Potential Replacements for Chelsea Star

Eden Hazard's future has been a talking point for most of the season as Real Madrid look to sign the Belgian 

The future of Eden Hazard at Stamford Bridge has been the biggest topic for Chelsea since the summer, and despite fending off interest for the Belgian with a request of a £ 200 million transfer fee, it looks inevitable that Hazard will be in the colours of Real Madrid next season.

The Chelsea star hasn't been shy about vocalizing his desire to play for Los Blancos and given that at the end of this season Hazard will be going into his final year at Chelsea with his current contract to run out by 2020 its only right that Chelsea look for someone to replace their star man.

MARCO ASENSIO

One of the most sought-after young talents in Europe, Marco Asensio, would be the ideal replacement for Hazard as the young Spaniard is just as versatile as the Belgian with his ability to play either side of a front trio or behind the centre forward.

Although he's form hasn't been the best in recent weeks for Madrid, he's shown his quality at international level with consistent performances for Spain scoring one goal and setting up another four for his teammates.

At 22 he's guaranteed to be a good return on investment and with Hazard heading in the opposite direction it would soften the blow for the Blues losing their most prized player.

ROBERTO PEREYRA

Argentine Roberto Pereyra has been in stunning form since the start of the season putting in great performances and scoring fantastic goals for Premier league club Watford.

The former Juventus player has been so impressive that he's even been linked with a move to Real Madrid and he's reportedly on Chelsea's radar as well.

Pereyra has scored 5 goals in 11 appearances thus far for the Hornets this season and fits the mould for what Chelsea will need in a playmaker if Hazard ends up leaving.

Just like Hazard he's versatile being able to play on the left side of the attack and can play directly behind the centre forward.

ROSS BARKLEY

In a bid to find a new star man Chelsea may not need to look far as they might already have a suitable replacement for their number 10 in their ranks with Ross Barkley.

Barkley has been turning in the sort of performances which once marked him as the future of English football and according to Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri, the Englishman has what it takes to be one of the best in Europe.

He's chipped in with 3 goals and 4 assists this season which says much about Barkley as he's playing in midfield and one can only wonder how much better he'd perform playing higher up the field.

Dembele Ready To Call It Quits At Barcelona?

Brought into Barcelona following Neymar's departure last season for £ 105 million Frenchman Ousmane Dembele was hoped to be the replacement for the Brazilian wizard, but his first season didn't go as planned as the 21-year-old played just 18 games for Barcelona last season.

At the start of this season the world cup winner looked to deliver on his huge transfer fee after sfourcoring  goals in four appearances for the Catalans, however he's form has seen a dip in recent matches but he scored his first goal in seven matches in their most recent win over Rayo Vallecano.

With Lionel Messi out injured he was expected to get more game time, but Barcelona coach picked Brazilian Rafinha instead in the Argentine's absence.

According to reports in Spain this came down to Dembele's of the field habits as the Frenchman has reportedly had disciplinary problems at the club.

The Frenchman also missed training on Friday

for Barcelona and the club reportedly couldn't reach him for two hours. 

It is also alleged that Dembele has stopped learning Spanish and it seems he's apparently unsettled at the club which some believe could see him make a move in the near future.

How Manchester United Can Beat City

The 2018/19 season has been a testing affair for Manchester United as the Red Devils haven't hit their straps yet and coming off their biggest result with a win over Juventus on Wednesday, they have the chance to exceed that result with a win over champions Manchester City in Sunday's momentous Manchester derby.

Rightfully United go into the match as underdogs, but aren't without a puncher's chance as they draw on last season's win at the Etihad coming back from two goals down to had City their only home league defeat of the season.

To beat City will be no easy feat as United need to have a well worked out game plan to take advantage of whatever little chinks they can find in City's armour.

City have been showing the type of form that saw them race away with the league title from their neighbours, and right now it may be fortunate for United that they face them now before the Cityzens build up a head of steam.

The champions have steamrolled their opponents in recent matches, but what's worth considering is that their biggest winning margins came against sides who mostly went out to weather the storm or limit the amount of damage City would inflict on them.

United, despite their unconvincing performances, have what it takes to not only to contain City but also have the tools to cause damage to the Champions when given the opportunity.

This is what Sky Sport pundit Paul Merson believes will be key for Jose Mourinho's charges to pull off yet another stunning upset.

