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Rivalries and battles makes elite football what it is, adding further intrigue and anticipation.

Some players famously don’t get on, while others simply bring the best out of each other whenever they go head to head.

Here’s a look at seven of the best head to head battles in football.

Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels have lined up as both teammates and opponents on countless occasions, but now again sit on opposite sides of Der Klassiker between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

The pair know each other very well indeed and regularly come into contact. But there were rumours of a training spat while both were at Bayern in 2018.

Lewandowski later said it was ‘sad’ that Hummels didn’t fight for his place at Bayern in 2019 and chose to return to Dortmund instead.

A healthy competitive rivalry that sometimes tips over into nasty territory is the best way of describing the battles between Premier League stars Sergio Aguero and David Luiz.

The South American pair have brought the best and worst out of each other, with Aguero in particular guilty of dangerous tackles on Luiz on more than one occasion.

With Luiz now at Arsenal and over eight years after they first went head to head in England, they continue to line up on opposite sides for hotly anticipated battles.

The world is waiting for the next time Liverpool face Real Madrid, with the battle between Mohamed Salah and Sergio Ramos set to be a headline event when it happens.

The clubs haven’t met since a challenge from Ramos resulted in Salah dislocating his shoulder in the first half of the 2018 Champions League final.

Salah and Liverpool are yet to take revenge for that moment.

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were one-club men to the very end, representing Liverpool and Manchester United respectively quite like no one else.

Their clubs were fierce rivals, which meant they were too, striving for every inch in order to win and maintain bragging rights until the next time they met on the pitch.

In retirement, their on-field rivalry has turned into the best double act in football broadcasting.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Giorgio Chiellini were once teammates at Juventus, but the pair have been opposite of sides of two heated Serie A rivalries since.

Despite their advancing years, they are now back to battling once more and competing head to head following the Swede’s return to Italy with AC Milan in 2020.

Chiellini has subjected Ibrahimovic to rough treatment and heavy tackles on the pitch, while Zlatan has also taken revenge and said he once ‘dragged him like a disobedient dog’.

Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira clashed on many occasions over the years in the battle for Premier League supremacy between Manchester United and Arsenal.

One particularly fierce encounter came in 2005 when the pair erupted in the tunnel before a game when Keane suspected Vieira of trying to intimidate his teammates.

Their iconic rivalry and midfield battles were fuelled by competitive drive, but also a mutual respect, understanding that the other was at the top of their game.

They are never directly opposed on the pitch, but Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have the single best competitive rivalry in the history of football.

Both players have genuine reason to be considered the greatest of all time and have spurred each other on to achieve more and more…and more for over a decade.

Neither would have done anything like they have were it not for the other pushing them to new levels as they constantly battle to outdo their rival.

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Following on from the release of their most recent collaboration with BALR, Puma have unveiled their new collection of shirts with reimagined takes on Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Marseille’s kits.

James Maddison, Allan Saint-Maximin and Reinier Jesus were all part of the release of the 2020 capsule, which included the limited edition Future 6.1 boots and Future Rider Lifestyle shoe.

Young BALRs, representing their clubs ?

The @pumafootball x @balr collection is here. pic.twitter.com/YdcmbxywUG

— PUMA Football (@pumafootball) December 1, 2020

As part of an effort to blend football with fashion, the new Puma x BALR collection features BALR interpretations of four top European kits, mixing iconic home colours into stylish black jerseys.

The hexagonal patters first introduced in the Puma x BALR collection remain a prominent part of these shirts, with the shapes on each shirt following the same colourway of each team’s home kit. The City and Marseille shirts both feature blue patters, while Dortmund have yellow and Milan red.

Crafted using premium materials and unique designs, the shirts also feature BALR’s iconic branding as a subtle addition to the all-black shirt.

Whether you’re on or off the pitch, the new PUMA x BALR. collection has got your back.

