There will be a European backdrop to Fulham’s Premier League visit to Liverpool today, as both sides are just one round away from facing each other in the Europa League final.
Liverpool’s quarter-final win over Benfica on Thursday and Fulham’s victory over German champions Wolfsburg mean there is a strong possibility that respective managers Rafael Benitez and Roy Hodgson will face each other in the Hamburg final on May 12.
However, before that date, both sides have to conclude their domestic campaigns with the majority of the spotlight falling on Liverpool and their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
PHOTO: AFP
It has been a trying year for Liverpool because of poor form and injuries, while the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham are in marginally better positions to compete for the final qualifying spot, but Benitez has not given up his hopes of combining Europa League glory with Champions League qualification and is still backing his side to do it.
They also have the added incentive today that another home victory would make it nine consecutive Premier League victories at Anfield, which would be a new club record.
“It was a very good performance against Benfica, but now we must look to win every game left this season,” Benitez said. “If we can get to the Europa League final we will be really pleased but we also want to stay close to the top four. We have to target both.”
“We have two targets now. We will try to win every game, starting by trying to beat Fulham on Sunday. Hopefully now we can see Fulham in the final as well because it would be good to have two English teams there,” he said.
The Cottagers have a poor record at Anfield, where they have never won — a statistic that extends to 28 matches and goes back to their first meeting in 1934. Back in October, Fulham beat Liverpool 3-1 at Craven Cottage and will travel to Merseyside hoping to achieve their first-ever double over Benitez’s men.
Striker Bobby Zamora scored in that victory, one of the 19 goals he has netted so far this season, and that impressive tally has provoked interest from clubs across Europe. He has also been tipped for inclusion in England’s World Cup squad.
However, teammate and former Liverpool player Danny Murphy said that if Hodgson is to keep on developing Fulham as a team and as a club, then it is integral to keep hold of their top-scorer.
“He has been our best player by far this season. He’s causing big problems for so-called top-class defenders week in week out,” the Fulham captain said.
“The only worry for us now is whether we will be able to keep hold of him but let’s hope that we can. I’d be surprised if there aren’t clubs coming in for him this summer,” he said. “There are financial restrictions at every club. Fulham can’t compete with a club like Man City, obviously, so you have to be realistic but Bobby is an important part of the team and I think it is important that we keep all our best players at the club.”
Hodgson looks set to be without the services of Simon Davies (rib) and David Elm (illness), while Zamora may also be a slight doubt with an Achilles twinge.
For the home side, Benitez has no new injury concerns following Thursday’s victory and has Emiliano Insua back from injury while Maxi Rodriguez is eligible to play again after UEFA rules meant he could not feature against Benfica.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB