Author: WTX Sports Team

Shaun Murphy on Masters anniversary, Ronnie O’Sullivan sympathy and finding form Shaun Murphy plays his 20th straight Masters this year and he arrives at Alexandra Palace feeling pretty good about his game. The Magician hasn’t landed a title this season but has looked in decent form and has lost to the eventual champion a remarkable five times so far this campaign. The 42-year-old says he has actually had a tricky few months after relocating to near London and not having a practice base, but that has been sorted out and is feeling more comfortable than he has for a…

Why Arsenal are wearing a white kit vs Man Utd in FA Cup game Arsenal will play in a special all-white kit for their FA Cup third-round tie against Manchester United on Sunday. As part of their ‘No More Red’ initiative, Mikel Arteta’s side are ditching their traditional red home kit for Sunday afternoon’s match against United at the Emirates Stadium and are instead wearing a completely white strip. Arsenal Women are also wearing the all-white kit for their FA Cup fourth-round tie against Bristol City on Sunday. The ‘No More Red’ initiative, which was launched in collaboration with…

Arsenal vs Man Utd: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup and injuries Arsenal and Manchester United are set to face off in a mouthwatering FA Cup third-round tie at the Emirates today. Having gone 13 games unbeaten, Mikel Arteta’s side slumped to their first home defeat of the season against Newcastle in midweek to leave their hopes of reaching the Carabao Cup final hanging by a thread. United, meanwhile, ended their four-game losing streak with a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League last weekend. And while their winless run extended to five games in all competitions, Ruben…

Woman says Premier League player was ‘texting his mate during sex’ A woman who accused a Premier League footballer of making a secret sex tape says she was ‘treated like dirt’. A top-flight player in his 20s was reportedly arrested on suspicion of voyeurism in front of his shocked team-mates at the club’s training ground last week. Police questioned the individual for several hours and seized two of his mobile phones for evidence. The player was accused of secretly filming a sexual encounter but, after lengthy questioning, was released without further action. The young woman, speaking to The Sun,…

Chelsea tipped to make ‘huge bid’ for Arsenal transfer target A former Chelsea striker has tipped the Blues to make a ‘huge transfer bid’ for Arsenal target Alexander Isak during the January transfer window. The Gunners have been repeatedly linked with a move for Newcastle United star Isak, who is valued at more than £100m by the Magpies. Isak has been a consistent performer ever since he arrived at St James’ Park from Real Sociedad – scoring 44 goals in 70 Premier League games for Newcastle. But Isak is currently enjoying a particularly fruitful spell in front of goal,…

‘Sir Alex Ferguson managed me at Man Utd – current star would be done under him’ Manchester United summer signing Joshua Zirkzee ‘would be done’ at Old Trafford if Sir Alex Ferguson was still in charge of the club. That is the opinion of former United goalkeeper Ben Foster after a series of underwhelming performances from the Dutch forward. Zirkzee joined the Red Devils from Bologna in a transfer worth £36.5million and got off to a dream start, scoring a late winner on his debut against Fulham. But he’s recorded just three goals and two assists in his subsequent…

‘I became a cult hero at Chelsea – then Jose Mourinho sold me without a call’ | Football Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink opened up about his departure from Chelsea and said he never even received a phone call from manager Jose Mourinho before he was sold. Having made a name for himself in the Premier League at Leeds United, Hasselbaink spent a year at Atletico Madrid before returning to the English top-flight with Chelsea. The £15m fee paid to Atletico matched the then British transfer record but the Dutch striker quickly proved his worth at Stamford Bridge with a goal on…

Man Utd’s £63m transfer target was ‘far from the level of Glenn Murray’ Gaetan Bong says there was ‘nothing to suggest’ Sporting sensation Viktor Gyokeres would ‘explode one day’ given he was ‘far from the level of Glenn Murray’ during their time together at Brighton. A teenage Gyokeres caught the attention of Brighton scouts with his goalscoring exploits for Swedish outfit Brommapojkarna and the attacker went on to complete a move to the Amex Stadium in January 2018. But Gyokeres failed to make an impression on the south coast, scoring just one goal in eight appearances for the Seagulls’…

 ‘It would be daft’ – Thomas Tuchel told to build England team around Chelsea star | Football Thomas Tuchel has been told it would be daft not to make Chelsea star Cole Palmer the focal point of his new-look England team. The German was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s full-time successor in October last year but officially began his new job at the start of January. And the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea boss has already been pictured in the stands at various Premier League matches as he considers the makeup of his first squad for the March international break. Tuchel…

Ronnie O’Sullivan speaks out on Ali Carter rant: ‘Do I regret saying it? Probably’ Ronnie O’Sullivan wishes he hadn’t unleashed a rant on Ali Carter after their Masters final last year, but says his comments were just ‘heat of the moment stuff’. The Rocket beat the Captain 10-7 in the Alexandra Palace final 12 months ago, extending his own record to eight Masters titles. Carter had led 6-3 but the seven-time world champion came back strongly in the second half of the match and got his hands on the trophy yet again. It was a fairly ill-tempered affair between…

Teddy Sheringham criticises Man Utd for missing out on two ‘top players’ | Football Teddy Sheringham has criticised Manchester United for missing out on transfer deals for Harry Kane and Declan Rice and says the club must get back to signing ‘top players’ who ‘lead by example’. United have spent in excess of £1.6 billion on new recruits in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era but the club have had little to show for it when it comes to major silverware. Under Erik ten Hag alone, the Red Devils splashed out in the region of £600m, with the likes of…

