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Pochettino’s Struggling Chelsea Faces Another Test at Fulham 

Chelsea's Argentinian head coach Mauricio Pochettino looks on during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in London on September 24, 2023. (AFP)
Chelsea's Argentinian head coach Mauricio Pochettino looks on during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in London on September 24, 2023. (AFP)
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Pochettino’s Struggling Chelsea Faces Another Test at Fulham 

Chelsea's Argentinian head coach Mauricio Pochettino looks on during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in London on September 24, 2023. (AFP)
Chelsea's Argentinian head coach Mauricio Pochettino looks on during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in London on September 24, 2023. (AFP)

A look at what’s happening in European football on Monday:

ENGLAND

Struggling Chelsea plays at Fulham and is looking for only its second win in the Premier League this season. Despite hiring a new manager in Mauricio Pochettino and signing a host of players in the off-season, the 2021 Champions League winners continue to struggle on the field. Chelsea endured a miserable campaign last season as it missed out on the Champions League and finished in the bottom half of the table. Its only win in the league this season was against newly promoted Luton, but it goes into the game against Fulham having beaten Brighton midweek in the English League Cup. Fulham has won two, drawn two and lost two so far in the league.

ITALY

Fiorentina will be confident of moving level on points with third-place Napoli with a win over bottom club Cagliari in Serie A. Fiorentina has lost just one match — to league leader Inter Milan — while Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari is still looking for its first win back in Serie A and has just two points from six matches. Sassuolo is two points behind Fiorentina and will be full of confidence after beating Juventus and Inter in its last two matches. It hosts Monza on Monday. Torino hosts Hellas Verona with both teams looking to bounce back from defeats.

SPAIN

Las Palmas hosts Celta Vigo with both teams hoping for their second victory in the Spanish league this season. Both teams have five points from seven games. Promoted Las Palmas’ only win so far came against Granada two rounds ago. Celta won four rounds back at last-place Almeria. Las Palmas is unbeaten in three games at home this season. Celta has won three in a row against Las Palmas in the league.

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City Need Reinforcements after Not Making Summer Signings, Says Guardiola

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v West Ham United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 4, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v West Ham United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 4, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
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City Need Reinforcements after Not Making Summer Signings, Says Guardiola

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v West Ham United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 4, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v West Ham United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 4, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

Manchester City need to invest during the January transfer window due to injury problems and a faltering Premier League campaign, manager Pep Guardiola said on Monday, acknowledging it may have been a mistake to rule out signings in the summer.

City's title defence looks all but over after six league defeats has left them sixth in the standings and 12 points behind leaders Liverpool who have a game in hand.

Guardiola's side have missed Ballon d'Or-winning midfielder Rodri, who ruptured knee ligaments in September, and have suffered injuries to defenders John Stones and Ruben Dias.

"In the summer the club thought about (signings) and I said: 'No, I don't want to make any signings," Guardiola told reporters ahead of Tuesday's league game at Brentford.

"I relied a lot on these guys and thought I can do it again. But after the injuries maybe we should have done it."

City have not made a significant signing in January since the arrival of Aymeric Laporte for 57 million pounds ($69.67 million) from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.

Guardiola could not confirm whether a deal has been done to bring in Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov.

"The club didn't announce anything. I don't know," he said.

"Rodri is impossible but the other ones (injured players) I want back. If it would have happened I wouldn't be going to the transfer window this season. Absolutely not.

"We would not be in the position that we are but we struggle all season. It's not just Rodri, we have a lot of problems in the back four. That is the reason why the club is thinking we might do this transfer."

 

WALKER'S FUTURE

 

After City's 8-0 FA Cup win over Salford City on Saturday, Guardiola revealed that Walker had asked to leave the club, but the manager had no update on the situation and the right back could be in the squad at Brentford.

"No news. I'm not going to add anything, no more news. I only have Brentford on my mind," Guardiola said.

"We will decide this afternoon after training."

The cup win was a third consecutive victory for City, a welcome return to form after Guardiola's side had previously won only once in 13 matches in all competitions.

"We won three games. Before it was impossible to win one," he said.

"Now we won three, and that helps us. But the reality is we won against a team in the last game for the difference of the Premier League and League Two (fourth-tier), the badges of both teams, and many reasons we should win.

"We have to wait to see if we are who we are. The mood is better. Tomorrow we have an enormously difficult game."

Brentford, who lost 1-0 at home to Championship (second-tier) bottom side Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, are 11th in the standings, seven points off City.