Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary s on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless just like the other semi-final but the home side s quality told in the end.
Russell Martin s side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Que Sera, Sera
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC)
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
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Andres Iniesta has described Arsenal as dangerous and former team-mate Alexis Sanchez as unpredictable ahead of Barcelona s trip to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Barca go into the Champions League round-of-16 tie as overwhelming favourites to see off the Gunners once again they knocked them out of Europe s elite club competition in 2010 and 2011 as well as beating them in the 2006 final.
Arsenal s main threat is likely to come from Chile international Sanchez, who played alongside Iniesta at Camp Nou between 2011 and 2014.
What makes Alexis so dangerous is that he is unpredictable, the Spaniard told Arsenal s official website. When he dribbles, when he attacks, he is a very strong player.
He’s got skill and when he has the ball he always crea…
Hannover and Stoke have both confirmed they are in negotiations to send Senegalese forward Mame Biram Diouf to England.
Diouf joined Hannover in January 2012 after two-and-a-half frustrating seasons on Manchester United s books, and has scored 27 goals and created 11 more from 51 games for the Bundesliga club but the 25-year-old striker is now pushing for a transfer.
Hannover s sporting director Dirk Dufner confirmed on Friday Diouf s agent Jim Solbakken has been in contact with Stoke City.
I phoned Jim in the morning and he told me that he has met with Stoke, Dufner told Bild.
Stoke s chairman Peter Coates also confirmed Diouf is a transfer target as new manager Mark Hughes begins to put his stamp on the squad.
He is one of the strikers we have registered …
Villarreal striker Roberto Soldado says it would be a dream for the Liga club to reach the Europa league final at Liverpool s expense.
Liverpool travel to El Madrigal for the first leg of their semi-final tie, having eliminated tournament favourites Borussia Dortmund in a thrilling quarter-final.
Villarreal saw off Sparta Prague in the last eight and are three-time semi-finalists in this competition.
Four points clear off fifth-placed Celta Vigo in La Liga, Villarreal look set for a spot in next season s Champions League, but Soldado was quick to fix his sights on a possible trophy.
For Villarreal to get through to the final would be a great reward, the former Tottenham forward said. It is the dream we all have. We strongly believe in our chances, altho…
Bayern Munich could wrap up the Bundesliga title with victory at Hertha Berlin on Saturday and will be looking to capitalise on their hosts DFB-Pokal disappointment.
Pep Guardiola s men sit seven points clear of closest challengers Borussia Dortmund at the summit – stretching that lead to 10 with three matches to go will see them become the first side to win four German titles in succession.
Dortmund visit Stuttgart at the same time as Bayern take on Hertha, meaning fans of Die Roten will have their attentions split between events at Olympiastadion and Mercedes-Benz Arena.
For Bayern, who tied Manuel Neuer down to a new five-year contract this week, the match comes on the back of a 2-0 victory over Werder Bremen that sealed their progression to the DFB-Pokal …
A Bola is reporting that Premier League outfit Newcastle United are readying January bid for Benfica defender Lisandro Lopez.
The Magpies manager Rafael Benitez is believed to be a big fan of the player, but he failed in an attempt to sign him in the summer.
According to A Bola, the Spaniard is ready to return for the 28-year-old as soon as the transfer window reopens in January.
The good news is that Lisandro Lopez is not a first team regular at Benfica and he should be available for €10 million.
The Argentine never quite managed to establish himself as a first team regular at Estadio da Luz, making mere 31 league appearances since joining in July 2013, albeit enjoying a successful loan spell with Getafe.
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Manchester City have completed the signing of Ilkay Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund, the Premier League club have confirmed.
The Germany international had long been linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium and has now inked a four-year contract with City to finalise the deal.
Gundogan is recovering from a knee injury that will likely see him miss the opening stages of the 2016-17 campaign, having also been ruled out of Euro 2016, but incoming boss Pep Guardiola has nonetheless opted to make the influential midfielder his first City signing.
I m thrilled to have signed for Manchester City, said Gundogan. When I learned of City s interest my heart was set on coming here and things have moved very quickly.
I have loved my time with Borussia Dortmund…
Prediction: England to win and both teams to score
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England will be aiming to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday evening as they take on Colombia at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow.
Gareth Southgate s men seemingly have a relatively kind route to the final of the competition in Russia but their first port of call is José Pékerman s talented side. It will by no means be an easy task for the Three Lions as they really look to stamp their authority on the competition. Meanwhile, Colombia will be gunning to reach their second-consecutive World Cup quarter-final.
Colombia
Despite finishing top of Group H with six points and qualifying for the knockout rounds, Colombia initially struggled to display the sumptuous football…
Marco Verratti admits he questioned Paris Saint-Germain s ambition amid speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona during the close-season.
The Italy international replaced his agent Donato Di Campli in July after he described the player as a prisoner in Paris with talk of an exit gaining traction.
Verratti won four successive Ligue 1 titles following his arrival from Pescara in 2012, but after Unai Emery s side were beaten to top spot by Monaco in 2016-17 he confesses he considered his future.
The truth is that last season we went through some complicated times, he told L Equipe. We did not really live up to a team that wanted to win everything.
We were asked to win everything and there were a lot of stronger teams than us. I was not sure we were…
Inter opened the door for Napoli to regain top spot in Serie A as their unbeaten start to the season came to an end with a 3-1 defeat to Udinese at San Siro.
Luciano Spalletti s side missed the opportunity to extend their one-point lead at the summit ahead of their title rivals playing later in the weekend as a pair of Davide Santon errors contributed to the coach s first competitive loss at the helm and ended their 16-game undefeated match in Serie A this term.
Kevin Lasagna cooked up a scarcely deserved opener that was cancelled out by Mauro Icardi s 17th league goal of the season just 72 seconds later, but Inter back at full strength after a midweek Coppa Italia scare against Pordenone failed to turn their dominance into a crucial second.
Instead, Udinese gr…