Verdict: Both teams to score
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Sevilla will have to quickly recover from the heartbreaking defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup match as they are set for a two-legged tie with Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. The Catalans did not exactly impress in pre-season, and they can really use the two competitive fixtures before the start of the La Liga campaign.
Sevilla
Arguably world’s leading transfer guru Monchi and his associates keep showing year after year that football clubs do not need heavy investments to produce great results. Sevilla have now won the Europa League trophy three times in a row, while turning a healthy profit in each of those seasons, and it is quite remarkable how los Rojiblancos keep the results at a v…
Manchester City have confirmed that striker Sergio Aguero has extended his deal with the club until 2017.
The Argentine forward has been linked with a move to Real Madrid following a season in which he has struggled to find consistent form, netting only 17 goals in all competitions compared to the 29 he hit in 2011-12.
However, Aguero has now quashed the speculation, signing a one-year-extension to his contract at the Etihad Stadium.
The former Atletico Madrid man joined the deposed Premier League champions in 2011, and scored the winning goal against QPR in the last minute of injury-time to snatch the league crown from Manchester United on the final day of the 2011-12 campaign.
City fell short in their attempts to retain the title, as they finished 11 points behind Manch…
Brazil have dropped to their lowest-ever position in the FIFA rankings, falling three places to 22nd.
Luiz Felipe Scolari s side, who have won the World Cup on five occasions, are now between Ghana and Mali due to a combination of poor results and non-competitive fixtures.
With Brazil hosting the 2014 World Cup, they have had no qualifiers to play and have simply featured in friendly fixtures, with the last five of these seeing one win for the South Americans and four draws.
Scolari s men will have the chance to move up the rankings when they play their first competitive game since July 2011 at the Confederations Cup later this month.
Elsewhere in the rankings, the top four remains unchanged with Spain, Germany, Argentina and Croatia occupying these spots, while top-10 si…
England captain John Terry has insisted he is focused on football ahead of Saturday s friendly international against Slovakia after newspaper reports his mother and mother-in-law had been cautioned for shoplifting.
The Chelsea defender told reporters here on Friday: I ve got experience of seeing many headlines and as a player you get on with it and fully concentrate on football, like I did in training this morning it doesn t affect players.
David Beckham will set a new record of 109 caps for an England outfield player if he comes on against Slovakia, breaking the record of 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore.
He fully deserves the accolades and the caps he s getting, said Terry of the AC Milan midfielder, who made his name at Manchester United.
…
In the dark days of communism, foreign footballers in Russia would have been as welcome as a biting, Siberan winter.
But the country s rapid transformation from drab, central control to enthusiastic private wealth has created a Russian revolution in soccer with its clubs claiming two of the last four UEFA Cup titles, successes built on bringing in some of the best playing and coaching talent.
I earn ten to 15 times more here than I received being a Palmeiras player at home, said CSKA Moscow s Brazilian international striker Vagner Love, the Russian league s top scorer with 20 goals last season.
Signing international players is still a new concept in Russia.
In addition to a more business-oriented approach to the sport, the country s youth football infr…
Manchester City and Portugal star Bernardo Silva will win the Ballon d Or when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo begin to show signs of decline or retire, according to former Selecao star Paulo Futre.
Silva featured in 51 matches for City in their treble-winning campaign of 2018-19 and was voted City s Player of the Season by supporters.
And after also helping Portugal to Nations League glory earlier this month, the 24-year-old has been tipped by Futre to become the next leading star in world football after Messi and Ronaldo – aged 32 and 34, respectively.
Futre, who earned 41 caps for Portugal and represented the likes of Porto, Atletico Madrid and AC Milan at club level, told Omnisport: I think Bernardo will be the next star, or he will be when Ronaldo and M…
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 21/20 @
In a contest that famously sees chances at both ends, a struggling Real Sociedad will make the trip to the San Mamés Barria when they face off against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Athletic Bilbao might have put in a spirited display away at a high-flying Villarreal prior to Spain s festive break, Gaizka Garitano s men eventually had to settle for a late point on the road. Losing their spot in the top-half of the La Liga table and a side who are desperately seeking some stability, the Basque outfit have managed to win just one of their last six top-flight contests on the bounce. With it appearing that their 2-0 win against early-season relegation scrappers Huesca might have just …
The 20-year-old Turkish international Cengiz Under has made a huge impression with AS Roma this season.
Under joined Giallorossi in a £12 million deal from Basaksehir in 2017 but he struggled to make an impact during his first months in Rome.
Eusebio Di Franchesco’s change in style and formation midway through the season helped Under establish himself as one of the key players for AS Roma, however.
The talented winger amassed 32 appearances across all competitions for the Italian giants, adding eight goals and two assists along the way.
His flying form and impressive performances for Giallorossi this season have attracted plenty of interest from all around Europe with Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco said to have already made in…
Ahead of the inauguration of the United States embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the city s most historic football club renamed itself in president Donald Trump s honour.
The new branding will see Beitar Trump Jerusalem contest the Ligat ha Al, with the club praising the courageous head of state.
Last December, the president went against global consensus by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
For 70 years Jerusalem has been awaiting international recognition, until president Donald Trump, in a courageous move, recognised Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, read an official statement from Beitar, who did not clarify whether the change of name would be permanent.
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French giants Paris Saint-Germain are considering a summer bid for Sevilla full-back Benoit Tremoulinas, according to Le Parisien.
The Saints could see Lucas Digne leave this summer, while first choice left-back Maxwell will not be able to play at the current level for much longer.
As a result, they are interested in signing Benoit Tremoulinas, who has enjoyed a very successful campaign with Sevilla.
But, while the former Bordeaux defender admits he is flattered by the interest from Parc des Princes, it is believed los Rojiblancos will only consider offers higher than €10 million.
Benoit Tremoulinas surprisingly left Bordeaux for Dynamo Kiev in the summer of 2013, and he went on to make just ten league appearances for the Ukranian giants.
The 2…