently criticized refereeing standards in Turkey
Jose Mourinho will eye the Newcastle United job if current manager Eddie Howe departs as he plots a sensational return to the Premier League, a new report has claimed.
After winning the Champions League with Porto, Mourinho led Chelsea to three Premier League title triumphs across two separate spells and later took charge of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
He currently manages Fenerbahce but recently heavily hinted at his dissatisfaction with life in Turkey, launching an extraordinary eight-minute tirade against referees and alleged corruption in the Super Lig.
The Guardian report that the 61-year-old has identified the Newcastle job as his best opportunity to work in the Premier League again and has reached out to intermediaries to communicate his interest.
After leading the Magpies to a Champions League place for the first time since 2002/03, Howe’s squad struggled with injuries in 2023/24 and only finished seventh. The former Bournemouth boss is not understood to be under significant pressure, with their recent victory over Arsenal lifting them up to 11th after a five-game winless streak in England’s top flight. They visit in-form Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Howe said: “It feels good to still be here. I’m so pleased with how it’s going, so pleased to be in this position and still dreaming.
“I’m happy with the progress but you always want more and we haven’t got the one thing we wanted when we came in which was a trophy. That was the dream, that’s still the dream and still driving us.
“We believe we can achieve extraordinary things and that’s the focal point driving us every day. Qualifying for Europe again is one of our aims this season.”
Credit: Jude Summerfield
- Real Madrid host Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday
- Los Blancos aiming to bounce back from two home defeats on the spin
- Carlo Ancelotti’s side already nine points behind Barcelona
The defending European champions stumbled to a dismal 3-1 loss at home to Milan on Tuesday evening, exacerbating the frustrations at the Santiago Bernabeu following a humbling 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in El Clasico.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have struggled to go through the gears this season, with the addition of Kylian Mbappe having only made them worse. The experienced Italian must discover a way to efficiently configure his star-studded forward line.
Los Blancos are already nine points behind La Liga leaders Barca, although they do have a game in hand on their Clasico foes. Another slip-up is out of the question, with high-flying Osasuna – who beat Barca 4-2 earlier this season – likely to pose them a stern test in a repeat of the 2022/23 Copa del Rey final.
Osasuna have made an impressive start to the campaign and currently sit just three points off Madrid. Vicente Moreno’s outfit have won three games on the bounce, keeping clean sheets in victories over Real Sociedad, Real Valladolid and Copa del Rey opponents Chiclana.
Real Madrid team news
Aurelien Tchouameni was the latest casualty in Madrid’s midweek defeat, being withdrawn at half-time due to an ankle injury. The Frenchman is unavailable for the clash with Osasuna and could be sidelined for the next month.
Federico Valverde was also taken off at the break with a minor back issue but he’s expected to recover in time for Osasuna’s visit. David Alaba, Thibaut Courtois and Dani Carvajal remain in the treatment room.
Vinicius Junior and Mbappe – who was left out of the France squad for the upcoming internationals – will start alongside one another once again on Saturday, although they are likely to be joined by the returning Rodrygo. Despite a disastrous defensive display against Milan, Ancelotti is unlikely to make changes in the backline due to a lack of depth and injuries.
Osasuna team news
Osasuna have no injury concerns heading to the Bernabeu as they aim to continue their impressive form. Moreno is unlikely to make too many alterations – if any – from the same XI that were victorious over Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid.
Bayern Munich loanee Bryan Zaragoza has made a fast start to life in Pamplona and has already produced a goal and five assists in La Liga. Ante Budimir is the man he’s seeking to find in the number nine role. The Croatian has six goals this term.
Sergio Herrera has kept four league clean sheets between the sticks but will be braced for a flurry of shots from a Madrid side determined to redeem themselves.
Real Madrid vs Osasuna prediction
One would imagine that Madrid’s disappointing run of form will come to an end sooner rather than later. The idea of them losing three home matches on the bounce is unthinkable and they will be fired up ahead of Osasuna’s weekend visit.
The visitors are likely to unnerve a Madrid side lacking in confidence and without some key defensive cogs, but we’re backing Los Blancos to scrape a win on Saturday afternoon – even if it’s unlikely to be entirely convincing.
Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Osasuna
Credit: 90Mins
Liverpool will host Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday, looking to continue their impressive run of form with a positive performance at home.
