The 2025 regular season schedule has been released, with 190 total matches across the NWSL campaign
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Leeds United travel to Wales this weekend to face Cardiff City, and ahead of the game they have received a major injury blow that will have Daniel Farke worried.
It has been a mixed start to the season for the Whites, as they have won just two of their five league games, and the defeat to Burnley last weekend has pilled the pressure on the manager, so much so that talk has gathered about his future.
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By
Brett Worthington
Sep 18, 2024
The season is still in its early stages, but given the failure to seal promotion last term, Farke is already being questioned and knows he needs to deliver. According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Farke is “under pressure” at Elland Road, and while the pressure is not immediate, his long-term future has been thrown into doubt.
Therefore, they are looking at potential replacements, and according to O’Rourke again, Leeds are continuing to monitor West Brom boss Carlos Corberan. The Spaniard is said to be “highly regarded” by the club chiefs, and it has now been reported that he has a release clause of just £2 million to get him out of the Hawthorns.
Other Championship sides also share the same feeling towards the young coach however, as he continues to impress with the Baggies. The 41-year-old joined them in October 2022, and while he has yet to seal promotion, he has improved the levels and made them a consistent challenger.
|
Carlos Corberan’s West Brom stats |
|
|---|---|
|
Games managed |
90 |
|
Won |
43 |
|
Drawn |
19 |
|
Lost |
28 |
Farke is in need of a few good performances to quiet down the rumour mill and Saturday’s game against struggling Cardiff is a must win, but ahead of the encounter he has just received a big injury blow.
As reported by the BBC’s Adam Pope, Leeds United winger Manor Solomon is a “major” doubt for their game against the Bluebirds. The 25-year-old joined the Whites on a season-long loan deal from Tottenham Hotspur last month and has so far featured in two games.
But he looks a doubt to make it three against Cardiff, as Pope shared news from Farke’s presser at Thorp Arch: “Manor Solomon is the major injury doubt with a back problem ahead of Saturday’s Championship fixture at Cardiff City. Patrick Bamford expected to be involved.”
The Israel international joined Spurs on a free transfer last summer after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk, but it was a first season to forget, as he played just six times in all competitions, failing to score.
Spurs added to their side during the summer, so Ange Postecoglou decided to let Solomon leave on loan, and the winger has started Leeds’ last two games, grabbing an assist in the 2-0 win over Hull City before the international break, but he appears unlikely to feature in the game against Cardiff.
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The start to the 2024/25 campaign has been underwhelming, to say the least, for West Ham United, with the club failing to have the immediate success desired after an ambitious transfer window.
Over £100m was spent on new signings to provide new boss Julen Lopetegui with all the ammunition needed to be a success during his debut campaign as the Hammers boss.
However, the Spaniard has endured a difficult start to life at the London Stadium, winning just two of his opening eight outings – with his only Premier League win coming over Crystal Palace back in August.
Pressure is already mounting on the 58-year-old given his below-par start to life in the capital, with this weekend’s fixture against Ipswich Town a pivotal outing if he is to be a success with the Hammers.
Whilst Lopetegui is yet to pull up any trees as West Ham boss, multiple of his new additions have also failed to impress, including one player who arrived at the London Stadium with high expectations.
After arriving on a free transfer from Spanish side Real Betis this summer, midfielder Guido Rodriguez joined West Ham with real pedigree after his consistent displays in LaLiga which saw him rack up 173 appearances for Los Verdiblancos.
However, his start to life with the Hammers hasn’t been plain sailing, often failing to impress despite starting all six league matches since his summer transfer.
His most embarrassing moment undoubtedly came in the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea, with the Argentinian star hooked after just 38 minutes by Lopetegui, subsequently being replaced by Tomas Soucek.
Rodriguez still has time to turn around his below-par start to life in England, but given the club’s current poor form since Lopetegui’s arrival, he may find himself in and out of the team as the Spaniard looks to find a settled starting eleven.
The experienced boss may regret sanctioning the sale of one player who has starred away from the London Stadium after securing a permanent move during the summer transfer window.
Boyhood West Ham fan Flynn Downes spent one season in the club’s first team before a loan spell at Southampton last season, in an attempt to gain more regular game time.
After helping the Saints secure an immediate return to the top flight, he departed the Hammers in a £18m deal, ending his stay in the capital without an appearance under the new boss.
