أعلن الجهاز الفني لنادي بيراميدز، قائمة الفريق التي تخوض مباراة المقاولون العرب في ختام منافسات الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ويحل المقاولون العرب ضيفًا على بيراميدز في الخامسة والنصف من مساء السبت على استاد الدفاع الجوي في إطار الجولة ٣٤ والأخيرة للمسابقة المحلية.

ومن المقرر أن يقود بيراميدز أمام المقاولون العرب، الثلاثي محمود فتح لله وعمرو مختار وهاني سعيد، بعد إقالة الكرواتي أنتي تشاتشيتش.

طالع | إقالة تشاتشيتش من تدريب بيراميدز

وشهدت قائمة بيراميدز غياب الحارس مهدي سليمان وإبراهيم عادل وعمر جابر وعبد الله السعيد وجون أنطوي ونبيل دونجا. قائمة بيراميدز لمباراة المقاولون

حراسة المرمى: أحمد الشناوي – أحمد دعدور.

خط الدفاع: محمد حمدي – طارق طه – عبد الله بكري – ولفريد كانون – محمد عطوة – أحمد أيمن منصور.

خط الوسط: محمد فتحي – أحمد توفيق – إبراهيم حسن – إسلام عيسى – عمر العيوني – محمود حمادة.

خط الهجوم: حسام غانم.

ويحتل بيراميدز المركز الثالث في ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 64 نقطة.

What a superb run of form. Aston Villa have stormed up the table and now look set to embed themselves within the play-off places come the end of the season. Thankfully, the Dean Smith project now looks like working and those in the Midlands will be desperate for a return to the top tier at last. 

Although a lot can still change in a short space of time, the Villans will be hoping to put the disappointment of their play-off final loss last season by going up this time around. Clearly, to do that, Dean Smith and his team need to continue their high spirits and do all they can to give themselves the best possible chance.

It’s going to be a hard task but Villa could massively reap the rewards if they do go up.

Regardless of how they may end the season though, recruitment over the summer will make or break their next campaign.

The right signings are absolutely crucial and having worked with Dean Smith before, the capture of Romaine Sawyers would be heavily advisable.

Sawyers, (who is valued at £2.7 million on Transfermarkt) is a player that Aston Villa have held an interest (as per the Daily Mail) in Romaine Sawyers before, in the aim of re-uniting him with his former manager Dean Smith.

The pair formed a good relationship and one which allowed Sawyers to thrive on the pitch and, alongside the excellent John McGinn, the two could give Aston Villa their best midfield duo in absolute years. Brentford’s captain has surprisingly not scored a goal this season but has provided seven assists, which has gone some way to show his creative capabilities.

Imagine him feeding the likes of Jack Grealish and the attacking frontline, buzzing around the midfield and helping create chaos for the opposition.

Not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well, Romaine Sawyers is a great person to have around the changing rooms as he’s blessed with top leadership qualities that could make a real difference at Aston Villa, who have often let their heads drop when things weren’t going well.

There are no guarantees that Aston Villa will gain promotion into the Premier League but with or without a top-flight return, the need for reinforcements is evident.

Aston Villa fans, would you like to see Sawyers brought in? If not, why not? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

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Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham United venture to the new White Hart Lane for the first time on Saturday to face the daunting task of trying to cause a shock against an in-form Tottenham Hotspur under Mauricio Pochettino, but there’s four key starting Xl changes the Hammers should make to give themselves some hope.

What are they?

The quartet of alterations would mean changes in the defence, midfield and attack from last weekend’s disappointing Premier League home draw with Leicester City at the London Stadium.

At the back, it’s time for summer signing Ryan Fredericks to return at right-back in place of veteran Pablo Zabaleta and to the left of him at left centre-back, Issa Diop to do the same by replacing Angelo Ogbonna.

Looking further forward into the left centre of midfield, a rethink is also a must for Pellegrini here, giving Jack Wilshere his first start since early September 2018 by ousting Robert Snodgrass.