“City will give Manchester United chances - Southampton could have conceded 10 but they had chances,” Merson told Sky Sports. “A better team would have scored three or four goals. But City beat teams easily who just sit there and defend so United have to be brave"

In their last Premier League clash City may have won 6-1 against Southampton, but there was a period where City got a little complacent which led to a few chances for Southampton to get a goal at 3-0.

Eventually the Saints got a goal from the penalty spot as City let their foot off the pedal for little bit.

If that happens on Sunday United will definitely be ready to take advantage of any lapses of concentration.

“United have to play with a lot of pace in attack. I would play Romelu Lukaku with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford on the wings.

“I would tell those two to stay high up and not track back in order to put pressure on Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker. If you allow the City full-backs the licence to get forward, then you are in for a long day."

As good as City are when in possession of the ball, United can find joy in testing their defensive capabilities as the champions can be prone to mistakes in defence as we saw from their losses from last season.

“City have got to defend better than they did in the second half of last year's game but they are capable of scoring three goals in 10 minutes - they are that good.”

City Have Every Reason To Beware Opportunistic Red Devils

Manchester United celebrate victory in last season's comeback win at the Etihad

Heading Into this Sunday's Manchester derby its as clear as day as to who are the favourites to come out on top.

Manchester City in recent matches have been moving through the gears and are showing more of the form that saw them break a number of records on their way to becoming 'The Centurions'.

The Cityzens have made light work of their recent opposition putting 23 goals past their opponents in six games in all competitions and conceded just one, while the Red Devils have laboured to win three consecutive matches for only the second time this season.

Despite this City will be well aware of the threat that their neighbours bring to the table as even though their performances haven't exactly been easy on the eye, they continue to find a way to win.

On Wednesday, Manchester United were clearly second best by every measure as Italian champions Juventus bossed proceedings.

Even though they were outperforming United for most of the match all it took was just five minutes for the Red Devils to turn the match around and walk away with a 2-1 win after going behind following Cristiano Ronaldo's sublime strike.

In many ways, how the match in Turin unfolded, bears similarities to last season's Manchester derby where United arrived at the Etihad as the underdog but still came away with all three points.

City on the day were in scintillating form and carved out goal scoring opportunities at will and should have been at least four or five goals ahead by the break but instead went into the interval with just a two goal lead.

What followed was a fiery comeback for United as Paul Pogba scored twice before Chris Smalling settled the matter. 

Manchester United's opportunistic nature was on display that day and Wednesday night should serve as reminder for City against complacency and their need to go for the jugular and kill the game while they are still on top.

Manchester United's Unlucky Number 7

Some of the best names to ever wear the iconic number seven for Manchester United 

Since the inception of the English Premer League in 1992 Manchester United have dominated the greatest league in the world winning more league titles (13) than all the other teams combined. 

This has undoubtedly made United the biggest team in the world, and key to their success was Sir Alex Ferguson and a number of special players who've made the Red Devils jersey one of the most coveted in world football.

At Manchester United there is one jersey that has been most coveted more than any other and that is the iconic 'number 7'. Worn by the team's biggest stars including Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo many would agree that United's number seven carries more weight than the rest.

This is a phenomenon we've witnessed in the last few years as a number of players have been seen as the next contender to lead United to victory only to be found out to be pretenders.

Antonio Valencia

Signed in 2009 after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Antonio Valencia originally wore the number 25 jersey for Manchester United and produced some of the best form of his career that he was handed the iconic jersey with Michael Owen's departure in 2012.

What followed was a drastic dip in form in the 2012-2013 season which convinced the Ecuadorian to drop the iconic jersey for his original jersey number. 

Memphis Depay

A prodigious talent coming from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, Memphis Depay looked to have the hallmarks of the next big thing for Manchester United as he'd been crowned as the best player in Eredevisie before moving to Old Trafford in 2015.

He was quick, skilful and fans may have thought they'd finally found the next Ronaldo. However, any hope they'd had about his potential was gone as he failed to find form which lead to an early exit for Lyon in the 2016/17 season in January after scoring just five goals for Manchester United.

Angel Di Maria 

Afterplaying alongside United legend Cristiano Ronaldo Angel Di Maria had impressed at Real Madrid and brought not only top shelf talent, but also a proven track record at the highest level with Los Blancos.

He also had a torrid spell at Manchester United and while the Red Devils were waiting for him to reignite their hopes with some magic he managed only three goals for United before subsequently making a switch to France to ply his trade for Paris Saint-Germain after just a single season.

Alexis Sanchez

Of all the players to be dealt a bad hand by the hands of the number seven jersey Alexis Sanchez's torrid spell has been by far the worst of the lot.

