Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta described the horrific head injury suffered by Wolves striker Raul Jimenez at Emirates Stadium in November 2020 as among the scariest moments of his career, ahead of the Mexican s first return to the ground since his recovery.

Jimenez suffered a fractured skull in a sickening collision with David Luiz just minutes into Wolves trip to Arsenal last season, which the visitors went on to win 2-1, returning to action with a protective headband eight months later.

Jimenez has hit five league goals for Bruno Lage s outfit since his comeback, and the Midlands club would go above Arsenal in the Premier League table with a repeat of last season s win, as the two clubs battle for European qualification.

On the eve of the Gunners crucial meeting…

Competition: European Championships play-off final

Market: Under 2.5 goals

Odds: 4/7 @

In what could prove to be another low-scoring encounter in Belfast on Thursday night, Northern Ireland will play host to Slovakia with a spot at EURO 2021 on the line.

Starting with the hosts, while Northern Ireland might have managed to come past Bosnia-Herzegovina on foreign soil thanks to a nail-biting penalties victory, the Greens failed to keep up that momentum when they turned their attention back to Nations League duties. Struggling to adjust to life under new boss Ian Baraclough who replaced Micheal O Neill earlier in the year, the 49-year-old saw his side hit with back-to-back 1-0 defeats against Norway and Austria. Now failing to win any of their last six st…

Watford welcomed Tottenham Hotspur in what, a bit surprisingly, looked like the derby of the fourth round of the 2018/19 Premier League season. The reason was simple both teams had won all three of their previous games bagging the maximum of nine points.

It may seem surprising when it comes to Watford, but the Hornets actually started last season in style too. They lost only one of their opening eight games in 2017/18 to the eventual league winners Manchester City, while walking away with a point against Liverpool and all three against Arsenal in that time. Spurs on the other hand came into this encounter fresh from the destruction of Old Trafford where they tore Manchester United apart last week, having already beaten Newcastle and Fulham.

The Teams

Javi Gracia, who h…

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign striker David Datro Fofana from Molde on January 1, with the Blues reportedly paying £10.5million (€12m) for the Ivory Coast international.

Fofana will become Chelsea s first signing of the Graham Potter era when the January transfer window officially opens on Sunday, having agreed a long-term contract at Stamford Bridge.

A boyhood Chelsea fan, Fofana has the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his idol Didier Drogba, who won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three EFL Cups and the Champions League across two spells with the club.

The 20-year-old – who has two senior international caps – top-scored for Molde with 15 goals last season as they regained the Norwegian Eliteserien title.

A statement relea…

Juventus legend David Trezeguet says nobody has been able to manage Cristiano Ronaldo in the same way as former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

Five-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo has spent the past three seasons at the Allianz Stadium after joining from Real Madrid in a €112million (£99.2m) deal.

The 36-year-old, who has another 12 months to run on his contract, is coming off the back of a campaign that saw him finish top of the Serie A scoring charts with 29 goals.

He has scored 81 times in 97 Serie A games since arriving in July 2018, a tally bettered only by Robert Lewandowski (93 goals in 97 Bundesliga games) and Lionel Messi (91 goals in 102 LaLiga games) in Europe s top five leagues.

That compares to 311 goals in 292 LaLiga appearances during…

Southampton are interested in signing Leicester City winger Demarai Gray on a free transfer in the summer of 2021, according to . It has been reported that Southampton have started exploiting the possibility of bringing Gray to St. Mary’s Stadium at the end of the season when he is out of contract at Premier League rivals Leicester.

However, Southampton are not the only club who are interested in signing the 24-year-old winger. Benfica, Marseille and AS Monaco are among a number of clubs in mainland Europe who want to hold talks with the Englishman this month and persuade him to sign a pre-contract agreement.

Gray has been on the books of Leicester since 2016 and has not been to make a huge impact. The winger is not guaranteed a place in the starting lineup at the Fox…

Ryan McGowan claimed he always thought he would return to Scotland after joining Dundee United from Shandong Luneng.

Australia defender Ryan McGowan has returned to Scottish football, joining Dundee United on a free transfer after leaving Shandong Luneng.

McGowan, 25, previously spent five years with Hearts between 2008 and 2013, winning the Scottish Cup in 2012.

Capable of playing at right-back and centre-back, the 12-cap Australia international has agreed a deal at Tannadice Park until the end of 2015-16, his contract with the Chinese Super League s Shandong having expired late last year.

It is great to be back in the Scottish Premiership and I am excited about the challenge of being a Dundee United player, McGowan said in a statement.

When I …

Luciano Spalletti says Italy will be true to their identity but will not make the huge mistake of underestimating Spain in their heavyweight Group B clash.

Italy opened Euro 2024 with a 2-1 win over Albania on Saturday, coming from behind after conceding the fastest goal ever scored in the tournament s history after 23 seconds.

Spain, meanwhile, cruised to a 3-0 victory over Croatia, leaving both sides joint-top of the group going into their meeting in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday.

The winner of the tie will take a big step towards qualifying top of the group, earning the theoretically easier pathway through the knockout stages.

Asked how Italy were planning to deal with the threat Spain posed, Spalletti instead chose to praise their opponents for their styl…

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker:

Turning their attention back to EFL Cup duties on Tuesday night, a high-flying Manchester United will welcome Charlton to Old Trafford.

Manchester United

Starting with the hosts, extending on their FA Cup adventure over the weekend as they picked up a 3-1 victory at home against a struggling Everton, the mood in Manchester United s camp should be at a real high. While the former Premier League champions might have opened the 2022/23 campaign in the midst of a wobble, the Red Devils have certainly now found their feet under Erik ten Hag. Finding a route back into the top-four and with a Champions League return at the top of their agenda, the former Ajax boss has seen his high-flying squad gain plenty of plaudits. Opening the New Year …

Zenit have confirmed the appointment of Roberto Mancini as their new head coach on a two-year deal.

Mircea Lucescu departed the club last month after he could only lead them to third place in the Russian Premier League and elimination from the last 32 of the Europa League.

And Zenit have now turned to Mancini, a league winner in Italy with Inter and England with Manchester City.

Since he was sacked by City in 2013, Mancini has led Galatasaray, winning the Turkish Cup, before returning to Inter in 2014.

He left San Siro for a second time on the eve of last season, however, amid tension over pre-season hammerings at the hands of Tottenham and Bayern Munich.

Mancini becomes the second Italian to coach Zenit, after Luciano Spalletti, who won two leagu…