Tag Archives: Raheem Sterling

3 Players To Put In Your Premier League Fantasy Premier League Teams This Week

Patrick Ribeiro March 31, 2017

With the final intersecting international break behind us, we now enter the final stretch of the 2016/17 Premier League season, headlined by none other than Saturday’s Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton and Manchester City’s away clash versus Arsenal on the following day.

It’s high time for building momentum in just about every sector of the league table, so just who can we look upon to deliver the goods for their respective teams this weekend? Here’s Fresh Football’s Fantasy Football hot picks.

1 - Gylfi Sigurðsson

Position: Midfielder
Club: Swansea City
Price: £7.8m

He’s racked up eight goals and 11 assists so far this season for a side that has, for the most part, been flirting with the relegation zone, so it’s perhaps no surprise to see Gylfi Sigurðsson’s name being spoken in such high esteem within the rumour mill.

And meanwhile the Swans will be hoping their talisman stays long-term; they themselves still have plenty on their plate that requires taking care of, as the Welsh outfit battle for their Premier League status.

Paul Clement has managed to steer Swansea away from troubled waters ahead of yet another crucial clash in the fight to stay up, hosting Middlesbrough at the weekend.

The Teeside club, prior to Jonathan Woodgate’s debut as manager, sit five points behind Sigurðsson’s team in 18th, despite having a game in hand, so it’s a fixture of supreme importance for both corners.

Natural order sees the favouritism lie with Swansea, however, and the likes of the Icelandic playmaker have proven to make a decisive difference in the best of afternoons down in South Wales. Sigurðsson could well bring more euphoria to the stands this weekend.

Player Ratings: Manchester City 5-3 AS Monaco

Patrick Ribeiro February 22, 2017

These are Fresh Football’s player ratings for Manchester City’s 5-3 win in the UEFA Champions League at home to AS Monaco:

Manchester City

Willy Caballero - 7

A victim of Pep Guardiola’s expansive system, Willy Caballero constantly found himself in trouble with his short deliveries, but the Argentine was able to show his true qualities with a penalty save and a crucial stop in the final stages of the game versus Radamel Falcao.

Bacary Sagna - 5

Not quite as solid as he’s so often proven to be, which will stand as a disappointment for the Frenchman.

John Stones - 6.5

A mismatch for Falcao in Monaco’s third of the night, but the Englishman redeemed himself when placing City ahead at 4-3.

Nicolas Otamendi 4

Poor for both Mbappe’s goal and the foul that subsequently earned Monaco a penalty at 2-1, which was eventually missed by Falcao.

Fernandinho 4.5

He’ll have better games, perhaps a consequence of being, rather surprisingly, deployed at left back.

Yaya Toure - 6

Good in possession, but massively outnumbered in midfield.

David Silva - 7

Close to no contribution defensively, as expected, but Silva found all the right pockets and passes going forward.

Kevin De Bruyne - 7

Did his fair share of running and was typically good in the final third.

Raheem Sterling - 8

Sharp, direct and with a goal and assist to his name. Sterling’s fine form under Guardiola continues.

Leroy Sané - 8

Another who is beginning to thrive at City, bagging a terrific assist for Sterling’s opener and killing the game off eith the hosts’ fifth goal of the night.

Sergio Agüero - 9

A real menace with his runs in behind, as he brought City level on two separate occasions. A priceless performance.

Subs

Pablo Zabaleta - 6.5

A positive switch for City, cementing the defence somewhat and offering greater confidence for Guardiola’s man to charge after the desired result.

Jesus Navas - N/A

Fernando - N/A

AS Monaco

Danijel Subasic - 4

Disappointing stuff from the Croatian number one, who might have been lucky not to give away a penalty in the first half and offered City a way in with a clanger for Aguero’s goal.

Djibril Sidibe - 7

A little clumsy in places, but the right back’s anticipation and quality of passes shun through his imperfections.

Kamil Glik - 5

The better half of the two centre backs, but Glik won’t be looking forward to facing Agüero in a hurry.

Andrea Raggi - 4

Showed his age, as he struggled with that pass in behind to City’s forward line all night.

Benjamin Mendy - 6.5

Didn’t link up as nicely as he has done with Thomas Lemar during the current campaign, but his deliveries from wide areas were brilliant.

Bernardo Silva - 7

The diminutive playmaker put his dribbling traits on show, but tired towards the end.

Fabinho - 6.5

Decent, but another who lost influence as the game went on.

