Manchester City will take on Greek outfit Aris Thessaloniki in the Europa league round of 32, while Liverpool do battle with Sparta Prague.
Scottish champions Rangers who qualified for the Europa League knockout stages by finishing third in their Champions League group will meet Sporting Lisbon.
But perhaps the pick of the fixtures thrown up by Friday s draw will be that of Italians Napoli against Spain s Villareal, with the sides sitting in third place in Serie A and La Liga respectively.
Belgium s Anderlecht will face Ajax, who like Rangers qualified through the Champions League, while Polish side Lech Poznan take on Portugal s Braga.
Zenit St Petersburg, who won the UEFA Cup in 2008, take on Swiss side Young Boys and Dynamo Kiev meet Turkey s Besiktas…
Former-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is the favourite to be the next in the Manchester United dugout
According to reports from , Manchester United are holding talks to bring former-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford.
That news will not come as a major surprise considering United’s struggles under Louis van Gaal this season.
United need a counter-attack
The appointment of Mourinho as United boss would probably be the best way to counteract Manchester City’s capture of former-Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.
Mourinho is the only boss currently active within top-level football who can even compare with Pep when it comes to trophies and silverware.
Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world and has proven his managerial ability in b…
Libya have withdrawn from hosting the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017, citing the unstable security situation in the country.
Initially due to host the tournament in 2013, Libya were forced to pull out of staging it in 2011, due to political upheaval.
South Africa were named as replacement hosts following an agreement that Libya would put on the 2017 edition, which South Africa had originally been due to host.
On Saturday, however, it was announced that Libya would once again have to withdraw after officials from the country met with Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
A statement on CAF s official website confirmed the news and that the search for a replacement host will now begin.
The designation of the host fo…
Gianni Infantino is set to serve as FIFA president for another four years after being confirmed as the only candidate for election in June.
Infantino, 48, was the sole individual to successfully submit their candidature for the position prior to the February 5 deadline and will thus run unopposed.
Former Switzerland and Tottenham defender Ramon Vega had previously announced his intention to run for the office but was not included among the options.
Infantino was appointed FIFA president, taking over from Sepp Blatter, in February 2016 and has overseen the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026.
The election will take place at the 69th FIFA Congress in Paris on June 5, 2019.
…
Two years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo stripped off his shirt to celebrate the last goal, a penalty, in Real Madrid’s 4-1 extra-time win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final.
The Portuguese was widely criticised for a blatant bout of self-preening, and for using what should have been a glorious moment for the club to boost his own media image.
Two years later, on a sultry evening at Milan’s San Siro, Ronaldo recaptured that pose, having converted the winning spot-kick as Madrid prevailed 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.
That final, glorious moment will, for all Madrid fans, justify Zinedine Zidane s gamble that, for large parts of this enthralling contest, did not look like it was going to pay off.
Ronaldo came in…
As for the visitors, while Crystal Palace may have snatched a 1-1 draw off of an Arsenal side going through a transition last weekend, the Eagles still find themselves struggling to pick up maximum points. Also crashing out of the FA Cup thanks to a 1-0 defeat against Championship outfit Derby at Selhurst Park a fortnight ago, Roy Hodgson s men have failed to win any of their last four matches across all formats, including three Premier League stalemates on the bounce. Despite still opening the weekend sat in the top half of the Premier League standings, the former England boss has seen his side continue to show some worrying issues outside of South London. Dropping points away at the likes of Norwich, Watford, and Southampton last month, Saturday s guests have only recorded a sole vict…
West Ham United in a short statement that forward Marko Arnatuovic is not for sale. His brother and agent Danijel recently spoke to talkSPORT and revealed that the Austrian is interested in accepting an offer over in the Chinese Super League, but it would appear as if that isn’t actually the case.
The 29 year old international has been with the Hammers since 2017, and he’s made quite the impact as one of their key forwards. He made the jump to West Ham from Stoke City, where he spent four years after signing from Werder Bremen.
Arnautovic seems to be interested in following the money, but judging by their statement, West Ham aren’t prepared to let him go without a fight. The Chinese club in question, who have not been named, will likely have to put forward a subs…
Best Odds: 6/5
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Looking to build off of their thumping victory over the weekend, Manchester United will turn their attention back to Champions League duties when they make the trip out to Atalanta on Tuesday night.
Atalanta
Starting with the hosts, managing to snatch a last-gasp point on home soil over the weekend, Atalanta will be desperate to build off of those positives. Eventually grabbing an injury-time equalizer against Lazio in their 2-2 draw at the Gewiss Stadium, La Dea will be hoping to put last month s Champions League heartbreak behind them. Throwing away a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford a fortnight ago as they suffered an action-packed 3-2 defeat against Tuesday s opponents, Head Coach Gian Piero Gasperini now finds his side sat outside the top…
Luis Enrique believes any national team in the world would gladly have Alvaro Morata in their line-up after helping Spain reach the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.
Spain forward Morata put patchy form in front of goal behind him to fire a brilliant extra-time strike and re-establish La Roja s lead in Copenhagen on Monday, en route to a thrilling 5-3 last-16 win over Croatia.
Before the match, Luis Enrique branded abuse and threats directed towards Morata and his family as criminal and urged the police to take action.
After a breathless encounter at Parken Stadium, which Spain led 3-1 with five minutes of normal time remaining, the Spain head coach once again offered unwavering backing to his centre-forward.
I don t think there s a national team coach anywher…
Former AC Milan winger Amantino Mancini has been found guilty of sexual assault by an Italian court, according to ANSA.
Mancini carried out the assault on a young Brazilian woman at his apartment in Milan on the night of December 8, 2010, and has been sentenced to two years and eight months of jail time.
Mancini’s friend Gerardo Eugenio do Nascimento was sentenced to 10 months in prison for trying to coerce the victim into not reporting the assault to police.
Mancini, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial and insisted that the sexual intercourse had been consensual, had met the woman at a party hosted by his compatriot and then AC Milan team-mate Ronaldinho.
The 31-year-old Mancini enjoyed a successful five-year spell at Roma before joining…