Liverpool have picked up eight wins from ten Premier League matches, and they are coming into the game against Aston Villa on the back of three consecutive wins. The home team will be full of confidence here, and they will certainly fancy their chances of getting all three points.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa have lost their last three matches in all competitions, and they will be desperate to bounce back. The Villans are chasing UEFA Champions League qualification this season, and they cannot afford to keep dropping points.
It will be difficult for them to grind out a positive result away from home against an in-form Liverpool side, but they certainly have the quality to pull off an upset here. It will be interesting to see if the players can step up and deliver for the West Midlands club.
Liverpool Team News
Photo: Getty
Liverpool will be without Harvey Elliott because of a foot injury. Alisson Becker has a hamstring injury, Federico Chiesa will miss out with a knock, and Diogo Jota has an abdominal injury.
Liverpool are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Aston Villa, with Caoimhin Kelleher in goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out at both ends of the pitch. Ibrahima Konate will start alongside Virgil van Dijk in the central defensive partnership.
Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch will add defensive cover and control to the side. Dominik Szoboszlai will look to create goalscoring opportunities in the final third. He will take up the no. 10 role and look to link up with the attackers as well.
Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz will add pace, flair and goals from the wide areas. Finally, Darwin Nunez will lead the line for Liverpool against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Aston Villa Team News
Ross Barkley and Matty Cash will miss out with knocks here. Aston Villa will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Liverpool, with Emiliano Martinez an automatic pick between the sticks for the away side.
Ezri Konsa and Lucas Digne will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out defensively and hit Liverpool on the break. Diego Carlos will start alongside Pau Torres at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit. Amadou Onana will look to break up opposition attacks and win the ball back for his side as the defensive midfielder here. Meanwhile, Youri Tielemans will look to control the tempo of the game from the deep.
Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey will add pace, flair and creativity to the side from the wide areas. Morgan Rogers will start as the attacking midfielder behind Ollie Watkins, who will spearhead the Aston Villa attack against Liverpool.
Match Prediction
Liverpool will be the favourites heading into this contest, and they should be able to grind out a victory at home. The Reds have been formidable under Arne Slot this season. On the other hand, Aston Villa have struggled in recent weeks, and this will be a tough challenge for them away from home.
The West Midlands outfit have a poor record against Liverpool as well, and the home team is likely to pile further misery on them. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Slot and his charges this weekend.
Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa
Credit: TheHardTackle
Brighton & Hove Albion will host Manchester City at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, with both sides eager to return to winning ways in the Premier League.
Manchester City, like Brighton & Hove Albion, are struggling, and they have lost their three matches in all competitions. Pep Guardiola will be thoroughly disappointed with the performances of his team, and he will demand a strong reaction from the players.
The defending champions need to get back to winning ways if they want to retain their league crown this season. They cannot afford to keep dropping points. Manchester City are the favourites on paper, and they have the squad to grind out a positive result here.
The away side will be determined to get their season back on track, and Brighton & Hove Albion will have to raise their performance levels to get something out of this contest. Manchester City are unbeaten in their last six meetings against Brighton, and they will certainly look to extend that run here.
Brighton & Hove Albion Team News
Photo: Getty Images
Brighton & Hove Albion will be without Matt O’Riley and Joao Pedro due to their ankle injuries. James Milner is still recovering from his thigh injury, Adam Webster has a thigh injury as well, Solly March has a knee issue, Yankuba Minteh has a groin strain, Jack Hinshelwood has a muscle problem, and Lewis Dunk misses out with a calf injury.
Brighton will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Manchester City, with Bart Verbruggen in goal. Joel Veltman and Pervis Estupinan will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out defensively and hit Manchester City on the break. Jan Paul van Hecke will start in the central defensive partnership alongside Igor Julio.
As for the midfield unit, Mats Wieffer and Carlos Baleba will start in the double pivot. They will look to protect the defensive unit and win the ball back for their side. Julio Enciso will start as the attacking midfielder and create goalscoring opportunities with his passing, vision and link-up play. Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma will start in the wide areas, with Danny Welbeck leading the line.
Manchester City Team News
Photo: Getty Images
Manchester City will be without Rodri because of an ACL injury. Ruben Dias has a muscular injury, John Stones has an ankle issue, Oscar Bobb is out with a leg injury, and Kyle Walker misses out due to a knee injury. Jack Grealish is ruled out with undisclosed problems.
Manchester City will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Brighton & Hove Albion, with Ederson Moraes in goal. Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol will be deployed as the full-backs, and they will look to help out at both ends of the pitch. Manuel Akanji will start at the heart of the defence alongside Nathan Ake.
