Manchester United s top-four hopes took a hit as they were held to another 0-0 draw in the Premier League at Old Trafford, this time by West Brom.
Jose Mourinho s side dominated proceedings but were once again lifeless in attack as they had to settle for a draw for the eighth time in 15 home matches in the top flight this season.
Captain Wayne Rooney was fit enough to return to the bench but United, who were again missing Zlatan Ibrahimovic through suspension, offered little invention in the final third against a West Brom side who sat back and frustrated the hosts in impressive fashion.
Anthony Martial missed the only good chance of the first half and Henrikh Mkhitaryan was denied twice after the break, but Tony Pulis side 3-1 winners over Arsenal last time …
Manchester City have emerged as the favourites to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester City, according to the Star.
The England international has been long linked with a move to Manchester United, though it appears that city rivals could be to win the race to secure his services.
Maguire moved to the King Power Stadium in the summer of 2017 and has since played seventy-six times in all competitions, scoring five goals, while he was named the club’s Player of the Year at the end of his first season with the club.
He was also crowned player of the year during his time at Hull City, and three seasons in a row at Sheffield United – the club where he began his career.
He famously scored his one and only international so far in England’s 2-0 win over Sw…
Kepa Arrizabalaga will make his first Chelsea appearance since October when Krasnodar visit Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Tuesday, but Hakim Ziyech will miss out.
The world s most expensive goalkeeper made an error resulting in a goal in each of his three Premier League appearances this season and has been usurped by new signing Edouard Mendy.
Mendy has proved a stellar signing for Chelsea, having kept nine clean sheets in his first 13 appearances for the club. He also has the best Champions League save percentage (93.8) among keepers to have featured at least three times this season.
With Chelsea guaranteed to advance from Group E in first place, Lampard will take the opportunity to give Kepa another chance in the first team.
Kepa starts.…
Wahbi Khazri conceded it was a bittersweet evening after his winning goal against France proved insufficient for Tunisia to qualify for the World Cup knockout stages.
Khazri was named man of the match after a wonderful display capped by a 58th-minute goal that handed Tunisia a 1-0 win at Education City Stadium.
Unfortunately for Jalel Kadri’s men it was not enough to secure a place in the round of 16 as Australia beat Denmark 1-0 to finish second in Group D behind Les Bleus.
Khazri, who plays his club football in France for Montpellier, said: It s a mixed feeling. We are happy to beat a team like France, we gave a very good performance and we leave with our heads held high but it s bittersweet as it would ve been perfect to win and go through.
Ultimate…
Luis Enrique reckons he would have had a heart-attack if he knew Spain were briefly heading out of the World Cup during Thursday s dramatic conclusion to Group E.
Spain were beaten 2-1 by Samurai Blue at the Khalifa International Stadium, with Japan coming from behind in the second half after Alvaro Morata s early opener.
La Roja went into the game top of the table but needed a point to absolutely make sure of progression.
They did not even manage that, but Germany s 4-2 win over Costa Rica elsewhere ensured Luis Enrique s men lived to fight another day at the expense of Die Nationalelf, finishing second behind Japan.
There were a few minutes, however, where Spain dropped out of the top two completely as Costa Rica led Germany.
Luis Enrique claime…
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is not surprised by Jose Mourinho s difficult situation at Chelsea this season but hopes his compatriot can turn things around at Stamford Bridge.
Ronaldo worked with Mourinho during the latter s time in charge of Madrid between 2010 and 2013 the duo allegedly enduring a frosty relationship at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, Ronaldo hopes Mourinho will get Chelsea back on track, with the Premier League champions languishing 15th in the top flight.
Mourinho s situation? I m not surprised because in football anything can happen the Portugal captain told BBC Sport.
Of course, he s a manager that I was working with for two years and I know his potential. I know that not just him but Chelsea are in this tough situation.…
Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will field a domestic-based squad for Saturday s international friendly with Bolivia.
The five-time world champions and Bolivia are set to come together in memory of 14-year-old fan Kelvin Beltran, who was struck by a flare and died at a Copa Libertadores match in February.
All proceeds from the game in Santa Cruz de la Sierra will be donated to Beltran s family, with the Brazilian team donating their share of the gate money.
With the game being played outside of a FIFA international date, Scolari will turn to players plying their trade in the Brazilian leagues.
One player likely to feature in Scolari s plans is Sao Paulo striker Osvaldo.
Osvaldo was selected for Brazil s two international friendlies against Italy …
Ivan Rakitic lauded Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta ahead of his impending departure, saying anyone who does not like him as a player has made a mistake .
Iniesta signed what was described as a lifetime contract with Barcelona in October, but the deal reportedly included a get-out clause, allowing him to leave at the end of the season.
He announced his intention to depart in April and for several weeks there were strong reports suggesting he was set to join Chongqing Lifan, only for the Chinese Super League side to release a statement distancing themselves from such claims on Monday.
Japanese club Vissel Kobe then emerged as a potential destination, but they too dismissed the speculation, insisting Iniesta was not realistic for them.
But wherever he en…
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic paid tribute to Sam Allardyce ahead of the Sunderland manager s return to his former club in the Premier League on Saturday.
The match at Upton Park sees Allardyce, who managed the Hammers for four seasons between 2011 and 2015, face his successor for the first time.
Bilic, who at 38 per cent has the best win rate of any Hammers boss in the Premier League era, congratulated his counterpart on his accomplishments ahead of the clash and talked up Sunderland s chances of avoiding relegation.
Sam did great for West Ham, said the former Croatia boss.
He has managed for 20 years very successfully and he took over West Ham at a moment when we were in the Championship. He got us up straight away and stabilised us in the Premier L…
Trent Alexander-Arnold intends to stay at Liverpool for the rest of his career in the hope of becoming a club legend.
The England international has become an integral part of the Reds first team over the past two seasons and finished 19th in this month s Ballon d Or voting.
He further highlighted his importance with a goal and two assists in the 4-0 win over Leicester City, a result that leaves Liverpool well on course for a maiden Premier League trophy.
And the Liverpool-native, who came through the club s academy ranks, has his sights set on writing his name in Anfield folklore.
I ve always wanted to be a club legend, he told Swedish newspaper Sportbladet. Winning titles, playing as many matches as possible, winning matches, becoming captain.
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