• Costa misses game at Leicester after clash with fitness coach
• Chelsea will refuse to sell their top scorer
Diego Costa has been dropped from the Chelsea squad for Saturday’s Premier League fixture at Leicester City, after a row that involves a massive offer made to him from a club in the Chinese Super League.
The volatile striker has also clashed with one of the Chelsea fitness coaches over an injury that he feels he has been carrying, and he did not travel to Leicester with his team-mates on Friday. Costa has not trained fully this week and the manager, Antonio Conte, has become involved in the argument.
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• Lens reportedly said relegation may help hasten move to Fenerbahce
• ‘It’s disgracefully disrespectful,’ says Moyes of loan player’s comments
David Moyes has branded Jeremain Lens “disgracefully disrespectful” after the Sunderland winger, on a season’s loan at Fenerbahce, was quoted as saying he hoped his parent club would get relegated.
The Holland international, previously with PSV Eindhoven and Dynamo Kyiv, was quoted in the Turkish media suggesting that Sunderland dropping into the Championship might help facilitate his ambition of a permanent move to the Istanbul club.
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Only Chelsea and Tottenham have won more league games at home this season than Burnley so Southampton face a tall order at Turf Moor, especially as Claude Puel’s side are still struggling in front of goal. Former Burnley player Jay Rodriguez will be hoping to put that right to end a miserable run of three consecutive league defeats. Graham Searles
Kick-off Saturday 3pm
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Tottenham vs West Brom: Team News, Predicted Line ups, Betting Tips – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Tottenham vs West Brom Prediction, Betting Tips, Preview & Live Stream Info ahead of this weekend’s Premier League fixture.
Tottenham vs West Brom
English Premier League 2016/17
14th January, 12:30 pm BST
White Hart Lane, London
Live Stream: Watch Spurs vs West Brom live on Sky Sports 1
Tottenham host West Brom on Saturday, with the north London club looking to make it six wins in a row in the Premier League.
Spurs are on a great run at the moment, and are firmly into the title race. They are third in the league with 42 points, seven behind Chelsea, and will be looking to reduce the gap between them.
The improvement in results has coincided with the return to form of Dele Alli. The England midfielder has scored six goals in his last three games, including a brace against the leaders Chelsea in Spurs’s last Premier League game.
Mauricio Pochettino is likely to make changes in the side that won 2-0 against Aston Villa in the FA Cup last Sunday, with the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker and Harry Kane being expected to start.
Erik Lamela is still recovering from a hip problem. He is unlikely to play against the Baggies.
Predicted Tottenham Starting Lineup (3-4-2-1): Lloris, Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Walker, Wanyama, Dembele, Rose, Alli, Eriksen, Kane
West Brom have recovered well after their back to back defeats against Manchester United and Arsenal with two straight wins in the Premier League.
The Baggies have lost four away games already, and need to improve that record. However, they have a good record against Spurs, having lost just once in their last seven meetings.
Saido Berahino has returned to fitness but it remains to be seen whether he features in the starting XI as he is way short of match fitness. Jonny Evans will miss out on this game for the Baggies. Chris Brunt will be assessed closer to kick off.
Predicted West Brom Starting Lineup (4-2-3-1): Foster, Galloway, Olsson, McAuley, Dawson, Yacob, Fletcher, Phillips, Morrison, Chadli, Rondon
2 – West Brom have won their last two Premier League games
3 – Tottenham have drawn their three matches against West Brom in all competitions
5 – Tottenham have won their last five home matches in the Premier League
Spurs are on a great run at the moment, and they are favourites to win the game. It should be a tight game, but bet on them to win on Saturday.
Alli has scored seven goals in his last four Premier League games. The England midfielder is on 7/2 with Ladbrokes to score the first goal of the match.
West Brom are a well organised side, and they will be looking to frustrate the home side with defensive tactics. Tottenham boast of the second best home record in the division, and a home victory is the most likely outcome.
Prediction: Tottenham 1-0 West Brom
From Sportslens.com – Football News | Football Blog
• Gabriel Jesus’s registration at the Football Association not complete
• Vincent Kompany could play at Everton after two months out
Gabriel Jesus must continue to wait for his Manchester City debut but Vincent Kompany could return at Everton on Sunday. Jesus officially joined City from Palmeiras this month but his registration has not yet gone through.
“He cannot play – papers,” Pep Guardiola said of the 19-year-old Brazil international. “When Palmeiras and the FA solve the problems he will be able to play.” Most of the paperwork has been done and City are confident the remainder will be completed soon, meaning Jesus could be available to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League next weekend. The issue may not have overly concerned Guardiola this week, however, with the manager having said the forward needs to build up match fitness in training.
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Last Wednedsay, specifically in the night of 30th September 2015, Cristiano Ronaldo, the international Portuguese and the player of the Royal team Real Madrid football club pulled the rug from under the feet of Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez, and balanced with him the number of goals scored in white jerseys, which is 323 goals.
