Champions League qualification and a trophy... Man United legend on what's needed for successful season at Old Trafford
While Liverpool remain favourites to defend their Premier League title, Northern Ireland's 1982 World Cup hero believes Chelsea could give the Reds a run for their money in the 2025/26 season.
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BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Linfield's Shelbourne rematch 'silly'
Linfield midfielder Chris Shields says it is "a bit silly" that the Blues and Shelbourne will meet for a second time in European qualification this clubs met in Champions League qualifying in July, with the League of Ireland champions winning 2-1 on aggregate, before the Dublin side lost to Qarabag and Rijeka in subsequent qualifiers to drop down into a Conference League that defeat to Shels, Linfield negotiated ties against Lithuania's Zalgiris and Vikingur of the Faroe Islands, setting up a winner-takes-all rematch between the teams for a place in the group first leg will take place at Shelbourne's home ground of Tolka Park on Thursday (19:45 BST) with the return at Windsor Park to follow the next week, but Shields believes the rematch is inconsistent when compared to how Uefa organise their group formats."It's a rule Uefa could go about tweaking," Shields told Sportsound on BBC Radio Ulster."To play the same team twice in a six-week period is a bit silly. "When you look at the new format of the group stages in the Champions League and all of the other European competitions, you don't play anyone twice anymore, so how are we playing the same team four times in such a short space?" 'Qualification would be reward for club stalwarts' The 34-year-old Dubliner has previous group stage experience in Europe with Dundalk in 2016 and 2020 and said it would be "the pinnacle" for a lot of the squad should the Blues turn the tables on the League of Ireland champions this time around. "The likes of Jamie Mulgrew, Kirk Millar... It's Kirk's testimonial year this year, so no more fitting year to get into the group stage," he said."People who've been at the club a long time, David (Healy) the manager for a long time and (kit manager) Gary Eccles here for 41 years - it would be good for these people to get to the group stage."Shields missed the first leg of the Champions League qualifier at Tolka Park in July due to suspension but is available for Thursday's return to Dublin which could see him make his 60th appearance in European game was Linfield's first competitive fixture of the new campaign with Shelbourne midway through their own domestic season and Shields is hopeful the "minutes in the legs" since will put the Blues in a better position this time around. "We're definitely better prepared," he added."We've had six European matches and every one of them were tough and challenging matches [that] you are never going to get with a friendly, plus the Dungannon (league) game last weekend."We've the minutes in the legs and the bodies are in a far better position going into this round than the first round when we met them. The unknown is out the window as we are familiar with how Shelbourne play and we're more familiar with how we play since going into the last one."
Metro
29 minutes ago
- Metro
How to watch Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: TV channel, live stream and time
Chelsea and Crystal Palace begin their Premier League campaigns on Sunday when they meet at Stamford Bridge. It has been a very different summer to usual for the Blues after their Club World Cup adventure which saw them return from America with the trophy. That meant their holidays were later than normal and they returned for pre-season preparation much later, but will hope that plenty of good work was done in the States. It has been a stressful summer for the Eagles after their demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League despite their brilliant FA Cup win at the end of last season. They are also seeing star names like Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi linked with moves to Premier League rivals. Metro's new weekly football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal. However, Oliver Glasner is continuing to prove himself as an excellent manager as his team lifted the Community Shield last weekend despite the distracting circumstances. After upsetting Liverpool at Wembley, can they spring another surprise at Stamford Bridge? The match kicks off at 2pm on Sunday August 17 at Stamford Bridge. The game is being shown on Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting at 1pm and streaming available on Sky Go. You can also stream through Now TV if you do not have a Sky Sports subscription. Match of the Day will be shown on BBC One at 10.30pm on Sunday. At the same time as Chelsea vs Palace, Nottingham Forest will be playing Brentford live on Sky Sports Premier League from the City Ground. At 4.30pm Manchester United will be hosting Arsenal live on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League. 8/13 Chelsea More Trending 12/5 Draw 7/2 Crystal Palace Odds courtesy of Betfair MORE: Is Nottingham Forest vs Brentford on TV or live stream? Time, team news and odds MORE: Man Utd vs Arsenal: Predicted lineup today and confirmed team news MORE: Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Predicted lineup today and confirmed team news
Scotsman
29 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Transfer bid imminent ahead of Rangers' Champions League tie as EPL side eye prized forward
Club Brugge's star man Tzolis could be replacement for Spurs-bound Eze 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... Club Brugge will attempt to fend off more interest for one of their most proficient forwards ahead of facing Rangers in the Champions League play-offs. The Belgian side are due at Ibrox on Tuesday night for the first leg of their tie before welcoming Rangers back to the Jan Breydel Stadium a week on Wednesday for the return game. The winner will advance to the main phase of the Champions League. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, Club Brugge's resolve is set to be tested in the transfer market after it emerged that English Premier League side Crystal Palace hold a significant interest in their Greek forward Christos Tzolis. Greek forward Christos Tzolis is a key part of Club Brugge's front line. | Getty Images Palace are preparing for life without their own star man in Eberechi Eze, who has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, and reports on Sunday morning claimed that Tzolis has been identified by Eagles head coach Oliver Glasner and his recruitment team as a potential replacement. Tzolis, 23, signed a contract extension with Club Brugge last month until the summer of 2029 and would command a large transfer fee. He contributed 21 goals and 14 assists, predominantly from left wing, last season after joining from Fortuna Dusseldorf. Capped 24 times by Greece, Tzolis is still expected to travel to Glasgow on Monday afternoon to prepare for the match against Rangers despite the heightened demand for his services. Club Brugge are reported to have turned down an approach for him from Palace earlier this summer, but are now braced for a further bid and will not want speculation over the player's future to disrupt their preparations for a key Champions League match. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Tzolis is key player for Club Brugge Tzolis has started all of Club Brugge's competitive matches this season, providing three goals and two assists, and put in a stellar performance last Wednesday as the Belgians overcame Salzburg to set up the match against Rangers. He played the full 90 minutes on Saturday evening as Club Brugge won 1-0 away at Waregem in the Jupiler Pro League, relying on a strike from South African 20-year-old Shandre Campbell in stoppage time to clinch the win. In the last round, Rangers benefitted from opponents Viktoria Plzen being rocked by the transfer of their key midfielder Pavel Sulc, who was granted permission to seal a move to Lyon 24 hours ahead of the first leg at Ibrox. Rangers went on to win 3-0 before losing the second leg 2-1 in Czech Republic. Club Brugge are the favourites to win against Rangers across the two legs of the Champions League play-off tie. The two teams met in a pre-season friendly last month at Ibrox, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Tzolis played the first half and helped the Belgians establish a 2-0 lead before they made significant changes to their team.