As for the midfield unit, Ilkay Gundogan will start alongside Mateo Kovacic in the double pivot. They will look to add creativity and control to the side from the deep. Kevin De Bruyne will be deployed in the attacking midfield role, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities in the final third. Savinho and Jeremy Doku are likely to start in the wide areas, with Erling Haaland leading the line for Manchester City.
Match Prediction
Manchester City have an exceptional record against Brighton & Hove Albion, and they should be able to extend it. Despite their recent struggles, the champions are a formidable side, and they have the quality to grind out a comprehensive victory here. Brighton are struggling as well, and they are likely to crash to their third consecutive defeat in all competitions.
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-3 Manchester City
Credit: TheHardTackle
- Bayern Munich welcome Benfica to Bavaria in the Champions League on Wednesday night
- Bayern looking to bounce back from consecutive league phase defeats
- Benfica have lost just once under Bruno Lage
Bayern Munich are in need of three points when they take on Benfica in their fourth game of the Champions League’s league phase on Wednesday night.
The Vincent Kompany era has so far boasted domestic promise, but the Belgian’s side suffered a chastening defeat last time out in this competition as they were blown away by a coming-of-age Barcelona performance in Catalonia.
Bayern’s 4-1 defeat followed up a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in the West Midlands, leaving Kompany’s side languishing at the wrong end of the league phase table and with plenty of work to do if they’re to climb into a top eight position. Time is on their side, however.
The Bavarian giants are facing a Benfica side that have lost just once under Bruno Lage’s tutelage, but that defeat did arrive on Matchday 3 of the league phase. Benfica were woeful in a 3-1 home defeat to Feyenoord, yet they do sit 13th in the table and in a relatively strong position having won their opening two games.
Unlike Bayern, they don’t lead their domestic division heading into this fixture, but Lage’s side have won five straight in the Primeira Liga and are hunting down an excellent Sporting CP team at the summit.
Bayern Munich team news
Impressive young midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic remains out after breaking his collarbone last month. He’s expected to return at some point before the winter break. In his absence, Joao Palhinha could partner Joshua Kimmich in the middle of the park.
Sacha Boey is closing in on a return from a knee injury and could be included in Wednesday’s matchday squad having returned to training. Raphael Guerreiro is likely to start at right-back, though.
Summer arrival Hiroki Ito and Josip Stanisic are out of action until after the international break.
Benfica team news
There are no fresh concerns on the injury front for the away side, who escaped their 2-1 win over Farense at the weekend without any new fitness issues.
Lage, however, will not be able to call upon the injured trio of Gianluca Prestianni, Leandro Barreiro or Tiago Gouveia in Bavaria.
Angel Di Maria is the household name in Benfica’s frontline, but Turkish international Kerem Akturkoglu has been the Portuguese side’s main man this season. The summer addition has eight goal contributions in the Primeira Liga and another three in this competition.
Bayern Munich vs Benfica prediction
Bayern can hold their hands up and say they were simply beaten by an excellent Barcelona side on Matchday 3. They had control of large swathes of that game, but their vulnerabilities to the transition were ruthlessly exposed.
Benfica ran riot on the counter against Atletico Madrid on Matchday 2 and should have some joy here, but winning at the Allianz is an almighty task for any visiting team.
Bayern haven’t lost a home group stage/league phase Champions League game since 2013, and their desperation for three points should see them triumph in a goal-fest on Wednesday night.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 4-2 Benfica
Credit:90Mins
AC Milan pulled off a remarkable result in the Champions League as they ran out 3-1 winners against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Milan took an early lead in the game and it came via the familiar method of a near-post corner that Malick Thiaw powered in, but Vinicius Junior won and converted a penalty to level things not long after.
The Rossoneri then stunned the Bernabeu crowd with two unanswered goals. The second goal came from Alvaro Morata as he pounced on a rebound just before the break, then after it Tijjani Reijnders fired in from close range.
Both sides missed chances to either put the game to bed in Milan’s case or reopen the contest in Real’s case, but the end result was 3-1 and a huge three points in the ‘league phase’ of the UCL.
Paulo Fonseca chose to make four changes to the starting line-up from the team that beat Monza on Saturday, with the most notable being the inclusion of Yunus Musah. There was doubt about whether he would be a right winger or a wing-back, but the coach gave his explanation pre-match.
The first half-chance of the game went to the home side less than three minutes in as a nice move down Real’s right side ended with Kylian Mbappe whipping a low shot that curled wide of the far post.
