The Magpies are absolutely flying, and if their prolific No.14 can keep up his scintillating form then major silverware is a realistic goal
Just over a month ago, Newcastle looked in real danger of being dragged into a relegation battle, and serious questions were being asked over Eddie Howe’s position in the dugout. After a chastening 4-2 loss at Brentford on December 7, the Magpies dropped to 12th in the table, having only won two of their previous 11 Premier League games.
Howe apologised to the visiting fans at the Gtech Community Stadium, before pledging “we will always work as hard as we can to put it right”. Since then,Newcastle have delivered on the manager’s promise in spectacular fashion.
They are now on a nine-match winning streak in all competitions, the joint-best run in the club’s entire history, with 20 goals scored and only two conceded. Suddenly, Champions League qualification is in Newcastle’s hands again, and they have one foot in the Carabao Cup final.
A charge for the Premier League title should not be ruled out either. Newcastle look capable of blowing away any team that’s put in front of them, and it’s time for Howe and his resurgent Magpies to start aiming for the very top, especially with ruthless Swedish frontman Alexander Isak leading their charge.
Underwhelming start
The 2023-24 campaign was a huge disappointment for Newcastle. Howe had guided the club back into the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, but his team crashed out in the group stage, and ended up finishing seventh in the Premier League. Because of Manchester United’s miraculous FA Cup triumph, that wasn’t quite enough for Newcastle to secure another year of European football.
There were no big summer signings to bring a feeling of optimism back to the St James’ Park faithful either. Making Lewis Hall’s loan move from Chelsea permanent was the only significant piece of business Howe conducted, and it was no surprise when Newcastle made such an underwhelming start to the new season.
But there were enough positive signs to keep the wolves from Howe’s door. The Magpies recorded impressive home wins over Tottenham and Arsenal, while also battling to draws against Liverpool and Man City; it was just their away form that was preventing any real progress.
But with a few small tactical tweaks, Howe has fixed that dynamic, and Isak has been the biggest beneficiary.
‘The complete striker’
Heading into a clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on October 27, Isak had just one Premier League goal to his name from six appearances, and seemed to be struggling for rhythm. But he found the target in the 2-1 defeat against the Blues, which seemed to snap him back into life.
That was the first of 14 goals he has scored in his last 13 league outings, and Isak was on the scoresheet for the eighth game in a row on Wednesday as he hit a brace in the 3-0 win over Wolves, breaking a club record he previously shared with Alan Shearer and Joe Willock.
Isak is now only three games away from equalling Jamie Vardy’s historic 11-game scoring streak for Leicester City back in 2015, and only a fool would bet against him. On current form, the Sweden international has a strong case for the title of best centre-forward in Europe.
That’s not just because of his prolific strike-rate either. Isak also set up Anthony Gordon to round off the scoring against Wolves, bringing his tally of assists to five this term, and his work off the ball has been essential to Newcastle’s improvement as a collective.
“He is the complete striker,” Newcastle legend Shearer said on BBC Match of the Day. “He is in red-hot form. No-one can stop him. He has got this belief and confidence and there is no doubt that he has the ability. He does his bit defensively, which he has to do in that Newcastle team. Everything about his game is great. He is just so tough to mark.”
‘This generation’s Henry’
Some teams have been able to limit Newcastle’s effectiveness from the flanks, but Isak is talented and confident enough to create chances for himself in the tighter matches. He’s got more to his game than a pure goal-scorer like Erling Haaland, who rarely gets involved in Man City’s build-up play; Isak will drop deep or drift wide to get on the ball when he’s being starved of service.
The former Real Sociedad star has remarkably quick feet for a big man, his link-up play is excellent, and it’s impossible to knock him off the ball when he’s infull flow. Isak’s powerful yet elegant style of play has even seen him draw regular comparisons to another of the Premier League’s greatest No.14s, Thierry Henry, and one of the Arsenal icon’s former team-mates believes they are fully justified.
“He is comfortable everywhere on the pitch. The ability to rotate positions and occupy every role in a frontline is part of what makes him a constant t
hreat. For me he is the closest thing we have seen to another Thierry Henry,” ex-Arsenal winger Theo Walcott told in November. “Henry started out wide, so he knew that role very well, and Isak’s pace and strength means he is excellent in those areas too. I would say he is this generation’s Henry.”
What’s next?
There is a very good chance that Newcastle’s winning run will continue though to the start of February at least, with favourable games against Bournemouth, Southampton and Fulham up next, and maximum points could potentially see them leapfrog second-placed Arsenal. Howe’s troops are nine points behind leaders Liverpool having played a game more, but the Reds have drawn their last two, and Newcastle are powering through all-comers like a freight train.
