Competition: Chinese Super League
Market: Henan Songshan Longmen draw no bet
Odds: 19/20 @
Smelling the chance to extend on their recent purple patch, Henan will welcome Zhejiang Professional to the Shanghai Stadium on Sunday lunchtime.
Starting with the hosts, extending on their FA Cup adventure earlier in the week as they secured a 1-0 victory at home against Guangxi Pingguo, Henan find themselves in the midst of a real flurry. Despite opening up the 2024 campaign at the heart of a relegation scrap, the Red Devils have skyrocketed their way up the Super League standings and they now sit within striking distance of breaking into the top-half. Signing off June with a thumping 3-0 romp away at Meizhou Hakka, Nam Ki-il’s men have suffered just a single …
What the papers say
Saudi Arabia has emerged as a possible destination for Jadon Sancho if his unhappy stay at Manchester United ends in January. The Daily Telegraph reports the England winger, 23, is wanted by teams in the Saudi Pro League, although he has also been linked with Juventus and remaining at United beyond the transfer window.
Tottenham’s Brazilian forward Richarlison has also caught the eye of Saudi clubs, according to the Telegraph. They are lining up a possible January move for the 26-year-old.
Wayne Rooney has been warned he will have a fight to lure Elliot Lee, 28 , away from Wrexham, according to the Daily Mirror. Rooney has identified the attacking midfielder as a prime target after taking over at Birmingham City.
Former player John Obi Mike…
Speaking to the press on international duty, Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe has revealed he is prepared to consider his future at the end of the season.
Despite still being Arsenal s most expensive signing ever since his arrival from LOSC Lille for a reported fee of £72 million in 2019, Pepe is firmly behind 20-year-old Bukayo Saka in the pecking order for the place on the right side of attack under Mikel Arteta. He says Arteta has explained it to him that it s hard for a coach to change things when the team is doing well, and there s obviously no arguing with that. Saka is a great talent and has been playing an important role in the recent upsurge of form for the Gunners.
Pepe says he respects Arteta s choice, but it s still hard for him to accept the lack of playing tim…
“I’ve done the book, but I’m continuing with the career, all the struggles and stuff I wrote about, I’m still living with them,” the 27-year-old told the PA news agency.
“But I’m dealing with them so much better, which has resulted in me being able to live a much happier life and a much more stress-free life.
“It’s crazy to see how far I’ve come and to look back.
“It’s emotional to read about your own story and remind yourself of the really difficult situations I’ve been in and the really tough places I’ve dragged myself out of.”
Although her struggles began when she was 10, it took Farrow until she was 14 to ask her parents for help.
The forward played for Chelsea, Reading and Leicester in the Women’s Super League,…
Dani Alves was handed his second debut for Barcelona s Copa del Rey clash with Linares Deportivo after being officially registered by the LaLiga club.
The 38-year-old re-joined Barca on a free transfer in November following his departure from Sao Paulo over a contractual dispute.
He featured in a friendly draw with Boca Juniors in Saudi Arabia last month but could not play competitively until the LaLiga registration window opened on Monday.
Barcelona announced on Wednesday that Alves registration had been sanctioned and he was part of their squad for the round-of-32 contest.
Alves slotted straight into the starting line-up at Estadio de Linarejos in a side that also included fellow experienced players Neto, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Brazil i…
Last season s beaten semi-finalists Ajax opened their 2019-20 Champions League campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Lille on Tuesday.
Erik ten Hag s side – who were denied a place in the final by Tottenham last term – were in dominant mood against their Ligue 1 opponents and looked well placed to claim all three points from the outset in Amsterdam.
Quincy Promes headed them into an 18th-minute lead before Edson Alvarez scored his first goal for the club five minutes after the interval.
Nicolas Tagliafico added a third with a thumping header after 62 minutes as the Dutch champions stormed into pole position in Group H.
Ajax started on the front foot and went agonisingly close to taking the lead in the 14th minute, Hakim Ziyech s thunderous half-voll…
UEFA has hit out at the greedy plan to revive the Super League following Tuesday s meeting with the competition s backers A22 Sports, accusing them of jeopardising the future of football.
It was revealed last month that Bernd Reichart was heading up plans for a revival of the Super League, which retains the support of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus following a failed launch in April 2021.
On Tuesday, UEFA announced it had reaffirmed its opposition to the Super League project at a meeting requested by A22, which was attended by several big-name executives including Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Bayern Munich chief executive Oliver Kahn.
However, European football s governing body was infuriated by a subsequent statement from A22, accusi…
Joe Hart has apologised for a post on his social media account that celebrated a non-existent Tottenham win after they crashed out of the Europa League to Dinamo Zagreb.
Goalkeeper Hart watched from the bench as Spurs let a 2-0 first-leg lead slip, beaten 3-0 after extra time in Croatia on Thursday.
However, a post on Hart s page hailed a job done before it was later removed.
The former Manchester City star took to his Instagram story on Friday to try to explain the error, saying a member of his social media team had assumed the 3-0 scoreline was in Tottenham s favour.
I feel like I need to come on and make an apology on behalf of my social media team, he said. It s just been brought to my attention. I ve literally just woken up.
Someone thought…
Sevilla have qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League for the first time since the 2009-10 season after holding on to a 0-0 draw at Lyon in Group H on Wednesday.
The LaLiga club needed to avoid losing by two goals or more to prevent their hosts pipping them to second spot behind Juventus, and although Lyon put them under considerable pressure, they just about did enough to keep Bruno Genesio s men at bay in foggy France.
Despite Lyon being seriously shaken emotionally after an exploding firecracker during their match with Metz put goalkeeper Anthony Lopes in hospital on Saturday, their need for an all-out-attack approach contributed to an enthralling and frantic first half.
The frame of the goal was struck three times before the break and both sid…
Robert Lewandowski and Ivan Perisic were on target as Bayern Munich started the post Niko Kovac era with a 2-0 win over Olympiacos that secured qualification for the Champions League last 16.
A humiliating 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday brought an end to Kovac s 16-month tenure and caretaker boss Hansi Flick saw his side frustrated for large parts by Jose Sa.
The visiting goalkeeper made several sharp stops and Benjamin Pavard hit the post, but Lewandowski s sixth goal of the group stage broke the away side s resolve.
Substitute Perisic made sure of the points late on meaning Bayern are guaranteed to progress from Group B, leaving Flick to now prepare Bayern for a crucial Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund.
Thomas Muller saw a couple o…