Real Madrid enter their Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester City as favourites due to their counterattacking prowess, believes former City loanee Kiki Musampa.
City became European champions for the first time last season as they won the treble, and they are seen by many as strong favourites to retain their crown this campaign.
However, Pep Guardiola s men have been handed a tough draw in the last eight, facing 14-time winners Madrid with a semi-final tie against Arsenal or Bayern Munich on the line.
It will be the third successive season in which City and Madrid have faced off in the Champions League s knockout stages following semi-final ties in 2021-22 and 2022-23, with the Santiago Bernabeu playing host to the first leg on Tuesday.
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Angel Di Maria would be a great signing for Juventus who can emulate former Real Madrid team-mates Karim Benzema and Luka Modric by playing at an elite level in his mid-30s.
That is the view of Iker Casillas, who played alongside Di Maria when Madrid won their 10th Champions League title in 2013-14.
Casillas feels the Argentine will be keen to feature regularly for the Bianconeri to cement his place at what could be his fourth World Cup later this year.
Di Maria is departing Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer after spending seven years in Ligue 1, and is widely expected to join Massimiliano Allegri s Juventus in the coming days.
The 34-year-old s agent revealed this week that only the final details of his contract in Turin remain outstanding, and…
Thomas Tuchel is determined to set the tone for his reign at Bayern Munich by knocking his old team Borussia Dortmund off their perch at the top of the Bundesliga.
The new Bayern head coach is braced for a different dynamic in next Saturday s Klassiker, which could be the defining game of the German league season.
Dortmund hold a one-point lead after Bayern were beaten last weekend by Bayer Leverkusen, and there are only nine rounds of games remaining, ramping up the fixture s significance.
Tuchel, whose appointment as successor to the sacked Julian Nagelsmann was made official on Friday, has already begun to receive messages from within the Dortmund camp.
He was boss at Dortmund from 2015 to 2017 and grew his reputation before being sacked amid behind-th…
Fabinho and Alisson were impressed by Trent Alexander-Arnold s performance in a new role for Liverpool against Leeds United.
The Reds routed their relegation-threatened opponents 6-1 at Elland Road on Monday, with Alexander-Arnold pulling the strings.
The 24-year-old has been much-maligned this season for his defending, but showcased his impressive passing range as he regularly stepped into midfield alongside Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Jordan Henderson, while also covering right-back in defensive phases.
Speaking to Liverpool s official website, Fabinho explained it is not that much of a change for his team-mate, who often found himself drifting into the midfield from right-back anyway.
Trent is somebody [who is] really good on the ball, with his quality …
Mohamed Salah and Liverpool are ready to throw off the shackles and show their best form after a slow start to the season, according to former Reds winger Albert Riera.
Salah shared the Golden Boot with Tottenham s Son Heung-min in England last season, and fell just shy of capturing the Premier League title with Jurgen Klopp s side.
But, like Liverpool collectively, the Egyptian forward has found the going tough so far this term.
Just two goals and two assists – a modest return by Salah s standards – have come amid a slow start for both player and club, with Liverpool perched in eighth place.
Defending champions Manchester City are vying with Arsenal and Tottenham for top spot.
Riera, who spent two years with Liverpool from 2008 to 2010 follow…
Otto Addo insists Ghana took no comfort from seeing rivals Uruguay join them in making an early exit from the World Cup after Friday s dramatic Group H finale.
Ghana and Uruguay both harboured hopes of reaching the last 16 ahead of Friday s game, which represented the teams first meeting since La Celeste claimed a famous World Cup quarter-final win in 2010, when Asamoah Gyan missed a penalty after Luis Suarez saw red for a goal-line handball.
Giorgian de Arrascaeta s brace helped Uruguay to a 2-0 victory, but South Korea s last-gasp 2-1 win over Portugal in the group s other game ensured Paulo Bento s team clinched second place.
After the match, Daniel Amartey suggested to reporters that Ghana became determined to take Uruguay out of the tournament with them once…
Rob Edwards admitted it would be an “incredible story” for Luton midfielder Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu to reach the Premier League having been at the club since they were in the National League.
Mpanzu joined from West Ham in 2014 when Luton were languishing in the fifth tier of English football and a win on Saturday in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final against Coventry would be his fourth promotion in 10 seasons.
Over 300 appearances and nine years later, the 29-year-old is potentially 90 minutes away from reaching the top-flight and facing off with his former side next season.
LUTON TOWN ARE GOING TO WEMBLEY! |
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown)
“It would be (a great achievement). I need to stress that it would be an incredible story,” Ed…
Market: Stoke win
Odds: 2/3 @
Turning their attention to EFL Cup action on Tuesday night, Stoke will travel to Brunton Park when they meet Carlisle.
Starting with the hosts, enduring what was a public League One crisis last season as they lost their third-tier status with a real whimper, Carlisle find themselves at the heart of an extended crisis. Getting life in League Two underway over the weekend with another nightmare performance as they slumped to a 4-1 drumming away at Gillingham, Paul Simpson’s men could be set for another relegation scrap this time around. Signing off the 2023/24 campaign with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Derby on April 27th and losing all of their final three League One appearances by an aggregate score of 6-1, the Cumbrians have cont…
England star Lucy Bronze has revealed she is playing through pain caused by a knee injury in order to help the Lionesses bid a first major tournament victory, having netted in a 4-0 semi-final rout of Sweden.
Bronze s header put England two goals up against the Swedes at Bramall Lane, after which Alessia Russo s incredible backheel and Fran Kirby s long-range strike helped the hosts record the biggest ever victory in a Women s Euro semi-final.
Tournament hosts England, beaten European Championship finalists in both 1984 and 2009, will now take part in the showpiece final at Wembley on Sunday.
And Bronze, who scooped FIFA s The Best Women s Player award in 2020, is blocking out the pain in an attempt to help her country to glory, as she played down her last-fou…
Diego Simeone is no stranger to defensive organisation, and the Atletico Madrid boss has been impressed by Xavi s work in making Barcelona difficult to break down this season.
Barca are closing in on their first league title since the 2018-19 campaign, sitting 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga with nine games of the season remaining.
While Xavi s side have been criticised at times for a perceived failure to employ an entertaining style, they have conceded just nine goals in 29 league games this term.
The Blaugrana have kept a remarkable 22 clean sheets in LaLiga this season, at least four more than any other team in Europe s top five leagues (Lazio are second with 18).
At Saturday s pre-match press conference, Simeone was asked whether …