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Facing what is a must-win showdown on Sunday night, Juventus will sign off their Serie A campaign when they travel to Udinese this weekend.
Udinese
Starting with the hosts, while Udinese might have cruised their way to Serie A status this season, the Little Zebras are certainly limping their way over the finish line. Last seen suffering a public collapse away at Salernitana as they eventually slumped to an action-packed 3-2 defeat, Andrea Sottil’s men have now lost each of their last three top-flight appearances. With that rut highlighted by a 2-0 loss at the hands of Fiorentina on May 14th, the Bianconeri have also claimed just a pair of victories from their previous 10 straight domestic appearances. With that downbeat spell stemmin…
The Netherlands have added friendlies against Ghana and Wales to their pre-FIFA World Cup schedule, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
Louis van Gaal s men were already penned in to face France in March and Ecuador in May, but will now have a further two fixtures to warm up for the tournament in Brazil in June and July.
Ghana will visit Feyenoord s De Kuip stadium on May 31 for a first meeting since the sides faced off in the lead-up to the 2010 event in a clash that ended 4-1 to the Netherlands
Wales, meanwhile, head to the Amsterdam Arena on June 4, providing the opposition for the final fixture before the Netherlands departure for South American.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup runners-up have been drawn alongside Spain, Chile and Australia in Group B for this year s tourna…
France s Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema on Sunday declared himself fit and up for the challenge of reviving his country s battered footballing fortunes in Tuesday s second Euro 2012 qualifier against Bosnia.
The 22-year-old scorer of eight goals in his 28 apperances for France has fortunately for coach Laurent Blanc recovered from an ankle injury which ruled him out of the opening 1-0 home defeat by Belarus on Friday.
Benzema is certain to lead the line on Tuesday in what should prove to be a real test against a Bosnian side that just failed to reach the World Cup finals.
But he said on Sunday he was more than ready to take up the challenge which has been made tougher as Blanco lost three of his first choice forwards in Loic Remy, Louis Saha and Guillaume Hoa…
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has nothing but fond memories of his time at Bayern Munich as he prepares to take on his former team in the Champions League.
Kroos joined Bayern from Hansa Rostock at the age of 16 and made over 200 appearances in all competitions before leaving the club for Madrid in 2014.
Wednesday s quarter-final will be his first competitive match at the Allianz Arena since that move, and he is looking forward to taking on some familiar faces.
I had to leave home for the first time when I joined Bayern, it was my first time alone, Kroos told the official UEFA website.
And it is not just about making it as a professional, but also off the pitch. I had to organise myself as well and that is a tough task for a 16-year-old.
B…
Chelsea fear that Diego Costa’s head has been turned by potential big money offers from China, .
The Spain international is currently in his worst run in front of goal since moving to Stamford Bridge having not found the back of the net in any of his last five league games.
A deal worth around £34m-per-year after tax is currently on the table from the Chinese Super League, which would make the twenty-eight year old the highest paid player in the world.
Since moving to England in the summer of 2014, Costa has racked up one hundred and thirteen appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring fifty-five goals – twenty of which coming in the league as the London side clinched the title in the 2014/15 campaign.
Chelsea face Tottenham Hotspur …
Manchester United have apparently joined the race for the services of Sampdoria s Joachim Andersen. That s according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, who also say the 20-time English champions have been attracted by his impressive performances this season.
The 22-year-old centre-back spent four years in Holland with FC Twente, before joining Sampdoria in 2017. For the Serie A side he has so far made 22 appearances in all competitions and hasn t scored a goal yet.
Meanwhile, United manager Jose Mourinho has been trying to strengthen his defence for a long time now. Since he took over in 2016, the club have signed centre-backs Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof, while in the last transfer window they heavily targeted Tottenham Hotspur s Toby Alderweireld and Leicester Cit…
Massimiliano Allegri vowed he will not take on a new job until midway through 2020 as the former Juventus boss continues to be linked with Bayern Munich and Arsenal.
Allegri has been out of work since parting ways with Juventus following an eighth consecutive Serie A title in 2018-19 and fifth under the Italian s leadership.
The 52-year-old – who is taking English lessons – has emerged as a target for some of Europe s biggest clubs after Bundesliga champions Bayern sacked Niko Kovac and Arsenal dismissed Unai Emery.
But ex-Milan coach Allegri intends to wait until after the end of the 2019-20 season before launching his coaching comeback.
Top bins
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In June. I don t know if you can call it a sabba…
Tottenham will turn to Jonathan Woodgate after revealing injury stricken captain Ledley King is set for more surgery.
Woodgate has not played first-team football for English Premier League outfit Spurs since November 2009, but could be rushed back into the side because of injuries to King and Younes Kaboul and the suspension of Michael Dawson.
Woodgate, 31, has featured in two practice games for Spurs in his latest comeback but has yet to put in a 90-minute shift.
The former Leeds, Real Madrid and Middlesbrough central defender is nonetheless under consideration by Harry Redknapp for a start at Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, although his manager has pledged not to take the decision lightly.
He s not played a game of any note but he s in my mind because …
A shocked Sam Allardyce was sacked as manager of Blackburn Rovers with immediate effect on Monday after nearly two years in charge, the English Premier League club announced on their official website.
Also on the way out of Ewood Park was Allardyce s assistant, Neil McDonald, with first team coach Steve Kean placed in temporary charge.
A statement issued by Venky s, the Indian-based poultry business that took over the north-west club last month, said: The Venky s Group, owners of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, has today (Monday) confirmed the departure of manager Sam Allardyce and assistant manager Neil McDonald with immediate effect.
First team coaching duties will be taken on by Steve Keane (currently first team coach) for the immediate future.
We h…
Mario Gotze is too nice to survive the pool of sharks at Bayern Munich, according to former defender Klaus Augenthaler.
The 23-year-old has struggled to find consistent form at the Allianz Arena ever since leaving Borussia Dortmund in a €37million deal in 2013.
Gotze missed much of the first half of the season with a serious muscle injury and has been kept on the fringes of the first team by head coach Pep Guardiola ever since, prompting speculation linking him with a move at the end of the season.
And Augenthaler, who won seven Bundesliga titles with Bayern, believes Gotze has failed to develop in a ruthless environment in Munich.
To be honest, there s no developement of Mario Gotze at Bayern Munich, he told Omnisport. At Dortmund he had a good develo…