Innholdsfortegnelse for 14 November 2023 i MATCH!

THE SITUATION! Group D is bound to have a blockbuster finish! Table-toppers Turkey have already qualified, but Wales, Croatia and Armenia could still finish second! The Dragons will qualify if they beat Armenia in Yerevan and Croatia suffer an unexpected defeat away to Latvia, or if they win their two remaining matches! CROATIA CHEER! Rob Page’s men can take tons of confidence from their sensational win over Croatia in Cardiff last month! The atmosphere in the Welsh capital was electric as the fans roared them on to a 2-1 win. The result was really crucial because it means The Dragons have a better head-to-head record over Croatia, which actually trumps goal difference! AND IF THEY FAIL? If everything doesn’t go to plan, it shouldn’t be the end of the world…

AT THE BACK! Alisson has made three times more Prem saves this season than Ederson, so he has to be our goalie. Kyle Walker just edges Trent Alexander-Arnold, CBs Manuel Akanji and Virgil van Dijk would be our defensive rocks, while Andrew Robertson had started the season strongly before his injury! IN THE MIDDLE! MATCH readers’ August Player of the Month Rodri has to start alongside the mega impressive Dominik Szoboszlai! Kevin De Bruyne’s injury has seen Julian Alvarez play in the number ten role, and he’s been one of the hottest players this season! UP FRONT! The bucketload of Prem goals and assists from Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland mean those two forwards pick themselves! Jeremy Doku earns the wide left spot after his four-goal assist display v Bournemouth,…

THE FAVOURITES It’s really hard to look past 2021 and 2023 champions Barcelona or record eight-time winners Lyon for this season’s Women’s Champions League trophy! At least one of the two European giants has made the final in the past eight seasons, with Lyon lifting the trophy six times in that period and Barcelona twice! THE CHALLENGERS CHELSEA The Blues are flying the flag for Britain this season! The English champions and 2021 WCL runners-up qualified for the group stage automatically, but have a really tough group. Saying that, with the likes of Sam Kerr and Lauren James, anything is possible! BAYERN MUNICH Reigning Bundesliga champs Bayern Munich are the top seeds in Group C. In Pernille Harder and Lea Schuller, they have one of the deadliest attacks in Europe,…

PLUS-PLUS BUNDLES Two lucky MATCH readers will win a Plus-Plus Neon Tube and a Plus-Plus Puzzle By Number Rocket. Endless Christmas fun! Available at Amazon.co.uk and Toymaster stores CLOSING DATE: DEC. 14 Match colours and numbers on the template to create a colourful space rocket with the 500-piece Puzzle By Number! The cool Neon Tube contains 100 colorful places, offering open-ended play to create 2D or 3D models! HOW TO ENTER! HEAD TO… SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/WIN Then just click on the competition image and enter your details. Full terms and conditions are available online.…

SIZZLING FORM! BOWEN SAYS: “I think the way I’ve started this season, I’m probably playing the best football in my career! I’m getting better and contributing to the team. I’ve got a more mature head on my shoulders and I feel in a really good place. I take momentum and confidence from each game and just want to keep playing with a smile on my face!” NEW HAMMERS DEAL! BOWEN SAYS: “West Ham gave me the opportunity and I wouldn’t be an England international without them! It’s only right for me to pledge my future and my career there. I was happy to get it all done. It was stressful, but now I’m here and I’m happy!” CLUB CONFIDENCE! BOWEN SAYS: “I think we started quite slowly last season, myself and the…

HOW HE WON IT! MATCH scouts picked out the Prem’s four best players from October, and asked our fans on social media to vote for the best. The Liverpool superstar won the prize with over 60% of the vote! MEGA MOMENTS! Here’s why Salah was chosen as MATCH’s monthly winner! GAME ONE SEAGULLS SLAYER! BRIGHTON 2-2 LIVERPOOL OCTOBER 8 The legend absolutely loves playing Brighton! After scoring twice against them in October – one from open play and then a penalty – it took his all-time tally to 14 goal involvements against The Seagulls. Only against Man. United has he been involved in as many goals in the Premier League! GAME TWO MERSEYSIDE MAUL! LIVERPOOL 2-0 EVERTON OCTOBER 21 Back-to-back braces saw Salah tear rivals Everton apart in the Merseyside…

DORTMUND’S TYNESIDE TROUBLES! Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund didn’t just leave Newcastle last month with three CL points – they also received a £50 parking fine because their bus driver parked somewhere that he shouldn’t have. Whoops! NO CAKE = £20! Plymouth’s list of player fines for 2023-24 was leaked, and the one that caught our eye was the £20 penalty for not bringing cake in on your birthday, plus the cakes! ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS! Mbaye Niang and Mario Balotelli found a fair way to decide who was going to take a penalty for Turkish side Adana Demirspor – a game of rock, paper and scissors, won by Niang, who converted the pen! PIQUE’S “MAGIC TRICK”! Ex-Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique fell down a two metre hole as he went to sign…

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MATCH’S TOP 20! Check out our league table after Gameweek 11! Is your team there? TRANSFER IN… Here are our biggest signing tips ahead of this fortnight’s action! MARC GUEHI DF ★ C. PALACE £4.6 MILLION Luton have really struggled to score goals this season and we think Palace will keep them out, so start Guehi and/or J. Andersen! JARROD BOWEN MF ★ WEST HAM £7.4 MILLION We’re expecting the in-form England international to come out firing against The Clarets and add to his goal involvements tally! GABRIEL MARTINELLI MF ★ ARSENAL £7.7 MILLION The Gunners’ good record v The Bees, coupled with some decent upcoming fixtures, makes GM a no-brainer! TRANSFER OUT… You should consider dropping these stars for this fortnight’s action! JORDAN PICKFORD GK ★ EVERTON £4.4 MILLION…

Nike Air Zoom Mercurial Rashford Marcus Rashford has been a Nike athlete since the age of 11 and has finally been rewarded with his first-ever signature edition boot, with the Nike Air Zoom Mercurial Superfly IX! The phrase “When you believe in yourself, incredible things can happen,” appears across the side of the boots, while Rashford’s signature MR logo is on the collar! Price: £264.95 nike.com adidas X Crazyfast Messi To further celebrate Lionel Messi’s incredible eighth Ballon d’Or, adidas dropped the X Crazyfast.1 Messi “El Ocho” pack, re-creating the superstar’s signature X Crazyfast boot with a new colourway inspired by the shades of gold on the Ballon d’Or trophy. The eight balls along the side are a nod to his eight wins, while the goat icon in the middle…