We’ve got a pair of podcasts to wrap up a busy, busy week for Premier League clubs in Europe.
Robbie Mustoe and Robbie Earle review the opening fixtures of the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League group stage focusing on Liverpool’s 3-2 win over PSG (0:25), Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Inter Milan (14:00), Manchester United’s 3-0 win at Young Boys (24:25), Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to Lyon (29:30), Chelsea’s win at PAOK (40:30) and Arsenal taking care of business against Vorskla (46:20).
Join Earle & Mustoe on The 2 Robbies Football Show, Saturdays at 5 p.m. ET. Listen on the NBCSports Radio App and call 855-323-4622 in the U.S. for lively passionate debate.
All of the The 2 Robbies content can be accessed by clicking on this link:
Kyle Martino takes a deep dive on a big week for Liverpool which saw the Reds come away with victories against Tottenham and PSG (7:40), a down week for Spurs which saw them lose their third straight after falling 2-1 to Inter (20:20) and whether or not Eden Hazard truly is the best in Europe (30:10).
The African confederation somehow managed to leave Kalidou Koulibaly off its shortlist for African Player of the Year, a head-scratching decision considering the rapidly rising stock of the 27-year-old Senegal international.
The CAF announced its 10-man shortlist for the award early Friday morning, before eventually awarding the distinction to Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah for the second straight year. While Salah is undoubtedly a deserving winner given his goalscoring prowess over the past year and more, a failure to recognize Koulibaly’s presence in the landscape of African footballers is nothing short of embarrassing.
While Koulibaly was left off, Juventus defender Medhi Benatia was on the list, despite proving second-string behind Italians Leonardo Bonucci and Georgio Chiellini. While Koulibaly logged 3,426 minutes in the 2018 calendar year at the heart of Napoli’s defense, Benatia was just utilized for 1,988 minutes. While Koulibaly was an unused substitute just two times the entire 2018 calendar year across all competitions, Benatia has been left on the Juventus bench 14 times this season alone, and 22 times in the 2018 calendar year.
Also acknowledged on the list was Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi, and while the 22-year-old is undoubtedly a rising talent on a large Premier League club and is slowly endearing himself to the fanbase, he has still logged just nine starts in Arsenal’s 16 Premier League matches this season and had just three goals and 11 assists across all competitions in the 2018 calendar year.
In the last year or two, Koulibaly has been regarded as one of the best center-backs in all of Europe, and it has resulted in rumors of an expensive move. The London Evening Standard reports that two bids for Koulibaly from Manchester United have already been rejected, while a third is potentially on its way that would make Koulibaly the most expensive defender in history, passing Liverpool’s capture of Virgil Van Dijk. That move would make sense as Manchester United’s defense has often been the team’s downfall this season, and the club is desperate for a big signing to land major success, with recent expensive captures Fred, Romelu Lukaku, and Paul Pogba all receiving plenty of criticism in their Manchester United tenures so far.
The Evening Standard report says that Koulibaly was on Manchester United’s radar last summer, but the team instead focused on attempts at other defenders, naming Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire and Jerome Boateng as players Manchester United made runs at instead. Manager Jose Mourinho has been extremely open about his disappointment in United’s failure to bolster its central defensive ranks in recent transfer windows, only adding Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly in the last three years.
While Manchester United certainly won’t be deterred by the CAF’s massive error, the egregious miss still degrades the award’s prestige when clearly deserving players are shunned for bigger names in what has creeped ever closer to becoming nothing more than a popularity contest.
Fulham has won 3 of the last 4 games vs West Ham at home
West Ham has not won 4 PL games in a row since 2014
Fulham has gone 20 PL games without a clean sheet, conceding 51 goals in that span
Fulham begins a critical four-game stretch, sitting bottom of the Premier League table and needing points as they host West Ham at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, live on NBC or live online at NBCSports.com.
The Whites’ next four matches see them take on the Hammers, followed by games against Newcastle, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Huddersfield Town. They sit in the basement of the standings, but are just four points from safety. Fulham has secured four points in four matches under new manager Claudio Ranieri, but were also thoroughly beaten by both Chelsea and Manchester United, meaning the games against fellow relegation candidates are becoming more and more critical.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is unavailable after a controversial second yellow card against Manchester United saw him sent for an early shower. Maxime Le Marchand is a big miss for the Whites, out with an undisclosed muscular injury, but that is the extent of their unavailable list as Calum Chambers, Floyd Ayite, Andre Schurrle, and Kevin McDonald are all ready to go, Ranieri confirmed.
Meanwhile, Jack Wilshere will miss his third straight match for West Ham as he recovers from an ankle injury, and Lucas Perez is likely unavailable due to a cut on his foot, but otherwise the Hammers are fully fit as they look for an opportunity to move into the top half of the table.