The Fall 2020 collection features a subtle hexagonal pattern throughout, based on BALR.’s iconic branding, referencing the pattern found on footballs and football nets. ?#PUMA #BALR. pic.twitter.com/cdCb2RC6f1

— BALR. (@balr) November 17, 2020

BALR bases its designs on the lifestyle of professional footballers and is known for its premium fashion, travel products and accessories.

Combining the best of both BALR and Puma, this release focuses on combining football performance and fashion to create a sleek street-ready collection that bridges the the gap between football and culture.

For the BALRs around the world.@pumafootball ? @balr pic.twitter.com/3rxcOLZA5Z

— PUMA Football (@pumafootball) November 5, 2020

On the collaboration, David Bremond, Head of Product Line Management Teamsport at Puma, said: “BALR. are a truly authentic brand rooted in football and culture.

“This year we have added more assets to the collection, creating a unique lifestyle capsule. PUMA and BALR. follow the same path as we continue to push the boundaries of football beyond the pitch.”

The PUMA x BALR. collection is available from December 1st at PUMA.com, PUMA stores and select retailers worldwide.

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How do you define world class?

Stop for a moment, take a breath, and think about it.

Chances are, you’ll digest that question differently to your mate who follows a club you’d rather see relegated. Your answer won’t match a supporter who lives in another country and only watches their local league. You’ll have an alternative opinion to someone of a generation you didn’t grow up in. They’re not the only factors either – there’s a ton of variables.

Of course, the prospect of debate and alternative perspectives on the same player, moment or match is part of what makes football so special. It’s how companies such as ours have grown up and established ourselves, and it’s still what sits at the core of 90min going in to 2021. But it doesn’t help the conversation at hand.

We wanted to dig in to what world class actually means, and how you measure it.

Our UK team have put their heads together behind the scenes over the last few weeks to do exactly that, and what you’ll see over the next five weeks is a cross-platform content series which tells you the results – giving you something to really sink your teeth into over the festive period.

A world class footballer will be defined as one of the top five players in the world in a certain position.

We believe every top player in the game can fit the profile for one of ten roles:

We’ll announce shortlists of 10 to 15 players for each position who we feel either need to be in, or are relevant to, the world class conversation. We’ll define the on-pitch responsibilities and habits which have seen the player in question nominated for that position.

Shortlists will be followed by daily announcements of the players we believe to be world class, with two confirmed per weekday. It’s a place we’ve reached after canvassing the opinions of our 90min editorial and writing team, plus some familiar guests.

How are we reaching these conclusions, I hear you ask? Well, we’ve come up with a scoring metric for ten subcategories which we feel are essential when deciding what makes a player world class. They break down to the following:

Each category will be graded internally for every player, though we’ll put some more juice behind the last year (2020 on the whole) to ensure we give the best players in the world at present the fairest chance of making it. We want you to engage in the conversation, tell us we’re spot on, or argue that we’re wrong with your own collection of cold, hard facts.

The series starts Tuesday December 1, and will run on our website every weekday for five weeks – ending on Friday January 8. The conversation will also dominate our social channels, so prepare to have your say.

You’ll be able to follow on the 90min website, and join in across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Some favourite faces, if you’re familiar with the 90min YouTube channel, will also be discussing the shortlists and who should make it into the final fives every Tuesday and Wednesday over that period. And if you haven’t joined the party already, get involved and hit the subscribe button – we’re really close to 100,000 subs, so help us out.

Little more to say, then, outside of a term you’ll be hearing a lot of over the next few weeks.

Welcome to World Class.

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Manchester United full-back Brandon Williams has been linked with a loan away from Old Trafford for the second time in a matter of months as the January transfer window approaches.

Williams played 36 times for the first-team in a breakout 2019/20 campaign, but his playing time so far in 2020/21 has been significantly limited.

Luke Shaw has suffered another injury setback, although October signing Alex Telles looks likely to become the new regular starter at left-back instead. Williams has the versatility to play on the right, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka is virtually undroppable on that side.

