Market: Plymouth win
Odds: 11/10 @
Two sides who find themselves battling it out at the foot of the Championship table, Plymouth will welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Home Park in midweek.
Starting with the hosts, gaining a string of plaudits last season as they cruised their way to a Championship return, Plymouth certainly opened up the 2023/24 campaign confident of laying down another statement of intent. However, although Steven Schumacher’s side might have sprung a major upset last month as they claimed a 6-2 romp against play-off hopefuls Norwich, the Pilgrims have largely failed to build on that famous performance. Claiming just a single win from any of their previous seven showdowns against Championship opposition, Plymouth will be desperate to pounce on …
Arsenal are interested in signing Seko Fofana from Lens in the summer transfer window, according to . The report in the French publication has claimed that the Gunners’ Premier League rivals Newcastle United are also keen on securing the services of the 27-year-old Ivory Coast international midfielder.
Lens are willing to sell the Ivory Coast international midfielder, but the French club are looking for €30-40 million (£25.80-£34.40 million) as transfer fee for Fofana, according to the report. Paris Saint-Germain are keen on the 27-year-old as well, and the midfielder himself would like to stay in France.
Fofana made 38 appearances in Ligue 1 for Lens last season, scoring eight goals and providing one assist in the process. The midfielder made 25 starts and five …
Manchester United certainly can t be accused of not supporting their new manager, Erik ten Hag, given the players they re going for in the transfer market.
Granted, that s more about how United are primarily being linked with players Ten Hag knows or has previously coached rather than them targeting a host of renowned superstars.
Whether that suggests a certain trust in Ten Hag or if it comes down to a lack of belief in the club s own scouting department is a discussion for another time, but clearly Ten Hag is being allowed to build a team in his image, and that s what many fans will have hoped for.
The first one in through the door is Tyrell Malacia, who joins from Eredivisie side Feyenoord on a four-year contract with an option for a further season.
Bayern Munich must be careful not to underestimate Benfica in their Champions League quarter-final tie, Hans-Jorg Butt has warned.
Bayern entertain Benfica at the Allianz Arena in the first leg on Tuesday, with the return fixture at the Estadio da Luz taking place eight days later.
Retired goalkeeper Butt spent four seasons at Bayern from 2008 after spending the previous campaign at Benfica and is confident the Portuguese champions will provide stiff competition as they look to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1989-90 – when they finished as runners-up to AC Milan.
In order to progress, though, the Lisbon-based side will need to overcome the Bundesliga champions for the first time in what will be their seventh attempt.
If Bayern are to bo…
West Ham United are interested in signing Marcos Senesi from Feyenoord, according to . West Ham are looking for a new centre-back due to injuries to Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma and have identified Senesi as a potential target in the January transfer window.
Senesi has been on the books of Feyenoord since 2019w when he joined from San Lorenzo. The 24-year-old has established himself as one of the better defenders in the Eredivisie and is an important player for his club.
The Argentine has scored one goal and provided two assists in 15 Eredivisie appearances for Feyenoord so far this season. Senesi scored three goals and gave two assists in 34 league matches during the 2020-21 campaign.
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Turkish Super Lig champions Besiktas are finalising the signing of Croatia international Domagoj Vida.
The defender s contract at Dynamo Kyiv had been set to expire on Sunday and he will swap the Ukrainian Premier League side for one of Istanbul s powerhouse teams.
Besiktas are yet to release details of the transfer or Vida s length of contract, but did inform Turkey s Capital Markets Board that they were discussing personal terms with the player.
The 28-year-old came through the ranks with Osijek and spent a brief spell at Bayer Leverkusen from 2010, before playing for Dynamo Zagreb between 2011 and 2013.
He has been a regular at Dynamo Kyiv during the last four years and has also earned 51 caps for Croatia.
Able to play at right-back but more…
Philadelphia Union s loss opened the door to Toronto in the race for the Supporters Shield, while New York City won a derby thriller.
Toronto moved level on points with Philadelphia after a 2-1 win over Inter Miami and the Union s 2-1 defeat to Columbus Crew on Sunday.
Columbus took a 37th-minute lead at home, Artur finding the bottom corner from 20 yards.
However, Philadelphia drew level in the 57th minute thanks to a penalty from Jamiro, although the hosts would strike late.
Krisztian Nemeth got on the end of a Luis Diaz Espinoza cross from the right to tap away a winner six minutes from time for Columbus, who are third in the Eastern Conference.
Immediate impact.
Nemeth subs in and scores his first goal!
— Major League So…
French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet has called for Russia to be excluded from the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, following weeks of rising political tensions in the region. The conflict escalated further on Friday, with the fighting reaching the capital city of Kyiv. There was intense fighting in Kharkiv, Ukraine s second-largest city, on Sunday.
France won the last World Cup in Russia in 2018, beating Croatia 4-2 in the final in Moscow.
Russia had been set to host Poland in a qualifying playoff in March, but on Friday, UEFA said any international matches due to be held in Russia or Ukraine would have to be moved to a neutral venue, as well as confirming St Petersburg had been stripped of holding this season s Cha…
Divock Origi claims Liverpool have offered him a contract extension in the wake of his Champions League heroics.
Belgium international Origi scored the sealer in the 2-0 victory over Tottenham in last weekend s final at the Wanda Metropolitano and could be rewarded with a new deal.
The 24-year-old only has 12 months to run on his existing agreement but is willing to postpone discussions until after the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Scotland.
Origi made a habit of scoring crucial goals from minimal playing time in 2018-19, hitting a double against Barcelona in the dramatic Champions League semi-final comeback and late winners against Everton and Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Yes, it shows Liverpool s recognition, Origi sai…