[Confirmed] Ilkay Gundogan signed by Manchester City

Big news in the transfer market today as Manchester City complete the signing of star midfielder Ilkay Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund for a fee reported to be around 20 Million Euros. This also marks the first signing of City under Pep's reign. Let's get into what this transfer brings us !

The Deal as we know ,

 Gundogan's name has come up in every transfer window for the past few occasions and a lot of clubs were trying to lure him. Clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid were all linked with the player. Most of the fans wanted him to play for their club. But city were closely linked last year too and this year they have made it happen. He had just 1 more year in his contract with Dortmund. So city cashed in and got their first recruit in Pep's office.

His career so far , 

 Manchester City is his third top tier club, previously played for FC Nurnberg and Borussia Dortmund. He is known as a star midfielder. He uses to dominate in the centre and push his team forward. He is a great chance creator and scores at times. But a fine player to take spot kicks. He is a regular starter for his club. Unfortunately he had to sit aside for 15 months during the 2013-14 season owing to a back injury. He made his first international appearance for Germany in 2011 and has 16 caps to his name.

Manchester City and Gundogan - Will it work out ? 

   You may be wondering if he will fit in city's plans! But the answer is - no one knows. It's a new manager for them and we haven't seen them play. So if they made the decision to sign him, then it means they need him and know what they are doing. So how about stop thinking and seeing what happens next !

His role ,

 Manchester City has seriously increased their depth in the midfield to several levels in the past seasons and now are available with a lot of options. The likes of Yaya Toure, Silva, Nasri, Kevin de Bruyne, Fernando, Fernandinho and now Gundogan will all be fighting for the same spot. But as we know Guardiola is the HOD of midfield and he had a similar squad in all his previous clubs. So he will be playing a strong midfield with a single striker and Gundogan will definitely be controlling the midfield.

Premier League Quality ,

 Gundogan who is sidelined from the EUROS 2016 might be out until September. Once he comes back from the injury, he should find his form back. People have seen big names like Di Maria, Falcao, Schweinsteiger fail in the recent times to shine and it wont be an easy job for him to settle so quickly if he is normal. But he is regarded as an "intelligent and complete" midfielder by his former gaffer Klopp. So let's see if he is intelligent after all !

This deal looks to have pleased the Manchester City fans and they are looking forward to see him in their colours. He will also be looking forward to have a injury free season for the best. We will be coming up with the possible line-ups and tactics as the season nears. So keep coming and pour your views ! 

Time for the last four ! [Man.City Vs PSG] [Preview] [UCL Quarter-finals 2nd leg]

At-last it's time for the last four and it's not going to be easy,now in this post we will be giving you a detailed preview of tonight's match and in the end of the post we will be revealing our prediction of who is going to win the match !

Now in order to breakdown we have to overlook the stats of the 1st leg,so here it is.

[If you want a complete review of the 1st leg be sure to check this post/article - CLICK HERE ] 

Now by seeing the stats we can surely say that PSG controlled the match more than Man.city

Now we will look into the individual sides of the teams and the 1st leg playing-style 


MANCHESTER CITY : 

So now let us first discuss about the recent form of Man.City and then go deep.

                                        
                             D L W D W

So as you can see they are not in a very good shape,with only 2 wins in the last 5 matches they seem to be fragile,and surely by their standards this is worst.

FACTOR 1

An important factor is Vincent Kompany's injury ! Yes the manager told the press that the Belgium defender will not be playing in the 2nd leg of the quarter finals,Without Kompany the team is too insecure at the back.This can be a major drawback for tonight's match.

FACTOR 2

Man city has a advantage over the match since they played away and scored 2 goals against the French giants last match,All they have to do is maintain a 0-0 or a 1-1 scoreline in the 2nd leg and BOOM they are into the semi-finals !

"BUT" 

Pellegrini told "I think the most important aspect of this team is always to score. We are working here for three years and I always have the same answer.We are a team that is prepared to score goals. If we prepare to play 0-0 I think we lose. You see the same team you see the last two and a half seasons." 

Thus "Man.City" are not playing safe,which may end in tragedy.


PARIS-SAINTS GERMAN :

Let us have a look into the recent form of the French giants.


                                           W L W D W

So with their recent form we can say that they are playing decent football with 3 wins in 5 matches.And by their standards in their league I should definitely say that its not up-to the mark.


FACTOR 1

In the past 3 seasons PSG have never crossed the quarter-finals and it remains a mystery that why can't they ? 

