An amazing period for Americans abroad is getting even better.
New Barcelona boss Quique Setien has called four La Masia players into first team training, including 18-year-old Florida-born winger Konrad de la Fuente.
De La Fuente has scored once in three appearances for Barcelona B, the goal coming Feb. 2.
[ MORE: Premier League schedule ]
He has four goals and two assists in 14 career UEFA Youth League matches this season, including three goals in five matches this season.
He’s been on the score sheet against Inter Milan, Chelsea, Slavia Prague, and PSV Eindhoven.
De La Fuente’s parents are Haitian and he holds a Spanish passport, but he’s played 19 times for the U.S. youth set-up between the U-16 and U-20 age levels.
These are exciting times!
🔝Els jugadors Mika, Antonio Jesús, Konrad i Nils del Juvenil A s’han exercitat per primera vegada amb el primer equip!
Enhorabona, nois! 👏👏
🏠 La Masia, el futur del Barça#FCBMasia #ForçaBarça🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/R4Oa8BtZVF
— FC Barcelona – Masia (@FCBmasia) February 3, 2020
It was business as usual for Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, as Manchester City returned from the 2022 World Cup break with a thrilling 3-2 victory over holders Liverpool in the League Cup round of 16 at Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
Manchester City will resume their title defense when the PL returns on Wednesday, Dec. 28, when Jesse Marsch and Leeds host the defending Premier League champions at Elland Road (WATCH LIVE). Liverpool will be in action again on Boxing Day (Monday, Dec. 26), away to Aston Villa (WATCH LIVE).
De Bruyne picked out Haaland with a cross toward the penalty spot just as Haaland got wrong side of Joe Gomez and beat him to the ball. The finish was hardly easy, with Haaland arriving at a high rate of speed and pinpoint precision required to touch it home. He made it look easy.
RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT OFF!!
Erling Haaland puts City in front ⚡ pic.twitter.com/PdMmP6JTCC
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 22, 2022
Fabio Carvalho turned home a cross from James Milner to level the score in the 20th minute, and it would stay 1-1 until halftime. Two minutes into the second half, Riyad Mahrez brought the ball down from the sky and whipped a left-footed curler inside the far post with two silky smooth touches in the blink of an eye. 2-1 to Manchester City, but not for long.
Mahrez gives City the lead!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EftwaFs0PZ
— ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) December 22, 2022
Mohamed Salah made it 2-2 just a minute later after Darwin Nunez got in behind 18-year-old right back Rico Lewis, who was otherwise stellar on the night, down the left side. Nunez found Salah near the penalty spot after he peeled away from Nathan Ake, sending a slow roller over the line for another instant response.
De Bruyne wasn’t done, though, his best work still to come on assist no. 2. After taking the short corner quickly, De Bruyne floated a brilliant cross to the back post where Ake was arriving after making the late run into the box.
De Bruyne puts it on a plate for Nathan Ake 🎯 pic.twitter.com/4yYZOAAEXQ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 22, 2022
Kick off: 3pm ET, Thursday (December 22)
Live updates from NBCSports.com
Online: Stream via ESPN+
Carvalho brings Liverpool level 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9Ax6m8K6ui
— ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) December 22, 2022
THIS GAME!!!
Salah scores just after Mahrez to make it 2-2 😱 pic.twitter.com/7WnrwJ6aS1
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 22, 2022
All eyes will be on Erling Haaland as he has had six weeks to rest up and he will no doubt be hungry to add to his incredible tally of 23 goals in 18 games for Man City so far this season. With Julian Alvarez still celebrating Argentina’s World Cup victory in his homeland, there is even more pressure on Haaland to deliver the goods. Luckily, he doesn’t seem to worry about anything.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has given plenty of minutes to his youngsters over the midseason friendlies, but the likes of Mohamed Salah, Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, Andy Robertson and Roberto Firmino have been around the whole time so they should all be feeling fresh. Both Man City and Liverpool have commented positively about their World Cup players coming back fresh and sharp after featuring in big World Cup games just a week or so ago.
Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan will feature after their early exits at the World Cup. While the likes of Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones have all returned to training the day before this game against Liverpool. Ederson will return back from Brazil soon, so Stefan Ortega will start in goal.
🔵 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🔵
XI | Ortega Moreno, Lewis, Akanji, Laporte, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (C), Mahrez, Haaland, Palmer
SUBS | Carson, Walker, Stones, Cancelo, Grealish, Gomez, Bernardo, Foden, Robertson#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/fbU1Uc5FLu
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 22, 2022
Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Arthur Melo remain out with injuries, while Curtis Jones is almost fit and should feature over the festive period. All of Liverpool’s England and Brazil contingent are back in training and available.
