England

It’s been a tough couple weeks for Liverpool fans.

Back in the days of the feared Atlanta United attacking partnership between Josef Martínez and Miguel Almirón, the Venezuelan and Paraguayan used to celebrate goals with a Dragon Ball Z-inspired “fusion” pose. It happened often as the duo combined for 71 goals over the course of two seasons.

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The fifth round of the FA Cup kicked off with Arsenal visiting League One side Portsmouth on Monday. Because rules makers in England are about as smart as blade of grass, just three of the eight matches this round will feature a VAR. The lunacy of this decision was highlighted by a horrific Lucas Torreira injury that went unpunished.

Former Liverpool and England striker Daniel Sturridge has been suspended from all football-related activity until June 17 after he was found guilty of breaching betting rules, English football's governing body (FA) said on Monday.

Sturridge became a free agent earlier on Monday after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with Turkish side Trabzonspor.

He had been charged by the FA in July with 11 alleged breaches of its betting rules, nine of which were dismissed by an independent regulatory commission, and banned for six weeks — four of which were suspended.

With the biggest clubs resting their starters until the later rounds of the competition, the League Cup is effectively England’s litmus test for who has the deepest squad of them all. It’s an opinion that’s supported by the fact that Manchester City has now won the competition five of the last seven years, including three straight.

Raúl Jiménez scored his 13th Premier League goal of the season on Sunday (equalling his total from last campaign with 10 games remaining), and it was an all-important match-winner as Wolves defeated Tottenham in North London. With the victory, Wolves moved above Spurs and into sixth-place. The club’s now level on points with fifth-place Manchester United and only three behind Chelsea in fourth.