Manchester United should not be expected to win trophies under Erik ten Hag immediately, says Gary Neville, warning it is a long job for the Dutchman with a mentally shot squad at Old Trafford.
The Ajax boss will take the reins from interim manager Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season, with the Red Devils arguably facing their lowest point in the post-Alex Ferguson era.
Questions over whether a squad low on confidence can challenge for Champions League football remains in the air, and several key players look destined for the door.
Hopes are high that Ten Hag can facilitate a fast turnaround but speaking after his appointment, former defender Neville has warned there will be no quick fix at the Theatre of Dreams.
What we re seeing at this current momen…
Arsene Wenger is wary of the threat posed by Hull City, despite Arsenal s superb record against Saturday s visitors to the Emirates Stadium.
Hull have lost their last seven meetings with Wenger s men, after recording a memorable 2-1 away win in the first Premier League fixture between the sides in September 2008.
Arsenal s last success against Hull saw them come from two goals down to triumph 3-2 after extra-time in last season s FA Cup final at Wembley.
However, Wenger believes his team will face much stronger opposition this weekend.
When you look at their team-sheet now, it looks like a team that could beat anybody, said the long-serving Arsenal manager.
We expect a tough opponent. They couldn t use [Nikica] Jelavic in the Cup last season si…
What the papers say
Juventus are reportedly working on a new long-term deal for midfielder Adrien Rabiot. The Daily Mail, citing Tuttosport, says the Italian giant is looking to tie the 28-year-old down for a further three years, after he turned down an approach from Manchester United during the summer in favour of extending his time in Turin.
Chelsea are believed to be gearing up for an expensive January. According to The Guardian, the Blues are set to target Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and Brentford forward Ivan Toney, after already spending £1billion on new signings in a year.
And the Daily Mirror, via Cadena SER, says Luka Modric is on radar of multiple MLS teams, with Inter Miami believed to be especially keen on the Real Madrid midfielder.
Social media rou…
Luis Suarez: One goal, one disallowed the red card / Image via espnfc.com
Fouls, reckless tackles, red cards, goals, disallowed goals.
You name it and the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals at Camp Nou between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid had it all.
La Liga rivals and fiercely-contested competitors took part in a highly-eventful and extremely exciting game which ended with one goal on each side of the pitch and with plenty of chances that were left unused or disallowed.
Read our full match report:
Form Guide Team News
Barcelona headed into the game at Camp Nou on the back of the nine-match unbeaten run with their foot upfront in the race to the Copa del Rey finals against Atletico Madrid. Luis Enrique was without injured Rafinha, wherea…
Hirving Lozano helped Pachuca book their spot in the CONCACAF Champions League final with a thrilling 3-1 win over Dallas in their second leg on Tuesday.
Lozano, previously linked with a move to Manchester United, struck twice late on to seal a 4-3 aggregate win for the Mexican side.
The victory moved them into a fifth Champions League final and first since 2010, the fourth and last time they were crowned champions.
Trailing 2-1 on aggregate, hosts Pachuca struck first at Estadio Hidalgo through Franco Jara, who headed in a Jonathan Urretaviscaya cross from close range in the 38th minute.
Lozano appeared to have settled the tie in the 80th minute, skipping between two markers and inside from the left before beating goalkeeper Chris Seitz from 25 yards.
Prediction: Draw
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
We re finally on the verge of the final set of group stage games, and for many teams, their future is uncertain. Underdogs have a chance of qualifying for the Round of 16, big favourites are on the verge of elimination, and some teams haven t even played their second games yet. Still, while all of that is going on, Uruguay and Russia can rest easy knowing that their passage into the knockout stages is secure with both teams picking up two wins from their first two games thus far in the tournament.
Uruguay
As is usually the case, Uruguay came into this tournament with a flying under the radar kind of mentality. While they ve got a proven track record on the big stage people have continued to underestimate them, an…
Roberto Martinez lauded Everton s maturity following the 3-0 UEFA Europa League win over Lille.
Martinez s side retained their spot at the summit of Group H thanks to goals from Leon Osman, Phil Jagielka and Steven Naismith.
The result took Everton s points tally to an impressive eight from four games and left them five ahead of third-placed Lille with two matches remaining.
Their showing certainly impressed Martinez, who basked in his side s ability to acclimatise in their first season playing European football since 2009/10.
We played with a maturity that suggested we had been playing in Europe for years, he said.
The level of performance was very good throughout the team and that is pleasing.
Martinez, though, refused to look too far…
Manchester City teenager Brahim Diaz believes he has the perfect mentor at the Etihad Stadium in compatriot David Silva.
The attacking midfielder, who turned 18 last week, made his senior debut as a substitute in last season s EFL Cup tie at Swansea City and impressed on City s pre-season tour to the United States, scoring in each of the International Champions Cup wins over Real Madrid and Tottenham.
Spain Under-19 international Diaz has a host of senior team-mates vying for a place in Pep Guardiola s side in his position, although few seem as guaranteed of a place in the City starting XI as Silva.
Capped 113 times by his country, Silva has been at City since 2010 and has moved to take Diaz under his wing since the youngster moved to Manchester from Malaga.
…
Steven Davis scored the winner to give Northern Ireland their first friendly victory since March 2008, beating Latvia 1-0 at Windsor Park on Friday.
In front of a celebratory crowd, captain Davis beat Latvia goalkeeper Andris Vanins at the second attempt early in the second half to notch his third international goal of 2015 and settle the match.
Northern Ireland, preparing for their first major tournament appearance since 1986 after topping Euro 2016 qualifying Group F, were testing a new 3-5-2 formation with Jamie Ward partnering Kyle Lafferty up front.
Lafferty was substituted shortly after the break after hurting his ribs but he had the best chance of the first half when he shot wide with Ward in a good position.
A raft of substitutions took the stin…
Prediction: Tottenham win
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
The Premier League is back in our lives once again this weekend, and one of the games that we re looking forward to more so than any other is Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur. These are two clubs that have been made very familiar with one another over the years, and in the present day, they both have bucket loads of potential regarding what they could accomplish in the not so distant future. However, both are coming off of losses in the Premier League, which could open the door for some great end to end football on Saturday.
Wolves
The juggernaut story of Wolverhampton Wanderers has been put on the backburner in recent weeks, with Wolves starting to come back down to earth after going on a…