April 23, 2023 - Matchplug Blog

Harry Maguire open to Serie A move amid loan interest from Italian giants

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is reportedly attracting interest from several top Italian clubs amid uncertainty over his future at Old Trafford.

The Englishman has endured a nightmare season and was at fault for Sevilla’s first goal in their 3-0 win over Man United on Thursday. That loss confirmed the Red Devils’ elimination from the Europa League at the quarter-final stage.

Although he is back in the starting team in recent matches, it is only due to injuries sustained by first-choice centre-back pairing Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.

Erik ten Hag does not trust Maguire and does not consider him a major part of his long-term project at the club. As such, the 30-year-old is among the at least 13 players United are looking to sell this summer as Erik Ten Hag attempts to continue his Old Trafford rebuild.

According to reports by 90min, United want to sanction a permanent exit for Maguire but understands it could be difficult to recoup a substantial fee from the defender’s sale. The 30-year-old earns £190,000 a week at Old Trafford, and few clubs are willing to offer him that amount. So that leaves sanctioning a loan move also difficult.

Few Premier League clubs have indicated interest, but Juventus, Milan and Inter have also indicated an interest in potential loan deals with options to buy.

While such a deal wouldn’t be perfect for United in the circumstances, they may need to be flexible to create room to manoeuvre around FFP limitations and to ensure they purchase quality players in key positions.

Juventus vs Napoli: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

After their exertions in Europe in midweek, Juventus and Napoli will turn their attention to Serie A this Sunday when they meet at Allianz Stadium.

Juventus enjoyed a productive outing on Thursday in the Europa League, with a 1-1 draw in Portugal giving them a 2-1 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon and qualifying them for the semi-final competition.

Not only were they celebrating a place in the final four on Thursday, but the Old Lady also saw their 15-point deduction revoked on the same day, albeit temporarily.

So they come into this round of games sitting in third position, six points ahead of AC Milan in fifth place.

But having lost their last two league games, they will be desperate to avoid a first three-game losing streak in Serie A since 2011. Then, after their partial stadium closure was suspended, they could at least rely on their fans again.

That raucous support has been influential for Juventus this season, and they can cement their record as the best-performing home Serie A side this term (W11, D3, L1) with another win here.

They will fancy their chances against runaway leaders Napoli after winning four home league outings in a row.

The visitors had a disappointing outing in Europe on Thursday as a 1-1 draw with AC Milan was not enough to guarantee their passage into the last four of the Champions League.

The result means that the Partenopei are winless in their last three games and have recorded just one win in their last five competitive matches (D2, L2).

With every distraction now out of the way, Luciano Spalletti will hope his side can channel all their energy on finally securing the Scudetto. After recording a 5-1 win in the reverse fixture, he believes his side will triumph in Turin on Sunday.

Also, a run of seven consecutive away league wins will give them the confidence boost they need to get maximum points here.

Meanwhile, Juventus (17) and Napoli (15) rank in the top four for the most clean sheets in the top five European tournaments this term. So we expect to see a low scoring under 2.5 goals game.Click here to get today’s football tips.

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

La Liga leaders Barcelona will look to continue their unhindered march towards the league title when they host top-four chasing Atletico Madrid this Sunday.

With no European games, the hosts enjoyed an entire week on the training field. That extended time of rest and recuperating may have arrived at the perfect time for Barcelona as they look to bounce back from a three-game scoreless and winless run (D2, L1).

That winless run included a goalless La Liga draw at Getafe last Sunday.

Despite the result, Barca’s eleven-point lead at the top of the table ahead of this round remains comfortable.

However, if their scoring woes aren’t addressed and Real Madrid keeps picking up points, it won’t be long before the title race is back on.

A return home could be a blessing as Barça have scored in 12 of their last 13 league games here, averaging over two per game. However, they won’t be short of motivation either, as the hosts stand a chance to win both seasonal H2Hs for the first time since the 2015/16 campaign, having won the reverse fixture 1-0.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid will travel to Camp Nou in beast mode, having gone unbeaten across 13 league games (W10, D3). That run includes six straight wins that consolidated their top-three spot.