Team news is in! 📋🔴
Here’s how we line up to take on Manchester City tonight 👊 #MCILIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 22, 2022
Follow @JPW_NBCSports
The quarterfinals of the 2022-23 League Cup are set, with Premier League clubs claiming seven of the eight spots following Manchester City’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool on Thursday.
[ LIVE: Follow League Cup scores, updates ]
League One side Charlton Athletic, the last remaining lower-league side, will face Manchester United at Old Trafford after knocking out PL side Brighton & Hove Albion in the round of 16.
In the other three, all-Premier League ties, Southampton will host Manchester City, Nottingham will host Wolves, and Newcastle will host Leicester.
Below is the League Cup schedule in full, how to follow the action live, plus where and how to watch the midweek action.
Tuesday, January 10/Wednesday, January 11
Manchester United vs Charlton Athletic
Southampton vs Manchester City
Nottingham Forest vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Newcastle United vs Leicester City
Dates: Quarterfinals (January 10-11)
Time: TBA
Online: Live updates via NBCSports.com
How to watch: ESPN+
Wednesday, December 21
Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Nottingham Forest
Charlton Athletic 0-0 (4-3 pens) Brighton
Manchester United 2-0 Burnley
Tuesday, December 20
MK Dons 0-3 Leicester City
Newcastle United 1-0 Bournemouth
Southampton 2-1 Lincoln City
Wolves 2-0 Gillingham
THIS SOLO GOAL FROM MARCUS RASHFORD 😲 pic.twitter.com/1cotFeJUPR
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 21, 2022
Thursday, December 22
Manchester City 3-2 Liverpool – 3pm ET – RECAP & HIGHLIGHTS
Tuesday, December 20
MK Dons 1-2 Leicester City
Newcastle United 4-2 Bournemouth
Southampton 2-0 Lincoln City
Wolves 3-1 Gillingham
Wednesday, December 21
Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Nottingham Forest (Forest win on penalty kicks)
Charlton Athletic 1-3 Brighton
Manchester United 3-2 Burnley
Thursday, December 22
Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool
Dates: Fourth round (December 20-22)
Time: 2:45pm ET, unless otherwise stated
Online: Live updates via NBCSports.com
How to watch: ESPN+
Tuesday, November 8
Bournemouth 4-1 Everton
Brentford 1-1 Gillingham (5-6 on penalties to Gillingham)
Bristol City 1-3 Lincoln City
Burnley 3-1 Crawley Town
Leicester City 3-0 Newport County
MK Dons 2-0 Morecambe
Stevenage 1-1 Charlton Athletic (4-5 on penalties to Charlton)
Wednesday, November 9
Arsenal 1-3 Brighton & Hove Albion
Newcastle United 0-0 (3-2 PKs) Crystal Palace
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Tottenham
Southampton 1-1 (6-5 PKs) Sheffield Wednesday
West Ham United 2-2 (9-10 PKs) Blackburn Rovers
Wolves 1-0 Leeds United
Liverpool 0-0 (3-2 PKs) Derby County
Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea
Thursday, November 10
Manchester United 4-2 Aston Villa
Tuesday, August 23
Walsall 0-1 Charlton Athletic
Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Rochdale
Shrewsbury Town 0-1 Burnley
Barrow 2-2 (1-3 PKs) Lincoln City
Bolton 1-4 Aston Villa
Bradford City 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Cambridge United 0-3 Southampton
Colchester United 0-2 Brentford
Crawley Town 2-0 Fulham
Derby County 1-0 West Brom
Fleetwood Town 0-1 Everton
Gillingham 0-0 (6-5 PKs) Exeter City
Grimsby Town 0-3 Nottingham Forest
Newport County 3-2 Portsmouth
Norwich City 2-2 (3-5 PKs) Bournemouth
Oxford United 0-2 Crystal Palace
Rotherham United 0-1 Morecambe
Stevenage 1-0 Peterborough United
Stockport County 0-0 (1-3 PKs) Leicester City
Watford 0-2 MK Dons
Wolves 2-1 Preston
Wednesday, August 24
Forest Green Rovers 0-3 Brighton & Hove Albion
Wycombe Wanderers 1-3 Bristol City
Leeds United 3-1 Barnsley
Tranmere Rovers 1-2 Newcastle United
Follow @JPW_NBCSports
If picking results in this wild Premier League season has been difficult — it has — then selecting the winner (or draw) coming off a month where some players played in the biggest matches of their lives while others had friendlies at best?
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
Good luck.
So while Jose Mourinho might best be fit to answer how we feel about our Premier League predictions so far this week (“I prefer not to speak”), this might be a week to realize your picks could be wildly off depending on who comes out of the gates fresh, firing, and/or faded.
Or maybe there’s a real chance for upsets this weekend. Either way, lets dig into our picks.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
Considering that winning requires getting the correct result (win, loss, or draw), getting a ‘W’ in picks isn’t all that easy.
