Prediction: Coventry vs Luton

After handing Luis Suarez a 10-match ban for biting, the English FA have been branded as hypocrites by a Uruguayan football official.

The Liverpool striker was hit with the lengthy suspension after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in Sunday s 2-2 Premier League draw at Anfield.
It was not the first time Suarez has bit an opponent – he sunk his teeth into the shoulder of PSV s Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax in 2011 – and despite the 26-year-old posting apologies on Liverpool s official website, Twitter and contacting Ivanovic to personally say sorry, he was still severely punished.
And Fernando Sobral – member of the Uruguayan Football Association – aimed fire at England s governing body after the punishment was confirmed.
We know him [Suarez] and we know …

Wayne Rooney claims he is still good enough to play in the Premier League as the former England striker prepares to take up a player-coach role with Derby County. 

Rooney scored 208 goals in the English top flight during two spells with boyhood club Everton either side of his time at Manchester United, where he became the club s top scorer.

He joins a Rams side siting 16th in the second tier, but Rooney believes he can still cut in the top division.

I still felt I could do it when I was at Everton, but other people made their decisions on that,  said the 34-year-old, who watched Derby lose 1-0 to Millwall at Pride Park on Saturday

Now my ambition is to get Derby back in the Premier League and hopefully play my part there for them.

�…

Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and now Donny van de Beek?

Ajax lost stars De Jong and De Ligt in the off-season and Van de Beek is now reportedly nearing an Amsterdam exit.

It may be the case that the midfielder can choose between the two Spanish powerhouse clubs.

TOP STORY –  BARCA MADRID WANT VAN DE BEEK

LaLiga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid are battling to sign Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek, according to reports.

Van de Beek was heavily linked to Madrid as an alternative to Manchester United star Paul Pogba during the previous transfer window.

Now, Sport claims Van de Beek could be available for between €50-60million.

ROUND-UP

 Bayer Leverkusen are poised to sign River Plate s Ex…

Algeria, Cameroon and Nigeria have all been drawn in the same qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup.

With only the winners of each four-team group making it through to the tournament in Russia, Group B which also includes Zambia looks to be by far the most difficult section.

Nigeria, Algeria and Cameroon all qualified for the 2014 World Cup but at least two of them will miss out next time after the draw was made at CAF s headquarters in Cairo on Friday.

The 20 African nations were sorted into five groups for the final stage of qualifying and will play each side in their pool home-and-away over the course of the campaign.

Ghana made it to the last World Cup and they have been drawn in Group E with Egypt, Congo and Uganda.

The other team who quali…

Everton centre-back John Stones will become a top player for both club and country in the coming years, according to team-mate and left-back Leighton Baines.

Jones, 20, produced a performance beyond his years on Sunday, scoring a goal and thwarting Manchester United s attackers as Everton triumphed 3-0 at Goodison Park.

The four-cap England international, taking part in just his second full season at Everton since being prised away from Barnsley by former manager David Moyes in 2013, earned rave reviews from Baines.

He has got a huge future ahead of him at international level because not only is he [a] top class defender, but his composure as well you need a bit of that at international level, Baines said.

You need to be able to play and when you look …

Tim Howard is hoping a raucous Seattle crowd can inspire the USA to victory in their FIFA World Cup qualifier with Panama on Wednesday.

America secured a crucial injury-time winner against Jamaica on Friday, with Brad Evans strike securing all three points.

A win over Panama would ensure Juergen Klinsmann s side stay at least joint-top of the CONCACAF qualifying group along with Costa Rica, who currently lead by virtue of their superior goal difference.
And Everton goalkeeper Howard is sure they will receive great backing from their home fans when they take to the CenturyLink pitch.
It s a special place, Howard said.
And I think inside the stadium, it goes without saying, their crowd, it seems electric for the (Seattle) Sounders games.
We re hoping that they ll come …

Groningen have received a bid from a foreign club for defender Virgil van Dijk, the player s agent has confirmed.

Van Dijk, who helped the Netherlands to the semi-finals of the 2013 European Under-21 Championship, has been strongly linked with a move to Scotland with Celtic.
And his representative Martin Henk Chin has now revealed that Groningen have been presented with an offer for his client.
It is true that a bid for Virgil has been made but I can t say anything about the club, he said.
Hans Nijland, a director with the Eredivisie outfit, also later clarified that the bid came from a foreign club.
There is a bid from a foreign side, he told Voetbal International.
The offer and our valuation are not on the same line at the moment. We want to keep Virgil but we understand …

Market: Hull City draw no bet

Odds: 21/20 @

Two sides who find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the Championship table, Hull will welcome Coventry to the MKM Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, after opening the 2022/23 campaign with a 2-1 victory at home against Bristol City, Hull now have the feel of a side seeking some stability. Last seen putting in a worrying display getting hit with an action-packed 5-2 loss away at West Brom, the Tigers will be seeking an immediate response here. Shocking many across the Championship with a 2-1 victory against Norwich on August 13th, the Yorkshire-based outfit do have one attacking talisman enjoying a stellar start to the new season. Quickly enjoying what has become a breakout run at the …

Eighteen months after they failed to qualify for Euro 2008, England are once again billing themselves as World Cup contenders.

Five straight wins in the qualifying campaign for next year s finals have helped to heal the psychological scars of missing out on the last major international tournament and the new mood of confidence was underlined by head coach Fabio Capello on the eve of Saturday s group six clash with Kazakhstan.

The Italian is confident that his squad which is virtually unchanged from the group of players who failed under Steve McClaren is ready to cross swords with the world s best in South Africa in 12 months time.

First we have to get through to South Africa but I think we will be a very good team if we achieve that, Capello said. We are very s…

Erling Haaland s agent Mino Raiola insists he has not spoken to Barcelona presidential candidate Emili Rousaud about a move to Camp Nou for the Borussia Dortmund striker.

Rousaud s advisor Josep Maria Minguella claimed on Wednesday that a plan is already in place with Raiola for Haaland to join Barca should he succeed Josep Maria Bartomeu in January s elections.

We know all the conditions and if we win, the following day I will call Mino Raiola and we will accept those conditions, Minguella told AS.

I have already advised him of that. We have a world-class sports project that is not showing just now, but Rousaud has a plan that will turn this unfortunate situation around.

However, while not ruling out a future switch to Catalonia for in-demand Haaland,…