Jose Mourinho accused Pep Guardiola of lying about David Silva being injured this week and, frankly, all power to the Manchester United manager.
Relations between the tempestuous Portuguese and his feisty Catalan sparring partner have been almost nauseatingly cordial since they arrived in Manchester last year.
But with their teams heading the Premier League pack, will we see a return to the fractious mood that saw Guardiola turn the air blue in the Santiago Bernabeu press room before his Barcelona faced Mourinho s Real Madrid in the 2011 Champions League semi-final?
Even if the two managers keep their powder dry this weekend, we ve thrown together Jamie Smith and Dom Farrell to state the respective cases of the red and blue halves of Manchester. After all, what i…
Real Madrid duo Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois, alongside Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, are the three nominees for the 2021-22 UEFA Men s Player of the Year Award.
The three are joined by bosses Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola, plus Liverpool s Jurgen Klopp, on the three-man shortlist for the UEFA Men s Coach of the Year Award.
Ahead of this week s Ballon d Or nominations, France forward Benzema has further enshrined his frontrunner status, after firing Madrid to a continental double last term in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
But there is no room for any player from Liverpool, the side who Ancelotti s men vanquished in last season s final in Paris.
Five Reds stars Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fab…
Competition: Premier League
Market: Brighton to beat West Brom
Odds:
The Premier League returns for another huge weekend of footballing action as England s top league continues to simmer away nicely. Every side in the division will want to return to league action with a win following their FA Cup duty, with focus now firmly back on success and survival. With all of this in mind, Brighton travel to play West Brom on Saturday.
West Brom have been struggling massively this season and they are in need of a run of wins to get out of the danger they have found themselves in. After 22 games they have just two victories to their name, while they have drawn 10 times and lost 10 games. The Baggies have netted 16 goals this season, but they have conceded …
Competition: Premier League
Market: Everton to beat Crystal Palace
Odds:
The Premier League returns this weekend for yet another massive round of matches that will surely only bring more goals and excitement. The table has remained incredibly tight this season meaning that a win can see a side rise out of the relegation zone or into a European place. With this in mind, Everton host Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Everton have been struggling lately and they will want to embark upon a run of wins that could likely secure their place in England s top league for next season. After 26 matches they have won eight, drawn seven and lost 11 times, scoring 29 goals and conceding 45 times. In their last five they have only won once, drawing once and losing t…
Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen revealed just how intense the club s training methods are ahead of his return to Arsenal.
Vermaelen and his Barca team-mates travel to Arsenal for the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie on Tuesday, and the defender provided an insight into the European champions practice sessions.
The first thing I noticed here was the intensity of the pressing, Vermaelen told the Telegraph.
The pressure is on straight away when we lose the ball. We do a lot of positioning games, focusing on getting the ball back. The pressure the players put on you is incredible, you have no time on the ball.
The Belgian spoke about how Barcelona regularly work on a piggy-in-the-middle game known as a rondo .
He said: We…