Ben Marsden

1 week ago | fourfourtwo.com | Ben Marsden

Pep Guardiola has cut a distressed figure for large proportions of, what is in truth, a wilted Manchester City season. His side remains in European contention and may benefit from Arsenal securing a fifth Champions League spot for English sides in next season’s competition. Still, the lofty heights of four successive Premier League titles have been unreachable this year.

2 weeks ago | fourfourtwo.com | Ben Marsden

Free kicks are football's biggest false hope. The hum of anticipation as a 25-yard attempt is lined up. The expectation as the wall is meticulously set up by a barking goalkeeper. And then the collective groan as, in most cases, the wall is hit or the ball flies miserably over the bar. So where does the hope come from? Well on the odd occasion a free kick can produce a goal that will be immortalised forever. Think Beckham. Think Ronaldo.

2 weeks ago | fourfourtwo.com | Ben Marsden

It has been a difficult season for Manchester City having been knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the play-off round and falling away from the Premier League leaders Liverpool rather meekly. Yet, there have been flashes of brilliance from new signing Omar Marmoush and the return of the talismanic Rodri lends hope to the belief that success will return to the Etihad next season.

2 weeks ago | msn.com | Ben Marsden

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.

2 weeks ago | fourfourtwo.com | Ben Marsden

Football is a funny game. Seven years ago Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest played out a 5-5 thriller in the Championship. Now, Aston Villa are preparing for a Champions League quarter-final against PSG, as well as an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Crystal Palace. Nottingham Forest are also in wonderland. They sit third in the Premier League and will also travel to Wembley to face Manchester City in the other FA Cup semi-final.