Sports

There are two more mouth-watering Champions League quarter-final clashes on Wednesday with an all-English affair particularly catching the eye.

Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City travel to Anfield to face free-scoring Liverpool in what promises to be a pulsating game. 

In the day s other match, Barcelona host Roma with the Serie A side needing to reverse recent history if they are to register a positive result against Ernesto Valverde s side.

Here, we look at some of the best Opta facts ahead of the two games.

Liverpool v Manchester City

179  Liverpool and City will meet for the 179th time in all competitions, but this will be their first encounter in European competition.

4  Sergio Aguero has scored in all four o…

Enzo Fernandez is the epitome of the type of footballer Germany must look to produce, according to RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl.

Benfica midfielder Fernandez had an outstanding World Cup for Argentina and has since been linked with a host of major European clubs, prompting speculation of a move in the January transfer window.

The 21-year-old was an all-action figure in the team that carried off the trophy, and Eberl said Fernandez and Rodrigo de Paul were players whose industry caught the eye.

Eberl, previously sporting director at Borussia Monchengladbach for 14 years, is considered one of German football s smartest thinkers.

He wants to see leaders produced and believes that character trait can be as significant as skill.

We should ha…

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni insisted his side can compete with any team at the World Cup, after their 3-0 win over Italy in the UEFA/CONMEBOL Finalissima at Wembley on Wednesday.

The Albiceleste were ruthless in transition, pouncing on any opportunity to counter, with first-half goals from Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria capped off by Paulo Dybala s second-half injury-time strike.

Argentina set a new national team record in the process, now moving to 32 matches unbeaten.

On the back of 2021 s Copa America triumph, Scaloni said that while his team is strong as any heading into Qatar, success will only come through spirit.

What counts is the spirit of sacrifice, struggle and team spirit shown by the group, beyond the results, he told ESPN Arge…

AC Milan are close to completing a deal to sign Pietro Pellegri from AS Monaco, according to .

Pellegri is a 20-year-old attacking player, with versatility as one of his main strengths. Primarily a striker, he can play as an attacking midfielder, or a winger on either flank as well. An extremely talented youngster who should benefit a lot from playing alongside high-quality veterans like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud.

Pellegri started out at Genoa, where he went through the youth ranks and earned a place in the first-team squad before moving to Monaco in 2018. Since then, he s made a total of 23 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, scoring twice.

Milan have already agreed personal terms with the player, and the agreement with Monaco over the proposed transf…

Neven Subotic has put an end to speculation over his future by signing a two-year contract extension with Borussia Dortmund.

The Serbia defender had been linked with a move to Arsenal with just a year remaining on his previous deal with the Bundesliga club.

Subotic has opted to remain at Signal Iduna Park as Dortmund prepare to start a new era under Thomas Tuchel following the end of Jurgen Klopp s reign.

I m extremely happy about my decision to stay with BVB. Dortmund has now become my second home. I m now looking forward to a successful future with our team and our fantastic fans behind us.  said Subotic.

We have a great deal to do in the immediate future, and I want to make a big contribution.

Dortmund Chief executive officer Hans-Joa…

Diego Simeone believes Joao Felix was unfortunate to be sent off in Atletico Madrid s draw with Athletic Bilbao, suggesting no one else would have seen red in similar circumstances. 

Atletico slumped to a third successive home draw across all competitions for the first time since October 2019, as Athletic frustrated them in a 0-0 stalemate. 

The visitors created the better chances, their accumulative xG total of 1.2 coming from six shots whereas Atletico recorded 1.1 from 14 attempts, though Marcelino Garcia Toral s men wasted two glorious opportunities. 

Simeone s side were not helped by the dismissal of Joao Felix for two bookings in quick succession 12 minutes from time, the Portugal international first shown a yellow card for catching his marker with…

“We’ve already had talks, there will be more”.

These are the short and sweet words of Hasan Salihamidzic regarding the potential signing of Lucas Hernandez. The 22 year old has built quite the legacy for himself at Atletico Madrid over the course of the last 12 years, starting off with his time in the youth team. He worked his way up through the ranks until finally, in 2014, he was promoted to the senior team. In that time he’s been able to establish himself as a firm fan favourite, but these rumours regarding his future don’t seem to be going away.

Hernandez would serve as a marquee signing for Bayern Munich, who are currently tussling back and forth with Borussia Dortmund at the top of Bundesliga. The addition of someone like Hernandez would certainly add so…

Lorenzo Insigne says his move to Major League Soccer side Toronto FC came about due to his need for a new challenge after spending his entire career with Napoli.

The Italy international agreed to join Toronto in January, going on to finish the 2021-22 Serie A season with 11 goals in 32 appearances for Luciano Spalletti s Napoli before heading to Canada.

Insigne scored 122 goals in 434 appearances for his hometown club, a tally which is only bettered by Dries Mertens (148) and represents seven goals more than the late, great Diego Maradona netted for the Partenopei (115).

Speaking at his first news conference in Toronto, Insigne refuted the suggestion that MLS represented a step down for a player of his quality.

Asked whether he had been presented wit…

Jurgen Klopp said Diego Simeone s decision to not shake his hand following Liverpool s incredible 3-2 Champions League win over 10-man Atletico Madrid was not so cool .

Simeone stormed down the tunnel at full-time in Tuesday s European classic at Wanda Metropolitano after a couple of big refereeing decisions went against Atletico.

Atleti had two-goal star Antoine Griezmann sent off for a contentious red card for a high boot with the game poised at 2-2 and saw a strong penalty shout overturned by VAR late on.

While not pleased with Simeone s snub, Liverpool manager Klopp could understand his opposite number s frustration on an evening of high drama in the Spanish capital.

We don t like that but yes the situation is clear, Klopp told BT Sport. I want to sh…

Barcelona have expressed an interest in Manchester City full-back Angelino, with the Premier League club setting a €30million (£27.7m) asking price.

Angelino re-joined City from PSV last year when a £5.3million buyback option was exercised but he struggled to establish himself under Pep Guardiola.

The 23-year-old made 12 appearance in all competitions, starting the Premier League defeats against Liverpool and Manchester United before signing for RB Leipzig on loan in January.

He impressed as Julian Nagelsmann s side reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, with those displays attracting the attention of Barcelona and their newly installed head coach Ronald Koeman.

Stats Perform News understands City are holding firm on their valuation of Angel…