Without a doubt, this historical top scorer title in Real Madrid will not last longer be a partnership between Raul and Cristiano, it does not seem For those who follow Real Madrid that Cristiano Ronaldo will accept this partnership, and not for a long period Ronaldo will put his name alone on the top of the list.
The Portuguese scored 10 goals this season so far with 5 goals in 6 games of La Liga in addition of the same number of goals in the Champions League but in only two games.
Goals of Ronaldo last Wednesday in front of the Swedish Malmo not only put him alongside Raul top scorer in the club historically, but gave for the Portuguese star a chance to reach a goalscoring balance up to 501 goals in his career between the clubs and the national team.
A Number made of Cristiano Ronaldo a living legend beating around the Bernabeu and stadiums of the old continent, and the Number will make the Real Madrid current generation of fans proud of this star like old fans was proud of Famous Fi Stefano.
Spotting the Light on the mysteries of the Portuguese career, and how For he made his name famous in European stadiums focusing on records he achieved here and there:
– Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player in England who could achieve all the awards given to the best player in the Premier League by FA or by journalist awards.
– With 55 international goals, the Portuguese Cristiano is the only through history who exceeded the balance of 50 goals with the Portuguese team shirt.
– Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in the Champions League throughout its history with 82 goal.
– Ronaldo is the owner of the largest number of goals registered in a single season of Champions League, so it was in 2013-14 with 17 goals in 11 games.
– In La Liga, Cristiano scored 28 hat-tricks Real Madrid, more than any other player who passed through history of the Spanish competition.
– The Portuguese legend is the fastest player in the history of La Liga who went up to 150 goals scored (in 140 games), and the fastest as well to reach 200 goals scored (in 178 games).
– Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player in the world who won the Golden Boot award with two different clubs.
So.. What remains to Cristiano Ronaldo with his historical titles to grave his name alone without a rival and be the greatest scorer over the history of football?
A simple look and a quick comparison between Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo in some aspects, may reveal to us what lacks the Portuguese.
Argentina star for FC Barcelona set a record of more number of goals scored in a season of La Liga and that was in 2011-12, where he scored 50 goal, while Ronaldo for the best record in this aspect is the 48 in the last year.
Messi also put another record registered in his name represents scoring 82 goals in one season (2011-12), and it seems that Cristiano Ronaldo is far from this record, with a total maximum number of goals scored in a season is 69.
And it remains for the Argentinian Lionel Messi another record which is superior to Ronaldo with it being the best scorer in the history of La Liga with 289 goals while Ronaldo has has just 230 goals in La Liga.
After all this, Cristiano Ronaldo still has in his sleeve what beats the Argentinian, given the scoring rate in La Liga, the record of Ronaldo is 1.11 goal in the match while Messi recorded a rate of 0.9, which has the same scoring rate than Spanish league legend Telmo Zarra.
What waits for Cristiano Ronaldo?
There is an end of every beginning, but until his retirement from football,Ronaldo will be able to break down more numbers, which comes in the forefront his ability to be the fastest player in the history of La Liga to reach the balance of 250 goals, this record is registered in the name of Zarra, who scored this number in 272 games, whereas, Cristiano has to score 20 goals in 44 games in La Liga to come to exceed the number of Zara, which is not excluded at all.
Perhaps superiority over Lionel Messi in El Clasico will be ordered with a special taste for Ronaldo, who lags behind Messi with 7 goals in total goals scored by the duo in the Clasico, the absence of Messi, for the next Clasico ,probably, could give Ronaldo a chance to reduce the difference and wait for the future if it holds some news.
Another challenge is perhaps waiting for Cristiano though it seems difficult, it is to exceed the number of participations of previous captain Iker Casillas in the Champions League, where Ronaldo has 117 games in the time that Casillas recorded 152 post, the arrival of Real Madrid to advanced stages of the competition, the fitness of Ronaldo his stay with the Royal team for seasons would give him a chance to reach a record that seems somewhat out of reach.
And the challenge that seems impossible for the Portuguese star in the future, is to achieve the title of international tems’ top scorer in football history, which is underlined by Iran’s player Ali Daei as the number of 109 goals in 149 matches (average: 0.73 goal in the game).
For Ronaldo, he has 55 goals in 122 international appearances for the national team (average: 0.45 goals per game).
Even if Ronaldo’s most important challenge is to be the best scorer on the international level with European teams, then it also seems difficult to realize that while Puskas scored 84 goals in 85 games.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid began their preparations for the upcoming derby match between them Sunday in La Liga, under lot of uncertainties and lack of clarity surrounding the way to play their respective after their games Wednesday in the Champions League.
While Real Madrid overcome two-zero on the Swedish Malmo field away from home in a game that was only accomplished by the achievement of the Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo who set a new record, Atletico fell at home 2-1 against Benfica because of the weakness of its defenses.
