Tag Archives: David De Gea

Premier League: Best 11 Players from Week 26

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Manchester City have now won 20 games in a row in all competitions as they beat West Ham 2-1 at the weekend. City are 12 points clear from their rivals Manchester United as they could only draw 0-0 away to Chelsea. The Blues are still unbeaten under new manager Thomas Tuchel and West Ham stay in 4th place in their incredible quest for a Champions League spot.

Gareth Bale scored 2 goals in perhaps his best game for Tottenham since his loan switch from Real Madrid as the London club walloped Burnley 4-0. It was a welcome win for Jose Mourinho.

At the bottom things are getting more exciting as Fulham claimed a draw and they are just 3 points behind Newcastle and Brighton in what could end up being quite a relegation battle.

Let’s check out the 11 players who made the difference in the Premier League this past week.

Goalkeeper: David de Gea- Manchester United 7pts

A whole host of other goalkeepers kept clean sheets and were able to also earn seven points. But the nod goes to de Gea as Manchester United claimed a 0-0 result at Chelsea. The Blues have been brilliant under new manager Thomas Tuchel and they had six shots on target and de Gea really had to be at his best. He has kept 9 clean sheets so far.

Defender: Kyle Bartley- West Bromwich Albion 9pts

Kyle Bartley has had a poor campaign for West Bromwich Albion and his 9 incredible points at the weekend only take the defender up to +1 point. Never mind as Bartley had a weekend to remember as he scored what would turn out to be the winning goal as the Baggies beat Brighton 1-0. 
Defender: Cesar Azilpilicutea- Chelsea 5pts
The talented defender and veteran now at Chelsea made some brilliant decisions in a huge game with Manchester United to keep Chelsea’s unbeaten run under their new coach in tact. The defender has now helped to keep 9 clean sheets.
Defender: Davinson Sanchez- Tottenham 5pts
Davinson Sanchez had an assured game as Tottenham ran out 4-0 winners against Burnley, in what felt like a must win game for the London club. Sanchez earned 5 points for the clean sheet and he now has 2 for the side though he has played less games than the other defenders. His value is 6.5m.
Defender: Luke Shaw- Manchester United 5pts
Luke Shaw is having a solid season and again he showed his qualities as Manchester United were able to take a point from Chelsea away from home. Shaw has helped to keep 8 clean sheets for the Red Devils and is valued at just 6m, he has 32 points so far.
Midfielder: Gareth Bale-Tottenham 12pts
This is the version of Gareth Bale that Tottenham fans have perhaps been missing since he arrived back from Real Madrid. Bale scored 2 good goals as Tottenham crushed Burnley 4-0 and played well throughout. He had an aura about him and looked super confident and the club will hope he can keep this up. Bale has 20 points so far for the club.
Midfielder: Michail Antonio- West Ham 4pts
Michail Antonio has been one of West Ham’s best players this season and he scored his 7th goal of the season as Manchester City beat the Hammers 2-1. Though on the losing side scoring away to the champions-elect would have given him a good boost and his value is 7m.
Midfielder: Lucas Moura- Tottenham 6pts
Lucas Moura scored his 3rd goal of the season as Tottenham easily overcame Burnley by 4-0. Moura had a good game and was very assured in midfield and he now has 30 points.
Midfielder: Ruben Neves- Wolves 4pts
Ruben Neves scored the all important equaliser as Wolves came back from 1-0 down away to Newcastle. That was Neves 5th goal of the season and he is ranked 2nd best in Wolves’ fantasy midfield so far this season.
Striker: Harry Kane- Tottenham 4pts
Harry Kane was there again to notch in his 14th goal of the season as he was on fire and his team beat Burnley 4-0. Kane is having another terrific season and he will hope that his goals can fire Tottenham into a top 4 place. Kane’s value is 14.5m and he has 77 points so far and is 4th in the Premier League player rankings overall.
Striker: Nicolas Pepe- Arsenal 4pts
And from the other half of north London is Nicolas Pepe and Arsenal. Pepe has looked more impressive as the season goes on and he scored as the Gunners came back from 1-0 down to beat Leicester away from home 3-1. This could be a real turnaround for the club. Pepe now has five goals so far.
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Premier League: Best 11 Players from Week 18

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Manchester United remains in 1st position after they drew 0-0 with Liverpool in the big game at the weekend in the Premier League. The current champions have fallen down to 4th place but there is only a 3 point gap to first.

