Salah returns and shutters Manchester City’s hopes

The two clubs met in the second leg of the clash where Manchester City were hopeful of not cutting down the 3-0 deficit from the first but also to turn around the tie into their favor and qualify to the next round. People were interested in finding out if Salah was going to start the match or not after picking up a groin injury in the first leg of this clash. It was a relief for the Liverpool fans when they heard that their start man was available for contention. Pep Guardiola made changes to the team that played the away leg as he introduced Raheem Sterling and Laporte back to the squad ahead of Gundogan and Kompany. The shocking omission was Aguero who was benched for Jesus in an attacking team filled with pacey forwards. The match kicked off with high expectations on both teams to produce an amazing performance.  Manchester City was off to a good start as they dispossessed Van Dijk and Sterling fed Jesus to score the first. It was 1-0 after 3 minutes and Liverpool were definitely parking. Manchester City dominated the first half and created many chances that should have hit the back of the net. Bernardo Silva hit the post once and Sane put the ball into the net but the ball was controversially ruled offside. City really felt hard done in a match that was intense and saw the referee producing about 5 yellow cards and saw Pep Guardiola being sent to the stands for his outrageous reaction at half-time. Arteta was under pressure as he was the man-in charge and Liverpool scored an equalizer through Salah after Mane’s brilliant run. The Manchester club had a mountain to climb as they needed to score 4 more goals to qualify. Aguero was introduced at the expense of David Silva but the damage was done. The match ended 2-1 to Liverpool after Firmino scored the second on the 77th minute which means that Liverpool are through to the semifinals with a 5-1 aggregate score. The Egyptian has once again made the difference in a big match as he scored a killer blow. It has been a while since Africa had a player that would contend for the Ballon d’Or. Mo Salah is a contender this year. What’s your take?

In other news, Barcelona were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after losing 3-0 to Roma away from home. Roma had scored an away goal in their first leg where they lost 4-1. The scorers on this day were De Rossi, Dzeko and Manolas. Roma had enough to eliminate Barcelona by overturning a 3-0 deficit for the first time in the history of the UEFA Champions League.

Torres to leave Atletico at the end of the current campaign

Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres has confirmed that he will be leaving the club at the end of this season. The striker rejoined Atletico Madrid in 2015 after playing for Liverpool and Chelsea in the English Premier League. The player was an instant hit at the Merseyside club before moving to Chelsea as he scored 65 goals in 102 league appearances. By the time he joined Chelsea, the player was already suffering from an injury which kept him out for some time before returning to the first team fold. Eventually, he made his way back to feature for his club but he was never the same player again. Torres struggled to replicate his form from his old club and it was evident that he was a 50m flop added to the list of big money strikers that moved to Chelsea and failed to make it. Fernando Torres finally got his wishes of returning to his boyhood club Atletico in 2015 and he could not miss it. He was called back by the coach, Diego Simeone, whom he had played with during his first stint at the club. This move saw the resurgence of a player who became important for the club especially in crucial games like the Madrid derby and against Barcelona as well where he scored a number of goals that terrorized the opponents. ‘El Nino’ as he is nicknamed, has amassed 92 goals so far for Atletico Madrid in both stints. He has seen limited opportunities at his club of his dreams especially after the club brought back another prodigal son in Diego Costa who had left for Chelsea. Torres vowed that he will still be playing football next season but it will not be in Atletico colors. The player still feels good and wants to contribute more than what he is doing in Atletico. Whom do you think needs a striker like him in the summer?

Allardyce to meet with a frustrated Rooney

Former England and Manchester United captain, Wayne Rooney was furious at his boss for taking him out of the match between Everton and Liverpool on the 57th minute. The striker-turned-midfielder is used to being the focal point of the team and did not expect Sam Allardyce to sub him off the pitch especially in the Merseyside derby which is every club fan’s joy to play in. Sam Allardyce made comments in the post-match commentary box and he said that no player is too big to be subbed off. The coach, however, defended his decision saying that it was for the best of the team and that Everton became more attacking and created more opportunities to score, but Rooney could have been that man to score those goals. The former England international has seen a reduced number of minutes ever since Allardyce took over from Koeman. This is even after their record signing picked up an injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Allardyce is quoted to have said this to talkSPORT, “That was too much for him to take and he had to show his frustration. We'll sit down in the next week and we'll talk it through and we'll see how he feels. I'm sure he's calmed down a little bit now.”