West Ham was in the bottom third of the table for much of the first few months of the season, but they have climbed to 11th with a run of seven matches that features just one loss. That includes a current three-match winning streak that has seen West Ham drop three relegation candidates in Newcastle, Cardiff City, and Crystal Palace, by a combined 9-3 score. With Fulham up this weekend followed by matches against Watford, Southampton, Burnley, and Brighton, this is the time for the Hammers to pick up a swath of points and brace for a grueling final third of the season.
What they’re saying
Ranieri on Fulham’s lack of a clean sheet this season: “The players are improving a lot with my tactics. It’s normal they need time to understand everything. Sooner or later, we’ll keep a clean sheet – I hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
Pellegrini on playing a team near the bottom: “I said last week, the most stupid thing we can do is to believe that because we are playing against teams near the bottom of the table we will win. We must be very careful, thinking game by game.”
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Prediction
While West Ham is playing well, they will be up against a team that knows this four-game stretch is critical. Still, Fulham’s midfield is a complete mess, and they have lots to work on. The defense is a bad matchup for a Hammers side on a roll in front of net. That run will continue, as West Ham wins 3-1 behind another big attacking performance.
With an incredible 44 goals in 52 games last season, Mohamed Salah was the clear choice for the BBC’s African Player of the Year.
The BBC announced the honor on Friday, with Salah being chosen ahead of Medhi Benatia (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Sadio Mane (Liverpool) and Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid). Salah hasn’t scored quite at the same rate in the second half of 2018, but he’s still managed 13 goals in 25 matches in all competitions. It’s Salah’s second-consecutive year winning the award from the BBC.
“It’s a great feeling to win again. I’m happy and I would like to win it also next year!” Salah said, via the BBC. “There have been many good moments in 2018,” he added. “The game against Roma at Anfield [Champions League semi-final first leg] was unbelievable. I’m scoring goals and helping the team to get the points to be top of the league. That’s always a great feeling.”
Even without Salah scoring nearly a goal a game, he’s helped his side to the top of the Premier League thanks to improved defensive performances.
In addition to his goalscoring for Liverpool, Salah scored the game-winning penalty kick in 2017 to put Egypt into the 2018 World Cup and although the Pharaohs were unable to get out of their group, Salah scored both of his nation’s goals.
Even with the strong work from the other players on the short-list, it will take a lot to unseat Salah for the 2019 award as well. As long as Salah continues scoring at his current rate and Liverpool finishes in the top two in the Premier League – as well as making a deep Champions League run – it’s Salah’s to lose again.
Spurs have lost only one of their eight PL matches against Burnley, with that defeat coming back in May 2010 under Harry Redknapp.
Mauricio Pochettino‘s side is yet to draw a PL match this term, despite playing 16 fixtures. Only Manchester United, with 17 matches in 2012/13, and Bolton Wanderers, with 18 matches in 2011/12, have had longer runs without a draw from the start of a season.
Burnley is looking for its first away win against Spurs in any competition since January 1983, when Burnley triumphed 4-1 in a League Cup quarter-final.
Tottenham looks to carry on the momentum from its unlikely draw at Barcelona securing UEFA Champions League survival as it welcomes Burnley to Wembley Stadium, Saturday (Watch live at 10:00 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com).
Despite the defeat at Arsenal, Tottenham are in decent form, and with a win against Burnley, it would be Tottenham’s sixth in the club’s last seven games. On the other side, Burnley sit just two points above the relegation zone, making it crucial they come away from Wembley Stadium with at least a point as they look to survive the busy holiday season. Burnley finally got out of the relegation zone last week with a win over Brighton and Hove Albion and are looking to build on that momentum.
Tottenham does have several injury concerns, with Serge Aurier (groin), Mousa Dembele (ankle), Victor Wanyama (knee), Kieran Trippier (groin), Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth (both hamstring) all needing to be assessed. For Burnley, manager Sean Dyche will only have to worry about Johann Berg Gudmundsson (hamstring) and Steven Defour (calf), who both have fitness tests ahead.
What they’re saying
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino on facing Burnley: “We need to play against Burnley like we played against Barcelona, that’s the challenge. The way we are going to approach the game will be key. We need to take the game in the same way as Barcelona with the same motivation, the same energy. The three points we need to win are as important as against Barcelona or any other team.I am more motivated to play against Burnley than the previous games because we are trying to reduce the distance between Liverpool and Manchester City. We are going to play for three very important points. To be in the top four of the Premier League and to keep that position is a massive motivation. It’s such an important game.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche on facing a big side in Tottenham: “Tottenham are having a fine start to the season and they had a great result the other night. I really like the way they go about their business. Their manager plays direct football but in a passing style, if they can get out quickly then they do. They’re effective. They don’t keep the ball for the sake of it. They keep the ball but try and penetrate and with that they are an effective side. We go down there with a bit more freedom, the expectation changes. Last week against Brighton when there is really heavy expectation for us to get a result.
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Prediction
Tottenham is on a high after Tuesday’s heroics and while it can be difficult to face a team farther down in the table, this experience side knows that Burnley is no pushover. That being said, the quality of Tottenham should help the club see this through. Tottenham 2-1 Burnley
