Messi rested for Barca trip to Hungary

Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi will be given a timely rest by coach Ronald Koeman as Barcelona travel to Hungary for a Champions League match at Ferencvaros on Wednesday with their tickets already booked for the next round.

Barcelona top Group G on 12 points from four games, but are wallowing in seventh in the Spanish Liga a daunting 10 points behind leaders Real Sociedad.

Barcelona’s struggling coach Ronald Koeman said the match in Hungary was an excellent opportunity to rest stars and give a run out to lesser lights.

“We wouldn’t normally do this, but with the calendar being what it is this year there are only a few opportunities to rest people and tomorrow is one of them,” said the Dutchman.

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Brazilian midfielder Coutinho will also sit out the match to be fresh for domestic duties.

“Saturday’s match (against Cadiz) is an important one for our progress in the league, and after tomorrow, there will be few opportunities to rest for anyone,” Koeman said.

Messi “is key for our attack, if the ball reaches him, there is movement, there is a lot of quality in his passes,” Koeman said. 

“At the beginning of the season, he struggled a bit more and this might not be a 30 goal season. 

“But he is working well, he is still a very important and decisive player in our attack. Leo is a player who always wants to play.” 

Barcelona’s back up forward Martin Braithwaite could start on Wednesday after scoring three times in his last two matches.

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Cavani will be energised by facing PSG, says Solskjaer

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Edinson Cavani will be ready to face his old club Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday despite the distraction of a Football Association investigation into a social media post by the Uruguayan.

Cavani’s joy at coming off the bench to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 Premier League win at Southampton on Sunday with two goals and an assist was tempered as after the match he thanked a friend for his congratulations on Instagram using the Spanish term “negrito” (small black person).

Despite the affectionate context, Cavani could still fall foul of the FA’s minimum three-match ban for offensive comments on social media.

“He’s deeply sorry for the mistake he’s made. There was no malicious intent at all, it was just an affectionate greeting to a friend of us and we explained to him,” said Solskjaer at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference.

“We’ll support him, it’s one of those unfortunate situations, he’s just come into the country and in Uruguay it is used with a different affection to what we have.

“We’ll support him but of course we support the FA. It’s important the FA ask him to explain and it’s out there for everyone to see because we want to be in the fight against discrimination with everyone.”

Cavani is PSG’s all-time top goalscorer after scoring 200 times in seven seasons in the French capital.

But he was let go when his contract expired in June, not even hanging around for PSG’s run to a first ever Champions League final in August.

After taking time to find his feet in Manchester, Cavani’s impact at the weekend has put him in line to start up front in a huge game against his former club.

PSG trail United by three points at the top of Group H and face an embarrassing early exit if they lose at Old Trafford.

“He’s ready to play, it’s special for him to play against PSG, his own club where he’s the top scorer,” added Solskjaer.

“That’ll affect him mentally, but from knowing him, that will give him energy and he’ll be ready. He’s so professional, experienced he’ll work on his mindset today to be ready for the game.

“The same goes to for the FA (investigation), he’s learned a lesson, it might affect him but he’ll just have to put it to one side when the game is on. The best players can put their problems or other thoughts away for a while then perform when he has to.”

Solskjaer confirmed that David de Gea will be fit to start in goal after coming off at half-time against Southampton.

Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba are also in contention to return, but Pogba may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Without the French World Cup winner in the starting line-up, Donny Van de Beek has finally managed to get a run in Solskjaer’s side as United have won four consecutive games to climb back into contention for the Premier League title.

Van de Beek spent most of his first few months in Manchester on the bench, but the £40 million ($53 million) signing from Ajax always believed he just had to be patient.

“I know I can give the team something extra and I can help the team a lot, so I was just patient,” said the Dutch international.

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Dortmund wait on Can, Meunier out for Lazio home clash

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund are without right-back Thomas Meunier for Wednesday’s crunch Champions League tie at home to Lazio while a question mark hangs over the fitness of midfielder Emre Can.

Dortmund top their group, a point ahead of second-placed Lazio, and victory at Signal Iduna Park would guarantee either club a place in the last 16.

A draw would also put both clubs through, provided Brugge fail to beat Zenit St Petersburg in the other Group F tie.

Since joining from Paris Saint-Germain in July, Meunier, 29, had started all of Dortmund’s matches this season, but the Belgium international misses out this time with a calf injury.

Dortmund coach Lucien Favre said Tuesday that Portugal winger Raphael Guerreiro should be fit after shaking off a leg knock.

However, defensive midfielder Can suffered an ankle injury in Saturday’s 2-1 shock defeat to Cologne, “so we will have to see,” Favre added.

The Germans crashed 3-1 in Rome when the clubs met in October as Lazio striker Ciro Immobile scored and set up another goal for midfielder Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro against his former club.

“We have corrected a few things really well since then, that game is behind us,” said Favre. 

“We are group leaders and we want to keep it that way,” he added.

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Newcastle game with Villa under threat due to coronavirus outbreak: reports

London (AFP) – Newcastle’s Premier League game with Aston Villa on Friday is under threat due to an outbreak of coronavirus cases, according to British media reports.

Newcastle have closed their training ground and it is not expected to re-open until Wednesday at the earliest, The Guardian said.

Magpies manager Steve Bruce had already cancelled training on Sunday after four players and a member of the backroom staff tested positive for the virus last week.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the club learned that more players tested positive when the latest batch of results were returned on Monday.