The coach wants to sit down with the experienced player who left Manchester United for Everton this season. He wants to have a conversation about it in a calmer environment after what happened on Saturday. He believes the player has cooled down now and would probably discuss so as to manage expectations from both parties and prevent such disappointments that lead to outrageous decisions that can disrupt the dressing room. Whom do you think is to blame in this case? Did Allardyce owe more to Rooney that what he gave him? Should the player have kept his cool and express his frustrations behind closed doors? Drop your comments below.

Klopp hopeful of Salah return

Liverpool are still not sure if their man of the moment is fit to play against Manchester City in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals. The player helped his squad in the 3-0 win at Anfield as he scored one and provided for fellow African player, Sadio Mane to score. Jurgen Klopp admits that he is not as sure as everyone else about whether Salah will make it to the match and that they will find out only a couple of hours before the kickoff. The player has been training with the athletic coach of Liverpool on Monday and is still yet to have a session with the whole squad after picking up a groin injury in the first leg of this clash which has kept him out ever since. This injury is probably distracting the tactics of the German coach who is planning on shutting down the attack of City as they keep a high intensity that will allow them to dispossess Pep Guardiola’s squad. Salah, as well as two Liverpool, left backs, Alberto Moreno and Andrew Robertson were not available for the derby on Saturday and there is hope that they will return fit for the decider on Tuesday night. Will Liverpool have enough to finish the job and knock out Manchester City from the UEFA Champions League?

2018 Prix Marc-Vivien Foe Award: Celebrating African players in Ligue 1

Since 2009, Radio France International and France 24 compile a list of the top performing African footballers in the Ligue 1 which will be subjected to a voting process to decide the ultimate winner at the end of every season. This year's 13-man shortlist has been announced and Burkina Faso’s Bertrand Traore, Togo’ Mathieu Dossevi and Cape Verde’s Julio Tavares are the early favorites to walk away with the award.

Last year’s winner, Jean Michael Seri is also on the list, looking to emulate his countryman, Gervinho who won the award in two consecutive years (2010-11). Lyon’s marksman, Bertrand Traore has enjoyed his maiden season in France, scoring on nine occasions and registering two assists. Tavares has eleven goals to his name while Dossevi has the fifth highest joint assists tally, sitting at eight.

Here is the full list of the 13 finalists:

• Keita BALDÉ DIAO (AS MONACO / SENEGAL / Forward / 23 years old)

• Matthieu DOSSEVI (FC METZ / TOGO / Midfielder / 30 years old)

• Max-Alain GRADEL (TOULOUSE FC / CÔTE D'IVOIRE / Forward / 30 years old)

• Gaël KAKUTA (AMIENS SC / DR CONGO / Midfielder / 26 years old)

• Wahbi KHAZRI ( RENNAIS STAGE / TUNISIA / Forward / 27 years old)

• Moussa KONATÉ (AMIENS SC / SENEGAL / Forward / 25 years old)

• Nicolas PÉPÉ (LOSC LILLE / COTE D'IVOIRE / Forward/ 22 years old)

• Jean Michaël SÉRI (OGC NICE / COTE D'IVOIRE / Midfielder / 26 years old)

• Julio TAVARES (DIJON FCO / CAPE VERDE / Forward / 29 years old)

• Karl TOKO EKAMBI (SCO ANGERS / CAMEROON / Forward / 25 years old)

• Bertrand TRAORE (OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS / BURKINA FASO / Forward / 22 years old)

• Hamari TRAORÉ (RENNAIS STAGE / MALI / Defender / 26 years old)

• André-Frank ZAMBO ANGUISSA (OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE / CAMEROON / Midfielder / 22 years old)

The winner will be announced on the 14th of May.

Previous winners of the award include Marouane Chamakh, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Vincent Enyeama, Gervinho, Andre Ayew, Younes Belhanda and Jean Michael Seri.

This award was named the Prix Marc-Vivien Foe award in 2011, in honor of the Cameroon International, Foe, who passed away on 26 June 2003 on the lawn of the Gerland Stadium in Lyon whilst representing the Indomitable Lions in the Confederations Cup tournament.

