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Chris Davies faces a major challenge as Birmingham City’s defeat “overshadows” Wrexham’s victory.

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Krystian Bielik’s suspension has come at a bad time for Birmingham City manager Chris Davies

Chris Davies has admitted Krystian Bielik’s late dismissal took some of the gloss of Monday night’s mauling of Wrexham.

Birmingham City romped to a 3-1 win over League One leaders Wrexham to extend their near-perfect start to the season. Jay Stansfield bagged a brace and fellow debutant Tomoki Iwata netted a superb goal to seal victory.

But Bielik was sent off in the closing stages for two bookable offences. The first came after a clash with Wrexham pair Paul Mullin and James McClean, before a rash challenge on Andy Cannon left referee Scott Oldham with no choice but to send him off.

Bielik will now miss an important match with Rotherham United on Saturday. The Millers, managed by veteran Steve Evans, are known for being one of the most direct third tier sides and Blues could have used Bielik’s aerial strength.

“I’m very disappointed to lose him,” said Blues boss Davies. “That overshadows it a little bit. He’s our captain and an important player. But we have a squad for a reason and it gives other players an opportunity.

“I had my back turned to the melee because there was all that nonsense going on. I didn’t actually know that he’d picked up the first yellow, and then I saw the incident on the touchline when they were breaking away and you probably pick up a booking for that.”

With Dion Sanderson out injured, Rangers loanee Ben Davies is favourite to replace Bielik in the heart of Blues’ defence. Alfie May wore the captain’s armband when Bielik was left on the bench for Blues’ Bristol Street Motors Trophy match with Walsall two weeks ago.

After hearing from Auchenhowie in the previous 48 hours, Rangers forward is now subject to a delayed fitness test.

One Rangers ace is facing a race to prove his fitness for their upcoming Scottish Premiership clash with Dundee United, it has been revealed, in what could come as a blow to boss Philippe Clement.

Rangers endure tough start

After just four games in the Scottish Premiership, Rangers sit eight points behind early pace setters Celtic and Aberdeen, albeit with Sunday’s game in hand. The Glasgow giants drew their opening game in uninspiring fashion, and the points gap to their Old Firm rivals was extended as the gulf in class between the pair was made abundantly clear in the last game before the international break.

Scottish Premiership table as it stands before gameweek 5
Position Team Played Wins Draws Losses Goal Difference Points
1 Celtic 5 5 0 0 14 15
2 Aberdeen 5 5 0 0 7 15
3 Dundee United 4 2 2 0 3 8
4 Rangers 4 2 1 1 4 7

It summed up a torrid start to the season for Clement’s side, who were also knocked out of the Champions League in controversial fashion after Jefte saw a questionable second yellow card against Dynamo Kyiv, who went on to score twice to knock out their Scottish opponents.

It means that it has been a tough international break for Rangers fans and their team, though they now have a chance to begin making amends against Dundee United, who they will be expected to beat.

That may not be as easy as initially thought though, with Jim Goodwin’s side currently a place above Rangers and yet to taste defeat this season with two wins and two draws in their opening four games. To make matters worse, Clement has been left sweating on several of his players for the clash.

Rangers forward to be assessed

Speaking ahead of the game, Clement revealed that he was still waiting on a few members of his squad, as well as ruling three out of contention entirely.

All of Rabbi Matondo, Ridvan Yilmaz and Danilo will miss the clash, with the Rangers boss explaining that “Ridvan is still out along with Danilo and Matondo.”

Elsewhere, Ross McCausland picked up an injury over the international break, but could still feature: “Ross (McCausland) picked up a knock on international duty, but it shouldn’t be too bad.”

But there is still a decision to be made around new signing Nedim Bajrami, who became Rangers’ 11th summer signing on transfer deadline day when he signed from Sassuolo.

Clement explained that the Albanian forward had only trained with his new team for the first time on Friday, and that as a result a decision would be made on Saturday as to his involvement in Sunday’s clash.

The attacker, who scored the fastest goal in EURO finals history over the summer, is expected to add more verve to the Rangers frontline after it struggled in the early part of the campaign, but may take a week or two to get fully up to speed with the demands of his new side.

Fans of Celtic and Rangers are expected to spend more than £2,500 to go to away games in Europe this season.

