Afcon 2023 is over. What a remarkable end to a tournament dripping in drama.
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The night has only just started in Abidjan.
EPL
Premier League Relegation Battle: Who will escape the bottom?
This got to be one of the greatest premier league seasons ever, everyone is fighting for something. Two teams are in the title race, four teams for the UCL places, the following five teams for the conference league slot and the remaining nine teams are in the relegation battle.
Sumara Hussain PREDICTS:
Southampton leicester city and also Nottingham forest will be relegated from the premier league
Title race, top 4, Euro places and relegation will all go down to the last few games because every team still has something to play for so no dead rubber games.
Dyche is averaging 1.33 points per game that would total over 9 games to 39pts and not forgetting EFC have played Arsenal twice, Chelsea away, Spurs and a Brentford side that was unbeaten for about 5 months. Then also add the Goodison effect for the remainder of the campaign.
With the Premier League season entering its final two months, just seven points stand between 20th and 12th.
It is one of the most hotly-contested relegation battles in years, with seven points dividing 12th-placed Crystal Palace and rock-bottom Southampton.
So, who is most at risk of dropping down to the Championship? Here are the runners and riders from a competition no club wants to win come May 28.
Sean Dyche came into Goodison Park and immediately won fans over with three crucial home wins against Arsenal, Leeds and Brentford. They have since battled hard to claim a vital point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and Tottenham at home.
A fired-up Goodison can indeed act as Everton’s 12th man during the run-in – it certainly played a part in last season’s successful survival bid – and if the Toffees are to stay up, you can expect the five games that remain at home to be where they gather most of the points required.
Going into the international break, the top 11 teams in the Premier League are as good as safe and will be playing top-flight football next season.
But the nine teams below them are all in the relegation battle, one of the tightest in Premier League history, with only four points separating Crystal Palace in 12th from bottom club Southampton. It is going to be a titanic struggle to survive and likely to go to the last kick of the season.
David McDonnell, David Maddock and James Nursey look at the nine candidates for the drop and offer a reason why each will survive and a reason why they won’t.
Popular Premier League
Leicester
Why they will stay up:
If Leicester can tighten up at the back, they should have enough firepower and creativity with the likes of James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Kelechi Iheanacho and Jamie Vardy.
Why they will go down:
Boss Brendan Rodgers is facing mounting dissent from a section of unhappy fans and that rarely helps a team improve their form. With each passing week, that pressure mounts.
Remaining fixtures: Apr 8 Bournemouth (h), Apr 15 Manchester City (a), Apr 22 Wolves (h), Apr 25 Leeds (a), May 1 Everton (h), May 6 Fulham (a), May 13 Liverpool (h), May 20 Newcastle (a), May 28 West Ham (h).
Nottingham Forest
Having been away from the Premier League for so long, Forest fans will just be happy to see their side rubbing shoulders with the perennial big boys once again. But, if Steve Cooper’s career has taught us anything, he will not be a man who simply wants to make up the numbers in the top division.
A progressive coach who produced miracles in taking Forest from the bottom of the Championship to the Premier League, Cooper will have wanted to cause a splash this season. Forest have had some big results so far but after 28 games played Forest are 15th, only one point above the drop zone. They are also now winless in seven games in the Premier League, with four defeats and three draws – one was against Man City, though.
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‘Compelling title race a relief for Premier League’
This weekend will be the 10th time that the Premier League title has been decided on the final day of the season.
But rarely before will those in charge of the competition have been so grateful for a captivating conclusion to the campaign.
Liverpool’s challenge ultimately faded, scuppering their fans’ dreams of a triumphant farewell for departing manager Jurgen Klopp and the prospect of an unprecedented three-way battle going the full distance.
But Manchester City or Arsenal will be crowned champions in the final act of what has been a classic duel.
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Sunday may not provide the unforgettable drama of 2012’s last day, which saw massive fans’ participation at MT online sportsbooks, when Sergio Aguero’s stoppage-time winner sealed a first Premier League title for City. But whether it ends with a record fourth consecutive title for the champions or a first in 20 years for Arsenal, league bosses, broadcasters and neutrals will have the special finale they hoped for.
Off the field, however, these have been troubled times for the top flight.
The points deductions handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest this season for breaching financial rules have been hugely contentious, the punishments – and subsequent appeals – leading to uncertainty over the league table, resentment by fans and fears that the relegation battle could be decided by the rulings of commission panels.
While both teams have ultimately stayed up, the controversy surrounding the profit and sustainability regulations (PSR) is not going away.
Newly promoted Leicester City have been charged with breaking spending rules when they were in the top flight (and are now taking legal action against the league), while Chelsea have also been under investigation.
And 16 months after City were charged with more than a hundred rule breaches, a hearing in their case is not thought to be scheduled until the autumn, contributing to the mounting scrutiny of the league’s governance and processes.
While City deny wrongdoing, a sixth league triumph in seven years would only intensify questions over the fairness of how they assembled their squad over several seasons, the time the case has taken, and whether the club’s wealth has distorted the competitiveness of the league, alongside admiration for the team and their coach.
Meanwhile, a split has emerged between clubs over plans to introduce a new spending cap, and the Premier League is facing the threat of more legal action from one of its members over amended rules around associated party transactions.
