Harry Kewell is bracing for plenty of verbal sparring from his former team-mates during Saturday s A-League derby in Melbourne.
As he prepares to wear the Heart captain s armband for the first time at Etihad Stadium, Kewell is convinced he can make an immediate impact on his A-League return.
I don t think there s going to be friendly banter, I think it s going to be fiery and I think that s what everyone is looking forward to, Kewell said.
Sometimes a little brother steps up and knocks that killer punch.
The former Leeds United, Liverpool and Galatasaray man admits he failed to fire for Victory early in the 2011-12 season, though he improved late in that campaign, before quitting the club.
The 35-year-old has played just three club games for Qa…
High-flying Arsenal will look for their first win against Chelsea in more than two years in the fourth round of the League Cup on Tuesday.
The Premier League table-toppers bounced back from their first loss in more than two months which came in the UEFA Champions League against Borussia Dortmund with a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta from the penalty spot and Olivier Giroud scored the goals for Arsenal, who have not lost an away match in any competition since March.
Arteta was later sent off and will miss the Chelsea clash, with the Emirates Stadium outfit keen to reverse a trend that has seen them fail to defeat their London rivals in their last three meetings.
There are still significant injury problems for Arsenal, with Theo Walcott (abdomi…
Zlatko Dalic was coy when asked if he wanted to move to the Premier League as the Croatia head coach maintained his focus on the looming World Cup final.
Dalic has fast become a household name after guiding Croatia to their first World Cup decider, with France standing in the way of the Balkan nation and a remarkable title in Moscow Sunday.
The 51-year-old replaced Ante Cacic as Croatia struggled during qualifying, though Dalic oversaw a successful play-off against Greece to reach Russia 2018.
Dalic – who worked his way up the ranks in Asia where he led UAE giants Al Ain to the 2016 AFC Champions League final – now stands on the cusp of Croatia s biggest achievement.
Quizzed on his future plans and a possible switch to England, Dalic told reporters: …
Prediction: Draw
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
The Premier League is back in action once again this weekend with a host of entertaining fixtures, following on from a string of dramatic twists and turns in Europe during the week. There are a few clear races in which the favourite is becoming clear but in equal measure, there s also a great deal of uncertainty still in the mix as we prepare to head into the month of March. Today, we re going to take a look at Sunday s intriguing game between Leicester City and Arsenal.
Leicester
Leicester City may not quite be at the point yet whereby they can be viewed as legitimate title contenders again, but after being knocked out of the Europa League during the week, they should be able to focus most of their attention o…
Can anyone stop Spain?
A late Mario Bolatti goal gave Argentina the win they needed in Uruguay to see them through to the world cup finals in South Africa next summer. As I said yesterday, the troubled and troubling campaign will now be forgotten as Diego Maradona and his men prepare for the finals and will no doubt be installed as one of the favourites to win it.
Celebrating
Their were a few other teams celebrating qualification last night and they included some big names and some new ones in relation to the world cup.
Honduras is a country in turmoil afyer a military coup earlier on in the year. Despite that their football team has qualified for the world cup finals for only the second time in their history. A 1-0 win over El Salvador was enough to seal …
Brazil have made a huge statement ahead of next year s World Cup, demolishing Spain 3-0 to claim their third straight Confederations Cup title.
In an ominous performance, Brazil showed they will be genuine contenders at the 2014 World Cup with Fred scoring either side of Neymar s thumping goal as the hosts handed Spain their first competitive loss since the 2010 World Cup.
Brazil started in full flight in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday and stunned the reigning world and European champions after just 90 seconds when Fred hit the back of the net after a cross from Hulk.
While the striker failed to get his head on the cross, Spanish defenders Gerard Pique and Alvaro Arbeloa failed to clear the danger and as the ball hit the ground, Fred, who was lying on his back, scooped it ov…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho told Anthony Martial he had to improve after failing to take his opportunities in the first team.
Martial, 21, has scored twice in just nine Premier League starts this season, having impressed in his maiden campaign in England in 2015-16.
Mourinho said the France international had simply not taken his chances when they were given to him.
I don t think he lost his focus. I think he just didn t catch with both hands a big opportunity he had, he told UK newspapers.
We have still five players for these positions — we have Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Martial. I cannot give to the same player chance after chance after chance and not consider the effort of the others.
When…
Shanghai Shenhua striker Demba Ba is back in Istanbul, where he is expected to officiate his loan deal back with the Turkish club.
Former Newcastle United and forward has spent a year with the Kara Kartallar before making a break for the emerging Chinese football market in 2015, but his influence in the East was reduced to 29 matches and seven months on the sidelines due to a leg injury.
Having returned to full fitness, the Senegalese international has decided to get back to Europe where he is expected to sign a loan deal with his former employers.
Demba Ba underwent the detailed medical exams at the Turkish club on Monday and a deal is expected to be confirmed during the final day of the January transfer market.
During his first spell with the Turkish …
AC Milan have put their Serie A top-four chances in serious doubt by losing 2-0 away to Spezia on Saturday.
With three rounds left to be played, they re in fifth place with a four-point deficit compared to fourth-place Lazio.
Their die-hard supporters were obviously unhappy after the match, and they shared their thoughts with the players, head coach Stefano Pioli and his staff.
The Milan ultras were not happy with the players
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball)
…
Market: Rosario double chance
Odds: 17/20 @
Hoping to clinch back-to-back Primera Division victories in the early hours of Tuesday, Rosario will make the trip to Jose Amalfitani Stadium when they meet Velez Sarsfield.
Starting with the hosts, only just clinging to their Primera Division status last season, it appears that Velez Sarsfield are destined for another top-flight struggle this time around. Once again battling it out at the foot of the table, Ricardo Gareca’s men also find themselves in the midst of an extended blip. Last seen putting in another downbeat display as they suffered a 2-0 loss away at Estudiantes on May 7th, the Liniers-based outfit have failed to win any of their last seven straight Primera Division appearances a run that stems all the w…