Joshua Oha, Author at Matchplug Blog

Chelsea to let go of multiple stars in the summer as they look to raise £264m

January transfer window heaviest spenders Chelsea are reportedly planning a mass clearout at Stamford Bridge this summer, with multiple stars scheduled to be shown the exit door.

Graham Potter’s side spent massively last winter to get some of the biggest names across Europe, including Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez. In two transfer windows under new owner Todd Boehly, the Blues have splashed around £600m, more than any other side in Europe.

However, with more than a dozen players added to their ranks in two windows, the Stamford Bridge side now have to let go of some players to raise funds worth £264m to meet the financial fair play requirements.

According to The Athletic, some of the biggest names in their roster could fall under the sword of this clearout. Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic are at the top of the list of departures, with the midfield duo yet to agree on a contract extension with the club.

Other less impressive players like Christian Pulisic, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and the injured Armando Broja are also in the group of players that could be sold in the summer.

Wilfried Zaha offered £9m-per-year contract by the Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad

Wilfried Zaha is reportedly on his way to Saudi Arabia if reports by the Daily Mail are to be believed.

The English newspaper reports that Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad has offered the Ivorian a lucrative contract. However, Zaha’s future at Palace continually looks bleak, given that his contract at the London club will end this summer.

With the 30-year-old likely to be available on a free transfer at the end of the season, offers are coming in from many clubs. But the most lucrative of the offers on Zaha’s table is from Al-Ittihad, who have offered him the most lucrative contract in the club’s history.

The report states Al-Ittihad’s deal is worth close to £ 200,000 per week when factoring in all relevant bonuses, the equivalent of a £320,000-per-week contract in the Premier League.

Arsenal, Chelsea and AC Milan are also reportedly keeping tabs on him. Despite this, the Ivory Coast international focuses solely on finishing the current season as strongly as possible before deciding on his future.

Should Zaha join the Saudi Pro League, he will join up with former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo who shocked the world at the beginning of 2023 when he completed his free transfer switch to Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo’s club are also showing an interest in signing Zaha. But Al-Ittihad, who are challenging Nassr for the Saudi Pro League title, have jumped ahead in the race by offering Zaha a more lucrative contract.

Manchester City vs RB Leipzig: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Manchester City and RB Leipzig will face off at the Etihad this Tuesday for the second leg of their Champions League knockout tie.

Pep Guardiola’s side come into this tie on a run of four consecutive wins since their 1-1 draw with Leipzig in the first leg. Their most recent outing was a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, a win that kept them close to Arsenal in the title race.

The win extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight games (W6, D2), so they are the favourites to win this tie and progress to the quarter-finals of this competition for a sixth consecutive season.

Meanwhile, City are currently on a six-game winning run at the Etihad, so Leipzig must be at their best to win this game. The German side are a formidable opponent these days under Marco Rose. However, they come into this tie in good shape, having won six of the eleven games they have played this year, losing just twice (D3).

A 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach at the weekend kept them on course for a top-four finish in Bundesliga. So the goal here will be to secure a place in the UCL quarter-finals for the first time since the 2019/2020 season when they reached the semifinals.

However, they have a bad record against English teams in this round, with their last entry into the UCL Round of 16 ending at the hands of English opposition, one of two multiple-goal defeats they suffered on trips to England (5-0 and 2-0) in 2020/21.

Click here to get the Direct win predictions for this game.

Porto vs Inter Milan: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Inter Milan will look to seal their place in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals when they travel to Portugal this Tuesday to face Porto in the second leg of their knockout tie.

Porto were narrowly beaten 1-0 in the first leg in San Siro, with a late Romelu Lukaku goal the difference that night. The defeat in Milan was followed up by another narrow 2-1 loss to Gill Vicente in the Portuguese league. However, ahead of this game, they have won back-to-back league wins, with a narrow 3-2 win over Estoril last weekend.

With eight points behind Benfica in the Portuguese league, they will be desperate to go far into UCL to keep their season alive. Yet, history indicates their prospects of progressing beyond this state are slim, especially as the Portuguese side have been eliminated from six of their last seven two-legged UCL ties when trailing after the first leg.

However, Inter Milan come into this tie on the back of a poor showing in the league. Like their hosts, they are sitting second in the title race, a long way off Napoli after a shock 2-1 loss to strugglers Spezia.

