The Europa League is back with a bang on Thursday as the round of 32 gets underway. Eight clubs have dropped into the competition from the Champions League, joining the 24 who safely navigated through the group phase. Manchester United and Ajax are the biggest names to enter the Europa League at this stage, and both will fancy their chances of making progress. However, with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Leicester City, AC Milan and Napoli amongst a strong line-up, winning the Europa League will not be easy. All four Premier League clubs are on the road for their first leg matches, with Arsenal facing the toughest test against Benfica. The Gunners have been boosted by Kieran Tierney’s return to training, but the defender is unlikely to be included in the starting XI. Spurs will be without Joe...
The first knockout round fixtures for the Europa League have been revealed. The top two sides from each of the 12 groups progressed to the knockout round, and are joined by the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage. Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur were drawn against Austrian side Wolfsberger, while North London rivals Arsenal will face Benfica. The most exciting tie of the draw came when Spanish club Real Sociedad were drawn against English giants Manchester United. Serie A table toppers AC Milan will travel to Serbia to face Red Star Belgrade, while Rangers clash with Royal Antwerp. Leicester City were the final British side out of the draw, facing Slavia Prague. The first legs will be played on the 18th of February, and the second legs will be on the 25 ...
Kelechi Nwakali hopes his time with LaLiga club SD Huesca will give him the opportunity to get his career back on track. Nwakali joined Huesca from Premier League club Arsenal last summer. The 22-year-old was forced to sit -out the first six month of his contract after battling with visa issues. The talented midfielder finally linked up with Huesca in January after his paperwork issues were resolved. Nwakali featured in the club’s final five games of the campaign and played his part in their promotion to the Spanish top-flight. “It is a new beginning, I have had my ups and downs, but this is the time to make it right again, this is the time to get it back on track,” he BBC Sport Africa. “As the season progresses, I believe I am going to play more, right now I also play as a Number 4, the c...
Nigeria international Samuel Chukwueze was impressive again as Villarreal recorded a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in a pre-season game on Tuesday. Chukwueze who scored in Villarreal’s pre season game against Valencia continued from where he stopped as he ran the show against the Basque based team. Chukwueze set up Francis Coquelin for the opening goal in the 8th minute, making him the player with the most assist in pre-season games for Villarreal. Emery was impressed with his performance and he rose to his feet to applaud the 20-year-old when he went past three players in a flash. Despite the arrival of Real Madrid youngster Take Kubo, Chukwueze has continued to get enough game time under his belt and he will be hoping to start in opening their La Liga campaign against newly-promoted Huesca....
According to Goal journalist, Ronan Murphy, Celtic are looking to sign Noa Lang in the summer transfer window. The Bhoys have already signed two players, and Neil Lennon is still looking to add more bodies to the Celtic squad. Murphy claims that Celtic have joined the race to sign the highly-rated Ajax winger Lang this summer. Lang made his senior debut for Ajax in 2019 and has made eight appearances for the club, scoring three goals. The 21-year-old joined FC Twente on loan in 2020, where he made seven appearances. German club Hertha Berlin, and Spanish clubs Villarreal and Real Sociedad are also keen to sign the winger. Villarreal are looking to sign him permanently, with a fee being mooted around €7-8m. The Glasgow giants are only interested in signing him on loan with an option to...
Having escaped a potential two-year ban from European competitions, Manchester City are now focussing on bolstering their squad in the transfer market. City would have lost more than £200 million in revenue had they missed out on European football. However, with clubs given relaxations in FFP due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, City will be looking to make the best use of it by bringing in some quality players this summer. The defence has proved to be one of the major problem areas for City in 2019/20, and Pep Guardiola will be looking to rectify that. City have conceded 34 goals already this season in the Premier League, and needless to say, this is one area in which they are looking to add depth and quality. According to reports from The Times, Guardiola is...