2019/20 Premier League & General Football Discussion

[MUSC4EVER]

Here are this weekends Bundesliga games.

Friday Night
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (7.30)

Saturday
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen
SC Paderborn v Hoffenheim
SC Freiberg v Werder Bremen
VFL Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund

Sunday
Koln v Fortuna Dusseldorf (5pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (2.30)
Schalke v Augsburg (12.30)

All kick-off times are GMT, the other games on Saturday are 2.30pm kick-off.

No other major European leagues are back just yet.

 

[JohnBM01]

Most football fans know of La Liga in Spain. Well, I know more of La Liga Mexicana; and unfortunately, La Liga Mexicana has been cancelled for 2020, and no champion will be crowned this year. I often times watch La Liga Mexicana matches on TV. Sad break for fans of La Liga Mexicana.

If I get a chance to check out some live football over the weekend, I'll be sure to watch a few games.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

996 more Covid 19 tests have been carried out on Premier League players and staff in the last week, two of which came back positive, Bournemouth have confirmed that one of their players tested positive and the unnamed player will now self-isolate for seven days, Tests have also been carried out on English Championship players and staff and out of 1,014 tests carried out two came back positive and they are both from Hull City, more tests will be carried out in both Premier League and Championship in the coming days.

The Spanish Prime Minister has said that Spanish La Liga can return from June 8th.

In the Bundesliga there have been some big wins so far, Hertha Berlin beat their derby rivals Union 4-0 on Friday night, Bayern beat Frankfurt 5-2 yesterday and the two games so far today were very one-sided with Augsburg beating Schalke 0-3 (Schalke were terrible) and Leipzig just beat Mainz 0-5 with Werner getting a hat-trick (Mainz also terrible) There is more Bundesliga action on Tuesday and Wednesday this week with one of the games being Bayern Munich v Dortmund which is a top of the table clash on Tuesday night, I'll post the games up tomorrow night after work

 

[Jezza819]

Koln vs. Dusseldorf are on now.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Knew I forgot something last night.

Tonight
Bayer Leverkusen v Wolfsburg
Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich (5.30)
Eintracht Frankfurt v SC Freiberg
Werder Bremen v Borussia Monchengladbach

Wednesday Night
Augsburg v Paderborn
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Schalke
Hoffenheim v Koln
RB Leipzig v Hertha Berlin (5.30)
Union Berlin v Mainz

Games kick-off at 7.30pm unless stated otherwise, kick-off times are GMT.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Premier League clubs have voted unanimously to approve a return to contact training, another step towards the resumption of matches 'when safe to do so', June 18/19 has been thrown around a lot as a potential date for the matches to resume.

The third round of mass testing has happened, there were 1008 tests carried out on Monday and Tuesday with four more positive tests from three different PL clubs, a fourth round of testing will take place tomorrow and Friday.

 

[Jezza819]

Premier League clubs have voted unanimously to approve a return to contact training, another step towards the resumption of matches 'when safe to do so', June 18/19 has been thrown around a lot as a potential date for the matches to resume.

The third round of mass testing has happened, there were 1008 tests carried out on Monday and Tuesday with four more positive tests from three different PL clubs, a fourth round of testing will take place tomorrow and Friday.

Is this the third round of testing on the same group of people from the PL teams or a completely new 1008 people that have never been tested before?

 

[MUSC4EVER]

I have no idea I'm afraid pal.

All I know is that all 20 clubs get 50-70 tests each and the players and staff get tested.

I think only having four come back positive from 1008 is pretty good though.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Premier League restart has been approved!

On the 17th of June, the two games in hand will be played, followed by the first round of fixtures on the weekend of the 19-21st June.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52833725

 

[MUSC4EVER]

You beat me to it!

Not confirmed by the Premier League just yet but its approved by the clubs, we are waiting on a statement from the league.

EDIT: PL statement says that all 92 remaining games will be televised live!

Weekend kick-off times.
Friday: 8pm
Saturday: 12pm, 3pm, 5.30pm, 8pm.
Sunday: 12pm, 2pm, 4.30pm, 7pm.
Monday: 8pm

Midweek kick-off times are 6pm and 8pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

There is just going to be a bonanza from the 17th!

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Here is the Bundesliga action this weekend.

Tonight.
SC Freiberg v Bayer Leverkusen (7.30)

Saturday.
Bayern Munich v Fortuna Dusseldorf (5.30)
Hertha Berlin v FC Augsburg
Mainz v Hoffenheim
Schalke v Werder Bremen
VFL Wolfsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt

Sunday.
Borussia Monchengladbach v Union Berlin (2.30)
Paderborn v Borussia Dortmund (5pm)

Monday night.
Koln v RB Leipzig (7.30)

 

[Famine]

Premier League restart has been approved!

