Los Angeles (AFP) – American Joseph Diaz ends a year-long layoff by defending his International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight crown on Saturday against undefeated Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov of Tajikistan. Diaz, a 28-year-old southpaw, makes his first bid to retain the title he took from compatriot Tevin Farmer in January 2020 by unanimous decision. "It has been a […]

London (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he would be happy to switch to one-off European fixtures given the complications of two-legged ties during the coronavirus pandemic. After being knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage, Manchester United kick off their Europa League return against Real Sociedad next Thursday. Old Trafford will […]

London (AFP) – Leicester's James Justin is likely to miss the rest of the season after manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed on Friday the defender had suffered a serious knee injury. Justin was carried off in Wednesday's 1-0 FA Cup win over Brighton and has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). "The scan hasn't shown up […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday that Gareth Bale's upbeat midweek Instagram post was a "contradiction" with reality, insisting that the Wales international had reported fitness concerns. Bale, on loan from Real Madrid, missed Wednesday's 5-4 FA Cup defeat at Everton after he was absent from training on Monday and asked […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola wants his Manchester City stars to forget about their record-breaking run of 15 straight victories when Tottenham visit the Etihad on Saturday, aiming to halt their charge towards the Premier League title. City broke the English record for a top-flight club for consecutive wins by beating Swansea in midweek to […]

Doha (AFP) – Organisers would have wanted to use the Club World Cup as a demonstration of readiness for next year's World Cup in Qatar, highlighting gleaming infrastructure and a soft touch with fans from abroad. Instead foreign supporters were banned and all eyes were on strict coronavirus containment measures that followed high-profile outbreaks at the AFC Champions League and recent Australian […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool have suffered another injury setback with Brazilian midfielder Fabinho set to miss Saturday's trip to Leicester. Fabinho has largely been used in central defence by Jurgen Klopp this season after Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip suffered season-ending injuries. Klopp does at least now have some centre-back cover with […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Friday he had received threats towards his family on social media as he joined calls for internet giants to do more to stamp out abuse. The Spaniard said he no longer uses his Twitter account after flagging the incidents to the club. "I think if we would […]

Paris (AFP) – Arsenal's home Europa League tie against Portuguese giants Benfica on February 25 has been switched to Greece because of Covid-19 restrictions in England, UEFA announced on Friday. The game will be played at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium of Olympiakos at 1655 GMT. The move comes after the first leg of the last […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Zambian club Nkana will this weekend defend a record of never losing at home in 63 CAF matches, with coach Kelvin Kaindu warning that Moroccan opponents Tihad Casablanca must not be underestimated. Tihad are a second-division club who qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup by winning the Throne Cup, the premier knockout […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain will have one eye on next week's Champions League clash with Barcelona, but can not afford to fall further behind in the Ligue 1 title race when they host Nice on Saturday. Mauricio Pochettino's men suffered another setback ahead of Tuesday's last-16 first leg against Barca at the Camp Nou […]

Madrid (AFP) – For only the second time since the start of October, Atletico Madrid dropped points in La Liga on Monday and when Real Madrid won the day after, the alarm bells started ringing. "La Liga is alive," read the front page of AS on Tuesday, while Zinedine Zidane was asked in his post-match […]

Rome (AFP) – The pursuit of Serie A leaders AC Milan heats up this weekend, as Juventus and Inter Milan face key matches after clashing on and off the pitch midweek. Champions Juve, who travel to Napoli on Saturday, knocked Inter out of the Italian Cup with a dogged goalless draw at the Allianz Stadium […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund may turn to teenage striker Youssoufa Moukoko in a bid to boost their flagging attack on Saturday, as they look to get back on track in the race for Champions League qualification. The 16-year-old, the youngest player in Bundesliga history, could start at home against Hoffenheim after coming on to […]

London (AFP) – Nearly two years on from the appointment of Brendan Rodgers, Leicester are again threatening to break the glass ceiling of the Premier League's traditional "top six" to reach the riches and prestige of the Champions League next season. The third-placed Foxes lead defending champions Liverpool by three points ahead of Saturday's crucial […]