Manchester United return to action in the Premier League
Manchester City cruised to an easy win against Arsenal on Wednesday night but will Manchester United be able to take maximum points in crucial match against Spurs?
The first day back of the restarted season had it all.
Goal line technology faulted during Villa’s match up with Sheffield United, denying the latter a clear goal; David Luiz had a horror show against City, giving away a goal, a penalty and getting himself sent off; and the dominant image of the day was all 22 players (plus the referees) taking the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at the start of each game.
Tonight, Manchester United return to action for their first time since March in their crucial match with Spurs – as Jose Mourinho looks to close the four-point gap on his former team.
The Red Devils come into the game unbeaten in all competitions since January and will be hoping that the three-month break will not have hindered their momentum as they push for a top four position.
A win will put United ahead of Chelsea in fourth position, who take on Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
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Spurs come into the game in wobblier form, drawing once and losing twice in their last three games in the Premier League.
However, Harry Kane will finally be back in contention for Spurs, having failed to feature for Jose’s side since the defeat to Southampton on New Year’s Day.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will also be boosted by the return of key players, as Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford return to the squad after long stints on the sidelines.
Pogba may have made little impact on United’s season but fans will be hoping that the Frenchman links up well with January-signing and new star man Bruno Fernandes.
Rashford, who scored twice against Spurs in the win at Old Trafford in December, was having his best season at United before injury put him out of action.
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Mancunian born and bred, Rashford has been in the spotlight outside of football this week after steering the Government into a u-turn on the free school meals policy this summer.
Rashford has been praised by many in the country, including his manager at the pre-match press conference.
“Marcus is such a top, top human being and he’s brought his own experiences as a kid into this conversation and changed the lives of so many kids…,” said Solskjaer.
“So, he’s already been the captain of the club at such a young age and he’s proving all the time his human qualities which is the main attribute for a Man United player, along with his qualities as a player.”
Will Rashford once again prove to be the difference?
United will take on Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium at 8:15pm on Friday the 19th and will be shown on Sky Sports.
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Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Masters Football isn’t just back – it’s coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
The much-loved Masters Football format made its glorious comeback in 2022, and since then, it’s been steadily rebuilding an audience of passionate fans, plenty of whom you’ll find here in the sporting city of Manchester – so it’s a good job the national tournament is heading our way.
That’s right, the official English Masters Football competition is coming to 0161 later this year and will be bringing a host of legendary North West talent from years gone by to take part.
Although the full squads and their team captains have yet to be announced, former professionals from Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, and more will be lacing back up their boots.
Manchester Masters Football 2025 lands at the equally iconic AO Arena this September.
Credit: Publicity Pictures (supplied)
For anyone unfamiliar with Masters Football, which developed a die-hard following when it first ran between 2000 and 2011, is shorter, indoor-only six-a-side footy tournament similar to futsal.
Each team will feature eight retired players, and the games unfold in a round-robin format, with each match consisting of two eight-minute halves, meaning that both sides have a little over a quarter of an hour to score enough to make it past the other.
In addition to the quicker matches, they will battle it out on a 60m x 30m pitch – the same size of an international ice hockey rink – and whoever makes it through with the highest points will battle it out in a grand final to claim the Manchester Masters title.
As you can see, players set to star this year include ex-United and City defenders Wes Brown and Joleon Lescott, as well as Liverpool and Everton strikers Djibril Cisse and Yakubu Ayegbeni.
You can see some of the best moments from the year it officially returned to the UK down below:
The Manchester edition of the 2025 English Masters Football Tournament Series arrives at the AO Arena on Friday, 5 September.
Doors will open to the venue from 6pm, with the first match kicking off at 7pm, so you better have drinks and snacks in time for bums to hit seats.
As for tickets, there’ll be two chances at early access, first for Three+ mobile members at 10am on Wednesday, 2 April and then via the venue’s presale window at the same time the following day. General admission tickets will be made available, also from 10am, the following Saturday, 5 April.
Kate Jackson -
19th June 2020 
