For the best part of the last decade, the Manchester derby has been at the very forefront of the English game. Indeed, Manchester United or Manchester City have won five of the last nine Premier League titles, also producing four runners-up during that time. While there’s been something of a respite over the last three years, that’s very much the case once again heading into Sunday’s 4.30pm kickoff. Victory for Manchester City will see them go eleven points clear of the chasing pack, but a home win at Old Trafford would reduce the deficit to just five and give United the confidence they need to catch up with their rivals before the end of May. Throw in the added sub-plot of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola’s rivalry, made extra special by their polarising philosophies, and the coming Manchester derby is a pivotal encounter on almost countless levels. Here’s everything you need to know before the two sides kick off…

What History Tells Us

They often say form goes out of the window in derby games and that’s certainly the case here. Despite City only truly achieving parity with their local rivals over the best part of the last decade, they’ve often performed well in this fixture, even doing the double over United during the 2007/08 season – ironically, when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side won the Champions League. Accordingly, the Red Devils have only scored seven more goals than City throughout their 40 Premier League meetings, which shows how close this fixture has often been. The last five top flight meetings have produced two United wins and two draws – before that, however, City beat the Old Trafford outfit in four consecutive encounters.

Referee influence – Michael Oliver

There’s an incredibly thin line when it comes to Michael Oliver, something Manchester United will be only too aware of. While respective rankings of ninth and 13th for fouls per match and fouls per tackle out of the Premier League’s 18 referees this season suggest the 32-year-old isn’t a strict disciplinarian who blows the whistle at any given opportunity, much higher rates for yellow cards and penalties highlights how heavy-handed he is when punishing fouls, if not while deliberating over awarding them. Having seen Chris Smalling sent off in the Manchester derby by Oliver previously, alongside Ander Herrera against Chelsea last season, United know they can’t give the referee any excuse to make a big call in such a pivotal game – especially considering they average over two fouls per game more than City and will likely be doing the majority of defending this Sunday.

Team News

The big blow for United heading into Sunday’s game is of course the absence of Paul Pogba, who saw red against Arsenal last time out for a reckless challenge on Hector Bellerin. That leaves a sizeable hole in the Red Devils’ engine room and one that will particularly concern Mourinho, having already revealed Nemanja Matic will play through injury to be part of the Manchester derby. With Marouane Fellaini a doubt, the obvious assumption is that Ander Herrera will start alongside him – while Jesse Lingard has made himself undroppable for this fixture after grabbing three goals in his last two Premier League appearances. We’ve also tipped fellow academy product Marcus Rashford to start up front alongside Romelu Lukaku; a full ninety minutes in midweek might suggest that’s unlikely, but the England international’s work-rate could be crucial and local lads always tend to bring an extra few ounces of intensity into derby games.

Guardiola’s latest injury update has provided both a key positive and a few concerns for City. While the Spaniard has insisted his philosophy-encompassing countryman David Silva will play, although we still consider him to be a doubt as it could well be a last-minute bluff, he’s also revealed a decision will be made on captain Vincent Kompany tomorrow while Fabian Delph has been suffering with an illness. Although the latter has been fantastic for City this season, Danilo in reserve makes him somewhat replaceable; an absent Kompany, on the other hand, will force Guardiola into placing his faith in Eliaquim Mangala or a square peg in a round hole. The other noteworthy difference between City’s last Premier League outing against West Ham is the likely return of Fernandinho, very much the unsung hero of City’s frighteningly creative engine room.

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Everton manager Marco Silva is looking to strengthen his defence during this transfer window with the signings of a left-back and centre-back said to be top priority. And according to Goal, Barcelona’s Yerry Mina is one player Silva could look to in the coming days now that the 23-year-old’s World Cup duties with Colombia are over.