As if all that was not enough to contend with, the league’s chief executive Richard Masters has also warned of the “unintended consequences” of the forthcoming independent football regulator, amid mounting criticism of the failure by his clubs to agree a new financial settlement with the English Football League (EFL).
The Premier League is also known to be deeply concerned about the increasingly congested calendar, with Masters recently warning of a “tipping point”, after criticism following the scrapping of FA Cup replays. The league has also admitted that the VAR system must improve after a series of controversies.
With the title race going right to the wire, Sunday’s final-day drama will provide a welcome distraction from such matters for Masters and his colleagues – but, one suspects, only a temporary one.
Clock ticking for Commonwealth Games
A few weeks ago in Birmingham, Katie Sadleir, the head of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), told me that any further delay beyond May in announcing a host for the 2026 event would be “very problematic”.
Since then Glasgow has emerged as a possible back-up option if no replacement is found for Victoria in Australia, which pulled out last year, plunging the event into crisis.
But there has still been no official announcement by the CGF.
Insiders claim they remain hopeful a host will be confirmed in the next two weeks, but the clock is ticking.
Super League heading stateside?
The National Rugby League (NRL) season kicked off in the US for the first time in March, with a Premiership double-header staged at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as part of a multi-year deal designed to grow the sport in the US.
So could Super League clubs follow suit?
Talks have taken place over the Club World Challenge being staged in the US, and some Super League bosses are keen on regular season matches being part of the tie-up too.
Wigan and Warrington played each other in Milwaukee 35 years ago, albeit as an exhibition match. And with rugby league currently ‘re-imagining’ itself as part of a 12-year deal with agency IMG intended to boost its appeal, anything seems possible.
Manchester United assessing potential Erik ten Hag replacements 👀 Mark Ogden shares details with SportsFila.
The fact that Southgate is on that list tells how serious you should take it
No manager on earth could do anything with Manchester United until Someone takes responsibility for the club and has a viable plan for the future.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group, the club’s new partial owners, are exploring options to assume the role. According to Team Talk, the Red Devils are considering the 41-year-old as a candidate for the manager position.
After achieving success as a player with Barcelona, Inter, and Paris Saint-Germain, winning numerous titles, the two-time Champions League winner transitioned to coaching at the senior level.
Flop Antony and Gabriella Cavallin/ getty Images
ESPN loves ManUtd. As much they say that they hate talking about ManUtd they can’t stop talking about ManUtd 😅😅. They have spend 15 mins speaking on rumours – Hypocrites.
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It’s not Ten Hag fault when players like rashford do not put in all the effort after signing a new contract. Also ten hag had to deal with incredible amount of injuries which ESPN deliberately overlooks. So getting another manager isn’t going to solve anything.
It’s so funny how the English media fails to realize that the structure & the players is the problem at united…..but they trying to sack ETH who is an elite manger under a proper management structure 💯
The best manager that seems to be being overlooked shouod be n1 on the list for bayern utd liverpool is someone inzaghi. Hes done great things with Lazio and inter. Loads of experience and has got to european finals and won domestic leagues.
Manchester City 3-1 win over United in Manchester Derby.
It is very different getting an underdog /dark horse to perform vs going to an environment where the spotlight in on you everyday from day 1. The same thing happened at Bayern with a couple of their coaches…
Afcon 2024 victory is well deserved for Ivory Coast they left no stone unturned and they dominated throughout. If there is a one person who deserved to win the AFCON it was Sebastian Haller. In 2022, he was diagnosed with cancer but he recovered and he returned to play football in 2023 only to bottle the Bundesliga title on the final matchday to Bayern but here we are in 2024 where he scored the winner in the AFCON final to win Cote d’Ivoire AFCON title so congratulations🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🏆
Brazil Antony fulfill his potential at Manchester United?
FT: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
But Ivory Coast won fair and square. They played better. Congratulations champs.
What Adingra did in the African Cup of Nation was phenomenal. Nigerians will remember him as a nighmare forever. The boy has a great future ahead of him.
Why Biased Ten Hag Cannot Discipline Rashford Like Sancho
Haller beats cancer, then comes to the AFCON and scores the most important goal in the final, the winning goal what a beautiful story for that man and Ivory coast, congratulations to them👏👏
Congratulations to Ivory Coast from cameroonian👏👏👏you organized and won the most beautiful AFCON in story, unbelievable achievment when we look how things went for you.
One of the best tournaments I’ve seen.
Almost every team demonstrated that they were not afraid of their opponent and played above expectations.
Congratulations to Côte d’Ivoire who never gave up and believed and implemented their progress towards goal as much as possible until the last second in this tournament. Kudos to Nigeria for high yield and quality.
Thank you for making the spectators so emotional and congratulations and best wishes to the Ivory Coast and the Ivorian people.
FT: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
Afcon 2023 is over. What a remarkable end to a tournament dripping in drama.
Thanks for your company.
The night has only just started in Abidjan.
Congratulations to Ivory Coast for winning the Africa Cup🏆! The team showed strength and desire to win and to not give up until the end. And the fans were absolutely amazing
P.s Haller deserved it the most, since he suffered a lot.
The story of Côte d’Ivoire’s victory in the African Nations is one of the most beautiful stories in the history of football. We sympathized with this team’s version a lot and we will tell it to our children in the future 🧡
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