It was an end-to-end opening to the game, as perfectly demonstrated when Theo Hernandez went on a run from inside his own half into the opposition box but saw his shot saved from a narrow angle, while at the other end a teasing low cross only just missed Mbappe and it would have been an easy conversion.
In the 13th minute, Milan took the lead and stunned the Bernabeu crowd. A ball in behind Vazquez found Leao and he won a corner, which was whipped in towards the near post – a routine we have seen plenty already this season – and Malick Thiaw provided a thumping header into the roof of the net.
Less than a minute after the goal, Real Madrid almost equalised straight away. Mbappe first launched a shot from near the edge of the box that Mike Maignan saved well, then Musah’s poor out ball saw Modric feed Vinicius who shot at Maignan from a narrow angle.
The home side did get a golden chance to level from the spot, after Emerson Royal made a rash challenge near the byline on Vinicius Junior. In truth the winger bought the contact by dragging his leg but it was still a clumsy tackle, and the Brazilian confidently fired the penalty down the middle of the goal.
Lunin was called into action for the first time aside from the goal just after the half-hour mark as a corner was cleared and Tijjani Reijnders sent a thundering low shot towards the bottom corner that he clawed away for a corner.
With just over five minutes to go until half-time, Milan retook the lead after an excellent spell in the game. Pulisic made a darting run towards the right edge of the box and provided cut-back for Leao who spun and fired a low shot which was well saved by Lunin but straight into the path of Morata. He tucked it home from close range, shushing the fans of his former club.
Real Madrid had Lunin to thank for keeping the deficit to one goal as he made a miraculous one-handed diving save from a Leao header that was heading for the postage stamp. Moments later Reijnders found Theo in behind with an outside of the boot ball, which the full-back dragged wide from a narrow angle.
A fantastic turn from Pulisic in the Milan half started a two-on-one counter in Milan’s favour and he fed Leao, but it was a bit behind him and the Portuguese saw his shot cut out by the recovering defender. A couple of minutes later Musah put Leao in isolation, yet he never really committed to the dribble and was crowded out inside the box.
The Rossoneri’s near-post in-swinging corners continued to cause issues for Real, and Morata’s flick went through a crowd before clattering the near post. After that, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham came on for Morata and Pulisic.
In the 72nd minute, Milan did get themselves a two-goal advantage and it was another wonderfully worked goal. Leao went galloping down the left and into the box past Vazquez and squared it on a plate to Reijnders, who managed to take a touch and lash a low shot underneath Lunin from close range.
It looked like being a grandstand finish with just less than 10 minutes left when a cross was palmed by Maignan to Rudiger who hammered a volley into an empty net. However, a VAR check commenced and ruled it out for offside interference at the far post, much to the disbelief of the home players and fans.
The chances continued to flow, and Abraham really should have put the game to bed after a fantastic driving run and square ball from Theo that the Englishman hammered straight at Lunin from close range. At the other end, a pinpoint cross from the left found an unmarked Brahim Diaz but headers are not his strength and he sent it straight at Maignan.
Credit: SempreMilan
- Arsenal take on Inter at San Siro in the Champions League on Wednesday night
- Gunners have picked up seven points from opening three league phase games
- Inter have re-emerged among Europe’s very best in the 2020s
Arsenal must rid themselves of their Tyneside nightmare when they take on Serie A champions Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Gunners performed as poorly as they have in a very long time under Mikel Arteta’s watch at Newcastle on Saturday, falling to a 1-0 defeat thanks to Alexander Isak’s early header. Arsenal are now seven points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, with their recent loss extending their winless run in the competition to three games.
They’ve been productive in Europe, though. Arteta’s side head into this league phase bout with seven points from three games. After drawing at Atalanta on Matchday 1, Arsenal beat Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates without conceding.
Inter sit above the Gunners in the Champions League table on goal difference having also amassed seven points. Simone Inzaghi’s Scudetto holders drew at Manchester City before securing victories over Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys.
A 1-0 win over Venezia on Sunday moved the Nerazzurri to within a point of Antonio Conte’s Napoli at the top of Serie A.
Inter team news
Inzaghi has not been afraid to rotate in this competition, and we should see changes from the team that lined up against Venezia at the weekend.
Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic are both in contention for starts up top, even if Lautaro Martinez broke his San Siro duck on Sunday. Marcus Thuram could be used off the bench after playing the entirety of Inter’s recent win.
