Analysis

  1. Madrid & Man City's UCL rivalry is anything but boring

    When Real Madrid were paired with Manchester City in the Champions League last-16, the groans could be heard all the way from Plaza Mayor to Piccadilly Gardens: 'Again?!' The complaints were entirely predictable and, at some level, understandable. By the end of the second leg next Tuesday, the two teams will have faced each other 11 times in the past five seasons, and on 17 occasions since 2012.

  2. Only Poch can save Spurs - but they must survive first

    Tottenham are hurtling towards disaster. They could be relegated from the Premier League, and at this point of this season from hell, their best hope of staying up may simply be that football can change very quickly. There are still several key players to return from injury for the run-in, but that may prove too little, too late, particularly with the vibes in an almost irreversible tailspin.

  3. Pio Esposito: Why Arsenal are tracking Inter's young star

    The Gazzetta dello Sport claimed earlier this week that Arsenal have expressed an interest in signing Inter prospect Francesco Pio Esposito. However, the Nerazzurri's CEO, Beppe Marotta, moved quickly to quell the transfer talk by insisting that there had not been any contact between the two clubs. "Arsenal did not ask for Pio," the Italian told Sport Mediaset before Inter's Coppa Italia semi-final first leg against Como on Tuesday. "But also Inter are not a selling club. We don't make player trading our main activity.

  4. Spurs' future captain who could help their current crisis

    For a club the size of Tottenham, their academy hasn't produced too many successful graduates since the turn of the century. Of course, Harry Kane is the standout name and would be the shining example of any youth system, but beyond him, the pickings are slim. The full list of active alumni from the Spurs academy who went on to play for the first team is as follows: Kane, Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp, Kyle Walker-Peters, Andros Townsend, Troy Parrott, Nabil Bentaleb, Massimo Luongo, Maksim Paskotsi, Milos Veljkovic, Anthony Georgiou and Cameron Carter-Vickers.

  5. Wrexham can show they're EPL-ready by beating Chelsea

    When Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham in 2020, the Welsh club were a long way from the Premier League. Back then, the Red Dragons were still in the National League, the top tier of non-league. But since returning to the EFL in 2023, Wrexham's rise has been literally unprecedented, becoming the first team in English football to achieve three successive promotions. Now, they're after a fourth.

  6. Lionesses World Cup squad: Who will make the cut in 2027?

    England's qualifying campaign for the 2027 Women's World Cup is officially underway. The Lionesses started it with a 6-1 win over Ukraine on Tuesday and will continue their quest to secure a place in Brazil when hosting Iceland on Saturday. As runners-up in 2023, few would not expect Sarina Wiegman's side to achieve as much, but who the manager will choose to represent the European champions in South America is a little less certain.

  7. RANKED: How the Asian Cup will effect WSL clubs

    The Women's Asian Cup began on March 1, kickstarting a month that was set to see two of the major tournaments in the women's game take place, with the Africa Cup of Nations to follow on March 17. Incredibly, the latter was postponed just 12 days before it was due to start, but the impact the Asian Cup will have on the continuing club competitions will still be fascinating, as teams across the women's game say goodbye to some of their best players for a few weeks.

  8. Lionesses star Stanway will be an elite signing for Arsenal

    Arsenal fans tuning into England's 6-1 win over Ukraine on Tuesday will have found a lot to like about the game. Leah Williamson was excellent in possession as she continues to build her way back to full fitness, Lotte Wubben-Moy looked great alongside her in the heart of defence and Alessia Russo was razor-sharp in front of goal, netting twice. But the performance of Georgia Stanway, on the brink of joining that trio in north London, was the cherry on the cake.

  9. City NAILED their January signings & turbocharged title bid

    Pep Guardiola has claimed that he is not a "big, big fan" of the January transfer window, but Manchester City's recent winter business suggests otherwise. City have signed six players in the last two January windows, spending a total of £264 million ($353m) in the process. But whereas last year's purchases smacked of desperation, the recent acquisitions of Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo are looking like masterstrokes.

  10. Why Gyokeres failed to make the grade at Brighton

    Viktor Gyokeres' first season at Arsenal has been mixed, to put it kindly. Indeed, he only scored seven goals in his first 22 appearances across all competitions for the Gunners, which represented a poor return on the club's £63.5 million ($85m) investment in his services. Some felt the Swede was an awkward fit for Mikel Arteta's side, while others went as far as to label Gyokeres one of the worst signings in Premier League history.

  11. Flying Frimpong can lift Liverpool in EPL's top-five fight

    Twenty minutes - that's all Jeremie Frimpong needed to show Liverpool what they'd been missing in Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham. The Reds were already 4-2 up when the Dutchman replaced Joe Gomez at right-back, but the game wasn't over. On the contrary, Valentin Castellanos had just pulled a goal back for the relegation-threatened visitors, who were causing Liverpool's defence all sorts of problems.

  12. Will '27 World Cup cycle be Wiegman's last Lionesses dance?

    Last month, when Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman was asked if there was concern that her contract situation could prove to be a distraction for England ahead of the 2027 Women's World Cup, she was pretty bullish in her answer. "There is no distraction whatsoever," she responded. "Everyone is really focused on this qualification. I haven't heard anyone in my team or staff that has been occupied with that."

  13. Carrick is United's only choice in permanent manager hunt

    When Roy Keane claimed in January that Michael Carrick should not get the Manchester United job permanently even if he wins every game until the end of the season, it was easy to think that the hypothetical scenario he painted would never be tested. But the man who inherited the famous No.16 shirt from the polemical Irishman at Old Trafford and thus unwillingly became his sworn enemy is holding Keane to his word.

  14. Brits Abroad: Kane smashes more records in Klassiker win

    GOAL runs the rule over the British players earning a living away from their homeland, with plenty more stars deciding to leave their comfort zones in search of a better footballing life elsewhere. The Premier League is still obviously one of the world's most entertaining divisions and the Championship can prove fantastic for development, but there are more options out there.

  15. Man Utd must avoid Amorim-like Glasner in search for next boss

    Just five months ago Oliver Glasner was looking like a serious candidate to be the next Manchester United manager. On the day serious doubts about Ruben Amorim's future began to emerge following the limp defeat at Brentford in late September, Glasner's Crystal Palace beat Liverpool, halting the Red's seven-game winning streak and leaving the Eagles as the only unbeaten team in the Premier League.

  16. How do the Lionesses get the best out of in-form Park?

    As soon as Jess Park received the ball on the edge of the Atletico Madrid box, Marc Skinner knew. She took one touch, then another to get it out of her feet and set herself up for a perfect strike with her right foot, which would send the ball over the heads of every Atleti defender, out of the reach of goalkeeper Lola Gollardo and into the top corner, giving Skinner's Manchester United an unassailable 5-0 lead on aggregate, one that secured their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.

  17. Endrick still facing uphill battle to earn World Cup spot

    At the very start of the year, it looked like Endrick's dream of making Brazil's World Cup squad was dead in the water. The Real Madrid youngster only played 99 minutes for the club in the first half of the season, with then-Blancos boss Xabi Alonso favouring homegrown forward Gonzalo Garcia ahead of him, and a move away became inevitable in the winter transfer window.