Page 45 – The Pulse of Football

Feb

2026

Michael Carrick’s common sense fixes at Old Trafford

Manchester United have won three in-a-row under Michael Carrick who is making his own managerial mark on the Old Trafford club.

By Graham Ruthven

The argument was that Fulham would provide a different sort of test for Michael Carrick and his resurgent Manchester United team. While wins over Manchester City and Arsenal had been impressive, the Cottagers would pose the sort of challenge that frequently tripped up United under Ruben Amorim.

After 91 minutes of Sunday’s match at Old Trafford, this was an argument that appeared to have some validity. Having led 2-0, United had been pegged back to 2-2 with Fulham arguably deserving of a point. And then came the moment that truly illustrated how Carrick’s side is different to Amorim’s.

Manchester United can’t count on stoppage time winners like the ones they have scored against Arsenal and Fulham every week, but Carrick’s team plays to win. Even after the disappointment of Kevin’s equaliser, United quickly reset and fought to reclaim what looked to have been lost.

It’s difficult to imagine they would have reacted in the same way under Amorim who never seemed to grasp that a draw is a defeat for a club like Manchester United. This shift in mindset has changed the atmosphere around Old Trafford. The fans have responded to a team they recognise as their own. It’s been a while since they had that.

Carrick has changed more than just the vibes. His system is getting the best out of Manchester United’s individuals. Bruno Fernandes is playing in his best position again as a number 10. Matheus Cunha has been unleashed as a difference-maker in between the lines. Casemiro finally resembles the player once considered the best number six in the world.

Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation is no more. Instead, Carrick has set up United in a conventional 4-2-3-1 that morphs into a 4-4-2 in certain phases of play. He has used a back three to build out from defence, pushing one full back high up the pitch to give his team an option to spread the play. Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw take it in turns to do that.

In the centre of the pitch, Carrick has pushed his midfielders closer together. Casemiro is no longer having to cover so much ground and looks a much better player for it. Alongside the Brazilian, Kobbie Mainoo is back in the first team and has given United some much-needed connective tissue. He is their connector.

And Fernandes is their creator. The 31-year-old is leading the Premier League for assists this season, also creating more Big Chances and chances than anyone else. Fernandes has been misused and abused in recent times, but Carrick has built his system to get the best out of his main man.

The forward line has also benefited from the managerial change. Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo are seeing more of the ball. Patrick Dorgu was playing like Gareth Bale in his prime down the left wing before the hamstring injury suffered in the win over Arsenal. Sunday’s match-winner Benjamin Šeško is making more of an impact too.

United still aren’t playing perfectly. Fulham had a lot of joy playing through the Old Trafford side, particularly after Casemiro was withdrawn. Senne Lammens was busier than he surely would have liked. Had it not been for Šeško’s late winner, Carrick’s team would have dropped two points at home.

“We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” said Carrick after the win. “We can be better than we played today. There’s a lot more to come from us, but we’ve been together three weeks and we’re trying to improve things. That’s three in-a-row which is good, but we want more. Hopefully we can win some games in a more comfortable way.”

A lot of Carrick’s instant fixes have been common sense. Manchester United aren’t doing anything complex, but that alone has been enough to clear a lot of the confusion that swirled around the club during Amorim’s 14 months at the helm. Players are enjoying themselves. United are finally fun to watch again.

Whether or not they can sustain this until the end of the season is another matter. Manchester United could be squeezed out in the race to finish in the top five and qualify for next season’s Champions League such is the strength of rivals such as Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool around them.

In all three games under Carrick so far, United have mostly played the same way. Against an opponent that deploys a low defensive block, they could come unstuck. Nonetheless, Manchester United’s interim manager is cleaning up the mess that was left for him by his predecessor. There is still more to clean up.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every game Manchester United game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Ekitike vs. Haaland, the big striker showdown of the weekend

Erling Haaland started the season in ridiculous form. The Manchester City No. 9 scored 19 goals in 17 Premier League outings. He was on course to surpass the record he set during the 2022/23 campaign when he found the back of the net on 36 occasions.