The Breakdown

Most recent transfer speculation surrounding Everton has been about the club bringing in a long-term successor for Leighton Baines. The Daily Mirror reports the Merseyside club are weighing up a bid for Celtic’s Kieran Tierney, while Sky Sports have suggested Bayer Leverkusen’s Wendell and Hertha Berlin’s Marvin Plattenhardt are also targets for the position.

However, Mina’s World Cup exit has now prompted a bid from Everton as they look to improve their central defensive options, and the £8.1m-rated (via Transfermarkt) Colombia international could be the man to do just exactly that.

Despite his struggles at Barcelona, Mina showed a lot of promise in Brazil with Palmeiras before departing for the Camp Nou back in January, while his aerially dominant and goalscoring displays in Russia were also impressive.

Everton, though, are likely to face competition for Mina with SPORT reporting that Turkish side Fenerbahce have made a £26.5m offer for the Colombian’s signature.

Considering Everton’s current options at the back, the Toffees simply cannot afford to lose out on a defender of Mina’s ability.

And if – although highly unlikely – Fenerbahce remain the only other team interested in Mina’s services, then the Goodison Park hierarchy should really be getting a deal over the line.

The Manchester City fans in the Transfer Tavern have been delighted with the way in which Pep Guardiola has allowed a handful of young players to develop at the Etihad since he took charge of the club, and recent reports suggest West Ham could pave the way for him to begin another exciting project. 

The Breakdown

Whatever your opinion on Raheem Sterling is, there is simply no doubt that he has blossomed into a fine Premier League footballer under the watchful eye of Guardiola. Videos from City’s training ground have illuminated the meticulous one-to-one guidance the Spaniard has offered to Sterling and the results of his work are clear to see by taking a quick glance at his record in the past two seasons.

The likes of Leroy Sane, Phil Foden and John Stones have all stepped up a level under Guardiola and silenced his doubters who have labelled him a chequebook manager since he took charge at the club.

Although the City supporters would understandably prefer to see Guardiola nurture more players from the club’s academy system in the years to come, there is reason to suggest that he should raid a Premier League rival to secure the signature of a player who could go from strength to strength under his leadership, namely Declan Rice of West Ham United.

Despite enjoying a mightily impressive debut campaign as a senior player at the London Stadium, Rice’s future looks rather precarious in the light of Manuel Pellegrini’s appointment.

With centre-back Issa Diop already added to the squad, West Ham are closing in on another defensive acquisition as Corinthians have confirmed the sale of Fabian Balbuena to the Hammers, according to The Times.

The arrival of the Paraguay international along with the presence of Diop, Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna and Reece Oxford could make Rice surplus to requirements through no fault of his own.

If Pellegrini fails to recognise his potential and give him a key role within West Ham’s upcoming campaign then his loss could be Guardiola’s gain.

With Vincent Kompany edging closer to retirement there’s no doubt that another injury setback could leave City with a place to be filled in their squad, and Rice is a perfect candidate to slot into his place.

Under a manger of Guardiola’s expertise and whilst playing alongside the likes of John Stones and Aymeric Laporte, Rice would have a perfect opportunity to develop into a fantastic ball-playing centre-back in the years to come, so it’s a move which would certainly be in the best interests of both the player and the club.

Now that Rice only has 1 year remaining on his current deal he will have a big decision to make this summer, but with a fresh offer already rejected and Pellegrini’s inroads in the transfer market hinting at a potential departure, it’s time for Guardiola to respond by bringing his next development project to Manchester in a cut-price deal.

Man City fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Nobody outperformed Kieran Trippier as England rampaged into the semi-finals of the World Cup and he is surely a shoo-in for the team of the tournament.

Many were concerned about losing Kyle Walker’s attacking thrust down the right flank but Trippier stepped in with incredible results, providing a steady stream of chances with his expert delivery.

On top of that, he was imperious in one-against-one situations and shone in the right wing-back role, offering something of a positional dilemma for Mauricio Pochettino when he returns to action for Tottenham.