Tiemoué Bakayoko - 8

There are a handful of top Premier League clubs with their eyes on the box-to-box midfielder and it was easy to see why. A capable match against Yaya Toure’s imposing figure, Bakayoko read the game well and didn’t stop doing so until the final whistle.

Kylian Mbappé - 7

The next big thing out of Monaco’s ranks, the 18-year-old provided a threat in behind and even bagged a goal for himself to undoubtedly increase his stock.

Radamel Falcao - 8.5

In hot form domestically, the Colombian carried his good habits over to the European stage with two excellent goals, despite also missing a penalty.

Subs

Valerie Germain - N/A

João Moutinho - N/A

Fresh Football Team of the Week: Ft. 3 Arsenal, 2 Chelsea, 1 Man Utd & 1 Liverpool Player

Patrick Ribeiro August 29, 2016

This is the Fresh Football team of the week for Gameweek 3.

Michel Vorm – Tottenham

Despite Danny Rose’ second half equaliser, Mauricio Pochettino can have Hugo Lloris’ deputy, Michel Vorm, to thank for his side sharing the spoils with Liverpool at White Hart Lane. The Dutch goalkeeper made a crucial save early on to deny Philipp Coutinho from close range, whereas he was also on hand to snuff out the dangers posed by Sadio Mané rushing towards his goal on two separate occasions.

Héctor Bellerín – Arsenal

It was almost like a return home for Héctor Bellerín, who spent time out on loan to Watford in the season prior to his big Arsenal breakthrough. In that vein, Bellerín made himself feel at ease down the right flank, additionally leading a couple of dangerous counter-attacks in the second half that could have seen the hosts lose sight of the Gunners in a hotly-contested affair between the two London neighbours.

Joel Matip – Liverpool

As far as debuts go, there can’t be many complaints about keeping a 25-goal Harry Kane quiet, in particular with Vincent Janssen alongside the Englishman to deflect attention. Three interceptions and 11 clearances rounded off a promising start from Joël Matip in a Liverpool shirt.

Papy Djilobodji – Sunderland

Saturday’s performance versus Southampton shows there may have been some science behind Chelsea picking Papy Djilobodji up from Nantes last summer, who, alongside the coveted Lamine Koné, would have led Sunderland to their first victory of the season had it not been for an unfortunate blunder by Jordan Pickford between the sticks.

Daley Blind – Manchester United

Few would have expected José Mourinho to conform to Louis van Gaal’s habits, in particular that of placing the aesthetically inadequate figure of Daley Blind at centre back. The performances have been very sound, however, much like last season, and last Saturday’s display versus Hull City makes it increasingly tricky for the new Man United boss to justify replacing him with someone like Chris Smalling in the first XI.

Danny Drinkwater – Leicester City

The Danny Drinkwater of old? After the heartbreak of being left out of England’s Euro 2016 squad in France, the ex-Manchester United man was back to doing what he knows best – assisting Jamie Vardy with a pass over the top. A pretty decent one at that, too!

N’Golo Kante – Chelsea

The France international is proving to be an instant hit at Stamford Bridge, just as he was in his time with the current Premier League champions. On top of the two tackles and interceptions made, N’Golo Kanté’s 93.6% pass accuracy culminated in another dominant, yet fascinatingly simplistic performance by the ex-Leicester City man.

Granit Xhaka – Arsenal

In a hope of things to come by Arsenal fans, Granit Xhaka’s range of passing was on full show versus Watford at Vicarage Road, as he racked up the most passes (71) made throughout the encounter with a 85.9% success rate.

Raheem Sterling – Manchester City

The former Liverpool man’s rich form continues with a brace against West Ham United, with his second solo effort in the dying moments of the game being the particular highlight.

Eden Hazard – Chelsea

On the topic of wingers being back to their best, Eden Hazard leads the way with another idyllic performance reminiscent of his pre-2015/16 season. His goal, coming as early as the 9th minute in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Burnley, proved to be the pick of the bunch.

Alexis Sánchez – Arsenal

Quite a bit has been made of the prospect of Alexis Sánchez leading the line for Arsenal, with his latest exhibition opening up the debate once more. The Chilean excelled with Mesut Özil, Santi Cazorla and Granit Xhaka all feeding into his movements, as he earned the Gunners a penalty in the 8th minute, scored their second five minutes shy of the interval and went on to assist the third in a 3-1 victory.

