Table of contents for 25-Feb-2020 in MATCH!

HAZARD’S TIME TO SHINE? Eden Hazard was injuredfor the 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp in December, so this weekend will be his first Clasico! Real spent £89 million on him for games like this and need him to deliver! If he’s on form, Barça are in trouble – they've got one of the leakiest defences in the top half of La Liga! TITLE TUSSLE! These two are clear of the rest of the league, so whoever wins this match will be huge favourites for the title! Barça are aiming to win it for the fifth time in six years, and are narrowing the gap to Real’s all-time record of 33 – Los Blancos have won it twice in the last 11 seasons! BARÇA’S STRIKER CRISIS! Injuries to Luis Suarez…

MAN. CITY have been banned from the Champions League for two seasons! This news is one of the most shocking football stories ever! UEFA have banned City y from the biggest club competition in the world after the Premier League giants broke FFP rules! We take a closer look att what could come next for the club… WHAT’S FFP? Financial Fair Play is a set of rules brought in to stop clubs from unfairly spending crazy amounts of money, and UEFA say City have spent more than they should have done over the last few years. Don’t panic just yet though, City fans – the club can appeal the decision, so watch this space CITY EXODUS? City’s stars want to play at the highest level, so the likes of…

HAKIM ZIYECH AJAX Ziyech was already one of the best CAMs that you could sign on FIFA, but now he’s even better with the addition of five-star skill moves! Make the most of him now, because his price will fly up in FIFA 21 when he becomes a PL star! EMILIANO BUENDIA NORWICH Buendia’s new card will add flair to any Premier League squad! As well as his OVR increasing by three, he now has four-star skills and weak foot, so he can dribble past opposition full-backs for fun on either side of the pitch! JAMIE VARDY LEICESTER Vardy’s October POTM card is one of the most dangerous strikers you can get in a Prem squad, but his winter upgrade is almost as good! His pace will give any defender…

CARDIFF v NOTT’M FOREST No team’s lost fewer home games this season than Cardiff, so this is a tough match for promotion chasers Forest! These play-off chasers are known for playing attractive footy, so this could end up being like a game of keep ball! HULL v LEEDS The only Hull player to score against Leeds in their last five meetings was Jarrod Bowen, but now he’s left them! COVENTRY v SUNDERLAND These League One giants have both still got a shot of getting one of the automatic promotion spots. Big game! WEST BROM v PRESTON The Baggies want automatic promotion to the Premier League, while Preston are hoping for a place in the play-offs! NORWICH v LEICESTER The Canaries picked up a point in the reverse fixture, but they…

Nike Phantom VSN We’re not sure if these bonkers Nike boots are e actually y gonna get made –or if they’re just a cool concept design from boot boss Gunt! MATCH wouldn’t be brave enough to o wearr them down the park anyway! adidas Predator We’re expecting these adidas boots to be released at some point in March – and we can’t wait! Boot spies reckon they’re part of the brand’s ‘Tormentor Pack’, and will drop alongside a re-make of the 2002 ‘Japan Blue’’ Predators.. Sick! adidas Predator You’ll have to wait until the summer to see these boots in shops – they’re expected to be part of adidas’ ‘Uniforia a Pack’––celebrating the Euro 2020 tournament! They almost look like a custom-made Spain silo! adidas Nemeziz Like the Preds above,…

GUNNERS FAST FACTS… ✓ This competition only started in 2011, but Arsenal have totally dominated it! They’ve won it five times – more than every other team put together – but lost in last season’s final! ✓ The Gunners have a terrible record against The Blues, though. They’ve only beaten them once in their last nine head-to-heads, and were stuffed 4-1 by their London rivals in the WSL in January! ✓ Arsenal are still in the race with Chelsea and Man. City for the WSL title, and lifting the cup could give them momentum going into the final part of the year as they try to hold on to their crown! TEAM NEWS & LIKELY LINE-UP The Gunners could line up with a back three or a back four, but…

