David Villa looks set to make his A-League debut when Melbourne City face Sydney in the opening round.
Spain s all-time leading goalscorer, on loan from New York City, arrived in Australia on Sunday and has already started training with his new team-mates.
John van t Schip appears set to use Villa at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, but the 32-year-old may start on the bench.
I wouldn t be disappointed at all [if I started on the bench), Villa said on Tuesday.
I m the one that needs to adapt to the team. We ve still got more sessions to come before the game.
It s up to the coach, I m just a member of the team. There s a squad of 23 players, 11 on the pitch and the objective is to enjoy my experience and contribute and it s not up to me.
Ci…
Sam Allardyce remains unconcerned that he is yet to be offered a new contract at West Ham, despite the club s strong start to 2014-15.
West Ham are fourth in the Premier League, having won four of their opening eight matches playing an attractive brand of attacking football.
Allardyce gained promotion to the top flight with West Ham in 2011-12 and only agreed a two-year extension late in the following season, once the club had secured its Premier League status.
That deal is set to expire at the end of the current campaign and although the former Blackburn Rovers manager is yet to be offered fresh terms, the 60-year-old insists the situation does not worry him.
The conversations are the same as what they were in the first year in the Premier League, he sa…
Romelu Lukaku s £75million move to Manchester United from Everton represents a key pillar of Jose Mourinho s plans to launch a Premier League title challenge at the second attempt at Old Trafford.
But a Belgium international pursuing the top prize in English football is certainly nothing new, with an exceptional generation of Red Devils talent represented across those sides chasing glory.
Can Lukaku unseat Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard this time around, or will Manchester City s Kevin De Bruyne, Tottenham s Mousa Dembele or Liverpool s Divock Origi muscle in on the title picture? Alternatively, Arsenal could upset fans of Belgium players everywhere
CHELSEA
As in their 2014-15 Premier League triumph, Hazard was Chelsea s dazzling creative …
James Rodriguez lacks versatility and will be easily dealt with by opposition defenders, according to former Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer.
The Colombia international completed a two-year loan switch to the Bundesliga giants from Real Madrid earlier this month after falling down the pecking order in the Spanish capital.
The move sees him reunited with coach Carlo Ancelotti, who took him to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2014, but Sammer is unconvinced by what James offers the side.
He is a little bit limited, Sammer told Eurosport. His variety sounds pretty interesting, but I can t really see it. He can t play on the wing, and so there is a lack of speed.
He has a lot of creativity in his game, can move from the wing to the centre, but…
As for the visitors, while Atletico Madrid might have managed to pick up a 1-0 win against Liverpool at the Wanda Metropolitano a fortnight ago and extend their unbeaten run to six matches on the bounce, the Spanish outfit have struggled to make much of a statement this year. Playing out back-to-back stalemates against Sevilla and rock-bottom Espanyol since opening March, Diego Simeone s men find themselves sat down in fifth in the La Liga standings and have a growing reputation for their issues on the road. Remarkably, along with crashing out of the Copa del Rey thanks to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat against lower league Cultural Leonesa, Los Colchoneros have now failed to win any of their last six away fixtures across all formats, a run that stems back to the 9th of January. With the pr…
Philippe Coutinho would likely love to return to the Premier League, according to his agent, although there are plenty of possibilities over his future.
Brazil international Coutinho is on loan at Bayern Munich from Barcelona, but the Bundesliga champions are not expected to make the move permanent.
With Barca expected to want to sell the playmaker, who joined from Liverpool in a deal worth in the region of €160million in January 2018, it is believed a move back to England could be the most viable option.
Chelsea and Arsenal have been linked with a bid, with the latter said to be a realistic option as Kia Joorabchian, Coutinho s representative, is a Gunners fan.
However, Joorabchian said to Sky Sports News: The fact I m an Arsenal supporter is not a sec…
Inter Milan moved 14 points clear at the top of Serie A after Federico Dimarco and substitute Alexis Sanchez scored to help Simone Inzaghi’s side to a 2-0 win at home to struggling Empoli.
Dimarco volleyed in from the edge of the box after just five minutes after being set up by Alessandro Bastoni before a late strike from Sanchez, just minutes after coming off the bench, sealed it, tapping in Denzel Dumfries’ low cross to send Empoli into the relegation zone on goals scored.
It means that victory in their next two games will give them a chance to wrap up the title if they win the Milan Derby on April 22.
Job done at San Siro!
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— Inter (@Inter_en)
Bologna struck a significant blow in the race to qualify for the Champio…
Amanda Staveley has confirmed the consortium that bought Newcastle United considered bids for Serie A giants Inter and Milan before returning to the Premier League.
Alongside Saudi Arabia s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Jamie Reuben s RB Sports Media, Staveley s PCP Capital Partners was part of the group that completed a £305million takeover of Newcastle last month.
The PIF now has an 80 per cent stake in the Tyneside club, making it the richest football club owner in the world.
That wealth is expected to have a transformative effect at St James Park, but it was not always a given the consortium would invest at Newcastle.
Staveley was first interested in doing a deal with former owner Mike Ashley four years ago, and the group considered its options as…
Real Madrid came from a goal down to beat 10-man Levante 4-2 on Sunday and extend their lead to 10 points at the top of La Liga.
Visitors Levante opened the scoring just five minutes from kick-off at the Santiago Bernabeu, when Gustavo Cabral headed home from Francisco Farinos free-kick.
Karim Benzema had a goal ruled out for offside soon afterwards, and it took until the stroke of half-time for Real to force an equaliser.
It came at a serious cost to the visitors, with Vicente Iborra shown a second yellow card for handling inside the box, and Cristiano Ronaldo converting from the penalty spot.
Ronaldo headed his side ahead just five minutes into the second half, climbing highest to nod home Gonzalo Higuain s cross.
And the Portugal international…
Pavel Pogrebnyak scored a hat-trick to make it five goals in three games as Fulham thumped Wolves 5-0 on Sunday.
The home side dominated, producing some fine flowing football, and Pogrebnyak put the Cottagers out of sight with a close range header and a cool finish before half-time, with Clint Dempsey grabbing a brace in the second half either side of the Russian s third.
It was Fulham s 1000th league win and the first time they have won three matches on the spin since 2008, a run which has lifted them into the top half of the table.
Wolves, meanwhile, drop into the relegation zone on goal difference.
Pogrebnyak looked like he would have a frustrating afternoon early on, as he struggled to spring the Wolves offside trap.
Fulham s domination cont…