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Liverpool are unlikely to run away with the Premier League title in 2020-21, admits Jason McAteer, with Manchester City expected to come back into the picture while Manchester United may have a new manager in place by January.

A first English top-flight crown in 30 years was captured by those at Anfield last season, with Jurgen Klopp overseeing a record-setting triumph.

Many expected the Reds to be as dominant again in defence of that crown, but leaks at the back have opened up and a stunning 7-2 defeat at Aston Villa last time out proves that anything is possible.

Everton and Aston Villa are the only sides at this early stage of the campaign to still boast a 100 per cent record, with the expected pack of title challengers still scratching around for consistency.

McAteer believes that will leave the title race wide open, with it possible that renewed confidence and the odd change of personnel here and there could see former champions come back into contention.

Former Liverpool midfielder McAteer told FreeSuperTips: “It’s still difficult to say whether Liverpool will run away again with the Premier League.

“As we’ve seen in the first four rounds of Premier League matches, teams seem to be struggling to win at home, with only 14 home wins out of 38 matches, which suggests that away teams have nothing to fear and play more expansive football when there are no fans in the stadium. 41 goals were scored in the last round of fixtures which is great to watch but makes things very unpredictable.

“It’s still early days but don’t count Manchester City and Manchester United out just yet.

“Pep Guardiola always loves a challenge and Manchester United might have a new manager before the next transfer window which might shake things up – a lot can happen in the next two months.”

Next up for Liverpool, who have still taken nine points from four games so far, is a derby date with Merseyside neighbours Everton.

McAteer believes the Reds could be considered underdogs at Goodison Park, given how impressive Carlo Ancelotti’s Toffees have been so far, but anything is possible in contests that often see form go out of the window.

“For the first time in quite a few years, this is Everton’s best opportunity to cause an upset against Liverpool,” said a man who graced many such occasions in his playing days.

“On current form, Everton will go into the game as favourites, after an outstanding start to the season, with them winning all four games and scoring 11 goals. 

“Carlo Ancelotti’s recruitment this summer was outstanding, bringing in midfield strength in the form of Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan, as well as having the creativity of James Rodriguez in attack which is bringing the best out of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who deservedly won the player of the month award for scoring 11 goals including two hat-tricks in all competitions.

“Although Liverpool were beaten convincingly in their last Premier League game against Aston Villa, I do expect changes to the personnel and performance, so I don’t see Everton having it all their own way.” 

Captaining your country is one of the highest honours a footballer can receive, and doing it for the first time is a true milestone in any player’s career.

In some cases, a player wearing the armband for the first time can be a historic event in its own right.

Paul Ince became England’s first black captain in 1993 when he led the Three Lions against the United States.

Playing in the United States Cup, England lost 2-0 in the absence of regular captains David Platt and Tony Adams, but it would prove to be their only defeat in Ince’s seven games as skipper.

Ince was playing for Manchester United at the time, and had only made his senior international debut the year before.

At the time, he was uncomfortable with the spotlight – but Ince said he came to appreciate the significance of the occasion.

“For me it was the pinnacle of my career when Graham Taylor made me captain, but I can remember feeling uncomfortable with the questions,” Ince told the Daily Mail.

“I just wanted to be the England captain; I didn’t want to be remembered as the first black England captain because I didn’t look at it in that way.

“Then, after the game, I began to look at it in a different way because I had a lot of parents from the ghetto sending me letters telling me it had inspired their children to get jobs or to start playing football.

“I don’t know whether they were black, white or Asian or whatever, but it didn’t matter. That meant a lot, to think that somehow I had inspired people I had never even met.”

Mary Phillip became the first black player to captain England Women in 2003, while she was playing for Fulham.

Defender Phillip, who also represented Arsenal, Chelsea and Millwall, won 65 senior caps in an international career spanning 13 years.

"It was an amazing honour to be awarded that armband and lead England out on several occasions,” Phillip later told Sky Sports.

"I was the first female to have children and play, not just at club level, but also reaching international level.

"You don't realise the significance of it, because you are just going out and doing your thing."

