Prediction: Fiorentina to win 2-1
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Fiorentina and Sporting Braga will face each other in the UEFA Europa Conference League Knockout Round Playoff Tie this week. The second leg of the tie between the Serie A club and the Portuguese Primeira Liga outfit will be held at Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence and is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time on Thursday.
Fiorentina
Fiorentina are a big and established club in Italy who tend to finish in the European places in the Serie A table. I Viola ended up seventh in the league standings last season, while in 2016-17 and 2017-18, the Florence-based outfit finished eighth. Fiorentina ended up fourth in Serie A for three years in a row between 2013 and 2015.
Vincenzo Italiano’s …
Demi Stokes believes Manchester City can rise to the challenge as the competition in the Women’s Super League gets ever tougher.
City were forced to settle for a disappointing fourth place last season, finishing outside the Champions League berths for the first time since 2014.
After winning the title in 2016 and then finishing runners-up in four successive seasons, City have been muscled out of the top positions in recent years.
Chelsea have been the dominant force, having won the past four WSL crowns, but first Arsenal and now Manchester United have got their noses in front of City.
Yet far from being frustrated, City defender Stokes has welcomed the increased competition as a sign of the growing strength of the women’s game and is convinced her sid…
Real Madrid and Manchester City could qualify for the Champions League round of 16 by maintaining their 100 per cent records on Tuesday.
Madrid travel to Shakhtar Donetsk sitting pretty at the top of Group F and the holders will be guaranteed to progress if they make it four wins out of four.
The same goes for free-scoring City, who have been victorious in all three Group G games and will be expected to get the better of Copenhagen at Parken.
Borussia Dortmund could also advance if they beat Sevilla again, while Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica meet in the battle of the top two in Group H.
Milan will look to exact revenge on Chelsea at San Siro, while Group E leaders Salzburg travel to Dinamo Zagreb.
Stats Perform preview the eight matches to be st…
When the first reports linking Lionel Messi with Inter Milan appeared, many had concerns over the prospect of a star of such magnitude being managed by Phil Neville. With all due respect to the former Manchester United and Everton defender, he isn t exactly what you d call a manager of proper experience in managing top players. Further more, his team have found themselves sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference in the MLS.
Fortunately for those who doubted Neville s credentials to lead this team down the right road, the club decided enough was enough and though it must ve pained part-owner David Beckham to sack his former teammate, it had to be done. The decision was made public at the start of this month.
So now the question is, who is the right man to sit in t…
French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet is hopeful France coach Didier Deschamps will remain in the role beyond 2018.
Deschamps was appointed as Laurent Blanc s successor in 2012 and has generally impressed in his time as boss, leading France on an impressive run to the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup that was ended by eventual winners Germany.
France have beaten the likes of Spain, Portugal and Germany since the World Cup and the Euro 2016 hosts are second favourites behind Joachim Low s world champions to lift the trophy.
Former Chelsea midfielder Deschamps whose contract with France expires in 2018 has been linked with the managerial role at Stamford Bridge, although Italy coach Antonio Conte is said to be close to agreeing a deal to take over …
Erik ten Hag promised he was a “fighter” after Manchester United slumped to a 3-0 Carabao Cup home defeat to Newcastle to pile more pressure on him.
Defeat in the rematch of last season’s final – which United won to highlight a promising first season in charge for the Dutchman – meant United have lost eight of their opening 15 fixtures in all competitions this term, their worst start since the 1962-63 campaign.
Goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock ensured a second consecutive 3-0 home defeat for United, comfortably beaten by rivals Manchester City on Sunday, and they were booed off at both half-time and full-time as Ten Hag was left facing some serious questions.
“I am a fighter and I know it is not always going up,” he said.
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David James believes Arsenal s blossoming rivalry with Manchester City can only intensify should they win the Premier League title this season.
The latest instalment of Pep Guardiola squaring off against his apprentice, Mikel Arteta, delivered an enthralling encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Erling Haaland s 100th City strike was followed by Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes goals, with Leandro Trossard then seeing red after delaying the restart in a pulsating first 45 minutes.
The hosts struggled to make their man advantage count, though, registering eight shots on target from the 27 they attempted before substitute John Stones late intervention snatched a point eight minutes into stoppage time.
But the aftermath of the contest saw tens…
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti claimed Karim Benzema’s choice to leave the club after 14 years was a surprise “last-minute” decision made on the final day of the LaLiga season.
Benzema’s departure was announced by the Spanish outfit hours before the striker netted for the final time in Real’s last game of the season on Sunday night, a penalty equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao.
It took Real’s most decorated player to 354 goals in 648 appearances and he leaves as the club’s second all-time top scorer after Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ancelotti told a press conference: “His departure was a surprise for everyone, but you have to understand it. It was a last-minute decision. Yesterday he trained normally and today he made this decision.
“…
Toronto FC head coach John Herdman has said his side must rediscover their clinical edge upon their MLS return after their Canadian Championship final defeat in midweek.
The Reds were beaten by the Vancouver Whitecaps on penalties after a goalless encounter, with goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer proving to be the hero, making seven saves on the night.
But Herdman was left ruing those missed opportunities as the Whitecaps claimed their third-straight title, insisting his players must respond against the Chicago Fire this weekend.
“We are just not clinical at the moment,” Herdman said. “It’s been a couple games where we’ve been right there knocking on the door but just haven’t been able to find that killer moment or we found a keeper that’s standing on his he…
Technology has undeniably revolutionized how we experience various sports; from training methods to performance to officiating. Two main examples of this are seen in the use of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) in soccer and anti-cheat systems in the video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive popularly known by the acronym CSGO. Though these technologies adapted to sports have divergent applications, they were purposefully invented to achieve similar things: to ensure fair play, maintain integrity, and improve the experience of participants and spectators. In this piece, we will delve into the impact of technology on physical sports and e-sports with a focus on soccer and CSGO. We will equally compare their roles in their respective domains and explore the broader implications f…