Pep Guardiola has praised John Stones for his impressive recent form and made it clear all members of his Manchester City squad must be ready to play when required.
Stones has started three Premier League games in a row alongside Ruben Dias in the heart of the City defence, all of which have resulted in clean sheets.
The England international has seized his chance since earning a recall he played in the 3-1 win over Wolves to open the league campaign, but had not featured in the competition prior to starting the 5-0 victory over Burnley on November 28.
His form has seen him keep Aymeric Laporte out of the line-up, though Guardiola is not interested in any complaints about a lack of minutes from within his squad, considering the crowded schedule City face in …
Competition: Europa League
Market: West Ham to win against Domzale
Odds:
Premier League side West Ham United travel to face Slovenian Prva Liga outfit NK Domzale at the Stožice Stadium in the first leg of the third round of tonight’s Europa League qualifier.
The Londoners are favourites to come away with a win given the gulf in class between the two sides, coupled with West Ham’s outstanding form on the road in the last 12 months.
Slovenian side NK Domzale reached this summer’s Europa League qualifiers after finishing third in the Prva Liga last season, but their achilles heel was surprisingly with their home form (18 games, 4 wins) so they could struggle in their own backyard against a travel-happy West Ham outfit.
West Ham United are…
Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka has challenged his team-mates to achieve the country s best-ever performance at a European Championship by reaching the quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old warned that his side must not underestimate Group A opponents Albania and Romania, as they look to reach the knock-out stages of the tournament for the first time.
Switzerland must also play tournament hosts France, and Xhaka told UEFA.com: I agree with those who say France are the favourites, but we cannot underestimate Albania and Romania either.
They made a lot of progress last year. Albania are taking part for the first time, while Romania are very good defensively and have not lost in years. It s an interesting group.
Our first priority is definitely to make it th…
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard scored twice as the Merseysiders ended 2008 on top of the Premier League with a 5-1 win away to Newcastle at St James Park in Sunday s early kick-off match.
Victory left Liverpool four points in front of second-placed Chelsea.
But the Blues had a chance to again cut the gap to just a point by winning away to Fulham in the west London derby later in the day.
England midfielder Gerrard opened the scoring from close range just after the half-hour mark.
Five minutes later Sami Hyypia made it 2-0 with a header from a corner.
But slack marking by Liverpool saw Newcastle, who before kick-off found out that owner Mike Ashley had reversed his decision to sell the club, pull a goal back on the stroke of half-time when …
Bojan Krkic is thrilled with his imminent transfer from Roma to AC Milan, with the move set to be completed on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old former Barcelona man is determined to prove his worth at the 2010/11 Serie A champions.
It is an honour to wear the Milan shirt. I promise that I will give my everything for this club, Bojan told reporters.
All the sales that Milan have made? Milan are still a strong team, and I want to make the most out of this opportunity.
The forward was also linked with a move to ambitious Liga side Malaga in his homeland, but he is pleased to have joined Milan instead.
Malaga? I have heard true and false things in the media, but I can only say that I am happy to be at Milan, he said.
Bojan could make his Milan …
Gianluigi Buffon has lavished praise on the incredible Adrien Rabiot, claiming the midfielder is a combination of Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio.
Goalkeeper Buffon saw at close quarters what Rabiot is capable of during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain, though the latter was frozen out since mid-December after failing to agree a new contract.
With his deal set to expire, the France international confirmed earlier this month that he has held talks with Juventus over a move to Italy.
Buffon believes the Serie A champions would be getting a player who offers similar traits to some famous former Juve midfielders, including Rabiot s compatriot Pogba.
He is a fantastic mix, he has the physical strength of Pogba, who is like …
Best Odds: 5/4
Bookmaker:
Two sides who find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the table, Toronto and Orlando City will face off at BMO Field in the early hours of Sunday.
Toronto
Starting with the hosts, shocking almost everyone across the MLS last week as they put on what was a remarkable early flurry, there is no doubt that Toronto will be desperate to build off of that result. While they might have almost been on the wrong end of a real collapse, The Reds did snatch a hugely surprising 3-2 win away at a high-flying New England. However, while interim boss Javier Pérez might have seen his side bounce back from that woeful 7-1 drumming at the hands of D.C. United earlier in the month, it doesn t cover what has been a nightmare start to the 2021 …
Germany midfielder Sami Khedira believes Carlo Ancelotti can make Bayern Munich even more dangerous and says the Italian has perfected the art of team leadership.
Ancelotti will officially take charge at Bayern next Monday, taking over from Pep Guardiola, who was presented as Manchester City manager this week.
Khedira worked under Ancelotti during his time at Real Madrid, winning the Champions League in 2014.
And the current Juventus man is full of praise for his for his former boss.
The door to his office was always open, he always took the time, Khedira told Sport Bild. He never really screams. I have never experienced that 25 players are never mad at their coach in some way. Ancelotti has perfected team leadership.
The fact that stars lik…
Bournemouth are closing in on a £6m deal for midfielder Lewis Cook, .
The nineteen year old has long been linked with a move away from Elland Road, with a number of top flight club’s keen on securing his services.
However, the Cherries appear to have won the race for his signature with a deal expected to be concluded in the coming days.
He has one year remaining on his current deal with the Yorkshire club and is expected to pen a three year contract with Eddie Howe’s side.
Despite his young age, Cook has made seventy-five senior club appearances, scoring two goals both of which came last season, when he was named the Football League’s Young Player of the Year.
Internationally, he has represented England at U17, U18 and U19 level and …
Everton want to keep Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku this summer, despite reported interest from Chelsea
According to, Everton will put a price tag of around £75million on striker Romelu Lukaku’s head this summer.
The Belgian’s former club Chelsea are reportedly showing interest in the striker.
It seems the Merseyside club are in no mood to negotiate over the forward.
The Blues will have to cough-up a massive fee for a striker they sold for £28million back in 2014.
Everton does not need to sell Lukaku
A combination of extra television revenue and the arrival of majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri have made the Toffees financially stable. Gone are the days where the Toffees could be financially bullied and lose all their top stars.
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