Since moving to Old Trafford in January, the Chilean has had a tragic fall from grace as he's turned from a potential championship winner to a pedestrian in the colours of Manchester United.

Sanchez has scored just four goals for United, which is a far cry from his Arsenal days where he once scored 30 goals in the 2016/17 season.

It's not all bad though for the Chilean as he's shown some signs of life in recent weeks and may yet find his best form.

An even more damning statement about United's number seven jersey is that collectively all of the Red Devils' number sevens since Ronaldo's departure have scored just 15 goals between them.

What Beating City Means For Mourinho

Jose Mourinho taunts Juventus fans following Man United pulling off a come back win

One of the most intriguing aspects of football is how quickly things can change in a short space of time. One moment you could be on top of the world and the next you're faced with constant doubts while the world criticizes every action.

This is what Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho can testify to as the Portuguese has come from the brink of a potential exit at Manchester United, and now looks to get his team's season back on track by toppling log leaders Manchester City.

Heading Into their fixture against Newcastle a few weeks ago it was rumoured that Mourinho would get the axe from United after their poor start to the season. 

United's come back victory against the Magpies looks to have kickstarted the Red Devils' season as they've had to make a number of come backs from their most recent matches, and the significance of last night's victory against Juventus isn't lost on Mourinho as he once described himself as the 'luckiest' manager following his team beating Bournemouth last Saturday.

In lastnight's match, luck definitely played a factor as United got the better of Italian giants Juventus with a signature comeback win. However, you can't deny United's will to win even when the odds aren't stacked in their favour.

For Mourinho,  pulling off a win over cross town rivals City and Pep Guardiola would be a welcome remedy after spending most of the new season putting out fires.

Considering that the Red Devils have made a habit out of turning games around, you can consider this as Mourinho's ultimate comeback.

And with victory on Sunday, as unlikely as it may be at first glance, will not only bring United back into the title picture but it will remove any doubt about whether Mourinho is the right man to restore Manchester United to their former glory.

In A Battle of Will vs Skill Who Will Rule The Roost In Manchester?

There is never any love lost during the Manchester derby, so expect nothing else as Manchester City welcome their  greatest foes to the Etihad

After achieving their highest finish since Alex Ferguson's departure it was imagined that Manchester United would be Manchester City's biggest challenge in the Centurions retaining their league crown.

Things haven't gone to script though as the Red Devils, heading into ten games into the new season, find themselves nine points adrift of their city rivals and all round have been a topic of some interesting conversations and not of the good kind.

The Red Devils have won exactly just half of the matches they've played this season, and their performance hasn't been to everyone's liking considering they're in their third season under Jose Mourinho.

However, even though they haven't been the vintage Manchester United that dominated English football in the past, Mourinho's men have displayed an ability to get things done especially when the chips were down.

Last night United put their uncanny will to win on show for the world as they produced an upset in inflicting a first defeat upon Italian champions Juventus away from home.

Heading Into Sunday, this provides much needed confidence and belief for United as for only the second time this season they've managed to win three games in a row.

Confidence and belief is exactly what they need most right now heading into their showdown against city rivals and reigning champions Manchester City as they aim to reel in the Cityzens with a win at the Etihad.

With their win at Juventus, United have made a comeback from losing positions in four of their last six matches and will be no strangers to their underdog tag as they yet against aim to topple the defending champions on their own patch.

Last season United were the only team to walk away with three points from the Etihad. United had been 2-0 down by the break but even against those insurmountable odds rallied back with a fiery performance to triumph 3-2.

Playing a key role in that come back, as he has in their most recent ones, is Paul Pogba who on the day completed a brace as United delayed City's title celebrations.

The Frenchman has been a driving force in their recent slate of comebacks as he's given his best performances when his team have had their backs against the wall. 

Undoubtedly United will look to him for inspiration to bring them back into the title picture with a win over their neighbours.

Doing that though is harder said than done, especially for United as even with their ability to rally in the second half, they could find themselves in trouble if they let City build up too big a lead.

Manchester City usually begin games at a fast pace, and if allowed to do as they please can run rampant which could make them unplayable when they are in the mood. Not to mention they can also finish games with a flurry like their cross town rivals have managed over the last few weeks.

This should give United pause for thought against their tendency to be sluggish in the opening exchanges. As great as their powers of recovery may be if City aren't contained in the first half even United's ability to fight back may not be enough to get the job done on the day.