Darren Ferguson slammed for leaving Ashley Young’s son on bench and denying moment of history against Everton | Football Darren Ferguson has been heavily criticised on social media after leaving Ashley Young’s son, Tyler, on the bench and denying the pair a moment of history in Peterborough’s 2-0 defeat to Everton in the FA Cup. Much of the talk in the build-up to this evening’s third-round tie between League One outfit Peterborough and five-time FA Cup winners Everton had centred around the potential father-son meeting at Goodison Park. The duo were upstaged somewhat just hours before kick-off, as the Toffees…

 ‘No role for him’ – Chelsea flop told to consider January transfer window exit | Football Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku has been urged to consider his future at Stamford Bridge as he continues to struggle for minutes in Enzo Maresca’s side. Much was expected of Nkunku, who joined the club in the summer of 2023 having scored 58 goals across his final two seasons at RB Leipzig. But an injury-affected first season saw the French international make just 14 appearances in all competitions last campaign. Back fit, the 27-year-old has still found it difficult to break into the first team…

Darren Ferguson reveals Everton player ‘had a pop’ at him for leaving Ashley Young’s son on bench | Football Darren Ferguson revealed that one of Everton’s players ‘had a pop’ at him for refusing to bring on Ashley Young’s son, Tyler, during Peterborough’s 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park. The history-making meeting between the father-son pair had dominated the headlines leading up to tonight’s FA Cup third-round tie. Ferguson handed Young his first-team debut in Peterborough’s League One clash with Stevenage earlier this season and the 18-year-old was named among the visitors’ substitutes on Merseyside this evening. When Young’s old…

Chelsea and Liverpool join race to sign £67m Man Utd target in January transfer window | Football Chelsea and Liverpool are both interested in Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who could become available in the January transfer window, according to reports. The 23-year-old has been one of Napoli’s standout performers since his arrival in a €10million (£8.6m) deal from Dinamo Batumi in 2022, helping guide the club to their first Serie A title in 33 years in his first season. Kvaratskhelia, who has 5 goals in 17 league appearances so far this campaign, has held talks over a new contract…

ICE BERG! Bergvall keeps his cool to put Spurs on brink of Wembley final The back page of the Daily Mail leads with an image of the Swedish player Lucas Bergvall who scored a late winner against Liverpool in the first leg of the semis. Spurs will face Liverpool again next month for the second leg.

Spurs 1 Liverpool 0 – ICE BERG HITS KOP The back page of the Daily Mirror leads with Spur’s Carabao Cup win over Liverpool. The front page features an image of the “Swedish Kid” who scored the late winner for Tottenham. The back page also reports on Spur’s midfielder Bentancur who collapsed in the first half, was stretchered off and taken to hospital.

VAR must be stopped rages Postecoglou … after Spurs win! The back page of the Daily Telegraph leads with an image of goal scorer Lucas Bergvall in last night’s Spurs win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. Elsewhere, a Premier League player may face rape charges after police hand over full file of evidence for CPS to consider.

The back page of the Daily Star leads with Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. The teams will face each other again for the second leg next month.

‘I tweeted Free Palestine. Less than 10 minutes later, I got a call from the NBA commissioner’

Man City join race to sign £50m Arsenal and Liverpool target in transfer window | Football Manchester City are pushing to sign in-form Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush in a transfer worth up to £50million, according to reports. Marmoush joined Frankfurt on a free transfer in May 2023 and went on to enjoy an impressive debut season with the club, racking up 12 goals and six assists in the Bundesliga. And the 25-year-old has continued to excel this season, notching up 18 goals and 12 assists in 24 appearances across all competitions this season. The Egypt international’s tally of 13 Bundesliga goals…

Do away goals count in the Carabao Cup semi-finals and is VAR being used? The Carabao Cup semi-final first legs take centre stage this week, with the four remaining sides just two games away from reaching the Wembley showpiece. Arsenal host Newcastle at the Emirates on Tuesday night, with the Gunners looking to win the competition for just the third time in their history – and the first since 1992/93. The Magpies, meanwhile, are aiming to reach the final for the second time in three seasons, having suffered defeat to Manchester United two years ago. The other semi-final will see…

Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle: Isak and Gordon strike as Magpies take control of cup tie Newcastle put themselves firmly in control of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie with Arsenal after a 2-0 away win in the first leg at the Emirates. Alexander Isak continued his fine run of goalscoring form when he fired past David Raya to give Eddie Howe’s side the lead in the first half. And Anthony Gordon doubled the Magpies’ lead after the break as the visitors held on for their seventh straight win in all competitions. Both sides will face off in the second leg at St…

Former Arsenal fan favourite emerges as frontrunner to replace Edu as sporting director | Football Tomas Rosicky has established himself as the frontrunner to take over the reins as Arsenal’s sporting director. Arsenal confirmed that Edu had vacated the position with immediate effect in November and it subsequently emerged that the 46-year-old had agreed to take on a role with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis. Edu – a two-time Premier League winner and ‘Invincible’ with Arsenal during his playing days – initially rejoined the Gunners as the club’s technical director in 2019, before switching to sporting director in late 2022.…

  Ian Wright issues transfer plea to Arsenal and makes huge Alexander Isak claim Ian Wright believes Mikel Arteta has been forced to rely too heavily on the creativity of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka and Arsenal must look to strengthen in the January transfer window. Odegaard was sidelined for two months with an ankle ligament problem at the start of the season and it’s no coincidence that Arsenal’s revival in form over the winter period has coincided with their captain’s return to full fitness. But just as Arsenal appeared to be building up a head of steam, an injury…