Kevin De Bruyne does not believe Manchester City are favourites to beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final and secure the win they need to complete the treble.
City are well fancied to beat the Serie A side on Saturday in Istanbul and become the first English club to win all three major trophies in a single season since Manchester United in 1999.
They moved a step closer on Saturday by adding the FA Cup to the Premier League title already won, with Ilkay Gundogan’s goals helping Pep Guardiola’s side to a 2-1 victory against United at Wembley.
Until now Guardiola and his players have largely sidestepped any talk of matching their city rivals’ feat of 24 years ago.
But after the cup final victory, De Bruyne acknowledged how close he and his tea…
Robbie Keane is confident he can provide the goals that will help Republic of Ireland escape Group E and reach Euro 2016 s knockout stages.
The veteran forward is Ireland s record goalscorer with 67 goals in 143 appearances, but his last five strikes all came against Gibraltar in qualifying.
Injury has limited his playing time for Martin O Neill s side, which has allowed Shane Long to usurp him as first choice heading into the European Championship.
However, the LA Galaxy man still believes he has plenty to offer and is eager to prove his worth on the international stage.
Yes, of course, [I can perform at the top level] there s no question about it, he told a media conference ahead of Ireland s opening match with Sweden.
There are certainly go…
Sarina Wiegman believes that Paris Saint-German s Mary Earps will face competition from Chelsea s Hannah Hampton for the England number one shirt.
Earps has endured a difficult start to life in France since her move from Manchester United ahead of the new season.
She conceded five goals across their Women s Champions League qualifying defeat to Juventus and was subsequently dropped for the Parisiens next two league matches.
Hampton, meanwhile, has been in fine form for Chelsea in the Women s Super League, keeping two clean sheets as the Blues remain perfect under Sonia Bompastor.
Only Manchester United s Phallon Tullis-Joyce (100%) has a higher save percentage than Hampton (90%) in the league this season.
Earps earned her 50th Lioness cap in a …
England boss Roy Hodgson made wholesale changes to his team for the Three Lions 0-0 draw with Slovakia
So England finished as runners-up a mediocre group at Group 2016. What a shock Three Lions do not perform at major championship!
England failed to find a way past a stubborn Slovakia team and drew 0-0 with Jan Kozak’s men.
Slovakia defended well for the 90 minutes, with Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel putting in a very good display. However, if England are to make the latter stages of the competition they need to find a way to unlock stubborn defences.
Wales managed to put two past Slovakia and three past Russia, but fair play to Chris Coleman’s side they have showed passion, commitment and above a killer touch in their games that England have l…
Fulham ended Newcastle United’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season and recorded their second victory of the campaign, winning 3-1 at Craven Cottage.
Raul Jimenez scored the opening goal after five minutes, chesting down Adama Traore’s cross and firing a shot low into the net.
Smith Rowe nearly doubled the lead just moments later when he struck an effort onto the top of the crossbar, but later found the net from close-range on 22 minutes.
Newcastle responded inside 28 seconds of the second half, with Harvey Barnes producing a fine finish to halve the deficit.
The hosts nearly gifted Newcastle an equaliser shortly after as Bernd Leno presented Fabian Schar with the ball from a goal-kick but the defender failed to punish the goalkeeper.
…
With all 20 English Premier League clubs having played 37 league matches in 2011-12, Sunday marks the final day of the EPL season.
Thus, all 20 clubs will be in action on 13 May, with every fixture scheduled to kick-off at 15:00.
Now then, welcome to the first of three segments of the English Premier League Preview: 13 May 2012.
This segment will include betting odds, match previews and match predictions for Chelsea v Blackburn Rovers, Everton v Newcastle United and Manchester City v Queens Park Rangers.
I ll try to keep the useless banter to a minimum as best I can. Let s get started.
English Premier League Betting Odds: 13 May 2012
Chelsea () v Blackburn Rovers (); Draw ()
Everton () v Newcastle United (); Draw ()
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Scotland will stay humble as they look to battle past Cyprus and keep themselves in the driving seat to qualify for Euro 2024, according to former national team striker Charlie Nicholas.
Steve Clarke’s men are aiming for a fifth straight Group A win in Larnaca on Friday night, which, if other results go their way next week, could see Scotland’s place in the finals confirmed.
Nicholas, who played for Scotland at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, believes Clarke will not allow any thoughts of having already booked a ticket to Germany next summer as his team focus on showing the required mentality in the heat of the AEK Arena.
“This is the first time I can ever recall being in a position of comfort in a group like this. It is a kind of weird experience,” Nichola…
Jack Grealish can expect a frosty reception should he feature for England against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, so says Callum Robinson.
Grealish, who was omitted from England s Euro 2024 squad, has returned to the Three Lions fold under interim manager Lee Carsley.
And with Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden having withdrawn from the squad due to illness, it seems likely Grealish could start on the left for England against Ireland in Saturday s Nations League clash in Dublin.
Grealish, who has Irish grandparents, represented Ireland at underage level before switching allegiance to England in 2015.
And Ireland striker Robinson, who played alongside Grealish at Aston Villa, would not be surprised if jeers from the Irish crowd were directed at the …
Roberto Martinez knows expecations are always high for his Belgium side, and he was proud to tick another important box Saturday as the Red Devils secured qualification for the 2022 World Cup.
While Belgium did not repeat their 2018 feat of being the first European side to qualify, they will take their place alongside Denmark, France and Germany in Qatar after defeating Estonia 3-1.
Winners of all but two of their qualifiers since Martinez took charge in 2016, Belgium have plenty of reason to be proud.
We re in a situation where we always have to win everything, Martinez told reporters. “That is what the outside world expects and it creates extra pressure. I am very happy that our players are handling this well. They always go for it.
Ever…
Midfielder Paul Arriola says FC Dallas need to start paying their supporters back in Saturday s Texas derby against the Houston Dynamo, having failed to impress in the early stages of the season.
Dallas sit 13th in the Western Conference standings with just five points from eight matches in 2024, their only victory coming against the San Jose Earthquakes in their season opener.
They have only taken two points from seven matches since then, putting head coach Nico Estevez under pressure.
However, Arriola says a clash with their biggest rivals at Toyota Stadium represents a chance to put things right.
Our fans have been great all season, we haven t shown up for them. It is motivation for us to go and beat Houston on Saturday and obtain three points, he sa…