Combined, fans of both Celtic and Rangers can expect to spend a total of £2,567 on flights and hotels to follow their team in Europe

New research has revealed that Rangers fans will pay £125 more than Celtic fans to watch their team play away games in Europe this season – but fans of both teams will have to fork out more than £2,500 travelling the continent.

The combined cost of the Ibrox club’s trips to Athens, Copenhagen, Manchester and Nice is the second most of any UK clubs competing in the Champions League or Europa League this season.

The study carried out by football betting tips, predictions, and news site Footy Accumulators calculated the cost of flights and accommodation for the four away trips that fans of the eight English and Scottish teams competing in Europe’s top two competitions will have to pay to watch their team abroad this season.

And Gers fans will have to cough up a combined £1,039 for flights to see their team play at each of the four Europa League away games, as well as an additional £307 for hotels. Their most expensive trip will be against Malmo, which will set fans back £341 for the flight alone, and a further £100 for the hotel. Rangers fans can also expect to fork out £393 for the trip to face Olympiacos, and £381 for the journey to France for their game against Nice.

The cheapest trip will be their final away game against Manchester United, where an open return ticket via train from Glasgow is much more affordable and expected to set fans back around £61, with a further £70 for a two-night hotel stay, meaning a total of £131.

Meanwhile, Celtic supporters will pay the fourth most for their European away games at £1,221, although they play a step above in the Champions League. The Hoops’ most expensive away trip will be to Zagreb, which will cost fans £408. Flights are available at around £338 for this, and a two-night stay in a local hotel is another £70.

Shockingly, the Parkhead side’s second most expensive away trip is for their game against Aston Villa in January. A direct flight to Birmingham is currently priced at £283, and a local hotel will add a further £63 to this for a total cost of £346. Celtic other away games are better priced, with fans being set back £258 for the match against Atalanta, whilst the trip to Dortmund is the cheapest as return flights will cost as little as £132 and the hotel £77.

Here’s how the total travel costs ranked for the eight competing UK clubs:

 

Rangers Europa League team sees two Ibrox stars worth combined £7m cut as striker suffers fresh injury setback

The Brazilian striker has been forced to undergo surgery on his knee again and faces another period on the sidelines

Rangers manager Philippe Clement has selected a 21-man squad for the Europa League group phase – with two notable absentees failing to make the cut.

Clubs are permitted to submit a list of up to 25 names for UEFA competitions, providing that eight players fall into the ‘homegrown’ category. However, the Ibrox boss has only four stars who fall under that banner – goalkeeping duo Liam Kelly and Lewis Budinauckas along with midfielder Connor Barron and defender John Souttar.

And with the Light Blues not able to select four players over the age of 21, Clement has taken the shock decision to leave out crocked pair Danilo and Rabbi Matondo, with the former suffering yet another injury blow after reports confirmed the £6 million Brazilian forward has been forced to undergo a second operation on his knee that will keep him on the sidelines for around a month.

Danilo missed a large chunk of last season after requiring surgery on his damaged knee last December, just a few weeks after fracturing his cheekbone in a match against St Johnstone. He returned for pre-season and had been steadily building his way back up to full fitness but has now been hit with another major setback on his road to recovery.

According to the Rangers Review ithe 25-year-old ex-Feyenoord man has gone under the knife again and will take at least four weeks to nurse his way back. It leaves Clement short of options in attack, with current first-choice Cyriel Dessers shouldering much of the responsibility. That could open the door to new signing Hamza Iganame, who made his long-awaited debut for the Ibrox club in the 3-0 Premiership defeat to rivals Celtic at Parkhead.

The news comes after fans recently expressed fears around Danilo’s fitness when he was spotted limping ahead of the Champions League qualifying defeat to Dynamo Kyiv. Clement dismissed rumours of the player carrying a knock, stating last month: “Dani always has that kind of walk – look from the moment when he came into the club. I’ve been watching him for a long time. I wanted to get him to Brugge when he was at Ajax and wasn’t playing there and he had that walk also at that moment so nobody has to worry about that. There’s nothing going on with him.”

Matondo, meanwhile, was forced to withdraw from the Wales squad earlier this week with a hamstring strain picked up in the Old Firm drubbing. Frozen out playmaker Ianis Hagi is not included after being told he won’t play for Rangers again by Clement, while Ross McCausland and summer signing Clinton Nsiala are also omitted. Youngsters Leon King, Bailey Rice and Alex Lowry all feature on the B-team list.

