FA Cup holders Arsenal will start the defence of their trophy at home to Sunderland in the third round. Premier League Liverpool face a trip to League Two Exeter, while the top flight’s bottom club Aston Villa also go to a League Two side in Wycombe. There are five all-Premier League ties, with Spurs hosting leaders Leicester. Non-league Eastleigh are at home to Bolton, while fellow part-timers Whitehawk will go to Everton if they can overcome Dagenham & Redbridge.
Author: David F.
Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger can provide the leadership Manchester United need in their Champions League clash against VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday as they want to qualify for the knockout stages, manager Louis Van Gaal has said. United will be without captain Wayne Rooney, who is still with an injured ankle, and need to at least match PSV Eindhoven’s result at home to CSKA Moscow to progress. Van Gaal’s team have found goals hard to come by this season and their often listless displays have drawn the ire of their fans, but the Dutchman is counting on Schweinsteiger to guide his team…
Manchester United striker Anthony Martial needs enough time to find his scoring touch again and will have enough chances to get back in form, manager Louis van Gaal has said. Martial made a stunning start to life in a United shirt, scoring four goals in his first four games in all competitions since making his big-money move to the club during the off-season. However, the France international has not found the back of the net in over 11 hours of football since scoring in the 1-1 draw with CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on October 21. “I think he…
Bayer Leverkusen must end their six-match losing streak against reigning champions Barcelona on Wednesday if they are to have any chance of reaching the Champions League’s knock-out stages. Leverkusen lost 2-1 at the Camp Nou in October, despite earning a shock lead, and want to avoid a repeat of the 6-1 pounding Barcelona dished out to Roma a fortnight ago when Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi ran riot in the home match. Roger Schmidt’s Leverkusen face the uphill task of having to beat Barcelona and hope Roma drop points at home to BATE in Wednesday’s other game in order to…
Manager Roberto Martinez was heard molesting Romelu Lukaku with appreciation as the belgian scored his sixth goal in five consecutive Premier League games to rescue a point for Everton against Crystal Palace on Monday. Lukaku marked his 100th appearance for Everton by scoring his 50th goal for the club with a trademark header from close range in the 81st minute to level the tie at 1-1 after Scott Dann put the visitors ahead from a corner. Before his goal, the powerful Belgian twice hit the woodwork and tormented Palace’s defence all evening with his pace and trickery. The point was…
Manager Manuel Pellegrini insists Manchester City are not over reliant on captain Vincent Kompany, who has missed the last five games with a calf injury, despite the side’s terrible form when their captain is missing. In the 10 games Kompany has started in all competitions this season, City have kept seven clean sheets and only lost once but they have failed to keep out the opposition in 13 matches without the Belgian, losing five of them. Pellegrini was keen to highlight Manchester City’s form towards the end of last campaign as proof that too much is made of Kompany’s absence.…
Leicester City could win the Premier League this season if the club’s owners back their coach with money in the January transfer window, former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said. They are two points clear of Arsenal at the top of the division with more than a third of the season gone, and Ferguson urged the management to add to their “limited” squad. “What is the manager Claudio Ranieri saying to the owners? Because if I were him I’d want an investment in January because this is a big opportunity,” Ferguson told the Daily Telegraph. “They (Leicester) could win…
Award winning Nollywood movie, ‘Stalker’ will be hitting the cinemas in February, 2016. The movie, which tells the story of a troubled woman and an obsessed male, stars Jim Iyke, Nse Ikpe-Etim, AY, Anthony Monjaro, Emem Inwang and Caroline Danjuma, who is also the producer of the movie. The movie also features cameo appearances from Niyola and Omawumi. Stalker which was written and directed by Moses Inwang won the Best Film at the recently held 2015 edition of GIAMA. Jim Iyke and Nse also won the Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.
Popular OAP, Toke Makinwa has found her way back on the lips of her fans as mixed reactions trail her ‘reunion’ with her estranged hubby, Maje Ayida. The couple stepped out together last night at The Future Awards Africa in Lagos. Their red carpet photo immediately went viral. Social media became sharply divided with some people truly happy with their ‘reunion’ while others are pissed at her for forgiving him.
Drake’s ‘Back To Back’ has earned a nomination at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards scheduled to hold in February 2016. The diss track was out a few months ago in response to Meek Mill’s accusations that Drake uses a ghostwriter. The song got a nod for ‘Best Rap Performance’ at next year’s Grammys, and the reaction on twitter was pretty interesting.