Rafael Benitez, the new coach of Real Madrid, started the application of his new idea about the defenses of the Royal team, where Real received only one goal in eight games he has played this season.
However, the main problem is the offensive line and in its ability to also grab the admiration of the fans.
Benitez realizes the dangerous circumstances of his team who accepted his technical leadership when he was presented to the media and the public, where at that time he said: “The team has to play way better to win and he has to have a clear picture of what they want to play, we have to attack and score goals and play well if that’s possible. ”
In fact, Real Madrid, mainly, focus on defense and not receiving goals, based on his football stars in the leadership of the attack, this is exactly what happened in Malmo when Cristiano scored both goals of his team, which did not happen last Saturday, when the team Madrid’s fell into the trap of a draw against Malaga.
The Spanish newspaper “as” said, Thursday: “Benitez strategy is practical somewhat, depending on the substitution system between the players, in order to create a strong team on the pitch but lacks the aesthetic appearance.”
And now it’s all about anticipating what Real Madrid will present during the current season, and checking whether to continue to pursue the same strategy, or coach will choose to obey the wishes of the masses in hopes that some of the changes.
And Atletico Madrid suffers from the same period of doubt and confusion, but different from his city rival for the reason of his remarkable stumble in this season’s beginning.
Coach Diego Simeone Relies on filling the midfield with talented players, who can control the ball, but they fail to control the game and create opportunities.
The resort of Atletico Madrid to involve players like Angel Correa and Yannick Carrasco, a sign of the desire of this team to expand his aesthetic horizon, that’s why Atletico Madrid Brought the players Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto. however, and in spite of all this, there still an issue with the team’s engine who is making noise more than usual.
It seems clear that Atletico Madrid lost the other one his most important characteristics, namely defensive solidity, and that appeared clearly in front of Benfica, where the team conceded two goals that were not of the quality of goals that usually get into the net of Atletico.
The Spanish newspaper “Marca” said: “Atletico live a moment of confusion.”
The Derby of today will reveal the situation of both teams, in the time that require the victory after they both lost points during the latest round of the Liva BBVA.
It looks like the defeat against Juventus, Wednesday night, wasn’t enough for Sevilla in this week. They just have 2 days before facing FC Barcelona in Liga BBVA Saturday night.
Unai Emery, Sevilla coach admitted that Juventus had the complete susperiority in the game where his team is defeated 0-2 in the Champions League Wednesday, and said that the team defended well but he was in need of a greater offensive force.
Sevilla Europa league’s last champion reached the homes goal once compared to 24 try for Juventus, including six shots on goal.
Emery said in a press conference: “We must look forward, it is the experience that we gain and should learn from to evolve.” He added: “Because the feeling is that the team has not developed enough and we need to attack more.”
Sevilla participate in the best of the continental tournaments after winning the Europa league title for the second time in a row last season.
And The team began the season badly, it occupies 16th place in the Primera Liga with five points from six games.
Emery may feel more confident in the possibility of achieving a good result in Barcelona, due to injury of several players of BBVA and Champions League Champion, including Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Rafinha.
And Messi always rocked the goal of FC Sevilla, the Argentina striker became the top scorer in La Liga’s history with three goals, scored in the Andalusian team to lead Barcelona to win 5-1 last season.
In the second match in the spanish league last season, Sevilla came from behind with two goals at home to a 2-2 draw.
Emery said: “we have to feel passionate about Saturday’s game, now we must focus on the league (local) and help the players to recover.” He continued: “We must improve our position in the table, and there is no chance better than facing Barcelona, who will challenge us tomorrow.”
Laughs a lot who laughs last, perhaps, this sentence is going to be the slogan of Arsenal fans for the Chelsea football player , the Spanish international striker Diego Costa.
This expression comes from the Gunners’ audience after the decision of English Football Association to stop Diego Costa from playing for the next three games.
FA’s decision to stop Costa came after the events in the game of his team against Arsenal in the last round of the English Premier League.
And Costa, in the last game against Arsenal, was interfering Arsenal Defender Laurent Koscielny where Diego beated him without seeing this by referee Mark Dean, therefore D.Costa didn’t get an immediate punishment in the game.
Although Costa was the man who laughed in that game for escaping from the punishment after his fault against Koscielny and causing a strange decision from the referee of excluding Gabriel Paulista, but eventually, the end was not in his favor.
And the dissemination of the FA’s statement about Costa said: “After the disciplinary board of the football meeting in England and watching the video of interference by Diego Costa in front of Koscielny, Arsenal defender. After missing the attention of the referee, we found that Costa deserves to be punished and he will be banned for three games.”
And by this Diego Costa will miss the next three local games in front of Walsall in the English League Cup and Newcastle and Southampton in the English Premier League to be back with his team on October 17 in front of Aston Villa.
