Football News
Manager Claudio Ranieri is confident that Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy will soon be back among the goals, having gone more than two months without finding the net. The 29-year-old England international last struck for the Foxes in the 4-1 Premier League defeat at Liverpool on Saturday September 10th and has since drawn a blank in 12 appearances for City.
Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets says he and his team-mates are preparing for a ‘big game’ against England at Wembley on Tuesday evening. Both sides have taken ten points from a possible 12 in their World Cup qualifying campaigns to date, but will take time away from competitive action to face off in London.
Manchester United winger Memphis Depay has admitted he does not know whether he will remain at Old Trafford beyond the January transfer window. The Dutch international, who scored a brace for the Netherlands on Sunday to help them beat Luxemburg 3-1, has struggled for minutes this season under United boss Jose Mourinho.
Striker Olivier Giroud has played down reports that he may be tempted to leave Arsenal if he does not become a regular starter once again. The 30-year-old France international has yet to start a Premier League game this season, having been troubled by a toe injury earlier on in the campaign, with Chile international Alexis Sanchez the current first-choice pick of Gunners head coach Arsene Wenger.
Wellington Phoenix overcame the absence of key players as they moved off the bottom of the A-League table with a 2-0 win over Central Coast. Roy Krishna was again their main goal threat against the Mariners, scoring the opener and laying on the second for Hamish Watson. Ernie Merrick’s side were without five players due to international duty, but it didn’t prevent them collecting a second win in a row to leapfrog their opponents in the table. The Phoenix netted twice in the space of seven second-half minutes to settle the contest played in blustery conditions at Canberra’s GIO Stadium.
Gareth Southgate has tipped John Stones to be an England great and believes the Manchester City defender should continue to play out from the back. The former Barnsley and Everton star was criticised from some sloppy play during England’s patchy display on Friday when Southgate’s side beat Scotland 3-0 in their latest World Cup qualifier at Wembley. However, Southgate has backed Stones, who he thinks can be as good as Barcelona’s Gerard Pique or Mats Hummels of Bayern Munich.
Juan Mata is keen to play for Spain in Tuesday’s friendly against England at Wembley. The Manchester United playmaker insists that playing at Wembley is ‘special’ and he feels it will be extra-special to play against England in the national stadium. Mata was an unused substitute as Spain overcame Macedonia 4-0 in their World Cup qualifier in Los Carmenes on Saturday evening.
Gael Monfils can’t wait to get his first ATP World Tour Finals campaign underway and is looking forward to playing Novak Djokovic. The Frenchman has never played in the season-ending tournament before but qualified for the action in London by winning the Citi Open in Washington four months ago and reaching the last eight at the Australian Open and the US Open semi-finals.
Koeman had told the Belgian media that Lukaku had potential to play at a higher level than the Toffees could offer him, but Moshiri has dismissed suggestions that his manager was hinting at an exit in the near future. He told talkSPORT: “Koeman said he believes Romelu will develop into one of the best strikers in the world in the next two to three years and wouldn’t be out of place at his old club Barcelona. It is just player-coach talk.”
The 40-year-old has been drafted in by Los Verdiblancos after they decided to end the tenure of Gus Poyet after a matter of months. Former Deportivo La Coruna coach Victor Sanchez is keen to bring fans and players back together after taking charge at Real Betis. And Sanchez, who was sacked by Greek side Olympiacos earlier this season after they failed to reach the Champions League group stage, is keen to make his mark as quickly as possible and help Betis climb away from the threat of a relegation battle.