However, it may be a decision that Lopetegui could regret given his form for Russell Martin’s side, which has seen him outperform new signing Rodriguez in numerous key areas for a midfielder.
|
How Downes & Rodriguez compare in the Premier League (2024/25) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Statistics (per 90) |
Downes |
Rodriguez |
|
Games played |
6 |
6 |
|
Minutes played |
540 |
460 |
|
Progressive carries |
2 |
0.2 |
|
Progressive passes |
4.8 |
2.4 |
|
Pass accuracy |
93% |
84% |
|
Tackles won |
1.2 |
1 |
|
Interceptions |
2 |
1.6 |
|
Stats via FBref |
||
The “monstrous” talent, as described by current boss Martin, has completed more of the passes he’s attempted this season, with more of his attempts being progressive compared to the Argentinian.
Downes has also started defensively, winning more tackles and completing more interceptions per 90, potentially showing Lopetegui what he’s missing by offloading the 25-year-old.
Does the club miss him? Potentially, with his box-to-box profile providing that dimension that the Hammers have been desperately lacking since his appointment during the summer.
It’s still early days for the 58-year-old during his time at the helm, but Downes’ desire to succeed for his boyhood club could’ve proved to be the difference for the club during their current slump in form at the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
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By
Connor Holden
Oct 3, 2024
West Ham United have not started the 2024/25 campaign on strong footing, but Julen Lopetegui has inherited a talented squad that has the capacity to carve out a successful campaign.
One win from six Premier League matches has left the Irons lodged in 15th place, but the absence of a clear identity has been more concerning. Compound that with the fact that West Ham have created the fewest big chances in the division, and there’s just cause for concern.
|
Premier League (24/25): Fewest Big Chances Created |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Club |
Games |
Chances Created |
|
16th |
Bournemouth |
5 |
9 |
|
17th |
Southampton |
5 |
9 |
|
18th |
Leicester City |
6 |
8 |
|
19th |
Wolverhampton Wanderers |
6 |
8 |
|
20th |
West Ham United |
6 |
5 |
|
Stats via Premier League |
|||
This is pretty concerning when considering that Lucas Paqueta sits at the heart of the team, but then the Brazilian playmaker has been short of his best over the past few months to be sure.
Of course, fans would love to have seen West Ham blitz into a rip-roaring start to a new era, but this is a luxury that cannot be expected as much as desired. What rankles is the lack of coherence and formula. Added impetus is needed, but it won’t come from Maxwel Cornet, that’s for sure.
When Cornet arrived in east London to seal his move to West Ham, he was one of the hottest properties from the lower echelons of the Premier League. Burnley had been treated to pure wonders from this mercurial winger.
The Hammers paid £17.5m to land Cornet in the summer of 2022, and there was plenty of excitement at the time. Indeed, he’d enjoyed quite the campaign with the Clarets, scoring nine times in the top flight across just 21 starting appearances. Pundit Alan Shearer had praised his “dangerous” aura for Sean Dyche’s side.
He was also a proud creator, demonstrating a multi-functionality that made him a real unit for a team seeking to stave off the threat of relegation – they failed, but the Ivory Coast international could hold his head high.
As per FBref, Cornet ranked among the top 6% of attacking midfielders and wingers during the 2021/22 Premier League season for crosses and the top 16% for ball recoveries per 90.
Unfortunately, that all fell flat under David Moyes. Transfer insider Dean Jones remarked that Cornet was “wasting his time” at the club, having scored one goal and added six assists across 37 matches in two years of service, before moving to Southampton on loan this summer, where he has started indifferently.
Why did West Ham sign him though? He’d been brought in to replace Andriy Yarmolenko, while Felipe Anderson had departed for good the year before. West Ham were on the hunt for a top-class new winger, and, after all, they had to find a contingency route after missing out on Luis Diaz.
Diaz, as most will know, has been one of the most in-form players in the Premier League this season, with five goals and an assist from his first six matches for Liverpool, whose win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend has shifted them into first place.
The Colombian is a winger of pace and sublime technique, and after an ebb and flowy 2023/24 campaign, scoring only eight top-flight goals from 37 outings, he’s now providing the prolificness that Arne Slot’s side need to challenge Manchester City and Arsenal for the title.
Journalist Jack Collins once said that the 27-year-old was “going to be a superstar” back when he played for Portuguese giants Porto, and despite some hurdles, he’s proving as much on Merseyside. If only West Ham signed him.
Back around the time Liverpool paid Porto an initial fee of £37m for Diaz in January 2022, the Irons had also been sniffing around. The veracity of these claims is strong, straight from the horse’s mouth.
