This season’s Premier League has been a poisoned chalice for anyone wanting to form coherent arguments about teams. On one hand, there’s plenty to talk about, but it’s also near-impossible to actually know what’s going on. An accurate description would be that the usual favorites have dropped the ball, and that outsiders have capitalized. Leicester’s […]

Guus Hiddink defended his decision to rest goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after a 1-0 loss at Swansea condemned Chelsea to a first Premier League defeat under their interim manager. Hiddink left Belgium international Courtois on the bench at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, preferring to name Bosnia's Asmir Begovic in his starting line-up. Begovic did little […]

Gylfi Sigurdsson handed Chelsea their first Premier League defeat under interim manager Guus Hiddink as Swansea beat the Blues 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday. Iceland midfielder Sigurdsson struck in the 25th minute to earn Swansea a victory that should ensure they avoid relegation, while Chelsea were left pointless for the first time since […]

Bayern Munich warmed up for Wednesday's crucial Champions League quarter-final at Benfica with a 3-1 win at Stuttgart on Saturday to maintain their iron-grip on the Bundesliga title race with five games left. An own goal from Stuttgart defender Georg Niedermeier and a second-half David Alaba strike put Pep Guardiola's Bayern 2-0 up. Daniel Didavi […]

Hapless bottom club Aston Villa avoided relegation from the Premier League by the skin of their teeth on Saturday despite a 2-1 loss at home to Bournemouth. Goals from Steve Cook and Josh King gave Bournemouth victory at Villa Park, but Norwich City's 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace kept Villa hanging by a mathematical thread. […]

Swansea City revealed on Saturday they are in talks with American businessmen Stephen Kaplan and Jason Levien, who are seeking to purchase a controlling stake in the Premier League club. Kaplan and Levien, both of whom have extensive sporting experience in the United States, are heading up an investment group that hopes to take charge […]

Claudio Ranieri has called on Leicester to maintain the consistency that has made them favorites to be crowned Premier League champions and carried them to the brink of the Champions League. While a seven-point lead over second-placed Tottenham is not enough to persuade Ranieri to discuss Leicester's chances of winning an historic first top-flight title, […]

Brazilian superstar Neymar was Friday given the go-ahead to play at the Olympics by his club Barcelona but was ordered not to take part in the Copa America, local media reported. Brazil coach Dunga had been hoping to have the influential striker at both tournaments — the Copa in the United States from June 3-26 […]

Guus Hiddink insists incoming boss Antonio Conte will be able to attract top stars to Chelsea even without the lure of Champions League action. Conte was this week confirmed as Jose Mourinho's permanent successor and will take charge at Stamford Bridge after Italy's Euro 2016 campaign comes to a conclusion. The Italian will arrive to […]

Tottenham Hotspur will once again grapple with historical portents on Sunday when their bid to prevent Leicester City running away with the Premier League title sees them entertain Manchester United. It is 15 years since Tottenham last won a home league game against United and they spurned one opportunity to reverse a long-standing trend last […]

The fall-out from Gonzalo Higuain's four-match ban will overshadow Serie A this weekend, when the Argentine striker and his Napoli team-mates will be glued to a crucial San Siro clash between AC Milan and Juventus. Sitting three points behind Juventus before last week's games, Napoli's bid for a first Serie A title in 26 years […]

Manchester City have edged closer to a place in the Champions League semi-finals but Jesus Navas has warned they can't afford to relax when they return to Premier League action on Saturday. City's 2-2 draw at Paris St-Germain in the first leg of their quarter-final has made them favorites to progress to the last four […]

Borussia Dortmund's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has warned Bayern Munich that his team is ready to pounce in the Bundesliga title race should Pep Guardiola's leaders slip up at Stuttgart on Saturday. With only six games left, the Bavarian giants are five points clear of second-placed Dortmund but face a tricky tie at Stuttgart in the […]

Kasper Schmeichel says Leicester's rock solid defense is the secret to the shock leaders' remarkable charge towards a fairytale Premier League title. Claudio Ranieri's side are within touching distance of becoming the most unexpected champions in English soccer history as they head to struggling Sunderland on Sunday and Denmark goalkeeper Schmeichel has no doubts he […]

Barcelona must overturn a terrible run in recent years of results away to Real Sociedad to prevent losing their grip on the Spanish title race on Saturday. Despite tasting defeat for the first time in 40 games on their last La Liga outing at home to Real Madrid last weekend, Barca still hold a commanding […]