Fred admits Manchester United were “really bad” in their 6-1 defeat to Tottenham, but believes a positive response will be offered after having the international break to stew on a humbling setback.

The Red Devils saw an inconsistent start to the 2020-21 campaign hit a new low when they played host to former boss Jose Mourinho.

Anthony Martial’s dismissal did little to aid United’s cause against Spurs at Old Trafford, but they still offered little resistance when slipping to a demoralising reversal.

Serious questions are once again being asked of those on and off the field in Manchester, with the likes of Harry Maguire and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer falling under the microscope.

United will, however, get the chance to start putting things right when they take in a trip to Newcastle on Saturday.

Fred is optimistic that the confidence established towards the end of 2019-20 can be recaptured, with the Red Devils determined to make their showing against Spurs a minor bump in the road.

The Brazil international midfielder told the club’s official website when reflecting on the recent past and looking to the immediate future: “Nobody wants to lose a game, especially at home and by that scoreline. We've thought a lot about it and talked a lot in the dressing room.

“It was really bad for us, but we have to come back stronger, better, more focused and I'm sure that Saturday we start all over again. It will be a great game against Newcastle and we need to do our best to get the win.

“The international break has been really good for us because we've had time to rest and think about what we've done. Time to train too, as we didn't have a pre-season, so we needed to take this time we had during the international break and put it to good use - to train, to perfect a few things.

“Of course now, it's important for us players to look ahead.

“What happened in the last few games is in the past. We have to think ahead, about the games coming up, for us to go on a great run. We need to aim to get points, do our best so we don't have to play catch up further down the line. We need to do our best now in these upcoming games, look ahead and get the wins.”

United are about to hit a hectic and testing run of fixtures, with a trip to Newcastle set to be followed by Champions League outings against Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir and Premier League meetings with Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton.

Arsene Wenger has revealed that he once cut off transfer talks with Danny Welbeck during his time at Arsenal in order to meet the Pope.

Back in the summer of 2014, with a recruitment deadline fast approaching, Manchester United opened themselves up for discussions regarding the England international forward.

The Red Devils were willing to part with Welbeck as he faced fierce competition for places at Old Trafford.

Tottenham were first to make a move, but were soon joined in a late scramble for a much sought-after signature by their arch-rivals from across north London.

Wenger was leading that chase on behalf of Arsenal, but the Gunners boss was otherwise engaged when it came to trying to get a deal over the line.

Explaining a remarkable saga to The Athletic, the iconic French coach said: “Danny Welbeck - when I went to the Match For Peace, I arrived at the airport and was told he’s come down to sign for Tottenham. I managed to intercept him.

“In fact, it was a funny story because I was negotiating the whole day. We had Ivan [Gazidis] and Dick Law to negotiate and they called me up. I had the agent on the phone and I told him, ‘Look, I have to hang up because I’m in front of the Pope!’

“He said to me: ‘What?!’

“I said, ‘Yes’. Because we were queuing up to take a photo with the Pope in a private audience. I was at the back of the queue because I had to talk and negotiate and at some stage I arrived in front of the Pope. So, I had to say, ‘Look, that’s not possible anymore because I have to meet the Pope now’.”

Arsenal eventually won the race for Welbeck and he would go on to spend five years at Emirates Stadium.

Wenger did, however, snub other options during the same summer, with the opportunity to re-sign Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona passed up as the former Gunners captain ended up making his way to Chelsea.

“It was general guidance for me to make the players realise that if you leave here, you don’t come back,” Wenger said of a Spain international that he nurtured into a first-team star but was forced to offload in 2011.

“It was a way to retain the players who wanted to see if the grass was greener elsewhere.

Leroy Sane’s return from serious injury is looking “very good”, according to Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick.

The former Manchester City man joined the Bavarians in the summer after a long pursuit of the winger, with their decision to sign him a terrific show of faith given that he had missed much of the previous year with a serious knee injury.

