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            Mohamed Salah's absence left Liverpool lacking attacking quality as Everton held them to a 0-0 draw in the Premier League on Saturday.Liverpool missed the striking prowess of Mohamed Salah as they passed up a chance to go second in the Premier League with a 0-0 draw against rivals Everton in the Merseyside derby. Salah, who has scored 38 goals in all competitions this season, was absent for Saturday's clash at Goodison Park due to the groin injury he sustained in the 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, and Liverpool's second string failed to deliver.      Dominic Solanke, starting down the middle with Roberto Firmino on the bench, was the main culprit as he wasted the two clearest chances of a drab encounter in front of England manager Gareth Southgate, while Loris Karius only had one Everton effort to deal with across the entire 90 minutes.The Toffees approach played ...

              Saturday’s eagerly awaited meeting at City’s Etihad Stadium offers Pep Guardiola the chance to make mathematically certain of the Premier League crown with a victory. It is a prospect that has left United supporters with a sense of dread as their bitter rivals prepare to lift English football’s greatest prize.       During his press conference on Friday, Mourinho reminded fans of the day, a dozen years ago, when he led Chelsea to a victory over United to win the title and claimed that the potential title decider is “just football”. “We beat United 3-0 and we won the title at Stamford Bridge in 2005-06. But it was not the end of the world, Manchester United didn’t finish. It was just football.       “The only thing I can say is that we want to win, we don’t want to offer them the game. We want to go there and want to compete and win the match if possible. That’s the only thing I can s...

    Pep Guardiola's side can claim the Premier League crown with victory over their arch-rivals in Saturday's clash at the Etihad Stadium Manchester City will be chasing the “extra bonus” of securing the Premier League title on derby day against arch-rivals United, admits John Stones.      Pep Guardiola’s star-studded side have dominated the domestic scene in England throughout the 2017-18 campaign. They are now just three points away from adding the top-flight crown to a Carabao Cup triumph, and can get over the line in style with victory over their rivals.      Stones concedes that added incentive has been offered to City as they prepare to welcome the Red Devils to the Etihad Stadium, with it rare that success can be achieved on such an occasion.“It would mean a lot," the England international defender told Sky Sports . “If it was the other way round, I am sure they would say the same. You do not want it to happen, it is the braggi...

            The Toffees international ambassador wants the Toffees to take a lesson from Jurgen Klopp's men demolition of Manchester City Everton ‘have to do to Liverpool what they did to Manchester City’ in Saturday’s English Premier League cracker.      The Toffees head into the weekend’s encounter in search of their first Merseyside derby win in eight years. For the Reds, they come into the tie brimming with confidence after breezing past league leaders Pep Guardiola's City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday.      Jurgen Klopp’s side delivered an impressive first half display, scoring all three goals past the red-hot Citizens within 19 minutes at Anfield. And Pienaar who started in his role as the Toffees' first international ambassador has urged the players and the fans to control the game at Goodison Park - same way their opponents did in midweek - so as to end a winless r...

      Pep Guardiola claimed the France international was offered to him by Mino Raiola in January, but the player himself is not so sure Paul Pogba has responded to claims by Pep Guardiola that he was offered to Manchester City during the January transfer window. Pogba's future has come under scrutiny this season, with Jose Mourinho having left the £89 million midfielder out of the team on multiple occasions.       That has led to reports of a falling out between the France international and his manager, though Pogba himself insists he has no problem with the Red Devils boss .But on the eve of the Manchester Derby,Guardiola revealed that Pogba's agent Mino Raiola offered the player to City just over two months ago.     The Catalan also claimed one of Raiola's other clients, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, was offfered to City at the same time, though.It is the Pogba revelation that has caused more of a stir, however, and the United star wa...

Victory for Pep's men will bring them the Premier League title and deal a bitter blow to their fierce rivals The only thing better than sealing the Premier League title? Doing so in front of your fierce rivals. Pep Guardiola’s champions-elect have the chance to do exactly that this weekend when they host Jose Mourinho’s United. Manchester City have done the double three times over Manchester United in the Premier League, only Liverpool have done so more often in the competition (4). Indeed, United have lost eight of their last 13 EPL games against Man City (W3, D2) – their previous eight top-flight defeats against Man City came over a 49-game period stretching back to March 1978. The times, it seems, are changing in Manchester. This is now the fourth time City will go into this fixture in the Premier League starting the day top of the table – they have won their previous three, with all wins coming at Old Trafford. Should the Citizens complete another seasonal EPL dou...

The former midfielder and coach sadly passed away on Wednesday after he had been hospitalised having suffered a cardiac arrest Former England international Ray Wilkins has died aged 61 following a cardiac arrest at the end of March. Wilkins, who played for both Chelsea and Manchester United during his playing career, was being treated at St George's Hospital in London in an induced coma. In a statement, the Professional Footballers' Associations (PFA) said: "It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we have learnt that former England midfielder Ray Wilkins has passed away, aged 61. "The thoughts and condolences of everyone at the PFA are with his family and friends." Wilkins' family released a statement via BBC Sport where they wanted to "thank St George's staff for the amazing work they have done to care for our beloved Ray". They added: "We would also like to say thank you for the many goodwill messages we have received from R...

As  two go head-to-head in the Champions League quarter-finals, Goal's club correspondents have done likewise to make the case for their picks For so long, Kevin De Bruyne's fine performances for run-away leaders Manchester City had made him the hands-down favourite for the Premier League's Player of the Year awards. The Belgian is enjoying a superb season at the heart of Pep Guardiola's side and if he keeps this up in the coming months and years he could even find himself in with a shot at the Ballon d'Or. But the case for Mohamed Salah is getting stronger and stronger as the weeks go by. The Egyptian has been a revelation since arriving at Anfield last summer and he seems to be getting better all the time. The two will be thrust into the same spotlight when Liverpool and City face each other in the Champions League quarter-finals, so our club correspondents have gone head-to-head to make the case for their personal favourites. MOHAMED SALAH By ...