Sports

Best Odds: 2/3

Bookmaker:

In a friendly showdown between two European heavyweights in the early hours of Wednesday, Real Madrid and Chelsea will meet at the Bank of America Stadium.

Real Madrid

Starting with Real Madrid, making real history last season as they were crowned double-champions, Los Blancos only further underlined their status as Europe’s ultimate poster boy. Getting their hands on a record-breaking 15th European crown back on June 1st as they secured a 2-0 victory against German giants Borussia Dortmund, Carlo Ancelotti’s men hold a fearsome reputation from across the continent. Reclaiming their La Liga title last season and remarkably losing just one of their 38 top-flight appearances, the Spanish icons will be looking to make a summer stateme…

Manchester City are Premier League champions for a fourth time in five seasons, and a sixth time overall, after beating Aston Villa 3-2 in remarkable fashion on Sunday to hold off Liverpool.

City are now in front of Chelsea (five titles) as the competition s outright second most successful side and behind only Manchester United, who have lifted the title 13 times.

Indeed, only United (20), Liverpool (19), Arsenal (13) and Everton (nine) have won more titles in the history of the English top flight, dating back to 1888, than eight-time winners City.

The Citizens  latest title triumph was built on a solid defence and a potent attack, with no team in the division scoring more goals (99) or conceding fewer (26).

With the aid of Opta, Stats Perform looks at…

Gareth Southgate showed footage of Sir Bobby Charlton to his squad ahead of England paying tribute to the 1966 World Cup winner at Wembley.

The jewel in the crown for club and country, the news of Charlton’s death at the age of 86 on October 21 reverberated around the world.

Southgate was at Charlton’s funeral at Manchester Cathedral on Monday and further tributes will be paid to the England and Manchester United great on Friday evening at Wembley.

The Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta is the senior men’s team’s first match since Charlton’s death and a crowd mosaic is planned, along with a video celebrating his life.

There will be a pre-match ceremony, period of applause and players will wear black armbands in memory of a man whose importance to…

Market: Armenia win

Odds: 

Needing a minor miracle to secure what would be a remarkable top-two finish, Armenia will welcome Greece to Yerevan on Friday evening.

Starting with the hosts, suffering a 3-0 hammering against Finland last month, Armenia are in need of a miracle if they re to land a top-two finish in Group J. Recording just a single victory since the start of June, Head Coach Abraham Khashmanyan should take some solace from his side s form in Yerevan. Putting in a campaign-best display and putting four past Bosnia back in September, they should also be feeling confident after their most recent display against Friday s guests. When the two nations met earlier in the Group J campaign, Armenia landed a 3-2 win away in Athens.

As for the visitors…

Julen Lopetegui is eyeing improvements from West Ham as they target their first win of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Spaniard s first game in charge ended in disappointment, as the Hammers conceded a late goal in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

Though West Ham have brought in a whole host of new signings, few featured at the London Stadium, but Lopetegui could choose to ring in the changes in an attempt to get their first points on the board under his charge.

The Premier League is the most demanding competition around the world, so the little details are key, he said.

It s true that we lost against one of the best teams in the Premier League in the last season.

We have to keep the good things that we showed, and w…

Germany defender Jerome Boateng has told his family not to attend any Euro 2016 games out of fear of a terrorist attack during the tournament.

The terror attacks carried out on Paris in November 2015, killing 130 people, raised fears over the potential for repeat incidents at the European Championship, which gets under way in the capital on Friday.

Nearly 100,000 French security forces will be deployed to safeguard the tournament, but Boateng remains concerned something could happen during the upcoming finals.

My family and children will not be visiting the stadiums. The risk is simply too big for me, the Bayern Munich man told Sport Bild.

Of course, on the one hand it is sad that you have to think about matters like this. On the other hand, so many thi…

Brentford have completed the signing of Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool in a transfer potentially worth up to £27.5million.

The Bees will pay an initial £22.5m plus a potential £5m in add-ons for the 21-year-old attacking midfielder, who has struggled for minutes since his 2022 arrival at Anfield.

Carvalho enjoyed a breakout campaign with Fulham as they romped to the Championship title in 2021-22, scoring 10 goals in 36 league outings for Marco Silva s side.

He then joined Liverpool in a £5m deal but only made 21 appearances for the Reds overall, enjoying loan spells with RB Leipzig and Hull City in the last two seasons.

Carvalho has signed a five-year contract with Thomas Frank s Bees, with Liverpool also retaining a 17.5% sell-on clause as part of the…

Jose Mourinho is still number one in the eyes of former Inter star Wesley Sneijder.

The Portuguese boss celebrates his 60th birthday on Thursday and is back in Italian football with Roma, who he led to glory in the inaugural season of the UEFA Conference League in 2021-22.

That triumph was Mourinho s fifth continental title, having won the Champions League with Porto and Inter, the UEFA Cup with Porto and the Europa League with Manchester United.

Mourinho s treble-winning season with Inter in 2009-10 is one of the highlights of his illustrious career, with Sneijder part of the team that dominated in the Nerazzurri s most famous campaign.

The Portuguese great went on to enjoy LaLiga success with Real Madrid, while leading Chelsea to the Premier League titl…

Romelu Lukaku has ended his second spell with Chelsea after his move to Napoli was confirmed on Thursday.

Lukaku, who spent last season on loan with Roma, has signed a three-year contract for a reported £38million fee, reuniting with former Inter coach Antonio Conte.

The Belgian scored 15 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions during his second spell at Stamford Bridge after his £97.5m move from Inter in 2021.

Lukaku s 24 Serie A strikes helped Conte win Inter s 19th title in the 2020-21 campaign, but upon his return to Stamford Bridge, he found himself surplus to requirements after an underwhelming first season.

The striker returned to Inter on loan before joining Roma last term, scoring 21 goals in 47 appearances, seven of which came in the Eu…

Verdict: PAOK to win or draw

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The Conference League quarterfinals are back this week with many prestigious European clubs looking to win the trophy. The clash between Club Brugge and PAOK is announced as a two-part thriller, with the 1st part scheduled for Thursday night in front of 29,000 fans. An exciting football contest and a win for the local side at the Jan Breydel Stadium is what the home supporters expect from their favourites.

Club Brugge

Club Brugge performed at the highest level in the Europa Conference League group stage, winning against strong sides like Bodo/Glimt, Besiktas, and Lugano. Following the impressive displays, the Belgian side advanced straight to the round of 16, avoiding a knock-out play-off.

In …