If Celtic fail to win away to Dundee United today (Sunday), Rangers will be crowned champions of Scotland for the first time since 2011. This is how the players and manager Steven Gerrard celebrated after their triumph over St. Mirren on Saturday.
https://twitter.com/empireofthekop/status/1368280927273639940
William Gallas has backed incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Conte to revive the club s fortunes following their miserable 2015-16 season.
Chelsea s Premier League title defence was nothing short of horrendous and they ended the campaign in 10th place.
Jose Mourinho paid the price for Chelsea s dismal start to the season by being sacked in December, before Guus Hiddink steadied the ship and staved off any threat of relegation.
Conte will take over at Stamford Bridge after leading Italy at Euro 2016, and Gallas who won two Premier League titles with Chelsea during his stay between 2001 and 2006 expects the former Juventus boss to propel the club back towards the top of the table.
The former France defender told Omnisport: It was very, very hard to see Che…
The phrase Earn your stripes is unlikely to resonate too much with the average Premier League fan, but it ought to be viewed in foreboding fashion after Hull City s Championship play-off success.
City beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Wembley on Saturday to book a third spell in the top flight and an immediate return after 2015 s relegation, which was largely overshadowed by owners – the Allam family – attempting to change the club name to Hull Tigers , a move which caused ructions within the fanbase.
They will return with controversial off-field matters once again dominating the discussion.
Season tickets at the KCOM Stadium have been abolished for 2016-17 and replaced with a membership scheme – titled Earn Your Stripes – but a pricing structure w…
Competition: La Liga
Market: Real Betis to beat Leganes
Odds:
La Liga is back for another exciting round of games as Spain s top league continues to simmer away nicely. The importance of going on a positive run in January cannot be underestimated, with many teams getting bogged down after the turn of the year, seeing their good start count for nothing. With all of this in mind, Real Betis host Leganes on Monday.
Real Betis have been in fairly good form this season but they need to climb up the table even further if they are to put the threat of relegation out of their minds. From their 18 games they have won seven, drawn three and lost eight, while they have scored 30 goals and conceded 34 times. In their last five they have managed to win twic…
Arsene Wenger is hopeful Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas will return to Arsenal at some point in his career.
The Spain international made 303 appearances in an eight-year spell with Arsenal before moving back to boyhood club Barca in 2011.
According to Wenger, Fabregas watches every Arsenal game and predicted he will make the switch back to the Emirates Stadium before he retires.
The Frenchman told reporters: Fabregas was an exception, a world-class player.
I m not convinced that he will not one day come back here, because he is a real Arsenal man. He loves Arsenal, he watches every Arsenal game. But of course, Barcelona was his home town and you had to accept that that would come into it, especially with their club having the best team in the world …
England left-back Leighton Baines will travel to Euro 2012, but remembers the heartache he suffered two years ago.
Baines made Fabio Capello s 30-man provisional squad for the 2010 World Cup, but was one of seven players to miss the cut.
The Everton defender revealed on Tuesday how the Italian let him know about his decision.
Theo Walcott didn t go either and I think he got exactly the same phone call, Baines told reporters.
We were both put through to the manager who said, I m sorry, you won t be coming with us, but I look forward to seeing you for the qualifiers. Thank you and goodbye. That was it.
I was a bit of a late runner anyway. Six months before, I was nowhere near, never in the squad and then I made the 30 and had a chance.
…
Javi Martinez has been ruled out for the foreseeable future after sustaining a thigh injury during Bayern Munich s draw with RB Leipzig on Saturday.
The Spanish midfielder lasted just 25 minutes at the Allianz Arena and was replaced by Jamal Musiala, who scored Bayern s first goal in a thrilling game that ended 3-3.
Martinez will be unavailable for the Champions League meeting with Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday, though the reigning champions are already guaranteed to finish top of Group A.
A Bayern statement read: Bayern will be without Javi Martinez for the foreseeable future. The Spain international suffered a muscle injury to his left thigh in the Bundesliga top-of-the-table clash against RB Leipzig on Saturday. The diagnosis was confirmed after an examinatio…
Zinedine Zidane is only concerned about Champions League qualification, rather than his own future, ahead of Real Madrid s pivotal clash with Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Spanish side face the distinct prospect of missing out on qualifying for the last-16 stage of the competition after a 2-0 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk last week saw them slump to third place in Group B.
Madrid s loss was their second in the competition this season they have never lost three times in a single group stage.
Their worrying lack of form in Europe had coincided with a tricky start to their LaLiga title defence too, though the pressure on Zidane was eased somewhat by Saturday s 1-0 win away at Sevilla.
Still, the Frenchman knows the importance of Wednesday s hom…
Brazil take on Mexico on Tuesday, with both sides knowing victory would virtually assure them a place in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup.
The nations won their opening fixtures of the tournament, Brazil coping with the huge weight of home expectation by overcoming Croatia 3-1 in controversial circumstances on Thursday.
Awarded a soft-looking penalty at 1-1 to move in front for the first time in the match, the hosts also saw their opponents have a goal controversially ruled out when Ivica Olic was adjudged to have fouled goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
Mexico, on the other hand, benefited from perseverance on Friday, as Miguel Herrera s men twice saw Giovani dos Santos strikes wrongly disallowed for offside before Oribe Peralta eventually slotted home to earn them a 1-0 win o…
AC Milan eyeing Fernando Gago
Sport Mediaset is reporting that AC Milan are hot on the trail of Boca Juniors midfielder Fernando Gago.
The Rossoneri have been quite busy this summer, having already secured the signatures of Alex and Jeremy Menez, but they are working hard on new reinforcements.
Sport Mediaset has suggested that AC Milan plan to make a move on Boca Juniors star Fernando Gago as they need a replacement for injured captain Riccardo Montolivo.
The 28-year-old surprisingly opted to return to La Bombonera following a somewhat disappointing spell with Valencia, but he has remained on the radar of Europe s top clubs.
AC Milan boss Filippo Inzaghi has been impressed with the midfielder s performances for Argentina at the 2014 World Cup an…
As I have the worst track record in history when it comes to predicting the scores and results in games, I thought I’d have another go to show you just how bad I really am. I’ve seen the experts do it and they get nearly all of them wrong so I can’t be any worse than them can I?
OK, here goes with this weekends games in the Premier League:
Saturday, 20 September 2008
Blackburn v Fulham, 15:00
Under Paul Ince Blackburn started the season looking good. With Santa Cruz banging in the goals and a well organised defence in front of the former England goalkeeper, what could go wrong? Well, only one point from their last three games and four goals conceded in both of the last two for starters.
Fulham look like…