Premier league title

Pep Guardiola’s City returned to form on Sunday as they cruised to a 3-0 win at Arsenal, who are struggling under the temporary command of Freddie Ljungberg. A hat-trick of titles seems to be beyond City with leaders Liverpool 14 points ahead of them but the defending champions are now four points behind second- place Leicester City. Only four points now separate Spurs, United and the Gunners but their recent fortunes could not be more different. Stream live coverage of La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the EFL Championship with beIN SPORTS on KAYO. Get your 14 day free trial & start streaming instantly > Jan Vertonghen celebrates after scoring Spurs’ second goal. Picture: Michael Regan/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images Jan Vertonghen’s late goal improved Jose Mourinho’s start as Tottenham boss to four wins out of five by snatching a 2-1 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers, taking the north London club above Sunday’s hosts to fifth. United … [Read more...] about Premier League: Spurs and Man City triumph as Arsenal falters

Coach Ernesto Valverde has played down the significance of his side's recent slack displays IMAGE: Barcelona players huddle during the warm up. Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters Despite an iron grip on domestic trophies, Barcelona have been haunted by their recent failures in the Champions League and there are concerning signs for the Catalans as they prepare for Tuesday's last-16 first leg away to Olympique Lyonnais. Ernesto Valverde's side fly to France after an uninspiring 1-0 win at home to struggling Real Valladolid on Saturday which consolidated their lead at the top of La Liga but left plenty of doubts about their capabilities of winning Europe's top prize. The drab victory over Valladolid, in which Lionel Messi scored a penalty and missed one, followed a goalless stalemate at Athletic Bilbao, a 2-2 draw with Valencia and a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in a Copa del Rey semi-final first leg. Coach Ernesto Valverde has played down the significance of his side's recent slack displays. … [Read more...] about Champions League Previews: Barca lack sparkle; Liverpool favourites

CHENNAI: West Indies will be right in the middle of the ODI series when the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction unfold in Kolkata on December 19. While they will have to be reflecting on the result of the second ODI, which takes place a day earlier, it is only to be expected that they will also have one eye on the frantic developments of the auction ahead of the 2020 season. There are, after all, no less than 10 players – Shai Hope, Sheldon Cottrell, Hayden Walsh Jr, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder, Kharry Pierre, Brandon King and Romario Shepherd – who will be going under the hammer hoping that at least one of the franchises shows interest. Out of the hopefuls, Hetmyer and Lewis possibly stand the best chance of attracting maximum interest. These left-handers already have IPL experience and although they might not have set the tournament alight previously, the potential to destroy bowling attacks is clearly apparent. Skipper Kieron Pollard had … [Read more...] about IPL auction should not affect West Indies: Kieron Pollard

By Rory Smith On Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after watching his players try to maintain their eight-point lead at the summit of the Premier League, Jürgen Klopp and his Liverpool team will board a plane bound for Qatar, and the Club World Cup. They will train on Monday in Doha, where there are a number of news media engagements booked for that afternoon. On Tuesday, Klopp will put the finishing touches to his plans for his team’s semifinal on Wednesday. On Sunday morning, Neil Critchley, the manager of Liverpool’s under-23 team, will be preparing for the biggest game of his career. On Monday, he will be at Liverpool’s training facility at Melwood to give a news conference ahead of the club’s Carabao Cup quarterfinal at Aston Villa. That game is on Tuesday night. For 72 hours, Liverpool will be a club divided in two: two games in two competitions on two continents in two days. It is a schedule that demands, in effect, two managers. It is not, of … [Read more...] about Divided in two: Liverpool to play two games in two continents in two days

While Leicester seek a first title, City are bidding for their third in five seasonsArsenal aim to halt a four-match winless sequence at Bournemouth on Sunday Champions Chelsea host a Manchester United side showing signs of life ‘Now we're third and trying to get as far up the league as we can’ IMAGE: Leicester City's Jamie Vardy and teammates warm up. Photographs: Michael Regan/Getty Images Surprise leaders Leicester City face a severe test of their Premier League title credentials over the next 10 days, starting with Saturday's trip to Manchester City. Claudio Ranieri's intrepid side have become a ‘second club’ for football fans bored with the dominance of Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal in the last two decades.With 14 games left they will travel to the Etihad Stadium three points clear of a chasing pack, led by Manchester City but missing some usual suspects. A week later they visit Arsenal. It sounds daunting, but all season … [Read more...] about How and why Leicester’s crunch time starts NOW…