Milan (AFP) – Gennaro Gattuso's Napoli face an early test of their title ambitions against Zlatan Ibrahimovic's league leaders AC Milan on Sunday in a clash between two former teammates chasing the Scudetto. Both Ibrahimovic, 39, and 42-year-old Gattuso played together at AC Milan when the club won the last of their 18 Serie A […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham's title credentials face a thorough examination when they host Manchester City as the Premier League returns on Saturday after the international break. Spurs are just a point behind early pace setters Leicester, but only three points separate the top six, with Chelsea and Aston Villa also having the chance to claim […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid's La Liga challenge will not succeed or fail on Saturday but end a decade-long drought by beating Barcelona and they could justifiably become favourites for the title. A first league victory over Barca since 2010 would put Atletico nine points clear of their opponents and extend an impressive unbeaten run […]

Berlin (AFP) – Hansi Flick needs to settle on a replacement for Bayern Munich's injured midfield dynamo Joshua Kimmich ahead of his 50th game as head coach on Saturday. The 25-year-old Kimmich is recovering from knee surgery after limping off in the 3-2 win at Dortmund a fortnight ago which kept Bayern top of the […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid and Barcelona's stuttering starts to the season could continue, while AC Milan's unbeaten record in Serie A is in danger and Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick is aiming to continue his astonishing record. AFP Sport previews the standout football action on the continent this weekend: – German accent to French […]

Madrid (AFP) – Sergio Ramos is likely to miss three games after Real Madrid confirmed on Thursday the defender has sustained a hamstring injury. Ramos came off towards the end of the first half of Spain's 6-0 victory over Germany in the Nations League on Tuesday. He is expected to be out for 10 days, […]

Brussels (AFP) – Belgium's professional football teams have already lost half of their revenues in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and expect to be hit hard this season, the country's Pro League said on Thursday. "Comparison between March-September 2019 and the same period this year shows a loss of 275 million euros ($325.9 million) […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Waztke revealed Thursday that each home game held without fans costs the Bundesliga club four million euros ($4.7 million) in lost revenue. Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park is the biggest stadium in Germany and can host 81,000 spectators. Fans are currently locked out of all Bundesliga matches as part […]

London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney says he is willing to take his first job in management with Championship strugglers Derby as the former Manchester United star prepares to be part of the interim coaching set-up against Bristol City on Saturday. Derby have appointed a temporary coaching quartet of Rooney, Liam Rosenior, Justin Walker and Shay […]

London (AFP) – Newcastle have confirmed they are in a legal dispute with the Premier League over the failed takeover of the club. A consortium featuring the Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Amanda Staveley's PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben Brothers withdrew its £350 million ($460 million) offer for Newcastle earlier this year following a […]

London (AFP) – Frank Lampard has called for the Premier League's Saturday morning fixtures to be scrapped as Chelsea's tired players prepare to face Newcastle in that slot after a draining international break. Lampard believes it is madness for the Premier League and television broadcasters to insist on one match being held at 1230 GMT […]

Berlin (AFP) – Hoffenheim must play their Bundesliga home match with Stuttgart on Saturday after their request to postpone the game was rejected despite seven of their squad being in quarantine following positive coronavirus tests. Sports director Alexander Rosen said on Thursday that the German Football League (DFL) rejected Hoffenheim's request for the game to […]

Rome (AFP) – The son of World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro could follow in his father's footsteps after the 16-year-old joined the youth set-up at Serie A club Lazio. Andrea Cannavaro signed for the Rome-based club's under-17 team after playing for Guangzhou Evergrande in China, the team his Ballon d'Or-winning father has managed since 2017. […]

Paris (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel's Paris Saint-Germain are top of Ligue 1 and chasing a ninth straight win on Friday but standing in their way are an ambitious Monaco side with a German-born coach of their own in Niko Kovac. The 49-year-old Kovac, who was brought up in West Berlin and spent most of his […]

Doha (AFP) – Sydney FC's Asian Champions League winless run grew to 10 on Thursday after a second-half brace from Li Shenglong helped Shanghai SIPG bounce back from a goal down to clinch a 2-1 victory in their Group H clash. The Sky Blues had landed in Qatar hoping to end a nine-match streak without […]