Manchester City’s impressive form has continued and they are in 2nd place and Leicester remain in the mix in 3rd place. There were also good wins for both Chelsea and Tottenham which keeps their distant title hopes alive.

Let’s take a look below to see which 11 players have made the team of the week in the formation of a 4-4-2.

Goalkeeper: David de Gea- Manchester United 7pts

This was a huge game for David de Gea as Manchester United went to Liverpool and got a 0-0 draw. The goalkeeper did well on several occasions to keep Liverpool out and that is his sixth clean sheet of the season.

Defender: John Stones- Manchester City 13pts

John Stones was the player of the week as he earned 13 points over the weekend. The defender scored not one but 2 goals as Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 4-0 and earned even more points by keeping a clean sheet. A perfect game for Stones.

Defender: Luke Shaw- Manchester United 5pts

Luke Shaw was everywhere in the vital game Manchester United played against Liverpool. He put in a superb and commanding role and Shaw earned 5 points and now has 13 in total. His value is 6m.

Defender: Ruben Dias- Manchester City 5pts

Ruben Dias is turning out to be one of the finds of this season and he kept his 9th clean sheet of the season as Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 4-0. Dias now has 42 points overall.

Defender: Andrew Robertson- Liverpool 5pts

Robertson had to remain alert as Liverpool kept their unbeaten record at home playing against the team now in 1st place in Manchester United. Robertson is Liverpool’s best defender in the fantasy points and has 34 overall and his value is 8.5m.

Midfielder: Raheem Sterling- Manchester City 6pts

Raheem Sterling scored his 5th goal of the season and his cracking goal helped Manchester City into 2nd place as they beat Crystal Palace 4-0 at home. Sterling now has 39 points overall and is City’s 2nd best midfielder in the fantasy rankings.

Midfielder: Neal Maupay- Brighton 6pts

Not many would have expected Brighton to keep a clean sheet and beat Leeds away from home but that’s what happened. Brighton won 1-0 and that was down to Neal Maupay’s goal. Maupay has seven goals so far and is valued at 3.5m.

Midfielder: Mason Mount- Chelsea 6pts

Despite Chelsea’s stars it was down to Mason Mount to grab the all important and only goal of the game as Chelsea beat Fulham away in the west London derby 1-0. With 24 points Mount has the most points of any Chelsea midfield in the fantasy rankings.

Midfielder: Ilkay Gundogan- Manchester City 6pts

Ilkay Gundogan is on form and scored a superb goal as City cruised to a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace and moved into 2nd place. They will be the favourites now to win the league. The midfielder has scored 4 goals this season.

Striker: Harry Kane- Tottenham 4pts

Tottenham beat Sheffield United 3-1 away from home and Harry Kane scored the 2nd goal which seemed to give Tottenham more control in the game. Kane has now scored 12 goals and has been involved in 11 assists in a remarkable season so far for him.

Striker: David McGoldrick- Sheffield United 4pts

As far as strikers were concerned this wasn’t the week for many to score points. Sheffield United lost at home 3-1 to Tottenham but David McGoldrick did give the Blades a little hope when he pulled the game back to 2-1 for a brief moment. In a tough season for the club McGoldrick has scored 5 goals.

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Is David De Gea’s time now up at Manchester United as the club’s number one goalkeeper?

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He has been Manchester United’s number one goalkeeper for a number of years and is seen as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, but David De Gea is no longer at his best and is regarded as a player who still has that one big error in him. For sure, he has saved the team on a regular basis during the side’s horrible decline, though, he is simply not doing enough at this moment of time.

Over the last two seasons, the Spaniard has conceded seven huge mistakes that has led directly to a goal in the league, which is the same amount as Bernd Leno, and one less than both Jordan Pickford and Martin Dubravka have conceded, who are nowhere near the level or quality of the 29-year-old.