Popular Ghanaian actress, Jackie Appiah turned 32 on Saturday, December 5, 2015, and just like her tradition in the past years on her birthday, the actress donated to the less privileged. To celebrate her new age, she had a fun day sharing gifts to children from orphanage homes and donating to their orphanages. Jackie decided to make this year’s a little different by bringing two orphanages together, the Osu Children’s home and the Teshie Children’s home (both in Ghana). Judging from the pictures and videos she shared the kids enjoyed the whole day with the actress as she gathered the…
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have named their baby boy and this time it’s not an ANYHOW name. It’s Saint West. The couple announced their son’s name a few hours ago ago in a post titled ‘To Our Fans’ on Kim’s subscription based website kimkardashianwest.com. The reality star wrote simply: ‘Saint West, 12.05.15, 8 pounds 1 ounce.’ Saint West was born on Saturday December 5, 2015. He has a two-year-old sister named North West.
February 15, 2016 will most likely be a crucial day for Kendrick Lamar as he leads the Grammy Awards 2016 nominations with 11 nods. The rapper, followed kenely by Taylor Swift and The Weeknd who are both up for seven trophies, will be vying for awards in the following categories: Album of the Year – ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, Best Rap Album – ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, Song of the Year – ‘Alright’ and co-writing Kanye West‘s ‘All Day’, Best pop duo/group performance – ‘Bad Blood’ Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar, Best Dance Recording – Flying Lotus feat. Kendrick Lamar,…
Chelsea must forget the disappointment of Saturday’s humiliating 1-0 Premier League loss at home to promoted side Bournemouth and regroup ahead of an important week, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said. The Blues head into Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Portuguese side Porto knowing a win would see them finish at the top of their group but a draw would be enough to guarantee them a spot in the knockout stages. The English champions, who are 14th in the Premier League table after losing eight of their 15 games so far, then travel to take on surprise leaders Leicester City on…
Romelu Lukaku has matured to the point where he can now play three games a week for Everton without feeling the weakness and the team is thriving thanks to the striker’s steady run in the side, manager Roberto Martinez has said. Lukaku, who has already equalled last season’s total of 10 Premier League goals for Everton, has started all 14 of their league games so far and his performances have been key to keeping his team within touching distance of the top six. Everton, who are at 11th spot with 21 points, trail sixth-placed West Ham United by two points…
Former Arsenal and Manchester City legend Patrick Vieira is being groomed as a future City manager, the club’s football administration officer Brian Marwood said on Monday. Vieira, 39, took up his first managerial appointment in November, signing a three-year contract in the United States with sister club New York City. Before that he had been working with Manchester City’s development squad in his two years since retiring as a player in 2011. “It was important that we could find the next development stage for Patrick and it was still part of the group,” Marwood told Sky Sports News. “That opportunity…
Super Eagles manager Sunday Oliseh has called Gbolahan Salami, Chima Akas and 24 others for the first phase of preparation ahead of next month’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda. The Super Eagles B have already been drawn into Group C of the competition alongside Niger Republic, Tunisia and Guinea with matches to be played at the Stade Regional Nyamirambo in Kigali. Also listed are regulars Kalu Orji, Austin Oboroakpo, Jamiu Alimi, Ifeanyi Mathew, Paul Onobi, Usman Mohammed, Bature Yaro, Ezekiel Bassey, Tunde Adeniji, Chisom Chikatara, Prince Aggrey, Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Olufemi Thomas. Invited players have been told to report…
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini insists Sergio Aguero’s heel injury is not serious even though he doesn’t know when the Argentina striker will return. Aguero has missed two games since limping out of last month’s victory over Southampton and will again be absent when City wrap up their Champions League group stage fixtures against Borussia Monchengladbach at Eastlands on Tuesday. Both Pellegrini and Aguero have played down the problem, but the 27-year-old also seems unlikely to return before the Premier League visit of Swansea on Saturday. Asked on Monday if the injury was proving more delicate than thought, Pellegrini told…
Former France international Franck Ribery is suing the magazine Closer for €400 000 over an article which claimed he was implicated in a prostitution case. The 32-year-old is suing Mondadori Magazine France, which publishes Closer, for “serious prejudice to his image and dignity”, according to a document seen by AFP on Monday. Closer had claimed Ribery was going to be in contact with a court of law over a prostitution case – in fact he was only a witness. The winger, who returned to action for his German club Bayern Munich at the weekend following a nine-month injury layoff, had…
Mattia Destro rejected comparisons with Gonzalo Higuain but wouldn’t dismiss a call-up to the Italy squad after netting twice in a 3-2 win for Bologna that dented Napoli’s title hopes on Sunday. Napoli struggled to recover after going 2-0 down before the half-hour as Destro muscled his way past Raul Albiol for a 14th minute opener. Luca Rossettini headed Bologna’s second seven minutes later and Destro extended their lead on the hour. Bologna suffered a late scare when Higuain scored a last-gasp brace to set up a tense finale but the Roberto Donadoni’s side held on for a fifth league…