Thus Blanc told the press "It will be a new era for French football if we go through," And yes as the PSG coach said it would definitely change things for the team.

FACTOR 2 

The French giants have to play without their center-back "David Luiz" and their defensive mid-fielder "Blaise Matuidi" due to suspension,Actually this can be a major factor deciding the match because both these play an important role in the defence system of the French giants


OUR PREDICTION 

[Warning:This may terribly go wrong since we don't 

have time machine's with us]

We guess that the French-Giants are going to make history by winning the match and make it to the last four !  

Anyway Whom do you think will win the match ? 

These are not what we expected !? [UCL Quarter-Finals 1st leg] [Review]

With the 1st leg of quarter-finals finished we have the results of the matches and they are absolutely a shocker ! Yep ! This is not what we expected for sure,of course this year has been full of unexpected warped-bombs,So further to do lets have a look at the results !


Results : 

 BARCELONA           2-1      ATLETICO MADRID 
 BAYERN                 1-0      BENFICA
 WOLFSBURG          2-0      REAL MADRID
 PARIS ST-GERMAN  2-2      MAN. CITY

BARCELONA Vs ATLETICO 

 This match was absolutely awesome,both the sides played very well ,but its football thus we have a winner ! and as we already discussed about this match briefly in this article/post - CLICK HERE TO VIEW POST we move to the next match !

BAYERN Vs BENFICA

Before starting a FACT "This was Pep-Guardiola's 150th game as Bayern Boss and 114th win with them",So now,Bayern all most controlled the whole match I should say because they were always in the head of Benfica's defenders and they had many chances which were all missed or saved by the goal-keeper !

And this match was a shocker because this match was a cat-on-wall state since Bayern only scored one goal which came from Vidal who scored a early header in the 2nd-min,This match went in the unexpected way because we always expect Bayern to score atleast more than 2 goals against teams like Benfica,But OH BOY we are wrong because its football and football is always like having 2 brains at the same time,we never know what happens ! Anyway as far the match is concerned Bayern won the match with a 1-Goal lead which is not at all helpful for them in the 2nd-leg.

WOLFSBURG Vs REAL MADRID 

Okay now maybe this match is the reason for the title of the post/article,So first let us see what the "RMA Boss" Zidane said "That's football - that's how difficult it is. That's what happens when you don't play with intensity from the start. We have to rest and think about the return leg because we still have the chance to change everything."

So yea Real-Madrid lost to Wolfsburg which was totally not expected and we have to admit that RM played poor in the match which costed the result.

Let us have a look what the happy-faced Wolfsburg manager said "I was laughed at when I said that we may have a chance. Real had their opportunities early on and we were a bit lucky,We pulled together, we found the spaces and played very well. Now we will go to Madrid, knowing that we have a chance to advance."

And once again Ronaldo failed to shine in this match too,which is also considered as one of the reasons for the loss by the fans.

PSG Vs MAN CITY

This was the one and only match which kept us at the edge of our seats because both the sides played with all the power they had and when we thought we had a winner the match ended in a draw by the deflected goal by Fernandhino(Man City).

And you have to praise Joe hart for saving 2 consecutive penalties which was offered to PSG,if he didn't save those the match would have ended with a huge score-line.

The goal from Kevin de Bruyne gave Man City the lead after Joe Hart saved Ibrahimovic's penalty,Zlatan took advantage on Fernando's mistake to equalise and Adrien Rabiot scored in the second half to put PSG in front.

So yea these are the results of the 1st leg of the UCL quarter-finals and this is still not finished yet there is another leg to decide who is going in for the semi-finals and after that we will have our winners to face in the semi-finals !!

STAY TUNED LADS ! FEEL FREE TO COMMENT YOUR THOUGHTS !!

Battle for the number "4"

Hello guys ! Yep its true ! We are officially back and for regular followers,you may have noticed that we have changed our website address and for the new guys reading this,Welcome ! Without further delay lets get into the action.

Premier league followers know very well the battle for the 4 th position is even closer and fiercely competed than the title this season due to Leicester City's fairytale and also due to Arsenal the fourth position champions being ahead in the table ! ( we can't believe it too ! ) . Lets see who has a better shot at finishing fourth....

THE TABLE ( as of week 32 )

1) Manchester City 

The Blues of Manchester currently hold the 4 th position in the table but they are closely followed by their rivals United and West Ham. They can retain this spot if they can go on a good run and not implode and flop like they did recently.

