Injured Senegal’s captain Mohamed Diame is in a race against time to be fit for the 2015 Afcon. . The Hull City midfielder suffered a knee injury in their 1-1 draw with Everton on December 3. He had earlier been diagnosed to return by Christmas but further tests have ruled him out into the New Year. He is to wear a brace and sit out for about another month. . The Hull City player, 27, who joined from West Ham in August, hit the ground running with four goals in his first five Premier League games, but knee problems were…
Author: David F.
Real Sociedad need to toughen up mentally if they are to reverse a poor away record when they travel to Valencia to face Levante in La Liga on Saturday, according to coach David Moyes. . Sociedad are yet to win away in Spain’s top flight this season and were thumped 4-0 at Villarreal and drew 0-0 at Deportivo La Coruna on their last two trips away from San Sebastian. . With 15 matches played, they are 14th on 14 points, one place higher than when former Manchester United andEverton manager Moyes took over last month. . “It’s very important to…
Jose Mourinho wants to see his Chelsea side adapt to the likely threat of Stoke City when the teams meet at the Britannia Stadium on Monday live on SS3HD and livestreaming on supersport.com. . Title-chasing Chelsea got back on track in the Barclays Premier League against Hull City last weekend, having surrendered their unbeaten start to 2014-15 against Newcastle United a week earlier. . However, with Manchester City hot on their heels, Mourinho’s side travel to Stoke needing no reminder of the corresponding fixture from last season. A stunning Oussama Assaidi strike gave Stoke all three points last term and,…
German World Cup winner Andre Schuerrle has ruled out a move away from Chelsea despite failing to secure a regular starting place this season. . Schuerrle has been troubled by injury and illness since helping his country to the World Cup title in July and says he has no intention of leaving the Premier League leaders. . “The last few weeks I have been able to intensively train and fight myself back into the team,” said the forward in his online blog (www.sportupyourlife) on Monday. “Things are getting better. . “Nevertheless, in a phase with less operating time, transfer rumours…
Barcelona’s star strikers will need to rediscover their scoring touch to stay in the title race in La Liga as the Catalan outfit host struggling Cordoba on Saturday. . In the absence of the injured Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez drew a blank in a 0-0 draw at Getafe last weekend that saw Luis Enrique’s men fall four points behind in-form league leaders Real Madrid. . However, with the European champions playing San Lorenzo in the final of the Club World Cup on Saturday evening, Barca can cut the gap to a single point heading into the new year.…
Barcelona forward Neymar has recovered from a minor ankle problem and is available for Saturday’s La Liga game at home to Cordoba, the club said on Friday. . Neymar has not played since he scored Barca’s second goal in the 3-1 Champions League victory at home to Paris St Germain on Dec. 10 and missed last weekend’s 0-0 La Liga draw at Getafe and Tuesday’s 8-1 drubbing of third-tier Huesca in the King’s Cup. . He trained with the rest of the squad on Friday before being given the all-clear by medical staff as Luis Enrique’s men prepare for their…
Belgian forward Divock Origi will cut short a season-long loan at Lille in January to return to parent club Liverpool, who will pay six million euros for the privilege, according to a source close to the deal. . The 19-year-old, who was bought by Liverpool from Lille in the summer for a reported £10 million after impressing for Belgium at the World Cup, was immediately loaned back to the Ligue 1 side for the duration of this season. . However, the loan agreement included a clause allowing Liverpool to take Origi back in the January transfer window for six million…
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini, without three first choice strikers, has urged his side to conjure up an alternative way of beating Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday. . Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and Sergio Aguero are all on the treatment table at the Etihad Stadium and in their absence Pellegrini is hoping attacking midfielders Samir Nasri and David Silva can spell trouble for 16th-placed Palace. . “The three strikers are out for tomorrow,” Pellegrini told a news conference on Friday. “None of them are fit so we have to arrange the team without Jovetic, Dzeko and Aguero.…
Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart has signed a new long-term deal with the Premier League champions that will run until the end of the 2018/19 season, the club said on Friday. . Hart has made 276 appearances since joining City in 2006 and has won two Premier League titles, as well as the FA Cup in 2011. . “The club’s growing and I’ve been really lucky to be part of the ride,” the 27-year-old told the City website (www.mcfc.com). . “I just want to keep winning with the team and keep developing. A lot of the boys have…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger knows all about the ups and downs of football management and expressed sympathy for his beleaguered Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers ahead of their clash at Anfield on Sunday. . Rodgers is facing a stern examination of his managerial credentials this season, with last year’s Premier League runners-up 11th in the table. . Wenger, who has been Gunners boss for 18 years and survived his fair share of challenges, said: “I’ve sympathy for every single manager in the Premier League. Everybody goes through periods where it goes a bit less well. . “Our job is to survive…