Rangers Europa League squad

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Liam Kelly, Lewis Budinauckas

Defenders: James Tavernier, Ridvan Yilmaz, Robin Propper, John Souttar, Dujon Sterling, Jefte, Neraysho Kasanwirjo, Leon Balogun

Midfielders: Oscar Cortes, Connor Barron, Mohamed Diomande, Nedim Bajrami, Kieran Dowell, Nicolas Raskin.

Forwards: Cyriel Dessers, Tom Lawrence, Vaclav Cerny, Hamza Igamane

 

‘Elite’ ex-Celtic ace finds new home: contract length, why they signed Scotland star, and the club’s Rangers connections

The Scotland international has joined two former Rangers players in making a surprise switch to the Major Soccer League (MLS) club. Stuart Armstrong will become the third Scottish international to play in the MLS this season after signing a two-year contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps. The 32-year-old midfielder, a former Celtic title winner, will team up with Scotland’s Ryan Gauld and join the Canadian club on a free transfer after being released from newly promoted Southampton in June.

Brought to the south coast from the Scottish champions back in 2018 for a fee of £7million, Armstrong brought down the curtain on his time his six-year say St. Mary’s during the summer and was loosely linked with moves to Fiorentina and the Hoops, while he also spent time on trial with English Premier League side Brentford. However, he has now completed a surprise move across the pond to sign for Vancouver Whitecaps instead.

“We are very excited to welcome Stuart and his family to Vancouver,” said Whitecaps FC sporting director Axel Schuster. “He is a player who has excelled for many years at the highest levels in the United Kingdom, as well as internationally with Scotland. He brings experience, tactical awareness, positional flexibility, and a very high work rate. In addition, his passing range and elite chance creation from the midfield position will add another dimension to our team’s overall attack.”

The Whitecaps are one point ahead of sixth place Portland Timbers in the MLS Western Conference division, which has them on course to reach the MLS playoffs with just nine games left in the regular season. Armstrong could make his debut this weekend, with the Canadian side facing FC Dallas at their home ground of BC Place, and the midfielder not involved in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Poland and Portugal.

The move means Armstrong will link up with Gauld and join fellow Scotland and New York Red Bulls star Lewis Morgan in the MLS this year, while he also follows in the footsteps of former Rangers players Kenny Miller and Fraser Aird, who have also featured for the Whitecaps in the past.

 

Celtic confirm summer exit as prospect completes move to Scottish Championship side

Regarding incomings and outgoings, Celtic’s transfer activity is starting to take form.

As players figure out the best path for their careers, changes will start to show at all levels, especially for young prospects eager to make a name for themselves in the professional game of football.

Prodigious Celtic talent has found it difficult to make the first squad, and after spending time at Lennoxtown, several players move on to acquire crucial experience.

The Bhoys have revealed that one of their prospects is going on to a new challenge ahead of the upcoming campaign, and the summer window is well started.

Magnus MacKenzie joins Queens Park after leaving Celtic
After spending seven years in the academy stadium, young Magnus MacKenzie has now permanently transferred to Queens Park, according to confirmation from Celtic B’s official X account earlier today.

“The setup at Queen’s Park looks brilliant, and after listening to the plans for the future, I was very impressed,” he said in reference to Queens Park FC. As soon as I learnt that I had the option, I wanted to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.

I have been at Celtic since I was young and received a great grounding in the game. Being there was a great learning experience, and I am looking to build on that at Queen’s Park.”

Former Celtic B manager Tommy McIntyre is now Academy Director at Queens Park and reacted to the versatile left-sided man’s switch across Glasgow, where he has signed a two-year deal.

McIntyre said: “Magnus is a top young player with plenty of talent. I worked with him when he was at Celtic, and I know what his capabilities are and what we are getting. He can play left-back and left wing-back, and we are lucky to get hold of him. Magnus is one that will be pushing for the First Team before long.”

Encouragingly, McKenzie will have some familiar faces to lean on at his new club, which will help him settle in nicely. Hopefully, he can go on to have a prosperous career after working his way through the ranks at Celtic. Best of luck, Magnus!



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