In a way that only the World Cup can, England’s run deep into the tournament captured the hearts of the nation and turned above-average Premier League players into national icons and Trippier was as popular as anyone.

That’s why he has been given the freedom of his hometown Bury – where England legend Gary Neville was also born – and we’ve looked at the reaction of some Spurs fans…

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Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min has been named in South Korea’s 23-man squad for this year’s Asian Games, which will see him miss the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

Son represented his country at the 2018 World Cup in Russia this summer, and will also be in action in the Asian Games, which begin a week after the start of the new Premier League campaign, which is now only around the corner.

Spurs start away to Newcastle United on August 11, and whilst the Asian Games do not get underway until August 18, Son will be training with his country ahead of the competition.

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The Asian Games will not end until September 2, meaning that Son will miss Premier League matches against Newcastle, Fulham, Manchester United and Watford, which is far from an ideal situation.

The Tottenham fans, who have a very high opinion of Son, have been reacting to the situation on social media, and it would be fair to say that they are not best pleased.

A selection of the best Twitter reaction can be seen below:

According to reports in The Sun, Everton are interested in signing Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck, whose time with the north London club appears to be coming to an end. His contract expires at the end of the coming season and Unai Emery will no doubt want to make changes to the squad he inherited from Arsene Wenger – especially if he can free up some funds in the process.

But what would be the ramifications of the England international moving to Goodison Park this summer? We take a look at the potential consequences of an agreement over Welbeck taking place for both Arsenal and Everton…

Vital competition for Cenk Tosun up front

Everton’s pursuit of Richarlison suggests Welbeck is being eyed by Marco Silva for a slightly different role and if there’s one obvious advantage to the England attacker, it’s that he can operate anywhere across the front-line. Theo Walcott looks likely to keep the right wing berth but in truth, it’s at centre-forward where Everton really need some quality in depth. Cenk Tosun steadily built up some momentum towards the end of last season after arriving in January, but still didn’t quite convince that he can be relied upon for a whole campaign.

Welbeck’s arrival would immediately put Tosun under pressure and that could bring the best out of the Turkish international depending on how he reacts to some healthy competition. In any case, Everton desperately need better options up front and Welbeck would be a massive upgrade on Oumar Niasse.

Alexandre Lacazette moves out wide

Arsenal didn’t really settle on a unanimous option for the left wing following Alexis Sanchez’s January departure, with the likes of Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang giving the role a go at various stages of the second half of last season. Welbeck would have been a decent candidate for it, even if it were only in the short term, but a move to Everton could convince Unai Emery to test Lacazette there instead.

After all, the Frenchman is a talented forward who cost Arsenal a club-record fee and while few would dispute Aubameyang is the more potent goalscorer, it feels like a monumental waste to leave the former Lyon star sitting on the bench every week, waiting to be brought on and spare Aubameyang the final ten minutes.

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Lacazette’s featured there just twice for Arsenal before without scoring, in both instances from the bench. But if Emery can construct the role in such a way that he ends up being more a strike partner for Aubameyang than a centre-forward lost out wide, it could prove to be an incredibly effective ploy.

Wilfried Zaha deal off

Everton’s hunt for Richarlison strongly suggests the Toffees won’t be swooping for Wilfried Zaha anyway, but a deal for Welbeck as well would put such a scenario far beyond doubt. Crystal Palace want a whopping £60million for their talisman and although there has been talk of a reduced fee with Yannick Bolasie returning to Selhurst Park as a makeweight, Silva will have other key areas of the squad that need addressing this summer aside from the forward line.

That doesn’t mean Zaha will end up staying in south London though; plenty of clubs will be interested in taking the Ivory Coast forward off Palace’s hands, especially if Everton’s other business has priced them out of the race for his signature.

