Table of contents for 02-Apr-2019 in MATCH!

FA CUP It’ll take a massive upset for City to miss out on the FA Cup, because they’re the only big-six team left in the competition. They’re huge faves in this weekend’s semi-final with Brighton, and they’ll expect to beat Watford or Wolves in the final too! KEY MAN RAHEEM STERLING The winger grew up in the shadow of Wembley, and loves playing at the national stadium – as he proved by his recent hat-trick there for England and burying an EFL Cup final penalty! FA CUP WINNERS? PREMIER LEAGUE The title race could be decided in a few weeks’ time, when City face Spurs and Man. United in the space of a few days. If they win both of , they’ll surely those huge matches – but that’s a…

BEST OF THE REST XI This mega line-up is made up of stars that wear New Balance, Umbro, Asics and Under Armour! BEGOVIC BOURNEMOUTH BOOTS: Umbro Medusae The Cherries keeper has made over 745 saves and kept more than 60 clean sheets in his awesome Prem career. Solid stats! TAH B. LEVERKUSEN BOOTS: Under Armour Magnetico The quality CB made his Bundesliga debut when he was just 17, so he’s already played loads of top tier footy matches! PEPE PORTO BOOTS: Umbro Medusae The three-time CL winner was key in Porto’s win v Roma in this season’s last 16 – he’s got loads of wicked experience! WASTON FC CINCINNATI BOOTS: New Balance Furon The 6ft 5in defender is an absolute beast – and he completes this mean looking back three!…

ROBIN VAN PERSIE MATCH loves it when a legendary star like RVP gets a new TOTW card, and the ex-Man. United and Arsenal ace bagged this one after netting a hat-trick in Feyenoord’s 4-0 win v Emmen last month. The 35-year-old has a rocket left foot! LIONEL MESSI You always know a new Messi card will be incredible, and the little magician bagged this UCL MOTM one after his masterclass against Lyon. He’s got 99 for nine different attributes, including long shots, finishing and dribbling! ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI March was a good month for Lewandowski, with the Bayern number nine rattling in loads of goals! With 94 for finishing and positioning, 87 strength and 90 shot power, this TOTW card has the stats to absolutely dominate in front of goal. Yes,…

SOUTHAMPTON V LIVERPOOL Liverpool’s title charge continues at St. Mary’s! With Man. City in FA Cup action this weekend, this clash gives The Reds the chance to put some pressure on their title rivals by picking up a win against relegation battlers Southampton. The Saints would love to put a dent in their title hopes, having lost loads of their best players to Liverpool, but the home side will be massive underdogs – they haven’t scored a PL goal against Jurgen Klopp’s side in their last five clashes! ADAM LALLANA Getting midfielder Lallana fit and in form has been key for The Reds over the last few weeks, and he could have a massive say against his old club. As well as his mega quick feet and wicked creativity, he’s…

THE SCENE... Reigning Prem champions and league leaders Arsenal headed to Merseyside on a real high and a 30-game unbeaten run, while their opponents were down in 11th! They fully expected to return to London with the three points, but a young Wayne Rooney had other plans! THE TEAMS... WHAT HAPPENED? Freddie Ljungberg put Arsenal ahead as they netted for the 49th game in a row, but The Toffees levelled before half-time. It looked set to be adraw, before 16-year-old sub Rooney scored a long-range worldy in the last minute! WHAT CAME NEXT? The screamer v Arsenal was Rooney’s first for Everton, and made him the Prem’s youngest ever goalscorer! His career then totally took off – Wayne became England’s youngest ever player just four months later and was soon…

DID YOU KNOW? The ground is known as St. Mary’s because the club was formed by members of a local church with that name, and was also the club’s original name! STADIUM FACTS TEAM: Southampton BUILT: 2001 CAPACITY: 32,505 RECORD ATTENDANCE: 32,363 vCoventry, April 2012 NEAREST NEIGHBOUR: Portsmouth LONGEST LEAGUE JOURNEY: St. James’ Park, Newcastle, 281 miles…

HOW TO VOTE! Go to the MATCH Facebook page now and you’ll see two shortlists – one for Player Of The Month and one for Goal Of The Month. Then just vote for your choice. Well easy! JOTA We love free-flowing team goals as much as we do individual stunners, and Wolves’ build-up for Jota’s goal v Cardiff was wicked! WARD-PROWSE The Southampton star is a contender for both awards – JWP has been immense for The Saints and scored two jaw-dropping free-kicks! RITCHIE There aren’t many better feelings in footy than a sweetly connected volley – just ask Ritchie! His last-minute strike v ex-club Bournemouth was incredible! VARDY Leicester fans must be over the moon that their star striker is firing again – Vardy scored his 100th goal for…