The three-time UCL winners will look to immediately bounce back by building on their advantage from the first leg, but a less than inspiring record of just one win from their last eight away matches to Portuguese sides in European competition (D3, L4) indicates there is still plenty of work to be done.

Also, the fact that Porto have won each of their last four home European games against Italian sides should give the hosts some confidence that they can take advantage of Inter’s poor form and advance to the last eight for a third successive time.

Click here to get accurate bets tips today.

Jordan Pickford is number one goalkeeping target to replace Hugo Lloris

Tottenham have made Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford their number-one target for the goalkeeper position this summer.

The North London side are looking to change their goalkeeper this summer, with 36-year-old Hugo Lloris well past his peak and coming under fire for some high-profile mistakes this season.

And according to the Sun, Spurs have identified Pickford as the man to replace the France star, despite the England international penning a new deal in February.

According to the report, Everton will allow Pickford to leave if they are relegated this season. However, if the worst does happen to Everton, then Pickford’s price would drop, although the Toffees would still demand around £35 million for the keeper.

Despite Everton’s struggles this season, the 29-year-old goalkeeper remains one of the finest shot-stoppers in the league. Meanwhile, Brentford’s David Raya has also been linked to Tottenham, but Pickford’s name has come up often in the last year.

Inter Milan have renewed their interest in Man United’s defender Victor Lindelof

Inter Milan will be back for Victor Lindelof in the summer, having tried unsuccessfully to sign him on loan last summer.

The San Siro side are preparing for a defensive overhaul this summer, with two of their key defenders, Stefan de Vrij and Milan Skriniar, on their way out this summer.

Inter Milan had tried to sign Lindelof on loan in January, but Erik ten Hag refused to sanction the move in January because he wanted to keep his squad intact.

But according to the Sun, Inter will make another offer for the Swedish international in the summer transfer window, with an offer of around £ 31 million expected to be enough to complete a deal.

Lindelof has made 20 appearances for the Red Devils this season, including nine in the Premier League. However, the centre-back has only made five Premier League starts during the campaign, with Lisandro Martínez and Raphael Varane preferred by Ten Hag.

Yet, Lindelof had been a regular starter in the Europa League group stage and in the domestic cups. The Swede has made four appearances in the Carabao Cup as United went on to lift the trophy.

He has made 216 appearances for United since joining the club from Benfica in a reported £31 million deal.

Girona vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Atlético Madrid will continue their quest for a top-four finish on Monday when they travel to Estadio Municipal de Montilivi to face Girona.

Girona are fighting for their lives in La Liga after suffering ten losses this season (W8, D6) and gathering 30 points. Their points tally has taken them to 12th position, five points ahead of the relegation zone.

But their chances of survival took a big hit last weekend when they were narrowly beaten by Getafe (3-2 loss). That result to their fellow relegation strugglers ended a run of two consecutive wins for Míchel’s side.

Yet, they will be in a good mood heading into this tie at home as they have lost only once in their last eight home matches (W4, D3). However, they have a poor record against Atletico Madrid and are winless in seven meetings with Atletico Madrid, losing the last two by a combined 4-1 scoreline.

The visitors will fancy their chances of getting maximum points here, given their form. Diego Simeone’s men come into this tie on the back of a 6-1 win over Sevilla, stretching their unbeaten La Liga run to eight matches (W5, D3).

That result gave them command of their top four destiny, with the visitors now securely in third place ahead of this round.

Considering Atlético have amassed marginally more points on the road this season (24 away vs 21 at home), they will travel to Girona in a buoyant mood. Being asked to conclude this round of La Liga fixtures only serves to sweeten the deal, too, given Atlético have lost only one of their last six away league fixtures played on a Monday (W3, D2).Meanwhile, an over 2.5 goals game is the best prediction for this game, given that the last three games featuring Girona have witnessed a mammoth 18 goals.

AC Milan vs Salernitana: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

AC Milan will rekindle their top-four quest this Monday when they host Salernitana at the San Siro.

The hosts are trailing in the top-four race after another defeat last weekend. That 2-1 loss to Fiorentina was their sixth loss of the season. For context, Stefano Pioli’s men suffered just four losses in their title-winning 2021/22 season. So things have become bad for the hosts.

