July 21, 2018 - Matchplug Blog

Liverpool make Sadio Mane their new number 10 ahead of the new season

Liverpool have ended their pursuit of Olympique Lyon’s Nabil Fekir after they decided to make Sadio Mane their new number 10.

The Reds have been looking to replace Philippe Coutinho this summer, but a move for Fekir fell through after he failed his medicals.

Reports emerged this week that Liverpool are planning to restart talks with the French giants for Fekir, but after landing Allison for a record £65 million fee, Jurgen Klopp told the club’s media that; ‘we have all we need’.

This would be a major blow to most Liverpool fans who have been excited by the new arrivals at Anfield but were also hoping to see Fekir added to their team.

The Reds have also confirmed that Sadio Mane would be taking over the number 10 shirt vacated by Philippe Coutinho last winter.

The Senegalese attacker has become one of Klopp’s most important players and he netted 20 goals in all competitions for the Reds last season. Their fans would be hoping the jersey would see him perform even better when the new campaign gets underway.

Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund Match Preview, Soccer Prediction and Betting Tips

Liverpool have had their most successful transfer window in a long time and the Reds would be looking to show how prepared they are for the new season when they kick-start their International Champions Cup games with this match.

They have played four domestic preseason games already. They beat Chester 7-0, Tranmere 3-2 before ending their 3rd game against Bury 0-0. Their last preseason game before this match ended in a 2-0 win for them courtesy of goals from Daniel Sturridge and Lazar Markovic.

With the addition of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool have a stronger team than the one that played the domestic friendlies and Jurgen Klopp would be looking to gel the duo with his new midfield combination of Fabinho and Naby Keita.

Borussia Dortmund have also made a good start under new manager Lucien Favre. They have played and won two friendlies, the last of which was their 1-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday morning.

They are also without some players who played at the World Cup, but the team still has the likes of Mario Gotze and Christian Pulisic who did not play at the World Cup so they would be looking to hurt Liverpool and get one over their former boss.

Palmeiras vs Atletico Mineiro Match Preview, Soccer Prediction and Betting Tips

This game is one of the biggest games of the weekend in the Brazilian Serie A as Palmeiras take on their big rivals, we expect a lot of actions at both ends of the pitch.

Palmeiras should be gunning for the title this season but their recent run of form would not do their aspirations any good. They played two consecutive draws before the league went on break, and they returned from their break with yet another 1-1 draw against Santos in their last league game.

They need to start getting the wins else pressure would start building and playing under pressure would not be good for them.

Mineiro on their path were doing very well before the break, but the break seems to have taken that good form off them as they resumed with a 2-0 loss to Gremio the last time out. They made a couple of signings in the past month and the new players may need some time to gel, but they come into this game in the 3rd position which is not bad by any stretch of the imagination.

Both games between the two last season ended in draws. Remarkably, Palmeiras haven’t beaten Atletico Mineiro since a 3-2 win back in 2011.