David Moyes will be keen for Manchester United to continue their upturn in form in their League Cup quarter-final battle with Stoke City.
The Premier League champions went four top-flight games without victory over the end of November and beginning of December, including back-to-back 1-0 defeats at Old Trafford to Everton and Newcastle United.
United have improved in their last two fixtures, however, beating Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in their final UEFA Champions League group stage fixture before comfortably seeing off Aston Villa 3-0 in the league on Sunday.
And manager Moyes has now targeted continued improvement, with United looking to make the League Cup semi-finals for the first time since winning the competition in 2010 in their visit to the Britannia Stadium on Wedne…
Competition: Premier League
Market: De Boer to be next Everton manager
Odds:
Everton are looking for a new manager after having parted company with Roberto Martinez, and former Ajax boss Frank De Boer may well be the man who replaces the Spaniard at Goodison Park ahead of the 2016/17 season.
De Boer won four Dutch Eredivisie titles with Ajax in a six-year spell as manager, and promptly vacated his position in the summer after missing out on the league crown to PSV Eindhoven. He wants a new challenge and has attached his name to the Everton vacancy already, but the stance from the Merseyside club is currently unknown.
The 46-year-old boasts a fantastic CV, but his lack of experience in the Premier League would mean a gamble by Everton, at a time where…
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has dismissed talk of Gabby Agbonlahor being disheartened by his failure to earn an England recall.
The striker has assisted four goals in as many games so far this season, impressing in Villa s counter-attacking set-up that secured an opening-day win at Arsenal, while also troubling Chelsea and Liverpool in narrow defeats.
Agbonlahor has three caps for England, but has not featured for almost four years, his last outing at international level coming against Belarus in October 2009.
Rickie Lambert has featured in both of Roy Hodgson s England squads so far this season, scoring twice in three games, and Lambert moved to dampen suggestions that Agbonlahor should have been called up ahead of the Southampton man.
I m not going to tell…
Miralem Pjanic will see a different mentality in the Juventus dressing room once he completes his switch from Roma, according to Mirko Vucinic.
Pjanic arrived in Turin for his medical on Monday ahead of a proposed move to the Serie A champions.
Vucinic swapped Roma for Juve in 2011 and stayed for three years, and he expects the Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder to thrive.
Nothing can surprise me anymore about what happens in the world of football, Vucinic told Tuttosport. Juventus are strengthening themselves even more.
Pjanic is an important player. We re talking about a champion, the type that is decisive, and he proved that with Roma.
For me it was not easy to leave the Giallorossi, I thought about it for a long time. In Rome I enjoyed some g…
Gareth Bale has joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for FIFA s Ballon d Or award to crown the world s best player.
The Welsh winger became the world s most expensive player when he completed his reported €100million move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in the close-season, and he has now been included among the 23 names in line for the prestigoius annual prize.
The 24-year-old is joined on the list by Real team-mate Ronaldo and Barcelona star Messi, who headline a glittering array of talent in the running for the award, which will be announced on January 13.
Argentina star Messi has been named as the world s best player for the last four years, while Ronaldo picked up the gong in 2008 and was runner-up in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
Both will once…
Gerardo Martino has stepped down as Argentina coach.
Argentina last month lost to Chile on penalties in the final of the Copa America for the second time in two years, extending their wait for a major international title to 23 years.
Martino s decision comes in the wake of captain Lionel Messi, who missed a spot-kick in that shootout, confirming he is retiring from international football and as the running of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) is firmly in the spotlight.
The 53-year-old, who coached Messi at Barcelona earlier in his career, took over as Argentina coach in August 2014 and was due to lead the team into August s Olympic Games.
But with the side s participation in the Rio showpiece in serious jeopardy, Martino has seemingly staged a U…
Norwich City have completed the signing of Lewis Grabban from Bournemouth, .
The striker has signed a three year deal with the Canaries, who are rebuilding with the hope of securing an immediate return to the Premier League after being relegated on the final day of the 2013/14 campaign.
He scored twenty-two goals in forty-four league appearances for the Cherries last season, taking his total for the club to thirty-five in ninety-three games.
The 26 year old began his career at Crystal Palace, moving on to Millwall in January 2008 having had brief loan spells with Oldham Athletic and Motherwell.
A permanent move to Brentford followed in 2011 having had two temporary stints with the club, while he spent the 2011-12 campaign at Rotherham United prior to …
Alex Sandro would like to play in the Premier League but any potential suitors in England s top flight are likely to have to wait for his services.
Chelsea and Manchester United have both been linked to the Juventus full-back, with recent speculation suggesting the London club were readying a January bid.
The 27-year-old is currently in England, for Brazil s friendly against Cameroon in Milton Keynes, and told reporters he is happy at Juve – for now.
I think one day, who knows what will happen. I have a desire to play in the Premier League, Alex Sandro said.
But right now I m very happy where I am, at the club I am at, the league I m playing in.
So today, my only thought is to continue where I am because that s where I feel happy.
Al…
Eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt still harbours a dream of one day playing for Manchester United.
Bolt participated in his first training session with Central Coast Mariners on his 32nd birthday on Tuesday, having joined the A-League club for an indefinite training period.
The fastest man ever over 100 and 200 metres retired from athletics in 2017 and, having spent time with Borussia Dortmund, Mamelodi Sundowns and Stromsgodset, Bolt has set his sights on becoming a professional footballer.
A contract with the Mariners may emerge if he impresses in training, yet Bolt s biggest aspiration is to turn out for his beloved United.
Speaking to reporters after his first training session in Australia, Bolt said: I daydream all the time about just bi…
Bayern Munich were twice pegged back by 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt as they were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Commerzbank-Arena on Saturday.
Arjen Robben gave Carlo Ancelotti s men an early lead with a crisp, close-range finish before the hosts battled their way back and levelled things up just before the break through Szabolcs Huszti.
Joshua Kimmich then fired home his fourth league goal of the season midway through the second half to restore Bayern s lead and Frankfurt s hopes of salvaging something against the Bundesliga leaders appeared to fade when Huszti picked up a second yellow card following an altercation with Renato Sanches.
However, Frankfurt fought back again and 12 minutes from time Marco Fabian struck to secure a wholly deserved point for the…