Indeed, the Germany international managed only 13 minutes of the previous season before going off injured during City’s Community Shield victory against Liverpool. He returned briefly for an 11-minute cameo against Burnley in June, but that proved his last match for the club.

The 24-year-old was fit enough to start in Bayern’s spectacular 8-0 win over Schalke on the opening day of the Bundesliga season, grabbing a goal and an assist in the process, while he also featured in the following 4-1 loss to Hoffenheim. However, he missed the thrilling 4-3 victory over Hertha Berlin because of an injury related to his previous complaint.

Flick, though, says that the problem is not a serious one and that he expects to see the winger back on the field imminently.

“I can’t say when it will be exactly,” the coach said, speaking after a DFB-Pokal victory over FC Duren on Thursday. “It looks very good. He’s doing training sessions.”

Despite the positive prognosis, Sane is expected to miss Saturday’s league clash with Arminia Bielefeld and the opening fixture of Bayern’s European Cup defence against Atletico Madrid. 

“First of all, a very thorough diagnosis is required to see whether the problem in the knee joint that sustained the cruciate ligament rupture really is just the capsule,” Dr Michael Lehnert, a former doctor for the ladies’ team at VfL Wolfsburg, told Goal and Spox. 

Speaking at the time when the injury was announced, it was his estimation that it would be roughly four weeks before Sane is back to training with the ball and it may be six before he is able to play. 

Reports however suggest that he could be back training with the team next week, with his return forecast as early as the trip to Cologne on October 31.

Goal's readers are impressed by the German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as he was voted as the "best GK in the world" beating out top opponents to cement his position in the Goal's Top eleven powered by FIFA 21 as we attempt to identify who you think are the best footballers around the world.

Neuer led the table with 38% of the votes (8700+) beating out Marc-André ter Stegen  who got 35% of the votes (+8000). They were followed by Real Madrid's shot stopper Thibaut Courtois who collected 2650 votes while Alisson Becker (+2300) came fourth and Jan Oblak (1528) fifth.

Stay tuned to this space as we ask for your help to identify the best righ-back this Monday.

Sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is “not the way to go” for Manchester United, says Louis Saha, with the Red Devils urged to show a little patience in a manager who has shown that he can deliver results.

The Norwegian tactician was handed the reins at Old Trafford after making an encouraging start to his tenure while in an interim role.

United opted to hand a familiar face from their past a three-year contract, but saw results take a turn for the worse immediately after that deal was done.

Questions were asked of Solskjaer’s ability to fill the demanding post, with plenty pointing to his lack of coaching experience at the highest level. Similar criticism is now being aimed at the United boss, with an inconsistent start made to the 2020-21 campaign.

Various alternatives are being offered up for the Red Devils, such as Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri, but Saha believes long-term success will only be achieved with stability in the dugout.

The former United striker has told TEAMtalk: “We are rushing to make a judgement on Ole and that is wrong after three games of the season.

“You remember when he got the job. Everyone was convinced he had to be given a chance after they beat PSG in the Champions League at the start of 2019. They were playing some great football.

“I played with Ole and maybe you will say I am biased when I defend him, but I think we should not forget the really visible improvements we have seen from United in the last year.

“Now things are going in a different way, but it is the start of the season and you have to understand why it is not perfect at this moment.

“You cannot forget everything that has happened in the last year and sack another manager just because they had a bad start to the season.

“This is not an easy job. It is tough to be manager of Manchester United and live up to the expectations that got with the job, but ditching a manager after three or four games of the season is not the way to go. Changing managers every year or after a bad couple of results doesn’t work.”

United suffered a humbling 6-1 defeat to Tottenham in their last Premier League outing, with pressure building on Solskjaer as a result, but an opportunity to make amends for that showing will present itself when returning to domestic action with a trip to Newcastle on Saturday.

Zambia Sports Minister Emmanuel Mulenga has ordered that the technical bench of the national team should be paid early.

Mulenga made these assurances to Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic and his technical bench assistants during a performance report meeting in Lusaka. Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) general-secretary Adrian Kashala and FAZ technical director Lyson Zulu were part of the joint meeting.