Current Form - L L W D L W ( 7 points)

Upcoming Matches :

2) Manchester United 

Closely following City are the 20 times champions United. They are just 1 point below city but they have a 12 goal difference between themselves.They currently occupy 5 th spot. They are on a great run of form , have a good squad now that their players are returning from injuries and trying harder and can to get the 4 th spot if city fail to pick up their form and west ham fail to go on a good run.

Current Form - L W W L W W ( 12 points )

Upcoming Matches : 

3)West Ham United 

The hammers closely follow up behind United and are only below them due to a 2 point difference  compared to the club from Manchester. They have a good run of form and are unbeaten in their last six games and people wonder if they can carry that form forward into the end of the season.

Current Form - D W W W D D ( 12 points )

Upcoming Matches 

4) Arsenal 

Arsenal to the teams  above 

 LOL 

Final Prediction of Football Frost

The teams are lining up to into the final stretch of battles and we predict The Red Devils Manchester United  to finish victorious in the battle of the 4 th place as they have a relatively easy fixtures compared to the other teams. 


Thats it for now . Stay tuned for more posts and info about the ongoing and upcoming matches :) 

Manchester City (Title Winners) - Season Review

Well the exciting Barclays Premier league has ended and the Blue outfit from Manchester came out on top from the final match day.The battle had gone right till the very end and had given thrills for every fan of the blue side of Manchester.We all know they deserved to win the league due to their great performances but we should know what caused these results.Lets have a look at their 2013/2014 season.....

PRE SEASON CHANGES

There are many changes that happened during the summer for Manchester City and the main one being the sacking of Roberto Mancini and the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as the new manager.There were also some changes in the squad with the sale of Carlos Tevez and Mario Ballotelli being some crucial ones and also City brought in Jesus Navas,Negredo,Jovetic,Fernandinho and Demichelis to strengthen their squad.Many people questioned the appointment of Pellegrini but they had no idea how wrong they were.

How the changes worked

In the first half of the season Manchester City began to show their attacking strength and let loose on all oppositions with their counter attacking skills a master class by Pellegrini.The combination of Aguero and Negredo scored tons of goals.Yaya Toure was also one of the main contributers ending the season as their top league goal scorer.Pellegrini was able to let loose Toure's attacking play and his ability to dominate the midfield.Fernandinho added stability to midfield and goal scoring helped while Demichelis even though began the season very poorly improved in the second half of the season and showed his master class.Navas was the answer to Manchester City's lack of a proper winger and Negredo as mentioned above scored goals at will.

The only problem was Jovetic.He was injured most of the season and made only 3 appearences and again was injured and had to be substituted in his 3 rd appearence.Even though he looked good scoring goals in those three matches he needs to improve on his fitness next season.

Manuel Pellegrini-The calming factor

Pellegrini recently accepted that the Manchester City dressing room lacked the calmness and Stability it needed.Pellegrini really did it with calming mood and factor influencing the game.Even though Roberto Mancini brought success he did not have this calming factor Pellegrini brought with him.Also Mancini was a bit defensive in this tactics and play which did not allow Manchester City to make full use of their attacking strengths.Pellegrini understood what had to be done and let loose the attacking force of Manchester City and also improved their defending .One of the main tnothings that stood out for City is their ability to not go on a winless streak.Even if they get defeated they come out winning the next game.This helped a great deal in their run and also this shows Pellegrini's ability to motivate the players in the dressing room

Main tactics and Formations 

Pellegrini really understood what was the winning combination.His main tactic was counter attack and attacking style of play and he never changed that.He changed his formations to adapt and include all their star players in the squad.He also rotated his squad to give every player a shot at the match.This was helped by his main players except aguero not being injured and also he had a lot of squad depth to replace any under performing or injured players.He did not change the line up too often and even if he did changed only one or two players so that the winning mentality can be carried forward without trouble.

Progress in all Competitions

Manchester City ended up winning the Barclays premier league.But for a team of this caliber they will hope and expect to achieve more in the forth coming years.City recorded their first silverware of the Pellegrini era on 2 March 2014,when they lifted the Football Leagur cup.In doing so they became the first Manchester City side to lift the famous three-handled trophy since 1976.They got knocked out of the Uefa Champions League by Barcelona.While one has to mention they got tough draws a great team has to overcome these obstacles.They reached till the sixth round of the Capital one cup getting knocked out by Wigan Atletic again.If they correct on a few mistakes they made they can surely achieve more next season.