De Gea’s unfortunate downfall had began at around the 2018 World Cup, where his individual mistakes and lack of leadership in his own penalty box had cost him severely and most importantly for his country, as they were kicked out of competition in the Round of 16 by Russia. Including all the penalties he faced, he only managed to save one of the 11 shots he faced on target. Not only that, Kepa Arrizabalaga is now preferred over him by the national coach Luis Enrique, as the former’s passing ability is superior and more suitable to Spain’s style of play when compared to the latter.

Focusing back to De Gea and his situation at Old Trafford, there are a lot of mixed feelings and opinions on the 29-year-old between the Manchester United supporters, as some will believe he is the most overprotected player at the club whilst others will feel he still one of the best shot-stoppers in Europe but is being constantly let down by the inconsistent defenders in front of him.

The former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper was once upon a time, seen as an influential individual that can help the team by saving the Red Devils 10 to 12 points a season. However, when you look back at the nine seasons David De Gea has had at Old Trafford, you could argue that he has had three to four top notch campaigns in goal, while the rest of the time, he has been poor and unconvincing.

Now, he is facing a lot of high pressure and he is not the type of football player to overcome big expectations, as both Dean Henderson and Sergio Romero are waiting patiently to try and become United’s number one goalkeeper. Solskjaer has been calm regarding to the goalkeeping situation and is expected to give the Spaniard his final chance, who will have to up his game to make it count.

Dean Henderson had spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Sheffield United, where he proved to be an important and consistent player for the Blades, who went on to finishing in 9th place under Chris Wilder. The Old Trafford faithful and their opinions on the 23-year-old is straight down the middle, as half of them feel he is in need of more Premier League experience before he become a regular starter at Manchester United, whilst the other half believe that he is ready to takeover from De Gea.

Overall, the goalkeeping dilemma is a win-win situation for Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as they will either experience one of the following; a short term revival from David De Gea or Dean Henderson stepping up to the big occasion and becoming the club’s number one goalkeeper for the next five to ten years. In the end, the club will not be required to spend any time in the transfer market for a goalkeeper, and can focus on the other areas, such as the defence or midfield.

Who will be Man Utd’s number 1 next season?

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David de Gea has just completed his ninth consecutive season as Manchester United’s first choice goalkeeper.

The Spaniard has won the club’s Player of the Year award on four separate occasions, the Premier League Golden Glove award for most clean sheets for the 2017-18 season, and been named in the PFA Team of the Year five times.

However, his performances have dropped off incredibly over the past two seasons that many fans were calling for his head before the end of this recently finished campaign.

The 29-year-old has made numerous errors leading to opposition goals during the past two seasons and will face stiff competition next month to earn his right as Manchester United’s number one for their season opener.

That is because Dean Henderson has confirmed he will not be extending his stay at Sheffield United beyond this season.

The Englishman has been on loan at Bramall Lane for the past two seasons, helping the Blades gain a surprise promotion to the Premier League in 2018-19 and then playing a key role in their surprise top half finish.

Henderson confirmed his departure from Sheffield United on Twitter earlier today:

https://twitter.com/deanhenderson/status/1296115779742642178

It is up to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to decide whether to stick with David de Gea or give Dean Henderson a chance when the new top flight campaign starts on 12 September.

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Manchester United have just kissed goodbye to Champions League football next season

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Manchester United could only draw 1-1 against Chelsea and that should be the final nail in their coffin of what has been a miserable season for the Red Devils.

It started off in pre season when Jose Mourinho seemingly moaned about everything from missing out on transfers, not feeling the support of the board and not having all of his players on their American tour, and it has never really let up.

Yes his sacking was needed even if by and large certain players were not pulling their weight- a new a manager had to step in and at first Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looked like that man. The team went the next 3 months unbeaten and flirted with the top 4 when in December it looked impossible.

Confidence cannot be underestimated and the happiness and let’s face it love that the Norwegian brought to the club even extended outside of the Premier League when they stunned PSG in Paris to knock them out, with some luck, in the Champions League. And then it all went wrong.

