Luigi Delneri says he is excited to return to football after being appointed as the new head coach of Hellas Verona.

The former Juventus and Roma boss has been out of the game since his sacking by Genoa in January 2013 but has been named as the successor to Andrea Mandorlini, who was dismissed following Sunday s 3-2 loss to Frosinone.

I thank the club for the opportunity they have given me, I was really missing football, Delneri said at a press conference on Tuesday.  Verona is a great place and the club can be proud of its brilliant support.

The first thing that I must work on above all is the squad s mental state.

Francesco Conti, Maurizio D Angelo and Luca Alimonta have joined Delneri s backroom staff.

Verona are currently bottom of Serie…

Uli Hoeness believes RB Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuttl could be a candidate to take charge at Bayern Munich in the future.

Hasenhuttl led Ingolstadt to the 2. Bundesliga title in 2014-15 and ended an impressive debut season in the top flight with a 10th-place finish.

However, the Austrian moved to Leipzig ahead of the 2016-17 campaign and has helped launch a surprise bid to win the Bundesliga, his team second to Bayern only due to an inferior goal difference.

Hasenhuttl takes his team to the Allianz Arena for their biggest match of the season on Wednesday, and Hoeness suggested the coach could one day be a regular feature in Munich.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is doing well at RB Leipzig, Hoeness said in an interview with Kicker.

If we are to ever look for…

Michail Antonio and Declan Rice struck in each half to secure a 2-0 win for West Ham against Dinamo Zagreb in Thursday s Europa League opener.

Antonio opened the scoring as he capitalised on Kevin Theophile-Catherine s poor pass to finish into an empty net, before Rice doubled the lead five minutes after the break.

Luka Ivanusec almost beat Lukasz Fabianksi, who did not make a save all game, but that was Dinamo s only opportunity as West Ham secured their first win in European competition since 1999 to top Group H.

In contrast, Dinamo will be disappointed with their efforts at the Maksimir Stadium as their 13-match undefeated run in the group stage of the competition ended abruptly.

5 Michail Antonio is now the outright top goalscorer of all Premier Leagu…

Prediction: Brighton win

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As we move through the month of April there are still plenty of things left to be determined in English football s top tier from the title picture to the relegation battle and beyond. Many fans feel as if they know the direction of travel with some choosing to look ahead to the Euros already, but before we get to all of that, there s still a great deal of intrigue behind some of the remaining fixtures and that includes Brighton Hove Albion vs Everton.

Brighton

Brighton are known for being a team with a whole lot of quality but aren t quite capable of putting the finishing touches on it all. That s come back to bite them on several occasions throughout their tenure in the Premier League but through it al…

Al Qadsia will be aiming to make a strong start to their AFC Cup semi-final tie against Al Faisaly at home on Wednesday.

Jordanian outfit Al Faisaly, two-time champions of the tournament, have been relatively comfortable on their way to the last four.

They defeated Kitchee of Hong Kong 4-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals and will be aiming to add to the titles they won in 2005 and 2006.

For the first leg, Al Faisaly travel to Kuwait City to face a dangerous opponent capable of scoring plenty of goals.

Second in the Kuwaiti Premier League, Al Qadsia have made an unbeaten start to their league campaign with four wins from as many matches.

The 2010 AFC Cup runners-up and 2006 AFC Champions League semi-finalists have scored 11 goals and conceded none in four…

Cameroon talisman Samuel Eto o is available for their FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off with Tunisia after rescinding his retirement.

The four-time African Player of the Year hinted last month that he would no longer be available for the national team after the qualification group stages.

However, Chelsea striker Eto o has now had a change of heart and is set to lead the Cameroon line in the first leg of the crucial tie in Rades on Sunday.

Cameroon have the better head-to-head record between the countries with six wins in the nine previous meetings, and Tunisia s only win came a decade ago in an international friendly in Tunis.

They have not met since January 2010, when they battled out a 2-2 draw during the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Tuni…

Eden Hazard has named Manchester United as Chelsea s main rivals for the Premier League title.

Antonio Conte s side moved nine points clear at the top of the table following their 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday.

United, by contrast, have endured mixed form in the top flight under former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and are 15 points adrift of the leaders in sixth place, although they have a game in hand.

Chelsea take on third-placed Arsenal on Saturday and, speaking ahead of that encounter, Hazard has identified the Gunners and specifically United as the biggest threat to his side s title chances.

I think Arsenal and Manchester United, he told Sky Sports when asked who he considers to be Chelsea s main challengers.

United had a bad …

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal cannot envisage his club having to wait the 26 years Liverpool have had to endure for their next Premier League title.

United is in the midst of a relative title drought having not won the league since Alex Ferguson s last season in 2013, following a trophy-laden 27 years.

Under Ferguson, United won 13 of 23 Premier League titles on offer.

Since his retirement, United have never looked like winning another one, as David Moyes lead the club to a seventh-place finish, while Van Gaal guided the team back into the top-four last season, with the Manchester outfit currently sitting in sixth.

But as United prepare for Sunday s trip to Anfield, Van Gaal said the club would not have to wait as long as bitter rivals Liverpoo…

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Firmly sat in pole position to secure their spot in the quarter-final of this year s Champions League, Bayern Munich will be looking to finish off the job when they welcome Chelsea to the Allianz on Saturday night.

Bayern Munich

Starting with the hosts, only going from strength to strength since making a return from football s enforced break back in June, Bayern Munich find themselves in the midst of a stunning purple patch. Last seen lifting the DFP Pokal thanks to a 4-2 victory against Bayer Leverkusen last month, the German giants stormed towards their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title and Hans-Dieter Flick s side have only continued to break records at the Allianz this season. Clinching a domestic silverware sweep this year and…

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a 96th-minute penalty as champions Juventus scraped to a 2-1 Serie A win over strugglers Genoa on Wednesday, in a game that both sides ended with 10 men.

Genoa looked set to earn a hard-fought point in Thiago Motta s second game in charge after Christian Kouame s freak goal had cancelled out Leonardo Bonucci s 36th-minute header.

Both sides had a men sent off in the second half, Genoa s Francesco Cassata and Juve s Adrien Rabiot given their marching orders, before Ronaldo took centre stage.

The Portuguese first had a 92nd-minute tap in ruled out by VAR for offside. But that was far from the end of the drama, and there was still time for Ronaldo to fire a sluggish Juve to victory, as the striker himself won the decisive penalty followin…