muses football - England

Manchester City v Leicester City Preview: Shakespeare in awe of Guardiola

Craig Shakespeare will stand in the technical area alongside Pep Guardiola tomorrow as his illustrious Manchester City counterpart's equal.

However, the Leicester City boss says he is still in awe of the man who led Barcelona and Bayern Munich to title after title.

Shakespeare may have picked up more points in his short, ten-game managerial career than City have under Guardiola, but while the Spaniard hasn't brought the immediate success he enjoyed at the Camp Nou and the Allianz Arena, Shakespeare believes it is only a matter of time before there is more silverware arriving at the Etihad.

"I have watched from afar when he was at Barcelona, in awe sometimes at how he went about things," said Shakespeare.

Manchester City lost December’s reverse fixture 4-2 and six months later the jury remains out on Pep Guardiola as they continue to fight for a Champions League berth. The Catalan believes Leicester will again try and counter-attack but he will also have known that in the pre-Christmas game. It did not allow his men to stymie Leicester then, so the hope will be that Vincent Kompany’s recent return can make a difference as he was missing for that last meeting. Jamie Jackson

Kick-off Saturday 12.30pm Venue Etihad Stadium

Last season Manchester City 1 Leicester City 3

Live Sky Sports 1

Referee Robert Madley

This season G28, Y115, R2, 4.25 cards per game

Odds H 2-7 A 11-1 D 5-1

Manchester City

Subs from Gunn, Adarabioyo, Iheanacho, Delph, Fernando, Kolarov, Nolito, Zabaleta, Sagna, Agüero, Stones, Navas

Doubtful Silva (match fitness)

Injured Bravo (calf, unknown), Gündogan (knee, unknown)

Suspended None

Form LWWDDW

Discipline Y65 R4

Leading scorer Agüero 18

Leicester City

Subs from Zieler, Hamer, Ulloa, King, Chilwell, Gray, Slimani, Musa, Kapustka, Wasilewski

Doubtful Huth (foot)

Injured Morgan (hamstring, 18 May), Mendy (ankle, Jul), Drinkwater (thigh), Wague (shoulder, both unknown)

Suspended None

Form WLDLWW

Discipline Y62 R1

Leading scorer Vardy 12

Man City vs Leicester: Preview and Predictions

Manchester City vs Leicester City
English Premier League
Date: Saturday, 13th May 2017
Kick off at 12:30 UK/13:30 CET
Venue: Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City hosts current champions Leicester City in a crucial encounter. Leicester have nothing really to play for apart from their pride while the hosts are in need of the points to keep their lead over Arsenal in the battle for UEFA Champions League spot.

Manchester City were looking like a team with a certain place in the top 4 but now they are just 3 points ahead of Arsenal. There is no more room for mistakes until the end of the season and the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s boys is huge. They failed in all of the cup competitions they played and losing the top 4 place would be a huge disaster.

At the moment, the Citizens looks in decent form and is undefeated in 5 games. Still the draw against Middlesbrough raised some eyebrows. At Etihad City have lost just a single game for the whole season and the defeat came against leaders and most probable new champions Chelsea. Last round the team got a crucial win over Crystal Palace with the impressive 5-0 full time score.

Leicester City despite winning the league were headed to relegation at some point of this season. The change of their manager Ranieri with Shakespeare proved to be an outstanding decision.

Shakespeare lifted the team making 5 victories in a row and reaching the quarters of the Champions league after eliminating Sevilla. Leicester come into this game with 2 victories in a row. The Foxes toiled hard to take away a minimal away victory against West Brom followed by an impressive 3-0 home win versus Watford. Ndidi, Mahrez and Albrighton ensured the comfortable margin after huge mistakes from Watford defensive line.

Manchester City vs Leicester City: Head to head

In terms of direct clashes Manchester City have 5 wins, Leicester 2 and the draws are 3 in their last 10 games.

