Prediction: Portugal vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

Best odds: 1/2

Bookmaker:

Many expect the title race in the Premier League this season to be much more interesting and more teams to stake a claim in it than in the last couple of years, given that Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all played very well towards the end of 2019/20. They could all indeed come much closer to Liverpool and Manchester City this time around.

The first blockbuster of the season is scheduled to take place at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, when Chelsea will take on Liverpool.

Chelsea

As has been said, Chelsea stepped their game up towards the end of last season and secured a top-four finish, together with reaching the FA Cup final. They ended up in fourth place on 66 points, the same as Manchester United in third and four more t…

Unai Emery once again faced questions about Mesut Ozil after Arsenal drew a blank against BATE in the Europa League without the German playmaker.

The Gunners slipped to a shock 1-0 loss in the first leg of the last-32 tie, their misery compounded with the late dismissal of Alexandre Lacazette for violent conduct.

Ozil and Juventus-bound midfielder Aaron Ramsey did not travel for the game in Belarus, with the absence of the former turning into one of the main talking points in Emery s post-match media conference.

However, the former Sevilla boss made clear that Arsenal had prospered without Ozil in their win over Huddersfield Town at the weekend, insisting the side he picked to face BATE was good enough to get a positive result on the road.

Eve…

Didier Deschamps has concerns over the fitness of defensive duo Lucas Digne and Lucas Hernandez as France get ready to play in a new competition  at Euro 2020.

France finished top of Group F thanks to a 2-2 draw against fellow qualifiers Portugal on Wednesday, with second-placed Germany also making it through to the last 16.

Reigning world champions France saw Karim Benzema score twice – his first goals at international level since October 8, 2015 – but had to finish the game in Budapest with midfielder Adrien Rabiot playing at left-back.

Deschamps substituted Hernandez at half-time due to what he described as a minor knee issue, though the Bayern Munich player had also received a yellow card in the 36th minute.

Replacement Digne did not last long …

As quoted by multiple media outlets, Javi Martinez has declared himself ready to leave Bayern Munich when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The 32-year-old Spaniard, who is comfortable playing either as a defensive midfielder or a centre-back, has been at the Allianz Arena for eight years now, since joining from Athletic Bilbao in 2012 for a reported fee of €40 million. He was a very important part of the team which won the 2013 treble, when he famously marked Lionel Messi out of their Champions League semifinal first leg against Barcelona which the Bavarians won by 4-0.

Overall, he has made 252 appearances for the club so far, but last season he lost his place in the starting XI under Hans-Dieter Flick. He was keen to leave this summer, but Flick reporte…

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata won their first match since the death of head coach and football legend Diego Maradona.

Argentina and Napoli great Maradona – arguably football s greatest ever player – died of natural causes at the age of 60 on Wednesday.

Maradona was buried in a private funeral at the Jardines de Bella Vista cemetery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires after thousands gathered on the streets of the capital to mourn the 1986 World Cup winner on Thursday.

Gimnasia were the first team Maradona had led in his homeland since the mid-1990s after taking charge of the Liga Profesional club last year.

¡Lo jugamos con el corazón!

— #Gimnasia133 (@gimnasiaoficial)

On Saturday, Gimnasia defeated Velez Sarsfield 1-0 away …

Manchester United and Liverpool have been urged by Rio Ferdinand to consider rescuing Raheem Sterling from the wilderness at Manchester City.

Sterling has played a big part in helping City to three Premier League titles since arriving from Liverpool in 2015, but his playing time has reduced this season.

The England international, who was late returning for pre-season training after reaching the Euro 2020 final with his country, has started two of City s six matches this term in all competitions.

He was linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium during the close season at a time when Pep Guardiola s side were trying to bring in striker Harry Kane from Tottenham.

Barcelona are reported to be showing an interest in signing Sterling on loan in January, m…

Arsenal claimed consecutive Premier League victories over Tottenham for the first time since 2014 as they eased past their North London rivals 3-1.

Having initially made a strong start to life under Nuno Espirito Santo, Spurs have now lost three successive league games, with their manager seeing his first derby effectively lost inside the first 45 minutes.

Emile Smith Rowe s 12th-minute strike gave Arsenal a deserved lead, which was doubled when he teed up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 15 minutes later.

Spurs offered limp resistance and the game was essentially put to bed by the excellent Bukayo Saka, with Son Heung-min s effort a mere consolation for Tottenham.

NORTH LONDON DERBY DUB!

— Arsenal (@Arsenal)

Smith Rowe rewarded Arsenal for …

Atletico Madrid s LaLiga title charge is back on track after a 2-0 win over Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday. 

Diego Simeone s side had picked up just five points from their previous four top-flight games to give rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona hope of reining them in at the summit. 

They secured a vital three points against Unai Emery s side, though, courtesy of Alfonso Pedraza s first-half own goal and substitute Joao Felix s second-half strike. 

The result meant Atleti restored their five-point advantage over second-place Barcelona, who have played a game more, while Real Madrid – who Los Rojiblancos face next weekend – are six points off the top in third.

KEY WIN ON THE ROAD

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— Atlético de Madrid (@atle…

Barcelona could sell Pedri in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the defending La Liga champions are open to selling the midfielder due to financial issues, and that Arsenal are among the clubs who are keen on signing the 21-year-old Spain international midfielder.

Pedri has been on the books of Barcelona since 2020 when he joined from Las Palmas. He is injured at the moment and is unlikely to play again for Barcelona for the rest of the season. The Spain international midfielder has made 13 starts and three substitute appearances in La Liga this season. He has scored two goals and given two assists in those games.

The 21-year-old made two starts and two substitute appearances in the UEFA Champions League for Barcelona this campaign. …

Virtual reality could help footballers improve their heading without the repetitive head impacts from a ball, a new study indicates.

Players involved in a study at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Institute of Sport and its Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences demonstrated greater performance in ‘real world’ heading after training with a VR headset compared to a control group who did no training.

The VR group also reported greater self-confidence and efficacy in their heading compared to the control group, the study found.

The study, titled: ‘A preliminary investigation into the efficacy of training soccer heading in immersive virtual reality’, has been published in the journal Virtual Reality on Tuesday.

It provides some insights into …