By Sam McGuire

He was coasting to a third Golden Boot in the English top-flight. Haaland is still likely going to claim a Golden Boot, he’s four goals clear of Igor Thiago and eight clear of new teammate Antoine Semenyo who currently rank second and third in the goals list this season.

But to say that the 25-year-old has slowed down since the turn of the year would be quite the understatement. He has just one Premier League goal in 2026 and that arrived via the penalty spot against Brighton. In fact, across his last seven top flight outings, he has just one solitary goal.

And this barren run in front of goal coincides with City winning just one of their last six in the Premier League. With a league title up for grabs, Pep Guardiola’s side have stuttered at the worst possible time. Arsenal have been dropping points, taking just eight from the last 15 available, but City have failed to capitalise, claiming just six points across this period. The gap at the summit stands at six points.

*Haaland’s shot map in the Premier League this season*

City are going to be ruing those four draws they’ve had in their previous six league outings. In fact, their only win during this time came against bottom of the table Wolves.

What is going to be worrying for City is how they’ve struggled to get their main man involved. Unlike other centre-forwards, Haaland isn’t someone who involves himself that much outside of goals. He is there to put the ball into the back of the net. Carve out chances and he’ll do the rest. However, chances aren’t being created for the Norway international. He’s by no means a spare part but the title hopefuls aren’t playing to his strengths and it’s a waste of what he can do.

In five of his last six starts in the Premier League, he’s finished the game with the fewest number of touches. In five of those matches, he’s not managed to finish the match with an Expected Goals total of over 0.5. Earlier in the campaign, he had an xG90 average of over 1.05. For most players, such form is unsustainable but Haaland has finished all of his Premier League seasons with an xG90 of over 0.95. Right now, he’s got an xG90 average of 0.85.

Guardiola’s men simply aren’t getting the former BVB man into dangerous positions on a regular basis. This weekend, Haaland faces a team he famously struggles against in Liverpool.

He has two goals in five Premier League appearances against the Reds and has failed to score at Anfield. In fact, across three matches at the home of the Premier League champions, he’s racked up an xG of just 0.76.

*Ekitike vs. Haaland Premier League numbers compared*

It isn’t a happy stomping ground for him. The same cannot be said for Liverpool frontman Hugo Ekitike. The Frenchman has six goals in his last seven outings at Anfield. He also has three assists, taking his goal involvement number to nine.

The No. 22 heads into this match as the form forward. The injury to Alexander Isak was an opportunity for the former Eintracht Frankfurt man. Up until that point, he’s been rotated with the £125million summer signing but the injury to the one-time Newcastle United hitman meant he was the only fit senior centre-forward in the squad. The pressure to perform was lifted and he was able to play his natural game, safe in the knowledge he’d be starting.

He’s been able to form partnerships with other Liverpool attackers, namely Florian Wirtz, and the two Bundesliga exports now look like the most exciting duo in the English top-flight, assisting one another on a regular basis and scoring goals.

*Ekitike’s shot map in the Premier League this season*

Whereas Haaland toiled against Newcastle having come off of the bench in the Carabao Cup semi-final, Ekitike put the Magpies to the sword at Anfield with two clinical finishes. His second effort has seen a lot of people, including manager Arne Slot, compare him to a legendary Brazil attacker.

Speaking after the game, Slot said: “His second goal, I don’t know if he knows who he is, but Romario, who played in Holland and Brazil, scored a lot of goals like this. It looked like a Romario goal, I have to say.”

Ekitike heads into this game full of confidence. He’s on home turf, a stadium in which he likes to put on a show for the fans, with the opportunity to outshine arguably the best striker in world football, at least on reputation alone right now. It’s the sort of situation he’ll thrive in. Haaland, meanwhile, has the weight of the world on his shoulders as he looks to keep Manchester City’s title hopes alive in a stadium he has so far struggled in.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Choose One: Predator or F50 LIVE

You can only choose one: Chaos or control? Adidas are asking you to pick a side in the ultimate football boot conundrum, this Thursday, 5 February.

By Bill Biss

On Thursday, adidas are hosting a 10 v 10 Clubs online event live on EA Sports FC and Twitch. And FotMob will have exclusive data coverage in the app.

Two teams, one captained by Angry Ginge, the other by a very special guest, will fight it out in the esports arena, looking to decide a winner between Team Predator and Team F50.