PSL South Africa: ‘Love letter’ on the pitch as Sundowns edge closer to title

Mamelodi Sundowns are close to winning their 3rd PSL title in five years after coming from behind to beat Baroka FC by 2-1 on Sunday. After a slow start which saw former Masandawana man, Lucky Nguzana open the scoring, Sundowns center back, Wayne Arendse equalized at the stroke of half-time after he was left unmarked at the far post. A more comfortable second-half performance saw Sibusiso Vilakazi and PSL player of the year favorite, Percy Tau combine flowery passes with the latter, tucking away the ball into the back of the net for Masandawana’s second goal of the day. Tau is now tied with Rodney Ramagelela on the top scoring charts, both sitting on 11 for the season.

However, as you would expect from the Absa PSL, something else stole the headlines for the match. A note from the Sundowns coaching staff with player instructions in the 72nd minute seemed to circulate among three other players before eventually finding its way to the skipper, Denis Onyango who terminated the transition by chewing the note. Only them know what was written in that letter. I wonder who was sending love, or could it be the Brazilians’ winning formula who are now 13 unbeaten in the league.

The Sundowns gaffer, Pitso Mosimane is not leaving anything to chance in the title race as he borrowed a leaf from Sir Alex Ferguson as he described this stage of the campaign as a “squeaky bum time,” nerves begin to jangle.

Sundowns’ closest rival to the title is Orlando Pirates who play a tricky Super Sport United on Wednesday.

2018 Women’s AFCON Qualifiers: Mighty Warriors bury Brave Gladiators

Zimbabwe Women’s senior national soccer team is one win away from booking a post at this year’s African Cup of Nations to held in Ghana from November to December. The Mighty Warriors put in a fine second half show in front of their home crowd at Rufaro Stadium, Harare to eliminate the Brave Gladiators of Namibia who had already fallen two goals shot in the reverse fixture in Namibia. Second half goals from Emmaculate Msipa and Mavis “Madam Chair” Chirandu ensured the hosts would cruise to a 4-0 aggregate victory.

Brave Gladiators’ coach, Brian Isaacs did not have a lot to complain about given the challenges they had to contend with to reach this stage.

"Overall my team has performed well in Namibia there is no women's league, so they are not playing in a women's league so it was difficult for me to prepare the team. But overall our performance was excellent, it's just that we failed to convert our chances. So good luck to Zimbabwe." - Brian Isaacs, Namibian Women’s Team Coach

Zimbabwe will play She- polopolo (Zambia) in the final round of the qualifications in June, with the winner over two legs, guaranteed a place at the finals in November. Four other matches are still yet to be decided today but here is what the final round fixtures will look like:

Final Round Fixtures: 4 - 12 June 2018

1. Congo v Cameroon

2. Kenya v Equatorial Guinea

3. Zambia v Zimbabwe

4. Senegal/Algeria v Libya/Ethiopia

5. Morocco/Ivory Coast v Mali

6. Burkina Faso/Gambia v Nigeria

7. Lesotho/Swaziland v South Africa

Abroad: Harry Kane desperate to beat Salah to the golden boot

Tottenham and English striker, Harry Kane has revealed his intentions to try and catch up with Egyptian trickster, Mohamed Salah on the race to the English Premier League top goal scorer award. Kane claimed Spurs’ second goal in their 2-1 win away at Stoke City. However, the Premier League Goals Accreditation panel gave the goal to Kane’s Danish teammate, Christian Eriksen. In a post-match interview, the English forward alluded that the Eriksen’s free kick brushed off his shoulder before hitting the back of the net.

“I swear on my daughter’s life that I touched the ball, but there’s nothing I can do. If they turn it around, they turn it around. If they take my word, they take my word.”

— Harry Kane

Tottenham have made a decision to lodge an appeal to the Premier League to review their decision for Kane to be awarded the goal. The 24-year-old was starting his first match for Spurs since 11th of March after being sidelined with an injury. He is currently on 24 EPL goals, five behind Salah who would win the golden boot in his first season at Liverpool if Kane fails to catch up. The Tottenham man is hunting his 3rd consecutive golden boot to equal Thierry Henry’s EPL record and very much believes he can still get the job done. But with Salah firing across all cylinders, only time will tell.