FOOTY AT FILMS! Which 2019 finalist has gatecrashed the premiere of movie Dolittle? SPOT THE BALL! Mark where you think the ball is in this League Cup pic! FOOTY MIS-MATCH Spot the ten differences between these two cup pics! QUIZ ANSWERS! League Cup Final Sport Switch: Dean Smith. Who Am I?: Riyad Mahrez. Nickname Game: 1A; 2D; 3B; 4C. Transfer Tracker: 2013-2019 –Southampton; 2018 – Fulham. Grounded: Sheffield Wednesday. Wordfit: See right. Women’s League Cup Final Footy At The Films: Bethany England. Spot The Ball: A5. Guess The Winners: 2019 – Man. City; 2018 – Arsenal; 2016 – Man. City; 2013 – Arsenal. Footy Mis-MATCH: See above. HOW WELL DID YOU DO? 41-44 League Cup winner! 31-40 Runner-up! 21-30 Semi-finalist! 11-20 Quarter-finalist! 0-10 Knocked out in the early rounds!…

20 Cristiano Ronaldo goes into this game in red hot form – it only took him 20 matches to score 20 Serie A goals this season! 30+ Inter have their own deadly strikeforce –Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku have hit over 30 goals between them in all comps! 1 Inter boss Antonio Conte won three titles as Juve gaffer, and this is his first game back at the Juventus Stadium! 53 These two are the most successful clubs in Serie A history – between them they’ve won more than 50 titles, including 13 of the last 14! 3 It looks like being a three-way battle for the Italian title this season, with these two, plus Lazio, being the only clubs to bag 50+ points so far! TRANSFER WINNERS & LOSERS!…

Out-gunned! Jay Rodriguez is just a little bit outnumbered there… Copy-cats! Hmm… come on guys… who’s fooling around?! Fancy dress! Was Neymar wearing his hi-vis gear for a late-night cycle? Weird wig! Has Andres Iniesta had hair extensions since moving to play footy in Japan? Bouncing Benteke! MATCH would need a trampoline to reach those heights! Stinky Rom! Sometimes you’ve just got to smell your shirt to know that it’s yours… Hair header! When you mistime your jump, but have your ponytail to fall back on… Water worries! City’s sprinkler system isn’t very advanced… Yoga lessons! Gareth Bale is taking his warm-ups to another level! Pickford’s problem! Itchy eyes with gloves on is a keeper’s worst nightmare!…

THE ESEASON THE CHAMPIONS In 2019, Seattle Sounders lifted their second title in four years after beating 2017 champions Toronto FC 3-1 in the final. Their attacking trio of Nicolas Lodeiro, Raul Ruidiaz and Jordan Morris made the difference, but they don’t have massive star power otherwise – none of their players actually made it into the MLS Team Of The Season. Bonkers! THE CHALLENGERS Los Angeles FC finished top of the Western Conference by 16 points, winning the Supporters’ Shield, but then lost to Seattle in the play-offs, so they’ll be desperate for revenge this year. The Eastern Conference semifinalists, Toronto and Atlanta, are among the favourites, while five-time winners LA Galaxy are always contenders for the cup! THE MEGASTARS Ex-Man. United and West Ham star Javier Hernandez has…

This superstar could rip up the League Cup final! I’ve played in the Premier League since way back in 2014! I used to play for EFL Cup semi-finalists Leicester! I’m a tricky winger who loves busting out jaw-dropping tekkers! TRANSFER TRACKER!  Fill the gaps with the teams that full-back Matt Targett’s played for during his career! SPORT SWITCH! Name the EFL Cup final gaffer who’s playing darts! THE NICKNAME GAME! Match these Man. City and Villa stars to their nicknames! GROUNDED!  This ground hosted the 1997 final replay – who plays there? WORDFIT Fit the past EFL Cup final scorers into the grid!…