Both of the last 2 game finished in favour of Leicester City.

In 7 of those games both teams managed to find the net.

Manchester City vs Leicester City: Prediction

Manchester City need the points and they will try to get a lead from the off. Guardiala’s teams usually go on attack dominating the game and trying to break the other team defensive line. This leaves them vulnerable to Leicester City fast and technically gifted offensive players which can exploit the given space.

Orlando Pride Aim to Take Down Undefeated Courage Sunday at Orlando City Stadium

Orlando Pride (0-2-2, 4 points) returns to Orlando City Stadium for the first time in three weeks when it hosts league-leading North Carolina Courage (4-0-0, 12 points) on Sunday evening. The Pride will be looking to hand the Courage their first loss of the season when the match kicks off at 5 p.m. ET.

Sunday’s match will be streamed live on go90.com or on the go90 app. International viewers can watch at nwslsoccer.com.

“It’s always exciting to come back home. It’s been a difficult start with five of our first seven games away from home. So, it is good to come home and be playing a team that’s top of the league,” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “[The Courage] play things early; they play things forward quickly; they’re very competitive. The key is to effectively nullify how they play, to the extent that we are then able to play how we play. If we can do that, then play our game, we should be able to get the result.”

Orlando and North Carolina met for the first time just two weeks ago when the Pride traveled to WakeMed Soccer Park. NC’s Jessica MacDonald scored the game’s opening goal in the sixth minute on a quick rebound. But Camila responded for the Pride, curling in a shot from the top of the box in the 27th minute. That goal, Camila’s first of her NWSL career, went on to win Week 3 Goal of the Week.

However, a handball in the box allowed Sam Mewis to score what proved to be the game-winner in the 33rd minute and Lynn Williams added another to give the Courage a 3-1 advantage.

The two clubs faced each other twice in 2016 when the Courage were the Rochester-based Western New York Flash, splitting the season series with a home win apiece.

Sunday’s match marks the Pride’s second-ever match in Orlando City Stadium after opening the new venue with a 1-1 draw against Washington on April 22. With the home crowd behind them, the Pride will seek their first win of the season.  

Orlando enters the match following a 1-1 draw with FC Kansas City on Sunday. Marta put the Pride ahead in the 73rd minute with her first goal in purple, but a scramble in the box following a set piece led to an Erika Tymrak goal and one point for each team.

The Courage picked up its fourth straight win that same day, with MacDonald scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 win at Boston in a battle of the league’s first- and second-place teams.

After picking up her first NWSL goal on Sunday, Marta has already become one of the league’s biggest offensive threats despite only having 211 total minutes so far this season. The Brazilian forward currently leads the league in chances created from open play (10) and is third in touches in the opponent’s box (27).

North Carolina’s MacDonald ranks second in chances created and, in her last game, became the NWSL’s all-time leading goalscorer with her 32nd-minute game-winner.

Storylines | Orlando City vs. Sporting KC

1 - Three Points Apiece

Orlando City and Sporting KC have split the all-time series with a home win apiece. On Sept. 13, 2015, Orlando City defeated Kansas City, 3-1, at home with help from an Adrian Winter brace and Bryan Róchez’s first career goal. The win kicked off City’s five-game winning streak, which is the longest such streak in the Club’s MLS era. 

Then on May 15, 2016, the Lions traveled to Children’s Mercy Park and grabbed the opening goal but fell, 2-1. Joe Bendik set the franchise single-game saves record with 10 and earned MLS Save of the Year for his back-to-back stops on Dom Dwyer and Graham Zusi. 

2 - There’s No Place Like Home

Orlando City set an MLS record when the Lions beat LA Galaxy 2-1 at home to become the first MLS team to open up a new stadium with four straight wins. Orlando City extended that record with a 2-0 defeat over Colorado. In five games at home this season, Orlando City has scored eight goals while conceding just two and has earned three clean sheets. Sporting KC, meanwhile, is just 1-2-2 away from home. 

