Competition: Europa League
Market: Aberdeen to win against Maribor
Odds:

Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen host Slovenian Prva Liga side NK Maribor at Pittodrie Stadium for the first leg of the third round of tonight’s Europa League qualifier.

The Dons are favourites to win the home leg this evening, and could put themselves in a great position ahead of the second leg to boost their hopes of progression to the playoffs.

Aberdeen reached this summer’s Europa League qualifiers after finishing second in the Scottish Premiership in 2015/16. They will fancy their chances against Maribor tonight with their home form being solid in the last year, losing just three of 19 games at Pittodrie.

Wins over Luxembourg side Fola Esch in the first round …

Jurgen Klopp can turn Liverpool back into a force of world football, according to former winger Harry Kewell. 

Klopp, 49, took over at Anfield in October last year after the club sacked Brendan Rodgers. 

The German guided the club to Europa League and League Cup finals in his first season, but ultimately came up short on both occasions. 

However, Kewell who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 is confident Klopp is the right man to lead the club forward.

I m excited, I won t lie. I think the club can become a force again with him in charge, the Australian, now coach of Watford Under-21s, told the Liverpool Echo. 

I think this is a hugely important time for the club. They have a top manager in place now, and I think that he believ…

Everton are keeping close tabs on Sevilla midfielder Gary Medel, Spanish newspaper .

The Toffees are bracing themselves for life without Marouane Fellaini, who continues to be linked with a switch to Old Trafford.

And should the Belgian leave Goodison Park this summer, Everton will attempt to sign Chilean midfielder Gary Medel from Sevilla.

New manager Roberto Martinez is a keen admirer of the player and he believes the 26-year-old would add much needed steel to the centre of the park.

Gary “Pitbull” Medel joined Sevilla from Universidad Catolica in January 2011, having previously spent a year and a half on loan at Boca Juniors.

He quickly developed into a key member of the side at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, making a total of 78 La Liga appearanc…

Combative Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio is a transfer target for French powerhouse AS Monaco, according to reports coming from Sport Mediaset.

The 32-year-old Italy international’s contract with Bianconeri is running until 2020 and it is reported Marchisio would love to remain in Turin but is growing increasingly frustrated by lack of playing time.

He made only 20 appearances for Juventus last season and would consider his options if Juve fail to provide assurances over his squad status.

In the meantime, AS Monaco are said to be following the situation closely, ready to pounce at a slightest hint lifelong Juventino could leave Bianconeri.

The Principality club is said to be a rather interesting option for Marchisio due to the family reasons and…

Didier Deschamps has warned his France squad that they cannot rely on the talents of Paul Pogba if they are to go far at the World Cup.

The Manchester United midfielder had a difficult second season in the Premier League, reportedly seeing his relationship with Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho strained, and was booed by French supporters on international duty recently.

Pogba was the starring name for Les Bleus during the European Championships in 2016, where France were defeated by Portugal in the final, but has struggled to maintain those level since leaving Juventus.

With France targeting World Cup glory 20 years after another midfield star Zinedine Zidane led the nation to success, Pogba is expected to shine at this summer s tournament but Deschamps says he has h…

Liverpool s Fabio Carvalho joined RB Leipzig on loan at the start of the season, with the Premier League leaders keen to secure regular game-time for their young prospect. However, Carvalho s spell in Germany didn t prove as fruitful as they might have hoped, and they decided to cut the deal short at the start of the year, aiming to send him elsewhere with the same purpose.

With several clubs interested in the 21-year-old attacking midfielder (Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton were named), potential playing time was obviously the most important factor in making a decision, and according to multiple sources, Carvalho is now set to join Hull City for the rest of the season. The Championship side won t have an option to make the deal permanent, as Liverpool still see him as …

Slovakia woke to a jubilant morning on Thursday, a day after its footballers stunned rivals in the qualifying Group Three to clinch a World Cup debut in South Africa next year.

Boys, We Love You, read a front-page headline on the Plus jeden den tabloid, next to a picture of the Slovak team celebrating in a snowstorm that boosted their defence in their 1-0 away victory over Poland on Wednesday.

The Slovaks, led by 22-year-old Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik, capitalised on an early own goal to win the game that triggered an unprecedented party in the nation of five million people.

All in all, we made only one mistake in this campaign at home with Slovenia, said coach Vladimir Weiss, pointing to last Saturday s game that put off Slovak celebrations as the guests …

F.C. Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala has insisted he is delighted to continue his career at the Estadio do Dragao amid reports linking him with a £30 million January move to Manchester City.

Mangala, who is also reportedly attracting interest from the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, joined Porto from Jupiler Pro League side Standard Liège for a fee of €6.5 million in the summer of 2011.

City are believed to be preparing a £30 million January swoop for Mangala after failing with a late bid on transfer deadline day.

The France international, 22, is flattered by City s interest, but insists he is more than happy to stay in Portugal.

I am delighted to continue and progress with Porto, Mangala to…

In wintery Poland, Lech Poznan continued their pursuit of Ekstraklasa leaders Legia Warsaw with a 2-0 win at Pogon Szczecin on Monday.

Chasing a first title since 2010, a defeat would have seen Lech fall seven points behind Warsaw after 20 games.

Pogon on the other hand are struggling near the foot of the table, so it was no surprise when Lech went ahead inside the first half hour through Lukasz Teodorczyk, who released Marcin Kaminski, who made no mistake with his left foot.

Pogon came out more positively after the break, but were immediately stunned on the counter-attack.

Bulgarian Aleksandar made the most of the space on the edge of the area to fire home past Dusan Pernis.

…

Jakub Blaszczykowski insists there is no ill-feeling within the Poland squad after Robert Lewandowski pulled no punches with his assessment of their early World Cup exit.

After a 2-1 loss to Senegal was followed by a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Colombia, Adam Nawalka s side are left with little more than pride to play for when they face Japan in their final Group H meeting in Volgograd on Thursday.

Following the Colombia game, captain Lewandowski said the team possessed too little quality , as they failed to build on their promising Euro 2016 campaign, when they reached the last eight and were only edged out by eventual champions Portugal on penalties.

Blaszczykowski skirted around addressing Lewandowski s comments directly, but conceded the squad would have to ac…