Real Madrid have set their sights on Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling after missing out on Paris Saint-Germain s Kylian Mbappe.
The Spanish giants were widely regarded as favourites to land Mbappe until a late change of heart led to him signing a three-year extension to stay in France.
Madrid and City went head to head in the Champions League semi-final, but they may find themselves talking business soon for the England international.
TOP STORY – LOS BLANCOS PREPARE BID FOR STERLING
Sterling has spent seven seasons with City, racking up 131 goals in 338 appearances in all club competitions, and has played no fewer than 46 games in any of those campaigns.
Despite this, his playing time waned in the closing stages of this seas…
Market: Dundalk win
Odds: 10/11 @
Hoping to extend on what has been a stellar end to the season, Dundalk will welcome Derry City to Oriel Park on Friday night.
Starting with the hosts, while Dundalk might have once again failed to mount a charge for the title the season, the former Irish champions are enjoying an impressive end to their campaign. With their sights now firmly set on trying to sneak a top-half finish this time around, the Lilywhites were last seen picking up a 2-0 victory against an already relegated Longford. In fact, Head Coach Vinny Perth has seen his side win each of their last three Premier Division contests on the spin, keeping a clean sheet in each of those victories. Hoping to lay down another late marker at Oriel Park, Dundalk should also…
With Europe’s elite making their respective returns on Saturday afternoon, we have another heavyweight schedule on the cards. So, for those of you looking to place a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday, October 7th
BST 12:30 Luton vs Tottenham
Last seen snatching a hugely controversial 2-1 win at home against Liverpool, Tottenham have only continued to shine since they welcomed Ange Postecoglou to north London. While Spurs might have come under a huge amount of scrutiny last season as they missed out on punching any kind of European finish, the former Celtic boss finds the mood in his camp at a red-hot high. With their sights firmly set on clinching a Champions League return this season, Saturday’…
Market: Guimaraes win
Odds: 2/5 @
Looking to extend on their Taca de Portugal adventure on Thursday evening, Guimaraes will welcome second-tier outfit Penafiel to town.
Starting with the hosts, while Guimaraes might have eventually missed out on the chance to book a famous European return last season, Alvaro Pacheco’s men are enjoying another Primeira Liga flurry this time around. Opening the New Year with a gritty display as they snatched a 1-1 stalemate away at Braga, the former Estoril boss has seen his squad gain a string of plaudits. Signing off 2023 with a 1-0 victory against Rio Ave, the Conquerors should be dreaming of the chance to mount a genuine Taca de Portugal charge this year. In fact, Guimaraes are unbeaten in all of their previous six straight …
Harry Kane continued his record-breaking form by becoming the highest scoring Englishman in a single Bundesliga season with the winner in Bayern Munich’s 1-0 victory at struggling Cologne.
England captain Kane claimed his 18th goal of the season courtesy of a first-half tap-in to fire Bayern to the top of the table, above Bayer Leverkusen.
The 30-year-old striker’s remarkable tally is one more than Kevin Keegan managed for Hamburg in the 1978-79 campaign and the total Jadon Sancho registered for Borussia Dortmund in 2019-20.
Him.
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
His haul has come in just 12 league games since his big-money summer switch from Tottenham, while he has registered 22 goals in 17 outings in all competitions.
Thomas Tuche…
Kieran Dowell is relishing the pressure after signing for Rangers.
Ahead of their home cinch Premiership game against Hearts on Wednesday night, the Light Blues announced the pre-contract capture of the 25-year-old midfielder from Norwich on a three-year deal.
Dowell, who will officially become a Rangers player on July 1, told the club’s official website: “I’m buzzing and really glad to get it done early towards the end of the season.
“I know a lot of Rangers fans and Scottish lads from my previous clubs, and they just speak so highly of Rangers – the intensity of it, the pressure of it – and that is a really good pressure as you are expected to win every game.
“There were so many positives for me to come here.”
Dowell, who has had…
Carlo Ancelotti believes Vinicius Junior is constantly developing his attacking output, after the Real Madrid forward delivered again in the Champions League.
Vinicius scored twice as Madrid drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday.
Those strikes took Vinicius to 31 goal involvements (16 goals, 15 assists) in the Champions League since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, which is more than any other player in the competition in the same time period.
Vinicius opener came when he cut inside and latched onto an exceptional pass from Toni Kroos, and Ancelotti pointed out how the Brazil international is beginning to change how he attacks.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Ancelotti said: Vinicius is starting to unde…
Everton have withdrawn their appeal against a two-point deduction issued for a breach of the Premier League s profit and sustainability rules.
Last November, the Toffees were hit with a 10-point deduction for breaching the competition s financial rules during a four-year assessment period ending in 2021-22, though that penalty was reduced to six points on appeal.
They were then – along with Nottingham Forest – charged with breaching again in the period culminating in the end of last season.
An independent commission found Everton had exceeded the maximum loss limit of £105million by £16.6m during that latter period, issuing a further two-point deduction, which the club pledged to appeal.
However, Everton have since secured safety with relative ease,…
Erik ten Hag defended his decision to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo during Manchester United s 0-0 draw with Newcastle United on Sunday, insisting he wants to keep the striker fresh for a packed fixture schedule.
Ronaldo, starting a Premier League for the first time since August 13, managed just a single shot before he was hauled off in the 72nd minute for Marcus Rashford.
The Portuguese superstar looked visibly annoyed as he walked off the pitch, and continued to shake his head in the dugout as United struggled to break down Eddie Howe s side.
United face Premier League matches against Tottenham and Chelsea over the next week, and Ten Hag said Ronaldo was brought off with a view to preserving him for those games.
We have to recover as we have four games …
Borussia Dortmund hoped there had been a sign of change. BVB were back on top of the Bundesliga ahead of Der Klassiker and going to rivals Bayern Munich as the league s in-form team, their hosts meanwhile were in self-inflicted turmoil.
Victory at Allianz Arena would be the real statement Dortmund desired in a quest to prove they could end Bayern s domination of not only German football s biggest game, but the Bundesliga in general.
And perhaps Dortmund will still go on to win the title, but Saturday s match suggested that no matter how good BVB are, Bayern s psychological hold over them will take years to overcome.
As Bayern cruised to a 4-2 win, the Bundesliga s title race took another turn.
There had been plenty of talk about confidence from the Dortmu…