And finally, up front, lone striker Marko Arnautovic needs to be replaced by Lucas Perez.

How will they give West Ham a chance of pulling off an upset?

Suggesting these changes to the starting team is all well and good but how exactly are they going to give the Irons a chance of pulling off an upset in north London?

Well, Fredericks at right-back rather than his mentor Zabaleta will give West Ham that much-needed pace to be able to cope with Heung-min Son.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the back four, centre-half performances have really let the side down in recent weeks. Pellegrini’s tried to make Ogbonna alongside Balbuena or Diop work and but it just hasn’t with at least two goals conceded in each of the last six matches.

It’s time to reunite Balbuena and Diop in the partnership that was working so well up until the former’s injury prior to Christmas.

Snodgrass started the term well in Claret & Blue but has since faded away and offered little more than the odd deadly set-piece. With Wilshere back, the 27-year-old desperately needs starts and the Scot will have to be the unlucky one to drop out in the centre – the weakest link.

Another incentive for Wilshere’s inclusion is his willingness to beat Spurs, bitter rivals of his former club Arsenal, and the same will apply for Perez, who should replace an out-of-sorts Arnautovic and bring form to the table after what should have been two goals against the Foxes.

Despite four alterations, Pellegrini shouldn’t waver from the 4-1-4-1 that was effective on home soil last time out as these are like-for-like changes, ones that will give his team the best possible chance of taking something back to east London.

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Manchester City are a side famed for their unparalleled riches and domination in the transfer market, but a revolutionary change could be on the horizon after years of extravagant and often gratuitous spending.

Phil Foden’s inclusion in the starting XI to face Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday caught most people by surprise. Pep Guardiola has often been scrutinised for a perceived reluctance to fully trust in the prodigious teenager, provoking a tidal wave of bemused journalists to paint a bleak outlook for the future of youth at the club.

But his decision to entrust the 18-year-old in a fixture of paramount importance to City’s season was the most telling sign of what the future holds for Foden and the rest of an academy which has been criminally short of world class talent since Sheikh Mansour took charge in 2008.

This was a game against a side who were considered genuine title contenders just a few weeks ago and had just beaten City over two legs; the title was and is still on the line; the stakes couldn’t have been much higher – yet Guardiola included him from the start in place of David Silva, potentially the most talented player in the history of the club.

Plenty has been made of his match-winning display and rightly so. But the implications of his impact transcend beyond how it influenced the club in the immediate term.

Since City’s sugar-daddy owners rolled into the club and transformed the expectations not a single player has risen into the first team from the academy.

A club who once prided themselves on their ability to embed the next generation of talent into the senior squad – and successfully brought through the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Micah Richards, Stephen Ireland and Joey Barton – have effectively turned the academy into a money-making machine.

Players have been brought through, loaned out and then sold on for a healthy profit in order to fund multi-million pound deals for established stars. But murmurs of City’s potential breach of Financial Fair Play rules and the solitary addition of Riyad Mahrez last summer hint that perhaps winds of change are beginning to blow towards the Etihad Stadium.

Naturally the players residing within the youth ranks must be genuinely exceptional to make the step up in class but with a £200 million academy system already in place there is simply no excuse for the toxic and unsustainable trend of obscene investment to continue.

Guardiola has set the wheels in motion for a shift in strategy by slowly embedding Foden into the side, allowing him the time to adjust to the speed of play his team are expected to play at by training with the senior squad on a regular basis and affording him cameo appearances on a semi-regular basis, and now it seems the final stage of the process is beginning to take place.

Foden is unlikely to keep his place in the side for the trip to Old Trafford on Wednesday but his inclusion against a talented side on Saturday proves that he could be a big part of the squad next season.

There is now a glimpse of tangible proof that the £200 million investment has produced a player who could one day be worth a huge fraction of that cost, and Eric Garcia’s handful of quietly impressive displays this season point towards another imminent graduation.

