Month: November 2024

Saturday s Champions League final may have a sense of familiarity to it, but for Liverpool and Real Madrid the desire to continue winning trophies is as strong as ever.

These sides have been involved in five of the past seven finals between them, while Paris is hosting the showpiece event for a sixth time – only London (seven) has done so more.

The French city hosted the first European Cup final back in 1956, with Madrid winning their first of a record 13 trophies after seeing off Reims at the Parc des Princes.

Indeed, come kick-off, no two teams will have faced off more times in a European Cup or Champions League final than Liverpool and Madrid (three).

And yet while it may all feel similar – Liverpool making it to a third Champions League final sin…

Liverpool s Champions League success has given Jurgen Klopp s side further confidence in their abilities, but the Reds still see plenty of room for improvement.

Klopp s men sit top of the Premier League heading into Sunday s encounter with Tottenham – their first meeting with Spurs since beating them 2-0 in the Champions League final in June.

With Liverpool s winning start to the season halted by a draw at Manchester United last weekend, Manchester City s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday moved Pep Guardiola s side three points behind the league leaders.

Liverpool responded to their disappointing display at Old Trafford with a stylish 4-1 rout of Genk in the Champions League on Wednesday, however, and Klopp suggested the Reds triumph in Europe last seaso…

Erik ten Hag has warned Harry Maguire he must prove he is good enough to merit a regular spot in the heart of Manchester United s defence.

Maguire endured a difficult campaign both on and off the field last season, leading to suggestions David de Gea or Cristiano Ronaldo would take over as United captain.

However, Ten Hag clarified at a news conference during United s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia that the England international will continue to wear the armband.

That was considered a huge vote of confidence for Maguire, though he now faces additional competition for a starting place with Lisandro Martinez on his way from Ajax.

United have reached a £56.5million (€67m) agreement with the Eredivisie champions for Martinez, who can play in a …

Market: Switzerland win

Odds: 6/5 @

Two nations opening their European adventure this weekend, Wales and Switzerland will face off in Baku for their first Group A matchup on Saturday.

Starting with Wales, failing to bounce back from that routine 3-0 defeat away in Paris against defending world champions France last week, The Dragons put in another toothless display on home soil. Missing out on a real chance to gain some much-needed momentum, caretaker boss Robert Page saw his side have to settle for a 0-0 stalemate against Albania last time out. Despite picking up a pair of friendly victories against Mexico and the Czech Republic earlier in the year, Wales have shown a host of issues in the final third. Opening up their major tournament return with a tricky test…

According to a recent report from Report, two Premier League clubs in the form of Manchester United and Arsenal are believed to be interested in the idea of signing Atlanta United star Ezequiel Barco. The 20 year old has been attracting a lot of attention for a while now over in Major League Soccer, with the belief being that he still has a lot of room left to grow – which should actively excite football fans around the globe. 

United and Arsenal are more than willing to wait until the January transfer window actually opens in order to make their pursuit official, but they probably aren’t going to wait much longer than that. 

Atlanta were able to capture the MLS Cup last year but failed to replicate that success this time around, progressing to the Conference Fi…

With 16 matches still to be played by every team in the league this season, Inter Milan appear to have lost their last hope of catching up with Napoli in the race for the Serie A title, after failing to beat relegation-threatened Sampdoria at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa on Monday.

Inter frustrated

With Romelu Lukaku back from injury and finally fit enough to start, it was interesting to see the big Belgian team up with Lautaro Martinez upfront again the duo that played a huge part in Inter s 2020/21 Scudetto triumph with a total of 41 goals and 20 assists combined. And with the visitors expected to dominate the game against Sampdoria, it was only natural to assume the outcome would very much depend on their ability to turn that domination into goals.

And it cert…

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing James Maddison from Premier League rivals Leicester City in the summer of 2023, according to .

Maddison has been on the books of Leicester since 2018 and has been superb for the Premier League champions over the years. The 25-year-old has scored five goals and provided two assists in seven Premier League appearances for the Foxes so far this season. During the 2021-22 campaign, the English playmaker made 28 starts and seven substitute appearances in the league for Leicester, scoring 12 goals and providing eight assists in the process.

The 25-year-old also made three starts and two substitute appearances in the UEFA Europa League for Leicester last season, scoring one goal and giving two assists in the process. Maddison has sco…

Sevilla are interested in signing Luis Alberto from Lazio in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that former La Liga champions Atletico Madrid are also keen on the ex-Liverpool player.

Luis Alberto has been on the books of Lazio since 2016 and has established himself as one of the better attacking players in Serie A. The 30-year-old Spanish midfielder has scored three goals and given one assist in five starts and eight substitute appearances in Serie A and has scored one goal and provided one assist in four UEFA Europa League matches so far this season.

Lazio are fourth in the Serie A table at the moment with 30 points from 15 matches, as many as 11 points behind leaders Napoli. Meanwhile, Sevilla currently find themselves third from botto…

Juventus have confirmed the signing of winger Nicolas Gonzalez from Fiorentina in a reported €32 million move.

Gonzalez finished last season with 14 goal contributions in Serie A as Fiorentina finished eighth and reached the final of the Europa Conference League for the second year running.

The forward also helped Argentina win the Copa America in the off-season, and on Sunday, completed his switch to Turin.

Speaking of Gonzalez s addition, as well as the impending signing of Francisco Conceicao from Porto, new Juve boss Thiago Motta said: They are strong players which is why they will come to our squad. Every player that arrives will give us a big hand to be competitive until the end.

That is the case for those already here and those who will arrive. …

Lionel Messi has a 50 per cent chance of returning to Barcelona, according to former team-mate and close friend Sergio Aguero.

Messi left Barca for French side Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 after a long and decorated spell with the Catalan giants, winning 10 LaLiga titles and lifting the Champions League on four occasions.

His time in the French capital has been mixed, however, failing to deliver PSG s long-awaited first Champions League having been knocked out in the last 16 the last two seasons.

Messi scored his 800th career goal with a stunning free-kick as Argentina returned after World Cup glory in Qatar with a 2-0 victory over Panama on Thursday.

With the seven-time Ballon d Or winner s contract at the Parc des Princes set to expire at the end of this…