RB Leipzig and Manchester United face off on Tuesday for a place in the Champions League knockout rounds.
This is a straight shoot-out in Germany, a match that could have huge implications for manager goals, transfer targets and financial predictions for 2021.
In a way, the permutations are quite simple: Leipzig must win to qualify for the next round, while United will be through with a win or a draw.
Beyond those facts, this is a difficult game to call, as each side is well-suited and yet pointedly vulnerable to the strengths of the other. But United, it would appear, have the edge.
from the boss
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
ROAD WARRIORS
Leipzig have won all seven home games in all competitions in 2020-21, scoring 18 goals…
Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead at Watford in Quique Sanchez Flores first match in charge of the Hornets since returning, while Bournemouth confidently dispatched Everton at the Vitality Stadium.
Sanchez Flores was back in the Watford dugout having been appointed as Javi Gracia s replacement during the international break.
The former Espanyol coach spent the 2015-16 campaign at the club before being surprisingly dismissed and he appeared to have a decent impact on the team for the visit of Arsenal, though he was unable to inspire a win in the 2-2 draw.
Bournemouth did claim all three points, however, beating Everton 3-1 to stop a difficult run.
The reaction of the players is the most important thing, because at 2-0 your heads can go down. We never gav…
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has taken a shot at some of Europe s heaviest spenders by saying you can t buy the Champions League .
Holders Madrid take on Bayern Munich in the semi-final first leg on Wednesday, in the third last-four encounter between the teams since the 2011-12 season.
The fixture is the most-played match in European Cup or Champions League history, with the teams having met 24 times previously, each winning 11 times.
Madrid knocked out Paris Saint-Germain, who smashed the world transfer record to sign Neymar in a bid to bring them closer to the title, in the last 16, while Manchester City, the most expensively assembled team in history, lost 5-1 on aggregate to Liverpool in the last round.
Kroos has won back-to-back tournaments with…
Manchester United will face Steven Gerrard s Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup and Leicester City start the defence of the trophy against Watford.
United boss interim boss Ralf Rangnick s first FA Cup tie will be an all-Premier League encounter with Villa at Old Trafford, where former Liverpool captain Gerrard can expect a hostile reception.
Holders Leicester will again come up against their former manager Claudio Ranieri, who masterminded the club s fairytale Premier League triumph in 2016, at the King Power Stadium.
The Foxes lifted the trophy for the first time in their history in May after beating Chelsea 1-0 in the final at Wembley.
Here is your official third round draw! [1/4]
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)
Ch…
Leicester City will hope to make amends for a rare blot on their title-winning campaign when they host Arsenal in their first home match of the 2016-17 Premier League campaign.
Claudio Ranieri s side stunned the world as they romped to the title by 10 points in May, and their home form played a crucial role in their success.
Twelve wins and six draws came their way as they turned the King Power Stadium into a fortress, the only team to take maximum points there being Arsenal the Gunners in scintillating form in September as an Alexis Sanchez hat-trick inspired a 5-2 win.
Leicester will get an immediate opportunity for revenge at the start of the new campaign with Arsene Wenger s side visiting on the second weekend of the season.
While Leicester enjoy plen…
Adelaide United came from behind twice to draw 3-3 with Jeju United in a thrilling encounter on Wednesday that saw the A-League side pick up their first points of this season s AFC Champions League.
The Australian champions kept their slim hopes of progression from Group H alive courtesy of Mark Ochieng s equaliser five minutes from time, which ensured they stay within three points of South Korea s Jeju, who are second on four points.
That goal came just 75 seconds after Kwon Soon-Hyung s effort for the visitors finally looked to have a settled a match that saw all six goals scored in the second half
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Baba Diawara s 51st-minute penalty had put Adelaide in front, but a low effort from substitute Frederic Mendy and a stunner from Marcelo Toscano turned …
South Africa lost their Africa Cup of Nations opener to Ivory Coast and forward Sibusiso Vilakazi knows they must improve for a crucial clash with Namibia.
Bafana Bafana were outplayed despite the narrow nature of their 1-0 defeat to a Jonathan Kodjia goal, leaving the side pointless as they take on opponents who themselves were beaten 1-0 by Morocco.
And Vilakazi acknowledged South Africa have already reached must-win status at such an early stage of this year s tournament.
With Namibia now, we need to get a response in terms of winning, the Mamelodi Sundowns attacker told TimesLIVE. We have to win at all costs.
We got to this AFCON and it s a must-win [game] for us it doesn t matter how. This is a point where we need to react, we need to win ga…
Renato Sanches marked his return to the Bayern Munich fold with a superb goal against his former club as Niko Kovac s side ran out 2-0 winners over Benfica in their Champions League Group E encounter.
Having endured a torrid loan spell at Swansea City last term, Sanches was handed his first Bayern start since May 2017 at Estadio da Luz, and after playing a part in Robert Lewandowski s opener the youngster duly repaid Kovac s faith in the 54th minute when he got on the end of James Rodriguez s delicate cross.
However, things could have been different if not for Manuel Neuer, who kept Benfica at bay with a string of impressive saves either side of the interval.
Serge Gnabry had a goal disallowed for offside as Bayern looked to extend their lead, but that deci…
Erik ten Hag is doing an unbelievable job at Manchester United but the club must continue to strengthen, says their former midfielder Quinton Fortune.
The ex-Ajax head coach replaced Ralf Rangnick in the Old Trafford dugout following an inconsistent 2021-22 season, which also saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked as United finished 13 points off the top four.
The Red Devils lost their first two Premier League games under Ten Hag, but have gone on to register 26 points after the first 14 outings five more than they managed at the same stage of the previous campaign.
Fortune spent seven years at United under Alex Ferguson between 1999 and 2006, winning the Premier League title in the 2002-03 season.
He is pleased with the strides made by his former club, who he h…
According to Paul Joyce of , Real Sociedad have put pressure on Martin Zubimendi by informing him the release clause in his contract has to be paid if he is to leave the club.
Zubimendi, previously linked with Barcelona and Arsenal, has reportedly been a preferred transfer target for Liverpool this summer as the Merseysiders seek to add a reliable No. 6 to their ranks. At one point he was believed to have accepted the idea of moving to Anfield, but Sociedad have since been trying very hard to convince him to stay. He has been offered a new contract, and he s apparently considering his next step very carefully.
It appears the 25-year-old Euro 2024 winner is still leaning towards the move, though, which would be an obvious reason for his current club to tak…