There’s really not much separating these two mega rivals, but winning the 2017-18 A-League just gives Victory the edge! Can one of them win this May’s Final Series THE LOWDOWN WHO? Currently the two most successful clubs in the A-League – Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory! WHERE? Sydney and Melbourne – the two biggest cities in Australia! WHY? When the A-League started, there was only one team per city, so this was like a local derby. The rivalry’s got bigger with each side’s success! HEROES The Brazilian striker led the line in all of his side’s record-breaking seven wins in a row against their biggest rivals. Hero! The fixture’s all-time top scorer has hit more goals and played more games than any other star in Victory’s history. Wow! DID YOU…

SPAIN Atletico Madrid had a real shot at the La Liga title at the end of January – they were just two points off leaders Barcelona! But La Blaugrana really upped their game, beating El Clasico rivals Real Madrid 1-0 at the Bernabeu in March, and were ten points clear at the top of the table going into the last ten games! In the Golden Boot race, Lionel Messi was top scorer after 28 matches, averaging a goal ever 74 minutes. Wow! The race for the final Champions League spot in Spain has been proper interesting! With the Madrid sides in second and third, huge underdogs Getafe and Alaves, who’ve never played CL footy, are battling with Euro regulars Sevilla and Valencia for fourth place. Wicked! FRANCE The term ‘title…

Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet! CLOSING DATE: MAY 2 To celebrate the release of Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet, we’ve got three copies of the epic movie up for grabs on Blu-ray! Disney’s Ralph Breaks The Internet, the sequel to 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph, is available now on Digital Download, DVD and Blu-ray! HOW TO ENTER! WWW.MATCHFOOTBALL.CO.UK Then click ‘WIN’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full Terms & Conditions are available online.…

1 He’s the only teenager in Europe’s top five leagues with double figures for assists! 20 Jadon was directly involved in 20 goals in just 26 league games this season! 54 By the end of March, he’d created over 50 chances in the Bundesliga! 765 The rapid winger has made nearly 800 sprints this season – only three Bundesliga players have more! £100M The latest transfer gossips reckon Man. United will pay £100 million to bring him back to the Prem this summer! SMASH & GRAB! We’ve heard of underdog wins before, but this is crazy! Last month in Bolivia, Nacional Potosi bossed rivals Zulia with 79% possession and 54 shots – but still lost 1-0! PINEAPPLE PIZZA?! Starting line-up announcements always cause debate among fans, but none more so…

DIEGO GODIN Gossips reckon the legendary centre-back has already agreed a summer move to Italian giants Inter! SAUL Spies say Man. City want Saul as a longterm replacement for their classy midfield master Fernandinho! THOMAS PARTEY Loads of clubs have been linked with the £50 million rated DM including Inter, PSG, Man. City and Arsenal! JAN OBLAK We’ve heard PSG are lining up a mega move to sign the awesome goalkeeper – and it could be a record deal!…

STAR SIGNING MILAN SKRINIAR INTER Skriniar already has some ace defensive stats to make him a solid signing, but on Career Mode he’s got the potential to be the best centre-back in the world after a few solid campaigns. He’ll boss opposition forwards! FUT BARGAIN JOSE GIMENEZ ATLETICO 5,000 coins isn’t a total bargain, but it is when you check out Gimenez’s defensive stats! His tackling, interception and marking stats are all well into the 80s, and his top strength and aggression make him a real warrior! WONDERKID DAYOT UPAMECANO RB LEIPZIG We’ve been banging on about Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt all season, so this time we’re shouting out to another wicked young CB. Upamecano is a super strong defender, and backs it up with tons of pace, so attackers…

Mins per PL goal in 2017-18 Mins per PL goal in 2018-19 HOW HE SCORES IN THE PREM LEFT FOOT 18 RIGHT FOOT 39 HEADER 4 64% He’s won 64% of the league matches he’s played for Liverpool! 17 He’s already beaten his personal record for league goals this season! 1 He’s the only Reds player to wear New Balance’s awesome Furon boots!  34 The Senegal star joined The Reds from Southampton for £34 million in 2016, making him the most expensive African player in history at the time. Wicked! In Sadio’s first two seasons at Liverpool he wore the No.19 shirt, but changed to the No.10 at the start of MANE V FIRMINO FIRST THREE PL SEASONS FOR LIVERPOOL 180,000 That’s how many coins it will cost you to sign…

Argentina 2019 Home Shirt This summer’s Copa America is probably Lionel Messi’s last chance of lifting silverware with his country – and he’ll get the chance to do it in this brand-new Argentina jersey! Instead of the three blue stripes used on their World Cup 2018 shirt, this year’s strip has just the two stripes – just like the nation’s cool flag! Price: £69.95 adidas.co.uk Mexico 2019 Home Shirt MATCH can’t believe the new Mexico home shirt isn’t green, but this black one – which will be used at the Gold Cup – still rocks! The pattern on the front pays tribute to the design of the match ball used at World Cup 1986 – hosted by Mexico! Price: £69.95 adidas.co.uk adidas Predator 19+ The adidas 25 Years Of Predator…