Things that need to be concentrated

If city are to achieve more next season they need to bring in few players to strengthern their squad.One of the main areas that need this is their DEFENCE.Pellegrini has been rotating Clichy and Kolorov in the Left Back (LB) position but neither of them have showed enough quality like the best.So it is better if city buy a LB and also a Center Back(CB) because Pellegrini seems to not be impressed by Nagastic and if either of Kompany or Demichelis suffer injuries or go through a bad spell Pellegrini needs to have backup to that postion to rotate his squad freely.

Man City fans will be hoping he gives them more trophies and amazing moments to cheer about...Will he??? Next season we will know the answer..

Thanks for reading guys!! Feel free to comment on this post !!

Barclays Premier League- Match week 37 Preview

Hello and welcome to the Preview coverage of the Barclays premier league match week 37. With only 1 more match week to go this get more dramatic.Lets have a look at the exciting fixture this match week brings.

WEST HAM VS TOTTENHAM

West Ham have beaten Tottenham twice this season and could do with a hat-trick of wins over their London rivals to appease disgruntled fans.They will also be completely safe of relagation if they win this fixture.Tottenham will be looking to end the season with wins from the remaining games.

RECENT FORM

West Ham -  W L L L L

They have managed only one win form their last 5 league matches but come into the match with a confidence of a victory in the previous game.

Tottenham- L W D W W 

Tottenham have been in fine form getting 3 wins and a draw from the last 5 league games and will come in full confidence of winning this match

Soccer Sniffer Predictions - Tottenham win

ASTON VILLA VS HULL CITY

Aston Villa will go into their Saturday afternoon tilt with Hull hovering precariously above the drop zone and in a worse run of form than any of their fellow relegation-threatened rivals.Hull meanwhile know that a point will all but guarantee their Premier League safety for another season.

RECENT FORM

Aston Villa - L L L L L 

Aston villa have been on a worst run of form in the past few weeks failing to win their last six games.They will surely be looking for a win.

Hull City - L L W L D

Hull city will be looking to improve their record and also will be keen to take a point as it ensures their stay in the premier league for another season

Soccer Sniffer Predictions - It is an evenly poised game !!

MANCHESTER UNITED VS SUNDERLAND

United returned to winning ways after the sacking of David Moyes and also it was the first match as manager for giggs.United will be looking to win the remaining games and be hoping to enter into the Europa league next season.Sunderland have their own battle to fight.They are firm candidates for relagation and they will be hoping to win against United to get some crucial points that may help them stay in the premier league next season.

RECENT FORM

Manchester United- L W W L W

Nothing much to say here as they have a new manager but still Giggs will be hoping for yet another big win.

Sunderland- L L D W W

The black cats have been in good form leading upto this fixture and united can surely expect a tough test

Soccer Sniffer Predictions - United win

NEWCASTLE VS CARDIFF CITY

Cardiff city make the trip to St James' Park on Saturday bottom of the Premier League table, two points adrift of safety following last weekend's 4-0 humbling at the hands of relegation rivals Sunderland.If Sunderland, Norwich or Fulham win over the weekend and Cardiff lose on Tyneside, it will condemn the Bluebirds to relegation after just one season back in the top flight..Newcastle go into the game on their worst league run in 27 years after losing their last six games

RECENT FORM

Cardiff City- D L W D L

Cardiff have won only one of their last 15 games away from home and they need to pick up all three points to ensure they take their fight for survival to the final day of the season.

Newcastle United- L L L L L

Newcastle have scored just one goal in those recent six defeats and Pardew will be determined to end that run in their final home outing of the season.

Soccer Sniffer Predictions- Newcastle win

STOKE CITY VS FULHAM

 Fulham have  picked up seven points from a possible 12 to stay within one point of safety, but a survival campaign ignited by consecutive wins over Aston Villa and Norwich City is threatening to fall short due to their failure to correct long-standing defensive problems.Their total of 79 goals conceded is by far the worst in the Premier League and sloppy mistakes at the back have cost them against both Tottenham Hotspur and Hull, recent matches in which they given accomplished performances in all but one area. Stoke have made their home stadium a fortress under Mark Hughes and are aiming for a Top 10 finish first time in their history.

Recent Form

Stoke City- W L W D L

Stoke will be looking to get back on winning ways and as its their home ground there will be added pressure form fans.

Fulham- L W W L D

Fulham will be looking to fight to remain in the Premier league and surely will be hoping for a win.