Expect top flight players, expect your favourite content creators, expect a few laughs, and an exclusive look at adidas’ new range of boots ahead of their launch in World Cup year.

It’s decision time.

(All images courtesy of adidas)

You can follow every game from the Predator or F50, Choose One event live on Twitch and check the results on FotMob. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Jose Mourinho’s predictably unpredictable Benfica

Football is about moments, and no one is better at providing them than the great José Mourinho. His first few months back at Benfica, the club he started his incredible career 26 years ago, could certainly be described as a rollercoaster.

By Alex Roberts

It hasn’t been great. Out of both Portuguese cup completions and despite still being unbeaten in the league, Benfica are third by quite a distance. Mourinho was in need of one of those famous moments to help save his first season at the Estadio da Luz. He’s already stayed longer than he did during his first spell, however.

Ahead of their crucial Champions League clash with Real Madrid, around 200 Benfica ultras blocked the entrance to their training ground in Seixal, protesting poor results and demanding a meeting with management.

Just a few hours ahead of their game against Estrela Amadora, Mourinho gave them just that, talking with the fans for over an hour in what has been reported as a ‘productive’ meeting. Still, fans heading to the training ground isn’t exactly an indicator of a healthy club.

The message was clear, results need to improve, and quickly. Benfica beat Estrela da Amadora 4-0, but that was to be expected, the real test would come a few days later when Real Madrid made the journey across the Iberian Peninsula to Lisbon.

Benfica were the better side in the opening 30 minutes, but when Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring, the mood amongst the fans dropped. Six minutes later, Andreas Schjelderup eased those nerves with the equaliser, before Vangelis Pavlidis’ penalty gave the home side the lead heading into the break.

Shortly after half time, Schjelderup bagged his second, lifting Benfica into the play-off spots. Alas, Mbappé was there again to kill the vibe, making it 3-2, and putting Marseille above the Portuguese side on goal difference back in the league phase mega table.

Mourinho didn’t know that though. Clearly convinced his side would still make the play-offs with a 3-2 win, he brought on Antonio Silva and Franjo Ivanović for Schjelderup and Pvilidis to try and kill the game.

As the camera panned the stadium, it looked like Mourinho was the only person there not aware of the situation. President Rui Costa was apoplectic, yelling towards the bench in an attempt to try and tell them they needed one more goal.

Finally, the message got through, and with Real Madrid down to nine men, Mourinho told goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin to head up and make a nuisance of himself from a free kick. Trubin did more than that, he scored the goal that saved Benfica’s Champions League campaign.

That was the moment. Every reaction felt like an underreaction. Mourinho ran down the touchline and was hugging a ball boy, who will not doubt remember it for the rest of his life, but it didn’t feel like enough, Mourinho should have lifted the young lad onto his shoulders and given him his watch or something, that would have been more appropriate.

Even José was amazed by what he saw, telling Paramount+ after the game: “I’ve won and lost many matches, but I had never won one with my goalkeeper scoring in the last minute. I thought I had seen everything in football, but in the end, I hadn’t.”

So, what next? Well, it was one hell of a moment, but once the dust settled, there was still plenty of work to be done. Benfica travelled to Tondela for their 20^th Liga Portugal game of the campaign, and it ended in a really frustrating 0-0 draw.

It’s been the story of Mourinho’s time at the club so far, false dawn after false dawn. Just when it’s looking like they’re going to push on, a bad result against a side they should be comfortably beating sets them back. At the time of writing, Tondela are 17^th in the league with just 13 points from their 20 games.

Elimination from the League Cup and the Tace de Portugal came in consecutive games. José loves a cup competition, the high stakes, the mind games, and everything else that comes with them.

Following their 3-1 defeat to Braga in the first of the two, Mourinho had his players stay at the training ground ahead of the game against Porto in the next, with every intention of making them feel the result.

“I hope the players will sleep as well as I do — which is to say that they won’t sleep at all.” He said.

They probably didn’t get too much shut eye considering Benfica lost the game 1-0. And when asked about his team selection, Mourinho answered in typical fashion: “You have to ask whoever is talking. I don’t understand anything about tactics and dynamics.

