Sturridge wants Premier League return

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…

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…

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker:

Simply looking to finish off the job and extend on their Champions League qualifying adventure on Tuesday night, Hacken will travel to Wales when they meet The New Saints.

The New Saints

Starting with the hosts, putting in a nightmare first-leg performance on foreign soil last week as they eventually slumped to a routine 3-1 loss out in Sweden, Craig Harrison’s men will know that they face a major uphill battle here. While the Welsh giants might have breezed their way to another domestic crown last season, TNS certainly failed to find much stability during their summer run. Suffering a pair of friendly defeats at the hands of Cardiff and Hamilton during their pre-season preparations earlier in the month, the Welsh giants are trying t…

Jurgen Klopp has done exceptional work in leading Liverpool to the Premier League title, according to Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick.

The Reds first domestic championship in 30 years was confirmed on Thursday when Manchester City s 2-1 loss to Chelsea left Liverpool with an unassailable 23-point lead with seven games remaining.

It represents Klopp s third top-flight title in his coaching career after he led Borussia Dortmund to back-to-back championships in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Bayern have won each of the eight titles since and Flick – the man who guided them to their most recent one this season – is full of admiration for Klopp s work on Merseyside.

We know each other and it is completely normal that you congratulate one another, said Flic…

Manchester City kept up the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a 2-0 home victory against Newcastle United.

Arsenal won their game in hand in midweek to increase their advantage at the top to five points, but it was back to two ahead of their game on Saturday as City responded again.

Phil Foden s first-half goal continued his rich vein of form, although City needed a second from substitute Bernardo Silva to make sure.

It was a familiar tale for a fading Newcastle side, firmly in the game but unable to take their chances and suddenly looking a little vulnerable at the back.

City could have been in front in the opening minute when Ilkay Gundogan headed over from a Jack Grealish cross, but the opening goal instead came from the opposite flank af…

West Ham United are interested in signing Domenico Berardi from Sassuolo in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that the Hammers have lodged an enquiry about signing the 26-year-old winger.

Berardi joined Sassuolo on a permanent contract in 2015 after a loan spell from Juventus. The Italy international winger had actually joined Juve from Sassuolo, but could not make a massive impact at the former Italian champions. The 26-year-old has been superb over the years and helped Italy win Euro 2020 this summer.

The winger 17 goals and gave seven assists in 30 Serie A matches for Sassuolo last season. During the 2019-20 campaign, Berardi scored 14 goals and gave 10 assists in 31 league games. In 2018-19, the winger scored eight goals and gave four …

Diego Simeone accepted Atletico Madrid have to improve defensively after shipping four goals to Barcelona, but suggested Sunday s loss was equally down to his side s lack of cutting edge.

Atletico let an early lead slip as they lost 4-2 in a thrilling game at Camp Nou and dropped to fifth in LaLiga, two points behind opponents Barca in the final Champions League spot.

The reigning Spanish champions have now conceded 30 goals in 22 top-flight matches this season, which is already five more than in 38 matches last term.

It is just the third time Atleti have conceded four or more goals under Simeone in the league, with the first such occasion coming in December 2012 in a 4-1 loss to Barcelona.

Normally famed for their defensive solidity, Simeone admitted h…

Harry Maguire and Tyrell Malacia put through their own goal late on as Manchester United squandered a comfortable lead in a 2-2 draw against Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.

Captain Maguire deflected into his own net in the 92nd minute, just eight minutes after Malacia had turned past David de Gea as Sevilla somehow found a way back at Old Trafford in the quarter-final first leg.

A Marcel Sabitzer first-half double appeared to have Erik ten Hag s hosts in complete control, only for the late drama to leave United reeling by full-time.

Jose Luis Mendilibar s side will boast home advantage in a week s time as they eye a seventh Europa League title since the 2006-07 season.

We re level at the end of the first leg. ||

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Best odds: 6/5

Bookmaker:

Turkey are set to play host to Croatia on Tuesday evening at the in Bursa, as one of the matches of the second round within Group D of the Euro 2024 qualifications process. The top two spots, warranting automatic qualification for the main tournament next year, are more than likely to be decided between these two teams and Wales. With all due respect to Latvia and Armenia, who are also in this pack, the chances of either of them qualifying are practically non-existent.

Turkey

Turkey started the campaign well enough. They came back from their opening-round trip to Armenia with the three points safely packed in their bag, even though the home side took the lead through an early own-goal by Ozan Kabak. Stefan Kuntz s team bounced back qu…