2016 Cheltenham: Thistlecrack is 14/1 to Win World Hurdle

Fierce rivals Manchester United and Liverpool do battle this weekend as Chelsea look to push neighbours Fulham closer to the Premier League trapdoor.

Second-placed United s five-match winning run in the top flight was halted when they were held to a goalless draw at Leeds United last Sunday. Now they face another old foe in the form of Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Manchester City only need six points to be guaranteed the title and will be halfway there if they win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Fulham are running out of time to mount a great escape and it would be a major surprise if they triumph in a west London derby at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

With just a few weeks of the season remaining, give our Opta-powered quiz a go while you can. Answers are be…

Prediction: Chelsea to Win

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Chelsea will be aiming to react to their shock loss to Newcastle last time out as they face Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening.

The Blues dominated the game at St James Park but fell to a late defeat. Meanwhile, the Gunners will be hoping to get another win under new boss Mikel Arteta.

Chelsea

Despite having rediscovered their form in recent weeks under Frank Lampard, the Blues fight for a place in the Premier League top four took a considerable blow at the weekend, with Isaac Hayden s late header condemning them to their first league defeat of 2020. However, due to Manchester United losing against Liverpool, that means the gap to fifth remains at five points. One of the Londoners main pro…

Dries Mertens told Napoli they must back up their 2-0 victory over Liverpool in Tuesday s Champions League opener.

For the second season in a row Jurgen Klopp s Reds were beaten at the Stadio San Paolo without scoring a goal.

But last time out the Partenopei failed to qualify from the group stage despite having earned a 1-0 home victory over Liverpool, who went on to win the tournament.

Mertens penalty gave Napoli a late lead and Virgil van Dijk s rare error ensured former Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente could add a second to settle matters.

We gave everything and ran so hard, the Belgium forward told Sky Sport Italia. 

When you take three points at the end of a game like that, it all feels good.

It doesn t mean anything …

While Manchester United might have had many believing they turned a real corner after their 5-0 romp against RB Leipzig last week, the Reds came crashing back down to earth at Old Trafford on Sunday evening.

Eventually hit with a 1-0 defeat at home against and watching the Gunners pick up their first victory in the red half of Manchester since 2006, the former Premier League champions still find themselves sat way down in 15th and many calling for a change in the dugout.

Only continuing to show a string of issues on home soil since returning from football’s enforced break over the summer, United have the feel of a club in a domestic crisis.

With criticism coming from the likes of former icons Gary Neville and Roy Keane after Sunday’s defeat against Arsenal,…

Paris Saint-Germain have signed utility player Alessandro Florenzi from Roma on a season-long loan with the option to buy.

The 36-cap Italy international emerged through Roma s academy in 2011 – initially as a midfielder – and has made 280 appearances for the Serie A club.

He was named captain in 2019 but spent the second half of last season on loan with Valencia, appearing 14 times in all competitions.

PSG boss Thomas Tuchel confirmed on Wednesday he was in the market for a new right-back and a deal has now been agreed with Roma.

The French champions, who have also been linked with Arsenal s Hector Bellerin, announced Florenzi s arrival on their official website on Friday.

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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) <…

Brighton and Hove Albion captain Bruno will retire from playing after this weekend s Premier League match against Manchester City.

The 38-year-old has made 234 appearances for Brighton since joining from Valencia in 2012, including 13 starts in the Premier League this season.

Bruno, a member of the Brighton squad promoted from the Championship in 2017, has been offered the chance to remain at the Amex Stadium in a non-playing capacity.

Sunday s meeting with title-chasing City will be Bruno s final game, and Pep Guardiola revealed he was keen to bring the former Espanyol defender to Barcelona when he switched from Almeria to Valencia in 2009.

Bruno played in Almeria when I was at Barcelona. We wanted him to come, City boss Guardiola told a pre-match news…

Lionel Messi reflected on his special Copa America triumph after fulfilling a dream, having been treated as a failure with Argentina.

Messi guided Argentina to their first trophy in 28 years – La Albiceleste dethroning defending champions and hosts Brazil in July s Copa final.

For Messi, it ended years of heartache and near misses after the superstar Argentina captain finished runner-up in the Copa America three times (2007, 2015 and 2016) as well as a beaten finalist at the 2014 World Cup.

As Argentina prepare for Thursday s CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier against Bolivia, six-time Ballon d Or winner Messi discussed his first senior international crown.

After so much suffering, lifting something with the national team was special, Paris Saint-Germain s M…

Barcelona took a giant step towards a successful season with a thrilling comeback win over Granada, Ronald Koeman said.

The Catalans claimed a remarkable 5-3 Copa del Rey quarter-final win on Wednesday after forcing extra time at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.

Barca were trailing 2-0 as late as the 87th minute only for Antoine Griezmann and Jordi Alba to force the additional period, after Francisco Trincao, Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele had all hit the woodwork.

Griezmann made it 3-2 only for a Fede Vico penalty to level matters again, but Frenkie de Jong scored from a rebound and Alba smashed home a stunning volley to secure Barca s semi-final spot.

Koeman last week suggested his side were not ready to compete for the biggest trophies and the Barca boss …

According to , West Bromwich Albion are interested in signing Phil Jones from Premier League rivals Manchester United in the January transfer window. Newly-appointed West Brom manager Sam Allardyce worked with Jones when he was in charge of Blackburn Rovers, and the ex-West Ham United and Newcastle United boss wants to bring the central defender to The Hawthorns.

Jones has been on the books of United since 2011 when he joined from Blackburn. The England international central defender has won the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League once each with the Red Devils so far.

The 28-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford and has been struggling for playing time for United for a while. According to , Jones has not made a single competi…

Granit Xhaka marked his farewell appearance for Arsenal with a brace to help the Premier League runners-up finish their fine campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Wolves.

Xhaka is set to depart the Emirates this summer to join Bayer Leverkusen and signed off a rollercoaster seven years in north London on a high with a first-half double, although he did later miss a great chance for his hat-trick.

It failed to spoil the perfect goodbye for the previously much-maligned former Arsenal captain with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Jakub Kiwior also on target to ensure Mikel Arteta’s men regrouped from their title disappointment at Nottingham Forest last weekend to secure a 26th league win of the season.

While Xhaka’s impending departure had yet to be confirmed, the huge…