“Those who talk about these things are the people who know a lot. It’s better to talk to them. I understand little about it.”

For all the negatives, there have been positives outside of Trubin’s goal too. Mourinho has leaned into Benfica’s incredible academy, giving several young players the opportunities he didn’t at former clubs.

Arguably the best has been young right back Daniel Banjaqui. The 17-year-old has started their last two Liga Portugal games and has looked completely at home. His performance in the win over Estrela da Amadora was particularly impressive.

Banjaqui ended the game having won four tackles, made three recoveries, three passes into the final third, three successful dribbles, created one chance, and won the most duels in the game (11).

He isn’t the only one, Anísio Cabral also looks like a tidy little player. After staring in the Under-17s World Cup last summer, he came off the bench for the final few minutes against Estrela da Amadora to make his debut, scoring Benfica’s fourth goal.

It’s been reported that there is a break clause included in Mourinho’s contract, meaning either party could walk away within ten days of the 2025/26 season’s end. Whether he remains beyond that is the big question.

Mourinho hasn’t been a success at Benfica, yet anyway, but so long as he’s at the club, there will continue to be moments that often define careers and lives.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Liga Portugal on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, xG, and player ratings, where available. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Choose One: Predator or F50

You can only choose one: Chaos or control? Adidas are asking you to pick a side in the ultimate football boot conundrum, this Thursday, 5 February.

By Bill Biss

On Thursday, adidas are hosting a 10 v 10 Clubs online event live on EA Sports FC and Twitch. And FotMob will have exclusive data coverage in the app.

Two teams, one captained by Angry Ginge, the other by a very special guest, will fight it out in the esports arena, looking to decide a winner between Team Predator and Team F50.

Expect top flight players, expect your favourite content creators, expect a few laughs, and an exclusive look at adidas’ new range of boots ahead of their launch in World Cup year.

It’s decision time.

(All images courtesy of adidas)

You can follow every game from the Predator or F50, Choose One event live on Twitch and check the results on FotMob. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Choose One: adidas Predator or F50

You can only choose one: Chaos or control? Adidas are asking you to pick a side in the ultimate football boot conundrum, this Thursday, 5 February.

By Bill Biss

On Thursday, adidas are hosting a 10 v 10 Clubs online event live on EA Sports FC and Twitch. And FotMob will have exclusive data coverage in the app.

Two teams, one captained by Angry Ginge, the other by a very special guest, will fight it out in the esports arena, looking to decide a winner between Team Predator and Team F50.

Expect top flight players, expect your favourite content creators, expect a few laughs, and an exclusive look at adidas’ new range of boots ahead of their launch in World Cup year.

It’s decision time.

(All images courtesy of adidas)

You can follow every game from the Predator or F50, Choose One event live on Twitch and check the results on FotMob. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Antonio Vergara: Napoli’s homegrown star unlocked

Antonio Vergara’s emergence has eased Napoli’s injury crisis and could set a new precedent for the Italian champions as a producer of young talent.

By Graham Ruthven

It’s always flattering for a player to be likened to Diego Maradona, but this is particularly true for a Napoli player. That’s where the minds of the club’s fans went after Antonio Vergara scored his first goal for Gli Azzurri last week. Indeed, El Diego would have been proud of the 23-year-old’s individual effort against Chelsea.

Ultimately, Vergara’s dribble and finish was for nothing as Napoli crashed out of the Champions League in the league phase. Just four days later, though, Vergara was at it again, this time racing through on goal to finish calmly in a much-needed 2-1 victory over Fiorentina.

Napoli are in a bad place right now. Antonio Conte’s team are out of the Champions League and have probably given themselves too much ground to make up on Inter at the top of the Serie A table. The defending Italian champions are on the brink of waving the white flag in the Scudetto race.

Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa, David Neres, Billy Gilmour and Vanja Milinković-Savić are all currently sidelined through injury while Romelu Lukaku is being eased back in after missing the entire season until this point. Conte is scraping the barrel to be able to merely field a team in matches.

At the bottom of the barrel, though, Napoli have found Vergara. He is a diamond in the rough. The kind of player who gets fans off their seats and can create something out of nothing, as he did by dribbling through the entire Chelsea defence before finishing past Robert Sánchez last week.