Now in the quarter finals of the Champions League and top 4 of the Premier League, United gave Solskjaer the job full time, and the results started to go stale. Wolves knocked them out of the FA Cup and Barcelona made light work of them in the Champions League. Wolves also beat United in the league, something was wrong and the mood in the camp was back to five months ago.

This was brought to a head when Everton slaughtered United 4-0 and then they lost the derby to Manchester City. This Chelsea match was seen as the final roll of the dice and even though ex Chelsea player Juan Mata put his side in front, Chelsea struck back to earn a draw.

United have won just 1 game in their past five and people are searching for scapegoats. This is unfair of course, because surely you win and lose and draw as a team. However the spotlight has been shone on two players. Romelu Lukaku who rarely scores now and looks unfit and David De Gea one of the best goal keepers in Europe who has been poor in the clubs last four games. De Gea isn’t just having bad games, he is making blunder upon blunder which is completely unlike him, but his performances are mirroring United’s season.

The Draw against Chelsea will most probably mean United will not be playing Champions League football next season. With 2 games to go Tottenham are 5 points clear of United and home and dry. Chelsea are 3 points. It just seems too far a stretch to come back from now.

United will play Huddersfield next and that should be 3 points and Cardiff could make it two wins. But it seems too much to ask to see both Chelsea and Arsenal simply collapse in their final two games. Having said that Arsenal are experiencing their worst form of the season and much like United have imploded at the final jump.

One thing for United is sure- none of this latest form should be blamed on Solskjaer- the Norwegian needs a summer transfer window and a full season to be judged properly.

Though it is clear that the roses have been tossed in the bin, and the gloves are off.

This weekend’s predicted lineups for all EPL games

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With just a couple of weeks left in this Premier League season, it’s time for you to start making that final fantasy EPL push up the table.

Here are our predicted lineups for those EPL fixtures so have a read in preparation for another EPL fantasy football round.

Liverpool v Huddersfield Town

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Keita, Salah, Firmino, Mane

Huddersfield XI: Lossl, Smith, Schindler, Kongolo, Durm, Hadergjonaj, Mooy, Stankovic, Bacuna, Lowe, Mounie Continue reading →

EPL Game of the Weekend – Everton vs Man Utd

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The late Jerry Reed once released a song entitled “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” – and no truer words could possibly be spoken about Marco Silva’s Everton of late. Just a few weeks ago, Silva’s position at the club seemed questionable, and the Toffees faced a nightmare run of home fixtures against Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd – not the type of fixture list a manager under pressure would be hoping to see! Having now emerged from that run of games with three wins and one draw – and without conceding a single goal in the process – Everton fans will be delighted with the football their team has been playing against some of England’s top teams. Everton have been the club of the week several times in the last month or so, and beat Man Utd 4-0 this weekend.

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How Barcelona will beat Man Utd

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They might be favourites to win the tie over two legs, but there’s no way that Barcelona will be taking Manchester United lightly, particularly at Old Trafford.

Playing at the Camp Nou for the second leg may seem to afford the Catalans an advantage of sorts, but Ernesto Valverde and his team will want to make that a formality.

In order to do so, they’ll need to take the game to the Red Devils and quieten the expected 75,000 crowd.

But just how are they going to manage it?

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How many Manchester United players would get in Manchester City’s matchday squad?

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One of the biggest matches of the 2018-19 Premier League season so far takes place on Sunday when Manchester United make the short trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.

Jose Mourinho’s United have had a resurgence of late but their tally of 20 points from 11 games is still below expectations, while Pep Guardiola’s table-topping City have continued their fine form from last season and remain unbeaten in the league.

Every time two of the Premier League’s elite go head-to-head, you can expect to see people comparing the teams by putting together a combined XI from both squads.

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How many Manchester United players have actually improved under Jose Mourinho?

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Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho’s third-season crisis has kicked into gear extra early in 2018-19, with Manchester United currently sitting 10th in the Premier League table after losing three of their first seven games of the new campaign.

The club’s below-par start to the season, which has included defeats against Brighton, Tottenham and West Ham, as well as a League Cup exit on penalties to Derby, has led to intense speculation about Mourinho’s future at Old Trafford.

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