Liverpool will be without Jordan Henderson, Glen Johnson and Mamadou Sakho for Thursday’s Europa League trip to Besiktas. . Henderson has an ankle injury, while Johnson is ill and Sakho’s ongoing hip problem rules him out of the tie where the Reds take a 1-0 lead to Turkey. Captain Steven Gerrard (hamstring) and Lucas Leiva (groin) remain sidelined. . Besiktas’s top-scorer Demba Ba missed Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Eskisehirspor with a calf complaint and is a doubt. . The loss saw Slaven Bilic’s side fall off top spot in their domestic league with Galatasaray moving above them. . And without…
Author: David F.
Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard will keep his place for their Europa League tie with Young Boys despite poor form. . The American was criticised for both Leicester goals in Sunday’s 2-2 draw but boss Roberto Martinez said he will continue in the last-32 second leg. . The Blues will assess midfielders Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar, who have not featured since December, as Everton prepare to defend a 4-1 first- leg lead. . Sylvain Distin is fit but Christian Atsu misses out through illness. . Howard’s performance against Leicester City drew questions and only a late own goal earned Everton…
Tottenham face two cup finals in a week according to boss Mauricio Pochettino ahead of a Europa League tie with Fiorentina and the League Cup final. . Spurs meet Chelsea at Wembley less than 72 hours after playing the round of 32 second leg in Italy. . “I think this is our first final before Sunday,” said Pochettino, whose side drew 1-1 in the first leg. . “It’s important now but we are ready and confident to take the game to try to get the victory.” . Spurs have reached at least the last-16 in the Europa League in each…
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere looks set to be rested for Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Monaco after ankle surgery. . Aaron Ramsey (hamstring), Mikel Arteta (ankle), Abou Diaby (calf) and Mathieu Debuchy (shoulder) are unavailable. . Monaco have injury worries over left-back Layvin Kurzawa and winger Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco. Midfielders Jeremy Toulalan and Tiemou Bakayoko and defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Andrea Raggi are out. . Monaco, who qualified for this stage by topping Group C having conceded one goal, have not played Arsenal before but the French league club have done well against English opposition in knockout rounds previously.…
The Greek government has suspended professional football in the country indefinitely. . The move follows violence at a match between rivals Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, as well as a brawl between club officials at a board meeting on Tuesday. . The Greek league has already been suspended twice this season due to violence. . Newly-elected ruling party Syriza have pledged to stamp out the problem. . The suspension affects the top three divisions in the country. . “What we have been informed is that the Super League and the Football League have been suspended indefinitely,” Super League president Giorgos Borovilos told…
Cardiff deepened Wigan’s relegation worries with a 1-0 win at the DW Stadium as manager Malky Mackay lost to his former club. . Aron Gunnarsson scored the game’s only goal after 20 minutes when he slotted in following Kenwyne Jones’s assist. . The result is another setback for Mackay, who was sacked as Cardiff boss in December 2013. Cardiff board members did not witness the win, boycotting the match in protest at alleged racism at Wigan. . Wigan owner Dave Whelan was fined £50,000 last year for making racist comments about Jewish and Chinese people and served a six-week ban…
Manchester City had the perfect opportunity to prove they belong with Europe’s elite on Tuesday but the Premier League champions blew it. . A 2-1 loss to Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium barely hinted at the disparity on the pitch. . While City will go to the Nou Camp next month for the second leg of this Champions League, last 16 tie still afloat, they will need to conjure something remarkable to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. . For all the pre-match talk of “no fear” and “fighting fire with fire” Manuel Pellegrini’s side were overwhelmed by a…
Barnsley are set to appoint Oldham manager Lee Johnson as their new boss, BBC Radio Sheffield reports. . It is understood that the two clubs are close to agreeing a compensation deal for the 33-year-old. . Johnson will leave Oldham with them ninth in League One, seven places higher than his new club, who he saw beat Scunthorpe 1-0 on Tuesday. . The Oakwell side have been without a manager since sacking Danny Wilson on 12 February. . Johnson became English football’s youngest manager when he took over at Boundary Park in March 2013 aged just 31 and guided the…
Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion have been fined £90,000 by the Football Association after admitting to a breach of the FA’s agent regulations. . The fine relates to Brighton’s purchase of midfielder Dale Stephens from Charlton in January last year. . The Seagulls have also been warned about their future conduct. . Three football agents – Alex Levack, Matthew Kleinman and Ali Rahnama – have been sanctioned and warned after also admitting a breach of rules. Levack and Kleinman have both been fined £7,500 and suspended from all agency activity and intermediary activity for a period of 14 months.…
Fifa executive committee member Michel D’Hooghe has been cleared of corruption by an investigation into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. . The governing body’s ethics committee found “insufficient evidence to suggest” that the 69-year-old Belgian “had violated their code of ethics”. D’Hooghe, who is head of Fifa’s medical committee and an executive member since 1988, denied any wrongdoing. . Russia was awarded the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 tournament went to Qatar. . The decision in December 2010 to award both tournaments was the source of controversy, prompting a 430-page Fifa report into allegations of…