Just 12 months ago, Vergara was on loan in Serie B. The attack-minded midfielder spent two years at Reggiana where he received a good deal of first team experience, but didn’t exactly make the sort of impression that suggested he would be a difference-maker for Napoli the following season.

Vergara deserves it, he deserves it more than others, so he plays,” said Conte. “I am for meritocracy, I choose whoever deserves it. It doesn’t matter to me if he is 18 or 35, age doesn’t matter. I made my Serie A debut at 16. It means he is in better shape than others, so he plays rather than others. I told him if I choose him in the starting XI, it means we believe in him.”

Conte has publicly voiced his disgruntlement at Napoli’s lack of transfer spending in the past and he could justifiably argue that many of his closest rivals are better equipped to handle an injury crisis due to their larger budgets and larger squads. This is certainly true of AC Milan, Inter and Juventus.

Napoli, however, should be doing more to bring through their own talent. The city of Naples is a football hotbed. Gli Azzurri should position itself as a harness for this homegrown talent like Vergara who has been at the club since the age of 11. This is an area where Napoli can gain an edge on their rivals.

That it took an injury crisis for Vergara to get his opportunity at Napoli doesn’t just raise a discussion about the club’s youth policy, but the youth policy of Italian football as a whole. There is a well-documented dearth of young talent in the Italian game and that has had a detrimental impact on the national team in recent years.

The Azzurri could miss a third World Cup in-a-row with Gennaro Gattuso’s side facing playoffs to qualify for this summer’s tournament. While Italy once boasted a collection of some of the best players in the world, winning the World Cup four times in their history, the current crop is seriously lacking.

Vergara won’t do much to change this, even if he earns a place in Gattuso’s squad for the upcoming World Cup playoff against Northern Ireland in March. However, his breakthrough could encourage others to place more faith in Italy’s youth. At 23, Vergara isn’t even that young. How many others have Italy missed out on due to a lack of game time?

In the meantime, Vergara’s job is to continue performing for a Napoli team clinging on to its targets for the season. While the defending Scudetto champions are disappearing in Inter’s rearview mirror amid a run of just two wins from six games, Conte’s teams have a track record of rounding into form in the second half of the season.

Napoli’s injury fortune will surely improve soon. Key players will return and Vergara might be back on the bench before too long. Nonetheless, the 23-year-old’s Maradona moment and subsequent goal against Fiorentina have raised the prospect that Napoli’s most challenging stretch of the season might have delivered a silver lining.

(Images from IMAGO)

You can follow every game Napoli game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Preview: Man City and Newcastle meet for Carabao Cup semi final, second leg

Manchester City already have one foot in the door of the Carabao Cup final, but their league form has been variable. Can they finish the job off against Newcastle on Wednesday evening?

By Ian King

Both sides have shown patchy form so far in 2026

Manchester City’s last outing, a trip to Tottenham Hotspur, said a lot about their Premier League season so far. An inability to hold onto a two-goal lead against a team struggling for any sort of form certainly spoke volumes about their league form since the start of 2026.

But one of their better performances of the new year was their comfortable 2-0 win at St James’ Park in the first leg of this Carabao Cup semi-final, and this serves as a reminder that Newcastle have been inconsistent all season and are in a bit of a trough at the moment themselves, too, following their 4-1 chastening at Liverpool at the weekend.

It’s been more than a decade since Newcastle last won at The Etihad

Going to The Etihad and overturning a two-goal lead sounds like a tall order, and the history books don’t offer much comfort to Newcastle, who haven’t won there since a 2-0 League Cup win in 2014, though they did beat City 2-1 at St James’ Park in the Premier League, earlier this season. Newcastle may take some consolation from the fact that they are the holders of this competition.

These two teams met in the 1976 final of this competition, with City winning 2-1 thanks to a spectacular overhead kick from Dennis Tueart. It turned out to be their last major trophy until they beat Stoke City to win the 2011 FA Cup. Newcastle’s win in this competition last year was their first major trophy since, depending on who you ask, the 1969 Fairs Cup, or the 1955 FA Cup.