Andy creeps up on Joe and Nick by a win after all three men fall victim to a weird week (over a month ago).
STANDINGS
Wk16
JPW 3-7
Andy 4-6
Nick 3-7
Season
Joe Prince-Wright, 72-74
Nick Mendola, 72-74
Andy Edwards, 64-82
Full odds provided by our partner, PointsBet – PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.
You can download the NBC Sports Predictor app (below) and play the Premier League Pick ‘Em game yourself to predict the scores and win the prizes.
DOWNLOAD NBC SPORTS PREDICTOR
Odds: Brentford (+300) vs Tottenham (-115) | Draw (+260)
Kickoff: 7:30am ET Monday
TV/Stream: USA Network – STREAM LIVE
JPW: Brentford 1-2 Spurs
Andy: Brentford 2-1 Spurs
Nick: Brentford 1-1 Spurs
Odds: Crystal Palace (+105) vs Fulham (+250) | Draw (+250)
Kickoff: 10am ET Monday
TV/Stream: Premier League on Peacock
JPW: Palace 1-1 Fulham
Andy: Palace 1-1 Fulham
Nick: Palace 1-1 Fulham
Odds: Everton (+130) vs Wolves (+220) | Draw (+220)
Kickoff: 10am ET Monday
TV/Stream: Premier League on Peacock
JPW: Everton 1-2 Wolves
Andy: Everton 1-2 Wolves
Nick: Everton 1-1 Wolves
Odds: Leicester City (+220) vs Newcastle (+120) | Draw (+250)
Kickoff: 10am ET Monday
TV/Stream: USA Network – STREAM LIVE
JPW: Leicester 1-3 Newcastle
Andy: Leicester 2-3 Newcastle
Nick: Leicester 0-1 Newcastle
Odds: Southampton (+250) vs Brighton (+110) | Draw (+250)
Kickoff: 10am ET Monday
TV/Stream: Premier League on Peacock
JPW: Saints 1-1 Brighton
Andy: Saints 2-2 Brighton
Nick: Saints 0-1 Brighton
Odds: Aston Villa (+350) vs Liverpool (-140) | Draw (+250)
Kickoff: 12:30pm ET Monday
TV/Stream: USA Network – WATCH LIVE
JPW: Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
Andy: Aston Villa 2-3 Liverpool
Nick: Aston Villa 2-4 Liverpool
Odds: Arsenal (-200) vs West Ham (+550) | Draw (+330)
Kickoff: 3pm ET Monday
TV/Stream: Watch live on Peacock Premium
JPW: Arsenal 3-1 West Ham
Andy: Arsenal 2-1 West Ham
Nick: Arsenal 1-1 West Ham
Odds: Chelsea (-325) vs Bournemouth (+850) | Draw (+450)
Kickoff: 12:30pm ET Tuesday
TV/Stream: USA Network – WATCH LIVE
JPW: Chelsea 2-1 Bournemouth
Andy: Chelsea 1-0 Bournemouth
Nick: Chelsea 3-0 Bournemouth
Odds: Manchester United (-350) vs Nottingham Forest (+900) | Draw (+450)
Kickoff: 3pm ET Tuesday
TV/Stream: USA Network – WATCH LIVE
JPW: Man United 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Andy: Man United 3-1 Nottingham Forest
Nick: Man United 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Odds: Leeds (+800) vs Man City (-350) | Draw (+475)
Kickoff: 3pm ET Wednesday
TV/Stream: USA Network – STREAM LIVE
JPW: Leeds 1-2 Man City
Andy: Leeds 2-3 Man City
Nick: Leeds 1-4 Man City
Follow @JPW_NBCSports
Follow @AndyEdMLS
Follow @NicholasMendola
If it’s the 2022-23 Premier League table you’re after, you’ve come to the right place.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
We’re at the 2022 World Cup break, and the final few rounds of Premier League fixtures caused so many shocks.
Almost at the halfway mark of the 2022-23 season, Arsenal and Manchester City are looking head and shoulders above the rest.
The Gunners will have their hands full for the duration of their title challenge, as Erling Haaland continues to take the Premier League by storm with an almost impossible goal-scoring record.
Newcastle, Tottenham and Manchester United are locked in a battle for the top four, while Liverpool have improved and will be back in the Champions League scrap and Chelsea are struggling.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
Newly promoted Nottingham Forest moved off the bottom of the table with a win before the break, with Wolves and Southampton currently occupying the other two relegation places.
Leicester have picked up a few big wins, while West Ham, Everton and Leeds all find themselves within a few points of the bottom-three after a topsy-turvy start.
Below you will find the latest Premier League table.
Follow @AndyEdMLS