All articles by: Jools Jordan-Probert

Hull vs Sunderland – Match Preview

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Hull v Sunderland – Match Preview
FA Premier League, KCom Stadium, Hull 3pm

Hull will be looking to utilise their relegation-defying home form under Marco Silva to best already relegated Sunderland in a vital end-of-season clash at the KCOM Stadium.

Hull are in 17th and currently have a slender two point advantage on 18th place Swansea. With just 3 games remaining a win would be in what has turned out to be an absolutely nail-biting climax in the bid to avoid the drop.

Hull have reincarnated as a completely different team since the arrival of Marco Silva and have given themselves an almost unthinkable chance to avoid immediately returning to The Championship – in the first year after being promoted via the play-offs. The home form has been particularly impressive, winning 8 and drawing 1 of the 9 games played there since the Portuguese manager took over.

Sunderland on the other hand had their own relegation confirmed with last week’s defeat against Bournemouth. The Black Cats have been woeful this season, especially since the turn of the year and will see their 10th consecutive season in the Premier League as their last – at least for now.

Relegation had long been coming for the North-East club and despite various dramatic escapes in the latter stages of seasons previously, this year the lack of quality on the pitch has been telling. Sunderland have won just once in their last 17 Premier League matches and picked up just 8 points from a possible 51 in that time.

Manager David Moyes has said he plans to stay with the club and attempt to regain a spot in England’s top division as soon as possible.

Team News
Paddy McNair and Duncan Watmore are both long-term absentees and won’t feature for Sunderland, but David Moyes has said he will play his strongest team possible despite already being assured of relegation. To do so he will also be welcoming back Seb Larsson from suspension and Jack Rodwell, Darron Gibson, Steven Pienaar, Jason Denayer and Lee Cattermole from injury.

Hull have no new fitness concerns but Ryan Mason has been back in training this week after a horrendous head injury but isn’t likely to feature. Moses Odubajo and Will Keane will not be available.

Harry Maguire has been key to Hull's recent form

Harry Maguire has been key to Hull’s recent form Photo Credit: skysports.com

Players to watch
Harry Maguire has been earning plaudits all season for his resilience at centre-back. Commanding, vigilant and with a superb timing of tackle, Maguire has had some debating international recognition by means of a first call up to the England squad for his excellent form. Especially under Marco Silva, his partnership with January recruit Andrea Ranocchia has been key to Hull tightening the defence and making it harder for teams to break The Tigers down. His battle with Sunderland key man Defoe will be a real highlight of the encounter.

Will Jermain Defoe stay at Sunderland next season?

Will Jermain Defoe stay at Sunderland next season? Photo Credit: skysports.com

For two years people have been asking: ‘Where would Sunderland be without Jermaine Defoe?’ However unfortunately for the Mackems, that answer is now the same place as they are with him – going down to The Championship. Nonetheless, it cannot be argued that his 14 Premier League goals have contributed to the relegation not being confirmed a lot sooner. At age 34 the striker seems as sharp as ever and his eye for goal has, if anything, increased in his later days – as proven by scoring on his international recall this season for England. Hull will know that giving Defoe space will prove costly. Currently on a long goalless run, Defoe has scored 4 in his last 5 appearances against The Tigers so will hope to rectify that on Saturday.

Hull have only ever won once against Sunderland in the Premier League, and never scored more than the solitary goal in those 4 matches.
Additionally, The Tigers are the only team in the whole division who haven’t netted against The Black Cats this campaign.

Similarly, Sunderland have only been victorious against Hull in one of their last five attempts – that being the reverse fixture from this season (3-0).
To compound their misery, if Sunderland remain at the foot of the table (which looks likely) then they will have spent a combined 261 days in the relegation zone – joint 5th highest in Premier League history.

 

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Manchester City v Manchester United Match Preview

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Manchester City v Manchester United Match Preview – 27th April 2017 
FA Premier League, Etihad Stadium, Manchester 8pm

 

The Manchester Derby has added importance as both the red and the blue of the city contest for a Champions League place.

Both Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are in their first season as managers of their respective clubs and have experienced underwhelming campaigns thus far.

Beaten 2-1 in extra-time in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal; City will now end the season trophy-less – this will be the first time a team managed by Guardiola will have done so. There were massive expectations when the ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager came to the club but after a strong start, winning the first 10 games in all competitions, inconsistency has been costly.

Manchester United are currently on a 23 game unbeaten streak in the league and avoiding defeat will equal the club’s record of 24. Despite this; United’s 2016/17 has been blighted by notorious home draws. Mourinho’s side have claimed silverware though; the Portuguese manager’s fourth EFL Cup after defeating Southampton 3-2 in a thrilling final. United are also still competing in the Europa League with a semi-final clash against Spanish outfit Celta Vigo next week and could claim a Champions League spot through the avenue of winning the tournament.

Chelsea and Spurs are in a seemingly two-horse race for the title, leaving any two from City, Liverpool, United and Arsenal to battle for the remaining Champions League places.

The Red Devils are currently in 5th place on 63 points, a point behind City in 4th place and three behind Liverpool in 3rd – however both Manchester sides have played 32 games, two less than the Merseysiders. Arsenal are further back in 7th but with three games in hand on 6th place Everton and are still expected to challenge until the end.