The pressure on Arsenal as favourites for their Champions League last-16 tie with Monaco is welcome, says Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. . The North London side have exited the competition at this stage in each of the last four seasons. . “The French might give us the status of favourites. It doesn’t bother me,” said Wenger before Wednesday’s first leg at Emirates Stadium. . “There’s a lot at stake but these are the games you want to play.” . The Ligue 1 side gave Wenger his big break in management in the late 1980s but the Arsenal boss was not…
Celtic have been fined £7,300 by Uefa following crowd disturbances during their Europa League group stage match against Dinamo Zagreb. . It is the fifth time in three years Celtic have been charged by Uefa over supporter behaviour. . Fans clashed with police after fireworks were set off in the Celtic end of Stadion Maksimir as the Scottish champions lost 4-3 in Croatia. . Despite that December defeat, Celtic qualified for the last 32. . The fine – imposed by Uefa’s control, ethics and disciplinary body – was announced as Celtic and their fans travelled to Italy for the Thursday’s…
Fifa says it will not pay compensation to clubs and leagues unhappy about plans to play the 2022 Qatar World Cup in November and December. . It also said no apology was necessary for the scheduling of the tournament, which will disrupt a number of leagues. . A Fifa taskforce has recommended the 2022 World Cup take place in winter to avoid Qatar’s hot summer temperatures. . “There will be no compensation,” said Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke. “There are seven years to reorganise.” . Fifa’s executive committee will meet in Zurich next month to ratify the taskforce’s recommendation. .…
Bus tycoon James Easdale has resigned as a Rangers director following opposition from the Scottish Championship club’s supporters. . Easdale was one of four directors who faced being voted off the board at an extraordinary meeting on 6 March. . He said that surviving such a vote would be “a hollow victory” without the backing of the fans. . Easdale’s brother and business partner, Sandy, is football club chairman and controls more than 20% of club shares. . Former Rangers director Dave King, unhappy with the current direction of the club, has been behind a move to remove the current…
Manchester City’s match programme delivered a temptation impossible for fate to resist when it described Luis Suarez as “the dogsbody in this trio of artful dodgers” in comparison to Barcelona superstars Lionel Messi and Neymar. . The Uruguayan striker known for his bite as well as his bark demonstrated he is much more than a mongrel among pedigree champions with both goals in a 2-1 win that leaves City contemplating an identical Champions League fate to last season, when they fell to Barcelona in the last 16. . This was Suarez’s first game in England since his farewell to Liverpool…
Yaya Toure’s agent has revealed the midfielder wants to end his career at Manchester City. . The Ivorian’s agent, Dimitry Seluk, told the Sunday Mirror that he’s expressed a desire to ‘stay for life’ at the Etihad. . Seluk said: “Yaya loves Manchester City and, despite what is sometimes said, he is happy at the club. . “In fact, he would like to stay for life. He would love nothing better than to finish his playing career with City and then work for the club after that. . “That’s why I want City to give Yaya a new contract, to…
Juventus’ Paul Pogba would cost any potential suitors €100 million, says the player’s agent Mino Raiola. . Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola claims it would cost €100 million to prise the midfielder him away from Juventus. . Pogba moved to the Serie A champions from Manchester United in 2012 and quickly established himself as a first-team regular. . In October, the France international extended his deal at the club until 2019, but that has not stopped speculation in the media about a possible move, with Real Madrid touted as potential suitors. . “If Real Madrid want him, then they can…
Players of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side Warri Wolves have began a warning strike to press for their unpaid wages, supersport.com has been informed. . The angry players boycotted training on Tuesday evening after honouring the morning session, it was learned. . Wolves have failed to pay their players salaries for the month of January, and the players fear that could extend to February. . The players also claimed they are still owed 30 percent of their signing-on fees for last season despite an agreement by clubs with the League Management Company (LMC) to abolish such fees and put…
Dortmund are confident their away goal will be enough to carry them past Juventus despite defensive blunders that saw them lose 2-1 in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg in Turin in Tuesday. . Dortmund have only themselves to blame for leaving the Italian city with a defeat, with both of Juve’s goals exposing a napping defence in an otherwise solid performance by the Germans, especially in a strong first half. . The Germans, title winners in 1997 against Juve and finalists in 2013, are gradually recovering from a dismal domestic first half of the season, and the…
If Barcelona fail to secure their eighth consecutive Champions League quarter-final appearance, Lionel Messi’s failed penalty at Manchester City on Tuesday could well prove their “what if” moment. . Barca were leading 2-1 in the last 16, first leg at the Etihad Stadium thanks to a Luis Suarez brace when Messi stepped up to take an added-time spot kick. . City goalkeeper Joe Hart denied the Argentina captain and gave the Premier League side a much better chance of overturning the deficit in the second leg at the Nou Camp on March 18. . Messi has a penalty record any…