When asked about Mo Salah, Kane replied:

“I’ve got to focus on my game. I can’t control what he does. Obviously, as a striker, it would be great to win the golden boot again and I will keep working hard from now until the end of the season”

— Harry Kane

Champions League Quarter-Final Overview: Manchester City vs Liverpool

The second game featuring a team with optimistic comeback hopes will feature a recently shaken Manchester City side against an offensively potent Liverpool side looking to continue their wonderful Champions League campaign into the semi-finals. Liverpool played on the front foot magnificently and took the game to Manchester City in the first leg. With the famous Anfield crowd behind them, Klopp saw his team score 3 first-half goals to now take to Manchester. Salah and Firmino were among some of the key men rested at the weekend during the 0-0 Merseyside Derby. Pep will be expecting his side to bounce back after two consecutive defeats. At halftime of the Manchester Derby at the weekend, after having rested some key players, Pep would have felt good about his side’s chances of overturning their first-leg deficit. Manchester United had other plans, however, and losing 3-2 from a 2-0 position could not have helped Manchester City players’ confidence. Pep will know that one away goal from Liverpool will mean that his side will need 5 goals to win and go through. It is a tall order, but expect to see Manchester City take the game to Liverpool in this second leg.

Key Match Points

• Liverpool historically have experience in Champions League, but will be hoping to make the most of their first quarterfinal appearance since 2008-09. Interestingly enough, Liverpool have never won an away European game against an English club.
• The Liverpool and Manchester United games were the first time in Pep’s career that his side have conceded three goals in consecutive matches.
• Pep has won only 5 of his last 24 Champions League games away from home. 9 defeats and 10 draws. 27 goals for and 32 against.
• Scoring will most likely not be a problem for City, however, keeping a clean sheet will be paramount to any comeback hopes, although last season Barcelona did the impossible and defeated PSG even after conceding an away goal.
• Liverpool
  have failed to score in only four of their 23 away matches this season. Salah will hope to have recovered from a groin injury and rejoin Firmino in the starting XI.

Champions League Quarter-Final Overview: AS Roma vs Barcelona

The first game featuring a team with optimistic comeback hopes will feature a battered Roma side against a Barcelona side that has continued to maintain their consistently good form into the business end of the season. After a comprehensive 4-1 first leg victory in the Camp Nou, Barcelona have one foot in the semi-finals. Barring a complete collapse in Rome, Valverde will keep their treble hopes alive. Messi will come into this second leg in scintillating form after scoring a hattrick at the weekend in a 3-1 victory against Leganes. Roma, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats after losing 2-0 to Fiorentina at the weekend in Serie A. History will not be on Roma’s side, however, with the Italians having lost their last four matches in the quarterfinals. Barcelona, meanwhile, will be looking to advance to the semi-finals after having lost last season to Juventus at this stage of the competition.

Key Match Points

• Barcelona are the only team still unbeaten in La Liga. Messi looks to be slowly regaining his fitness after sitting out both Argentina games during the international break.
• Suarez scored his first Champions League goal in one year in the first leg. With Coutinho cup-tied, Suarez and Messi will again be the key attacking players in this second leg.
• Dzeko will hope to inspire a comeback for his Roma side, but they have been quite shaky at home this season with seven defeats being suffered in the Stadio Olympico.
• Cengiz Ünder is in Roma's roster for the second leg, as he did not feature in the first. Can he provide a spark for the Romans?

USA Women 4-2 Mexico Women

The USA team was on the front foot early on in the match as Mallory Pugh scored on the 3rd minute in an open net after she received a pass from the left by Megan Rapinoe which attracted the attention of the goalkeeper who left the goal empty. Mexico responded 9 minutes later through Monica Ocampo who scored from a difficult angle to make it 1-1. Monica Ocampo then turned provider for Kiana Palacios’ goal on the 25th minute. USA scored the second shortly after with Horan finishing off Rapinoe’s cross. 25 minutes down and there were 4 goals already. Who said that goals galore can only be seen in the men’s league only? The USA ladies learnt from their mistakes early on in the match of giving away the lead and adjusted their game in order to make sure they end the match with a win. Lloyd scored the third for USA and Morgan scored the fourth. The two teams went into the break with USA leading 4-2 and both teams made many changes in a bid to try and win the match. Rapinoe, who was the best player on the day scored USA’s fifth goal as she took a 35 yard shot that went in on the 64th minute. She also crossed in for Morgan to score again the 6th and final goal of the match. That was all for the match.