When asked if the gap is insurmountable, Shearer replied in his latest Match of the Day appearance: “No it’s not. The form they’re in, the way they’re
looking – defensively solid, clean sheets. Midfield – there’s no doubt they’ve got the system going, and with [Alexander Isak] up front, they’ve got a chance.” He’s absolutely right, Newcastle are the definition of dark horses, especially since they have no European football to distract them.
There are no weaknesses in Howe’s starting XI, and in
Isak he has the most potent weapon in the Premier League. It has been reported that the club now value Isak at £150 million ($184m), with Arsenal reportedly set to test Newcastle’s resolve in the summer, but Shearer believes the 25-year-old should be completely off limits regardless of any potential offers.
“Who are they gonna go out and get that would come into Newcastle and do a similar job? We know that centre-forward is the most important position,” he said on the Rest is Football podcast. “They are really difficult to find so when you’ve got a bloody good one, why do you want to let him go for any price?”
The St James’ Park boardroom team would do well to heed that warning. Isak is doing a flawless job of spearheading a Newcastle team that could very well challenge for the biggest trophies come May, and in the years to come.
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.
Howe and Mourinho have squared off in the Premier League before / Michael Steele/GettyImages
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.”
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 is out of action / Mateo Villalba/GettyImages
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
Moreno has a full-strength squad for the weekend / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/GettyImages
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.
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
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
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.
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
Viktor Gyokeres singlehandedly led Sporting’s forward charges / Gualter Fatia/GettyImages
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
Phil Foden put Manchester City into an early and deserved lead / Soccrates Images/GettyImages
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.
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
Rodrygo is set to return from injury on Tuesday night /GettyImages
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
Ismael Bennacer is dealing with an ankle injury /GettyImages
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.
Liverpool take on Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 4 of Champions League league phase
Xabi Alonso returns to Anfield as visiting manager
Reds have won their opening three league phase games
Xabi Alonso returns to Anfield on Tuesday night as his Bayer Leverkusen team take on Liverpool in the Champions League league phase.
Alonso’s long-awaited Merseyside return arrives on Matchday 4 of the new format, with Leverkusen facing a Liverpool side that have won their opening three league phase encounters to sit joint-top of the table with Aston Villa.
The Bundesliga champions impressively beat Feyenoord and Milan in their first two games before drawing away at surprise-package Brest on Matchday 3. Their record is enough to have them in the top eight as the halfway point approaches.
Leverkusen will benefit from having an extra day’s recovery as they prepare for a daunting visit to Anfield under the lights. Alonso’s team were held by Stuttgart on home soil on Friday night, with Bayern Munich’s subsequent victory over Union Berlin meaning Leverkusen are already seven points adrift of Die Roten in the Bundesliga table.
Liverpool, meanwhile, continue to impress with Arne Slot at the helm. A come-from-behind 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday saw them climb to the top of the Premier League table following Manchester City’s defeat at Bournemouth. Slot’s Reds have lost just once in all competitions this term.
Liverpool team news
Ibrahima Konate was forced off against Brighton on Saturday /GettyImages
Ibrahima Konate was forced off at half-time on Saturday after his arm was inadvertently stamped on by centre-back partner Virgil van Dijk, but the Frenchman alleviated fears over a prolonged absence on Sunday when he revealed that scans showed no fracture.
The defender is hopeful of playing on Tuesday, but Slot and his medical team might take a more cautious stance.
Liverpool are without Diogo Jota, Alisson and Harvey Elliott until after the international break, while Federico Chiesa has suffered multiple setbacks while attempting to recover from a muscle injury.
Bayer Leverkusen team news
Nordi Mukiele suffered a thigh injury against Stuttgart /GettyImages
Alonso is hopeful that summer arrival Martin Terrier will be available for Tuesday’s game after the forward missed Friday’s stalemate with Stuttgart.
Nordi Mukiele picked up a thigh injury during Leverkusen’s previous outing and will be out until after the November break. Jeremie Frimpong will drop into a wing-back position to cover the Frenchman’s absence.
The visitors are also without Amine Adli and Jeanuel Belocian for this midweek fixture.
Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction
Facing Liverpool under the lights at Anfield is as tough as it gets, but Leverkusen have reason to believe.
Despite the context surrounding Alonso’s homecoming, this fixture won’t feel particularly significant given that it arrives halfway through an extended league phase.
The Reds aren’t exactly desperate for three points having maintained a 100% record through three games and there’s scope for the visitors to enter Merseyside and do a job on the hosts, even if their domestic form at the start of the new season has been far from spotless.
Alonso will favour security over exuberance here, with a cagey affair in the offing. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the spoils are shared in a low-scoring affair.