Arsenal raise the funds to sign Andre Gomes

Back in May, Arsenal’s transfer budget for the summer was reported to be around £70million and it would seem Emery has maxed that out with the Gunners’ business so far this summer coming to roughly the same sum. However, the north Londoners are reportedly keen on Andre Gomes, and at the start of the month The Independent even reported that Emery was willing to raise the funds needed to sign the Barcelona midfielder by selling some of the players already at his disposal.

Welbeck won’t bring in a huge sum – Transfermarkt value him at just £13.5million and Everton won’t want to pay much more for a player whose contract expires next summer – but he could nonetheless add something to the kitty to bring Arsenal closer to the fee required to prize the Portuguese playmaker from the Nou Camp. There’s plenty of deadwood at the Emirates Stadium right now and if Sven Mislintat can get rid of a few more bodies in addition to Welbeck, Arsenal should have the financial resources to get a deal over the line.

Leeds United have drawn their last two fixtures in pre-season during a slow start under Marcelo Bielsa.

The Argentine kicked off pre-season with a victory over Forest Green Rovers. However, two draws against York City and Southend United followed, highlighting how much work needs to be done ahead of the new season. Bielsa will continue to assess his squad before deciding whether to splash the cash in the transfer market.

Leeds are eager to finally secure a return to the Premier League, and the former Chile boss has reportedly been handed a transfer war chest to achieve his goals. However, Bielsa has opted to sign just two players on loan so far this summer. Now, he should make an ambitious move for ex-Shakhtar Donetsk winger – Bernard.

Valued at £14.4m by Transfermarkt, the Brazilian left the club following five years in Ukraine after joining for a staggering £22.5m back in 2013. He was a key player for Shakhtar, making 158 appearances where he netted 28 goals. He would be an unbelievable signing for Leeds.

Capped 14 times by Brazilian, Bernard is comfortable on either wing as the number 10. He would add some much-needed creativity to the Leeds attack. With bags of pace and excellent dribbling ability, Bielsa would love working with the playmaker.

At just 25-years-old, his best years are ahead of him. Landing Bernard would be a huge statement of intent to their Championship rivals.

Leeds United fans, thoughts?

Fulham enquire about the availability of Dennis Praet ahead of a potential move for the Sampdoria midfielder, according to the Daily Mail.

What’s the word?

Fulham have surprised everyone by landing some high-profile stars in this summer’s transfer window.

Jean-Michael Seri and Andre Schurrle are two of six players that have arrived at Craven Cottage.

Aleksandar Mitrovic, Alfie Mawson, Fabricio and Maxime Le Marchand have also been recruited by the Cottagers.

Next on the list seems to be Sampdoria’s Praet, as the Daily Mail reports that an enquiry has been made.

What would Praet provide?

The Belgian midfielder has been part of the Italian club since his 2016 switch from Anderlecht.

In total, the midfielder, who is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, has made 68 appearances for the club.

Last season, Fulham impressed with their positive style of play, and it is a system that Praet can fit into.

Manager Slavisa Jokanovic can play the Belgian either in the centre of the park, slightly further forward or as a left winger.

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Fulham will be playing less league games than when they were in the Championship, but the pressure will be greater as the club try to stay in the Premier League.

Having enough bodies in the squad will help the Cottagers cope with the demand, and Praet is certainly an addition that would be useful.

According to a recent report from Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List, Tottenham have made a move for midfielder Marcelo Brozovic. The 25-year-old currently plays his football in Italy with giants Inter Milan and has done so since 2015, with the midfielder also playing a key part in helping Croatia reach the World Cup final earlier in the summer, although they lost 4-2 to France in the showpiece.

And Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham have reportedly made a €40 million (£36 million) move for the midfielder, and with reports suggesting that they are just £9 million away from meeting his release clause, the North Londoners must seek to up the ante to salvage something from a disappointing summer, and potentially replace wantaway star Mousa Dembele.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, it has been a testing summer for Pochettino’s side given they have so far failed to strengthen their squad, despite being linked with a whole host of names over the course of the close season.