However, their most-recent loss ended a run of three straight wins in the league. So, it’s safe to say that they are gradually getting back into their groove after a bad start to the year. Also, a first UEFA Champions League quarter-final since 2011/12, thanks to a 0-0 draw at Tottenham in midweek, will have the San Siro side in a good mood ahead of this game.

They come into this tie in fourth position, level on points with AS Roma. So they can’t afford many more slip-ups with Inter Milan, Atalanta Lazio, and all vying for a place in the top four.

Salernitana have a poor record at San Siro, having lost their last three visits here. But they will care little about their San Siro record as they are fighting for their lives at the moment.

They’re on track to achieve their aim for the season following a goalless draw with Sampdoria last time out. The draw kept them clear of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Salernitana have righted the ship since losing 8-2 to Atalanta in January, with a much better return from their last three league away games (W1, D1, L1). Another positive defensive performance here can help them to go at least eight points ahead of the bottom three.

Click here to get accurate football predictions.

Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Barcelona will travel to Estadio San Mamés this Sunday to face Athletic Bilbao in the 25th round of the 2022/23 La Liga season.

The hosts come into this tie in bad shape, looking to end a four-game winless run in all competitions. Their last outing resulted in a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano. The result left them in ninth position, four points behind the top six.

They will be desperate for a win to stay in the top-six race. However, Athletic’s recent seven-game competitive home form (W4, D1, L2) suggests San Mamés is hardly a fortress, so it could be another poor afternoon for Ernesto Valverde’s side.

But the Basque side keeping their Catalan visitors at bay in three of their last four La Liga H2Hs here (W1, D2, L1), they may relish this challenge. After recording a 1-0 win over Valencia last weekend, Barca are nine points ahead of Real Madrid in the La Liga title race.

The win over Valencia last weekend took their clean sheet tally to 18 in La Liga, the most in this century by a single club in any top-five European league after 24 games. Not even the ‘Negreira corruption case’, threatening to derail the club, looks likely to stop their imminent title win unless they capitulate very severely between now and May.

Coach Xavi will be desperate to avoid that, especially as the El Clásico follows this trip. A defeat here could potentially see them start that game with just a six-point gap from Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Bilbao manager Valverde has lost his last eight La Liga matches against Barça, with his teams firing five consecutive scoring blanks, so another under 2.5 goals match could follow here.

Fulham vs Arsenal: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Arsenal will make a short trip across West London to Craven Cottage this Sunday, where they will face European hopefuls Fulham.

The hosts, alongside Brentford and Brighton, want to break the top-six monopoly this season. However, their chances of doing so was dealt a huge blow last weekend when they suffered a 3-2 loss to Thomas Frank’s Brentford side.

The result ended a run of seven games without defeat for Marco Silva’s side (W5, D2), who now enter this game sitting in seventh place, one point behind their top six rivals, having played two games more.

They will return home to Craven Cottage, looking to get back to winning ways and rekindle their quest for a first European appearance since 2011/12. Returning home could provide a much-needed boost for the Cottagers, who have lost just three of their 13 PL games here this term (W6, D4). That record could give Fulham false hope for this clash, though, as they’re winless at Craven Cottage against sides starting the round above them (D1, L3).

Arsenal will fancy their chances here, given they are unbeaten in their last nine head-to-head games at any venue against Fulham. The Gunners have seven wins in their last nine meetings with Fulham and won the reverse fixture 2-1.

They kept their hopes for their first title since 2003 with a miraculous comeback win over Bournemouth last time (3-2). They followed up that win with a 2-2 away draw with Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League last Thursday, taking their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games.

Any fear of fatigue after this game should be quashed as they’ve amassed a six-game unbeaten PL run in games directly following each of their last six Europa League matches (W5, D1). It should be noted that two of those PL wins came in London derbies and without reply, a statistic which bodes well for Arsenal as they look to improve on their impressive 71% win-rate against Fulham in PL action (W22, D6, L3).Click here to get the correct score prediction for football games.

Joshua Oha

Chelsea to let go of multiple stars in the summer as they look to raise £264m

Wilfried Zaha offered £9m-per-year contract by the Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad

Manchester City vs RB Leipzig: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Porto vs Inter Milan: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Jordan Pickford is number one goalkeeping target to replace Hugo Lloris

Inter Milan have renewed their interest in Man United’s defender Victor Lindelof

Girona vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

AC Milan vs Salernitana: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Fulham vs Arsenal: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

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