Belfast Giants discover Champions League opponents
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Metro
5 minutes ago
- Metro
Tottenham icon makes Mikel Arteta sack prediction if Arsenal finish second again
Teddy Sheringham has predicted that Arsenal will not sack their manager Mikel Arteta if the club finish second in the Premier League in 2025-26. The Tottenham icon, who conjured up 125 goals and 52 assists in 277 games for Spurs, will 'laugh his head off' if Arsenal miss out the title again. But Sheringham is adamant the Gunners will not part ways with Arteta if they finish as top-flight runners-up for the fourth season in a row this term. Arsenal haven't been crowed champions of England since 2004 and Sheringham has thanked Liverpool, Manchester City and God for ensuring that the Gunners' Premier League trophy drought is still going on. In The Mixer: Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every week – sign up, it's an open goal. 'I will laugh my head off if that's the case (if Arsenal finish second again),' Sheringham told Snabbare. 'But no – I don't think that would be the end for Mikel Arteta. I think Arsenal are in a very good place. 'You talk about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finishing second and where Manchester United were as a club were then, if you look at Arsenal and where they're at now, I hate to say it but I think they're very, very close to being the number one team. 'Thank God we've had Manchester City and Liverpool around over the last few years to keep them where they are but they're not far off it. 'They've got Viktor Gyokeres, this new striker, and he is obviously going to be the focal point of their team, but let's hope they finish second.' Discounting Community Shields, which are just one-off matches, Arteta has landed just one trophy since he became Arsenal boss in 2019 – the FA Cup five years ago. Former Arsenal midfielder Anders Limpar has labelled criticism of Arteta as 'outrageous' and says the Gunners could win a treble this season. 'If you look at the whole team sheet, they (Arsenal) have an amazing team,' he told 'I mean, come on, they can win the treble next year with a team like this. 'They definitely have one of the best teams if everything goes well, because the squad is truly unbelievable. It's mind-blowing. All of those players could play for any team in England. More Trending 'This is the best Arsenal team since the Invincibles. Arsenal were really good in the 90s but we now have a dream team again. They now need to win trophies but they're not far from winning due to the players at the club. 'It is outrageous that Arsenal have been criticised for not winning trophies. 'In my opinion, Arteta is up there among the best managers in the world for what he has done for Arsenal, but I hope for him that he can win a couple of trophies this season. 'A Premier League title or a Champions League final would be unbelievable, and I have 100% faith in Arteta and he has an amazing squad now.' MORE: Mikel Merino reveals what has 'surprised' him about Arsenal signing Viktor Gyokeres MORE: Fantasy Premier League changes to points, transfers and chips this season explained MORE: Manchester United make decision over Chido Obi after Benjamin Sesko transfer
Scotsman
35 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Celtic v Kairat Almaty: Champions League play-off dates and Kazakhstan opponents profiled ahead of £25m showdown
Everything you need to know ahead of Celtic v Kairat Almaty Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Celtic now know who stand between them and a place in the Champions League. Brendan Rodgers' side begin their European campaign in the play-off round of UEFA's elite club competition where they will come up against Kairat Almaty as they look to secure a £25million windfall by reaching the league phase. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Their opponents from Kazakhstan have already had to overcome three hurdles, entering the tournament in the first qualifying round, where they inflicted a 3-1 aggregate defeat on Slovenian side Olimpija. A 3-2 aggregate win over Finnish side KuPS then followed, with Kairat overturning a 2-0 first leg deficit despite being reduced to 10 men in the second leg, before they secured a play-off showdown with Celtic by overcoming Slovan Bratislava via a penalty shoot-out after both legs finished 1-1. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the match: Players of Kairat Almaty ahead of their Champions League first qualifying round first leg match against Olimpija in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Photo by) | Getty Images When is Celtic v Kairat Almaty? The Champions League play-off round first leg between Celtic and Kairat Almaty takes place at Celtic Park on Wednesday, August 20, kick-off 8pm. The second leg will require a 7000-mile round trip for the Hoops with the match set to be staged at the 24,000-capacity Central Stadium in Almaty on Tuesday, August 26, kick-off 5.45pm. Who is the Kairat Almaty manager? Almaty are managed by Kazakh head coach Rafael Urazbakhtin. The 46-year-old earned 12 caps for the national side during his playing career, which was spent almost entirely in his homeland barring a brief spell in Russia. He was appointed Kairat head coach in 2024 but has been with the club for nine years, working his way up from the youth academy to the first team. Kairat Boranbayev, the club chairman, was asked about his future this week amid suggestions his job could be under threat. "Of course we trust Rafael Urazbakhtin," he said. "He has worked hard as our head coach and continues his work. There are no discussions about his future. Any stories suggesting otherwise are made up." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rafael Urazbakhtin, head coach of Kairat Almaty, will pit his wits against Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers in the Champions League play-off. (Photo by) | Getty Images How are Kairat Almaty faring domestically? Kairat are actually in the midst of their current campaign with the Kazakhstan domestic season running from March until October. They are looking to defend the title won in 2024 and sit top of the standings on 43 points after 19 matches, three points ahead of Astana who have a game in hand. Kairat are eight matches unbeaten in the league and face fifth-placed Yelimay Semey at home on Saturday before travelling to Celtic Park. What is Kairat Almaty's European pedigree? Kairat are regulars in the qualifying rounds of UEFA club competitions but have only played group stage football once, in the 2021-22 Conference League, where they finished bottom of their group on two points. They have, however, claimed decent-sized scalps in recent times with victories over AZ Alkmaar in 2018 and Red Star Belgrade in 2015. They last faced Scottish opposition a decade ago, beating Aberdeen 3-2 on aggregate in Europa League qualifying before losing to Bordeaux. Have Celtic and Kairat Almaty met before? This will be the first ever meeting between the two clubs but Celtic are no strangers to Kazakhstan having made three trips to the country over the past 12 years, failing to win on each occasion. Neil Lennon's side lost 2-0 to Shakhter Karagandy at the same stage of Champions League qualification in 2013 but recovered to reach the group stages thanks to a 3-0 win in the return leg at home sealed by a last-minute strike from none other than James Forrest. A 1-1 draw with Astana followed in 2016 under Brendan Rodgers, before a 2-1 home win sealed Champions League progression. Celtic and Rodgers returned to Astana a year later, losing 4-3 away from home on this occasion but after securing a resounding 5-0 win in the first leg at Parkhead. Celtic and Astana players line up before a Champions League play-off at the Astana Arena in August 2017. | SNS Group Who are Kairat Almaty star players? Dastan Satpaev is the rising star of Kazakhstan football. The talented young forward only turned 17 this week but is already a senior Kazakhstan international with a €4million move to Chelsea when he turns 18 in August next year already agreed. His performances for Kairat have earned him comparisons to French star Kylian Mbappé and former Argentina striker Sergio Aguero in the Kazakh newspapers. He has already scored three times in Champions League qualifying this season and will be one of the major dangermen for Celtic to watch, but not the only one. Portuguese striker Jorginho is also a threat while midfielders Valery Gromkyo and Giorgi Zaria also renowned for getting on the scoresheet. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad How does Celtic squad value compare to Kairat Almaty?
STV News
35 minutes ago
- STV News
Lyall Cameron relishing European opportunity with Rangers
Lyall Cameron is enjoying a European odyssey with Rangers and hopes to continue it in the Champions League by getting past Club Brugge in the play-off. The 22-year-old midfielder, who arrived from Dundee in the summer after signing a pre-contract in January, scored his first Gers goal in the 2-1 defeat by Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic on Tuesday night, with Russell Martin's men going through the third qualifier on a 4-2 aggregate. After getting past Greek side Panathinaikos – Cameron was an unused substitute in both games – and Plzen in the qualifiers, the Ibrox side are one step away from the lucrative group phase of the Champions League. Ahead of the Premier Sports Cup game against Alloa at Ibrox on Saturday and the home game against the Belgian side next Tuesday night, Cameron spoke to RangersTV about his European experiences so far and his ambitions. He said: 'It is a lot different than playing at home in the league, everyone comes out and plays a lot more aggressively against you, but it has been really good. 'I am really enjoying it, I'm enjoying coming to different places, different stadiums, seeing different cultures and how different countries have different types of fans so it has been great. 'We have played Club Brugge already this season in a friendly. It is not going to be an easy game, but we just need to go out and do what we want to do and hopefully it is good enough to get through. 'It is a massive opportunity, we have put ourselves in a really good position, two games to get into the Champions League is a great opportunity for us so we are delighted but we need to get through Alloa on Saturday first and then we can look forward to the next game.' Cameron, however, admits there is still plenty of room for improvement in a side which has drawn its first two William Hill Premiership games. He said: 'It wasn't our best performance as a team, we know we can be a lot better than that, but at the end of the day we are through and that is all that matters at this stage of the competition. 'I was delighted to score my first Rangers goal, but I think there's a lot of stuff we can build on and that was the message in the changing room. 'We know we need to be a lot better than that going forward but as a group we have really bought into what the manager wants to do, we really like the way he wants to play, and we are looking forward to being able to implement it as well as he wants. We are still building but I think we'll get there in the end.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
