Premier League Fantasy Picks: De Gea can keep struggling Forest out, Olise to torment Saints

Hull City manager Steve Bruce has released six players as looks to refresh his squad for next season, .

Long serving duo Paul McShane and Liam Rosenior, who have been with the club since 2009 and 2010 respectively, will both have to find new clubs along with Yannick Sagbo, Maynor Figueroa, Steve Harper and Joe Dudgeon.

The six made a combined total of forty league appearances during the 2014/15 campaign, but were unable to save the Tigers from a return to the second tier after two years back in the top flight.

Defender Alex Bruce and midfielder Steven Quinn have however been offered new deals as Bruce snr aims to guide the Humberside to promotion at the first time of asking.

A draw with Manchester United, coupled with Newcastle United’s win over Ne…

FIFPro has taken a stand against the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by providing speed skater Claudia Pechstein with financial backing in her legal battle following a doping sanction.

The union, which represents 65,000 footballers worldwide, is supporting the five-time Olympic champion speed skater in her quest for £2.8million in damages after she was hit with a two-year ban in 2009 amid accusations of doping.

Pechstein, who has never failed a drugs test, had appeals against the International Skating Union s ruling rejected by the Swiss Federal Tribunal and CAS.

However, a German court ruled Pechstein could go ahead with her lawsuit back in January, although CAS stated she received a fair trial and that the basic principles of international arbitration …

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said Alexis Mac Allister’s versatility has added a different dimension to his midfield this season.

The Argentina World Cup-winner was a stand-out performer in a deeper-lying role again on Sunday as Liverpool strolled to a 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest.

After Liverpool’s seventh league win of the season kept them three points behind leaders Tottenham, Klopp said of Mac Allister’s role: “It’s obviously really not a discussion we have, otherwise we wouldn’t play him there.

Brilliant yesterday,

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

“But I think today everybody could see the benefit of a player who comes rather from the offensive side of the game than from the other side.”

Mac Allister scored 12 goals …

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 500th career goal in Real Madrid s Champions League encounter with Malmo on Wednesday.

Ronaldo scored the first goal of the game in the 29th minute as he finished off a swift Madrid counter-attack with a clinical strike after being played in by Isco to reach the milestone.

The prolific attacker scored five goals for Sporting CP in the early stages of his career, netted 118 times for Manchester United, added 55 more for Portugal and has now reached 322 goals for Madrid.

The 30-year-old started his professional career with Sporting and opened his account for the Lisbon giants on his league debut on October 7, 2002, scoring twice to help them to a 3-0 win over Moreirense. 

He would go on to score five goals in all competitions …

Marco Reus starred with a goal and an assist as Borussia Dortmund thrashed Hannover 5-1 on Saturday, moving nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga at least until Sunday.

Lucien Favre s men were in control for much of the match, but it was a ruthless second-half display that did most of the damage, as they scored four times after the break to comprehensively defeat their relegation-threatened visitors.

Full-back Achraf Hakimi broke the deadlock with a fine strike, and while Hannover managed to tighten up at the back until half-time, Dortmund were rampant in the second half.

Reus – set up by Hakimi – got a deserved goal after an hour, before Mario Gotze and Raphael Guerreiro added to things, and, although Benjamin Hadzic at least got Hannover on the …

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson promised to work even harder after his hat-trick earned boss Mauricio Pochettino a statement victory at former club Tottenham.

Jackson’s second-half treble settled a pulsating London derby where five goals were disallowed and red cards were shown to Spurs pair Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie either side of half-time.

While Chelsea were far from vintage on their way to a 4-1 victory, Jackson eventually made the difference.

A London derby that had just about everything.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

The Senegal attacker side-footed home his first goal in the 75th minute from Raheem Sterling’s cross before he grabbed a similar second after Conor Gallagher’s pass and completed his treble in the seventh minute …

Nottingham Forest groundsman Ewan Hunter and Brentford’s goalkeeping coach Manu Sotelo have been banned and fined by the Football Association following their pre-match altercation in November.

Hunter and Sotelo had an argument ahead of the 2-2 Premier League draw which centred on the length of time clubs are allowed to use the penalty area during their warm-up.

The member of the groundstaff went on to the pitch to move them on, but disrupted a drill.

Bees boss Thomas Frank claimed after the match that Sotelo was injured while Hunter claimed to have his personal safety threatened.

The FA has sanctioned both men, with Hunter banned from the City Ground for two matches, while Sotelu must serve a one-match touchline ban.

A statement from the governi…

Best Odds: 19/20

Bookmaker:

With the Champions League knockout stage getting underway midweek, Real Madrid will make the trip to the Parc des Princes when they meet French giants PSG on Tuesday night.

Starting with the hosts, putting on a professional display last weekend and picking up some perfect momentum at the Parc des Princes, Mauricio Pochettino s side appear to be cruising towards another Ligue 1 crown this season. Picking up a last-gasp 1-0 win against an impressive Rennes side last time out, the former Tottenham boss has really seen his side prove their Coupe de France defeat against Nice last month was just a minor blip. Already storming their way to a commanding 13-point buffer over the chasing pack in Ligue 1, Les Parisiens have lost just one of the…

After an off-season of chopping and changing at Juventus, Paulo Dybala is ready to lead the club into a new era.

Juve may have seen star man Paul Pogba depart to Manchester United for a world-record fee in the build-up to the new Serie A campaign, but the Italian champions have used the transfer window to bolster an already strong squad.

Gonzalo Higuain, Marko Pjaca, Medhi Benatia, Dani Alves and Miralem Pjanic have flocked to Turin, 12 months after Juve brought in a number of Europe s top talents prior to last season s success.

From opposite sides of Madrid came Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic, while Alex Sandro left Porto, and Simone Zaza and Hernanes were pinched from Serie A rivals.

The first, and most pricey, signing, though, was Palermo s Dybala.…

Best Odds: 2/3

Bookmaker:

Hoping to extend their stay at the top of the Serie A table, Botafogo will travel to the Morumbi when they meet Sao Paulo late on Wednesday night.

Sao Paulo

Starting with the hosts, enjoying what has been a real Serie A flurry this season, Sao Paulo have their sights firmly set on clinching a Copa Libertadores spot in 2024. Although some in Luis Zubeldia’s men might have been frustrated last weekend as they eventually had to settle for a 0-0 stalemate away at Juventude, the one-time Alaves boss has seen his squad suffer just a single defeat from any of their previous seven Serie A appearances. Opening July with an eye-catching 2-0 win against Bragantino, the Soberano should also be excited by their extended success on home soil. Last…