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Chelsea Have The Chance To Beat Qarabag

BAKU: Chelsea are expected to face an easy task against Qarabag in the Champions League in Baku tomorrow (early Thursday morning).

Both teams have now collected six points from three matches, making this clash at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium crucial in the fight for a place in the knockout round.

After defeating Benfica and FC Copenhagen in the first two matches, Qarabag’s perfect run came to an end on October 22 when they lost 3-1 to Athletic Bilbao.

Leandro Andrade’s early goal gave hope to Gurban Gurbanov’s squad, but two goals from Gorka Guruzeta and another from Robert Navarro capped their brilliant night.

That was Qarabag’s only defeat in their last 11 matches in all competitions, giving them confidence to face Chelsea.

However, history has not been on the Azerbaijani club’s side – they have lost twice to Chelsea by an aggregate score of 10-0.

Chelsea returned to Azerbaijan for the first time since winning the 2019 Europa League after defeating Arsenal 4-1 in Baku.

Enzo Maresca’s side are currently in top form, after a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend – their sixth win in their last seven matches in all competitions.

In the European campaign, they bounced back from an opening defeat to Bayern Munich with consecutive wins over Benfica and Ajax.

With a big clash against Barcelona coming up later this month, victory in Baku is crucial to ensure the pressure on the group leaders remains high.

Interestingly, Chelsea have scored the opening goal in eight consecutive matches, while Qarabag have only failed to open the scoring twice during the same period.

Chelsea are without defender Levi Colwill for the rest of the season, while Benoit Badiashile is also sidelined with a muscle injury.

Cole Palmer has not returned to action since September 20 due to a groin injury, while Dario Essugo has not made an appearance this season after suffering a thigh injury while with Portugal Under-21.

For Qarabag, Abdellah Zoubir is the main backup after scoring four goals in the last seven matches. Jonathan Montiel, who has just recovered from injury, is expected to start on the bench.

Expected starting lineup:

Qarabag (4-2-3-1): Kochalski; Cafarquliyev, Medina, Mustafazada, Matheus; Borges, Bicalho; Zoubir, Andrade, Duran; Akhundzade.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Cucurella, Chalobah, Acheampong, Gusto; Caicedo, Lavia; Gittens, Enzo, Estevao; Peter.

Palace Adds To Liverpool Misery

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool, playing with a second-string, lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace in the League Cup, with two goals by Ismaila Sarr ensuring the London club’s progress to the quarter-finals and adding to the suffering for Arne Slot’s squad.

Defending champions Newcastle United beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0, Arsenal beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0, Manchester City came from behind to beat Swansea City 3-1, while Chelsea beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-3 in other fourth-round action.

The slot resting of most of the key players – as is customary for several other top Premier League clubs – saw Liverpool suffer their sixth defeat in seven games in all competitions.

The match at Anfield started evenly before Sarr opened the scoring in the 41st minute after Liverpool defender Joe Gomez’s attempt to pass the ball to the Senegalese striker, who then fired a powerful shot past goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

In heavy rain that seemed to reflect the frustration of the home fans, Sarr doubled the lead just before half-time when he received a delightful pass from Yeremy Pino.

Liverpool played with 10 men after Amara Nallo was sent off in the 79th minute for bringing down Justin Devenny – his second red card in two senior appearances.

Pino then added to the home team’s misery with Palace’s third goal in the 88th minute.

Newcastle advanced to the last eight thanks to goals from Fabian Schar in the first half and Nick Woltemade in the second half to see off Spurs at a St James’ Park that was roaring with cheers.

Arsenal confirmed the victory through 18-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who opened the scoring in the 57th minute after receiving a pass from Myles Lewis-Skelly before Bukayo Saka doubled the advantage in the 76th minute.

Chelsea almost ended the match with a landslide victory after taking a 3-0 lead through goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and Estevao, but Wolverhampton fought back with two late goals from David Moller Wolfe after Tolu Arokodare opened the scoring.

Eze Helps Arsenal Stay At The Top

LONDON: Eberechi Eze scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal against his former team, Crystal Palace, helping the Gunners maintain their grip on the top of the league after a 1-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.