“I have actually instructed the Director of Sports John Zulu to make sure that you are paid in good time. For October you need to be paid before the end of next week,” Mulenga said as he was quoted by FAZ Facebook page.

“We don’t want to be in arrears as the government in paying coaches. We want to make sure that by 30th or just before 30th, all coaches are paid.”

The Minister also assured the members of the coaching team that the government and the citizens have complete faith in their abilities.

“In doing that [early payments], we know that you are going to perform as expected by the Zambian people,” Mulenga added.

“As you are aware, we represent and speak on behalf of the Zambian people and the Zambian people do have trust in you.

“They do have trust in you even the time we delayed in signing your contract they [people] actually made a lot of noise that we need to sign this contract because we trust this coach.

“Since the Zambian people trust you, we as government trusts you and we know that you are going to perform.”

Chipolopolo will face the Zebras of Botswana twice in November as they search for a maiden win in Group H.

“The games we are going to have on 12 and 16 [November against Botswana] are do or die, there is no losing,” added the Minister.

“We have done our part as the government so it’s up to you and your boys to do your part and make our soccer fans proud because they want us as a country to return that glory we had.”

FAZ organised for friendly matches for Zambia where they tackled Malawi, Kenya, the 1996 African champions South Africa and Orlando Pirates.

La Liga returns continues this weekend with some exciting games on offer and both Barcelona and Real Madrid in action.

At the early stage of the season, Real Madrid sits at the top of the Spanish top-flight table, but just three points separate first and 10th as no team has had a 100 per cent start to the new campaign.

All this weekend's La Liga games can be watched on Fanatiz via their basic package.

How to watch Barcelona on US TV

Barcelona is playing catch-up in La Liga this season, having started two games later than most of the rest of the league, but has had an undefeated start to the 2020-21 campaign.

Ronald Koeman's team has two wins and one draw from the first three games and strengthened during the transfer window by adding USMNT defender Sergino Dest.

Dest became the first American to play for Barcelona in La Liga when he came off the bench against Sevilla and will be hoping to play from the start this weekend as Koeman's side take on Getafe.

Getafe vs Barcelona can be streamed in the US through Fanatiz and kicks off at 12pm PT and 3pm ET.

How to watch Real Madrid on US TV

Real Madrid has played just four games so far this season, but still sit at the top of the table after picking up three wins and 10 points from the opening fixtures.

Goals from Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema secured a 2-0 road win over Levante before the international break, moving Real Madrid above Real Betis in the table.

Zinedine Zidane's reigning Spanish champions will be looking to pick up another three points this weekend with a home tie against Cadiz, who has performed above expectations so far and sit in ninth in the La Liga table.

Real Madrid vs Cadiz can be streamed in the US on Fanatiz via their basic package. and kicks off at 9:30am PT and 12:30pm ET.

La Liga matches on US TV this weekend

Watch La Liga live on Fanatiz.

Inter star Alexis Sanchez is facing a race against time to be fit for Saturday's derby against AC Milan, Goal can confirm.

The former Arsenal and Manchester United star picked up a muscular injury during the international break.

The Chile captain managed to complete his nation’s fixture against Colombia on Wednesday but sustained a problem that puts his presence for the big Serie A clash under question.

He will return to Appiano Gentile on Friday, where he will be given a number of tests before a definitive judgement on his problem is passed, but Inter are optimistic that it will not prove to be anything too significant.

If he was to miss out, it would be a major blow to the Nerazzurri as he has rapidly established himself as a key member of Antonio Conte’s squad.

He finished the 2019-20 season at a tremendous pace, scoring three goals and creating seven more in the club’s 12 post-lockdown fixtures despite starting only eight times, while he has begun the 2020-21 campaign in similarly impressive form.

The attacker may not have been on the scoresheet for Inter to date, but he created goals in the 4-3 win over Fiorentina and the 5-2 success over Benevento.

Sanchez, however, was back on the goal trail with Chile, who he captained in their opening two World Cup qualifying matches.

