Oxlade-Chamberlain set for Arsenal talks

Competition: Capital One Cup
Market: Chelsea to win the cup
Odds:

Chelsea recently beat Liverpool 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the second leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final, to reach their first cup final in manager Jose Mourinho’s second stint at the club. The Londoners are now hoping to win their first trophy in two years, and will face either Tottenham or Sheffield United in the final.

Mourinho and Chelsea have a real affinity with domestic cup competitions, so few would bet against the Premier League leaders winning the final regardless of the opposition. The best team won in the semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge, and they will fancy their chances at Wembley in a month’s time.

Manchester City are the current holders of the competition,…

Sven-Goran Eriksson has suggested England manager Roy Hodgson is being judged against a different set of criteria than he was during his time at the helm.

Eriksson led England between 2001 and 2006 as the country s first foreign manager, reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2002 and 2006 as well as the last eight at Euro 2004.

His successor Steve McClaren failed to reach Euro 2008 while Fabio Capello presided over a dismal 2010 World Cup campaign that saw England limp through the group stage before exiting in the second round.

Following a run to the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 under Hodgson, England were dumped out in the group stages at the World Cup last year, an outcome Eriksson feels he would not have survived.

England had some years where…

Jurgen Klopp does not think UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin should resign over the shambolic staging of last season s Champions League final.

However, the Liverpool manager suggested the damning review of the Stade de France showpiece might be a resigning matter for someone senior involved in planning the event.

UEFA was found primarily responsible for the near-miss at the Paris final, where the parallels between Hillsborough 1989 and Paris 2022 were described in an independent review as palpable .

The review, commissioned by UEFA, was released on Monday after an investigation into events surrounding the May 28 fixture in the French capital. It concluded UEFA and French authorities were wrong to blame thousands of Liverpool supporters with fake tickets for the …

Julen Lopetegui feels coaches should be given more international breaks to develop their teams ahead of the World Cup, as Spain prepare for friendlies against Costa Rica and Russia.

The 2010 winners eased to qualification for Russia 2018 by topping a group that included Italy after winning nine of their last 10 matches, but Lopetegui is frustrated by the international calendar.

Spain will not get together again until March, when a prestigious friendly against world champions Germany has been scheduled to be played in Dusseldorf.

FIFA is considering a change in the schedule to have longer, less frequent breaks, but Lopetegui indicated he would prefer a switch that gives him more opportunities to work with his players.

We re focused on our football right n…

Manchester City have not made an offer to bring David Alaba to the Premier League, Bayern Munich insist.

Pep Guardiola will depart his role as Bayern head coach to take the reins at the Etihad Stadium next season and speculation has been rife that he is keen to take Alaba with him.

However, reports in the German press say Bayern have no plans to let the Austria full-back move to England next season.

And Bayern s press director, Markus Horwick, told the assembled media before Bayern s Champions League second-leg tie against Juventus that the Bundesliga champions have not been approached.

Horwick said: There was no offer from Manchester City for David Alaba.

Forward Franck Ribery spoke of his desire for Alaba to remain at Bayern, adding: I think ev…

Real Madrid are considering a move for Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero, according to Talksport.

The La Liga champions have started the new campaign slowly and are already eight points behind rivals Barcelona in Spain’s top division.

They are considering potential targets for when the transfer window reopens and have Aguero, who scored his tenth goal of the season in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Arsenal, at the top of their list.

The Argentina international became the Citizens’ all-time top scorer last month after netting his one hundred and seventy-eighth goal since signing from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011.

He could now be set for a return to the Spanish capital though it is highly unlikely that Pep Guardiola would be willing to do bus…

Khephren Thuram has joined Italian giants Juventus from Nice in a move reportedly worth €20million (£16.9m).

Thuram, a 23-year-old midfielder, has signed a five-year deal with Juve.

He follows in the footsteps of his father, the former France international Lilian Thuram, who also played for the Bianconeri.

Indeed, he also joins his brother Marcus Thuram in Serie A, which the attacker won with Inter last season.

While Marcus was part of France s squad for Euro 2024, Khephren did not make the cut, though he was named in Thierry Henry s Olympic squad, only to withdraw.

Thuram is the third signing of the summer window for Juve, who have also brought in Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa and goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio from Monza.

Join Khephre…

Alex Morgan hinted the United States will snub Donald Trump s White House invitation and is confident Jill Ellis team will not be split on the issue.

It is customary for champions to visit the US president after winning a sporting title, with Morgan and her team-mates congratulated by Barack Obama when they won the Women s World Cup in 2015.

However, since Trump succeeded Obama following the 2016 election, teams like the NFL s Philadelphia Eagles and NBA s Golden State Warriors have had their White House offers withdrawn after numerous players from both teams declared they had no intention of making the trip for political reasons.

Morgan s outspoken team-mate Megan Rapinoe has already she said is not going to the f****** White House and though Trump responded to …

Albania kept their hopes of progression to the knockout rounds of Euro 2016 alive by eliminating Romania with a historic 1-0 Group A win in Lyon on Sunday.

Gianni De Biasi s side had lost their opening games against Switzerland and hosts France but produced a superb performance to claim their first win at a major tournament.

Having scored just seven goals in qualifying for the competition, Albania showed why they have struggled in front of goal by spurning some gilt-edged opportunities in the first half.

Ermir Lenjani hit over from close range in the 23rd minute but Albania were not made to pay for that miss, Armando Sadiku netting what proved to be a decisive first tournament goal for De Biasi s men.

Romania improved in the second half and only the cross…

Best Odds: 2/3

Bookmaker:

Looking to claim an immediate MLS response in the early hours of Thursday, Los Angeles will welcome Real Salt Lake to the BMO Stadium.

Los Angeles FC

Starting with the hosts, watching their purple patch come to an abrupt end last weekend as they fell to an infamous 5-1 drumming at the hands of Columbus, Los Angeles are seeking an immediate response here. Nevertheless, still leading the chase at the top of the Western Conference table and pencilled in as a standout title contender, the Falcons have impressed since opening up the 2024 campaign. Losing just one of their previous 15 MLS appearances a run that stems back to a 3-1 loss against San Jose on May 5th Steve Cherundolo’s men have also gained a reputation for their overwhelming s…