MATCH! -julkaisun 26 March 2024 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

MAN. UNITED v LIVERPOOL Sunday 7 April, 3.30pm For the second time in the space of a few weeks, eternal rivals United and Liverpool meet at Old Trafford! Red Devils fans would love to put a dent in Jurgen Klopp’s title charge, and will be boosted by their memories of the recent action-packed FA Cup victory! DID YOU KNOW? Man. United have only scored in two of their last eight Prem matches against Liverpool! RANGERS v CELTIC Sunday 7 April, 12pm The Scottish Premiership title race is well exciting this season, with Old Firm rivals Rangers and Celtic neck-and-neck! That means their head-to-heads could really make the difference between who’ll be winners and losers, and so far this campaign The Bhoys have bagged two mega tight wins against The Gers!…

BELGIUM The maroon home shirt is inspired by Belgian architecture and fashion, while the colours are linked to the tones on the national flag. The blue away jersey celebrates famous Belgian comic character Tintin, with the look almost identical to the outfit he wears! SPAIN Wavy patterns are splashed across the base of the home shirt, which blends shapes of the country’s national flower and the seas that surround the country! The yellow away jersey reminds us of a sandy Spanish beach on a hot summer’s day! GERMANY Germany’s home kit features a really classic colour scheme of white and black, while the shoulders blends into red and yellow – another nod to the German flag! The pink/purple away shirt is apparently inspired by the digital world of the metaverse.…

ASTON VILLA PREMIER LEAGUE Obviously Villa’s star man this season has been Watkins, with tons of goals and assists, but goalscoring midfielders Douglas Luiz and John McGinn have hit 15 net-busters combined! Wing kings Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby have also been sharp! DID YOU KNOW? Ollie Watkins’ nine away goals is the joint-most by a Villa player in a single Prem campaign! RB LEIPZIG BUNDES LIGA RB Leipzig play a very boxed 4-2-2-2 formation, which really suits their stars! Dani Olmo and Xavi Simons are normally the two creative CAMs, while two of Lois Openda, Benjamin Sesko and Yussuf Poulsen form the attacking line. It just works! DID YOU KNOW? Lois Openda has set a new record for the most goals in a single season by a Belgian player…

GOALIE GAFFE! It’s rare, but sometimes players can get injured in warm-ups before a game. We can’t have much sympathy for ex-Everton goalkeeper Richard Wright, though – he injured himself before a match v Chelsea after falling over a sign which specifically said NOT to warm-up in the goal area! WEATHER WORRY! People often say the British weather is unpredictable… but sunny Spain isn’t always so sunny! The 1995 Copa del Rey final between Valencia and Deportivo was all square in the 80th minute, when torrential rain forced the game to be postponed! They were forced to play the last 10 minutes three days later, when Depor scored a winner! TRAFFIC TRAUMA! Back in 2009, Gillingham were supposed to be playing Leyton Orient in League One, but a few of…

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DID YOU KNOW? They’re going to build the New York City FC stadium, which is set to be completed in 2027! STADIUM FACTS TEAM: New York City FC BUILT: 2009 CAPACITY: 28,743 RECORD ATTENDANCE: 48,047 v New York Red Bulls, June 2015 NEAREST NEIGHBOUR: New York Red Bulls LONGEST LEAGUE JOURNEY: Inter Miami, 1,265 miles COLLECT ALL 15!…

GUNNERS FAST FACTS… ✓ Arsenal are out of the FA Cup and didn’t reach the Champo League group stage, but the League Cup final is a chance for Jonas Eidevall’s side to collect a trophy this season! ✓ The Gunners have history on their side in the League Cup, having won it more times than any other team, and last season it gave Eidevall his first trophy since taking over as Arsenal manager in June 2021! ✓ The reigning champs are the only side to have hit more than 20 goals in this season’s competition, winning both their knockout games 4-0! TEAM NEWS & LIKELY LINE-UP Cup GK Sabrina D’Angelo only missed the semi-final v Villa because of international duty, so we expect her to start over regular WSL keeper…