Madrid derby ends in a draw

Not much was expected in this Madrid derby as both teams have almost conceded the La Liga title to Barcelona who lead the table with 79 points and Real Madrid with 64 points after the derby match. There was little fight in the teams to make the derby interesting as both teams have their eyes set on their second leg clashes in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. Nonetheless, Zidane called on Ronaldo to start the match in a much rested squad that saw players like Mateo Kovacic, Bale and Vazquez make the first 11. Both teams looked off and the match did not really feel like the derby as the levels of intensity was a little bit lower than expected. The first half reflected the poor energy levels of both teams and it is no surprise that it was goalless. Cristiano Ronaldo then scored for Real Madrid on the 53rd minute. The Portuguese forward scored a volley from a Gareth Bale cross that found him at the far post. This goal means that Ronaldo has scored 24 goals in his last 15 matches. What a turnaround in form for a player who was starting to be regarded as finished. His celebrations were shortened as Antoine Griezmann scored for Atletico just 4 minutes later. Ronaldo was taken off by Zidane who did not want to his star man to get injured in a match that was not as important as it should be. Both teams found opportunities to win it as Varane’s effort and Ramos’ freekick was clawed out by Oblak while Costa also saw his shots saved by Navas. This result means that Barcelona have edged closer to winning the La Liga title with a 11 point advantage with just 7 games remaining. It’s all in your hands Barca.

Arsenal win 3-2 against Southampton

The Arsenal side that has been largely disappointing this season conceded a goal on the 17th minute. Mustafi was at fault for not paying attention to Shane Long behind him who ran ahead of the defender and pocked the ball into the back of the net to give an early lead to the visitors. Petr Cech was furious at the defender for sleeping in the match and the gunners required their star signing to save them. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang scored next in the match to bring the teams level on scores. This goal means that the striker has scored 6 goals and provided 1 assist in the 7 games that he has played in ever since joining Arsenal in the winter transfer window. This is a record matched by no other player in the history of the club. Indeed, it is a great start for the African player. Danny Welbeck followed that up with a fine goal for himself when he cut inside from the left and scored a deflected shot past the Southampton goalkeeper. Both teams created opportunities to score more before and after the break. Charlie Austin was brought on from the bench and was met by Cedric’s cross to score for Southampton just 2 minutes after coming on. Welbeck squandered an opportunity to score his second of the night when he was set up through on goal with a pass from Wilshere which he blazed over from less than 3 yards out. He finally redeemed himself as he scored Arsenal’s third on the 81st minute by heading in Iwobi’s cross. The match saw some controversial decisions as Stephens got a red card on the 92nd minute for a clash with Wilshere which saw him take down the Arsenal man to the floor. Elneny also got his marching orders a minute later for shoving Cedric. This result means that Arsenal have closed the gap on Chelsea to just three points as the blues drew 1-1 against West Ham United.

Messi scores a hat-trick against Leganes

Many Barcelona fans were probably angry when they heard that Messi was in the starting line up to face Leganes. This is not because the player is off form or that they do not like him. In fact, they love him too much to care for his fitness and wanted the coach to allow him a breather especially considering the number of crucial games that Barcelona are still yet to play. This concern is valid but coach Valverde had other ideas. He did not want to compromise on achieving the record which his club was set to equal if they brought their A game. Messi scored a sublime freekick on the 27th minute to open the scoring for Barcelona. This is his sixth goal that he scored from a free-kick this season. The Argentine magician was on the score sheet again 5 minutes later from a pass by Coutinho. 2 goals were enough before the break before Leganes came from the break with a hunger for scoring. They gave Barcelona a scare as their impact substitute, Claudio Beauvue, came close to scoring when he headed over from a good position. Pique also squandered an opportunity from close-range to make it three as he blazed his shot over the top. El Zhar’s goal on the 68th minute looked like it was going to spoil the record for Barcelona with the way they were playing in the second half. Messi then later on made sure that there wasn’t going to be any comeback from Leganes as he controlled Ousmane Dembele’s pass before scoring his 39th goal in all competitions. Do you think Valverde should have rested Messi in this match?

Bayern win 6th straight Bundesliga Title

Bayern Munich thrashed Augsburg 4-1 to claim their sixth successive Bundesliga title. The German champions were disappointed by an early own goal by Sule which gave the advantage to Augsburg in the 18th minute. Before Augsburg’s confidence grew, Joshua Kimmich took up the creative responsibility and crossed in for Tolisso who scored in the 32nd minute. From then on, it was all Bayern as Kimmich also provided a goal for James Rodriguez only six minutes later. Arjen Robben’s half-volley and Wagner’s header confirmed the victory for the side and sparked the title-winning celebrations on a day that Frank Ribery was born. This victory means that Bayern Munich have now won 27 Bundesliga titles and this is the fourth title for coach Jupp Heynckes, who came out of retirement to replace Ancelotti late last year. Bayern have undeniably dominated the domestic league. This makes one wonder what their rivals are doing and if they are doing enough to stop this consistent team. Borussia Dortmund their closest rivals for years have recently fallen backward and are not as competitive as they used to be. It seems as if they have given up considering that most of their talented players and that of the rest of the teams in the league, are just lured to the German champions which weakens them.

