March 17, 2023 - Matchplug Blog

Liverpool enter race to sign Julián Brandt

Premier League giants Liverpool have reportedly entered the race to sign Borussia Dortmund’s in-form midfielder Julian Brandt.

According to reports in the 90min, the Reds want the German international who has been in red-hot form this season. Brendt has scored nine goals and five assists across all competitions and has been vital for Dortmund’s good run of results.

This is not the first time the Reds will be interested in Brandt. They were interested in the 26-year-old when he was still at Bayer Leverkusen before he joined Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2019.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are looking to reinvent their forward line after a poor season and would like Brandt to be part of their new-look attack. But they are not alone in their pursuit of the player. They will have to compete with Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle for the 26-year-old.

Meanwhile, Dortmund continue to make efforts to extend his deal at Signal Iduna Park, meaning that it will take a decent sum to prise him away from the German side.

Crystal Palace sack Patrick Vieira after terrible run of results

Crystal Palace have sacked their manager Patrick Vieira after a poor run of results that has seen the Eagles sit just three points off the relegation zone.

Palace started the season brightly under the former Arsenal captain and were at the top half of the table briefly. But a run of 12 games without a win has left them staring down the barrel of relegation, leading to the sack of their manager.

The south London club released a statement on the club website confirming the sack.

“It is with enormous regret that this difficult decision has been made,” Palace chairman Steve Parish said in a statement.

“Ultimately, results in recent months have placed us in a precarious league position, and we felt a change is necessary to give us the best chance of retaining Premier League status. Patrick has given his all to the club, and we all thank him and his team for their service.”

The Selhurst Park club also confirmed that Vieira’s coaching staff of Osian Roberts, Kristian Wilson and Said Aigoun had also left the club, claiming that “the process to appoint a new manager is underway.”

Vieira spent less than two years in charge at Selhurst Park when he took over from Roy Hodgson in 2021. Palace’s next game is away at league leaders Arsenal on Sunday

Atalanta vs Empoli: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Atalanta’s quest for a top-four finish in the Italian Serie A will continue this Friday when they welcome Empoli to Bergamo.

The hosts are fighting to return to continental football next season after an eight-place finish kept them off a place in any of the UEFA competitions.

But it’s been a poor recent run for Atalanta who, following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Napoli, are now winless in four successive Serie A outings (D1, L3). As a result, La Dea have fallen out of the top four and they now face a huge challenge to try to get back into those positions.

They finished the last round six points adrift with their tally of 42 points after 26 games their lowest in four years. Their main issue has been a lack of goals, as they’ve managed just one across their last four league matches.

Empoli have shut them out in three of their last four H2Hs at this venue (W1, D2, L1), though it should be noted that Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have netted at least once in all of their nine matches against teams starting this round 14th or below, thus not enthusing them about their arrival.

The hope for Atalanta is that the visitors will visit Gewiss Stadium in pretty rotten form, with no league win in seven outings (D3, L4). Their main issue have been defending set-pieces this season, as there’s only one side that has conceded more Serie A goals from set-pieces (nine) than Empoli.

At the other end of the pitch, there are only three teams who have scored fewer league goals (23) than Empoli. So, improving in both boxes will be crucial if the Blues are to have any chance of beating one of the sides featuring in the top ten ahead of the round for only the third time this season (D4, L8).

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Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle United: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Top four hopefuls Newcastle United will travel to City Ground this Friday to face Nottingham Forest in their 28th Round game of the 2022/23 Premier League season.

Forest are fighting for their lives in the Premier League, with their goal for the season still to secure a place in the top flight. Having moved away from the bottom three of the Premier League table with a series of positive results just before and after the World Cup break, Forest’s early season problems have resurfaced.

Steve Cooper’s side come into this fixture without a win in five games (D2, L3). Their most recent outing was a 3-1 loss to Tottenham, meaning that they are now just two points above the relegation zone as they fight to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

But the Tricky Trees have a decent record at home with the bulk of their poor form coming on the road. They are currently on an impressive nine-game unbeaten run at the City Ground (W4, D5), helping them to collect 20 of their 26 points this season on home soil.

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle will look to make it two league wins in a row for the first time since November when they travel to City Ground on Friday. The Magpies ended a run of five games without a win across all competitions (D2, L3) when they secured a late 2-1 win over Wolves last time out.

That result rekindled their hopes of qualifying for a UEFA competition for the first time since 2006/07, as they are now just four points behind fourth-placed Spurs.

Ahead of their visit to London, they will be confident of a positive result, given that they are unbeaten against Forest in the top flight since 1988 (W6, D4). However, they need to find their goal-scoring touch in order to record a positive result here and finish in a Champions League place, as they have netted just once in their last four PL away fixtures (D3, L1).

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Day: March 17, 2023

Liverpool enter race to sign Julián Brandt

Crystal Palace sack Patrick Vieira after terrible run of results

Atalanta vs Empoli: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle United: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

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