Man City take on Sporting CP in the Champions League off the back of two defeats
Pep Guardiola faces up against incoming Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim
Two teams have collected seven points from opening three league phase games
There’s a chance for incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim to get one over his future local rivals on Tuesday night as his Sporting CP side face Manchester City in the Champions League.
Amorim was confirmed as Erik ten Hag’s successor last week but the Portuguese coach won’t assume his role at Old Trafford until 11 November. This is his penultimate game in charge of Sporting.
The Primeira Liga champions have started the 2024/25 campaign in remarkable form. Their title defence has begun with ten wins from ten matches and they’ve accumulated seven points through three league phase games. Sporting beat Lille and Sturm Graz either side of a 1-1 draw at PSV.
Man City’s healthy goal difference leaves them third in the league phase table despite also picking up seven points. Pep Guardiola’s side have claimed comfortable triumphs over Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague after being held by Inter on Matchday 1.
Tuesday’s visitors, though, enter the contest off the back of two consecutive defeats. After losing to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday, City suffered their first Premier League loss of 2024 at Bournemouth on Saturday.
Sporting CP team news
Nuno Santos is set to miss the rest of 2024 with a knee injury /GettyImages
Sporting’s injury woes pale in comparison to their visitors’ concerns, with Amorim only likely to be without Nuno Santos due to a knee injury which could keep him out for the rest of the calendar year.
Centre-backs Goncalo Inacio and Zeno Debast were withdrawn in the second half during Friday night’s win over Estrela, potentially with Tuesday’s game in mind.
Viktor Gyokeres is the man to watch up top for Sporting as he enters this contest having scored 20 goals in 16 games this season. Pedro Goncalves will operate as the home side’s primary playmaker from an inside left position.
Man City team news
Man City are currently without Ruben Dias and John Stones /GettyImages
Man City’s injury crisis perhaps isn’t as bad as Guardiola feared last week, but Tuesday’s visitors will be without several key names up until the November international break.
Ruben Dias and John Stones both missed Saturday’s defeat due to respective muscle and foot injuries. Neither player will be involved in Lisbon. City are also without Jack Grealish, Oscar Bobb and Rodri.
Savinho and Kevin De Bruyne were unused substitutes at the Vitality which means they should at least travel to the Portuguese capital. De Bruyne hasn’t been in action since Matchday 1 of the league phase.
Sporting CP vs Man City prediction
It’s rarely time to overreact to City defeats, but there’s certainly reason for Guardiola to be concerned. Things don’t get any easier for the Cityzens here as they face a rampant Sporting team aiming to end Amorim’s tenure on a high.
There are chinks in the home side’s armour, especially out of possession, but this City team are not best placed to take advantage of such vulnerabilities given their form and absentees. The visitors are exploitable in transition without Rodri and Sporting boast a master counter-attacking outlet in Gyokeres who will pounce on an unsure defensive line.
The battle for control will be fierce and City are bound to suffer in Lisbon. Don’t expect thrills and spills, with Guardiola’s side just about doing enough to earn a point.
Rafael Leao has suddenly fallen out of favour at AC Milan
Barcelona were intiially interested during the summer transfer window
A deal has previously not been financially feasible for Catalans
Barcelona are reported to be monitoring the “difficult situation” longstanding transfer target Rafael Leao has encountered this season at AC Milan.
Leao has been a key player for Milan since his 2019 arrival but has suddenly found himself out of favour in recent weeks amid rumours of an uneasy relationship with coach Paulo Fonseca.
SPORT explains that Barcelona initially explored their interest in Leao during the summer transfer window when primary target Nico Williams became unattainable. Milan were not prepared to sell at the time, with Barca making their approach through Jorge Mendes acting as an intermediary. But the finances of a potential deal were considered unfeasible given the club’s limitations.
Now, it is suggested that Leao is growing tired of his situation, with Barcelona hoping that it pushes him onto the transfer market at a more reasonable price.
The Portugal international fits the profile that Barcelona are looking for in terms of a left winger. He is described as “very liked” by president Joan Laporta and an “absolutely differential player” in the eyes of sporting director Deco and head coach Hansi Flick.
Leao has fallen out of favour /GettyImages
From Milan’s perspective, Fonseca has played down any suggestion of a rift.
“There is no conflict with Leao,” he said. “I decide as a coach and everyone must give their maximum. I should not beg anyone to give this maximum.”
“Leao entered with a correct attitude against Napoli and there is nothing more to talk about,” Fonseca added, referencing the 25-year-old coming off the bench during Milan’s last game for his first appearance since before the October international break.
Leao’s current contract with Milan runs until 2028 after signing fresh terms last year. He has scored 59 times in 221 games for the club to date and played an instrumental in the 2021/22 Scudetto.