He scored his 43rd international goal in the 2-1 defeat away against Uruguay – a game in which Chile conceded the decisive strike deep into second-half stoppage-time – before he was on target again versus Colombia in what was his 133rd outing for La Roja.

For the 31-year-old, it represents a welcome return to form after a difficult 18-month period with Manchester United, where he scored only three goals in 32 Premier League outings for the Old Trafford side as he spent much of his time battling hamstring and knee problems.

He has previously turned out with Cobreloa, Udinese, Barcelona and Arsenal during his professional career, as well as loan spells at Colo-Colo and River Plate. Indeed, his move to Inter was initially undertaken on a temporary basis before being made permanent on August 6 for free.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is confident Paul Pogba is going to be at Manchester United for the next two years after the midfielder flirted with a future move to Real Madrid.

Not for the first time, Pogba has spoken about his ‘dream’ to one day play for Real and it prompted further discussion about his future.

The Frenchman has one year left on his Old Trafford deal, with the club holding an option to extend for a further year, but the World Cup winner and his super-agent Mino Raiola have spoken in the past about his desire to move on.

But, following Pogba's recent comments while away on international duty, Solskjaer was insistent that the 27-year-old would see out his deal and seemed convinced he will not be going anywhere.

“Paul's our player, he's going to be here for another two years,” Solskjaer said. “I’m sure Paul is focused on doing his best for us and we want to see the best of Paul and I'm sure in the next couple of years we'll get the best out of him.”

Pogba is set to be available for United’s trip to Newcastle on Saturday evening for their first game since the 6-1 hammering at home to Tottenham before the international break.

Plenty of reports suggested there had been issues in the dressing room following that result but Bruno Fernandes came out this week to dismiss the claims and Solskjaer added to the sentiment from the Portugal international.

“We've been in touch with the ones that have been away and it's one of those things you have to get over as soon as you can and move on. We know any little chance from outside, you want to create a division,” Solskjaer explained.

“Bruno spoke really well the other day, we are united and have to stay together. We can't listen to everyone outside, we’ve got to get on with it.

"Bruno has lost two league games since he came to the club and he came in February. But, it's been two in quick succession, he's not used to losing league games for us but Bruno, welcome to Manchester United, this is what happens when you lose a couple.

"They’re going to try and create a division between us but that’s not going to happen, this is a group that wants to work hard together and stick together.”

Joint Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has made light of the club's somewhat unusual coaching setup.

Following the departure of serial winner Pitso Mosimane to Africa's most successful club, Egyptian giants Al Ahly, the Tshwane club appointed Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena, Mosimane's two former assistants, as the two head coaches.

They then added another element to the mix with the appointment of Steve Komphela, a former Bafana Bafana head coach, as a 'senior coach'.

Mngqithi has traditionally been more low-key and has not often made headlines, preferring to operate quietly yet efficiently.

Mokwena and Komphela on the other hand are both far more outspoken and have provided journalists with a succession of juicy and sometimes controversial quotes over the years.

There are certainly question marks over the compatibility of the three and time will tell if they can even come close to matching Mosimane's legacy.

Their chemistry will be put to a first test on Sunday when the Brazilians take on Bloemfontein Celtic in an MTN8 quarter-final showdown.

According to Mngqithi though, a bit too much is being made of the situation.

“The only unfortunate part in our society, which I think we all need to learn from, is that we are too entrenched into thinking about positions," he was quoted saying by IOL.

“I always tell people, positions are the lowest part of leadership.

“The most important elements in leadership are beyond positions. If you are a father in the house, you can’t be telling your kids that you are the father, because it’s not about being known whether you are a father or not, but about responsibilities.”

Mngqithi won the MTN8 in 2009 while in charge of Golden Arrows.

He is adamant that the 'three wise men', as the coaching trio have been dubbed, are already enjoying a productive relationship.

"In our society it is so important for people to know who’s the father, the mother, the coach, assistant and this and that," he explained.

“Those things are not important because when the three of us are sitting down, it’s very easy to know who’s contributing what and what."