“I spoke to Luis Diaz on the phone, we were quite far down the line to sign him,” Moyes said. “My understanding was that Liverpool planned to come in in the summer, so we thought we’d try and get him in January.”
|
Luis Diaz: Premier League Statistics |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats (*per game) |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|
Matches (starts) |
37 (32) |
6 (6) |
|
Goals |
8 |
5 |
|
Assists |
5 |
1 |
|
Touches* |
43.8 |
41.8 |
|
Shots (on target) |
2.5 (0.9) |
2.3 (1.3) |
|
Pass completion |
85% |
89% |
|
Key passes* |
1.8 |
1.5 |
|
Ball recoveries* |
3.4 |
3.7 |
|
Dribbles (completed)* |
1.8 |
1.7 |
|
Tackles + interceptions* |
1.0 |
1.5 |
|
Total Duels won* |
4.6 |
4.0 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As his stats from last season show, Diaz might not have been the free-scoring sensation that his skillset suggests is within his locker, but he maintains a high level of athletic output, and contributes across many different aspects of the role.
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His roundedness is something that would have lifted the fortunes of those around him. Bowen has been West Ham’s best forward over the past several years, and he could have formed a wonderful bond with the Liverpool man. Moreover, just imagine the success that Paqueta could have found behind the fleet-footed winger, playing surgical passes through lines for Diaz to latch onto.
It’s no question that West Ham fumbled the bag with this one. Liverpool’s decision to bid for him in January seems to have been pushed forward from summer plans due, partly at least, to Moyes’ interest.
But given that he’s now worth upwards of €75m (£63m), which was the price tag Liverpool slapped on this summer amid interest from Barcelona, it looks like West Ham have missed their opportunity – it would take an extraordinary effort from Tim Steidten to pull such a deal together.
Of course, some might point toward the signing of Kudus one year later as a reason to have held off, but the Ghanaian isn’t only effective on the left flank, and could have been utilised as part of a deadly and electrifying strikeforce.
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Christian Pulisic has been told how to become GOAT of the USMNT, with Alexi Lalas explaining the AC Milan star’s bid to become the “best ever”.
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Arsenal’s start to the current season has not been easy on the injury front with a whole host of names ruled out for small to large periods of time.
Martin Odegaard has been the main patient on the treatment table over the opening month or so of the new campaign with the Norwegian having sustained significant damage to his ankle ligament during the last international break.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has also been absent while Ben White has endured time with the team doctors at London Colney too. With Jurrien Timber also missing against Southampton last weekend, it meant that Thomas Partey had to play at right-back. He did an admirable job to be fair to him.
But there’s one player who continues to soldier on despite a lack of rest. That man is Bukayo Saka.
One of the biggest priorities for Arsenal over the last few years has been the need to sign a new right winger.
Saka is their star boy, he’s their number one man, and he’s their most important player. As a result, he’s likely to play a high volume of minutes. Mikel Arteta needs him on the pitch at all times and at all costs.
The arrival of Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea over the summer should help but even then, Saka still played against Bolton Wanderers in the League Cup with his England colleague favoured on the left.
That felt like an ideal opportunity to rest the 23-year-old, alas he was kept on the field as the Gunners eased into the next round at the expense of the Trotters.
Arteta probably knows more than anyone that Saka could do with more rest periods and now he’s been given a huge warning over the direction that his star winger’s career could head in.
Research conducted by OLBG concludes that his career could head in the direction of someone like Michael Owen or Dele Alli if Arsenal aren’t careful.
According to said research, the England international has already played 52.9% of his projected career minutes at the age of 23. If we compare that to Phil Foden who is a year older, he has been more carefully managed and has only played 33.2% of his projected minutes.
Phil Foden vs Bukayo Saka in 2023/24
Saka’s injury record is rather impressive compared to his peers, with a ratio of 355 minutes played per day injured.
Referring back to the aforementioned Owen, he had a rate of 39 minutes played per day injured as the former Ballon d’Or winner ultimately saw his career burn out.
|
Mins played by 7th season in their career |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Mins played |
Games missed (total) |
|
Gerrard |
19,861 |
97 |
|
Lampard |
15,793 |
88 |
|
Rooney |
20,415 |
153 |
|
Dele |
20,068 |
155 |
|
Owen |
17,643 |
179 |
|
Foden |
17,447 |
28 |
|
Saka * |
19,536 |
15 |
|
Rashford |
19,707 |
50 |
|
Trent |
23,312 |
62 |
|
Sterling |
18,792 |
58 |
|
* = projected minutes played. |
||
As it happens the Arsenal star has played an average of 3,595 minutes per season and has already played more minutes in his first six seasons than Owen and Dele. Considering both players suffered from early-career burnout and injuries, Saka’s heavy workload could come back to bite him.
The research comes to a shocking verdict if you are of an Arsenal persuasion that we could start to see a significant drop-off in the forward’s career numbers in two years. That would happen to mark his eighth year at the highest level of the game and a crucial period in Arteta’s project as they look to make themselves consistent Premier League and Champions League contenders.
As a result, Arsenal must prepare for the future and ensure the Hale End star’s minutes are managed. They could do so by signing a new winger in 2025.
Sterling’s future at Arsenal is unlikely to be long-term so acquiring a major signing in attack over the next year or so should be at the height of Arsenal’s agenda.
One option could be Barcelona winger Raphinha. The Gunners were interested in snapping the Brazilian up when he was still at Leeds but he preferred a move to the Catalan giants.
Michael Olise and Pedro Neto had previously been options but they signed for Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively over the summer so won’t be on the market.
Thus, they could turn their attention to someone like Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia or Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams who has been of huge interest to Arteta and Co for a while now.
Possessing a £49m release clause, signing the Spaniard would be smart business. Although predominantly a left winger, he has operated on the right and would provide phenomenal competition for places among the likes of Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.
Arsenal have been sent a warning here and they must ensure that the club’s dazzling number 7 is given more rest and competition.
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By
Matt Dawson
Oct 9, 2024
Aston Villa has had some amazing goalkeepers in the Premier League era, the likes of Brad Friedel, David James and Peter Schmeichel being the ones that spring to mind.
Friedel made 131 appearances for Villa, conceding 171 goals, and keeping 36 clean sheets. James made 84 appearances for Villa, conceding 83 goals, and keeping 27 clean sheets. Whilst Schmeichel only joined Villa at 38-years-old, making 36 appearances for the club, conceding 45 goals, keeping ten clean sheets, and even scoring a goal.
But perhaps the best of the lot, is their current goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, who was bought for just £17m from Arsenal, and is now considered the best “in the world” in his position, have been labelled this by Argentina teammate Lionel Messi.
Since joining in 2020, the 32-year-old has made 168 appearances for Villa, conceding 204 goals, keeping 57 clean sheets, and totaling 14,960 minutes played.
In this time, Martinez has also made 47 appearances for his country, winning the Copa América twice, and the World Cup in 2022.
According to GIVEMESPORT last year, Martinez was valued at around £60m by Aston Villa, with Dean Jones stating he would consider leaving to “step up a level”. Since then, Villa have qualified for the Champions League, and the shot-stopper seems to be content at the club, competing on all fronts.
Martinez continues to impress, making ten appearances this season in all competitions so far, conceding just ten goals, and keeping three clean sheets in 900 minutes. The Argentine is now worth more than triple the cost he was bought for back in 2020, as he sits at the table with the world’s best goalkeepers.
Some top names also considered in this elite category, are Alisson Becker of Liverpool, Thibaut Courtois from Real Madrid, and Yann Sommer from Inter Milan. Of course, some other top names are David Raya, Ederson, Mike Maignan, Manuel Neuer and Marc-André ter Stegen.
|
Martinez vs Alisson vs Courtois vs Sommer comparison |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90 mins) |
Martinez |
Alisson |
Courtois |
Sommer |
|
Goals Against |
1.00 |
0.38 |
0.73 |
1.00 |
|
Shots on Target Against |
4.10 |
2.66 |
2.91 |
4.22 |
|
Saves |
3.00 |
2.28 |
2.27 |
3.11 |
|
Save % |
78.0% |
85.7% |
75.0% |
78.9% |
|
Clean Sheets |
0.30 |
0.51 |
0.36 |
0.44 |
|
Crosses Stopped |
1.50 |
0.25 |
0.80 |
0.33 |
|
Defensive Actions Outside Pen Area |
0.90 |
1.65 |
0.40 |
0.44 |
|
Passes Attempted |
35.7 |
38.4 |
45.5 |
37.8 |
|
Pass Completion % |
78.4% |
80.5% |
86.2% |
87.6% |
|
Stats taken from FBref |
||||
When you compare the metrics of Martinez so far this season with other top tier names, you can see why he is viewed in this bracket of players. Villa face more shots than the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid, with Martinez facing 4.10 shots per 90, Alisson facing 2.66, and Courtois facing 2.91.
Despite this, Martinez’s save metrics are still excellent, also only conceding 1.00 per 90 (same as Sommer), and stopping the most crosses with 1.50 stopped per 90, compared to the other names who all average below 0.80, with the second-best being Courtois for this metric.
Villa will want to hold onto their superstar keeper, despite his meteoric rise in value, and the performances he is putting in week in, week out, are bound to have Villa battling for the top four again this season.
Marcus Rashford contributed with two assists as Aston Villa came back from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1, earning praise from his new team-mates.
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