Table of contents for 18 October 2022 in MATCH!

LIGUE 1 Neymar and Lionel Messi are best mates off the pitch, so they spend a lot of time plotting their trick or treats! We can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeves this Halloween, but you can be sure it involves some terrifying Neymar tekkers, Messi magic and potentially some help from third wheel Mbappe! SERIE A Lazio striker Ciro Immobile has been feeding off mad midfielder Milinkovic-Savic’s scraps this season – like a hungry zombie devouring a brain! Some other Serie A Frankenstein formulas are Roma’s little-and-large Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham, and AC Milan’s young-and-old Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud! PREMIER LEAGUE Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son are statistically the scariest Prem partnership in history, but Prem defenders need to beware of a new…

There is a kid. Let’s call him Charlie. On the outside he looks like every other football-mad boy of his age. But he isn’t… A story of hope and resilience, this gentle, inspiring picture book tells the tale of Charlie, a little boy who was taken into care when he was very small. For more information, please visit www.bloomsbury.com/uk/childrens CLOSING DATE: NOV. 18 10 PRIZES!…

START OF 2022-23! CANCELO SAYS: “We have started the Premier League on the right foot, with important victories. West Ham away is always difficult and then Bournemouth, as a newly-promoted team, are always difficult to face. We lost the Community Shield against Liverpool, but the team reacted really well after that. We hope we can continue the same way as I think we are on the right path!” PLAYING LEFT-BACK! CANCELO SAYS: “I feel very well! I always try to adapt to every position the manager puts me in and give my best for the team. I’m always adapting well to play both on the right and the left. I think with the number of quality players we have in our squad, it makes it easier to adapt to any…

1 RED BULL SALZBURG V CHELSEA Graham Potter’s first game in charge of Chelsea was against RB Salzburg in September, which ended 1-1 after Noah Okafor’s goal cancelled out Raheem Sterling’s opener. The Blues had more than four times as many shots and over 70% possession in that game, so they just need to be more clinical! 2 BORUSSIA DORTMUND V MAN. CITY This is City’s toughest test of the group stage, with Erling Haaland making a fast return to the ground he used to call home! He scored a worldie acrobatic effort against them at the Etihad and could silence the famously noisy home supporters this fortnight by repeating the trick in Dortmund! 3 LIVERPOOL V NAPOLI Liverpool’s players won’t need reminding of what happened when they travelled to…

Football Manager 2023 Be sure to stick November 8 in your diary, because that’s the day the new Football Manager is out – and, for the first time ever, it’s also being released on PS5! Some of the epic new features include the brand-new squad planner where you can rank your players, and a new supporter feedback system where your side’s fans will let you know how happy they are with your decisions! Price: £44.99 game.co.uk Sonic Frontiers Worlds are colliding in Sonic the Hedgehog’s newest highspeed adventure – out on the same day as FM23! In search of the missing Chaos emeralds, Sonic becomes stranded on an ancient island jam-packed with unusual creatures. Battle hordes of powerful enemies as you explore a breathtaking world of action, adventure and mystery,…

BAYERN MUNICH 3-2 BARCELONA MAY 21, 2015 Despite being 2-1 up after 29 minutes, Barcelona still managed to lose 3-2 at the Allianz Arena due to second-half goals from Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski! The saving grace for Barca fans was that they’d won the first leg 3-0 the week before, so they still progressed to the next round! BARCELONA 2-8 BAYERN MUNICH AUGUST 14, 2020 One of the biggest CL shocks in recent years was Barca’s humiliating collap seat the Nou Camp in 2020! They conceded four goals in each half, with the final two scored by Philippe Coutinho–just a year after he’d joined Bayern on loan from Barca. Ouch! BARCELONA 0-3 BAY ERN MUNICH SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Another miserable home display from Barca saw them lose in last…

Want to know why octopuses can’t play football? And how to play the game across multiple dimensions? How about learning why Henry VIII banned it? Whether you love table football, back garden ball, only enjoy the game from your sofa or would sooner swim with sharks than play it, if you love to laugh–then this is the book for you! CLOSING DATE: NOV. 18 10 PRIZES! For more information, please visit www.bloomsbury.com/uk/childrens HOW TO ENTER! WWW.MATCHFOOTBALL.CO.UK Then click ‘WIN’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full T&Cs are available online.…

SPOOKY ST. MARY’S! Some people reckon Southampton’s St. Mary’s Stadium is haunted! When it was being built, archeologists discovered that the land had previously been used as an Anglo-Saxon graveyard! (UN)LUCKY CHARM! Black cats are often a symbol of bad luck – and Everton fans can definitely back that up! In 2019, their game against Wolves was disrupted when a feline invaded the pitch, and The Toffees went on to lose the game 3-1 at Goodison Park! TARANTULA TRAUMA! Loads of people are afraid of spiders, so imagine coming across a massive Mexican tarantula on your local football pitch! The eight-legged beast was discovered wandering around a pitch in South Wales and was taken into care by a wildlife expert before it was given the chance to show off its…

