Real Madrid duo Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois, alongside Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, are the three nominees for the 2021-22 UEFA Men s Player of the Year Award.

The three are joined by bosses Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola, plus Liverpool s Jurgen Klopp, on the three-man shortlist for the UEFA Men s Coach of the Year Award.

Ahead of this week s Ballon d Or nominations, France forward Benzema has further enshrined his frontrunner status, after firing Madrid to a continental double last term in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

But there is no room for any player from Liverpool, the side who Ancelotti s men vanquished in last season s final in Paris.

Five Reds stars Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fab…

Competition: Premier League

Market: Brighton to beat West Brom

Odds:

The Premier League returns for another huge weekend of footballing action as England s top league continues to simmer away nicely. Every side in the division will want to return to league action with a win following their FA Cup duty, with focus now firmly back on success and survival. With all of this in mind, Brighton travel to play West Brom on Saturday.

West Brom have been struggling massively this season and they are in need of a run of wins to get out of the danger they have found themselves in. After 22 games they have just two victories to their name, while they have drawn 10 times and lost 10 games. The Baggies have netted 16 goals this season, but they have conceded …

Competition: Premier League

Market: Everton to beat Crystal Palace

Odds:

The Premier League returns this weekend for yet another massive round of matches that will surely only bring more goals and excitement. The table has remained incredibly tight this season meaning that a win can see a side rise out of the relegation zone or into a European place. With this in mind, Everton host Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Everton have been struggling lately and they will want to embark upon a run of wins that could likely secure their place in England s top league for next season. After 26 matches they have won eight, drawn seven and lost 11 times, scoring 29 goals and conceding 45 times. In their last five they have only won once, drawing once and losing t…

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen revealed just how intense the club s training methods are ahead of his return to Arsenal.

Vermaelen and his Barca team-mates travel to Arsenal for the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie on Tuesday, and the defender provided an insight into the European champions practice sessions. 

The first thing I noticed here was the intensity of the pressing, Vermaelen told the Telegraph.

The pressure is on straight away when we lose the ball. We do a lot of positioning games, focusing on getting the ball back. The pressure the players put on you is incredible, you have no time on the ball.

The Belgian spoke about how Barcelona regularly work on a piggy-in-the-middle game known as a rondo .

He said: We…

AC Milan have finalised the appointment of Marco Giampaolo as head coach on an initial two-year contract.

Giampaolo, 51, put pen to paper after leaving fellow Serie A side Sampdoria on Saturday, with Milan holding the option to extend his contract by a further season.

The Swiss-born Italian guided Sampdoria to ninth in the last of his three seasons in charge and emerged as the leading option for Milan following Simone Inzaghi s decision to sign a new deal at Lazio.

Giampaolo replaces Gennaro Gattuso, who stood down in the wake of Milan s failure to secure Champions League qualification.

Comunicato Ufficiale: Marco Giampaolo

Official Statement: Marco Giampaolo  

— AC Milan (@acmilan)

Having spent time in charge of Cagliari, Br…

Gennaro Gattuso claims AC Milan have outperformed more fancied teams this season and that Champions League qualification is not a condition of his employment.

Milan visit SPAL in their final Serie A fixture on Sunday knowing victory is essential to their hopes of sneaking into the top four.

Third-placed Atalanta and city rivals Inter both take a point advantage into winnable home matches against Sassuolo and Empoli respectively.

Gattuso has already guided the Rossoneri to their best points haul since the 2012-13 season and, having never fielded Champions League demands from the powers above, already views the campaign as one of positive progress.

Apart from Atalanta, who are enjoying a sporting miracle, we re ahead of more highly rated teams, Gattuso tol…

Former Australia international Archie Thompson has called time on his Melbourne Victory career after discussing his future with head coach Kevin Muscat.

Thompson, a three-time A-League championship winner and the league s all-time leading goalscorer with 90 goals, announced his departure on Saturday, ending an 11-year association with the club that stretches back to their inception in 2005.

He has enjoyed plenty of success at Victory, winning three championships, but at the age of 37 has called it a day and will leave the club at the conclusion of Victory s Asian Champions League campaign, which could yet extend to the round of 16 with a win against Gamba Osaka on Tuesday.

Melbourne Victory has been an amazing club to play for and I ve loved every minute of …

Wayne Rooney is in advanced talks over a transfer from Everton to DC United, claims the Washington Post.

England s record goalscorer has reportedly been speaking with the MLS side for a number of weeks and it is said the club are positive about a deal. DC United have declined to comment.

Rooney is Everton s top scorer this season with 11 goals in all competitions, but he has not scored in the Premier League since December.

Last month, he was forced to deny a rift with manager Sam Allardyce, who has come in for significant criticism from fans despite guiding the team away from the relegation zone since taking over from Ronald Koeman as manager in November.

On Tuesday, Allardyce insisted it would take a massive bid to tempt Everton to sell Rooney, who only …

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker:

Hoping to pick up a first Leagues Cup victory at the second attempt in midweek, New York Red Bulls will travel to Pachuca in the early hours of Wednesday.

Pachuca

Starting with the hosts, while Pachuca might have claimed another play-off ticket last season, Guillermo Almada’s side have struggled to find any real stability since opening up the 2024 campaign. Making an immediate return to losing ways last week as they fell to a routine 2-0 defeat away at U.N.A.M, the Gophers have recorded just a single victory from any of their first four Liga MX appearances. Getting proceedings underway on July 8th with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Monterrey, the former Santos Laguna boss will also have a mounting headache over his side’s issues in th…

Chelsea are about to open negotiations with Brighton and Hove Albion over the possibility of signing Moises Caicedo, according to Fabrizio Romano. The talks are set to begin by Friday, and the Ecuador international is believed to be open to the idea of moving to Stamford Bridge. The personal terms should not be a problem.

Caicedo remains a player in high demand. The Blues have been interested in the 21-year-old midfielder since January, but Brighton refused point-blank to sell in the middle of the season. Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool have alse been linked, as have Bayern Munich. Manchester City might yet enter the race, having lost Ilkay Gundogan and facing the prospect of Bernardo Silva leaving as well.

Brighton have qualified for the Europa League next sea…