Prodl pens new four-year Watford contract

Prediction: Chelsea to Win 2-0

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Newcastle United will be aiming to break their four-match winless run in the Premier League on Saturday as they host top four contenders Chelsea at St James Park.

Despite having an impressive season so far under Steve Bruce, the Magpies have struggled in recent weeks and will be aiming to recapture their form. Meanwhile, Frank Lampard s troops will be hoping to consolidate their position in the Champions League places.

Newcastle United

Despite reaching the lofty heights of ninth with their recent win against Crystal Palace, Newcastle have been slightly inconsistent in the past few weeks. Their only win in their last seven matches is their 4-1 victory against League One outfit Rochdale at St James…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic headlines the MLS All-Stars announced for an August fixture against Serie A champions Juventus.

Ibrahimovic has registered seven goals for LA Galaxy since cutting short his Manchester United stay to switch to MLS, including hitting a brace on debut.

The 36-year-old is the headline name in the MLS All-Stars squad, though David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco also included by Atlanta United coach Gerardo Martino.

Former Barcelona boss Martino has called up five of his club s players, with the fixture set to be played at Atlanta s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 1.

Big names. Big stage.

 Introducing the 2018 Team!  

— Major League Soccer (@MLS)

World Cup players Carlos Vela, Francisco Calvo, Yoshimar Yot…

Still got it?

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has made it clear that he would be more than happy to take Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy on loan. Of course, Tottenham already have Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe and at the time of writing, they still have Roman Pavlyuchenko as well.

Redknapp said,

If he was available it could be of interest. It s not impossible. If it was right we could be interested. It s interesting but it depends what the deal is, he was fantastic in England and a great goal scorer.

The great Dutch international striker is thirty-three now and he has only featured for Real Madrid four times this season. His goal scoring record stands scrutiny against the best strikers the world have ever seen, but the consensus o…

Congo remain favourites to reach the next round of World Cup qualification despite seeing their 100 percent record ended by Gabon on Saturday.

The Group E leaders had won all three of their previous qualifying matches but were without the services of several first-team stars such as Christopher Samba.
However, they dug in to earn a 0-0 draw which keeps them in pole position in the group, six points clear of Gabon who look an unlikely bet to reach the next round of qualification as a result.
Burkina Faso and Niger, who occupy third and fourth spot respectively, go head to head on Sunday.
Elsewhere in Africa, Ethiopia leapfrogged South Africa to regain control of Group A courtesy of a 2-1 away win over Botswana.
First-half goals from Getaneh Kebede and Salahdin Said proved the di…

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri admits Paul Pogba s performances at the World Cup caught his eye but stopped short of expressing an interest in bringing the midfielder back to Turin.

After a season of mixed fortunes at Manchester United, where he impressed and frustrated across the course of a campaign that yielded only runners-up spots in the Premier League and FA Cup, Pogba was inspirational for France in Russia and scored in their 4-2 final victory over Croatia.

The 25-year-old s international team-mate Blaise Matuidi called for Pogba to return to Juventus amid France s celebrations, and it has been rumoured he would be interested in heading back to Serie A to link up with new signing Cristiano Ronaldo.

Allegri – who allowed Pogba to leave Juventus …

Juventus have not yet finalised a deal with AC Milan for striker Gonzalo Higuain, according to club general manager Giuseppe Marotta.

The 30-year-old has been tipped to join the Rossoneri on an initial loan deal for an €18million fee, with the option of making the move permanent for €36m.

Juve and Milan officials are believed to have met on Tuesday to thrash out the finer details of the agreement, as well as discuss the prospect of a swap deal involving Leonardo Bonucci and Mattia Caldara.

However, Marotta claims there has not yet been a satisfactory conclusion to the discussions.

When asked if everything was agreed over Higuain s future, he told reporters in Milan: Not so much.

Higuain fired Juve to back-to-back domestic doubles after joinin…

Luka Jovic made the difference for AC Milan one minute after coming on as an 80th-minute substitute with the winning strike in their 3-2 Serie A victory at Frosinone.

Olivier Giroud nodded in the opener which was cancelled out before the break by Matias Soule’s penalty, but Luca Mazzitelli fired the hosts in front after half-time.

The sides were back on level terms when Matteo Gabbia, assisted by Giroud, found the back of the net with a diving header before Serbia striker Jovic wrapped up the win.

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— AC Milan (@acmilan)

The result sees AC Milan – in third – move to within four points of second-placed Juventus, having played one more game, while Serie A leaders Inter Milan have two games on hand over Stefano Pioli�…

Phil Foden believes the Premier League title race will go to the wire this season.

The England midfielder scored a hat-trick in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at Brentford on Monday night.

It was a potentially pivotal victory which lifted City above Arsenal into second place, two points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.

“It’s going to be tight one. Liverpool and Arsenal are two top teams doing really well,” said Foden.

“They are going to push us until the end so we have to try and not drop points and try to win all of our games really.”

City fell behind against the run of play when Neal Maupay fired Brentford into the lead.

But Foden finally beat inspired Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken to haul his side level before the int…

Manchester United F.C. manager Louis van Gaal has revealed that he signed Memphis Depay from Dutch Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven before the end of the season to prevent the player from joining Paris Saint-Germain.

The Holland international, 21, will officially move to United for a rumoured fee of €30 million when the transfer window re-open in July, having agreed a four-year deal with the Red Devils.

  I have been forced to sign him, said Van Gaal during his pre-match press conference ahead of United s game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

I didn t want to sign him before the end of the season because we have to focus on our games. When you sign a player, you disturb the focus of your present group of players. 

…

Monaco have completed the permanent signing of Fabinho, who has spent the last two seasons on loan at the Stade Louis II from Rio Ave.

The Brazilian who also made one loan outing for Real Madrid in 2012-13  has made 61 Ligue 1 appearances for Monaco over the past two campaigns, and has made his stay a permanent one with a contract running until June 2019.

Fabinho has demonstrated his talent since his arrival and we are happy to integrate him definitively at Monaco, said club vice president Vadim Vasilyev.

His versatility, his youth and his state of mind make him a great player for the future.

It is also an opportunity for him to join the Brazilian selection.

…