City cruise into League Cup quarters, but De Bruyne suffers scare

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Kevin De Bruyne suffered an injury scare as League Cup holders Manchester City moved into the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win against Fulham on Thursday.

There was concern for De Bruyne after the City midfielder limped off with what appeared to be a knee injury in the closing minutes.

De Bruyne, 27, only recently returned from another knee problem that forced him to miss two months this season, limiting him to five appearances to date.

City manager Pep Guardiola will hope his influential Belgian star is able to make a quick recovery as they head into a busy period featuring crucial Champions League fixtures and the Manchester derby.

De Bruyne’s injury overshadowed a memorable evening for youngster Brahim Diaz.

Diaz was making only his third appearance of the season and the promising Spanish striker seized his chance with a brace at the Etihad Stadium.

The 19-year-old’s goals ensured City advance to face Leicester or Southampton in the last eight as they bid to retain the trophy.

With the English champions having won at Tottenham in the Premier League on Monday, Guardiola rested many of his stars among 10 changes.

Diaz was one of those who came in, while De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus also featured against Premier League strugglers Fulham.

Prior to his injury, De Bruyne had been dominant and he quickly tested the Fulham defence with a run and shot.

Foden brought Fulham goalkeeper Sergio Rico into action with a powerful strike.

But it was his fellow teenager Diaz who opened the scoring with his first City goal in the 19th minute.

A short corner found its way to Vincent Kompany at the far post and Diaz ran on to his header down to hit a powerful shot which deflected past the goalkeeper off Aleksander Mitrovic.

Danilo nearly added City’s second when the defender weaved into the penalty area before unleashing a searing effort which struck the outside of a post.

As half-time loomed, De Bruyne sent a wicked cross in from the right but Foden’s header went just the wrong side of the far post.

City were straight back on the front foot to start the second half, with Jesus heading wide before De Bruyne’s curling shot went just the wrong side of the post.

They had to wait until the 65th minute for the second goal to come as Diaz netted again.

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Top 5 must-see soccer games on US TV this weekend

It’s getting towards that time of year again when the frost descends and the cold bites in many parts around the world. True tests of elite squads are on the horizon.

In the Premier League there are huge games on Saturday at lunchtime and in the evening, the latter of which has the potential to be decisive in the battle for top spot in the Premier League this term.

Elsewhere the surprise package of the Ligue 1 season take on the champions on Friday, while there are also big fixtures to come from Germany and Italy on Saturday too.

All kick-offs are in Eastern time. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the games!

 

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Lille

Friday, November 2, 3:45 p.m. ET, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Espanol, Sling Latino, Sling World Sports and fuboTV (free trial)

Although Paris Saint-Germain appear poised to set new standards in pursuit of the French title this season, in Lille we will see one of Europe’s biggest surprises of 2018-19.

After a brush with relegation last term, manager Christophe Galtier has steered the team to an exceptional start to the campaign. They are in second place in the table after stringing four wins together in succession and will go to the Parc des Princes with confidence that they can accomplish something special on Friday.

PSG will win the title this season and at this point it appears to be a question of by how many points. A week ago they negotiated a potentially challenging trip to Marseille with ease, making it 11 wins from 11 to start the season.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will provide the obvious threats for the Parisians, although Lyon have some players in red-hot form to watch too. Wingers Nicolas Pepe and Jonathan Bamba have been sensational in 2018-19 and have the attributes to at least give PSG something to worry about on the break.

 

Bournemouth vs. Manchester United

Saturday, November 3, 8:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN, Universo, fuboTV, Sling Blue and PlayStation Vue (free trial)

At the moment, Bournemouth appear best placed to be crowned as the “Best of the Rest” in the Premier League this season, after a tremendous early run. They will provide Manchester United with a serious test.

Eddie Howe’s Cherries team are often tipped for relegation at the start of the campaign, although all the hallmarks so far at they are more than good enough to finish in the top half. They are well-oiled unit and in the final third players like David Brooks and Callum Wilson have provide a razor-sharp edge.

After some major lulls in the campaign United appear to be getting back to a decent level of performance and were impressive in spells against Everton on Sunday. Anthony Martial will undoubtedly be the danger man for the Red Devils, as he’s netted four times in his last four matches.

Bournemouth have the energy and ingenuity to cause big problems for a United team that’s been stolid for so long this season. If Jose Mourinho’s side are able to come through this one, it’d be the surest sign yet that they’re a team on the right track again.

 

Wolfsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund

Saturday, November 3, 10:30 a.m. ET, FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes and fuboTV (free trial)

After being held last weekend by Hertha Berlin, Borussia Dortmund will be looking to get back on track away to Wolfsburg on Saturday.