After all these years of neglecting the academy system there are some trophy-worthy fruits beginning to grow, and Guardiola’s cautious but ultimately cunning approach to embedding them into the side could represent the advent of a new philosophical approach to long-term development at City.

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Crystal Palace fans on Twitter have been busy discussing Scott Dann’s performance against Huddersfield, with the majority under the impression that the centre-back is not what he used to be – some have even suggested that he is finished at this level.

The former Blackburn man was making just his third Premier League start of the season in the absence of Mamadou Sakho, who looks set to miss the rest of the season.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

The 6 foot 2 defender himself had only just returned to full fitness towards the end of 2018 after suffering a serious injury of his own, and his time on the sidelines seems to have affected his game slightly.

The 32-year-old looks to have lost a yard of pace, and as a result, appears to be a weak link in the Eagles’ backline.

His passing also used to be one of his best features, but even that looked wayward against the Terriers, leading many Palace supporters on Twitter to criticise the Englishman…

علق جناح الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ليفربول، محمد صلاح، على معادلة رقم أسطورة الريدز ومنتخب إنجلترا، ستيفن جيرارد، في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وسجل محمد صلاح هدفه رقم 21 في مباراة الأمس، الثلاثاء، أمام أتالانتا في دوري أبطال أوروبا وبذلك يكون قد عادل رقم جيرارد كأفضل هداف لصالح ليفربول في المسابقة القارية.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ماذا قال محمد صلاح عن تهديد جوتا له بعد مباراة ليفربول وأتالانتا؟!

وتحدث المصري الدولي عن الإنجاز في تصريحات لموقع ناديه الرسمي، وقال: “بالطبع، سعيد جدًا لكوني الأعلى تهديفًا في تلك البطولة، ستيفن جيرارد أسطورة لنادي ليفربول، لذلك فأن فخور للغاية لمعادلة هذا الرقم”.

وتابع: “ولكن كما قلت من قبل، فإن أهم شيء هو الفريق، لذلك فأنا سعيد بتسجيل الأهداف لمساعدة ليفربول على الفوز بالمباريات”.

وعن احتمالات فوز ليفربول ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا مرة أخرى: “الأمر صعب، لا أريد أن أشكل أي ضغط على اللاعبين ولكن أعتقد أننا نقوم بعمل جيد في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز وكذلك في دوري الأبطال”.

وأتم تصريحاته: “علينا القتال على كل شيء، هذه هي وظيفتنا كلاعبين، وأثق في الجميع من أجل هذا الأمر، نريد الفوز بكل البطولات ونأمل أن نتمكن من تحقيق ذلك”.

شاهد ملخص لمسات محمد صلاح في مباراة ليفربول وأتالانتا

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Leeds United fans on Twitter have been unalarmed after the club’s financial accounts showed a £4.3million annual loss. The £4.3million loss comes twelve months after Leeds made a profit of almost £1million the previous year.

The most recent accounts published show that Leeds were working at an operating loss of £20million before the sales of players such as Chris Wood offset some of that.

The update was posted by Leeds journalist Phil Hay on Twitter. It hasn’t startled the Leeds fanbase though as their eyes are firmly set on promotion and the fortunes that come with it.

Despite the fanbase living through money worries at Leeds they don’t see the hefty deficit as too much of an issue as they are confident that Premier League football will be coming to Elland Road next season

With the Premier League being within touching distance for the Yorkshire club, some fans haven’t considered the consequences of these financial reports and have instead brushed them off as Leeds head towards the top flight where clubs’ incomes increase substantially.

Here’s what Leeds fans had to say on Twitter…

Since joining Liverpool in 2015, Jurgen Klopp has often been praised for his transfer dealings at the club for both the players he has brought in and the profit he has made.

The signings of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson have ensured Liverpool future profits in the future, whilst the departures of Dominic Solanke, Jordan Ibe and Danny Ings have seen Klopp recoup a substantial amount of money over the years.

