Ibrahimovic renews Guardiola feud

Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has revealed that he wants to play in the Eredivisie again before his career comes to an end.

The 29-year-old still has two years remaining on his current contract with Tottenham following his arrival in August 2010.

But the Netherlands international admitted he has already decided that he will return to his homeland one day.

I see it as an obligation to play football once again in the Netherlands, Van der Vaart told Voetbal International.

I have a feeling I have to give something back to the Eredivisie, for what it has meant to me.

Van der Vaart came through the ranks at Ajax, before moving on to Bundesliga side Hamburg.

Some impressive displays in the German top flight earned him a big mov…

Best Odds: 1/1

Bookmaker:

Looking to lay down a marker on Sunday night and make up some ground in the European hunt, Juventus will travel to the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday night when they meet Roma.

Starting with the hosts, while Roma might have eventually managed to extend on their Europa League adventure last week, Jose Mourinho s side came crashing back down to earth in some style. Despite claiming a second-leg 2-0 victory against Austrian giants Salzburg on February 23rd, the one-time Manchester United boss once again finds growing pressure on his shoulders. Getting hit with an infamous 2-1 loss away at Cremonse side who had not claimed a single Serie A victory this season, the Giallorossi have come tumbling out of the top-four positions. Although Roma might …

Alex McLeish will hold talks about his future at Aston Villa in the next 24 hours after a poor season ended in a 2-0 defeat at Norwich.

It is understood that club owner Randy Lerner will fly in from the US to speak with the manager and Chief Executive Paul Faulkner.

The discussion will centre on whether McLeish should take responsibility for the season s failures or whether the difficult circumstances he faced should be taken into account.

The Midlands club finished 16th and had to wait until the penultimate fixture to secure their survival, registering the club s worst home record in their history with just four wins at Villa Park.

Reports previously surfaced in April that senior officials were dissatisfied with the Scot, with attendances dwindling and …

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker:

Two sides who will be desperate to bounce back for their European defeats earlier in the week, Sevilla will welcome Real Madrid to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Saturday afternoon.

Sevilla

Starting with the hosts, while Sevilla might have really had the feel of a side who had turned a corner either side of November s international break, Los Palanganas certainly came crashing back down to earth in midweek. Although Julen Lopetegui s men might have managed to book their spot in the knockout stage of this year s Champions League with time to spare, the Whites were eventually blown away thanks to a 4-0 drumming against Premier League outfit Chelsea on Wednesday night. Watching their eye-catching five-match winning run across all…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised the focus of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford after the duo sparked a 3-1 comeback win for Manchester United at West Ham.

United were lacklustre before the interval and fortunate to only be 1-0 down, with Tomas Soucek on target for the hosts.

Donny van de Beek and Edinson Cavani – the latter having suffered a muscular injury – were withdrawn for Fernandes and Rashford to take to the field.

The Portugal playmaker laid on Paul Pogba s fantastic long-range equaliser and created eight chances during his time on the field, while Rashford tirelessly tore in behind the Hammers defence.

He made 12 sprints, with a chipped 78th-minute finish serving as a just reward.

You have a duty to be ready when you are called up…

Arsene Wenger has revealed that striker Yaya Sanogo could be allowed to leave Arsenal on loan this month.

The 21-year-old has made only six appearances for the London club this season and the likes of Aston Villa, Bordeaux and Lorient have been linked with the Frenchman.

Sanogo scored his first goal for Arsenal in a UEFA Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund, but is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Wenger stated that Sanogo may be on the move during the January transfer window and the Arsenal manager would sooner see Sanogo remain in the Premier League.

He told reporters: It s a possibility. I would prefer him to go to a Premier League club.

He is a goalscorer, he s not frightened and a guy who is naturally aggressive. <…

Tottenham Hotspur have made an £8m bid for Fenerbache striker Emmanuel Emenike, .

Chelsea and Liverpool have also been linked with a move for the Nigeria international, but Spurs are keen to steal a march on their rivals as they look to bring in someone to ease to goal-scoring burden on man-of-the-moment Harry Kane.

The England U21 man has seventeen goals in all competitions so far this season, though fellow forwards Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado have just six between them.

Emenike moved to the Turkish Super Lig club in the summer of 2013, and has so far scored fourteen goals in forty-one league appearances for them though he has struggled somewhat with injury.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, and c…

Barcelona have been charged with corruption after allegedly paying a considerable sum of money to firms owned by a former head of refereeing within the Spanish FA.

On Sunday, the La Liga leaders traveled to Bilbao to face Athletic, and the home supporters certainly knew how to make things uncomfortable for the Catalans.

“It makes me a little sad, they’ve always treated us [Barcelona] well here.”

Xavi Hernández says he was upset to see the reaction of the Athletic Bilbao fans after Barcelona were charged with corruption.

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

…

Angel Di Maria and Federico Chiesa remain in contention to play in Juventus Europa League last-16 second leg against SC Freiburg despite injury worries.

Di Maria appeared hampered by a left thigh injury late in the 1-0 first-leg win last Thursday, where he earlier netted the winner, and subsequently missed Juventus 4-2 Serie A win over Sampdoria on Sunday.

Chiesa came on in the 67th minute against Freiburg but sustained a right knee injury, although the club confirmed it was not ligament capsule damage.

Bianconeri head coach Massimiliano Allegri hopeful that the pair would play some part in the second leg, although he conceded they would not be fit to start.

It is very unlikely they will be there from the start, as we only recovered them this morning, bu…

Competition: Serie A

Market: Atalanta to beat Fiorentina

Odds:

Serie A returns this weekend for yet another massive round of games as the competition continues to heat up. The league table has remained incredibly tight this season meaning that a single win can quite often see a side rise up a number of places, and with this in mind, Atalanta host Fiorentina on Sunday.

Atalanta have been in good form this season and they are battling for a Europa League spot for their next campaign. After 24 games they have won 10, drawn seven and lost seven, scoring 36 goals and conceding 28 times. In their last five they have managed to win three, draw once and lose once which has seen them onto 37 points. Atalanta are currently a massive 20 points above the r…