Following on from their Champions League heroics against Atletico Madrid, there were some signs of tiredness in the 2-2 draw against Hertha. BVB would’ve at least been pleased with the performance of Jadon Sancho, as they youngster continued his blistering season with a couple more goals.

Defensively Lucien Favre will want to see his team tighten up here, especially with Bayern Munich seemingly out of their slump and just two points behind. Wolfsburg have not been consistent this season and if BVB are to challenge for Bundesliga glory then these are the sort of fixtures they need to get through.

Favre will at least be hopeful of recalling Paco Alcacer for this one, as he’s missed the last two matches with injury. If he’s at the point of the attack, the Spaniard should give Dortmund the edge needed to pick up three points.

 

Fiorentina vs. Roma

Saturday, November 3, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+

If Roma and Fiorentina have any hopes of finishing in a European spot this season, their campaigns are in need of some igniting. Both will hope this fixture can trigger that.

Roma did at least turn in a fine performance last time out. They were able to pick up a draw against a red-hot Napoli team and were just seconds away from a memorable win, only to be denied by a late Dries Mertens equalizer.

Following that effort and a big win over CKSA Moscow in the Champions League, slowly there do appear to be signs that Eusebio Di Francesco’s team are settling into the season. But the tough fixtures continue to crop up on the schedule; Fiorentina have the best home record in Serie A this season.

Performances at the Stadio Artemio Franchi have been the bedrock of Fiorentina’s solid start and while manager Stefano Pioli will need to find a way to improve performances on the road, La Viola can keep the pressure on the top six with victory here.

 

Arsenal vs. Liverpool

Saturday, November 3, 1:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Universo, fuboTV (also available in 4K), Sling Blue and PlayStation Vue (free trial)

Arsenal’s winning run came to an end against Crystal Palace last weekend. Now their focus will be on showing they have what’s required to get a victory against one of the league’s best sides in Liverpool.

The Gunners had shown vulnerabilities during their winning sequence and they were capitalized on by Palace last weekend, with the Eagles drawing 2-2 thanks to two penalties. Both came about as a result of rash defending from Arsenal and that’ll need to be cut out if they’re going to contain Liverpool.

Saturday’s visitors are still keeping pace with Manchester City at the top of the table after a 4-1 win over Cardiff City last weekend. In recent games, there have been positive signs for Liverpool’s front three too, with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah all back among the goals.

Liverpool also have a full week to prepare for this fixture following their elimination from the Carabao Cup, which is something of a rarity for manager Jurgen Klopp.

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Argentina again leave out Messi for Mexico friendlies

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Lionel Messi was again left out of the Argentina squad announced on Thursday for two friendlies against Mexico later this month, while players from Copa Libertadores finalists Boca Juniors and River Plate were also ommitted.

Messi’s ommission is no surprise as he hasn’t played in any of four previous friendlies since the end of the World Cup in Russia and is believed to have asked to be excused from non-competitive matches for the rest of the year.

Argentina are due to face Mexico in Cordoba on November 16 and then again in Mendoza four days later.

But with the two-legged Copa Libertadores final between the two giants of Buenos Aires, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni opted not to include Boca and River players in his 30-man list.

Even so, there was no room either for Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria, Manchester City’s in-form forward Sergio Aguero or Gonzalo Higuain of AC Milan.

Inter Milan duo Mauro Icardi and Lautaro Martinezare are included in the attacking options, as well as Angel Correa of Atletico Madrid and Juventus star Paulo Dybala.

Without Barcelona’s Messi, Argentina beat Iraq 4-0 and Guatemala 3-0 but drew 0-0 with Colombia and lost their last outing 1-0 to bitter rivals Brazil.

In Messi’s last appearance, they were knocked out of the World Cup 4-3 by eventual winners France at the last 16 stage.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Agustin Marchesin (Club America/MEX), Sergio Romero (Manchester United/ENG), Geronimo Rulli (Real Sociedad/ESP)

Defenders: Ramiro Funes Mori (Villarreal/ESP), German Pezzela (Fiorentina/ITA), Renzo Saravia (Racing), Nicolás Tagliafico (Ajax/NED), Walter Kannemann (Gremio/BRA), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City/ENG), Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla/ESP), Emmanuel Mammana (Zenit/RUS), Juan Marcos Foyth (Tottenham/ENG)

Midfielders: Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon/POR), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Franco Vazquez (Sevilla/ESP), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis/ESP), Leandro Paredes (Zenit/RUS), Santiago Ascacibar (Stuttgart/GER), Rodrigo Bataglia (Sporting Lisbon/POR) Matias Zaracho (Racing), Roberto Pereyra (Watford/ENG)

Forwards:  Giovani Simeone (Fiorentina/ITA), Paulo Dybala (Juventus/ITA), Erik Lamela (Tottenham/ENG), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica/POR), Rodrigo De Paul (Udinese/ITA), Franco Cervi (Benfica/POR), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan/ITA), Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan/ITA)

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Greece inspecting swaying Olympic Stadium after UEFA warning

Athens (AFP) – Greek authorities were combing the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Thursday after UEFA expressed concern following reports of the stadium swaying during a recent Champions League match.

Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports Giorgos Vasiliadis ordered the investigation after UEFA informed stadium officials of a video circulated on social media last week which showed the upper deck of the venue moving around during Bayern Munich’s 2-0 win over AEK Athens last month.

“We do not think there is cause for concern, but that will not prevent us from taking every initiative to fully protect the spectators,” Vasiliadis told reporters.

“I recommend calmness as all the necessary moves will be made. We will wait for the technical findings and will determine what to do next. There is no particular cause for concern at this stage.”

The deputy minister said the 70,000-seat stadium, build in 1982, “has the best technical specifications” and was refurbished in 2004 for the Athens Olympic Games.

“Every seven years it passes through a special committee examination. The phenomenon of oscillation is frequent in the stadium as with any stadium with upper decks. But we will do what it takes to be 100 percent sure that the facility is absolutely safe,” Vasiliadis said.

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TNT/BR interview about Champions League coverage: World Soccer Talk Podcast

World Soccer Talk is the weekly soccer podcast on the topic of watching soccer on TV, online and apps.

In the NEW episode, number 96, Christopher Harris and Kartik Krishnaiyer cover a range of topics including:

• An interview with TNT’s producer of the Champions League,
• Our take on the increase in MLS TV ratings,
• Thoughts on the #BringUSTheGame campaign,
• And we have a bunch of letters from you, the listeners, in our mailbag section.

Listen to the show via the player above or via this link.

Send in your questions, comments and feedback via e-mail web@worldsoccertalk.com, via Twitter (@worldsoccertalk) or Facebook. We’ll read them out on-air in the next episode.

Here are the different ways you can download the World Soccer Talk Podcast stream.

• Subscribe to the World Soccer Talk Podcast on Stitcher,
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Bayern’s Rafinha apologises over ‘Arab bomber’ Halloween costume

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich’s Rafinha apologised Thursday for dressing up as an ‘Arab bomber’ for Halloween, saying he did not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings.

In an image posted on Bayern’s Twitter account, the Brazilian defender was seen dressed wearing a long Arabic shirt with a red and white checked headscarf, while carrying a package marked “caution”.

The botched costume sparked an uproar on social media, and the club subsequently deleted the photo. 

Instead, Bayern retweeted Rafinha’s apology.

“Halloween is a scary celebration with exaggerated costumes, it was not my intention to anger anyone through my disguise or hurt someones feelings,” wrote the Brazilian.

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Puel hit by Leicester’s ‘hardest week’ after owner’s tragic death

London (AFP) – Claude Puel admits his Leicester players are struggling to come to terms with the most traumatic week in the club’s history as they prepare to return to Premier League action following the tragic death of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

Thai billionaire Vichai, who brought the Premier League title to Leicester in 2016, was among five people killed when his helicopter crashed outside the club’s King Power Stadium following Saturday’s match against West Ham.

Mourners have turned the King Power into a shrine, with flowers and tributes laid around the arena as the city grieves the loss of the charismatic Vichai.

“This has been without doubt one of the hardest weeks in the history of this football club,” Puel said on Thursday. 

“The tragic loss of five lives has left us numb and in shock and our prayers and love remain with Vichai’s family and with the all of the families who have lost a loved one.”

Leicester postponed Tuesday’s League Cup home game against Southampton, but the Foxes will return to action for the first time since Vichai’s death when they travel to Cardiff in the Premier League on Saturday.

Manager Puel has had the difficult task of dealing with players stunned by a tragedy that rocked the football world.

Many of his squad visited the stadium to pay their respects this week and Puel conceded it has been a painful few days.

“Vichai made Leicester City into what it is. He made it a family and made a dream. He invested in the club, the city and he invested in the people.

“He truly was loved by everyone inside and outside the club. Personally it was a privilege to work for him. It was a privilege for the faith he showed in me and the moments we shared. 

“To see all of the messages and the flowers and shirts outside the stadium this week show how many lives he touched.”

– Vichai’s legacy –

Former Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri paid his respects by visiting the ever-growing shrine on Thursday.

Ranieri, who masterminded Leicester’s stunning Premier League title triumph in 2016, was accompanied by Srivaddhanaprabha’s son Aiyawatt as he laid a wreath outside the stadium.

Given the circumstances, Puel knows the result of Leicester’s clash with Cardiff is of secondary importance. 

But he hopes his team can use their forthcoming matches to pay tribute to the man whose investment and ambition turned the club into kings of England for one magical season.

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