More regular games will likely be better for Williams in terms of his immediate development than spending most of his time at United on the bench as a back-up.

United shouldn’t be short without him because Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has shown a willingness to use Axel Tuanzebe in both full-back roles as extra cover already this season, while Timothy Fosu-Mensah is still in the squad and there could be an opportunity for Ethan Laird to develop. Teden Mengi, although naturally a centre back, is another who could get chances as a full-back.

Southampton have been credited with interest by The Athletic and there appear to be pros and cons for United sending Williams to the south coast.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is noted for his development of young players after arriving in England after a spell at RB Leipzig, as are Southampton as a club in general.

The Saints do lack depth at full-back and central defender Dale Stephens had to fill in on the left in the November win over Newcastle when Ryan Bertrand was out. But Bertrand and Kyle Walker-Peters are very much the starters, missing only one Premier League game between them.

If Williams isn’t getting action at United, it would arguably worse to move on loan in search of game time and still be predominantly sat on the bench. There is also the added issue of whether United could view Southampton as a rival in the hunt for European places this season.

Sheffield United have seen first-hand how effective Williams can be, with a 3-3 draw at Bramall Lane last November arguably his breakout Premier League performance.

The Blades are struggling this season compared to their surprise form on returning to the top flight in 2019/20, with an injury to centre-back Jack O’Connell further derailing the tactical system that had previously served Chris Wilder’s team so well.

O’Connell’s absence has forced Enda Stevens to shift in from his usual left wing-back role. But with Stevens himself also nursing an injury, the defensive unit as a whole needs reinforcing.

It wouldn’t be easy for Williams joining a team nailed to the foot of the table, having picked up just one point this season and losing 12 of their last 13 Premier League games stretching back to the closing stages of ‘Project Restart’ in summer. But the prospect of regular playing time is there.

West Brom are another struggling side who could potentially offer Williams much more playing time than he is currently getting, with Kieran Gibbs out of favour since September and an injury to current left wing-back starter Conor Townsend highlighting a possible lack of depth.

The Baggies finally secured a first Premier League win since promotion by beating Sheffield United in their last game, but it still promises to be a tough season at The Hawthorns and the more options and competition for places the better, especially in the current climate.

Moving to the west midlands would allow Williams to stay closer to home and his family and friends than if he were to a club like Southampton or ended up somewhere in London.

That might not sound like a big deal, but young players rely on solid support networks.

Everton could be considered a direct rival to United as a result of their general resurgence this season, but a full-back crisis could make the Toffees an appropriate place for Williams to be exposed to more regular playing time in a less stressful environment than a relegation battle.

Everton have recently lost starting left back Lucas Digne for the next two or three months, which means the Frenchman may not return to action until late February or early March.

Seamus Coleman has also had fitness concerns and, despite sticking with three centre-backs, Everton were forced to play without proper wing-backs in their recent loss to Leeds.

Working with Carlo Ancelotti, with all the top level experience he has and the impact he has clearly had on a developing player like Dominic Calvert-Lewin, would be a good but incredibly rare opportunity for Williams to learn from all-time great manager.

Having been linked with Williams already over the summer, Leeds are tactically fluid enough that there could be opportunities for the United youngster were he to move on loan.

Stuart Dallas has been Marcelo Bielsa’s preferred left back when utilising a conventional back four, but Dallas has also played a lot in various midfield roles when the system has changed.

It would open the door for Williams to operate as normal full-back, a wing-back on either side, which he has done previously in his fledgling career. His defensive tenacity even offers the potential to play as an auxiliary centre-back in a back three.

There is the issue of the longstanding rivalry between the two Uniteds, but at least Leeds aren’t a competitive threat in the way they once used to be and the clubs have often done business.

For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!

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German side Borussia Dortmund host Serie A’s Lazio on Wednesday evening in a match which could decide the winner of Group F.