Manchester United earn bragging rights by defeating City 3-2

The result means that Manchester City’s party has to be postponed. Manchester City were looking to be confirmed the champions of the 2017/18 season after defeating Manchester United on Saturday. Only a win would do on the occasion and 30 minutes into the match, they were already 2 goals up and on-course to be the champions. Leroy Sane delivered in a fantastic ball that was met by the City skipper, Kompany who bullied Smalling and scored he opener past De Gea.  Gundogan scored the second just a couple of minutes later after fooling Nemanja Matic with a beautiful turn before picking the ball into the net. City probably thought they were going to run away with the win. Little did they know that Paul Pogba had something planned to spoil the party as he scored a brace moments after the restart. The game was level at 2-2 thanks to Pogba’s first goals against a top 6 team in the Premier League. Alexis Sanchez, who provided the second for the Frenchman, was at it again as he whipped in a pass that was volleyed home by Smalling and give United the lead in the match. Manchester City were denied a clear penalty late in the match after substitute Aguero came on and was crunched on the shin by Young in the box but the referee waved clear. The Argentine tried to leave a mark on the match with an effort that only required a world-class save from De Gea to stop it from entering. Raheem Sterling also squandered a glorious opportunity to level the matters in the derby which ended 3-2 to United. Paul Pogba went home with the man of the match award and this piled pressure on a City side that has a mountain to climb in reducing the 3-0 deficit in the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals.

The other derby played on the same day was not as entertaining as it ended in a goalless draw. Everton were made to wait for their first win against Liverpool in a longtime.

England Women vs Wales Women ends in a goalless draw

Phil Neville took over his first Qualifications tournament as the England boss and saw them draw against the leaders of the group. The two teams are vying for top spot in the World Cup qualifiers with only one team getting a guaranteed position at the 2019 World Cup Finals in France. Wales had the first attack of the match on the 8th minute as Rachel Rowe met the ball on the volley and Telford was there to parry the ball to safety. A minute later, the England defense was tested again from a corner kick and Lucy Bronze cleared the ball which looked like it had crossed the line. England had little in the match until Jordan Nobbs took a shot from 25 yards out. The ball looked destined for goal until Wales keeper, Laura O’Sullivan met it and pushed it onto the bar before it went out on the 33rd minute. The first half did not produce much after that and the teams went for a break at 0-0. Ellen Drive also tested the Wales goalkeeper on the 71st minute with a thunderous strike but the keeper was having none of it. Laura O’Sullivan was the clear man of the match with some fantastic saves to keep the Lionesses at bay.

Derby Weekend - Saturday: Merseyside Derby Preview Everton vs Liverpool

Liverpool face Everton in the Merseyside Derby on Saturday. The English Premier League clash between the two could not come at a better time for the Reds who are fresh from defeating Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League. The Liverpool team played their hearts out in that match which makes one wonder if they will have enough energy and drive for the match against their local rivals. First of all, the fans have to behave in the match otherwise there could be serious repercussions on the day. Liverpool are expected to lineup without their star forward, Mo Salah who is the current top goal scorer in the EPL with 29. The Egyptian genius was forced off the field with a suspected groin injury in their last match and his manager, Jurgen Klopp, has said that he will not risk playing the player if he is not 100% fit. The player has been recovering in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Adam Lallana, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez are the other absentees from Klopp’s side. Danny Ings is looking likely to start the match which affords a well-deserved rest to Firmino.

Everton manager Sam Allardyce believes that the derby came at the right time and could be their opportunity to claim some bragging rights over a club that is focused on the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. He plans on nullifying Liverpool attack. Everton are expected to have Idrissa Gana Gueye back to compete after missing the club’s last match against Manchester City last weekend. Ashley Williams also returns after completing a 3 match ban. The blues will be looking to get one over Liverpool after having only won 1 of their last 22 meetings with the club in the league. What’s your prediction of the early kickoff? Will Everton finally best Liverpool in the league after a long struggle?