3 - Sutter-Day Birthday

Scott Sutter is celebrating his 31st birthday on Saturday. Sutter has played every minute since making his Orlando City debut in Columbus on April 1. The English-born right back has two assists and has contributed to two of City’s three clean sheets this season. Sutter made the MLS Team of the Week bench in Week 9 after City’s 2-0 win over Colorado. 

Also celebrating a birthday this week was José Aja, who turned 24 on Wednesday. 

4 - Floridian Connection

Orlando City and Sporting Kansas City share several personnel connections. Servando Carrasco played nine games with Kansas City in 2015 before being acquired via trade in July 2015. Orlando City goalkeeper coach Tim Mulqueen is also familiar with Kansas City, having served as goalkeeper coach for the Wizards from 2000 to 2004. Additionally, Sporting KC mid elder Graham Zusi is from Longwood, Fla., and graduated from Lake Brantley HS. 

5 - Memory Lane

In addition to the shared personnel, Orlando City and Sporting Kansas City also share a club connection. In January 2013, City and Sporting entered into two-year partnership, making Orlando City the of cial USL PRO affiliate of SKC. The agreement brought players such as C.J. Sapong, Jon Kempin and Dom Dwyer to the City Beautiful and set the Lions up for the most successful year in Club history. 

City finished 2013 in second place, one point behind rst- place Richmond and nine points clear of third. The Lions routed Pittsburgh, 5-0, in the first round of the playoffs, and defeated Charleston to reach their second Final in three years. Dwyer returned on loan to Orlando for the title game and etched his name into Club history with four goals to capture the championship. Dwyer is unavailable for Saturday’s match due to yellow card accumulation. 

6 - For Club And Country

Orlando City will be without defender Tommy Redding, who was called up to the U.S. U-20 national team ahead of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic. The Oviedo, Fla., native has earned 15 caps for the U-20s and captained the squad at the 2016 Four Nations tournament in Manchester, England. 

Redding has made six starts among seven appearances for Orlando City in 2017 and has contributed to two clean sheets. Redding has started 23 matches for the Lions since making his debut on Aug. 8, 2015. Redding became Orlando City’s first Homegrown signing in March 2014. 

7 - First To Five

Toronto FC put together a five-game winning streak with its 2-1 win over Columbus Wednesday, which is the first streak since Orlando City’s five-game winning streak from September to October of 2015. The Lions made a fervent push for the playoffs in their inaugural season, beginning the streak with a 3-1 win over Sporting KC and then over the Chicago Fire, NY Red Bulls, Montreal Impact and NYCFC. 

Chicago Fire vs. Seattle Sounders | 2017 MLS Match Preview

Chicago Fire vs. Seattle Sounders
2017 MLS Regular Season
Toyota Park – Bridgeview, Ill.
Saturday, May 13 – 9:00 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN2 in the US, MLS LIVE in Canada

Not many would’ve circled this match on their calendars before the season began, but the signing of Bastian Schweinsteiger and a promising start by the Fire, a post-MLS Cup hangover in Seattle and a savvy move to put the match on ESPN2 make Saturday’s contest between Chicago and the Sounders at Toyota Park plenty interesting.

The Fire enter Saturday’s match after failing to pick up a win on their tough three-game road trip. Chicago did manage a point last week at LA, taking an early 2-0 lead before conceding twice to tie the Galaxy 2-2 at StubHub Center. A result in Southern California is never bad, but the way that the Fire drew on Saturday – they gave up a pair of set piece goals to let LA back in the game – was cause for some frustration.

“Maybe we thought the game was done,” Schweinsteiger said after the match. “We spoke about it on halftime. That was not the case. We didn’t find the free man, we rushed, we lost the ball too easy, then you lose a little bit of the control of the game.”

