Aston Villa will fight to maintain breathing space between themselves and Premier League relegation when they face Liverpool on Sunday.
The Villans currently occupy 17th position on the table and are just three points clear of the drop zone.
Wigan are 18th, have the luxury of a game in hand on the Birmingham club and would be quietly confident of getting a result against Norwich at the DW Stadium at the weekend.
And given Wigan play on Saturday, Aston Villa could potentially occupy the first relegation spot by the time their game kicks off due to inferior goal difference.
That scenario would intensify the pressure even more on Villa with just eight matches remaining in their campaign.
Liverpool also have a carrot dangling in front of them in the …
Swansea City have signed Villareal midfielder Jonathan de Guzman on a season-long loan deal.
The 24-year-old is Michael Laudrup s second signing since taking over at the club following the recent arrival of Jose Manuel Flores, with the Welsh club having the option to sign him on a permanent basis.
De Guzman played under Laudrup at La Liga side Mallorca and the ex-Netherlands U-21 international is excited at the prospect of playing in the Premier League.
Speaking to the club s official website, he revealed: Once the opportunity came along to join Swansea and Michael Laudrup it was a done deal. I didn t have to think twice about it.
I watched Premier League football every week on the TV last season. I was aware that Swansea are a good footballing side, bu…
Edinson Cavani s 21st-minute penalty lifted Uruguay into second spot in Group A and booked a quarter-final date with Colombia after a 1-0 win over Paraguay at the Copa America on Monday.
In the final group game, Manchester United forward Cavani s goal moved Uruguay up from fourth to second position, avoiding a last-16 meeting with hosts and defending champions Brazil.
Paraguay came into the contest hoping to claim their first Copa win against Uruguay since 1947, with an outside chance of topping Group A, but instead slipped to third and will next face Peru.
To make matters worse for La Albirroja, influential Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron limped off, placing his quarter-final availability in doubt.
Estas fueron las jugadas más destacadas d…
Raheem Sterling blamed silly mistakes for England s defeat to Netherlands in the semi-finals of the Nations League.
England were beaten 3-1 in Guimaraes despite having taken a first-half lead thanks to Marcus Rashford s penalty.
Matthijs de Ligt headed the equaliser for Ronald Koeman s side, who capitalised on England s lapses in concentration in extra time.
John Stones error led to a Quincy Promes shot deflecting in off Kyle Walker, then Ross Barkley s mistake allowed the Netherlands substitute to secure a final berth against Portugal.
Sterling captained England on his 50th international appearance but the Manchester City forward accepted his side cost themselves a chance of reaching Sunday s showpiece.
I thought we soaked up pressure well, towa…
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has suggested Romelu Lukaku was unwilling to fight for a place in the club s starting line-up.
Lukaku completed a £28million transfer to Everton on Wednesday, having impressed during a loan spell at Goodison Park last season.
Some observers have questioned the wisdom of Mourinho allowing the 21-year-old Belgium forward, who also enjoyed a productive loan stint at West Brom in the 2012-13 campaign, to move on.
However, the Portuguese has claimed Lukaku s determination to be guaranteed first-team football played a major role in Chelsea accepting Everton s offer, while also acknowledging the financial benefits for the London club.
Romelu was always very clear with us with his mentality and his approach was not highly motivated…
Real Madrid CF defender Dani Carvajal has insisted the the imminent arrival of Danilo will not threaten his future at the club.
Carvajal, a former Madrid youth star who rejoined the club in the summer of 2013 after one year at Bayer Leverkusen, has been Carlo Ancelotti’s first-choice right-back since rejoining the reigning European champions.
However, although the future of the Spain international, 23, is now up in the air following the £23 million signing of Porto right-back Danilo, the 23-year-old has welcomed the competition for the a first-team place.
The signing of Danilo is good, Carvajal. We are at the best club in the world and competition is always good.
It’s normal that we compete with the best in the world.
R…
=(Picture)=Spanish coach Vicente Del Bosque has indicated he sees England as a re-emerging force in the world game under Italian disciplinarian Fabio Capello, who will seek to confirm that view in Wednesday s friendly in Seville.
Both sides are unbeaten in their World Cup qualifying programme to date.
They may be without one or two players but they have some youngsters coming along well and that makes for an excellent match in prospect, Del Bosque told reporters Tuesday, in dismissing the absences of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard as ones which would not make life easier for Spain.
It s the best match one could have currently in Europe. Under Fabio Capello England have returned to being what they always were while Spain are enjoying a purple patch, the forme…
Manchester United s star striker Cristiano Ronaldo should join Spanish giants Real Madrid, fellow Portuguese player Luis Figo said Saturday.
Real Madrid is the most important club in the world, the best club in the world. I think Ronaldo has already wrapped up a stage at United, the Inter Milan midfielder told Spanish sports daily Marca.
He has won everything he can with the English club, which is another great club, but he should have other goals now, other ambitions, and Real Madrid would allow him to achieve more importance, more relevancy, he added.
That is what I have told him. I don t know what he thinks now, the 36-year-old former Real player added.
Real tracked Ronaldo all of last summer following his Champions League and English Premiership t…
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Looking to immediately bounce back from their EFL Cup defeat in midweek, Everton will make the trip to a downbeat Bramall Lane on Saturday night.
Sheffield United
Starting with the hosts, while Sheffield United might have gained a string of plaudits from across the Premier League last season, it has been nothing short of a disaster this time around. Despite Chris Wilder praising his side s display away at fellow relegation scrappers Brighton last time out, the Blades 10-man side eventually threw away the lead late on and had to settle for a 1-1 draw on the South Coast. Already seen as a landslide pick to be hit with a Championship return this season, United have remarkably managed to pick up just a pair of points since opening the 20…
Lucien Favre vented his frustration after Borussia Dortmund suffered another collapse as their Bundesliga title hopes were dealt a blow.
Andrej Kramaric s 87th-minute goal completed a late comeback for hosts Hoffenheim, who stunned stuttering Dortmund 2-1 on Friday.
Dortmund played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig on Tuesday after squandering a 2-0 first-half lead.
Favre s Dortmund – fourth in the standings and four points off the pace – looked set to bounce back in their final match of 2019 thanks to Mario Gotze s 17th-minute opener.
But Dortmund came unstuck again as Sargis Adamyan equalised in the 79th minute before Hoffenheim star Kramaric struck with three minutes of normal time remaining.
Final at Hoffenheim. <…