It was the same old story for Sunderland in 2014-15; start with a vibrant manager with momentum from the previous campaign, fall into a mid-season lull, bring in someone new, regroup, stay up. As the Black Cats begin this season with Dick Advocaat at the helm, there’s a sense things could be a little different […]

Southampton received plenty of praise for their unexpected seventh place finish last season, but Swansea City, who were much less lauded, were only four points off Saints in eighth position. Perhaps the fact more people weren’t heralding the Welsh outfit’s top half finish is a measure of their astounding progress in recent seasons. Indeed, manager […]

Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal have everything in place to win their first Barclays Premier League title in more than a decade – playing down talk of a move for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. The Gunners have enjoyed a strong pre-season campaign which culminated in a 1-0 Community Shield victory over Chelsea at Wembley on […]

Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed an intriguing first campaign under the tutelage of Mauricio Pochettino, with the club eventually finishing in a respectable fifth place. But there was an underlying sense that for Spurs, the campaign could have yielded so much more. After all, not only did the north Londoners lose a League Cup final, they were […]

Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has refused to rule out reviving a deal for Emmanuel Adebayor. The Tottenham striker had been in talks over a loan move with Villa – and been given a tour of their training ground – but the deal has stalled. Sherwood worked with Adebayor at White Hart Lane and had […]

Louis van Gaal says goalkeeper David de Gea is not ready to start Manchester United's Barclays Premier League game against Tottenham on Saturday. De Gea has been the subject of interest from Real Madrid all summer. The Spain international started the final two games of United's pre-season tour of the United States, but is not […]

Manchester City have handed Manuel Pellegrini a new two-year contract on the eve of a season many expected to be the Chilean's last with the club. Pellegrini, 61, was heading into the last year of his original three-year agreement, with speculation rife that City were planning to replace him with Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola […]

Manchester United must get past Club Brugge to reach the group stages of the Champions League. United drew the Belgian side in the play-off round, with the first leg taking place at Old Trafford on August 18 or 19. The second leg will be played on August 25 or 26. Club Brugge, who finished second […]

The 2015 season was meant to be one of rebuilding for the New York Red Bulls. Gone were Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill, two players that were expected to bring silverware to the franchise. That silverware never really materialized, at least not the trophy, the MLS Cup, that matters most. The Red Bulls did win […]

According to Spanish soccer specialist, Graham Hunter, Arsenal’s long-time pursuit of striker Karim Benzema is still possible. Hunter spoke with talkSPORT on Thursday about a potential deal and claimed that Real Madrid could use an influx in cash. "Arsenal have the money and Real Madrid need the money,” explained Hunter. “They (Real Madrid) are €500 million […]

Manchester United will learn who they will take on in the Champions League play-off round on Friday. Here, Press Association Sport looks at the five opponents United could face. Team: Club Brugge (Belgium) Domestic finish: Second in Belgian league Best performance in Champions League: Runner-up 1977/78 Route to play-off: Beat Panathinaikos 4-2 on aggregate in […]

Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah has joined Roma on a season-long loan, the Barclays Premier League side have announced. Salah, who left Basle to join the Blues in January last year, became the first Egyptian to turn out for the Stamford Bridge outfit but has found regular football hard to come by. He scored twice in […]

In his two years at the helm of the Britannia Stadium, Mark Hughes has made understatedly excellent progress with Stoke City Taking over from Tony Pulis, who forged the side in his own gnarly image, was never going to be an easy task. But Hughes has preserved the pragmatic principles that were instilled by the Welshman […]

After a one-year hiatus from the top flight, Norwich City are back in the big time. And after beating local rivals Ipswich Town and then Middlesbrough in the final of the playoffs, the Canaries have returned to the Premier League in the most desirable way possible. They’ll fancy their chances of making a much better fist of […]

West Brom are set to sign Serge Gnabry from Arsenal on a season-long loan. The 20-year-old midfielder is expected to link up with the Baggies on Thursday, Press Association Sport understands. Gnabry has recovered from a serious knee injury which forced him to miss all of last season and he has not played for Arsenal […]