Arsene Wenger has revealed that he has no communication with the Arsenal board.

The Frenchman wrote himself into club history thanks to a 22-year spell in charge of the north London outfit, in which he won three Premier League titles, leading them to an undefeated 2003-04 league campaign and the Champions League final in 2006, only to lose 2-1 to Barcelona.

He has since taken up a role with FIFA as the governing body’s chief of global football development - but he no longer has any association with the Gunners.

Speaking to The Athletic, he was asked whether he still talks to anyone at the top of the club and replied: “No.”

He was pressed as to what he meant when he wrote in his book that he faced “a hostility from a section of the fans and the board” that he felt was “unjustified”.

The 70-year-old would not elaborate but did add: “That's how I experienced it. I didn't like to do a book where I don't give my honest feelings about what happened. That's why the link has been cut off completely after my stay at the club so I can understand, but that's what happened.”

Although he no longer has ties with the club, he has called upon the current board to look to Thierry Henry, the Gunners’ all-time leading scorer, to take charge after Mikel Arteta has stamped a strong identity onto the club and led them to a first Premier League title since his departure two years ago.

Wenger took charge of Arsenal on 1,235 occasions from October 1996 until May 2018 and earned 707 wins during that time.

His influence was such that he is widely credited with introducing a new, broader outlook to the Premier League, having been just the fourth foreign manager to take charge of an English top-flight club.

He started his managerial career with Nancy, who he took charge of for three years from 1984 before moving on to Monaco and then Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan.

In 2002, he was awarded the Legion d'honneur, the highest order of merit in France.

Doha will play hosts to the final of the 2020 AFC Champions League, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced on Friday. 

The final of the continent's premier club competition will be held in the Qatari capital on December 19, 2020. Iran's Persepolis have already qualified for the final after winning West Asian final. They will meet the winner of the East Asian tournament, the final of which is scheduled to be held on December 13, 2020. 

It must be noted Qatar hosted the West Asian matches of the AFC Champions League after the tournament was brought to a halt in March by the Coronavirus pandemic. The West Asian matches were successfully completed in four stadiums across Doha from September 14 to October 3, 2020, with the strict enforcement of a bio-secure bubble. 

Subsequently, the hosting right for the East Asian matches were also handed to Qatar and is supposed to be held from November 18 to December 13, 2020. The final will then be played in Doha six days later. 

The AFC felt that Qatar had already demonstrated the necessary hosting capability and have the medical infrastructure to host a tournament of such magnitude. 

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly made the decision on the venue for this year’s Final more complex particularly in these uncertain times of travel and health restrictions. 

“The safety and wellbeing of all participating clubs as well as the protection of all stakeholders has been crucial to the AFC so we must thank the Qatar Football Association and the Qatar Local Authorities and Ministries for putting in place the necessary health measures and effective medical protocols. 

“The successful staging of the AFC Champions League (West) is testament to the capability of the QFA and the Qatar Government and we now look forward to building on the spirit of collaboration as we prepare to resume the captivating action from the East Group Stage to the final.”

The AFC also appreciated Qatar's ability to deliver technical arrangements like the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), medical requirements and commercial obligations. 

QFA Secretary General Mansoor Mohammed Al-Ansari, said: “Given the success of hosting the centralised West region matches in close collaboration with the AFC, and the preparation for the centralised East matches next month, we are confident that we will be able to deliver an outstanding AFC Champions League Final.

“Qatar wishes to reiterate our commitment to provide world-class sporting infrastructure and operational and health and safety expertise and we look forward towards working hand-in-hand with the AFC to offer Asia’s best clubs with the ultimate stage in December.”

Simba SC winger Luis Miquissone has maintained his work at Simba SC is to assist and at the same time score goals.

The Mozambican player has so far this season been involved in six of Simba’s goals, assisting five and scoring one - against Tanzania Prisons at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.

Miquissone has now revealed he will continue to assist his teammates and also score goals because that is the reason he signed to play for the Wekundu wa Msimbazi.

