Market: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score anytime
Odds: 6/5 @
Desperate to make a welcomed return to winning ways on Friday night, Marseille will welcome Metz to the Stade Velodrome.
Starting with the hosts, while Marseille might have signed off 2023 in the midst of an eye-catching boost, Gennaro Gattuso’s side have struggled to find much stability over recent times. Crashing out of the Coupe de France last month following penalties heartbreak away at Rennes, the former AC Milan boss has seen his squad fail to win any of their previous five showdowns against top-flight opposition. However, desperate to make up some ground in the European chase this weekend, Marseille will be excited by their continued success at the Stade Velodrome. Including a stellar 3-0 vi…
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk believes his best form has returned ahead of his side’s top-of-the-table clash with Premier League champions Manchester City.
Van Dijk’s reputation as one of the world’s elite centre-backs has been under scrutiny since a knee injury in October 2020 sidelined him for nine months and last season’s campaign only intensified the criticism.
The Dutchman, who took over the captaincy from Jordan Henderson in the summer, does not back away from the fact he was well below his best as Liverpool finished fifth last term, but he believes there has been an upturn in his form and he is feeling “important” again.
“Last year saw ups and downs, good games and less good games,” said the Netherlands captain.
“I’m held to…
Chris Smalling
If Young needs an example of a success story when swapping Old Trafford for Italy, then he need look no further than long-time colleague for club and country Smalling. Deemed surplus to requirements by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following the arrival of Harry Maguire, the 30-year-old has been a revelation at Roma, performing superbly across 14 Serie A appearances and scoring twice. Smalling has made such an impression at the Stadio Olimpico that he narrowly missed out in a fan vote for Roma s team of the decade.
Micah Richards
Hart s long-time City team-mate Richards made a loan switch to Fiorentina for the 2014-15 season after falling out of favour with Manuel Pellegrini. The right-back made 19 appearances in all competitions but the injury problems t…
Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle United, according to . The report has claimed that PSG are looking to bring in a new striker, and that Isak is on their radar.
Isak is one of the best strikers in the Premier League and has been superb for Newcastle. The Magpies do not want to sell the Sweden international striker, but a transfer fee of €100 million could be too much for Newcastle to turn down. Newcastle have had financial issues this summer.
The 24-year-old striker has scored 32 goals and given four assists in 56 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. Newcastle are aiming to finish in the top four of the league table this season, while PSG’s main objective this campaign is to clinch the Ligue 1 title and th…
Real Madrid want to appoint Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager, according to . Madrid are on the hunt for a new boss following the departure of Zinedine Zidane and have identified Everton’s Ancelotti as a candidate.
Ancelotti was in charge of Madrid from the summer of 2013 until the summer of 2015. The Italian tactician guided Los Blancos to the Champions League and Copa del Rey success in 2013-14.
The 61-year-old was appointed the Everton manager in December 2019. are reporting that Madrid are close to hiring Ancelotti as their manager. It is very likely that the former Spanish and European champions will have to pay the Premier League club a compensation fee for the former AC Milan and Bayern Munich boss.
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Carlo Ancelotti is aiming to avenge Real Madrid s two defeats to rivals Atletico Madrid last season when they travel to the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday.
On their way to a 15th LaLiga crown, Madrid lost their only game of the league season in a 3-1 defeat to Diego Simeone s side in September.
Atletico also knocked Los Blancos out of the Copa Del Ray in the last 16, while their reverse fixture later in LaLiga ended in a 1-1 draw.
This weekend s hosts have won two of their last three home derbies against Madrid in the league (L1), while also entering the upcoming derby in impressive form.
Atletico have not lost any of their last eight league matches (W5 D3), their best unbeaten run in LaLiga since a 13-match run at the start of last year.
Dur…
Ange Postecoglou has revealed Tottenham have a deadline if they want to make Timo Werner’s loan deal permanent.
The German joined Spurs on loan in January from RB Leipzig, scoring twice and assisting three goals in 14 matches in all competitions for the North London side.
However, Werner missed the last five games of Spurs’ season due to a hamstring injury he sustained against Arsenal.
Postecoglou admitted that he was relaxed about the situation, but whether a deal was made was out of his hands.
Speaking to reporters following their friendly in Melbourne against Newcastle United, Postecoglou said: I think from our perspective, there s a deadline there.
Again, a lot of that will depend on the negotiations between the clubs and how Timo feels.<…
The European Super League s pledge to stream all matches for free is unsustainable and merely a ploy to coax fans into supporting the project.
That is the view of finance expert Dan Plumley, who does not see how a breakaway competition could offer enough prize money to earn the support of clubs while showing games for free.
Despite a backlash from fans, players and media thwarting the Super League s attempted launch in 2021, the project reared its head again this week with a reworked format being announced.
After the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled FIFA and UEFA abused a dominant position in blocking the Super League two years ago, the competition s organisers, A22 Sports, revealed a new format for the tournament, which is still supported by Real Madrid an…
Antonio Conte believes Inter s hard work is paying off as they target a first Serie A title since the 2009-10 season.
The Nerazzurri sealed a fifth consecutive top-flight win on Sunday, with goals from Romelu Lukaku, Matteo Darmian and Alexis Sanchez securing a 3-0 victory over Genoa at San Siro.
It was Inter s sixth straight top-flight win against Genoa without conceding a single goal – the first time they have achieved this against any opponent in the competition.
The result moved them seven points clear of Milan at the Serie A summit, although Stefano Pioli s side had the chance to rein them in with victory over Roma later on Sunday.
Conte was pleased with his side s display and said his players deserve recognition for being this season s stand…
Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry will miss the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain after testing positive for coronavirus.
Head coach Hansi Flick confirmed earlier on Tuesday that Gnabry would likely be absent from Wednesday s game at the Allianz Arena after complaining of a sore throat.
Bayern later announced the 25-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19.
The holders were already missing star striker Robert Lewandowski due to a knee injury, leaving them without an attacking duo who have been directly involved in 63 goals in all competitions this season.
PSG, meanwhile, had already confirmed Marco Verratti and Alessandro Florenzi would miss the first leg after returning positive coronavirus tests.
Bayern defeat…