This has softened the blow of dropping out of Europe and getting knocked out of the Copa del Rey, although a win here could receive the biggest cheer from their arch-rivals Real Madrid. Yet, the visitors still have much to aim for, sitting just two points shy of Real ahead of the weekend.

However, this fixture hasn’t been kind to them in recent years, with Atlético failing to win an away La Liga head-to-head since February 2006 (D5, L11 since).

But four wins from their last five league road trips (D1) suggest the visitors are well prepared this time and will take the 1-0 scoreline recorded in three of those victories.

Meanwhile, given how tight Barcelona have been at home, we expect a low-scoring encounter in this game. Click here to get expert football predictions.

Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Bayer Leverkusen will welcome top-four rivals RB Leipzig to Bay Arena this Sunday as both sides battle for three points that will set them on course for a top-four finish.

After a terrible start to their season that saw them meddle with relegation, Leverkusen are fully in the top-five race thanks to a change of fortune under Xabi Alonso.

The hosts come into this tie in good form and will be keen to continue that run here after progressing to a European semi-final for the first time since 2001/02 in midweek.

They will swiftly turn their attention back to the Bundesliga race for Europe. They entered this round six points adrift of the top five, so their most likely finish will be a Conference League place unless they can eat up the ground.

But confidence should be high ahead of this game after Leverkusen’s seven-game unbeaten Bundesliga run (W5, D2). However, extending that run here could be tricky as they are yet to win a Bundesliga home game against RB Leipzig (D3, L3).

The visitors could do Leverkusen a favour further down the line if they win the DFB Pokal and extend the European places to seventh. However, the more pressing matter for themselves is to cling to their top-four place.

Marco Rose’s side entered this round with just a one-point buffer to fifth, but with Freiburg playing at home to Schalke just before kick-off here, they may need maximum points to reclaim the fourth spot.

They travel to BayArena with a good record against Leverkusen. Yet, Marco Rose’s personal record against Leverkusen doesn’t inspire much confidence, with four losses and three wins in seven meetings.

Meanwhile, Leverkusen have scored a Bundesliga-high 15 goals in the 15 minutes directly following half-time this season.

That said, we can expect BTTS/GG here, given that only one of Leverkusen’s last eight home matches have featured a clean sheet.Click here for sure home win prediction.

Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Top four rivals Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur will face each other at St. James’ Park this Sunday.

Both teams are fighting for a place in next season’s Champions League and will be desperate for three points, which could completely change the direction of the top-four race.

The hosts come into this tie ahead of their rivals in the race, winning three points more than the visitors, with a game less. They currently sit in fourth position after an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Aston Villa last time.

That loss was just the second time the Magpies had conceded three times in a PL game this term, with manager Eddie Howe admitting his side were ‘off it in every discipline’.

Returning to Tyneside may be the perfect way to refocus his side’s energy then, as the only side to beat Newcastle on their own turf in the PL since the start of 2022 is Liverpool (two times). Moreover, they have conceded just nine league goals at St James’ all season–only Manchester United (8) has conceded less at home this season.

Meanwhile, Tottenham will consider this an opportunity to rekindle their fading dreams of a top-four finish. The North London club missed the chance to draw level with Newcastle last time as they were beaten 3-2 by relegation candidates Bournemouth.

Interim boss Cristian Stellini bemoaned that Spurs’ poor form ‘isn’t a tactical problem, but individual mistakes’. The Italian has every right to be livid about his side’s leaky defence, which has conceded 45 goals this season–the second-highest total among sides currently in the top-15 of the PL table.

They will also travel to Tyneside in terrible away form, having won none of their last four league road trips (D2, L2).

But given that they are unbeaten on their last four trips to Newcastle, scoring at least twice in each of those meetings (W3, D1), they will fancy their chances of snatching a result here.Click here to get accurate bet tips today.

Day: April 23, 2023

Harry Maguire open to Serie A move amid loan interest from Italian giants

Juventus vs Napoli: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

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