Sport
Liverpool and Man City’s Premier League and Champions League fixtures compared as season reaches climax
Man City and Liverpool are separated by just one point with seven matches remaining in the Premier League; the sides could face each other in the Champions League final next month; Jurgen Klopp’s side beat their rivals 3-2 in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday
Manchester City and Liverpool have played out thrilling games in the Premier League and FA Cup in the past week, and could even end their seasons against each other in the Champions League final next month.
The 2-2 draw between the sides at the Etihad Stadium last Sunday left the Premier League title race in the balance, but Liverpool struck a blow to their rivals with a 3-2 win at Wembley to reach the FA Cup final on Saturday.
The first clash of the season between the teams also ended in a 2-2 draw at Anfield in October, and unsurprisingly there is very little to separate the sides in the league, with City holding a one-point advantage with seven matches remaining.
It’s undoubtedly a two-horse race between City and Liverpool for the title, but how do the run-ins of the two sides compare? What are the key fixtures? And how will City’s search for an elusive Champions League title – and Liverpool’s bid for a seventh – affect the title race?
On paper, there is no question that City have an easier run-in than Liverpool, something that their fans will surely be hoping gives them a crucial advantage as the hunt for the Premier League enters its final stages.
Pep Guardiola’s side only have three fixtures against sides currently in the top half of the table (Wolves, Brighton and West Ham) and none of them are against sides currently in the top six.
The game at Molineux is arguably the toughest City will face during their run-in, for two reasons. The game does not yet have a date having been postponed due to City’s participation in the FA Cup semi-finals, making it a harder task to prepare for, while City have only won once in three visits to Wolves since they returned to the top flight under Nuno Espirito Santo in 2018.
It’s a similar story with the West Ham game, which is live on Sky Sports – City have won four of their last five games in east London by an aggregate score of 18-2.
If the Hammers reach the Europa League final next month, that game will fall just three days before City’s visit to the London Stadium and will surely take priority over any Premier League fixture, given David Moyes’ side are six points adrift of the top four.
Guardiola’s side will expect to see off Watford, Leeds and Newcastle – the latter two of those games are also live on Sky Sports – but the final-day fixture at home to Aston Villa presents an intriguing prospect.
If the title is still on the line, could former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard – who was famously never able to bring the Premier League title to Anfield as a player – get a result at the Etihad and hand his former side the trophy?
While City’s run-in may lack headline fixtures, Liverpool’s is stacked with them. Matches don’t come much bigger than Liverpool against Manchester United, and Jurgen Klopp’s side must negotiate that task on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports.
However, a visit from their struggling north-west rivals does not spark the fear it once did, particularly given Liverpool have not lost at home to United in over six years. They will also know that three points over Ralf Rangnick’s outfit will move them back to the top of the Premier League table, given City’s next match is 24 hours later.
Liverpool then face another huge game next Sunday when Merseyside rivals Everton travel to Anfield, live on Sky Sports. While the Toffees’ immediate priority is staying in the top flight, they would love nothing more than to derail the Reds’ title bid, and they did win 2-0 at Anfield last season.
A trip to St James’ Park to take on a Newcastle side that are much improved under Eddie Howe, follows before hosting Tottenham, who are likely to still be desperate for points in their quest to finish in the top four. Antonio Conte’s team led twice when they drew 2-2 with Liverpool in December, while Klopp has only beaten the Italian once in his managerial career.
A reunion with Gerrard is then on the agenda when Liverpool take on Aston Villa and Southampton – live on Sky Sports – in successive away games before they end their season at home to Wolves.
Klopp complained about Liverpool’s schedule in the build-up to their win over City on Saturday, and he is unlikely to be happy about the scheduling of their Champions League fixtures in comparison to their title rivals.
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The first leg of Liverpool’s semi-final against Villarreal on Wednesday, April 27 is sandwiched between their Sunday evening game against Everton and their trip to Newcastle on the following Saturday that kicks off at 12.30pm.
City’s first leg against Real Madrid is on Tuesday, April 26 and takes place between a Saturday lunchtime game at home to Watford and their trip to Leeds in the evening of the following Saturday.
The scheduling means City will have more than 24 extra hours to prepare for their game against Leeds than Liverpool will for theirs against Newcastle – a situation that prompted the Reds to ask the Premier League to move their trip to St James’ Park.
City will also get an extra day to prepare for their second game against Real, while both they and Liverpool will have three days between their Champions League second legs and their next Premier League fixture.
Liverpool have faced the most gruelling schedule this season, playing 52 games in all competitions to City’s 49, having won the Carabao Cup in February after City’s early exit.
Should Klopp’s side overcome Villarreal to reach the Champions League final – and with an FA Cup final on the horizon next month – their overall number of games played this season will stretch to 63, a total only surpassed by five sides in Premier League history.
Sport
Matchday Guide: Boro vs Mariners
Take a read our matchday guide ahead of tomorrow’s game vs Grimsby Town at The Lamex Stadium in Sky Bet League Two…
Kicking off at 3pm in Sky Bet League Two, Steve Evans’ men know three points will be enough to secure promotion to League One when Paul Hurst’s Mariners visit SG2.
In front of a sold-out Lamex Stadium, the atmosphere is set to be electric as Boro aim for one more win to complete their season objective.
Saturday’s fixture is completely SOLD-OUT. No tickets will be sold on the day, so if you do not have a ticket, please do not travel.
For those with seat tickets, we recommend arrival at the stadium earlier than usual to ensure you are seated in your allocated seat.
Our North Stand and East Terrace are operating at 90% capacity due to restrictions placed by the Safety Advisory Group.
A Message to Supporters
At this crucial stage of the year, we must remind you in the interests of safety for everyone inside our stadium, that the pitch is for managers, players and match officials, while the stands are there for you to support the team.
