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Report: Chelsea may ask Abraham to play through injury

By Kyle BonnJan 28, 2020, 9:37 PM EST
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Chelsea has so far come up empty in its search for a striker, so desperate times may call for desperate measures.

Tammy Abraham, who has been a revelation this season with 13 Premier League goals, went down with an ankle injury late in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last weekend. The club has tried desperately to find a striker before the Friday transfer window closes, and while the Blues have been linked with Edinson Cavani and Krzysztof Piatek they so far have not had any success in finding a replacement.

Therefore, according to Matt Law of The Telegraph, Chelsea may ask Abraham to play through his injury against Leicester City this weekend. The match is a vital one as Chelsea, sitting fourth in the Premier League table, looks to put separation between themselves and Manchester United while also chasing the third-placed Foxes who sit eight points clear.

The thinking appears to be that Chelsea has a 16-day break between the Leicester City match and their subsequent game against Manchester United in mid-February thanks to the Premier League’s two-week break at the start of the month.

Earlier this month, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted regret for not resting a banged up Marcus Rashford, choosing instead to bring him off the bench in an FA Cup match against Wolves. Reports after the match confirmed that Rashford was carrying a single stress fracture in his back at the time of the appearance, and he was hauled off 16 minutes later with scans after the match showing his appearance against Wolves worsened the injury. He now he faces two to three months on the sidelines.

Abraham has also slowed of late after being so heavily used this season. The 22-year-old has logged a massive 2,359 minutes across all competitions this season, including 1,843 out of a possible 2,160 in Premier League play. Abraham scored his first 11 Premier League goals in his first 14 matches of the season, but has just three goals in the last 10 games.

Chelsea has Michy Batshuayi as a natural replacement for Abraham up top, but Frank Lampard has used him as solely a bench option the entirety of this season. Batshuayi has made 14 Premier League appearances this season, but has logged just 138 minutes across those matches. When used as a starter in cup action, Batshuayi has four goals in four domestic cup starts. Olivier Giroud is also on the roster, having made just five Premier League appearances this season.

Ed Woodward’s house attacked by Man United fans with flares

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By Kyle BonnJan 28, 2020, 8:41 PM EST
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Manchester United has been unable to reclaim the glory of the Sir Alex Ferguson days, and that has Red Devils fans up in arms. CEO Ed Woodward has taken much of the heat, with the executive unable to prevent the squad from degrading in quality and the team consequently has been unable to consistenly challenge for a top-four place, with his financial background not exactly a fit for his player recruitment position.

Some fans seem to have taken their frustration way too far.

A video emerged on social media claiming to show fans shooting flares at Woodward’s private residence, and reports from Sky Sports and The Daily Mirror corroborated that claim. The club then issued a statement condemning the incident.

“Manchester United Football Club have tonight been made aware of the incident outside the home of one of our employees.”We know that the football world will unite behind us as we work with Greater Manchester Police to identify the perpetrators of this unwarranted attack. Anybody found guilty of a criminal offense, or found to be trespassing on this property, will be banned for life by the club and may face prosecution. Fans expressing opinion is one thing, criminal damage and intent to endanger life is another. There is simply no excuse for this.”

The Sky Sports report claims that neither Woodward nor any of his family – particularly his wife and two children – were present in the home at the time of the attack. The Daily Mirror claims upwards of 20 or 30 fans were part of the attack on the house, with the caption “Ed Woodward’s gonna die” with three red circle emojis all in a Snapchat banner. Sky Sports also reports that red paint was sprayed on the gates of the home.

There are also reports of sickening chants during the recent FA Cup win over Tranmere Rovers, with fans singing about burning Woodward and the club owner Malcom Glazer in a bonfire.

Manchester United has reportedly looked to hire a Director of Football in recent months, but has so far stuck with Woodward as the head of recruitment. The squad has

PL Preview: West Ham v. Liverpool

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By Kyle BonnJan 28, 2020, 8:17 PM EST
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  • Liverpool has won 30 of its last 31 Premier League fixtures
  • West Ham is winless in its last 6 PL games against Liverpool
  • The Hammers have just 11 points at home this season, joint-low in the PL

Liverpool can go an obscene 19 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a win over West Ham on Wednesday, with kickoff from London Stadium at 2:45 p.m. ET live on NBCSN or live online at NBCSports.com.

The Reds will be without Sadio Mane who pulled up in the first half of the win over Wolves. The news was positive, but still the argument could easily be made that Mane is the most important player in the Liverpool lineup, and replacing him will give Jurgen Klopp a headache. He could start Divock Origi on the wing in a direct replacement, but Origi is a striker by nature and would make things narrow on the left flank. He could also move Salah to the left and insert Xherdan Shaqiri on the right, but there’s no guarantee that the Swiss international will be fit enough to play.

Still, Liverpool will be massive favorites to build on its winning streak against a West Ham side limping into the match. The Hammers are vulnerable with a long injury list of their own, with just one win since the festive period. Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko, and Jack Wilshere are the most significant of the injured West Ham army, but certainly not the only ones. By the most recent reports, five players will miss the match with another two to be assessed before the match.