Soccer Sniffer Predictions- Draw

SWANSEA CITY VS SOUTHAMPTON

When Southampton comfortably beat Swansea back in early October, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were riding high in a Champions League berth, while their South Wales opponents hovered above the relegation zone. The two clubs have gravitated towards each other since then, and are both now secure in the safety of mid-table.They may have nothing to play for apart from pride, but both teams come into this game on the back of an impressive win. Swansea took apart a hapless Aston Villa side with the help of Jonjo Shelvey’s world-class strike, while Southampton benefited from Everton twice pushing the self-destruct button to triumph in the early kick-off.

RECENT FORM

Swansea City- W L L W W

Swansea city will be full of confidence due to their good of form in their recent games and will be looking to extend that impressive run.

Southampton- W L W D W

Southampton will also be confident of their chances and will be keen to show that they can find the net in the absence of key striker Jay rodriguez.

Soccer Sniffer Predictions- Swansea win

MANCHESTER CITY VS EVERTON 

Everton have beaten Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United at home this season, and have become City’s bogey team in recent years. The Goodison Park crowd have only seen their side lose once to City since the turn of the century.Four dropped points against Liverpool and Sunderland hampered City’s title challenge, but two wins on the spin and the irrepressible form of Yaya Toure - who has six goals in as many games - means that the blue half of Manchester is starting to believe again. The blue half of Merseyside, however, has seen their run of seven consecutive wins come to a halt at just the wrong time with defeats against Crystal Palace and Southampton.

RECENT FORM

Manchester City- W L D W W

City must win this fixture in order to keep the hope of winning the title alive and may very well do so if they play well.

Everton- W W L W L

Everton will be looking to win not only to prevent Liverpool from winning the league but also to keep their hope up for the Champions league spot

Soccer Sniffer Predictions- Man City Win

ARSENAL VS WEST BROM

Arsenal will secure fourth position in the Premier League table with a win over West Bromwich Albion on Sunday afternoon.The Gunners are currently four points clear of Everton with two games to play, and even if the Toffees beat Manchester City on Saturday evening, the gunners will earn a Champions League spot with a victory against West brom.West Brom head coach Pepe Mel saw the pressure ease at The Hawthorns last weekend when his team recorded a 1-0 triumph over West Ham United.That result has left them a win away from safety.

RECENT FORM 

Arsenal-  D L W W W 

Wenger will be hoping his club could continue their recent run of good form against the west brom and qualify for the champions league

West Brom- D W D L W

With the club four points clear of 18th position, Mel would be delighted with a point at the Emirates Stadium.

Soccer Sniffer Predictions - Arsenal Win

CHELSEA VS NORWICH CITY

After crashing out of the Champions League, there will be no better remedy for Chelsea than regaining top spot in the league. Defeat for Jose Mourinho’s side last weekend would have ruled them out of title contention, but the Blues can now heap the pressure on Liverpool ahead of Monday’s trip to Selhurst Park.The former youth coach Neil Adams who is incharge of Norwich  has only been in charge for two of his side’s five consecutive losses, but needs to break his duck soon. The Canaries have fallen into the relegation zone for the first time since early November, and require a near-miraculous result against the Blues or Arsenal - and possibly both - to escape.

RECENT FORM

Chelsea- W W W W W 

Chelsea will be hoping to continue their excellent run of form and still put pressure on Man city and Liverpool

Norwich City- L L L L L

Norwich will be desperate to win and keep their hope of still remaining in the premier league.

Soccer Sniffer Predictions- Chelsea Win

CRYSTAL PALACE vs LIVERPOOL

      For Liverpool they must win this game to retain the hopes of the title. But for crystal palace, this match has no harm effects because they are well clear of relegation spot but gathering some points here could make them finish in the top ten. In their last meeting, Liverpool beat Crystal  palace 3-1 .

RECENT FORM

CRYSTAL PALACE - W W W W L

 They have done very well in the recent times and have even won against Everton. But their recent failure against Man City doesn't gives a good opinion on today's game.

LIVERPOOL -   W W W W L

  If they wanna win the title, they must win the remaining games hoping Man City to lose some points. They failed to score last week and conceded two goals that were due to their mistake. They should use their pace attack to win again.

Soccer Sniffer Prediction - Liverpool win


   And so the remaining games are gonna play an important role in deciding the title winner and the teams that are gonna remain in the league. A slight slip or a little bit of fortune could do the trick !! Be excited and enjoy the rest of action until we get to you soon !!!