And another player who could be set to leave Anfield for big bucks is Marko Grujic, who according to ESPN is a £35 million target for Atletico Madrid should midfielder Rodri make the move to Manchester City this summer.

The Serbian midfielder, who is out on loan at Hertha Berlin, joined Liverpool as an 18-year-old from Red Star Belgrade in the 2016 January transfer window for a reported fee of £5 million as Klopp’s first signing as Reds boss, however, his time on Merseyside has been frustrating.

Grujic has only made 13 appearances in total for the club and has spent the majority of his time out on loan, and although it might be tempting to offload the 23-year-old for a fee seven times of that what Liverpool paid for him, selling the Serbian would be Klopp’s biggest transfer mistake yet in England.

His time on the pitch in Liverpool colours has been limited, but in Grujic the Merseyside club have a player who can control the midfield for years to come.

Although Hertha have had another underwhelming season, Grujic has seen his stock rise massively in the German capital, with manager Pal Dardai even claiming the Serb has been the best midfielder who has played for the club in 20 years.

With James Milner entering the twilight years of his career and Jordan Henderson not showing any signs of improving, Grujic could be the next long-term answer for the club in midfield, and selling him would be a mistake Klopp will regret down the line.

Liverpool fans, should Grujic be given a chance to impress Klopp? Let us know!

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QPR put an end to their woeful run of form in some style with an emphatic 4-0 win over Swansea on Saturday and, besides the much-needed three points, there were plenty of positives to be taken from the victory – another solid Josh Scowen performance included.

The midfielder has sometimes been scapegoated for his side’s failings in recent weeks but has been much-improved since the draw at Millwall, in which he was deployed further afield than his usual number 4 role.

Playing alongside Jordan Cousins in the middle of the park, the former Barnsley man was excellent again and had this to say about playing as an 8 after Saturday’s resounding result at Loftus Road:

“It’s somewhere I’ve played for most of my career. It’s been nice to play in what I feel is my best position – somewhere where I can get forward and defend, too. I feel that I’m a box-to-box midfielder. I felt like I kept running all afternoon – but that’s what I enjoy doing, to be honest. I’ve got the energy to do it.”

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

The 26-year-old has made 30 appearances for the R’s this campaign, scoring one goal and recording one assist, although he looks likely to add to those tallies before the end of the season if he can keep up his form as a box-to-box midfielder.

Scowen completed a game-high 4 key passes on Saturday and, if he can keep up that kind of output, the assists will come far more frequently.

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Giving his usual EFL predictions to Sky Sports, David Prutton has determined how he thinks Aston Villa’s match with Rotherham on Wednesday evening will play out, claiming the Villains will prevail 2-0.

What’s he said?

With both teams having something to play for, Prutton thinks that Rotherham may be able to cause a bit of a scare as the Millers try desperately to stay in the division. Speaking to Sky Sports, the former player said:

“Rotherham are still within reach of survival, and they will fancy their chances of giving Aston Villa a scare at home, even though Dean Smith’s side are in such good form.”

The pundit then chose to focus on Villa’s last gasp win in their previous game, explaining that despite Paul Warne’s side potentially providing stiff opposition, they should be able to maintain their good form. He added:

“That was a huge result for Villa at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday as they look to seal a top-six spot. Rotherham is a tough place to go but I can’t see them not continuing their incredible run.”

All to play for

Given Rotherham’s position in the table, on paper, this match should be a walk in the park for Smith’s side. But fighting relegation, they will be battling hard for a result after defeating Nottingham Forest last weekend.

It’ll be a tough game for Villa but Prutton is right to predict that they’ll come out on top. The confidence they will have gained from that incredible win over Wednesday last Saturday will be immense and the effect those two injury-time goals will have cannot be underestimated.

The fact both teams have something to play for will make this a fascinating clash. However, given their six-match winning streak Villa should have enough about them to continue in the same fashion.