Stoke City vs. Manchester City: 3 Key Battles That Will Decide Who Wins

Patrick Ribeiro August 19, 2016

Pep Guardiola wasted no time in acknowledging just how tough the Premier League is after Manchester City’s late 2-1 win versus Sunderland at the Etihad last Saturday. He wasn’t wrong, and as some will have you believe, the Catalan can forget all about his past domestic and continental success because he’s about to take the truest of litmus tests - A cold Tuesday night away to Stoke.

Okay, the fixture machine has been kind enough to hand Man City a fixture at least 20 degrees warmer than usual, whereas it’s also not the sacred day for football in Stoke’s neck of the woods, so Guardiola can rest a little easier.

Or, perhaps not. In what’s usually been a more successful fixture for Man City in comparison to their rivals, Stoke have managed to take two victories in the last four meetings between the two clubs, most recently in last season’s clash at the formerly-named Britannia Stadium.

The Citizens have won once away to Stoke, so there’s certainly a degree of caution to be had over this match-up. Here are three key battles that could sway game’s result.

1 - Marko Arnautović vs. Bacary Sagna

Marko Arnautović got into the habit of scoring in the big games last season, seeing him score against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton.

Man City were no exception to the rule for the Austrian, as he bagged the brace that gave Stoke their last victory against the side then managed by Manuel Pellegrini, winning 2-0.

Bacary Sagna is usually one of the most reliable right backs about, but as we saw against Sunderland on the opening day of the season, he, alongside Gaël Clichy on the opposite flank, occupies a new role in Guardiola’s system.

With the ex-Barcelona boss opting for an attacking selection of players, including David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Nolito, Guardiola has compensated for their defensive shortcomings in the middle of the park by instructing the full backs to tuck in close to Fernandinho.

Meanwhile Man City are still getting accustomed to their new system, one must wonder how much space will be afforded to Arnautović in wide positions, especially on the counter attack.

Liverpool Fans Suggest How To Spend £50m Sterling Funds

Josh Challies June 22, 2015

Liverpool fans are maintaining that the club cash in on Raheem Sterling this summer but the supporters are demanding the payment received is invested wisely.

Manchester City remain favourites for the signature of the 20-year-old England winger and finally look set to match the Reds £50m asking price, that will give Brendan Rodgers a nice lump-sum to invest into his squad and create a team that can challenge for a top four spot.

However, Liverpool’s recent transfer history is far from impressive and Rodgers has been heavily criticised for spending vast amounts of money in recent years, whilst finishing sixth in the Premier League last season.

Therefore fans don’t seem to trust him too much and are lodging their own transfer suggestions. What would you do with the £50m Liverpool receive for Sterling?

Twitter Reacts To Top 100 Player Value Rankings List

Josh Challies June 9, 2015

Football fans must have thought they’d woken up in a parallel universe this morning, as reports emerged claiming Eden Hazard is more valuable than Cristiano Ronaldo, amongst numerous other things.

According to valuations, made by the CIES when taking various factors into consideration, Chelsea’s Hazard is the second-most valuable player in the world behind Lionel Messi- whilst they rated Raheem Sterling as more expensive than Paul Pogba.

Other surprises include Merseyside duo Jordan Henderson and Ross Barkley above Arturo Vidal and Marco Reus, whilst Tottenham’s squad is the ninth most valuable in the world- ahead of Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and almost all of next season’s Champions League sides.

Fans laughed off the findings on social media, whilst others have ignored things completely. We’re yet to find one person that agrees with these rankings at all, which says a lot.

Somebody please stop the CIES Football Observatory

— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) June 9, 2015

Liverpool Fans React On Twitter To Sterling Transfer Saga

Josh Challies May 24, 2015

In what looks set to be one of the sagas of the summer, Raheem Sterling looks set to leave Liverpool this summer - and the fans want him to go.

Sterling’s form has been indifferent this season and his recent comments in the press has angered the Liverpool fans, leading to most of them calling for him to be sold. His recent comments have led to anger amongst the clubs fans, with him being booed off the stage at the clubs awards ceremony earlier this week.

Sterling has attracted several suitors since his comments were released to the press, including Arsenal, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs. At just 20 years of age and with his huge potential, clubs can expect to pay between £35-45million for the versatile attacker.

Interested parties will be very grateful for Sterling’s comments though, as it may have shaved some pounds off his price.

As always on Fresh Football, we did some digging on Twitter and found some of the best tweets showing the Liverpool fans reaction towards the situation with Sterling at the moment