Croatia and Scotland face a must-win showdown at Hampden Park in Euro 2020 Group D – something that is not ideal for Zlatko Dalic s side.
In five previous meetings with Scotland, Croatia have never won (D3 L2). They have only faced world champions France (eight times) and reigning Euros kings Portugal (seven) more often without tasting victory.
But Scotland have been hit by a COVID-19 positive for Billy Gilmour after the Chelsea midfielder s man-of-the-match showing in the 0-0 draw with England.
That game at Wembley engendered a feelgood factor around Steve Clarke s squad, despite the fact they remain without a goal or a win in their two matches at the tournament so far.
Indeed, despite the impressive work overall of front two Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes…
Sheffield Wednesday have been charged by the EFL following alleged breaches of financial rules relating to the sale of their Hillsborough stadium.
The Championship club say they are vigorously defending the charges, which under EFL regulations could result in penalties including a points deduction or a fine if proven.
The EFL launched an investigation into Wednesday s 2017-18 financial submission under profitability and sustainability rules following the reported sale of Hillsborough to owner Dejphon Chansiri.
Wednesday s accounts showed income of £61.27million from related parties , which resulted in the club posting a profit.
The league body said in a statement on Thursday: The EFL has reviewed a large number of documents obtained from the club as par…
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 goals for the same club in the Champions League on Wednesday, his double helping Real Madrid to a 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Ronaldo reached the milestone with a first-half penalty at the Santiago Bernabeu to cancel out Adrien Rabiot s 33rd-minute opener.
He then took his tally to 101 with a crucial second seven minutes from time, the five-time Ballon d Or winner on hand to knee the ball home after Alphonse Areola parried Marco Asensio s cross.
In doing so, Ronaldo added another record to his growing list of individual honours.
Here, with the help of Opta data, we take a look at the numbers behind Ronaldo s sensational achievement.
100 Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player in history t…
Barcelona coach Xavi is urging his players to take full advantage of a golden opportunity to seal Champions League qualification against a direct rival in Real Betis.
The Blaugrana go to Seville on Saturday sitting second in LaLiga, eight points clear of fifth-placed Betis – who won 1-0 at Camp Nou in December – as the battle for the top four nears its conclusion.
A win for Barca over the Copa del Rey winners would take them to 69 points and ensure they do not finish any lower than fourth, with Betis only able to reach 67 and sixth-placed Real Sociedad 68.
While the 15-point gap to champions Real Madrid highlights how confronting 2021-22 has been for Barca, Xavi has restored a degree of positivity since replacing Ronald Koeman in November.
Barca were…
Manchester City s hopes of winning a third Premier League title in succession are already over, says midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
City suffered a fourth defeat of the domestic season at home to local rivals Manchester United last weekend, leaving them 14 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool after 16 matches.
Gundogan was a key member of the side that edged out Jurgen Klopp s men in an unrelenting battle last time around but feels standards have clearly slipped this term.
Asked how far City are from their best form ahead of Wednesday s Champions League match at Dinamo Zagreb, Gundogan told BT Sport: Quite far, to be honest.
Obviously it s so far a difficult season for us. There s already a huge gap in the Premier League between Liverpool and us.
…
Liverpool are hoping that they will finally get Lazar Marković off their books this month with his contract set to expire in the summer, according to .
Halfway through the January transfer window, the 24-year-old is still a Liverpool player, despite not featuring in a competitive first-team game for the Reds since 2015. Meanwhile, he s had loan spells with Fenerbahce, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and Anderlecht, and he was close to joining the Belgian side on a permanent basis last summer. The two clubs had agreed a fee, only for the deal to fall through at the last moment due to the player failing to agree personal terms. Marković the fallout wasn t related to his wage demands, but Anderlecht officials said otherwise.
Since then, he s been demoted to the U-23 side, an…
Alan Pardew is desperate to continue Newcastle United s League Cup progress at Tottenham and deliver silverware for a club legend.
Newcastle visit White Hart Lane for Wednesday s League Cup quarter-final tie in a continued search for a first trophy since 1969 when they lifted the European Fairs Cup.
Bobby Moncur was captain of the side that defeated Ujpesti Dozsa and manager Pardew stated that he is inspired to lead Newcastle to League Cup glory by the 69-year-old.
I call him our president, Bob Moncur is on the bus every week to remind me [when Newcastle last won a tropy], Pardew said.
I can t get away from it, but no-one would be more delighted than Bob if we can achieve something.
Newcastle may face a difficult challenge in beating Mauricio…
Best Odds: 8/11
Bookmaker:
With plenty of pressure on their shoulders this weekend, Manchester United will welcome Brentford to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester United
Starting with the hosts, suffering an infamous Champions League collapse at Old Trafford earlier in the week, Manchester United find themselves in the midst of another public nightmare. Eventually suffering an action-packed 3-2 defeat at the hands of Turkish giants Galatasaray, Erik ten Hag has a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders. Now facing a major uphill battle in their bid to punch a Champions League knockout stage ticket, the former Ajax boss will be desperate for his side to claim a crucial response here. However, last seen in top-flight action getting hit with a toothle…
In what was always billed as a crucial showdown for Manchester City on Thursday night, Pep Guardiola s side clinched a rugged 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Opening their midweek trip to west London sat eight points adrift of Arsenal and finding a route back to the top of the table, it was eventually second-half sub Riyad Mahrez who tapped home from close range and helped the Sky Blues snatch all three points.
Bouncing back from last weekend s 1-1 draw against Everton and still breathing down the Gunners neck, City also pilled more pressure onto Graham Potter s shoulders.
While Chelsea might have come close to opening the scoring through Carney Chukwuemeka, Thursday s hosts have now remarkably managed to claim just a sole Premier League victory from their last …
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger isn t giving up on a top-four finish. He side are three points adrift with three games to play.
Arsenal travel to the Bet365 Stadium to face Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday evening, in a must-win game to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive.
However, this fixture has been a banana-skin for the Gunners in the past, having failed to win away to the Potters in the Premier League since 2010.
But with Stoke far from convincing on home soil of late while Arsenal have been resurgent, can the Londoners end their long-awaited winless run at Stoke?
Stoke City and Arsenal’s head-to-head record at the Bet365 Stadium
(1/11/08) Stoke City 2-1 Arsenal
(27/2/10) Stoke City 1-3 Arsenal
(8/5/11) Stoke City 3-1 Arsenal
(…