Pitch incursions are dangerous and anyone who does encroach onto the playing surface will face strong sanctions that could include a ban from attending matches here at The Lamex Stadium, across the country and police action.
Furthermore, the use of pyrotechnics or smoke bombs at football grounds also carries an automatic ban and is something we take very seriously.
We appreciate your relentless support for our Club, but please do not put others at risk in doing so.
supporters are encouraged to stick around after Saturday’s final home league game of the season against Grimsby Town, in anticipation of the 2022/23 Supporters’ Association End of Season Awards.
As a reminder to supporters, these awards can only take place if the pitch is clear and safe for the players.
Club Shop & Ticket Office…
The Stevenage FC Club Shop is open at the earlier time of 11:30am on Saturday, closing at kick-off. The shop will also be open briefly at full-time.
Visit us in-store to collect Barrow AFC (A) tickets or purchase and browse our new leisurewear selection.
The North Stand Ticket Office, located on Broadhall Way, opens at midday and closes fifteen minutes after kick-off (3.15pm) for match ticket collections or queries. No tickets will be sold on the day.
Food & Drink…
The 76 Lounge
Open to home & away supporters from midday, at half-time for North Stand ticket holders and again for all from full-time to 8pm.
Supporters can also purchase hot food and drinks inside The 76 Lounge from 3.15pm which can be accessed via both side door of the North Stand.
Fans can move between The 76 Lounge and the tea bar area inside the North Stand to purchase food & drinks.
The Broadhall Suite
The Broadhall Suite is open to both sets of supporters from midday until kick-off, with a variety of drinks to choose from as well as a hot food matchday menu. This venue opens once again at full-time until 8pm.
Tea Bars
Tea bars around The Lamex Stadium are card only when purchasing food and drink around the ground.
How to Follow…
UK-based supporters can listen to Stevenage vs Grimsby Town with an iFollow Audio Match Pass, available to purchase for £2.50.
Overseas supporters can watch the action live with an iFollow Audio Match Pass, available for just £10.
Sport
Match Preview: Stevenage vs Grimsby Town
Stevenage can secure promotion to Sky Bet League One tomorrow as they welcome Grimsby Town to a sold-out Lamex Stadium…
After Tuesday’s triumph in Swindon, Stevenage sit third in League Two and four points clear of Stockport County in fourth with just two games left to play.
Grimsby Town occupy eleventh place in the league table and, whilst they are unable to reach the play-off places, they will undoubtedly be looking to spoil Stevenage’s fun. The Mariners’ away form has been satisfactory this campaign, winning nine away league fixtures from twenty-two. Grimsby also had a successful FA Cup run, reaching the Quarter finals before being knocked out by Brighton and Hove Albion.
They have had a mixed bag of results recently, so will be unpredictable going into tomorrow’s match. On Tuesday, they picked up a 2-0 victory at home to Crewe Alexandra through goals by Gavan Holohan and Danilo Orsi. But three days prior, Grimsby suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Tranmere.
Paul Hurst is currently enjoying his second spell as Grimsby boss after spending 2011-2016 in charge of The Mariners. Last season, he led his side to National League Play-off Final glory, after beating Solihull Moors at The London Stadium. Hurst previously had managerial spells at Ipswich, Scunthorpe, Shrewsbury and Boston United.
Will Finnie has been appointed Match Referee for tomorrow’s match, with Scott Williams and Damith Bandara as Assistants, and Stephen Finch as Fourth Official.
Finnie has handed out ninety-five yellow cards and just one red in thirty matches this campaign.
Sport
The Link Between Religicide and Violence Against Women
Violence against women has emerged as one of the hallmarks of religicide. Religious, civil society and business leaders must stop it in its tracks.
Involuntary sterilization and birth control in China. Honor killing in Iraq. State-sponsored rape in Myanmar. Forced marriage in Syria. Female genital mutilation in sub-Saharan Africa.
These are among the weapons used to control women today and throughout history – and likely among the many practices that will be denounced and discussed today on International Women’s Day. Yet an unrecognized form of human rights violation must be added to this litany of abuses in which women’s bodies are the battleground: religicide.
Religicide is the systematic, highly targeted effort to eradicate an entire religion, including its practices, adherents, sacred spaces, habitats and cultural heritage. Religicide plays out largely by controlling the reproductive choices of women, who they marry and who has access to their bodies.
Violence against women has emerged as one of the hallmarks of religicide. It has been practiced in China against Uyghur Muslims, in Iraq against Yazidis and in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims. This abuse of women is a form of genocide-in-slow-motion.
Intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence against women, affecting around 641 million women and girls globally, according to the World Health Organization. Religicide fosters a form of such violence – rape, which is used as a weapon to wipe out religious identity. In religicide, women forcibly “married” to men of other faiths – or no faith – often must submit to those men or risk losing their lives along with their religious identities. Children from these marriages are under their father’s control. Women escaping religious enslavement would have to abandon their own children.
In China, the Communist Party is taking control of Uyghur women’s bodies through forced birth control in the form of implants, involuntary sterilizations and pills, according to The New York Times and other outlets. Some women say they’ve been forced into giving up their faith and marrying Han Chinese men. They’re free to get pregnant in these marriages – with babies through whom their Muslim faith will not likely be passed on.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, women say they have been raped repeatedly in prison and subject to genital torture with electric prods. Outside of prison, according to the rights group, Uyghur women’s reproduction is monitored by the local government. There are harsh punishments for unauthorized pregnancies, with violators being sent to reeducation camps. Unless removed by a state-approved medical practitioner, those who take out intrauterine devices – even for medical reasons – are subject to fines and imprisonment.
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