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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Academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving Manchester City on a permanent transfer
Danny Jones
Manchester City youth academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving the club after sealing a move to Fulham FC.
Despite plenty of loan interest throughout the January transfer window, the Man City attacker has secured a switch to the in-form West London team on a permanent basis.
Bobb looked increasingly likely to leave in some capacity following the arrival of another winger in the form of instant hit, Antoine Semenyo, but it now looks as though his departure is all but confirmed, bar an imminent official announcement.
As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the agreement has now been reached between the two clubs pending a full medical today (Thursday, 29 January).
According to Romano, Fulham will pay Man City approximately £27 million for Bobb’s services, who becomes the latest addition in what has already been a fairly busy period of recruitment.
He goes on to add that “City also mantain [a] 20% sell-on clause, matching rights and future control on the player based on his decision.”
There is no suggestion of a buy-back clause at this time, but given his age and having already made a fair few appearances for Pep Guardiola‘s first team, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to see him return to the club one day.
Bobb also arrives at Craven Cottage following the exit of multiple wingers and offensive options, including Adama Traore, ex-Man United product Andreas Pereira and Arsenal youngster, Reiss Nelson, whose loan deal has expired and has signed another temporary deal at local rivals, Brentford.
Had it not been for that injury I know he would’ve been class for City for a long time, and let’s not forget that goal v Newcastle pic.twitter.com/inGxi5UjPM
The young Norwegian winger joined the Etihad Campus back in 2023 and went on to contribute a handful of goals and assists, despite limited appearances and some very unfortunate injury issues.
Only seven months ago, his soon-to-be former parent club released a short video charting his return from the sidelines after fracturing his leg – a setback which kept him out for roughly five months.
Plenty of fans have quickly placed him in the so-called ‘what if?’ category of players, and given that he’s still just 22 years old and has already impressed on a number of ocassions for such a big club, we wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to have a very exciting career.
Can you see the Blues bringing in or letting anyone else go before deadline day?
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Tyson Fury is coming home.
TYSON FURY vs. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV. Saturday April 11 from the United Kingdom — and LIVE only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ib7KjT3xIt
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Kate Jackson -
19th June 2020 
