Down to Ten Men

Neymar continues scoring goals on a consistent basis and he is undoubtedly one of the most coveted youngsters in the world of football, it’s hard to deny that the 24 year old Brazilian is one of the top players in the sport and he is proving it with Barcelona in each match with outstanding performances.

The Brazilian national football team has to play in 2 big competitions in this summer which are the Copa America and the Olympic Games.

The head coach of the Brazilian team Dunga is hoping that Neymar will be able to compete in both of these upcoming games but there is the possibility of seeing the young player get exhausted from performing in all of these competitions as well as all of the games that he has to play with Barcelona and this could force Neymar on only being able to play 1 of these approaching competitions.

Now that the metaphorical dust has settled after the recent January transfer window slammed shut on the 1st of February, now is an ideal opportunity to reflect on the dealings – or lack of - in certain cases for Premier League clubs.

£175m was spent by England’s elite sides in the recent buying period, a figure that was repeated back in 2008. The winter transfer window of 2011 saw £225m outlaid by the Premier League – and that remains the highest total thus far.

Over £1bn has been spent over the 2015-16 season, and those figures are likely to be gazumped with the impending television deal, to offer Premier League clubs even greater bargaining power across Europe and beyond.

Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini claims that Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain is the Lionel Messi of Italian football after the striker’s latest goals helped the club moved to the top of the Italian Serie A.

Napoli have not been one of the contenders for the Italian league title in the last few years. This has been due to the departure of Walter Mazzarri and the exit of players like Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez. It has taken the club a long time to recover from such sudden departures of big names. They are finally showing signs of reclaiming their top dog status in the league.

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic gave the media a surprise news line ahead of his side’s FA Cup third round clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

When asked whether he would rather win English football’s oldest trophy, or secure qualification for a place in next season’s Champions League, the assembled journalists expected Bilic to plump for the lure of joining Europe’s elite.

As such, there were some raised eyebrows when the Croatian answered, with a plain expression and barely a moment’s thought, that he would choose to lift the FA Cup. Seeing that he had caught everyone off guard, he explained – in broken English and with gestures that drew laughs of approval – that winning a competition allows you to lift a trophy, whereas mere qualification does not.

Liverpool boast a proud history in the FA Cup having won the world’s most nostalgic knockout domestic competition on seven occasions.

Since first lifting the cup in the 1964/67 season, the Reds have regained the silverware at least once in every following decade.

The Anfield faithful will therefore be hoping for another successful cup run this season when they begin their campaign against Exeter City.

And FA Cup betting at the time of writing places Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League giants at 4/9 to progress past their League Two opponents as they seek another road to Wembley.

The aim for Liverpool is to build on their FA Cup history and, here, we remember their most recent final experiences in the 21st Century, which have ended in both success and failure.

LIVERPOOL 2 ARSENAL 1 – 2000/01 – MILLENNIUM STADIUM

The shock 1-0 home defeat to newly-promoted Bournemouth was yet another body blow for Chelsea in what has already descended into a nightmare season where very little, if anything at all, has gone right.

Jose Mourinho has cut a forlorn figure on the sidelines as his team have been a distinct shadow of the one that dominated the Premier League with a swagger and ruthlessness that set them apart from the rest.

Bookies highlighted the fact that most bookmakers installed Chelsea as favourites to retain their league crown, but their latest defeat not only leaves them firmly in the mire in the bottom half of the table, but also dented any hope of clawing some credibility back by reaching the top four.

There is still time for Chelsea to resurrect their season with twenty-three games still to play, but if recent performances and results are anything to go by, then it may be worth writing off the 2015/2016 campaign altogether and starting afresh next season.