Liverpool are closing in on the signing of VfB Stuttgart defensive midfielder Wataru Endo, according to multiple sources. The 30-year-old has been granted permission to travel to the north-west of England to undergo the medical preceding the move, after the Bundesliga side failed to convince him to sign a new contract. His current deal expires next summer.
Liverpool have been trying to reinforce their midfield ranks for a while now. The arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have been overshadowed by unexpected departures of captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, and the need for further additions in the department is glaringly obvious. The Merseysiders made strong attempts to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Hove Albion and Romeo Lavia from Southampton, but…
Market: Ipswich win
Odds: 1/1 @
Looking to extend on their stunning start to the season, Ipswich will travel to west London on Saturday afternoon when they meet QPR.
Starting with the hosts, while QPR might have claimed a crucial 2-1 victory away at Cardiff last weekend, Gareth Ainsworth’s men immediately came crashing back down to earth a few days ago. Eventually watching their EFL Cup adventure come to an end following a last-gasp 1-0 loss at home against Norwich, it is no secret that the Hoops are tipped as a leading relegation contender once again this season. While the former Wycombe boss might have seen his side cling to their Championship status back in May, QPR are still dealing with a string of public issues. Opening up the 2023/24 campaign with a rou…
Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 to secure Champions League qualification and gift Real Madrid their 36th LaLiga title.
Madrid, who have lost only once in the league this season, hold a 13-point advantage over second-placed Girona, while Barca dropped to third after Saturday s loss.
The victory saw Girona seal European football for the first time in their history.
A brace from substitute Portu helped LaLiga s surprise package Girona to humble their Catalan rivals.
— Girona FC (@GironaFC_Engl)
Andreas Christiansen scored in the third minute to give Barca the lead but Girona hit back a minute later, with LaLiga s top scorer Artem Dovbyk heading in the equaliser.
Robert Lewandowski put the visitors back ahead from the penalty spot just b…
James Ward-Prowse set up two goals on his West Ham debut and Lucas Paqueta scored a late penalty as the 10-man Hammers somehow secured a 3-1 win over Chelsea.
Ward-Prowse, the £30million signing from Southampton, created goals for Nayef Aguerd and Michail Antonio, either side Carney Chukwuemeka’s equaliser.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s expensively-assembled side will wonder how on earth they came away from the London Stadium empty-handed.
— West Ham United (@WestHam)
Enzo Fernandez missed a penalty and West Ham had to play the final 25 minutes a player down after Aguerd saw red.
Yet not only did David Moyes’ side cling on for a first win of the season, they wrapped it up in stoppage time with Paqueta’s spot-kick.
Ward-Pr…
UEFA president Michel Platini has written to UEFA s member associations after a payment made to him by Sepp Blatter formed part of criminal proceedings opened against the Swiss.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) opened proceedings against Blatter on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation, with the FIFA president suspected of signing a contract with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), then led by former FIFA heavyweight Jack Warner, in 2005 that market experts claim handed World Cup television rights for the 2010 event in South Africa and the 2014 showpiece in Brazil to Warner for a fraction of their value.
Blatter is also accused by authorities of making a disloyal payment to Platini in 2011 in relation to work carried o…
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender says playing against his twin brother Sven has become normal.
The twins began their careers in 1860 Munich s youth sides before going their separate ways in 2009, and Lars Leverkusen face Sven s Borussia Dortmund on Sunday at the BayArena.
We play against each other twice a season and that s been the case for several years, Lars told Leverkusen s website.
It s not anything out of the ordinary anymore. It s an old story and all games are equally important for Sven and me. We haven t got anything new to say about it.
Leverkusen sit a point above Dortmund in the Bundesliga, and the Germany international is well aware of the threat posed by the champions.
We want to hold on to second spot, which we ve foug…
Market: Arsenal to beat Leicester
Odds:
Arsene Wenger will be hoping for more free-flowing football as he takes Arsenal to Leicester City for the penultimate game of his Gunners reign.
For The Foxes, at the end of the season the 2015 Premier League champions have arguably become the Premier League s least in from side. Coming off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to relegation strugglers, Claude Puel s Leicester side have now lost four of their last five and their form in the final third has drastically begun to struggle. Failing to find the net in six of their last eight, England international Jamie Vardy has now gone three games without scoring.
As for Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger giving an emotional speech at The Emirates after his final home game in c…
Cristiano Ronaldo could not inspire Portugal to victory on their Confederations Cup debut as they drew 2-2 with Mexico on Sunday thanks to Hector Moreno s late goal.
The 32-year-old has reportedly made the irreversible decision to leave Real Madrid amid accusations of tax fraud, but it was Moreno who stole the spotlight in Kazan as he levelled in second-half stoppage time after Cedric Soares appeared to have won the game five minutes from time.
Ronaldo had earlier teed up Ricardo Quaresma for the opener, with Javier Hernandez s equaliser leading to a tight second half before a hectic finish.
Mexico, the 1999 winners, struggled to match Fernando Santos side as Portugal hit their stride halfway through the first half and Ronaldo provided Quaresma with a simple …
Best Odds: 3/4
Bookmaker:
Looking to build off of that eye-catching victory last weekend, Watford will welcome Southampton to Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon.
Watford
Starting with the hosts, while Watford might have begun Claudio Ranieri s reign in charge with a worrying defeat on home soil, the Hornets put in a stunning display last time out. Putting in what many around Vicarage Road are billing as a season-best performance, the one-time Leicester boss saw his side claim an action-packed 5-2 romp away at Everton. Watching former Toffees striker Josh King bag a hat-trick on his return to Goodison Park, there is no doubt that the Premier League returners will be desperate to build off of that result. With their sights firmly set on trying to extend on their…
Manchester City have completed the signing of Portugal international full-back Joao Cancelo from Juventus in a deal that sees Danilo move in the opposite direction.
Cancelo, 25, has signed a six-year contract at the Etihad Stadium after just a single season at Juve.
After spending the 2017-18 season on loan at Inter from Valencia, Juve made a move and brought Cancelo to Turin for €40.4million.
He enjoyed a fine season as the Old Lady won the Serie A title, producing a number of high-quality performances on the right flank, with his dribbling and driving runs into the attacking third catching the eye.
City are a fantastic club, with a brilliant manager and I am delighted to be here, Cancelo told City s website. Everything about them has impressed me, f…