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Jules Kounde picks up an injury in the Nations League group stage clash against Austria. He was subbed off in the 23 minute.   Initial tests indicate the Jules Kounde will be out for around a month. More tests will be done tomorrow. He is likely to miss the El Classico on October 16. In the five games he has played, he has made three assists and Barça has only conceded three goals, two of them against Bayern Munich. With Kounde the wildcard in the right back position at times, the three option Xavi has are Hector Bellerin, Araujo, and Sergi Roberto. The Uruguayan provides little depth and Roberto is having injury issues. Without a doubt, Koundé's injury is a major setback for Barça with many competitive matches coming up before the World Cup in Qatar. Jules Kounde underwent surgery on a long-standing injury in June. The routine procedure kept him out for around four weeks, after which he trained in the pre-season with Barcelona. It was a fairly common pelvis issue. Kounde had to b...

  Riqui Puig has had a flying start since his summer move to the MLS. LA Galaxy jumped into the play-off spots with a 4-1 win over Colorado as the former Barcelona playmaker clocked in 3 three assists.  According to Opta Jose, Puig  became the first LA Galaxy player to record three assists in an MLS match since Landon Donovan in 2014. After his three-assists, the Spaniard's tally h as now produced five assists in his first six MLS s tarts. The most recent La Galaxy player to accomplish this feat was David Beckham in 2008. The MLS Newcomer of the Year Award is awarded by Major League Soccer to a player who has professional experience in another league and has an outstanding season in his first season of play in MLS. LAFC forward Cristian “Chicho” Arango was named the 2021 MLS Newcomer of the Year. Zlatan Ibrahimovic of LA Galaxy won the award in 2018. Wayne Rooney of D.C. United and Carlos Vela of LAFC were finalists that year. Newcastle United starter Miguel Almirón...

  Arthur Melo was mainly interested in Valencia where coach Gennaro Gattuso had requested his signing. However, the Spanish team could not sell Maxi Gómez, so there wasn't any place in the team, forcing Melo to look for another club that ended up being Liverpool. Liverpool paid 4 million euros and 300,000 in variables for Melo.

  The Spotify Camp Nou has an extensive medical operation to be able to respond to an emergency on a match day. For FC Barcelona it is a priority to guarantee the health and safety of the people who visit. More than 100 health professionals look after the health of the public on a match day They are distributed in about 40 points, located throughout the site In all these spaces there are defibrillator devices that the paramedics can move to any point in the Stadium The main points of health care at the Stadium are: A Central Dispensary located at gate 59, on the Lateral. 11 more dispensaries distributed throughout the stands. Several ambulances located in the compound. In the event of an emergency, in less than two minutes a medical team will be attending to the affected person. If it is necessary to transfer her to a hospital, the reference ones are: Hospital Clínic (for adults) and Sant Joan de Deu (for children).

  If Kylian Mbappé decides to leave PSG in summer 2024, the Premier League will be ‘waiting’ for him. Manchester United are among the ‘suitors’ from England. The player has the option of leaving one year earlier. He signed a three year contract till 2025. Kylian Mbappe signed a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain during the summer window, but it is now claimed he will be able to decide whether he extends his contract beyond 2024. During the summer transfer window, i t was claimed that the French international had agreed a deal with Real Madrid , only to perform a U-turn at the 11th hour to remain with PSG. Although Mbappe has signed till 2025,  the final 12 months will be at the discretion of Mbappe himself, with a guarantee only lasting until 2024. Speculation has already started that he will be able to walk away for free in 2024. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said recently, 'I've  never said it's over between Mbappe and Real Madrid forever. I never said that....

Brighton are looking at former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær in their search for a new coach. Brighton lost their manager Graham Potter to Chelsea just a few weeks ago and are looking at a number of candidates to fill the open position. Solskjaer has been out of a job since leaving United last year, however some people have suggested that a job like Brighton could be a welcome way to return to football.  Brighton have had a flying start to their Premier League campaign so far currently sitting 3rd in the league.  The former striker helped Manchester United finish third in the Premier League during his first full season in charge, in 2019-20. The following year he took them to second, though they were still 12 points behind rivals and eventual winners Manchester City. Solskjaer was sacked in November 2021 amid a poor run of form for   Manchester United. They had won just one of their previous seven league matches.

  Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard spoke about the pressure he is under ahead of their match against Southampton. The former Liverpool captain said managers like Mikel Arteta and Ralph Hasenhüttl prove that some Premier League teams need to stick by their manager through bad moments. Gerrard replaced  Dean Smith at the helm of the Midlands outfit last November following a successful spell in charge of Glasgow giants Rangers where he led them to the Scottish Premiership title. Villa were only outside the relegation zone on goal difference  after picking up just four points from their opening six Premier League encounters. A win against Southampton in their latest match has give them three points and a jump to 13th in the Premier League table. That has taken some of the pressure off Gerrard, but the results have to be consistent. Gerrard was unable to dramatically enhance Villa's results and performances during his first six months in the dugout, guiding them to an underwhel...