Lucien Favre’s Dortmund top the group four games into the competition despite recording a loss on the opening week against Lazio. BVB haven’t conceded a Champions League goal since the Eagles knocked three past them in October but come into the contest off the back of a surprising defeat to lowly Koln.

#UCL time, we go again Wednesday ? pic.twitter.com/ScBTaZcGgN

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) November 29, 2020

Lazio are yet to lose in this season’s Champions League but trail Dortmund by a single point. Simone Inzaghi’s side have had their complications with COVID-19 tests in Europe this season but are three points away from confirming a last 16 spot in the competition for the first time since 2000.

When Is Kick Off? Wednesday 2 December
What Time Is Kick Off? 20:00 (GMT)
Where Is it Played? Signal Iduna Park
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport Extra 3 (UK), fuboTV (US)
Referee? Antonio Mateu Lahoz

Alongside the absence of Real Madrid loanee Reinier after a positive COVID-19 test, Dortmund have been robbed of a number of full backs going into Wednesday’s clash. The instrumental Raphael Guerreiro is a major doubt after picking up a knock against Club Brugge in last week’s European assignment and first choice right back Thomas Meunier was forced off during Saturday’s Bundesliga outing with a muscle injury.

Back-up left backs Nico Schulz and Marcel Schmelzer are unlikely to be available as they continue to recover while Dan-Axel Zagadou is still in the midst of an arduous recovery.

Assuming Lazio’s confusing spate of COVID-19 tests doesn’t strike again ahead of a Champions League outing, their only absentees are Luiz Felipe and Vedat Muriqi.

Borussia Dortmund: Burki; Morey, Hummels, Akanji, Passlack; Witsel, Bellingham; Sancho, Reus, Hazard; Haaland.

Lazio: Strakosha; Patric, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas, Luis Alberto, Fares; Correa, Immobile.

For Favre’s Dortmund this has been a season of all or nothing. In nine of their ten victories across all competitions this season, Dortmund have kept a clean sheet. But they’ve lost the other five matches.

Since that reverse against Lazio, Favre has reverted to a 4-2-3-1 formation with largely positive results. That is until Koln recorded their first Bundesliga victory for 267 days at Dortmund’s expense on Saturday.

Work to do ? pic.twitter.com/hauWIvSEAl

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) November 29, 2020

Lazio themselves were on the end of a surprising home defeat on the weekend, losing 3-1 to Udinese. The Eagles overcame a sticky start to the campaign to embark upon an eight-game unbeaten run sparked by that victory against Dortmund which ended on Sunday.

Inzaghi has worked wonders on a limited budget over the past four years to just have Lazio back in the Champions League group stages after more than a decade away. However, amid a constant churn of injuries and positive tests, Lazio’s current mid-table standing in Serie A reflects their mediocre underlying numbers so far this season.

Here’s how each side has fared in their last five outings.

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Koln (28/11)
Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Club Brugge (24/11)
Hertha BSC 2-5 Borussia Dortmund (21/11)
Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Bayern Munich (7/11)
Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund (4/11)

Lazio

Lazio 1-3 Udinese (29/11)
Lazio 3-1 Zenit Saint Petersburg (24/11)
Crotone 0-2 Lazio (21/11)
Lazio 1-1 Juventus (8/11)
Zenit Saint Petersburg 1-1 Lazio (4/11)

Love playing in the @ChampionsLeague !
?⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Xz3tDYxqWg

— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) November 24, 2020

Dortmund’s Golden Boy Erling Haaland produced one of the misses of the season at the weekend, but has rarely shown such wastefulness elsewhere. The Norwegian striker goes into matchday four of the Champions League as top scorer with six goals, just one fewer than the entire Lazio squad put together.

BVB can win the group on Wednesday while Lazio would be top by two points with victory. Dortmund haven’t drawn a single game in any competition all season but they might pick up their first here.

Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Lazio

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