Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 3/4 @
In what could prove to be an action-packed affair from the Studio Olympic Grande on Saturday evening, Inter Milan will meet Torino for their final Serie A showdown.
Starting with the hosts, while Torino might have eventually missed out on the chance to punch a shock European ticket, the Bulls are enjoying a real flurry since returning from March’s international break. Last seen putting in another thumping display as they cruised their way to a 4-0 victory away at Spezia, Ivan Juric’s side are unbeaten in each of their last five Serie A appearances. Likewise, tasting defeat just once from their previous eight domestic battles a run that stems all the way back to April 8th the former Genoa boss could be smelling the chan…
Arsenal winger Katie McCabe hopes football’s governing bodies will heed calls to solve a calendar congestion issue she sees as potentially detrimental to players and fans.
The Gunners have already sold more than 58,000 tickets for Sunday’s north London derby, two weeks after selling 60,160 for a first-time Women’s Super League sell-out at the Emirates Stadium before the international break.
But in order for teams to deliver an on-pitch product worthy of those legions, stressed the Republic of Ireland captain, players need adequate time to allow their bodies to recover from the increasingly demanding nature of the elite women’s game.
She told the PA news agency: “I think for us to be playing at our best and to be giving those record crowds good games to …
Fenerbahce forward Dirk Kuyt admits the 2014 FIFA World Cup is likely to be his final tournament with the Netherlands.
The 33-year-old, who is two caps short of a century for his country, has been a regular feature for the Dutch since making his tournament debut at the 2006 finals.
However, with this year s event in Brazil just months away, Kuyt concedes his time in the national team may be coming to an end.
To play a World Cup and to play my last World Cup in Brazil is something really special, he told Perform. I think it s going to be a really good tournament with Brazil as absolute favourites.
You just want to be there with the best players and best countries in the world. Hopefully we can achieve the same as we did in 2010 (reach the final).
For my cou…
Newcastle have the wealthiest owners in the world following their £300million takeover last week.
The Magpies have since been linked to a host of top players including Niklas Sule and Philippe Coutinho, with Timo Werner now joining that list.
The Premier League club are 19th in the table, winless this season with only three points from seven games, which suggests they need significant strengthening.
TOP STORY – NEWCASTLE KEEN ON GERMAN STRIKER
Newcastle are set to splash the cash and could make a bid to sign Chelsea s German striker Timo Werner, says Bild.
The report claims Newcastle have been in regular contact with Werner s agent ahead of the January transfer window.
Werner joined Chelsea in a £47.5million deal in June l…
Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal urged Arsenal star and Chile team-mate Alexis Sanchez to join the Bundesliga giants.
Sanchez, 28, has been linked with a move to Bayern, while Manchester City and Chelsea are also reportedly interested in the forward.
Vidal, who joined Bayern in 2015 and has won back-to-back Bundesliga titles, said he had told Sanchez to make the move.
I said it was an opportunity for him to be on a big team, he told reporters on Tuesday.
If you want to compare with the best, you have to go to the best team in the world.
Arsenal s failure to qualify for the Champions League also led to intense speculation over Sanchez s future with the Chilean contracted until mid-2018.
Vidal will get further chances to convince San…
Barcelona tried to lower the price of Luis Suarez after he bit Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, according to former Liverpool CEO Ian Ayre.
Suarez was handed a four-month ban from football by FIFA after being found guilty of biting the Italy centre-back during their 1-0 defeat to Uruguay.
The striker completed a transfer to Barca for a reported fee of €82million in July that year but Ayre says the Catalans wanted Liverpool to lower their asking price as a result of the Chiellini incident.
The hardest one out has to be Suarez, because a) nobody wanted him to leave and b) halfway through the process he bit somebody at the World Cup! Ayre said during a lecture at Liverpool John Moores University.
I remember the sporting director of Barcelona call…
Mauricio Pochettino has opened the door for a quick return to management following his recent exit from Tottenham, saying he is open to listening to any offers put before him.
The 47-year-old was sacked by the Premier League club on November 19 after a difficult start to the season, with Jose Mourinho brought in as his replacement.
Pochettino returned to his native Argentina to unwind but is ready to step back into work should the right opportunity present itself.
There are a lot of clubs and attractive projects for me to take on, he told Fox Sports Argentina.
For the time being, the most important thing is for me to clear my head after five-and-a-half incredible seasons with Tottenham.
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— Jesus Perez (@jesus_perez)
My a…
Wes Brown is refusing to consider his Sunderland future beyond this season and is purely focused on performing well on the pitch.
The 34-year-old centre-back is in the final year of his contract at the Stadium of Light, having switched to the club from Manchester United in July 2011.
Brown s fate at the end of the coming campaign is unknown, but the former England international intends to carry on playing regardless of whether he remains with Gus Poyet s men.
Asked if he had thought about his plans, Brown told The Evening Chronicle: No, there is no point.
I just want to play as well as I can this season, hopefully stay in the team and then see what happens.
I have played football all my life so it is not just something I am going to quit straigh…
Former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg is considering a return to Europe when his contract with MLS side Chicago expires in January.
The former Sweden international spent 10 years in the English Premier League with Arsenal and West Ham, before being lured to the United States by MLS franchise the Seattle Sounders in 2008.
But after being traded to the Chicago Fire earlier in 2010, the 33-year-old announced he would leave the MLS when his contract expires in 2010 and he is now eyeing a return to European football.
My contract is up in the new year, so I have to stay there for now. I will then look at my options and see what happens, Ljungberg told Sky Sports.
I have got to look at the different offers, there are lots of clubs that are interested in…
Manchester United have announced former midfielder Nicky Butt will become the club s new head of academy.
Butt, 41, is a graduate of the club s academy himself, having come through the ranks as a part of the famous Class of 92.
He made 387 appearances for the club between 1992 and 2004 and was a part of six Premier League triumphs, three FA Cup wins and a Champions League victory in 1999 as part of the club s historic treble.
Butt, who has been employed by the club in various coaching roles since 2012, said he was delighted to take on the role.
It’s a privilege to take on this role, the former England international said.
As someone who learned his trade in the United youth set-up, it’s a huge honour now to be given the chance to lead the Aca…