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…
Former Leicester City striker Gary Lineker believes the potential arrival of N Golo Kante could make the difference for Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title.
The France international joined Leicester from Caen ahead of the 2015-16 campaign and played a key role in the Foxes surprise title win.
He has been heavily linked with a move away from Leicester in recent months, with Real Madrid, Juventus and Chelsea all credited with an interest in signing the 25-year-old.
Recent reports claim Chelsea are sitting in pole position to secure Kante s services and Lineker has little doubt the combative midfielder will become a key figure at Stamford Bridge if the move goes ahead.
Wish Kanté well and thank him dearly. He s the main reason Leicester won th…
Lionel Messi has been left out Barcelona s squad to face Zaragoza on Sunday, as have Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
The Argentine, who has won the Ballon d Or four times in a row, missed last weekend s 5-0 thrashing of Mallorca due to a hamstring problem picked up in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final at Paris Saint-Germain, which finished 2-2.
Missing that match at Camp Nou ended Messi s goalscoring streak in La Liga at a record-breaking 19 games and he will once again be absent against the relegation candidates this weekend.
The Blaugrana star started on the bench in the second leg against PSG but came on to make an important impact at Camp Nou to set up Pedro to score the equaliser and see the 2011 European champions through t…
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.
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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 …