  Speculative reports in Italy have claimed that Liverpool have already decided to send Arthur Melo back to Juventus in January Liverpool have 'no intention' of cancelling Arthur Melo’s loan deal in January, it has been claimed - and he is 'ignoring days off' to try and get up to speed as quickly as possible. The Reds' signed the Brazil international on loan from Juventus on transfer deadline day. The Serie A giants later claimed that Liverpool have the option of making the move permanent for around £32million

  Erling Haaland is the first Norwegian to win the Premier League's Player of the Month award . He has scored more goals than West Ham, Wolves, Nottingham and Wolves combined. Developing story.

  Barcelona have officially confirm that Jordi Cruyff has signed contract as new Barça’s sporting director of football. Cruyff has already been serving in the role since July 1 and been key for many Barça deals during the summer. Developing story.

  Neuer - Mazraoui, Upamecano, de Ligt, Davies - Kimmich, Goretzka - Musiala, Müller, Sané, Mané Augsburg face the Barcelona-slaying Bayern Munich on Saturday. Bayern's marquee signing, Sadio Mane is long overdue a goal by his prolific standards.  Augsburg recorded their second win of the season last time out, with summer signing Ermedin Demirovic's second Bundesliga goal for the club enough for all three points away to promoted Werder Bremem. Enrico Maaßen's side also took down Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 2, but have los t their four other fixtures to Freiburg, Mainz, Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin. Time to watch: (kick-off 3.30pm CEST). Developing Story.

  After months of negotiation, waiting for the player to turn 18, Barça has announced the renewal of Gavi on a four year contract, until 2026. A key player in Xavi's plans since last year, the Sevillian will have a release clause of 1 billion euros, like the other renewed youngsters: Pedri, Ansu Fati, Araujo and Ferran Torres. He will still wear the number '30' till January, and that's when the club will be able to give him the new number, as happened with Leo Messi in 2006. The Argentine also debuted the first team with the same number as Gavi and in January he picked up the '19'. According to Sport, Gavi will see his salary increase significantly. In Barca' new salary structure, he will be one level below Ronald Araujo.

  Real Madrid are looking for their 8th straight win in all competitions tonight when they face off against RB Leipzig. Leipzig started their Champions League campaign with a surprise 4-1 home defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk. Ancelotti's team were actually behind against Mallorca on Sunday in La Liga. However, they turned things around and went on to score four times without reply to record a 4-1 victory. They are currently two points clear of second-placed Barcelona at the top of the La Liga points table. Los Blancos, who have incredibly now lifted the European Cup on 14 occasions, will take on Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby this weekend. Leipzig are in a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Two disastrous results - a 4-0 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt followed by a 4-1 defeat by Shakhtar - led to coach Domenico Tedesco losing his job earlier this month. Marco Rose, former Dortmund manager, was quickly appointed as Tedesco's replacement. He was sacked by Borussia Dortmund in May. He...

  Chelsea are 'in talks with the man who spotted Erling Haaland to become their new sporting director'. Chelsea's owner Todd Boehly continues to build up his team at Stamford Bridge and he's in talks with Red Bull Salzburg's Christoph Freund. Chelsea later play RB Salzburg tonight in their Champions League group stage tie. Developing story.

  Xavi: "I'm upset, we had a golden chance to win here." On Lewandowski not score today "Lewandowski did not score today, Pedri also got two chances, and Raphinha shot from outside the area, we are proud, but the result is disappointing and unfair." Proud of the team? "I'm disappointed, a painful result. Most of the match we played better than them. We lost 3 points. We won individual duels and created many chances. It's surprising we didn't score. This is football. Happy with the team's level, but the result is painful." "Today was the day of scoring goals but we lost 2-0, you can say they are a ready team and we are still at the beginning." " We were better than Bayern for most of the match. Today we could've won, the goals conceded were due to mistakes we made. They scored, and we lost." Lewandowski not decisive in front of the goal today? "We made mistakes, we all did. These are things that happen. So...

  Statistics show that Xavi Hernández's FC Barcelona gets better results as a visitor than at home. Since Xavi's arrival, Barca has won 65.2% of the games, the last one last Saturday against Cádiz (0-4). At home the win percentage stands at 52.6%. In La Liga, Xavi has not seen defeat in 17 away matches (12 wins and 5 draws). Of the 23 games played away from the Camp Nou, Xavi has only lost two: Bayern Munich (3-0) in the 2021-22 Champions League and Athletic Bilbao (3-2, in extra time, when Xavi was forced to bench Dembele) in the 2021-22 Cup. The Super Cup duel against Real Madrid (2-3) is not counted in this list because it was played at a neutral venue. Barça, since beating Alavés (0-1) in La Liga on January 23, 2022, has not lost any of the 15 away matches in all competitions. Barca has played 15 away games with a record of 12 wins and 3 draws (Espanyol, Eintracht and Getafe). In the 23 games played by Xavi's Barça away from the Camp Nou, Barca has converted 49 goals an...

