Best odds: 5/6
Bookmaker:
AC Milan are set to welcome Torino to the San Siro on Friday evening, for a match which opens the 22nd round of the Serie A roller coaster in the 2022/23 season. Needless to say, both teams need the points on offer here, and with not much between them at the moment, it should be an interesting contest between two opponents of high quality.
AC Milan
They ve been in the race for a while, but the reigning Italian champions have lost all realistic hope of retaining the title. At the moment, Milan are sixth with 38 points, 18 less than Napoli at the top. At this point, it seems they re in for a desperate struggle to qualify for the Champions League, with second-place Inter (43), third-place Roma (40), fourth-place Lazio (39) and Atalanta in…
Lille have confirmed they have mutually agreed to terminate the contract of head coach Jocelyn Gourvennec.
The former Guingamp and Bordeaux boss took the reins at Stade Pierre Mauroy as the replacement for Christophe Galtier, who left for Nice after improbably winning the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title ahead of Paris-Saint Germain.
However, Gourvennec was unable to even come close to matching the achievement last season, finishing 10th with just 55 points.
He did guide the club to the last 16 of the Champions League before being eliminated by Chelsea.
Early reports suggest former Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Paulo Fonseca is in line to replace Gourvennec.
LOSC and Jocelyn Gourvennec have mutually agreed to part ways.
The club thanks Jocelyn…
Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde said his side will stick to their style, as they try to beat perennial Copa del Rey rivals Barcelona.
Barca (26 titles) and Bilbao (23) are the two most successful Copa clubs, although the Catalans have had the edge on their Basque rivals in the competition of late.
The Camp Nou outfit won the 2009 and 2012 Copa finals over Bilbao by 4-1 and 3-0 scorelines, and will look to continue that trend at home on Saturday.
Valverde said Bilbao will not try anything out of the ordinary to down their foes, and win their first Copa since 1983-84.
Each team has their own style and way of doing the job, so when you arrive at a match like tomorrow s [game] you have to put this style on the pitch, Valverde said.
We canno…
Sergio Busquets could be persuaded to leave Barcelona if Pep Guardiola asked him to join him at Manchester City, but he does not expect his former mentor to try to lure him away from Camp Nou.
The 27-year-old broke into the first team at Barca under Guardiola in 2008-09 and has since developed into a key player.
He has not forgotten about Guardiola s role in his successful career and would be honoured to work under the Bayern Munich coach again.
I have always said there are just two persons who could make me change my decision to stay at Barcelona, Busquets told ESPN.
One of those two persons is my wife. And she is happy here right now, so I don t think there will be any issues on a personal level.
On a sporting level, that other person is Gu…
Australia has opted against a bid to host the 2034 World Cup with Saudi Arabia on course to stage the tournament.
With FIFA’s deadline for declarations of interest on Tuesday, Football Australia issued a statement saying it had “explored the opportunity” of a bid but had decided against it.
“Having taken all factors into consideration, we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” the statement said.
“Football Australia is ambitious to bring more major tournaments to our shores. We believe we are in a strong position to host the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and then welcome the greatest teams in world football for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.”
It said hosting those events, in between the 2023 Women’s World Cup and …
Cristiano Ronaldo has voiced his admiration for former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and has described the Scot as his footballing father .
The Real Madrid star worked under Ferguson at United between 2003 and 2009 and he has nothing but fond memories of his former boss, stressing that the 73-year-old was there for him when he needed him most.
When my dad was sick in London and was in hospital very bad, in a coma I had a conversation with [Ferguson], Ronaldo told BBC for a documentary about the former Manchester United manager.
I said, Boss, I don t feel good. We were in a key moment in the league and the Champions League, but I said, Boss, I don t feel good. I want to see my dad.
[He said] Cristiano, you want to go one day, two days, one we…
Georginio Wijnaldum has joined forces with Jose Mourinho at Roma on a season-long loan deal after a difficult first year at Paris Saint-Germain.
The Serie A club confirmed the signing of Wijnaldum on Friday, just over a year after he moved to PSG from Liverpool as a free agent.
Roma have the option to sign the Netherlands midfielder on a permanent basis at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
His arrival comes on a day fellow midfielder Jordan Veretout left the Giallorossi to join Ligue 1 side Marseille.
Wijnaldum was signed by PSG in June 2021 after his Reds contract expired, with the French giants muscling in when it had looked like he would join long-time admirers Barcelona.
Yet Wijnaldum struggled to make an impact in France, starting only…
According to Sky sources, Manchester United are currently in negotiations with a club from the Chinese Super League regarding the potential sale of Marouane Fellaini. The 31 year old joined United back in 2013 after making the move over from Everton, and it’s fair to say that he’s been a polarising figure at Old Trafford. Between being viewed as a nuisance as well as one of the Premier League’s most underrated midfielders, the Belgian international has done it all.
Talks are said to have already begun regarding the move, which would be permanent as opposed to any kind of loan agreement. Fellaini would be following in the footsteps of many top players in the last few years, who have decided that the appeal of a major payday in a division much easier than the Premier League…
AS Roma attacker Paulo Dybala has been offered to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Dybala, who can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a forward, is available for Tottenham for a release clause of £10.5 million. Spurs have yet to make a decision.
Dybala has been on the books of AS Roma since the summer of 2022 when he joined on a free transfer after leaving Serie A rivals Juventus. The Argentina international, who won the 2022 Qatar World Cup finals, has done well for Jose Mourinho’s side this campaign.
The 29-year-old has made 20 starts and three substitute appearances in Serie A for AS Roma this season, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists in the process. Dybala has also made seven starts and two…
Best Odds: 8/11
Bookmaker:
Looking to claim back-to-back Premier League victories on Saturday lunchtime, Manchester United will make the trip to St. Mary s when they meet Southampton.
Southampton
Starting with the hosts, while Southampton might have opened the 2022/23 campaign with a 4-1 drumming away at Tottenham, it appears that the Saints have come roaring back. Along with mounting an eye-catching second-half comeback against Leeds on August 13th, Ralph Hasenhüttl s men have managed to build off of that success. Along with extending on their EFL Cup run earlier in the week thanks to a routine 3-0 victory away at League One outfit Cambridge, the one-time RB Leipzig boss should find the mood in his camp at a recent high. Likewise, enjoying another stellar tur…