MATCH’S TOP 20! Check out our league table after Gameweek 29! Is your team there? TRANSFER IN… Here are our biggest signing tips ahead of this fortnight’s action! PEDRO PORRO DF ★ TOTTENHAM £5.8 MILLION After missing a couple of games through injury, you should have the Spurs defender back in your side until gameweek 34! COLE PALMER MF ★ CHELSEA £5.7 MILLION Palmer faces Burnley, Sheffield United and his old foes Man. United this fortnight – he’ll be pumped to get on the scoresheet! MARCUS TAVERNIER MF ★ B’MOUTH £5.5 MILLION Home matches v Everton and Crystal Palace before a trip to Luton makes Tavernier a decent differential option! TRANSFER OUT… You should consider dropping these stars for this fortnight’s games! MARK FLEKKEN GK ★ BRENTFORD £4.6 MILLION Man.…

adidas Generation Pred Check out the adidas Generation Pred – a limited edition drop celebrating the next generation of Predator icons! The vibrant solar green and shock pink kicks also have a leopard-inspired graphic based on the players’ non-stop hunt for goals. Generation Preds are being worn by the likes of Alessia Russo, Evan Ferguson, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Lena Oberdorf. Awesome! Price: £230 adidas.co.uk Liverpool FC x LeBron: Chapter 2 Just over a year after the first drop, Nike have revealed chapter 2 of the Liverpool x LeBron James capsule. The collection mixes basketball looks with footy fits in a fresh black, blue and gold colour palette. There is a short sleeve stadium jersey, football jacket, basketball jersey and shorts, T-shirts and a pair of slick sneakers! liverpoolfc.com/store Copa America…

TROPHY DROUGHT! Rival Bundesliga fans taunt Bayer Leverkusen supporters for their lack of trophies, calling them “Bayer Neverkusen” as a joke! The underdogs have never lifted the Bundesliga title and haven’t won any silverware since 1993, although they have come league runners-up FIVE times! WHAT’S ALONSO COOKING? By using three centre-backs, Alonso has made Bayer a lot more solid at the back, while DMs Granit Xhaka and Exequiel Palacios protect them even more! That allows flying wing-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo the freedom to burst forward in attacks to devastating effect. Epic! THE ALON SO EFFECT! When Xabi Alonso arrived at the club back in October 2022, Leverkusen were second from bottom and sinking fast! He quickly steadied the ship and they ended up finishing sixth after an incredible…

Rock, paper, scissors! Cristian Romero doesn’t look very pleased about losing that round! Dentist check-up! Erling Haaland never misses an appointment! The haka! Is Elanga hoping to get a call-up to New Zealand’s rugby team? Smooching Seagull! Does Simon Adingra not realise Valentine’s Day was in February? Rugby tackle! Issa Kabore needs more work on his tackling technique! Bielsa wannabe! Vincent Kompany can’t pull off the squat like old Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa could! Linesman intern! Did Poch leave his flag at home? Eddie’s emoji! When you hear there’s lasagne for supper… Put ’em up! We’ll pass on the fist fight, thanks Semenyo! Rain pain! Alexander Isak still isn’t used to the English weather!…

MATCH Annual 2024! If you weren’t lucky enough to land the MATCH Annual 2024 last Christmas, don’t worry – we’ve got two copies still up for grabs! The MATCH Annual 2024 is still available on Amazon CLOSING DATE: APR. 26 2 PRIZES! The MATCH Annual 2024 is packed with quizzes, stats, facts and LOLs! Wicked MATCH Bundle! Three lucky MATCH readers can win Football Skills 2024 and the Rangers Annual 2024! Football Skills counts down 50 wicked tricksters, while the Rangers Annual has the lowdown on the Scottish giants! 3 PRIZES! CLOSING DATE: APR. 26 The MATCH Football Skills and Rangers Annuals are both available on Amazon HOW TO ENTER! JUST VISIT… SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/WIN Then click on the competition image and enter your details. Full T&Cs are available online.…

ONLY 11 WEEKS TO GO! THE HOSTS! Only three nations have won the Euros as hosts (Spain in 1964, Italy 1968 and France 1984), with Germany hoping to add their name to that list! They’re already the joint-most successful side in the Euros alongside Spain but aren’t in the best of form right now… THEY’LL COME GOOD! ✓ Julian Nagelsmann only took over in September, but he’s one of the most highly-rated managers around! ✓ Their 2-1 win v France in September was a sign of how dangerous they can be against the trickiest opposition! ✓ Hosts of major tournos often ride a wave–like Qatar and Ivory Coast at the Asian up and AFCON this year! THEY’LL FLOP AGAIN! ✘ Last year’s victory over France was one of just two…

SPOT THE BALL! Mark where you think the ball is in this ace action pic! WIKI WHO? Can you name the star from their stats on Wikipedia? Beardy Weirdy! Name these four Premier League players from their face fuzz! WHERE IN THE WORLD? In which countries would you find these clubs? 1. Suwon FC 2. Ternana 3. RioAve 4. Wellington Phoenix ACE ACTIVITY DESIGN A… MASCOT! This issue, we want MATCH readers to create a new mascot for their favourite club! MY MASCOT’S CLUB MY MASCOT’S NAME Write down your mascot’s club and name at the top of the page! Is it going to be an animal, a person or something completely random? Think about your club colours and whether the mascot is gonna wear them! Send your cool mascot…