Cast your mind back to May 17. Monaco were confirmed as Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain had been dethroned by an exciting team of young upstarts, failing to win the title for the first time since 2012.
Back then you could have been forgiven for thinking that Ligue 1, a division PSG had run roughshod over for five years, was about to to become a bastion competitiveness.
Nice hung around in the title race for longer than most would have expected and Marseille and Lille were the subject of takeovers, generating hope they could again contend at the summit of French football.
Fast forward to the present day and, going into PSG s visit to Monaco, hopes of Ligue 1 being competitive for the long-term have been emphatically dashed.
PSG s response to losing the tit…
Prediction: Match to end in 2-2 draw
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Crystal Palace and Fulham will lock horns with each other in the Premier League next week. The London derby between the Eagles and the Cottagers will be held at Selhurst Park and is scheduled to kick off at 3pm UK time next Monday (Boxing Day).
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are an established club in the Premier League and tend to finish in mid-table. That has been the case for a while, and it is not going to change anytime soon. The Eagles are 11th in the Premier League table at the moment with 19 points from 14 matches, 10 points behind London rivals and fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur (who have played 15 games) and six points above the relegation zone.
Palace’s last Premier Leag…
Colombia will look to pull off an upset and reach the Copa America final for the first time outside of their country when they take on a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina on Tuesday.
Los Cafeteros have lost their six previous semi-finals at neutral venues in the competition, with their only two final appearances – in 1975 and 2001 – seeing them play at least one game on home soil.
Reinaldo Rueda s side beat Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals – David Ospina saving two spot-kicks in the shoot-out – following a goalless draw after 90 minutes.
A tough match with Argentina in Brasilia awaits and Rueda, who was only reappointed by Colombia in January, is happy with the progress made by his side in that short period.
We played a very collective ga…
Prediction: Inter Milan to win 2-1
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Inter Milan and Real Madrid will lock horns with each other in Italy in the Champions League this week. The Group B match is slated to kick off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday at San Siro in Milan and promises to be a cracking game of football.
Inter Milan
Inter are struggling in the Champions League at the moment and are in danger of not getting through to the knockout stages. Antonio Conte’s side are currently at the bottom of the group with just two points from three matches. A defeat to Madrid at home could see their hopes of playing in Europe’s premier club competition in the New Year dim.
The Nerazzurri, though, will head into the match against Zinedine Zidane’s side high on conf…
John Stones missed England s second training session in Germany through illness four days before the start of their Euro 2024 campaign.
The Manchester City defender featured in the Three Lions 1-0 defeat to Iceland last week, but was substituted at half-time after picking up an injury.
However, he was involved in training on Tuesday in Blankenhain.
Gareth Southgate has had to deal with several absentees and fitness concerns in the build-up to the tournament, with Stones long-term international defensive partner Harry Maguire having been left out of the squad due to injury.
The Three Lions squad is out at training this morning, except John Stones who misses out through illness, England posted to X on Wednesday ahead of their Group C fixture with Serbia…
Harry Kane has launched a staunch defence of under-fire England team-mate Harry Maguire after the defender was jeered by fans, describing the reception as just not right .
Manchester United captain Maguire started Tuesday s 3-0 win over Ivory Coast at Wembley, where goals from Ollie Watkins, Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings sealed victory for the hosts.
Despite having been a key figure under Gareth Southgate, even earning a spot in the UEFA Team of the Tournament for his performances at Euro 2020, Maguire has become a target for the boo boys in club and international colours.
Southgate labelled the reaction an absolute joke , and Kane took to Twitter on Wednesday to echo those sentiments, adding that Maguire had the full backing of his international team-mate…
John Stones has backed fearless Jack Grealish to make an immediate impact at Manchester City following his arrival from Aston Villa for a British-record £100million fee.
England international Grealish was confirmed as a City player last week and made his debut as a second-half substitute in Sunday s 1-0 Community Shield defeat to Leicester City.
The 25-year-old played 25 minutes in that annual curtain-raising fixture, managing 25 touches of the ball and completing 15 of his 16 passes during his time on the pitch.
He is in contention to start City s opening Premier League fixture against Tottenham next Sunday and Stones is excited by what his international team-mate will bring to the side.
Jack s an incredible footballer. A raw talent. I think you can s…
Fiorentina striker Khouma Babacar is nearing a summer switch to Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, .
The 21-year-old returned to Artemio Franchi following a loan spell with Modena, but chances are he will be leaving again this summer.
According to Tuttosport, Eintracht Frankfurt are hot on the trail of the talented forward and they are stepping up their efforts to recruit him.
The same source has suggested the Bundesliga side are close to agreeing a season-long loan for the Senegalese that would include a buy-out clause as well.
Khouma Babacar has shown a great deal of potential since joining Viola from Pescara back in 2009, but he could only make 23 league appearances for the club.
After somewhat disappointing loan spells at Racing Santander…
Arsenal will face a tough trip to Turkey in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-offs after being drawn against Besiktas.
Arsene Wenger s side are preparing for their 17th successive season in Europe s elite club competition and will face the Superliga side for the first time in their history when they attempt to secure a place in the group stage.
The two-legged tie will see former Chelsea striker Demba Ba return to London against a club he was linked with before agreeing a four-year deal on July 18.
Ba has already made an immediate impact in Turkey with a hat-trick on his debut against Feyenoord in the third qualifying round.
Ligue 1 side Lille stand in the way of Porto, winners of the competition in 2004, and a fourth successive group stage a…
Ronald Koeman and Virgil van Dijk believe Xavi Simon s disallowed goal should have stood after the Netherlands goalless draw with France on Friday.
The midfielder thought he had given his side the lead in the 69th minute after latching onto Memphis Depay s saved shot and picking out the bottom corner.
However, a lengthy VAR check saw the goal ruled out as Denzel Dumfries was judged to be blocking Mike Maignan from getting to it.
The Oranje were not happy with the decision at the time, and their ire continued into post-match, with a frustrated Koeman adamant they should have come away with all three points.
I think the position of Dumfries is offside, that s true, but he isn t disturbing the goalkeeper and when that happens, then it s a legal goal, Koeman…