And while no players of note have left the North London outfit this summer, Dembele is one who looks likely to, even if not before the close of the English transfer window at 5pm this evening.

And given just how influential he has been to Spurs in recent seasons, not least in forming a sensational partnership with Victor Wanyama in their run to second place in the Premier League back in the 2016/17 season, Pochettino simply must be prepared to replace him in the last knockings of the transfer window, at the same time salvage something from the summer window.

And £31.5 million-rated Brozovic (as per Transfermarkt) appears to be the ideal man to do just that.

The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine season at Inter last time round in netting four goals and laying on nine assists for the Italian heavyweights in their run to fourth place in Serie A, before backing that up with several fine displays to help his country surprise many by reaching the World Cup final in Russia.

Thus, it seems as though Brozovic is enjoying the best spell of his career and appears to be exactly what Tottenham may need in the middle of the park were Dembele to leave, what with the Croatian equally adept in a more defensive-minded midfield role and indeed an advanced role to underline his suitability in the middle of the park.

Yes, reports suggest that Pochettino’s men are still £9 million away from triggering Brozovic’s release clause, but with the English window shutting earlier than the rest of Europe, and much of the interest in Dembele coming from the continent, the Belgium international still seems likely to leave North London.

As such, Spurs must up the ante in pursuit of Brozovic, not only in a bid to potentially replace Dembele, but also to strike a deal which would go some way to salvaging a disappointing summer for Pochettino’s side.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Fantasy Football has become a huge rage and many fans of the sports are engaging in this activity. While it is not considered a form of gambling, fantasy football leagues do offer payouts and some companies that support the activity will offer great rewards for winners. Fantasy football is a virtual form of managing a team of professional players from the league. Members can choose players and design rosters and can even take part in drafts. All members of real life football leagues are available and those who engage in fantasy football will collect points that are based on the performance of the players they have listed on their roster.

There are two types of fantasy football. Traditional is usually enjoyed by amateurs and the competition can last for the entire season or multiple seasons. There is also daily fantasy football and this involves contests that are for short periods of time, usually one day or one week. There are may companies that offer daily fantasy football action, such as FanDuel and DraftKings and with these, fantasy football fans can actually win money from having the best performing team.

Is Fantasy Football Gambling?

This is a topic of much dispute, especially when it comes to daily fantasy football. Since there are sites that do offer payouts, some consider this to be a form of gambling. However, fantasy football does not involve any skill and it is not a skill based game as other forms of gambling online. For this reason, legally, fantasy football is not considered to be a form of gambling even though there is money to be won.

For an activity to be deemed gambling, there has to be some type of skill involved. Some compare fantasy football to playing poker. Players who enter a poker game will have skills that are used to win. With fantasy football, it all comes down to the performance of real athletes, so there is no skill involved at all by those who manage virtual teams.

Gambling Online vs Fantasy Football

While it is possible to win money with fantasy football, those that are looking to win on a regular basis may be more interested on sports betting or casino games that are offered online. There are hundreds of legal sites that offer real money gambling action and these can provide a way for sports enthusiasts and gamblers to win payouts on a regular basis.

In regards to sports betting, the leading sites online will offer coverage of all major sports, so there will be plenty of ways to place wagers on football games and leagues from all over the world. These sites often have amazing odds and even provide bonuses that can offer free cash to place additional wagers. Online sports books are often found in combination with online casinos, so players can enjoy the best of both betting worlds.

For those that are strictly seeking casino action, there are many amazing sites like Casumo that offer hundreds of titles that support a variety of wagers. Here, players can enjoy themed slot games, thrilling table and card games, specialty games and even live dealer games. As mentioned, some of the top rated casinos in the industry also support sports bets using the same account, so those that like to wager on football and do not wish to get involved with the management of a virtual team like with fantasy football can enjoy the action of the game and benefit from many opportunities to collect real money payouts on a regular basis.