On the 17th of June, the two games in hand will be played, followed by the first round of fixtures on the weekend of the 19-21st June.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52833725

You beat me to it!

Not confirmed by the Premier League just yet but its approved by the clubs, we are waiting on a statement from the league.

EDIT: PL statement says that all 92 remaining games will be televised live!

Weekend kick-off times.
Friday: 8pm
Saturday: 12pm, 3pm, 5.30pm, 8pm.
Sunday: 12pm, 2pm, 4.30pm, 7pm.
Monday: 8pm

Midweek kick-off times are 6pm and 8pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

There is just going to be a bonanza from the 17th!

I think that I have now entirely run out of care about football. It's June on Monday. Just pack it in already.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

More good news today.

The fourth round of mass testing on Premier League players and staff has concluded, and after 1,130 tests NONE came back positive. 👍

 

[88GTA]

Serie A in Italy will restart in less than 2 weeks with the resumption of the Coppa Italia semi-finals. The final will then be only a few days later, June 17th I believe, before the league restarts June 20.

Ibrahimovic re-injured his calf during training last week and will miss at least a month. It sounds like he won't retire yet and is likely to re-sign with AC Milan (if Rangnick approves) or possibly another Serie A club like Napoli or Fiorentina. A move to Hammarby in Sweden could also be on the cards as he owns 25% of the club and he has yet to move his family from Sweden.

In other Serie A news, Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini has just admitted that he was ill with COVID-19 symptoms during his club's Champions League 2nd-leg matchup at Valencia on Mar. 9. This came as a big surprise to Valencia after the game was played behind closed doors in Spain with various safety precautions in place. The first leg match on Feb. 19 in Bergamo is still considered one of the leading causes for over 16,000 deaths in the region and has been labeled "Game Zero" for the virus.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

English Championship to resume on June 20th.

Spanish La Liga to resume with the derby between Real Betis and Sevilla on June 11th and their next season will start on September 12th.

Man United have extended Odion Ighalo's loan spell from Shanghai until February, the previous loan deal expired on May 31st.

PSG have bought Mario Icardi permanently from Inter Milan after a successful loan spell.

 

[Dave A]

Not sure how I feel about Ighalo's loan extension. I'm thrilled to have him to the end of the season, but to have him until what we can assume will be part way through next season seems a little odd.

I do like him, but I'm glad we have'nt bought him. At 31 he's not someone I'd have thought would be a piece of a rebuild, but he's good enough to play a part while Greenwood is still being eased in I suppose.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

So Ighalo has scored 4 goals and got 1 assist in 8 games in all competitions and has averaged a goal every 80 minutes, he has certainly made an impact on the pitch, but its his impact of the pitch that has impressed me most.

He is a lifelong United fan and United are his boyhood club so I'm not exaggerating when I say he is living his dream right now, when players play for their favoured clubs they generally give everything whenever they play and that's what Ighalo is doing/has been doing, he has a fantastic attitude and is an asset in the dressing room...

...and we haven't had many of those sort of players in the last 8 years.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

The fifth round of coronavirus testing has taken place in the Premier League, there was one positive test out of 1,197.

There is a Bundesliga game tonight between Frankfurt and Werder Bremen, doesn't sound like a great game as Frankfurt are 12th and Bremen are having a shocking season in penultimate place well adrift of safety.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Premier League shareholders had a meeting today and the main news to come from it is that there will be five subs allowed during a match when the League resumes in two weeks, the number of substitutes will go up from seven to nine and the number of players in the matchday squad will go up from 18 to 20. This follows the Bundesliga who also have allowed five subs to be made during a match since its resumption.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Here are the Bundesliga games for this weekend.

Tonight.
SC Freiberg v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30)

Saturday.
Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich
Borussia Dortmund v Hertha Berlin (5.30)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Mainz
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Hoffenheim
RB Leipzig v SC Paderborn

Sunday.
Augsburg v Koln (5pm)
Werder Bremen v VFL Wolfsburg (12.30)
Union Berlin v Schalke (2.30)

Spanish La Liga returns next week.

Premier League have announced all TV games for the first few weeks when it resumes, BBC will show two games and its the first time they have shown live PL games in the PL era.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

A few bits and pieces.

PL teams are starting to take part in friendlies ahead of the re-start, the players have to travel to the venues on their own and in their kit and the games have to be officiated by backroom staff. Yesterday Arsenal beat Charlton 6-0, Aston Villa and West Brom drew 2-2 and Man United had a practice game amongst their first team squad at Old Trafford, the game finished 4-4.

EFL Championship resumes on the 20th, no fixture list has been announced yet but Sky have announced the kick-off times for the games they will be showing, the play-offs are scheduled to take place in July.

The sixth round of Covid-19 testing occurred on Thursday and Friday in the Premier League, there were no positive cases out of 1,195.