The whole first team squad and staff have been told to self-isolate at home. 

Bruce was already without five first team players for last Friday’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.

No Premier League match has been called off since football resumed following the March lockdown.

Premier League authorities have said before for a game to be postponed it would require 14 players to be affected.

However, if the team is able to field 11 players plus three substitutes the game should go ahead.

The fixture schedule is already a hectic one with many managers blaming a higher-than-usual rate of injuries on that. 

According to the Telegraph, the possibility of the players turning up solely for training on Wednesday without entering the buildings is being considered.

The city of Newcastle itself will enter the tier three restriction band on Wednesday when the latest lockdown ends — the highest allocated by the Government.

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Wolves’ Jimenez hopes to return after fractured skull

London (AFP) – Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Raul Jimenez says he hopes to be back playing football soon despite suffering a fractured skull in a horrific clash of heads with Arsenal defender David Luiz.

The 29-year-old Mexican international tweeted from his hospital bed where he is under observation following an operation.

Jimenez received 10 minutes of treatment on the pitch after the clash of heads in the first half of the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

He was subsequently wheeled off the pitch and taken to hospital.

“Thanks for your support messages,” he tweeted. “I will be under observation, and I hope to return to the pitch soon.”

Wolves went on to win the match 2-1 for their first victory at Arsenal in 41 years.

One of their goalscorers, Pedro Neto, dedicated his goal and the win to his stricken team-mate.

“I didn’t see the impact, I only heard the impact, and it was very hard seeing him on the ground like that,” said the 20-year-old Portuguese.

“It was shocking, but I hope that he is ok and that he can recover to come back with us.

“Seeing him unconscious on the floor was bad, but we had to try to focus 100 per cent on the game.

“We wanted to end the game, we wanted to win the game for him, and we wanted to get this victory for him, so I think the whole team would like to dedicate this win for him.”

Whilst Jimenez went to hospital Luiz controversially played on with blood seeping from his head bandage until he was replaced at half-time.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended the decision, saying the Brazilian former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain player only came off because he was concerned about the cut.

However, it has led to calls for temporary substitutes to be used while a player is properly assessed for concussion as is the practice in rugby union.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said it “makes sense” to introduce such a rule while former England forward Alan Shearer has said he thinks “football needs to wake up” to the issue of concussion.

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Wolves’ Jimenez hopes ‘to return’ after fractured skull

London (AFP) – Raul Jimenez says he hoped to be back playing football soon despite the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker suffering a fractured skull in a horrific clash of heads with Arsenal’s David Luiz.

The 29-year-old Mexican international tweeted from his hospital bed where he is under observation following an operation.

Jimenez received 10 minutes of treatment on the pitch after the clash of heads in the first-half of Sunday’s Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium.

He was subsequently wheeled off the pitch and taken to hospital.

“Thanks for your support messages,” he tweeted.

“I will be under observation, and I hope to return to the pitch soon.”

Wolves went on to win the match 2-1 for their first victory at Arsenal in 41 years.

One of their goalscorers Pedro Neto dedicated his goal and the win to his stricken team-mate.

“I didn’t see the impact, I only heard the impact, and it was very hard seeing him on the ground like that,” said the 20-year-old Portuguese.

“It was shocking, but I hope that he is ok and that he can recover to come back with us.

“Seeing him unconscious on the floor was bad, but we had to try to focus 100 per cent on the game.

“We wanted to end the game, we wanted to win the game for him, and we wanted to get this victory for him, so I think the whole team would like to dedicate this win for him.”

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Where to find Liverpool vs. Atalanta on US TV and streaming

If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Liverpool vs. Ajax on US TV in the UEFA Champions League, you’ve come to the right place.

In the UEFA Champions League, Liverpool vs. Ajax won’t be shown on TV (but you can stream the game to your big TV).

Match: Liverpool vs. Ajax

Kickoff: Tuesday, 3pm ET

Looking to watch Liverpool vs. Ajax online from your work, home or on the go? If you live in the USA, there are several options to catch all the action.

We Recommend:

US only.

 

Who: Liverpool vs. Ajax
What: UEFA Champions League
When: Game kicks off at 3pm ET / Noon PT; Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Where: Live on CBS All Access, TUDNxtra and fuboTV (Spanish only) (free trial)

 

CBS All Access is now offering a 7-day free trial promotion for new subscribers, giving fans the ability to watch a ton of soccer fans (and other content) for free.

After the 7-day trial, CBS All Access is just $5.99 per month. And guarantees you access to all of the Champions League and Europa League games through the end of the 2023/24 season.

Courtesy of World Soccer Talk, download a complimentary copy of The Ultimate Soccer TV And Streaming Guide, which features details on where to watch all of the leagues from around the world on US TV and streaming.

CBS All Access includes exclusive original programs such as Star Trek Discovery, Star Trek Picard, The Good Fight and The Twilight Zone, among other shows. You can also stream CBS, CBSN (CBS News), CBS Sports HQ and ET Live.

Advantages of CBS All Access include (1) More than 10,000 episodes of CBS content, (2) live stream of your local CBS network, and (3) will stream every UEFA Champions League game from 2020 to 2024

CBS All Access is available on PC or Mac as well as Roku, iPhone and Android phones, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation 4, Samsung smart TV, Vizio and XBOX One.

SEE MORE: Schedule of Champions League games on US TV and streaming

 

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