“I will continue to do the work that brought me to Simba, assist my teammates to score goals and I will also make sure I score goals of my own,” Miquissone is quoted by Sokaletu.

“It is part of work to assist, that is my work, so I will continue to do it, my coach always knows I can assist and so I will have to do my work, meaning I must assist as many goals as possible.

“I am very proud of myself because I can score goals and assist, I am doing the job to assist my team to remain a force and also win as many titles as they can, I know I have managed five assists so far and scored one goal, but I also want to score more.”

Meanwhile, Simba have confirmed they will play a friendly against Mlandege FC from Zanzibar at Azam Complex on Saturday.

According to a statement on the club’s official website, the friendly is part of the team’s preparations as they get ready for the next Mainland Premier League match after the international break.

“As per the league fixtures, this weekend we don’t have any match and that is why we have decided to plan a friendly against Mlandege on Saturday to gauge the fitness of our players,” read part of the statement.

On Tuesday, Simba were also scheduled to face Ndanda FC in another build-up at the same venue, but it was postponed following the heavy rains which pounded Dar es Salaam.

Sven Vandenbroeck's side have so far managed to accumulate 13 points from five matches.

Much like the World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying campaign for the Malaysia national team who saw their 2020 plans completely wiped clean, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had intended for professional match officials to be introduced to the domestic games in the middle of 2020 but that has now been pushed back.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 has forced football activities to be suspended locally and internationally, causing a big hit to the financial side of things to FAM. With no international matches being played the whole year, there was no income to be earned from the hosting a match at Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

Businesses around the country are also going through major cuts and deficits which could be one of the reasons why the Professional Match Officials of Malaysia (PMOM) could not take flight this year. 

"We were planning for it to be launched in July of this year but the pandemic changed that. Now it has been postponed to next year and we will make the announcement in the near future," said Md Dali Wahid, the head of the referee committee at FAM. 

The update was given to the media on Thursday after the seventh referee committee meeting that also took a look at the performance of the match officials in the Super and Premier League matches from this season. While stating that the overall performance was satisfactory, Dali revealed that there were several cases which the committee had to take action on.

Throughout the season, four teams had submitted complaints to FAM on the performance of match officials - those teams are Petaling Jaya City FC, Terengganu FC, UiTM FC and Sabah. 

Two match officials were given a two-week suspension, two others given indefinite suspension while four others were given stern warnings over their subpar performances. Among the major errors being looked at was the inconsistencies of their respective decision making as well as reports from each referee assessor present at the match.

Simba SC communications officer Haji Manara has tipped Azam FC to challenge for the 2020/21 Tanzania Mainland League title.

The Icecream Makers have so far collected 18 points from the six matches played and as a result have opened a five-point gap between them and second-placed Simba SC, who have played five games.

"With this pace, I can see Azam FC challenging for the league title this season," Manara posted on his official Facebook page.

"[Azam] have a very good team and so far they should be congratulated for what they have achieved."

The vocal official took a jibe at their rivals Yanga SC, with whom the champions have been having a tussle regarding the transfer of striker Bernard Morrison, stating a serious team should be focused on the pitch and not picking up fights.

"A team concentrating on winning trophies do not complain unnecessarily or see them in Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), Fifa or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas)," Manara continued.

"You did not have any show-offs when picking up your players but you have proven on the pitch how serious you are.

"I know this season you will finish second behind the champions of this nation [Simba SC] and you will have 25 points more than [Yanga SC] who will finish third."

On Thursday, Azam FC collected another win after defeating Mwadui 3-0 at the Azam Complex.

The Chimazi-based charges needed 27 minutes to set the ball rolling at home.

The in-form Zimbabwean Prince Dube picked out Mudathir Yahya in a good position and the Tanzania international passed the ball to Richard Djodi in the danger zone, who, in turn, headed the ball down for Obrey Chirwa to open the scoring.  

Azam doubled their advantage in the 61st minute when Yahya managed to release a long ball to Dube, who managed to hold off his markers before beating the goalkeeper expertly.  