There were Bundesliga games this weekend that featured artificial crowd noise, both the Dortmund game yesterday and the Union Berlin and the Augsburg game today had the noise dubbed over, Sky and BT will have this feature on the red button for when the PL returns, the noise reacts to things like goals and fouls in game right away which is pretty good, I read that EA sports who develop the FIFA games helped with the noise.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

EFL today confirmed that League One and League Two teams have voted to end their seasons by an 'overwhelming majority' following a meeting between English Football League sides.

Both leagues were decided by points-per-game and it means that in League One Coventry are champions and Rotherham promoted both to the championship. Bolton, Southend and Tranmere are relegated to League Two, The play-offs will still take place with Wycombe, Oxford, Portsmouth and Fleetwood taking part.

In League Two Swindon go up as champions with Crewe and Plymouth also promoted, Cheltenham, Exeter, Colchester and Northampton will contest the play-offs, the relegation place is still to be decided however as second-bottom Macclesfield facing a potential points deduction, Stevenage currently sit bottom. Relegation will only be ratified if the National League can give assurances that its competition can still go ahead.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Bundesliga games this weekend, this will be the last time I post the games as the Premier League returns this coming week.

Tonight
Hoffenheim v RB Leipzig (7.30)

Saturday
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (5.30)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt
Koln v Union Berlin
SC Paderborn v Werder Bremen
Wolfsburg v SC Freiberg

Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (2.30)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (5pm)

La Liga resumed last night with Sevilla beating Real Betis 2-0, two La Liga games tonight with some tomorrow and Sunday, Italian Football is back tonight as well with the Coppa Italia.

A meeting was held between Premier League shareholders yesterday in which they unanimously agreed safety protocols for when the league resumes on Wednesday. These include no ball-boys or girls, coaching staff or players will not be required to wear masks, and players will be encouraged not to spit and to follow social distancing during goal celebrations, in total there will be only 300 people allowed in the stadiums during matches.

Dele Alli will miss Tottenham's first game back v Man United next Monday after a one-game suspension for his Snapchat video that he posted back in February mocking the coronavirus, he has also received a £50k fine and ordered to take an education course

 

[88GTA]

I'm ready to be shocked. AC Milan have never achieved a point at Allianz Stadium but if they were ever going to do it, it could be tonight. After almost 3 months off, they could pull something off against a rusty Juventus.

My Bennacer 3rd kit arrived yesterday so here we go.

Edit: Nevermind. That 17th minute karate kick ended any chance.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

A friendly reminder that the Premier League resumes tomorrow.

There is also Bundesliga and La Liga action on tonight and tomorrow night.

Also what an absolute hero Marcus Rashford is, I feel so proud that he play for United. 👍

 

[88GTA]

Bayern locked up the Bundesliga... Again.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Aston Villa v Sheffield United (6pm Sky)
Man City v Arsenal (8.15pm Sky)

These two games are being played first because of the League Cup final at the end of February in which Man City beat Villa 2-0, these games would have been played if City and Villa didn't contest the final.

There are title implications in the City game, if Arsenal beat Man City then Liverpool need a win against Everton on Sunday to clinch the title, if its a City win or a draw the Liverpool need two wins regardless of what City do.

UEFA have confirmed that the Champions League will resume with single leg quarter final and semi finals and then the final all to be played in Portugal between August 12 to the 23rd, Europa League will resume August 5th and 6th with the remaining last ties at venues TBC with the quarter finals and semi finals to be single leg between 10th and 17th August with the final on the 21st, the games will be held in four venues in Germany.

 

[88GTA]

It has been 100 days since the Premier League last played. Time to see who is in shape for the final stretch and who the real athletes are. I think City come out blazing with four or five goals on Arsenal. Meanwhile Liverpool start flat with a draw at Goodison. I think we will also see a resurgent Pogba and Man United, at least in the first few games. I expect Leicester and Sheffield United to ultimately drop down the table. I think losing their momentum will really affect them. Final table predictions:
1. Liverpool
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Man United
5. Tottenham
6. Arsenal
7. Leicester
8. Wolves
9. Everton
10. Sheffield United

In Italy, the Coppa Italia final is tonight between Napoli and Juve. I'll be cheering for Gattuso to keep the trophy out of Sarri's mitts. Sarri still does not have an Italian trophy to his name.

 

[ASH32]

So the Premier League is back and it's the first half of the first match and nothing much has happened until suddenly the Villa goalie carries (with a helping hand from his own player, who pushed him in there) the ball into the back of the net and even gets it stuck behind the post trying to get it out and for some reason the goal line technology does not work, the refs are either blind or dare not overrule it and so there is no goal.

You need to see it to believe it really, bizarre is a understatement.

 

[Hasnain282]

Apparently it wasn't switched on