MATCH’S TOP 20! Check out our league table after Gameweek 10! TRANSFER IN… Here are our biggest signing tips ahead of this fortnight’s action! WILFRIED ZAHA MF ★ C.PALACE £7.4 MILLION The dazzling Eagles star is a man on a mission! We wouldn’t be surprised to see him tear up Everton and Southampton’s dodgy defences! DARWIN NUNEZ FW ★ LIVERPOOL £8.8 MILLION Games against Nottingham Forest and Leeds means this could be a great fortnight for The Reds’ fit and firing attacking assets! BRYAN MBEUMO FW ★ BRENTFORD £5.9 MILLION If you can’t afford Toney, Mbeumo is a much cheaper route into Brentford’s attack this fortnight versus Aston Villa and Wolves! TRANSFER OUT… You should consider dropping these stars for this fortnight’s action! DEAN HENDERSON GK ★ Nott’m FOREST £4.7…

THE CURSE! Despite winning the Women’s Super League three seasons in a row – and five times in the last eight years – Chelsea Women have NEVER got their hands on the UEFA Champions League trophy. The closest they came was in 2020-21 when they reached the final, but Spanish giants Barcelona outplayed them and won 4-0! THE CULPRITS? So…who cast the wicked spell on The Blues? MATCH has a sneaky suspicion it might have been their London rivals Arsenal, who are the only Women’s Super League side to have won the elite European competition, back in 2007. Could it be that they wanted to remain the only WSL winners or do you have another theory, readers? PEAK POWERS! Last season the curse might have reached the peak of its…

HEADING BRUNO PETKOVIC STRIKER ★ DINAMO ZAGREB MATCH would need a ladder or stilts to have any chance of beating the 6ft 4in Croatia striker in the air! Even then, he’d probably just shove us over with his super strength! VIRGIL VAN DIJK CENTRE-BACK ★ LIVERPOOL Van Dijk jumps like he’s on a trampoline and has a forehead which must be made of bricks! KALIDOU KOULIBALY CENTRE-BACK ★ CHELSEA His epic nickname is “The Wall” – just not the type of one you can jump over if you lose your footy! BRAIN LIONEL MESSI FORWARD ★ PSG If there are hungry zombies reading this, we reckon Messi must have the juiciest footy brain of all! Sorry Leo, but we’re sure you’ll figure a way to escape them with your intelligence!…

STADIUM FACTS TEAM: Dundee United BUILT: 1882 CAPACITY: 14,223 RECORD ATTENDANCE: 28,000 v Barcelona, November 1966 NEAREST NEIGHBOUR: Dundee LONGEST LEAGUE JOURNEY: Ross County, 140 miles COLLECT ALL 12 STADIUMS! DID YOU KNOW? It’s located just 183 metres from arch-rivals Dundee’s stadium, Dens Park – the two closest football grounds in the UK!…

ONLY 4 WEEKS TO GO! IT’S MESSI’S MOMENT! ✔ Messi ended his international drought by winning the 2021 Copa America and followed it up in the Finalissima v Italy! ✔ Argentina recently reached 35 games without defeat–a run that dates back to 2019. They must be full of confidence! ✔ It’s not just the Messi show, either - they’re-organised, experienced team with quality ballers all over the pitch! NOT HAPPENING, LEO! ✗ Captain fantastic Messi is an all-time legend, but he’s now 35 and definitely no longer at the peak of his powers! ✗ There’s tons of pressure on Leo and his team-mates to deliver the trophy back to their home land. Can they handle it? ✗ Historically, Argentina don’t travel well-they’ve never won the World Cup outside Central or…

Around The Grounds! We love it when readers send in their snaps from stadiums – like Tottenham fan Archie! Retro MATCH! Dave sent in this mega-old pic from 1998! He visited Valencia’s Mestalla and took MATCH with him! Tracker & Tabs! Is there a better Sunday afternoon activity than re-arranging our epic Tracker & Tabs? Noah says no! City Cartoon! Otis sent MATCH this cool cartoon of Man. City superstar Phil Foden! Nice one, mate! Bright Boots! It can’t just be us who wants to see Ethan’s colourful MATCH x Nike cleats made into a reality? SEND YOUR PICTURES TO… Email: match.magazine@kelsey.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/matchmagazine Twitter: www.twitter.com/matchmagazine…