Best odds: 1
Bookmaker:
Napoli are set to welcome Juventus to the recently renamed stadium of Diego Armando Maradona on Saturday as the two teams take each other on in a battle for important points. The match officially belongs to the 22nd round of the 2020-21 season in the Serie A, but it will actually be the 21st match of the campaign for both these teams.
The meeting between them earlier this term was postponed under highly controversial circumstances, but this will be their second clash in only a few weeks after Juventus triumphed over Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana on January 20th.
Napoli
Having come very close to properly challenging Juventus for the title a few years ago, Napoli are now seeing the two Milan teams take that role away from them.…
Graham Potter opted for Cesar Azpilicueta ahead of recent arrivals Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana as Chelsea switched to 4-3-3 in their new head coach s first game.
The Blues operated in a 3-4-3 system for most of Thomas Tuchel s tenure, but the German was dismissed after an underwhelming start to the season.
Potter was convinced to leave Brighton and Hove Albion for Stamford Bridge and made three changes ahead of his first game at home to Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Thiago Silva returned to the starting line-up, with club captain Azpilicueta partnering the centre-back as Potter decided to leave out Koulibaly and Fofana, who were recruited from Napoli and Leicester City respectively.
Jorginho came in to the midfield trio, alon…
Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko is top of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea wish list, .
The 50-year old manager revealed to Spanish football show Punto Pelota that he is set to take charge at Stamford Bridge for the second time later this week, and the self-proclaimed Special One’s first task will be to recruit a new striker.
Fernando Torres looks increasingly likely to end his two and a half year spell with the Blues, with Rafael Benitez linked with a move to take the Spaniard with him to Napoli, while Romelu Lukaku’s future at the club also remains unclear.
Dzeko scored fourteen goals for the Premier League runners-up last season, though he started just sixteen times with as many appearances coming as a substitute.
The Bosnian international was ori…
Paul Pogba s agent believes it is 99 per cent certain the player will remain at Juventus despite claiming that seven top European clubs are interested in his services.
The France midfielder has been continually linked with a move away from the Turin club, who he joined from Manchester United in 2012.
Reports in Spain claim Barcelona are plotting a move for Pogba, who has also been said to have chosen to return to France with PSG.
Pogba has a long-term contract with the defending Serie A champions, which does not expire until June 2019.
We made a pact with Juve: Paul doesn t have to leave, representative Mino Raiola told Tuttosport.
I spoke to president Andrea Agnelli, directors Pavel Nedved, Beppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici, so they all agree.…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a 10-minute hat-trick as Unai Emery started his Arsenal reign with an 8-0 friendly win over National League side Boreham Wood.
Emery was appointed Gunners manager in May after Arsene Wenger s 22-year spell in charge came to an end and the Spaniard could not have wished for a more comfortable first game in charge.
It was Wenger s last signing as Arsenal boss who was the star turn during a goal-laden first half on Saturday.
Aubameyang, who arrived from Borussia Dortmund during the January transfer window, plundered 10 goals in 13 Premier League games towards the end of 2017-18 campaign and wasted little time picking up where he left off.
His first came after seven minutes, whipping a shot into the top corner from outside the…
The Houston Texans have reportedly sent DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for David Johnson.
According to ESPN s Adam Schefter, the Texans will also receive a second-round pick in April s draft and a fourth-round pick for 2021.
Running back Johnson appeared to confirm the move with a post on Twitter.
He wrote: LET S GO HOUSTON!!! See you soon.
LETS GO HOUSTON!!! See you soon
— David Johnson (@DavidJohnson31)
Wide receiver Hopkins recorded his third successive 1,000-yard season in 2019 but has been sacrificed after tailbacks Carlos Hyde and Lamar Miller entered free agency.
Johnson endured a disappointing season last year, with 370 receiving yards in addition to 3…
Police have arrested several people in Germany and abroad suspected of bribing players and officials to fix matches in top European football leagues, German prosecutors said on Thursday.
The accused are suspected of bribing players, coaches, referees and officials from high-ranking European football leagues to manipulate the results of games, said a statement from prosecutors in the western city of Bochum.
The investigations, carried out with the European football association UEFA, have been ongoing since the beginning of 2009.
As a result of the investigations several searches and arrests took place throughout Germany and abroad, the statement added.
Contacted by AFP, prosecutors refused to provide further details but said a news conference would take…
(GSM) Barcelona forward Lionel Messi beat last year s winner Cristiano Ronaldo into second place in the poll for Europe s footballer of the year, organized by France Football magazine.
Messi, 22, the first Argentine to win the prestigious trophy, becomes the sixth Barcelona player to take the award but the first for four years since Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho.
Hailed by Argentina great Diego Maradona as his successor, Messi won an unprecedented treble in Spain last season, as the Catalan side swept the Champions League, the Spanish title and the Copa Del Rey. Messi was the top scorer in last year s Champions League with nine goals, including his superb header in the 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final.
Messi, who tallied 473 of a possible 480 p…
Gianfranco Zola hailed the remarkable job done by Antonio Conte at Chelsea and believes the whole squad have embraced his methods.
The pressure mounted on Conte during the early stages of his tenure at Stamford Bridge following back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal in September.
However, the Blues have responded in style by winning seven consecutive Premier League matches, conceding just once in that time, to storm to the top of the league.
Part of Chelsea s upturn in fortunes has been down to a tactical switch with Conte employing his favoured 3-4-3 formation.
And Zola, a legendary figure at Chelsea, is delighted to see his ex-Italy team-mate excelling at his former club.
He s done very well, very, very good. It wasn t an easy job b…
A UK parliament select committee has called for a zero-tolerance approach and lengthy bans to tackle homophobia in sport.
A report published by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee found that football clubs in particular are not doing enough to challenge homophobic abuse in stadiums.
It said that a survey found 72 per cent of people had heard homophobic abuse, while noting that there are no openly gay footballers in the professional leagues.
Those found guilty of chanting homophobic abuse should be banned for between one and two years, the report says, and added that football has failed to reflect the significant change in society s attitudes to homosexuality in the last 30 years .
The report also criticised the inclusion of former world heavyweight box…