The 26-year-old midfielder, who played five seasons with Palace before moving to Arsenal in August, scored the winning goal in the 39th minute.

The goal came after Gabriel Magalhaes’ header fell right in front of Eze who calmly pushed it in past goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

The victory allowed Arsenal to extend their unbeaten run to six league games and 10 games in all competitions this season.

Mikel Arteta’s men now have 22 points after nine matches, four points ahead of second-placed Bournemouth.

The second half saw Arsenal continue to press for additional goals with several opportunities presented, including one where Bukayo Saka almost pushed the ball into the goal, but Palace defender Marc Guehi acted quickly to clear the ball on the goal line.

The narrow victory maintained Arsenal’s positive momentum in their quest for a first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season.

Klopp Not Rule Out Returning To Liverpool

LONDON: Jurgen Klopp admits it is not impossible for him to return to coaching Liverpool, but insists that he does not miss life as a coach at the moment.

The German-born former manager left Anfield in 2024 after nine successful years, citing his lack of energy.

Klopp now serves with Red Bull as Global Chairman of Football.

Despite previously ruling out the possibility of returning to coaching, Klopp admitted the door to a return to Liverpool is still open, at least in theory.

“I’ve said before, I won’t coach any other team in England. So if I come back, it will only be for Liverpool,” Klopp said in an audio broadcast of The Diary of a CEO.

“So yes, theoretically it’s possible. But I’m very happy with what I’m doing now.

“I don’t miss coaching players, I don’t miss standing in the rain for two or three hours, or attending press conferences three times a week. I don’t miss any of that.”

Klopp added that after more than 1,000 games as a manager, he is now enjoying a break from the pressures of the dressing room.

“I’m 58 years old. From one perspective, it might be considered old, but from another perspective, it’s still not too old. So maybe in a few years I can make a decision.

“If I had to make a decision today, I wouldn’t train anymore. But fortunately I don’t have to do it now, I’ll let time decide,” he said.

At the same time, Klopp also praised his replacement at Anfield, Arne Slot, who finished his first season in great form when he helped The Reds win the Premier League last season.

“We kept in touch after that, he was a great guy. He got the best out of this team and they became champions in an incredible way,” he said.

Klopp also described Slot as wise in not making too many drastic changes at the beginning of his appointment, and stressed that any major changes take time to show results.

“Change always has an impact and it takes time. If he keeps the old team, people will say ‘we need change’.

“Now he’s bringing in new players, they’re good, but maybe not fully compatible. Development takes time, no one can speed it up. Everything will be fine,” he said.

Italy Confirms Place In World Cup Playoffs

UDINE, Italy: Italy secured at least a place in the World Cup playoffs after defeating Israel 3-0 at home with two goals from Mateo Retegui and a late goal from Gianluca Mancini, early this morning.

The victory brought relief to Gennaro Gattuso’s squad, who failed to qualify for the previous two editions of the World Cup, both after losing in the playoff round.

Now, a similar path is expected to be their main hope as Norway leads Group I with 18 points, three points ahead of the Azzurri who have collected 15, with two matches remaining.

Italy is now six points ahead of Israel, who only have one match left and no longer have a chance to overtake.

Next, Italy will travel to Moldova on November 13 before awaiting the visit of Norway three days later, an action that is expected to be the group decider.

The group winners will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the runners-up will have to go through a playoff.

“We played as we should have today. We knew everything could be lost if we made a mistake. But the players came out with their best performance,” Gattuso said after the match in Udine.

“We all remember the match against Israel a month ago, they really made us struggle,” he said, referring to the thrilling 5-4 win last month.

“We are building a strong team, not only offensively, but also defensively,” Retegui said after the match.

The match was also shrouded in tension when incidents broke out between police and pro-Palestinian protesters in the city centre of Udine, with authorities having to use tear gas and water cannons to control the situation.

About 10,000 spectators were present at the 25,000-seat Friuli Stadium, including a small group of Israeli supporters carrying their country’s flag.

Although they still have a chance to overtake Norway if they record two wins, Italy is expected to have to go through the playoff route next March as the goal difference advantage favors the Scandinavian team.

“Now we just have to pray that no players get injured and they continue to excel with their respective clubs,” said Gattuso.