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Two Serie A powerhouses, Napoli and Juventus, will clash at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday in what promises to be an intense battle for crucial points in the Italian top flight.

Napoli, the reigning Scudetto holders, found some solace in a convincing victory over Sassuolo during the midweek fixtures. Meanwhile, Juventus managed to secure a late win over Frosinone last weekend, putting an end to their concerning streak of games without a victory.

Napoli

After a string of draws, Napoli bounced back with an impressive 6-1 victory over Sassuolo in their recent outing. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen were instrumental in this win, with Osimhen even achieving a milestone by becoming the third Napoli player to …

Atletico Madrid took advantage of Carlo Ancelotti s decision to rotate as they edged out fierce rivals Real Madrid 1-0 on Sunday to tighten their grip on fourth place in LaLiga.

Four days on from their stunning comeback win over Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals, Madrid made seven changes for their trip to Wanda Metropolitano.

That told as Madrid, who were crowned Spanish champions last week with four games to spare, fell behind to a 40th-minute Yannick Carrasco penalty that was awarded after a VAR check.

Despite the introduction of Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior, Madrid could not find a leveller in the absence of top scorer Karim Benzema as they fell to a rare El Derbi defeat.

Much was made of Atleti s decision to not give Madrid a gua…

Mason Greenwood gave his thoughts on the classic debate of modern football as he suggested that Lionel Messi is superior to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The pair have contested for individual glory since the Portugal captain departed Manchester United in 2009 and Luka Modric, in 2018, is the only player other than Ronaldo or Messi to win the Ballon d Or since Kaka collected the award in 2007.

But Greenwood feels there is a simple answer to the argument and he pointed towards the class of six-time Ballon d Or winner Messi.

For me, it’s always got to be Messi, the United academy product told an exclusive Red Devils fans Q A session. For me, he’s just on another planet. 

Ronaldo is obviously amazing, a physical, great athletic footballer. But to do what Messi …

A Leeds fans’ group has accused chairman Andrea Radrizzani of “appalling” behaviour and demanded he immediately sells the club and Elland Road.

Leeds United Supporters Club (LUSC) has responded to The Athletic’s report that majority shareholder Radrizzani had offered to use the Elland Road stadium as collateral when securing a £26million bank loan to buy Sampdoria.

Radrizzani’s company Aser Group, in partnership with finance company Gestio Capital, concluded a takeover of the debt-ridden Italian club on Tuesday night.

The 48-year-old signed off an agreement in principle to use Elland Road as collateral in order to borrow the funds needed from Italian bank Banca Sistema to complete the deal, it was reported.

The Athletic said it was not known wh…

Liverpool host Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday in the latest instalment of a rivalry that has become one of the most intense in English football in recent years.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at some memorable encounters between the two clubs.

January 2019: Man City 2 Liverpool 1

An iconic clearance from John Stones against Liverpool!

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Joao Cancelo left Manchester City to join Barcelona for a second loan spell away from the Etihad at the start of the season, having spent the second half of last season on a similar mission at Bayern Munich. Rumours, reportedly coming from City boss Pep Guardiola, suggested the Portugal international had been a bad influence in the dressing room , and speaking to outlet A Bola in his homeland, the 29-year-old fiercely refuted the accusations.

Lies were told. I was never a bad companion for them and you can ask either [Nathan] Ake or Rico [Lewis]. I don’t have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them.

I think Manchester City were a bit ungrateful to me when they said that because I was a very important player in the years I was there.

I never fail…

Manchester City are among the clubs interested in signing Alex Baena from Villarreal, according to . The report has claimed that Manchester City are preparing an offer to secure the services of the 21-year-old Spanish winger, who has a release clause of €35 million in his contract. 

Baena has been on the books of Villarreal since 2011 and has established himself in the first team now. The Spain Under-21 international turned out for Villarreal C and Villarreal B in recent years and spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Ginora.

The winger has made six substitute appearances in La Liga for Villarreal so far the season, scoring three goals in the process. Baena has also scored three goals in two UEFA Conference League for the Yellow Submarine so far this campaign.

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Liverpool have nothing to lose as they look to end a dire run of form against Premier League strugglers Leeds United at Elland Road, so says Jurgen Klopp.

The Reds travel to Yorkshire having gone five games without a win across all competitions (D2 L3), a run which saw Klopp s men begin the weekend 12 points adrift of the top four.

Green shoots of recovery were visible as Liverpool fought back from 2-0 down to salvage a draw against leaders Arsenal last time out, but Klopp knows the Reds must make changes to get back to their best.

We have nothing to lose really. We are in a position where we don t want to be in the table, that means we have to act a little bit like this, he said.

We had a long training week and now we have to make sure that we do the r…

Arsenal have announced the signing of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad on a four-year contract.

The midfielder has joined in a deal worth up to £31.6million, with the option to extend his stay for an extra year.

Merino is returning to the Premier League, having signed for La Real from Newcastle United in 2018.

He made 242 appearances for the Spanish side in all competitions, scoring 27 goals and registering 30 assists.

Last season, he won 326 duels, the most of any player in the top five European Leagues, while his 197 recoveries in LaLiga were the most of any outfield player for La Real.

Ready to achieve big things – together

Welcome to The Arsenal, Mikel Merino

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West Ham joint-chairman David Gold has died aged 86 following a short illness, the club has confirmed.

The lifelong Hammers fan, who took charge in January 2010 alongside business partner David Sullivan, helped oversee the club s transition from a Premier League also-ran to a European contender.

Under Gold, the club earned sixth and-seventh-place finishes over the past two seasons, and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League last year.

In a statement, manager David Moyes paid tribute to Gold, who also played as a schoolboy for the club during his youth.

I am extremely sad to hear this news, he said. On behalf of all of the players and my staff at the training ground, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to David Gold s family at this very d…