Manchester City and Leicester City get the weekend s Premier League action under way at the King Power Stadium, with the Foxes back to form of late.
Yet Leicester have lost nine of their last 11 Premier League matches against Pep Guardiola s City, and they have been beaten in their last three in a row when the teams have met.
Graham Potter returns to Brighton and Hove Albion as boss of Chelsea on Saturday, Antonio Conte badly wants a win as Tottenham head to Bournemouth, and Liverpool would not mind a repeat of last year s scoreline in the corresponding fixture as Leeds United visit Anfield. It was a 6-0 pasting that Liverpool meted out back in February.
West Ham manager David Moyes has famously never won away against his former club Manchester United in the Prem…
Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc has stressed he will not take any risks with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the remainder of the season with an eye on Euro 2016.
The Sweden international sustained a calf problem in PSG s 1-1 Ligue 1 draw against Bordeaux on Wednesday and was forced to leave the pitch with 20 minutes left, having earlier scored his 36th league goal of the season.
Blanc revealed that Ibrahimovic is being plagued by a minor calf injury and is optimistic he can still play a role in the upcoming Coupe de France final, but added that he has no intention of risking the striker if he is not fully recovered.
Ibrahimovic has a minor problem with his calf, but it was enough for him to prefer to be taken off, Blanc told reporters.
Fatigue is slowl…
According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Sergio Busquets will decide on his Barcelona future during the international break.
At the age of 34, Sergio Busquets is certainly at a crossroads point in his career. While there’s every chance he will attempt the new deal presented to him at the Nou Camp, there are other options out there for him too.
As per the report in question, there are offers on the table from both the United States and Saudi Arabia for him to earn a big money deal before retiring.
Busquets has been playing professionally since 2008 and has been a one-club man in that time, making over 700 appearances for the Spanish giants.
He’s won just about everything there is to win for club and country, and at this stage, it’s all abo…
Borussia Dortmund must put their Champions League heartbreak behind them when they attempt to secure a club record ninth consecutive Bundesliga win in the 100th Revierderby against Schalke.
Edin Terzic s side crashed out of Europe s premier club competition in the round-of-16 when they were beaten 2-0 at Chelsea on Tuesday, having won the first leg 1-0.
That ended Dortmund s run of 10 consecutive victories and they felt hard done by, as referee Danny Makkelie allowed Kai Havertz to retake a decisive penalty due to encroachment and he made no mistake after missing his first attempt.
Dortmund must turn their attention back to the battle for the Bundesliga title and resuming their rivalry with relegation-threatened Schalke at the VELTINS-Arena on Saturday, when Marc…
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City face a stiff test of character against a Bayern Munich side whose defiance he says is in their skin .
Although City lead 3-0 from the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, Guardiola claims his side will on Wednesday be facing a Bayern team who firmly believe they can turn the tie around.
City have looked to have ties wrapped up before and then imploded, most recently in last season s semi-finals when they led Real Madrid 5-3 on aggregate as stoppage time approached in the second leg, only to still be knocked out.
Asked whether he was more confident than before in his group of players getting the job done, Guardiola said on Tuesday: I would like to say yes, but I don t know. Every game is completely different.
…
Bayern Munich have agreed a five-year deal to sign Bryan Zaragoza from Granada ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 22-year-old Spain international joined the LaLiga side from Conejito de Malaga in 2019 and began his senior career on loan for a season with Ejido before returning to Granada, where he has so far made 51 appearances during his time there.
This season he has featured in 14 league games for Granada, who are currently second-from-bottom in the table, scoring five goals and providing two assists.
Bryan Zaragoza is set to join FC Bayern!
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
He made his senior Spain debut in October against Scotland in the Euro 2024 qualifiers and Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund revealed the forward has be…
Former QPR co-chairman Tony Fernandes has left the club after 12 years to concentrate on other business interests.
The Sky Bet Championship club have announced the Malaysian businessman “no longer holds any shares in QPR Holdings Limited”.
Fernandes took over Rangers in 2011 along with Ruben Gnanalingam and Kamarudin Meranun but stepped aside as co-chairman in 2018.
He has now decided to leave the Loftus Road outfit altogether.
“My involvement with QPR has been an incredible period of highs and lows,” Fernandes told the club website, qpr.co.uk.
“I am a passionate person and that means the good times have meant so much but, equally, the tough times have hurt.
“This decision to step away is made with a heavy heart. I would like t…
Italian expectations were lower than ever before heading into Euro 2016, with some even going as far as to say the current crop of players are quite possibly among the worst ever to have worn the Azzurri jersey.
But, after a sublime performance saw them beat Belgium 2-0 to begin the tournament with Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle scoring superb goals Italy went from looking like also-rans to possible contenders.
Friday s display against Sweden was confirmation that Antonio Conte s men should probably not be regarded as one of the teams to beat, though, irrespective of their second win.
Against Belgium, the Euro 2012 finalists were able to play their beloved counter-attacking game as Marc Wilmots men left plenty of space in behind their defence, larg…
Sir Bobby Charlton was a mesmerising midfielder for Manchester United, a World Cup winner with England and an all-round gentleman.
A key member of the Busby Babes and a survivor of the Munich air crash of 1958, a wonderful 17-year career at Manchester United dovetailed with a remarkable time with England, which peaked with World Cup glory in 1966.
His explosive playing style was underpinned by supreme balance and grace and, with a dip of the shoulder and thunderous shot in either foot, he scored spectacular goals.
“There has never been a more popular footballer. He was as near perfection as man and player as it is possible to be,” former United boss Sir Matt Busby said of Charlton.
The champion of the north west was a son of the north east, born in As…
Inter Miami are fortunate to have Jordi Alba, so says head coach Gerardo Martino.
Alba scored a stunning volley that ultimately proved the winner just before half-time in Saturday s 2-1 win over Nashville SC. The strike came with an expected goals (xG) value of 0.01.
That victory kept Miami top of the Eastern Conference, with a two-point lead over FC Cincinnati.
Miami face Charlotte in midweek, and with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez still away at the Copa America, Martino is glad to have such an experienced, quality player as Alba at his disposal.
I celebrated] as should be celebrated because it was a great goal, Martino said.
I m not surprised because he is a player with so much quality.
He [Alba] puts me at ease for what he gives the t…