Pioli relishing Conte battle as Milan make long-awaited Champions League knockout return

According to a recent report from Calciomercato, Juventus are on the verge of holding onto defender Merih Demiral after all during the January transfer window. The expectation was that he would be looking elsewhere once the window opened next month with a series of Premier League clubs showing their interest – in addition to fellow Serie A side AC Milan. 

Now, though, as it turns out, Juve aren’t planning on making all too many – if any – changes in regards to outgoings during the window. 

They’re going to be busy attempting to bring in a few more faces ahead of what is bound to be a busy few months for them, but Demiral isn’t expected to be someone that departs. 

Considering the race that they’re in at the top of the table with Inter Mila…

Former Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Olympique Lyon and Aston Villa boss Gerard Houlier passed away today (Monday, December 14th), at the age of 73. Houllier also had a spell in charge of France national team and was head of global football at Red Bull from 2012 until today, with RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls under his watchful eye. 

Tributes to his memory have been coming from all over the world throughout the day.

Here s what three current Premier League managers had to say about the late Frenchman.

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Sadio Mane fired Senegal through to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals as they saw off Uganda 1-0 in Cairo.

The Liverpool striker is targeting more silverware after helping his club side land Champions League glory, and Mane s first-half strike carried his nation past awkward opposition.

Mane missed a second-half penalty after he had been clattered, but his earlier clinical finish proved enough.

Senegal, for whom this was an eighth win in their last nine games, will next face Benin who earned a shock 4-1 penalties win against Morocco following a 1-1 draw earlier on Friday.

Like a boss :sunglasses:

— CAF (@CAF_Online)

In a sign of things to come, Uganda goalkeeper Denis Onyango bolted out of his penalty area and knocked Ismaila S…

Arsenal must show they can handle the pressure of being Premier League title favourites , according to Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte.

Mikel Arteta s side head into Sunday s North London derby top of the table having won 14 of their 17 games.

But the Gunners dropped points in a goalless draw with Newcastle United last week, and with closest challengers Manchester City playing Manchester United on Saturday, Arsenal s lead could be cut to just two points by the time they step out onto the pitch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Conte is no stranger to title races, having lifted five top-flight crowns during his managerial career, including the 2016-17 Premier League while in charge of Chelsea.

He warned Arsenal that, despite their fantastic st…

Jose Mourinho does not believe Tottenham are heading into an easier run of Premier League fixtures after a string of tough encounters with fellow big six sides.

Spurs faced Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in successive top-flight games across November and December, taking seven points in the process, before facing Liverpool after a trip to Crystal Palace.

Mourinho s side followed a defeat to the Premier League champions by losing against Leicester City – who finished fifth last season – on Sunday, leaving them sixth in the table and six points off top.

The back-to-back reverses mean Spurs are in danger of losing three straight Premier League games for the first time since November 2012 under Andre Villas-Boas.

But although four of Spurs next fiv…

Jose Mourinho has revealed Christian Eriksen informed him he would be leaving on the day he started his reign as Tottenham manager.

Eriksen, who signed for Spurs in 2013, ended his stay in north London earlier this week when he signed for Serie A giants Inter.

The Denmark midfielder, who made his Inter debut in a 2-1 Coppa Italia win over Fiorentina on Wednesday, refused to sign a new contract at Tottenham and only had six months remaining on his deal.

Mourinho has acknowledged Eriksen was playing like a man without motivation during the last few months of his Tottenham stay, though insisted there were no doubts over the 27-year-old s professionalism.

We didn t tell because of a moral agreement with Christian, but from the first day I arrived [last Novem…

Best Odds: 23/20

Bookmaker:

Desperate to open this year s World Cup adventure with a statement in Doha, England will open their Group B campaign with a showdown against Iran on Monday afternoon.

England

Starting with England, while the Three Lions might have signed off their pre-World Cup preparations with an action-packed 3-3 draw at home against Germany, Gareth Southgate does find a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders. Shockingly losing their elite Nations League status during September s international break, the 2018 semi-finalists also failed to win any of their six League A showdowns. Enduring their longest winless run since 1993, England will be desperate to open their Middle Eastern adventure with a statement in Doha. Still tipped as a landslide pic…

Kylian Mbappe matched a 64-year World Cup record set by Brazil great Pele after bagging a brace in France s 3-1 victory over Poland in Sunday s last-16 tie.

On the day team-mate Olivier Giroud passed Thierry Henry to become France s all-time top goalscorer, team-mate Mbappe continued to burnish his own legacy.

With his two goals – both excellent strikes delivered with poise through a strained Polish defence – Mbappe has further written his name into World Cup history at Qatar 2022.

He now has five goals in the knockout stages of the competition, when factoring in the three he netted for the tournament winners at Russia 2018.

At 23 years and 349 days, it makes him the youngest player to reach that number after Brazil legend Pele, who bagged as many dur…

Speaking in an exclusive interview to , Daniel Sturridge has revealed he aims to return to the Premier League.

The former England international striker played for Manchester City first and then for Chelsea, but he really made his name after joining Liverpool in January 2013. He was for a while among the most prolific goalscorers of the English top flight, but numerous injuries severely limited his game time for a large part of his six-year stint at Anfield, and he spent the second half of 2017/18 on loan at West Bromwich Albion. In the end, he left the club with 68 goals and 26 assists to his name from 160 games and the 2019 Champions League trophy.

He joined Trabzonspor that summer, but he was released in March this year due to a four-month ban for a breach of gambling…

Real Madrid could face Seattle Sounders in their Club World Cup semi-final following Friday s draw.

UEFA Champions League winners Madrid will enter the tournament in Morocco at the last-four stage next month.

Carlo Ancelotti s side will have to wait to learn the identity of their opponents, but it could be MLS debutants Seattle.

The Sounders are the first American team to reach the Club World Cup, having won the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League final against Liga MX s UNAM.

Seattle are to make their debut in the second round against the winner of the sole first-round tie between CAF runners-up Al Ahly and OFC champions Auckland City.

The victors in that match will then go through to face Madrid, record four-time world champions.

On the other…