Dube was once again involved two minutes later, putting the defender under pressure and the ball eventually fell to Chirwa, who took his time before beating the goalkeeper to score Azam's third.  

Uganda midfielder Khalid Aucho is set to leave Egyptian Premier League side El Makkasa as reports indicate he is headed to Al-Ittihad.

Aucho’s agent Geoffrey Kayemba has confirmed the Ugandan will leave EL Makkasa because the club has failed to honour part of their contract with the player, with credible reports indicating the former Gor Mahia star is likely to sign for the Alexandria club.

“My client [Khalid Aucho] played his role at the club and will, therefore, depart after the season,” Kayemba told Kawowo Sports.

“This is after the other party [Misr El Makkasa] failed to fulfil their obligations.”

The Ugandan leaves El Makkasa where he featured in 21 games and managed to find the back of the net two times across all competitions.

The 27-year-old midfielder is among the Cranes players who made moves after appearing in the 2019 African Cup of Nations in Egypt. He joined the North African side as a free agent in July 2019 after he had left Churchill Brothers of India.

At El Makkasa, life has not been smooth for the player as he at one time had to live without wages for seven months over undisclosed reasons.

His reported move to Al-Ittihad means he will link up with his international teammate Emmanuel Okwi.

He previously played for JMC Hippos, Simba, Tusker, Gor Mahia, Baroka, Red Star Belgrade, OFK Beograd, East Bengal and Churchill Brothers.

Should the deal be confirmed, Aucho will now have to help Al-Ittihad climb the table standings as they sit 11th – two places below his immediate former club - with 39 points.

In a recent interview, the former Water FC midfielder explained why he thinks Ugandan players are lucky in signing for various clubs during their heydays.

“It’s always easy for Ugandan players to cross-over to East African countries. Once in a club, they work hard and put in a lot of effort to prove their worth,” he stated at the time.

“They always want to show what they have and working hard is always part of their plans; no laziness.”

His reported new club is among the most followed Egyptian sides, after Al Ahly and Zamalek SC, and has won the Egyptian cups in six occasions since they were formed in 1914.

Aucho has been a regular member of the Ugandan national team and has enjoyed 40 caps and featured in the last two Afcon editions.

He is among the Ugandans who ply their trade in the Northern African country - Allan Kyambadde of El Gouna, Derrick Nsibambi of Smouha SC and Pyramids’ Abdu Lumala are the other Cranes.

Steven Gerrard has been warned that succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss “would not be good”, with Jose Enrique urging the Reds legend to bide his time before heading back to Anfield.

Klopp’s contract on Merseyside will come to close in 2024, while Gerrard is also working on terms to that point at Scottish giants Rangers.

It would be an emotional homecoming, however following in Klopp’s footsteps promises to be thankless task for whoever takes that challenge on.

The German tactician has delivered Champions League, Club World Cup and Premier League glory during his time at Liverpool, with there still the promise of more success to come.

Enrique believes Gerrard would be wise to avoid trying to emulate those efforts, saying patience should be the order of the day for a man who has made no secret of his desire to manage the Reds.

“I do not know who'll replace Klopp, but I hope it won't be a decision the club has to make any time soon,” former Liverpool defender Enrique told Ladbrokes. “Look at the difference he has had on the team, and the players who now want to come and play for us.

“Before he came and even when he joined, it was Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, our best players at the time, who wanted to move to better teams, and now we have Thiago coming from Bayern - who have just won the treble - to play for Liverpool because Klopp has made us one of the best clubs in the world.

“I believe Stevie will manage the club one day, but to come in after Klopp immediately would not be good. Stevie is probably Liverpool's best ever player and he'll always be remembered as that, but to come in after Klopp fans will want him to win things straight away and that's not easy.

“I really like how Stevie works as a manager and things are going really well for him at Rangers, but it would be difficult to change the way Liverpool work again after Klopp and achieve success immediately.

“I would love him to one day manage Liverpool, though.”

Klopp is expected to bid farewell to Anfield once his current deal ends, with a charismatic character set to have spent almost nine years in the post by the time his agreement with the Reds runs out.