Marcus Rashford will lead the line against rivals Man City

Marcus Rashford will lead the line against rivals Man City Photo Credit: eurosport.com

Players to Watch
This fixture last year was decided by a well-taken Marcus Rashford goal as the Red Devils came away with the spoils in a 1-0 victory. This season the forward hasn’t quite reached the same heights in terms of goal-scoring but the England international is a constant threat with his pace, direct play and ability to glide past opposition defenders. In the 2-0 victory over Chelsea recently; Rashford played brilliantly – capping his performance with a goal and more than justified Mourinho’s faith in starting him. More of the same will have the City defence fearful.

Man City captain Kompany will look to keep Rashford quiet in the Derby

Man City captain Kompany will look to keep Rashford quiet in the Derby

There is no player currently at Manchester City who is missed more in absence than Vincent Kompany. The Belgian central defender is a captain who leads by example on the pitch and irreplaceable when not plagued by unfortunate injuries. He has a mixed history against City’s local rivals, involving everything from scoring to being sent off – but after his latest return from injury is undoubtedly a key player in repressing United attacks and dragging City over the line in a battle.

Team News
Manchester City are fearful that star man Sergio Aguero will be unavailable after being substituted with a knock in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday after opening the scoring. David Silva who is pivotal for City, was also substituted in that same match and is a doubt. John Stones, Fernandinho, and Bacary Sagna are all battling for fitness too. The positive news is that Gabriel Jesus will be looking for his first Premier League appearance since breaking a bone in his foot after a hurricane start to life in English football.

Paul Pogba is a doubt after being forced off in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Burnley. Both Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be big misses after United confirmed the pair are out for the season with knee ligament damage. Additionally, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Juan Mata are all still out with their respective long-term injuries.

 

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Bournemouth v Middlesbrough – Match Preview

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Bournemouth v Middlesbrough – Match Preview – 22nd April 2017
FA Premier League, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth 3pm

 

The Vitality Stadium hosts a huge relegation battle as Middlesbrough travel to Bournemouth with both teams looking to end their recent horrid form.

Relegation is a very serious prospect for Middlesbrough. They currently find themselves in the relegation zone in 19th, 6 points adrift from safety and Hull in 17th.
Removing manager Aitor Karanka and replacing him with coach Steve Agnew hasn’t provided the North-East side with the desired immediate reaction and they have not won in 15 league games.

Boro have only conceded 39 goals, less than teams such as Arsenal and Liverpool. However, the issue is unquestionably the side’s inability to score goals; they are the league’s lowest scorers this season having found the net just 23 times.

In fact, the two goals Boro scored against Hull in their last away match was more than in the previous 8 on their travels combined.
Only four players have netted more than once in the whole side and without top scorer Alvaro Negredo (who only has 8 himself) the team have only managed a dire 14 goals. A win is desperately needed against an out-of-form Bournemouth team to put pressure on Swansea and Hull and reclaim hope of escaping.

Alvaro Negredo is Middlesbrough's top scorer

Alvaro Negredo is Middlesbrough’s top scorer

The Cherries will feel a victory will see them safe, they are one place above Hull in 16th but have a 7-point cushion from Swansea in the relegation zone. A win would take them to 38 points with just 4 games remaining.

The job of securing Premier League safety seemed likely to happen a lot sooner for Eddie Howe’s men, but an awful run that has seen them win just twice on 13 matches has plummeted the Southern side back towards the danger zone.

If scoring goals is Boro’s problem, its keeping them out that is Bournemouth’s. They have only kept a clean sheet in one of their last 8 home matches too (against Swansea), conceding more than 2 goals in each of the other 7 in the process.

Team News 
Bournemouth’s biggest news is that on-loan Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a hairline fracture in his leg in the defeat against Spurs.
Callum Wilson, Andrew Surman, Rhoys Wiggins and goalkeeper Adam Federici all are recovering from knee injuries.
Midfielder Dan Gosling’s knee injury also means he is a doubt.

Key players Victor Valdes and Grant Leadbitter are definitely out for Middlesbrough while Rudy Gestede and Fabio are both doubts. Arsenal loanee Callum Chambers was ineligible to face his former side Monday and had sustained a foot injury but should be fit to play this time around.

Player to Watch
Despite the Cherries’ troubles, Joshua King has had a brilliant season; particularly since the turn of the year. The Norwegian international has 13 goals in the league this campaign with a huge 10 of them coming in 2017 – only the two top scorers in the entire league, Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku, have more in that time. The 25-year-old has seen a position change to a more central striker role and is reaping the rewards, scoring against such teams as Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton in recent games.

Joshua King has been in fine form in 2017

Joshua King has been in fine form in 2017

Bournemouth are one of only two possible sides Middlesbrough could do the double over this season – the other being Sunderland. This highlights the struggles Agnew’s men.

Boro will be up against it too, as they have never beaten The Cherries away from home in the league. Only one of Boro’s last 29 away Premier League games against anyone has resulted in a win, against Sunderland in August 2016.

Rudy Gestede is currently on a massive 43 match run without a win in the Premier League. In fact, his only victory in the division came against Bournemouth for Villa – also in August 2016, where he scored the winner.

 

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