The Hammers are only out of the relegation zone thanks to goal differential, and with a brutal upcoming fixture slate that includes another against Liverpool plus games against Man City, Arsenal, Spurs, Wolves, and Chelsea through the end of March, West Ham will have to scrap for every point available.

Injuries/suspensions

West Ham: OUT – Ryan Fredericks (hamstring), Felipe Anderson (back), Andriy Yarmolenko (thigh), Arthur Masuaku (knee), Jack Wilshere (groin). QUESTIONABLE – Robert Snodgrass (knee), Lukasz Fabianski (thigh).

Liverpool: OUT – Sadio Mane (thigh muscle), James Milner (thigh), Nathaniel Clyne (ACL). QUESTIONABLE – Xherdan Shaqiri (calf).

Probable lineups

West Ham: Randolph; Cresswell, Ogbonna, Diop, Zabaleta; Snodgrass, Noble, Rice, Antonio; Lanzini, Haller.

Liverpool: Alisson; Robertson, Gomez, van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold; Henderson, Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Origi, Firmino, Salah.

What they’re saying

West Ham manager on being huge underdogs: “Everybody gets the chance to throw a punch at some point along the line, and sometimes you can get a lucky one. I’ve never gone into any game not expecting to win. Quite often, you don’t always win, but I really do expect the players to go out there, put a show on, and try and win. If that’s won by a set-piece, a flukey goal, I wouldn’t be bothered. That’s been my attitude throughout my whole career: I want to win. We’ll do everything we can to get points where we can.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on how West Ham will play: “It will be a rather defensive line-up [from West Ham]. If it’s four in the back or five in the back, I don’t know, but we have to be ready for a big fight. They want to strike back, they have a tough program coming up, everybody knows that. They have no points to waste, no time to waste.”

Prediction:

Liverpool is without Sadio Mane, and that’s notable in any Premier League match, but against West Ham it shouldn’t matter. The Reds have been utterly unbeatable defensively, and against a West Ham side missing Felipe Anderson, Jack Wilshere, and Arthur Masuaku plus a banged up Robert Snodgrass, an eighth clean sheet in the last nine matches is likely. The Reds put on a clinic in a comprehensive 3-0 victory.

Calhanoglu rescues AC Milan in Coppa Italia quarters

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By Kyle BonnJan 28, 2020, 5:59 PM EST
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Hakan Calhanoglu struggled mightily in the first half of the season, but as AC Milan appears to be picking up the pieces, the 25-year-old Turkish international appears to be front-and-center of the turnaround.

That was on display in the 4-2 Coppa Italia quarterfinal victory over Torino where Calhanoglu proved the hero, scoring the 91st minute equalizer to send the game to extra time before bagging the 106th minute winner.

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Facing a 2-1 deficit and an embarrassing result that would undo an otherwise completely unblemished January slate, Calhanoglu came off the bench in the 82nd minute looking to provide a spark. In stoppage time, he took a cutback from Samu Castillejo to the top of the box and rifled in a deflected effort in stoppage time to prolong the match. Then, in extra time, the former Bayer Leverkusen man was on hand to deliver a fabulous finish on the break from a tight angle, finding the back of the net off the fingertips of Torino goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu who very nearly produced a stunning acrobatic save diving to his left.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic then finished off the game two minutes later, poking home an excellent short-range layoff from substitute Rafael Leao.

While his production in front of net has dipped severely this season, Calhanoglu has still been at the heart of AC Milan’s winter turnaround. His WhoScored ratings have increased sharply since earning consistent scores below a six through September and October, and as a result AC Milan has lost just once in Serie A play since mid-November. The club has risen to eighth in the table, a sharp turnaround from its time spent between 10th and 12th for much of the last three months.

Ada Hegerberg suffers torn ACL

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By Kyle BonnJan 28, 2020, 5:11 PM EST
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2018 Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg announced alongside her club Olympique Lyonnais that she has suffered a torn ACL in her right knee during training.

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The 24-year-old, who sits as the highest scorer in women’s Champions League history, has scored 14 times in Ligue 1 play this season with another nine in Champions League competition. Her league goal haul is second only to the 15 of PSG’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto, while those nine Champions League goals are only topped by a trio of ladies with 10 that includes Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema. Lyon is set to play Bayern Munich on March 25 in the quarterfinals.

“This is a setback for me, but I’m going to work through this with all my heart and my energy,” Hegerberg wrote on her social media platforms. “The best is yet to come. YOU’LL SEE ME SOON!”

Hegerberg made waves when she announced she would not play for the Norweigan national team in protest of the country’s gender gap, and held to her declaration during the 2019 Women’s World Cup as Norway fell to England in the quarterfinals without her.

At 24 years old, Hegerberg is one of the most well-known female players in the world, and has led Lyon to the Champions League title in each of the last four years. Without Hegerberg for the first time this season, Lyon deployed French international Amel Majri up front by herself against Stade de Reims, and she scored twice in the eventual 5-0 win.