Brendan Rodgers is wary of the threat posed by Aston Villa ahead of injury-hit Liverpool s clash with Paul Lambert s side on Saturday.
Villa are unbeaten in their last three trips to Anfield; drawing 2-2 in the Premier League last season after securing a shock 3-1 win during the 2012-13 campaign.
The West Midlands club have picked up seven points from their first three Premier League matches this season, conceding only one goal in the process.
Liverpool will be expected to secure all three points on Merseyside this weekend, despite being hampered by injuries, but Rodgers will not be taking Villa lightly.
He said: They ve started well. I m pleased for Paul because he s gone in and looked to bring in young players.
The first season was difficult bu…
Man City have bid rejected for Sterling
that Liverpool have rejected an official proposal from Manchester City for star forward Raheem Sterling.
It is no secret that the England hotshot hopes to leave the Reds this summer, but the club chiefs have no intention to sell just yet.
Manchester City tested Liverpool s resolve with a £25 million bid for the player s services, but it is believed the Anfield outfit are holding out for £50 million.
Sterling has another two years left on his current contract, while he recently turned down a £100,000 per week deal.
With Frank Lampard and James Milner leaving, Manchester City are desperate to sign English players, having UEFA s home-grown quota in mind.
The Citizens are expected to return with an …
Hull City are closing in on a deal to sign former Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve Harper, according to the Daily Star.
The 38 year old was not offered a new contact after twenty-years at St. James Park, but has been keen to continue his playing career.
In his two decades in the North-East, Harper racked up just 157 appearances, with the veteran holding the record for the most appearances as an unused substitute.
During the 1990’s he had loan spells at Bradford City, Gateshead, Stockport County, Hartlepool United and Huddersfield Town, while his most recent spell away from Newcastle came at Brighton and Hove Albion for a month late 2011.
Should he put pen to paper on a deal with the Tigers, he will become their sixth summer signing after the ar…
Hamburg have confirmed they are interested in signing Everton s Croatian forward Nikica Jelavic.
The Bundesliga outfit – who scored fewer goals than any other side in the top half of the table last term – are keen to bolster their attacking stocks with the 27-year-old.
Jelavic arrived at Goodison Park from Rangers in January 2012 and was an immediate hit, scoring 11 goals in 16 appearances to finish the 2011-12 season.
He was not as prolific last term however, scoring just eight times in 43 games, and the close-season arrivals of Barcelona loanee Gerard Deulofeu and Ivorian Arouna Kone have put Jelavic s Everton future in doubt.
Hamburg are keen to seize the opportunity and sporting director Oliver Kreuzer has been a keen admirer of the striker for some time.…
Everton hopes to obtain a work permit for Valencia-midfielder Ever Banega. The Toffees want to loan him for one season with an option for a permanent transfer. However, the deal is complicated because the Argentine didn`t play 75 percent of Argentina games in the last two years.
The 21-year old Banega was former Valencia-coach Ronald Koeman`s major signing. The Spanish side signed him from Boca Juniors for about £ 15,000,000 in January 2008. Last season he played on a loan-base for Atletico Madrid.
Meanwhile, Everton denies that they`ve had further contact with Manchester City over Joleon Lescott although there have been rumors that City-captain Richard Dunne could be offered in part-exchange.
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Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta says that he never steps on the pitch with the intention of humiliating his opponents.
The Spain international, who lost out to team-mate Lionel Messi in Monday s Ballon d Or ceremony, has been heralded for his dribbling, but some critics claim that he only plays in that way to show off.
The 28-year-old has responded by saying that he has nothing but respect for his peers and would not dream of making a fool of them on the field.
I would not want it to look like that. I do nothing to humiliate anyone, especially a fellow. After all, they are playing on the other team, but they deserve my respect, he said.
I play because I like the game, each time choosing the option that I feel that gives me the best chance. If it go…
Steven Taylor is hoping Newcastle can show improvement in the Premier League this season, starting against Manchester City on Monday.
Alan Pardew s side travel to the Etihad Stadium for the final match of the first round of games in the 2013-14 Premier League calendar, and Taylor thinks they can cause an upset.
History is not on Newcastle s side, as they have not beaten last season s runners-up since 2005 and lost both their meetings last season.
Newcastle followed up an impressive 2011-12 campaign with a disappointing 16th-place finish last time around, but Taylor believes they are better prepared for the coming season.
The big games are what we look forward to, the 27-year-old told the club s official website. We ve got Manchester City first game and hopefully …
Manchester City star Leroy Sane has been left out of Germany s squad for the World Cup.
The winger is the most surprising name to have been cut from the provisional squad by head coach Joachim Low.
Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno, centre-back Jonathan Tah and Freiburg striker Nils Petersen are the other players to be omitted from the final group heading to Russia.
It was a very close decision between him and Julian Brandt, which was made in favour of Brandt, Low told a news conference.
0 In 12 games for Germany, Leroy provided just one assist (zero goals). Dropped.
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz)
The disappointment among the four was there for all to see.
The decisions I and my coaches had to make were not easy. We analyse…
Sergio Aguero has reaffirmed his intention to stay at Manchester City, while declaring his relationship with manager Pep Guardiola to be really good .
Aguero hit 21 Premier League goals, the most by a City player during the 2017-18 campaign, as Guardiola s men romped to the title by a huge 19-point margin from rivals Manchester United.
But Aguero has endured spells out of the side during Guardiola s two years in charge, with the Catalan appearing to prefer Brazil international Gabriel Jesus as the figurehead of his attack.
The Argentina striker is preparing for the World Cup but shrugged off speculation he could leave City for Real Madrid or former side Atletico Madrid during the transfer window.
It is really good, we were very clear when we saw each ot…
Putting in another professional European display on Tuesday night, Real Madrid booked their Champions League semi-final ticket as they claimed a second-leg 2-0 victory against Chelsea.
Firmly sat in pole position as they secured another 2-0 win when they welcomed the Blues to Madrid last week, Carlo Ancelotti’s men look set for what should be a heavyweight semi-final showdown against Manchester City.
Eventually breezing their way to the final four as Brazilian international Rodrygo bagged a second-half brace, Los Blancos also piled more pressure onto a Chelsea side who find themselves at the heart of a public nightmare.
Once again showing a string of attacking issues and watching their Champions League adventure come to an end thanks to a 4-0 aggregate drummin…