*A reminder of the where we stand after the first leg*

Newcastle need goals, if they’re to find a way back into this cup tie

The Manchester City player to watch at the moment is quite clearly Antoine Semenyo, who’s made an explosive start to his time at The Etihad following his big money transfer from Bournemouth. He’s scored four in his first five games for them and has taken the heat off Erling Haaland, who hasn’t been firing on all cylinders so far in 2026.

Newcastle need goals if they’re to find any route back into this tie, so Anthony Gordon is an obvious place to start if we’re looking for them. Gordon scored their consolation at Liverpool last weekend as well as bagging one against PSV in their final Champions League group match, though like his team, his form has been inconsistent, of late.

Both sides have growing injury lists, but neither may want to shuffle ahead of a cup semi-final

Manchester City’s injury list continues to grow. Rúben Dias and Rayan Cherki are the latest to have joined it. Dias is training again, but is unlikely to feature in this match. Cherki is unlikely to be risked, given that City already have a comfortable lead from the first leg. Joško Gvardiol, Mateo Kovačić, John Stones, Jérémy Doku and Savinho are all longer-term absentees. Phil Foden and James Trafford could both get a recall. Trafford featured in the first leg of this tie.

For Newcastle, Bruno Guimarães, Sven Botman and Lewis Miley all missed the Liverpool match and may be rested again. Joelinton, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schär and Emil Krafth remain side-lined. Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa could be recalled.

Newcastle can make this an uncomfortable evening for Manchester City, but the home side should still prevail

With a comfortable two-goal lead from the first leg, this should be a comfortable evening for Manchester City, but neither of these sides have shown much consistency this season. Indeed, for Newcastle, inconsistency has been the most notable motif of their 2025-26 so far.

But both sides are in the running for a Champions League place, both are still in this season’s Champions League, and both are still in this year’s FA Cup, so it would be a stretch to describe either of them as being anywhere near in “crisis.”

Newcastle’s 4-1 defeat to Liverpool, coming on top of a 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa, was a reminder of the work that they still need to do to secure a top four or five finish at the end of this season. But they are capable, and should they get an early goal then Manchester City have enough insecurities of their own at the moment for the visitors to be in with a chance.

Manchester City’s stuttering start to 2026 has been a surprise, considering this is the time of year that they’ve so often kicked into gear in the past. Throwing away a very comfortable two-goal at Spurs of all places was a sign that all is still not well at The Etihad, and their title pursuit is now looking somewhat forlorn again.

But a trophy’s a trophy, and Manchester City already have one foot in the door of a place in the final. They should get home this time, though I don’t expect Newcastle to make it easy for them. I’ll go for a 1-1 draw and for City to get through to that date with Wembley, though this tie isn’t quite a foregone conclusion yet.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Carabao Cup (EFL Cup) with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Preview: Arsenal and Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semifinal, second leg

A place in the League Cup final is still up for grabs heading into the second leg of this semi-final. Arsenal are in the driving seat (leading 3-2 on aggregate), but could Liam Rosenior’s comeback kings pull off another one?

By Alex Roberts

Talk of a wobble appeared premature Arsenal are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League thanks to their 4-0 win over Leeds over the weekend. The pressure is off now, and the treble (at a minimum) is very much on.

The vibes at Chelsea are getting better by the game. Coming from 2-0 down to beat West Ham will have worked wonders for their confidence, even if the first half performance was abysmal. It turns out, when Chelsea play their best players, they play better.

Gyökeres finding some form

It’s not unfair to say that Viktor Gyökeres hasn’t lived up to the hype since he joined from Sporting in the summer. Whisper it quietly, however, four goals and two assists in his last six games across all competitions is a very good return.

The striker scored last time out, albeit thanks to some poor goalkeeping from Robert Sánchez being unable to gather Bukayo Saka’s low cross. All goals count the same though, it may not have been pretty, but he won’t care.

In another season, Arsenal may not be where they are today with a misfiring forward line. Gyökeres was signed to be the man to fire them to silverware, and recent performances show he still have every opportunity to make it happen.

Are you Frank Lampard in disguise?