There’s even more consternation in Seattle’s camp. The Sounders dropped their last match 1-0 against a shorthanded Toronto team on Saturday to end their two-game homestand with just one point. It was a familiar story for Seattle, who held 63 percent of possession and generated chances but couldn’t hit the back of the net.

“[We’re missing] the final pass, the final movement, a little bit of luck, a little bit more desire to get in the box and make stuff happen,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said after the Toronto loss. “Guys have to make plays. We as a staff have to make sure we put our players in good position so they can make plays.

“Overall, there’s a lot of frustration in that locker room. We’re tired of that same storyline of extended possession, getting a bunch of chances. That storyline is growing old very fast.”

Chicago Fire

After three weeks on the road, it’s back to the friendly confines of Toyota Park for the Fire. Chicago have been very solid at home this season, posting an unbeaten 3-0-1 record in Bridgeview, recording three shutouts and outscoring their opponents 8-2 in their four home contests.

Designated Player striker Nemanja Nikolic has been particularly deadly at home, scoring four goals in his four matches at Toyota Park. The Hungarian, who found the back of the net in last week’s draw at LA, will look to keep going against Seattle, who are 1-2-2 away from CenturyLink Field in 2017.

• Suspended: None
• Int’l Duty: None
• Injuries: OUT - M John Goossens (right ankle surgery); QUESTIONABLE - M Matt Polster (right hip flexor)

Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Jorge Bava – Drew Conner, Johan Kappelhof, Joao Meira, Brandon Vincent – Dax McCarty, Juninho – Luis Solignac, Bastian Schweinsteiger, David Accam – Nemanja Nikolic

Seattle Sounders

Just when you think the Sounders have grabbed some momentum, they come crashing back to earth. It looked like the tide had turned for Seattle in their 3-0 demolition of LA on April 23, then they fell into a 3-0 hole at home against New England on April 29. They clawed their way back against the Revs to dramatically draw 3-3, but couldn’t maintain that good feeling on Saturday, losing 1-0 to a Toronto team that rested Sebastian Giovinco after playing in Ontario three days earlier.

The Sounders have a chance to make a strong response against a solid Fire team, but overcoming Chicago at Toyota Park – where the Fire are unbeaten this year – won’t be easy. The Sounders will need to be more clinical in front of net against the Fire, who have only allowed two goals in their four home matches this season.

• Suspended: None
• Int’l Duty: None
• Injuries: OUT - D Nouhou Tolo (left shoulder dislocation); QUESTIONABLE - D Oniel Fisher (hamstring), D Chad Marshall (lower back pain), M Aaron Kovar (groin) 

Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Stefan Frei – Brad Evans, Roman Torres, Gustav Svensson, Joevin Jones – Ozzie Alonso, Cristian Roldan – Nicolas Lodeiro, Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris – Will Bruin

All-Time Series

• Overall: Chicago 1 win (8 goals), Seattle 7 wins (14 goals), 3 draws
• At Chicago: Chicago 1 win (5 goals), Seattle 3 wins (7 goals), 2 draws

Referees

Referee: Nima Saghafi
Assistant Referees: Jason White, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Alejandro Mariscal

New England Revolution vs. Real Salt Lake | 2017 MLS Match Preview

New England Revolution vs. Real Salt Lake
2017 MLS Regular Season
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Mass.
Saturday, May 13 - 7:30 p.m. ET
WATCH: MLS LIVE

Four weeks ago, the New England Revolution looked like they were building some momentum. They'd won two and drawn one in their previous three, the attack seemed to be coming together, and the new-look backline was holding up reasonably well. They've gone 0-2-3 in the five games since, including a dispiriting 2-0 loss at Columbus this past weekend, and are all the way down in ninth place (2-4-4, 10 points) in the Eastern Conference.

They're now embarking upon something of an early, do-or-die portion of the schedule with four of the next six at home. If things don't start coming together, the margin of error this summer will shrink considerably.