Davide Frattesi and Hakan Calhanoglu could be rotated into Inzaghi’s midfield, as could Francesco Acerbi at the heart of the Nerazzurri’s defence.
Carlos Augusto and Kristjan Asllani miss out through injury.
Arsenal team news
Getty images
The Gunners have received a huge boost ahead of Wednesday’s game, with Martin Odegaard returning to full training on Tuesday following six weeks on the sidelines. The Arsenal captain is expected to travel to Milan, but a spot in Arteta’s starting XI is unlikely.
Ben White and Gabriel were both fit enough to feature at the weekend, and the pair should be included in Arteta’s defence on Wednesday. Jurrien Timber will continue to deputise for Riccardo Calafiori at left-back.
Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu are both hoping to make their respective returns from injury after the international break.
Inter vs Arsenal prediction
Odegaard’s return is a big boost for the visitors, even if the captain is unlikely to start. A cameo appearance would appease a fanbase that’s been forced to slog through the past few weeks.
After Saturday’s dire display, Arteta will be keen to avoid defeat here and a cautious plan which focusses around stymying their wily hosts may be prioritised.
Neither side is particularly desperate for three points at this stage, and Arsenal, in particular, will be content with another draw in Italy.
Prediction: Inter 0-0 Arsenal
Credit: 90Mins
- Amorim’s Sporting CP defeated Man City 4-1 in the Champions League
- Portuguese coach will join Man Utd later this month
- It is the largest defeat for Pep Guardiola’s side in more than four years
Ruben Amorim not only refused to speak English, teasing a wonderful hissy fit out of reporter Gary Cotterill, but also hedged his bets ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Manchester City.
“If the result is very negative,” the Old Trafford-bound head coach warned. “Expectations will drop and I don’t think that’s a bad starting point when you begin at Manchester United.”
The result, as it transpired, was rather positive. After a shaky start, Sporting romped to a 4-1 victory over Pep Guardiola’s English champions, scoring two goals in the first four minutes after Amorim’s half-time team talk.
“I’m fully aware that I’m going to be judged as a manager on this game, and only on this game,” Amorim sighed pre-game. That inevitability was framed as a negative by the studious head coach, casting aside four-and-a-half years of success for Sporting, but his side’s display in Tuesday’s set of 90 minutes certainly contained plenty of positives.
Focused attacking plan
Most of Sporting’s tangible threat in midweek came through forward thrusts – or rather, their forward’s thrust. The hosts were primed to spring up the pitch at each turnover, invariably funnelling almost every attack through the team’s in-demand striker, Viktor Gyokeres.
The burly Swede barrelled through City’s precarious offside trap inside the opening seven minutes only to tamely dink his effort into Ederson’s gloves. When a more difficult opportunity presented itself half an hour later, Gyokeres made no mistake.
City have become increasingly vulnerable to counter-attacks this season – particularly in the absence of the team’s central totem, Rodri. Guardiola’s side only conceded an average of 0.6 shots from fast breaks last term – yet that figure has almost trebled this season. Bournemouth exposed these gaping wounds in a deserved win last weekend and Amorim clearly – and sensibly – pointed his human wrecking ball at the same avenue of weakness.
It also helped that one of Europe’s most prolific players was hurtling into the channel patrolled by poor Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, a 19-year-old centre-back making the first senior start of his career.
The Portuguese champions didn’t only target the teenager, spearing forward into the spaces vacated on both sides of an increasingly porous defence to inflict City’s heaviest defeat since a 5-2 reverse against Leicester City in September 2020.
Principled possession play
The game wasn’t five minutes old when Hidemasa Morita was mugged on the edge of his own penalty box, gifting Foden the chance to fire City in front. It would not be the last cheap turnover offered up by a home side that endured an uncharacteristically skittish start in front of their own fans.
Amorim cannot be blamed for the nervy passing of his players, but he should be credited for sticking with this approach. It was the considered and composed string of passes which lured City forward from the second half restart, purposefully pinging the ball down the left flank with an up-and-back sequence which has become a signature for Sporting under Amorim.
Pedro Goncalves left Mateo Kovacic in a spin and slipped the advancing left wing-back, Maximiliano Araujo, into the box to finish off a dizzying blur of passes 20 seconds after the restart. City’s first touch of the second half was when Ederson picked the ball out of his net.
The resolve of the Portuguese boss may be more thoroughly tested in Manchester. Erik ten Hag ditched building up from the back two games into his United tenure, indelibly scarred by that 4-0 thrashing at Brentford back in August 2022.
