Arsenal and Chelsea look for salvation in the Europa League with Premier League top four hopes in the balance May 1, 2019 Arsenal and Chelsea face different opponents in their Europa League semi-finals tomorrow evening. Valencia and Eintracht Frankfurt are different propositions and will pose different questions, but in many ways the London rivals are in the same boat. Like so many seasons before, their respective campaigns have boiled down to one major objective: qualification for the Champions [...]
Trevor Steven: Klopp’s decision on how to deal with Messi will prove decisive for Liverpool in Barcelona Champions League clash April 30, 2019 Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona tomorrow night comes at the perfect time. The Reds in form, have momentum after a 5-0 thrashing of Huddersfield on Friday and, following Roberto Firmino’s return to training, have all their major players fit. If this game had come around one year ago I definitely would have preferred Barca [...]
Tottenham and Ajax’s Champions League success serves as a reminder that there is more to football than money April 29, 2019 It is the semi-final that no one saw coming. Two teams with limited financial resources who were supposed to struggle to make it out of their Champions League group. Instead, Tottenham and Ajax have claimed some of Europe's biggest scalps on their path to a final-four clash that will see two of the competition's surprise [...]
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea: The race nobody wants to win, De Gea’s errors mounting and Blues’ over-reliance on Hazard April 28, 2019 It’s the race nobody seems to want to win. With Manchester City and Liverpool streaking away at top speed in the Premier League, the efforts of those below them to finish in the Champions League spots is one being defined by the bad, rather than the good. While Chelsea looked more than happy to take [...]
Protecting the UK’s creative treasures by bringing the digital pirates down a peg leg or two April 26, 2019 The gathering storm of state-backed piracy is high on the agenda, as leaders from creative industries gather for World Intellectual Property Day today. As you read this, a pirate media empire is illegally broadcasting 10 channels of live sport – including one of Britain’s most valuable exports, the English Premier League – to a region [...]
Bramson may lose the battle but still win the war in his clash with Barclays’ board April 26, 2019 Arguments about the merits of Barclays’ voyage into investment banking feel almost as old as the industry itself. Next week’s showdown between the lender’s board and Edward Bramson, who wants to muscle his way onto it, might prove to be a mere footnote in that story – or, ultimately, warrant a full chapter. Bramson will [...]
Football Betting Tips: Spurs to cement top-four spot with a Hammers win April 25, 2019 TOTTENHAM will have one eye on next week’s Champions League semi-final against Ajax, but first they must see off West Ham this weekend to go one step closer to securing a top-four spot. Mauricio Pochettino’s men sit third in the table, ahead of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, and it would be a surprise to [...]
Relentless excellence of Manchester City and Liverpool makes this the best ever Premier League title race April 25, 2019 This is by no means the first close title race of the Premier League era. Blackburn set an early benchmark when they pipped Manchester United by a solitary point in 1995, and Arsenal, United – twice – and Chelsea have all done the same since, while nothing has yet matched the drama of Sergio Aguero’s [...]
Raheem Sterling may miss out on Player of the Year, but he deserves recognition for his contribution to the game this season April 25, 2019 Raheem Sterling may seemingly have missed out on the PFA Player of the Year award to Virgil van Dijk, but no one can take away what the England and Manchester City forward has achieved on and off the pitch this season. The 24-year-old has encapsulated everything that a footballer should be: a competitor on the [...]
London Irish will return from exile with move back to the capital as they bid to secure their Premiership status April 25, 2019 After 20 years in exile, London Irish are returning to their roots. The club bounced back into the Premiership at the first time of asking at the weekend with a 46-7 Good Friday win against Richmond, and after a difficult few years they are looking to their past for inspiration as they build for the [...]