Month: January 2025

Verdict: Home win + both teams to score

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Having secured a 1-1 draw with a second-string side in the first leg at Balaidos, Barcelona will be looking to clinch a place in the next stage with an assured performance at their Camp Nou. But, with Celta also holding Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw at the weekend, the Catalans will not have an easy job on Thursday evening.

Barcelona

This is turning out to be one of the most successful seasons in recent years for Barcelona, although the Catalans obviously need to continue in the same manner if they want to have reason for celebration next summer. Ernesto Valverde’s men are already 16 points clear of arch rivals Real Madrid in the La Liga standings, which is enough to suggest they should ease …

Swansea may soon be seeing the back of Wilfried Bony who is close to sealing a move to Manchester City

According to , reigning Premier League champions Manchester City are close to sealing a £30million deal for Swansea striker Wilfried Bony.

The Ivorian is set to head for the Africa Cup of Nations that starts on January 17th.

However, Sky claim that the two clubs have held formal discussions over the player and Bony is expected to have a medical later today before joining up with his national side.

Goals

Wilfried Bony is a natural born goal poacher and has scored goals throughout his career. His first port of call in Europe was at Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic, where he scored 22 times in 59 appearances in the Czech top-flight.

His…

Sunderland have signed England striker Jermain Defoe on a three-and-a-half year deal from MLS side Toronto FC,.

The move sees Jozy Altidore move in the opposite direction, with the US international having scored just one goal in forty-two league appearances for the Black Cats.

Defoe, who spent just under twelve months in America, is eligible to make his debut against former employers Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.

In two spells with Spurs, the forward made over three hundred and fifty appearances in all competitions, scoring one hundred and thirty-three goals while he has also played for West Ham United where he began his career, and Portsmouth.

Internationally, he has been capped fifty-five times for his country, scoring nineteen goals tho…

Ben Brereton scored his first international goal as Chile edged to a 1-0 win over Bolivia in Copa America Group A on Friday. 

Martin Lasarte s side opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Argentina on Monday and, despite the slender scoreline, they never looked like failing to follow that up with maximum points against a limited Bolivia outfit at the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba. 

Blackburn Rovers striker Brereton, who made his debut from the substitutes bench against Argentina, scored the only goal of the game early on, firing past Carlos Lampe after an incisive breakaway. 

Chile carved out numerous chances to extend their lead – most of which came in an utterly dominant first half – but they were unable to find a way past their opponents, who have no…

Barcelona star Alexia Putellas insists she is getting better every day after being ruled out for 10-12 months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, as she thanked fans for their support.

Putellas suffered the injury during training just three days before Spain s opening match of the Women s European Championship last month, and was subsequently ruled out for up to a year after undergoing surgery.

Spain were understandably hampered by the Ballon d Or-winning attacker s absence, exiting the competition after a quarter-final loss to eventual winners England.

Putellas, who top-scored with 11 goals in the Women s Champions League last season, has now spoken out on her injury for the first time, expressing gratitude for the support offered to her.

I …

Joaquin Caparros says he feels ready to succeed Vicente del Bosque as the head coach of Spain, despite spending 18 months without a job.

The 60-year-old has emerged as a surprise favourite to take over after Del Bosque stepped down following the Euro 2016 exit to Italy last month.

Caparros has enjoyed a nomadic coaching career, working his way through the lower tiers before enjoying a five-year spell with Sevilla and a four-year stint in charge of Athletic Bilbao.

He has not found a new role since being sacked by Granada in January 2015, but insists his longevity in Spain s top flight shows he is a prime candidate to take the reins of the national team.

I m capable. I have almost 500 matches in the Primera [Division] and I can boast of having coached in …

Ivan Rakitic s agent has seemingly cast doubt on the Croatia star s future at Barcelona with a cryptic tweet that appeared to question the LaLiga champions transfer policy.

On Thursday, Barcelona announced they had reached a deal to bring in Portugal international Andre Gomes from Valencia.

The transfer will swell their midfield ranks, with Gomes joining fellow new arrival Denis Suarez alongside Rakitic, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Arda Turan, Rafinha, Sergi Samper and Sergi Roberto.

Rakitic has been an influential member of Luis Enrique s side on the way to back-to-back domestic doubles over the previous two seasons and he opened the scoring in the 2015 Champions League final win over Juventus.

As such, the 28-year-old would not appear to be under t…

Alan Pardew admits he is conscious of the toll Newcastle s arduous season has taken on key man Yohan Cabaye.

Newcastle were recently knocked out of the Europa League at the quarter-final stage, having started their campaign back in August, and the manager believes their progress may be catching up with them as the season draws to a close.

The players have looked increasingly weary in recent weeks, especially Cabaye, who has made 30 appearances domestically and in Europe despite several injury setbacks.

Pardew admits the French international may be suffering from burnout.

Cabaye is probably my biggest worry, the Newcastle manager told reporters.

The rest of them are really sound physically and mentally.

But Cabaye is our best player in …

Eden Hazard has set his sights on a successful campaign with Chelsea following a season when the club won the Champions League and FA Cup.

Belgium international Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille in June, and he is keen to become a key figure at the west London club.

Chelsea s goals for the new season? We have not discussed it with the coach yet, but I guess that we want to do as well as last season, Hazard said.

I do not really have any personal objectives. I just hope to play as many games as possible. I am not the type of person to set certain goals. The most important thing for me is to get regular first-team action and do well.

Moving in the opposite direction was Salomon Kalou, and Hazard hopes the Ivory Coast international can help Lille make an …

Over the course of the last year, it feels like France have lost some of their momentum after winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup. With that being said the expectation has always been that they would walk through the rest of their European Championship qualifying group, but it doesn t seem as if that s going to be the case. Earlier tonight, Turkey defeated Les Bleus in what could prove to be a vitally important result in the qualifiers.

An odd evening

In the early stages of the game Antoine Griezmann headed wide in a decent opportunity, but apart from that, the French really weren t themselves. They had a strong side out with eight of the starting XI starting the World Cup final against Croatia, and yet, they just didn t seem to get going. At the very least you d expect them to st…