Easy to play through
When speaking to a Bayern Munich fan club while he was manager of the Bavarian giants, Guardiola stressed how difficult it was to break down a 5-4-1 formation. “That’s not easy. It doesn’t matter what happened 75 years ago or in the next 50 years. If the opposition team has their players like that, it is never easy.”
That system is easier to navigate when there is space between the lines of five and four. City were not short of flitting left-footers looking to receive the ball in this dangerous corridor of opportunity on Tuesday night, with Bernardo Silva, Foden and Savinho all lurking with intent.
City were suffocatingly on top in the first half, teasing open the loose stitching of Sporting’s oddly spacious shape. The visitors took 11 shots to Sporting’s three in an opening 45 minutes which Guardiola rightly hailed as “fantastic” and still finished the game with twice as many efforts as their hosts.
Sporting did tighten up after the break – another consequence of what must have been a rousing half-time sermon from Amorim – but Bernardo still found space to exchange passes with Rico Lewis and win a penalty for City. On a night when Sporting’s number nine was remorselessly ruthless, City’s Erling Haaland proved to be unusually wasteful; the missed penalty was his fifth and final squandered chance.
Amorim was wary of defeat ahead of Tuesday’s contest but perhaps even more worried about a potential victory. A win for Sporting CP, he warned, would lead to the unwanted tagline of “the new Alex Ferguson”. Well, the original Ferguson faced Guardiola twice in the Champions League and lost on both occasions, Amorim will always be able to point to this famous victory.
Credit: Grey Whitebloom
- Real Madrid face Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday night
- Carlo Ancelotti takes on former club in Spanish capital
- Madrid in action for first time since El Clasico thrashing
Carlo Ancelotti faces his former club on Tuesday night when Real Madrid take on Milan in the Champions League league phase.
Ancelotti lifted the trophy as a player and manager for the Rossoneri and remains venerated in Italy’s fashion capital. The all-time great coach has blossomed into a perennial victor of the competition at Madrid, but not much has gone his way at the start of the 2024/25 season.
The tragic events which continue to unfold in the south of Spain means Madrid’s La Liga clash with Valencia was postponed at the weekend, meaning their last outing before Tuesday’s game was their 4-0 defeat to a rampant Barcelona in El Clasico on 26 October.
Ancelotti’s side enter this contest having won two of their opening three league phase games, with Vinicius Junior inspiring Madrid to a come-from-behind 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund last time out.
Paulo Fonseca has endured an up-and-down start to life as Milan manager, with their domestic inconsistency leaving them seventh in Serie A. They did, however, secure their first league phase win on Matchday 3, beating Club Brugge 3-1 having previously lost to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen.
Real Madrid team news
Madrid will be boosted by Rodrygo’s return to the matchday squad after a brief spell out due to injury and the Brazilian could come straight back into the Madrid XI on Tuesday night. Antonio Rudiger should also be fit to feature despite concerns over his knee.
Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe will once again operate up top, potentially alongside Rodrygo, while veteran Luka Modric will be considered in the middle of the park. There is some worry over midfielder Federico Valverde’s workload, but the Uruguayan may well come through to start.
Madrid are still without Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal.
Milan team news
Tammy Abraham returned to Fonseca’s squad at Monza on Saturday, but the Milan boss will likely stick with Alvaro Morata up top on Tuesday. The Spaniard broke through in his homeland’s capital a decade ago.
Abraham may be off the injury list, but the Rossoneri are still without Alessandro Florenzi, Luka Jovic and Mattia Gabbia. Metronomic midfielder Ismael Bennacer is also set to miss out again with an ankle injury.
Rafael Leao has shown signs of rediscovering his most electrifying form in recent outings and will join Morata and Christian Pulisic in Milan’s frontline on Tuesday.
Real Madrid vs Milan score prediction
Milan have been so up and down at the start of Fonseca’s reign, but every opponent has a chance against Madrid at the moment.
Vini Jr spared their blushes on Matchday 3 with an outstanding hat-trick before Ancelotti’s side were blown out of the water by Barca on their previous outing. The mini-break they’ve enjoyed as a result of their postponed fixture at the weekend will do Madrid some good and they should appear rejuvenated on Tuesday night.
Outside of their surprise Derby della Madonnina triumph, the Rossoneri have fallen short against superior opposition this season and, while Madrid will hand them periods of control in Tuesday’s game, their proficiency up top will prove far too much for the visitors to handle.
Prediction: Real Madrid 3-1 Milan
Credit: 90Mins