Speaking of players who deserve their flowers at the moment, Enzo Fernández has been imperious for Chelsea since the turn of the year. Six goals in in his last ten games are numbers a certain former midfielder would be happy with.

Yes, a couple have been penalties, but it’s the way he’s changed his game over the course of the season that has really caught our attention. Fernández is timing his runs into the box perfectly, and his teammates are getting good at picking him out.

His goal in the 3-2 win over West Ham is the perfect example of that. Tomáš Souček doesn’t pick up his run until it’s too late, and by the time the big Czech ace goes to make a move, the ball is in the back of the net. Fernández is very quickly becoming one of Chelsea’s main goal threats.

Team news

The big team news is that Arsenal’s Mikel Merino is likely to miss the rest of the season with a foot injury. Whether Mikel Arteta has time to bring in a replacement remains to be seen, but either way, this game would be too soon.

Saka is also a major doubt having recently picked up a knock, meaning Noni Madueke will likely retain his place and feature against his former club on the right wing. Young Max Dowman (ankle) is also out.

Turning to Chelsea, their injury list is a little more extensive, but the starting line-up shouldn’t change too much. Rosenior will be without Roméo Lavia (thigh), Dário Essugo (muscle), Levi Colwill (ACL), Tosin Adarabioyo (thigh), and Jamie Gittens (muscle).

Prediction

Chelsea are winning games under Rosenior that they would have probably drawn or lost under Enzo Maresca. Having said that, Arsenal are by far the toughest side he’s faced, and it didn’t go to plan in the first leg.

We’re going with a 2-0 home win and Arsenal to progress to the final.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Carabao Cup (EFL Cup) with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Feb

2026

Preview: Barcelona face giantkillers Albacete in the Copa del Rey

Albacete host Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey as they hope to cause another phenomenal upset in the competition.

By Matt Smith

It’s been a fairytale run for Albacete so far, beating Real Madrid in the previous round, with Jefté Betancor scoring a 94th-minute winner.

It’s been a while since these two sides met, over 20 years in fact, with Barcelona coming out victorious with a 2-0 win in their previous meeting, back in 2005.

Team news

Albacete could be without Higinio Marín for this one, as he’s a doubt for the home side. Edward Cedeno will miss out after undergoing surgery.

Meanwhile, Barcelona remain without Gavi, Pedri, and Andreas Christensen, and Raphinha suffered an adductor strain during Saturday’s win over Elche. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hansi Flick rotate his side for this one, but they’ll have to be careful not to underestimate their opponents.

Albacete will want to repeat Madrid display

Against Real Madrid, when Albacete pulled off a sensational 3-2 victory, the second division side set up how you would expect when facing one of the most powerful teams in world football. Alberto González’s men sat deep, looking to absorb the pressure, allowing Madrid to have the ball before hitting them on the counter.

Albacete had just 22% possession against Real Madrid, and it wasn’t a huge contrast compared to how they set up against sides of their level. Albacete rank 21st for possession in LaLiga 2, so they’re well-drilled in getting results when the opposition has plenty of the ball.

Barcelona likely to assert their dominance

Dominating possession isn’t an alien concept to Barcelona, and there’s no doubt they’re going to have plenty of the ball against Albacete. Flick’s side have averaged more possession in LaLiga than any other team, so the Barcelona boss shouldn’t be expecting too much of a difference from a regular league fixture.

Barcelona have scored 60 goals in the league this season, more than any other side, and breaking down low blocks is something they’re forced to do on a regular basis. It’s a real opportunity for some fringe players to prove themselves to Flick, and they’ll be chomping at the bit to show the manager they deserve more minutes.

Rashford deserves his chance

Marcus Rashford has started on the bench in Barcelona’s last five games, and he’ll be itching to play from the beginning in this one. The English forward has proved himself off the bench, providing four goals and assists during that time.

*Rashford’s season summary at Barcelona*

Rashford has now scored twice in his last two substitute appearances, so there’s no doubt he deserves an opportunity to start. Flick gave Rashford a start in their last Copa del Rey clash earlier this year, and he could be the player to watch in this game.

Prediction

Albacete’s fairytale run in the competition could be coming to an end this week, with Barcelona likely too strong for them. We’re going for a 3-0 victory to Flick’s side.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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