  Araujo: "We are playing at a high level. We have many players that are able to score now as well." Araujo: "Having Lewy as a teammate is great. We struggled when we faced him as opponents. We're happy he is with us." Araujo: "I feel the support from the dressing room and the fans. I'm just where I want to be in the best club in the world. I'm very happy." Araujo: "I'm more comfortable at the CB position, but if the coach wants me to play as a RB then I will do my best."

  Xavi: " Tomorrow's result will not affect anything. We won't let that decide the course of our season."   "We have improved a lot since we lost last season to Bayern. We have a competitive team and I think we can win tomorrow and break the history of what is happening here. Tomorrow is only a 3-point game, and it doesn't matter much whether we win or lose."   Xavi on the congested match calendar because of the World Cup "We have analyzed and planned everything about our match calendar, before and after the international break. There will be no stops, then there will be the World Cup." "After the end of the World Cup, we have to go through a small preparatory period. We've already planned for the whole season."   Barcelona have only defeated Bayern in two of the last 13 matches! Xavi: "We are talking about Bayern Munich. This is football. It is true that we only won two matches, and we did not win here. We k...

  Thomas Muller's pre-match press conference!   Thomas Müller on Sadio Mane joking with him about Lewandowski "Sadio has been jokingly telling me for the last 10 days to be careful not to accidentally pass the ball to Lewy. We have to play our game tomorrow and not focus too much on Lewy."   Müller on how Bayern's tactics   "We want to prevail in the duels and we want to be active when we lose the ball. The game will be open. In the Bundesliga we recently played against opponents who defended well. I think tomorrow it will be a game that neutral fans will like."   Müller on playing without Lewandowski   "Our connection on the pitch developed over the years. But now we have a lot of flexible players up front and we don't have that one target man. The opponents don't know who the target is in attack, but we have to make it work."   Müller on the lineup for the match "Of course you always exchange ideas with the ...

  Of course I know Barcelona well. They made several good signings like Lewy and are a completely different team that the one we faced the last 3-4 times. Nagelsmann on Gavi and Pedri "They are aggressive & defend high, with midfielders like Gavi & Pedri. I expect a tough game tomorrow." Nagelsmann on the lineup "A lot of positions are already decided. Lucas will start, I don't know yet who's going to play next to him. Upa has had more games with Lewy and always defended well against him. But I haven't made a decision on that yet." "Sabi will start alongside Josh. Regarding Leon, we decided that he would the full 90 minutes against Stuttgart. He feels the strain, so it would be too early for him to start again tomorrow. Sabi is important defensively and I'm happy he's in good form." Nagelsmann on Sadio Mané "He's self critical, maybe a bit too critical at times. He needs to be even more self-confident and ...

  Both teams take the field to kick off this LaLiga match at the Estadio Benito Villamarín. Real Betis playing in a 4-2-3-1. Villarreal in a 4-4-2 diamond. 5' Real Betis with 59% possession. 9' Nervy start for Villarreal. Canales strikes it powerfully. Ball goes over the crossbar.  Gio Lo Celso's mistake in midfield, losing a ball that ends up at the feet of Sergio Canales.   11' Betis pressing high while Villarreal playing out from the back. 12' Villarreal looking to slow the rhythm of the match and build up calmly. Betis not pressing aggressively giving Villarreal space to build up. 13' Big chance for Villarreal. A lay-off for Gerard Moreno. A bit slow to shoot. Gets blocked. The goalkeeper was out of the picture.  17' Pandemonium in the box. Iglesias bumps into the Villarreal goalkeeper. Both sides showing nerves especially in their own penalty areas. 20' The possession numbers have shifted in favor of Villarreal but it's Real Betis who've cre...

Bayern Munich is not going through its best form  waiting to receive Barça this Tuesday at the Allianz Arena for the Champions League group stage match.  The Bavarians once again let two points escape them for the third consecutive Bundesliga game and there's a jittery feeling in the dressing room. Bayern's sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic also expressed some concerns before the Champions League game and warned that the Bavarians will have to take the game up a couple of gears. We have to move up one or two more gears. Even three. We need to play much better against Barça than we are currently doing. Barça has top-level players with Lewandowski at the helm  and they are going to take advantage of every opportunity Despite the recent drop in performance, Bayern's management believe that if they manage to recover their level in the match against the Blaugrana's, they could come out with a win and that "would restore balance to the team." Not Distracted by L...