Verdict: Home win
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Sixth-placed Villarreal play host to Celta Vigo this weekend in an effort to extend their European bid against a side that still harbours top-six ambition itself. Battling Celta are bound to be a huge test for the Yellow Submarine who are going through an inconsistent stretch at the moment.
Villarreal
The Yellow Submarine have enjoyed mixed fortunes thus far in the season. A strong side with a competitive squad did well to mount a top-six challenge but will need to find a way to be more consistent in the closing stage of the season.
Villarreal have alternated between wins and defeats over the last six La Liga matches and have yet to record consecutive victories at the Estadio de la Ceramica since the end …
AC Milan have vowed to use their Europa League ban as a stimulus to achieve greater Financial Fair Play (FFP) accountability.
On Friday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ratified an agreement reached between Milan and UEFA relating to the club s previous breaches of FFP regulations.
The deal prohibits the Serie A side from competing in European competitions next season in exchange for further time to balance the books and the avoidance of a potentially longer suspension.
Milan issued a statement distancing themselves from the substantial accumulated losses incurred by former owner Li Yonghong while promising improved financial compliance under Elliott Management Corporation, an American hedge fund which took control in July 2018.
It read: Whilst sadden…
Antonio Conte has stressed Chelsea must improve after their 3-0 defeat the hands of Arsenal or risk ending up in mid-table once more.
Chelsea had to settle for 10th place in the Premier League in 2015-16 after a hugely underwhelming season and brought in Conte in order to guide them back to the Champions League places.
Nevertheless, the former Italy boss has admitted they still have plenty of work to do.
We must improve a lot of if we want to stay up [at the top] and not in the middle of the table, said the Italian.
But my message is not important. The most important message is the one that arrives on the pitch. We must all understand this message, and find very soon the right solution to improve.
I don t sleep [after a loss like against Arsen…
Competition: World Cup Qualifier
Market: NI to score 4+ goals
Odds:
Northern Ireland welcome minnows San Marino to Windsor Park in Saturday’s World Cup Qualifier, in a game that is a must-win for the hosts given the contrasting results between the two sides. Northern Ireland are expecting a comfortable win and should play out a goal-laden affair given San Marino’s poor defensive record.
Hosts Northern Ireland drew their opening game in Group C to the Czech Republic, and are coming off the back of a positive Euro 2016 campaign. Beating Ukraine and losing only narrowly to World champions Germany sees Northern Ireland as a tough side to break down, and with San Marino having lost on a regular basis, there’s only one winner at Windsor Park.
Visito…
Sergio Busquets will miss Barcelona s UEFA Champions League meeting with Ajax on Tuesday with a bruised hip.
The club announced the news via their official Twitter account, with the Spain international ruled out of the Group F encounter at Camp Nou.
Sergio Busquets has a contusion on the left hip and will be left out from the party today as a precaution, the tweet read.
Barca will be keen to bounce back after their 3-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last time out, although they can take solace from their recent home record in this competition.
The Catalan giants have lost just one of their previous 29 Champions League matches at Camp Nou a 3-0 reverse at the hands of Bayern Munich in the semi-final second leg in 2012-13.
They will hope Busquets ma…
Lionel Messi is returning to the Argentina national team, having initially announced his retirement following defeat in the Copa America final.
The Barcelona star, 29, called time on his international career after Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in June, having been beaten by the same opposition in a shoot-out in the 2015 final – a setback which came one year on from their loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final.
Edgardo Bauza has since replaced Gerardo Martino as head coach and, following talks with the new boss, Messi has elected to make himself available for forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela, meaning he has not missed a senior international.
The return of Messi, whose 55 goals in 113 appearances across 11 years mean he i…
Carlo Ancelotti is not worried by the goal droughts of Bayern Munich front men Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.
Lewandowski struck 30 times in the Bundesliga last season, but, after making a fine start to this campaign, is without a goal in five league matches.
Muller, meanwhile, scorer of 20 league goals in 2015-16, is yet to get off the mark this term.
However, with Bayern again top of the table, Ancelotti insisted he is unconcerned by individual goal tallies, and is more interested in how the forwards link up with their team-mates.
For me, it is not important whether they score a goal, but whether they play well with the team, he told a news conference ahead of Bayern s trip to Augsburg.
The team has to score goals, which player scores t…
Luciano Spalletti confirmed Victor Osimhen will start Tuesday s Champions League clash with Milan after the fit-again Napoli star was denied by the woodwork on his return against Hellas Verona.
Osimhen was sidelined for around three weeks after sustaining a groin injury while on international duty with Nigeria last month, returning to Napoli s bench for Saturday s frustrating goalless draw.
Striker Osimhen was introduced for the final 20 minutes and went closest to breaking the deadlock, crashing a fierce volley against the crossbar as the Serie A leaders were held.
Despite failing to add to his league-high tally of 21 goals this season, no Napoli player bettered his five touches in the Verona area throughout the course of the game.
Spalletti hopes Osimh…
Manchester United legend Gary Neville declared Manchester City are far too close for comfort to matching their rivals famous treble.
Alex Ferguson s side made history in the 1998-99 season by winning the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League, a feat not achieved by any other English side.
However, City remain in the hunt on all three fronts this season and, while manager Pep Guardiola has played down talk of a potential treble, the fight is on.
City hold a 3-0 advantage over Bayern Munich ahead of Wednesday s second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, and face second-tier Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday.
In the Premier League, City sit four points behind Arsenal with a game in hand and take on Mikel Arteta …
Marco Caligiuri has backed former colleague and joint Bundesliga top scorer Nicolai Muller to win back his place in Germany s national team.
Caligiuri, now of Eintracht Braunschweig, played with Muller at both Greuther Furth and Mainz, with the 25-year-old having struck five times for the latter already this season.
Muller heads the Bundesliga scoring charts, level with Stuttgart s Vedad Ibisevic, but missed out on a call-up to the Germany squad for this week s FIFA World Cup qualifiers, despite making Joachim Low s side for their close-season trip to the United States.
The Braunschweig midfielder does not believe it will be long until Muller is back in contention under Low.
If he keeps playing the way he is, it’s only a matter of time before he gets called …