Real Salt Lake might already be at that spot. After a good two-game start under new boss Mike Petke they've dropped three straight, conceding three times in each. DP attacker Joao Plata was benched, the defense is still a mix-and-match adventure because of injuries and now the international absence of Justen Glad (US U-20 national team), and RSL are down to 10th place in the West (2-6-2, 8 points)

New England

The Revs have just not been able to put together a complete 90 minutes on both sides of the ball this year, but the defense has become especially problematic of late. Neither new acquisition, Antonio Mlinar Delamea and Benjamin Angoua, has been a dominant presence, and defensive midfielder Xavier Kouassi has alternated encouraging performances with occasional recklessness in possession that's been costly.

At times the attack has been good enough to carry them to a point or three, but even that has a habit of going AWOL as Jay Heaps has had to tinker with lineups and roles. Kelyn Rowe has spent more time at left back than in the midfield recently, Lee Nguyen has swapped second forward for midfield playmaker and back again, and Kei Kamara has been in and out of the lineup for various reasons.

• Suspended: None.
• International Duty: None.
• Injury report: none

Probable Starting XI (4-4-2 diamond): Cody Cropper (GK) - Andrew Farrell, Antonio Mlinar Delamea, Joshua Smith, Kelyn Rowe - Xavier Kouassi, Diego Fagundez, Scott Caldwell, Lee Nguyen - Kei Kamara, Juan Agudelo

Notes:The Revolution have only won one of their last nine regular season games against RSL (6L-2D). They have kept consecutive clean sheets against RSL (1W-1D), but had conceded 18 goals in the previous seven games.

Real Salt Lake

Things went from bad on the road at Sporting KC in Week 9 to worse at home against FC Dallas in Week 10. RSL just weren't competitive with two of the best teams in the league, lacking answers up top, in the midfield and on the backline, while backup goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel struggled to fill Nick Rimando's shoes.

With four of six on the road, things are about to get even tougher, especially since they'll be without Glad, Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo, all three of whom were named to the US roster for the U-20 World Cup. Glad, who's been recovering from an injury suffered back in February, had yet to play this year. But Lennon has been one of this season's few bright spots and Saucedo had his best MLS performance last week against Dallas.

The good news is that help arrived this week in the form of Venezuelan winger Jefferson Savarino, who was signed as a young DP after starring for club and country. How he fits – and if he plays immediately – both remain to be seen, but it's clear RSL aren't going to stand pat as their season starts to get away from them.

• Suspensions: None
• Int’l Duty: Justen Glad, Brooks Lennon, Sebastian Saucedo (U-20 World Cup), Danilo Acosta (U-20 alternate)
• Injury Report: OUT: F - Chad Barrett (knee surgery, 4-6 months); OUT: D - David Horst (knee surgery, 6-8 weeks); QUESTIONABLE: M - Jordan Allen (right quad strain); QUESTIONABLE: D - Tony Beltran (back injury) QUESTIONABLE: GK - Nick Rimando (hamstring injury) QUESTIONABLE: M - Kyle Beckerman (calf strain)

Projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Matt Van Oekel – Chris Wingert, Aaron Maund, Chris Schuler, Demar Phillips – Stephen Sunday, Luke Mulholland – Jefferson Savarino, Albert Rusnak, Joao Plata – Yura Movsisyan

Notes: RSL have missed 11 ‘big chances’ so far this year, the second-most of any MLS team ... RSL have lost three straight league games. That last happened from October 14-25, 2015. They have not lost four straight regular-season games since the 2011 season (September 25-October 6).

All-Time Series

• Overall: New England 8 wins, 25 goals; RSL 9 wins, 34 goals; 5 draws
• In New England: New England 3 wins, 16 goals; RSL 4 wins, 13 goals; 2 draws.

Officials

• Referee: Hilario Grajeda
• AR1: Adam Garner
• AR2: Kevin Klinger
• Fourth official: Geoff Gamble

muses fitness