Manchester City appear to be cruising towards the Premier League title and will look to extend a 17-match winning run away to Mikel Arteta s Arsenal.
While top spot is firmly in their hands, the chasing back have plenty to play for, with Manchester United in need of a win at home to Newcastle United and Tottenham heading to West Ham for a tough London derby.
Chelsea s winning streak under Thomas Tuchel has put them firmly back into top-four contention, and Timo Werner s welcome return to goalscoring could have come at a critical time.
That said, fantasy football managers would also be wise to consider Danny Ings, whose impressive scoring record will be of concern to Tuchel s men.
EMILIANO MARTINEZ
Aston Villa s reported £20million spe…
Mikel Arteta says Arsenal must reset following their disappointing start to the Premier League season.
The Gunners sit bottom of the table and are yet to register a point ahead of welcoming Norwich City to the Emirates on Saturday.
Arteta s side have lost each of their opening three games against Brentford, Chelsea and reigning champions Manchester City, while shipping nine goals without reply.
Though he will be without the suspended Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny, who has a thigh injury, the manager has Gabriel, Thomas Partey and Eddie Nketiah available for selection again after injury.
Meanwhile, Ben White will also return after previously testing positive for coronavirus.
And Arteta is hopeful his squad can start afresh against the Canaries.<…
Northern Ireland manager Michael O Neill acknowledged he is not completely sure how his side managed to qualify for the European Championship, but paid tribute to his squad for their achievement.
O Neill s men ran out 3-1 winners against Greece at Windsor Park on Thursday as Steven Davis scored twice either side of Josh Magennis first international goal.
Christos Aravidis late finish proved scant consolation for the visitors, with Northern Ireland able to focus on their first appearance at a European Championship and their first major tournament outing since 1986.
The players were outstanding. Right through the team, magnificent, O Neill told Sky Sports.
It s a privilege to be here, I m proud to stand here as their manager.
How have we d…
Competition: Euro 2016 Qualifier
Market: England to win against Switzerland
Odds:
England welcome Switzerland to Wembley tonight for their Euro 2016 Qualifier. The Three Lions have already booked their place in next year’s finals, and are enjoying a 100% record in their group. Switzerland are second in Group E, and will all but book their place in the 2016 European Championships with a win. They could well struggle given tonight’s opposition beat them in their own backyard earlier in the qualifying campaign.
Roy Hodgson’s men won 2-0 away to Switzerland in their opening group game, and have gone on to win another six, conceding just three goals in total. Tonight’s visitors are no slouches, however, with the Red and Whites coming off the back of five …
Ahead of the final matchday of Euro 2016 qualification, we take a look at what each of the contenders need from the coming round of fixtures to take them a step closer to next year s tournament in France.
Group A
Iceland and Czech Republic have already booked their places in next year s tournament. Turkey occupy the coveted play-off position due to a two-point advantage over Netherlands and will secure third place with a point in their clash with current leaders Iceland thanks to a superior head-to-head record with the Dutch – who host Czech Republic needing a win.
Group B
Belgium s 4-1 victory over Andorra ensured qualification, while Wales also progressed on Saturday despite defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina as Israel were beaten by Cyprus, a result that a…
Lautaro Martinez scored twice as Inter came from behind to get back on track in Serie A with a 2-1 victory over lowly Cremonese.
Martinez netted either side of the interval in Saturday s Lombardy derby at Giovanni Zini Stadium.
With a sharp finish having cancelled out David Okereke s sensational opener in the first half, Martinez lashed home from inside the area in the 65th minute.
The victory took Inter onto 40 points and, temporarily at least, into second place, though runaway leaders Napoli hold a 10-point lead.
Inter s bright start failed to produce a true chance, and they were stunned by an incredible 11th-minute opener when Okereke curled a sublime strike in off the underside of the crossbar.
Yet Cremonese s lead lasted just 10 minutes, with…
Pep Guardiola offered a solution as Jurgen Klopp bemoaned Liverpool s hectic schedule, suggesting that issue would disappear if he took up a job in the Maldives.
Manchester City are in action against Leeds United on Sunday after Liverpool have visited Newcastle United in Saturday s early kick-off.
The timing of that fixture has been the source of some frustration to Klopp, whose Reds side played in the Champions League against Villarreal on Wednesday.
But City manager Guardiola insisted it is a problem top coaches simply have to come to terms with, accepting they have little say in how the calendar is set.
The alternative, Guardiola suggested, would be leaving the Premier League for a quieter life beneath the coconut trees in the Maldives league .
Manchester City showed exactly why they are the reigning champions as they overcame previously unbeaten Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
As for neighbours Manchester United, they suffered a damaging 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa, who were good value for the victory, while Liverpool were held to a 3-3 draw by Brentford, despite another record-breaking goal from Mohamed Salah.
Elsewhere, Michail Antonio s fine start to the season continued as his late goal helped West Ham overcome Leeds United.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks at the key statistics from Saturday s most notable fixtures.
2009 Aston Villa secured their first Premier League victory over Manchester United in their last 18 meetings, since winning 1-0 at Old Trafford i…
Edin Dzeko was on target against his former side as Inter inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Jose Mourinho s Roma in Saturday s one-sided Serie A contest.
Mourinho was facing off against Inter in the league for the first time since guiding the club to a magical treble in 2009-10 – the second of two successful seasons at San Siro – but he suffered a painful reunion at the Stadio Olimpico.
Hakan Calhanoglu opened the scoring directly from a corner and then teed up Dzeko, who spent six seasons with Roma prior to swapping clubs in August, before Denzel Dumfries added a third in the first half.
Inter lost Joaquin Correa to a hamstring injury but eased to victory as they moved to within a point of leaders Milan. Napoli have a chance to return to the summit when they fa…
As we brace ourselves for the penultimate round of Championship fixtures, battles at both ends of the table are going down to the wire.
With a host of clubs still scrapping it out in this season’s relegation scrap, we look set for a season-defining afternoon of Championship action.
For those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a trio of Championship betting tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday, April 26th
BST 15:00 Millwall vs Plymouth
While Millwall might have opened the New Year in the midst of a public Championship crisis, the Lions have continued on a real reargue since welcoming Neil Harris back to south London in February. Skyrocketing themselves away from a looming relegation scrap and eventually breezing…