Manchester City Fan View: Difficult week highlights unique pressure on Pep Guardiola

Manchester City gave their manager Pep Guardiola reason to smile again at the end of what has been the Spaniard’s most difficult week since moving to England in July. His side eased past West Ham in the FA Cup third round on Friday, ending their visit to The London Stadium with a 5-0 win; the performance was as impressive as the result and the manager was glowing afterwards.

It was a welcome change to the image he put out last week. Despite victory over Burnley at weekend, the boss gave a smattering of sulky interviews that earned him a great deal of criticism that filled column inches and radio phone-in’s for days. He was in the wrong, but the reaction was over the top.

 

FA Cup: Our full team could have drawn with Plymouth too! - Klopp

Jurgen Klopp has defended his decision to pick a young team in Liverpool's FA Cup draw against fourth-tier Plymouth Argyle.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says a 0-0 home draw with Plymouth Argyle could also have been the result had he picked his regular starting XI.

The Reds made 10 changes to their line-up against their League Two opponents on Sunday, with only Emre Can keeping his place from their Premier League draw at Sunderland for the FA Cup third-round tie.

Villarreal 1 Barcelona 1: Messi rescues point with late free-kick

Following their Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona were held to a 1-1 LaLiga draw by Villarreal.

Lionel Messi rescued a point for Barcelona with a late free-kick in a 1-1 draw at Villarreal on Sunday, although the Catalans' failure to win dealt their pursuit of LaLiga leaders Real Madrid a further blow.

Yahoo Sport UK horse racing Lucky 15 – Monday’s top selections

Each day we will mark your card, providing a preview of the day’s racing and offering what the experts feel will be the value bets of the day.

Take a look at our Lucky 15 selections (four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold) for the British meetings on Monday, January 9, 2017.

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LUCKY 15 SELECTIONS

 

FA Cup: Spurs battle past Villa to reach fourth round

Britain Football Soccer - Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa - FA Cup Third Round - White Hart Lane - 8/1/17 Tottenham's Ben Davies celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates Reuters / Toby Melville Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.