Borussia Dortmund and Germany winger Marco Reus has been fined more than half a million euros for driving without a licence for years. . The 25-year-old international, who has been advertising the club’s car sponsor and has also been in ads for a petrol company, received speeding tickets on at least five occasions since 2011 before authorities realised he had been driving without a licence ever since. . “I decided back then to take that road but the reasons I did it are something I cannot really understand today,” Reus, a transfer target for many top European clubs, was quoted…
Javier Mascherano believes that hard work rather than talent has made him a crucial player for Barcelona, who aim to finish the year on a high by closing the gap on Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with a victory over Cordoba on Saturday. . From Pep Guardiola to Luis Enrique, all the coaches Mascherano has worked under during his four years at Barca have relied on his graft and discipline, and the King’s Cup win over Huesca on Tuesday marked the Argentine’s 200th appearance. . Barca have been in transition under Luis Enrique this season but the…
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet appeared to criticise the club’s transfer policy on Thursday when asked if he was going to strengthen his struggling squad in the January transfer window. . “I want more quality. Do I think I’ll get it? I don’t know,” Poyet, whose side face Newcastle United in a Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday, told reporters. . “You know what is missing. It is clear what we need to do. That is down to recruitment. . “So, if you ever get the chance to speak to anyone on the recruitment side and ask them about it, you are lucky.…
Managing Southampton in the Premier League had been a south coast breeze for Ronald Koeman – until this month. . The Dutchman’s Saints have spent almost the whole season in the Premier League top four but four consecutive league defeats and another in the League Cup have been a harsh reality check. . With a frantic fixture list and a squad beginning to creak under the strain, pessimists could argue that Southampton’s almost inevitable descent down the table has begun. . Koeman, however, remains upbeat, even if he will be without the likes of suspended Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama…
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has compared Raheem Sterling to Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez after the forward powered the Reds to the next round of the Capital One Cup. . Sterling scored a brace for the Reds to set up a League Cup semifinal against Chelsea with a 3-1 win at Bournemouth. Rodgers also took the opportunity to play down rumours linking Sterling to a move away from Anfield. . “His contract situation is nothing to do with him. His representatives are the ones working with the club. He is, as you can see, happy and enjoying his football. At Old Trafford…
Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has been suspended for one match, fined £25 000 and ordered to attend to an education course after making racist and anti-semitic comments. . Balotelli had already accepted a charge of an aggravated breach of Football Association rule E3, relating to references of ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality or religion or belief, after his posting of an image of computer game character Super Mario on Instagram which included the words “jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew”. . The Italy international did not request a personal hearing, but submitted written mitigation to…
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says Thierry Henry possesses some of the essential characteristics needed to be a manager. . Henry, 37, ended his 20-year playing career this week and told the Daily Telegraph (external) that managing Arsenal “would be a dream come true”. . Wenger, who signed Henry in 1999, said: “He will end up at Arsenal one day. Coach? Manager? Director? I don’t know. . “He always showed an incredible insight in his judgement of players. He has a real ability to unearth talent.” . Henry plans to combine media work with gaining his coaching badges. . “To pass…
Loanee striker Radamel Falcao “wants to stay” at Manchester United but says his long-term future depends partly on how often he plays for the club. . The Colombia striker, 28, has scored one goal in eight appearances since signing for the season from Monaco. . Earlier this month United boss Louis van Gaal said Falcao was only fit enough to play for 20 minutes, but Falcao says he is now “almost 100%”. . “I am very happy in this city, in this club. I really want to stay,” he said. . United have an option to sign Falcao, who is…
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge will spend Christmas in Boston in a bid to speed up his return from injury. . The 25-year-old has already spent time in Los Angeles working on his thigh injury and will now link up with medical specialists at baseball team Boston Red Sox. . He has played only three league games this season and is not expected to return to action for several weeks yet. . Liverpool owner John W Henry is also the owner of the Red Sox.
The Spain stopper has been in sparkling form this season and there have been growing concerns at United that he could depart the club next summer with Real Madrid leading the chase for his signature. . But, according to The Sun, De Gea will spurn Madrid’s advances and has even indicated that he is ready to pen fresh terms at United. . With rumours over a move back to his native Spain refusing to go away, the 24-year-old has assured his United team-mates his intention is to stay at the Theatre of Dreams. . David De Gea is ready to…