Prediction: Lugano vs Besiktas

Best odds: 11/10

Bookmaker:

Besiktas head to Switzerland to take on Lugano at the Stockhorn Arena on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie. The stakes are high, as the winners of this two-legged clash will earn a spot in the new 36-team Europa League, while the losers will have to settle for a place in the Conference League.

Both teams will be eager to seize a good result in this opening leg, with Besiktas looking to build on their strong European pedigree and Lugano hoping to make the most of their home-field advantage.

Lugano

After competing in the Conference League group stage last season, Lugano are now aiming to reach the Europa League proper for the third time in their history, with their last appearance coming five y…

Arteta hails ´phenomenal´ Arsenal drive to take Man City all the way

Mikel Arteta hailed the phenomenal drive shown by his Arsenal side to push Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title race.

The Gunners moved one point clear of City at the Premier League summit on Sunday with a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

City have a chance to restore their advantage when they travel to Arsenal s fierce rivals Tottenham on Tuesday, before then hosting West Ham.

Regardless of what happens in midweek, Arsenal will go into their final game of the campaign at home to Everton with the title battle still alive.

Speaking to BBC Sport after his side s latest win, Arteta said: It is a phenomenal thing they are doing.

However, Arteta was not entirely pleased with the manner of his side s slender victory…

´I prefer to win that way´, says Guardiola after battling Brentford triumph

Pep Guardiola said he preferred Manchester City s win over Brentford as opposed to a more comfortable scoreline, confirming he is a big fan of Bees head coach Thomas Frank.

Erling Haaland s first-half brace ensured Guardiola s side maintained their perfect start to the season, but they had to come from behind to win 2-1 at the Etihad.

Yoane Wissa s goal after 22 seconds handed Brentford a shock lead, with his strike the fastest ever scored in the Premier League against the reigning champions.

It was also the first time that City had ever conceded in the opening minute at home in the competition.

Frank s side were also the last to beat Guardiola s men on home soil in any competition, winning 2-1 in November 2022, with the Citizens now unbeaten in 46 at …

Michael Duff looking for Barnsley ‘hero’ as Tykes chase Championship return

Barnsley head coach Michael Duff has challenged one of his players “to step up and be the hero” in their Sky Bet League One play-off final against Sheffield Wednesday.

Wednesday will start as the bookmakers’ favourites for Monday’s Wembley showdown against their local rivals after overturning a 4-0 first-leg deficit in their thrilling semi-final win against Peterborough.

Barnsley finished fourth in the table, 10 points behind Wednesday, but backed up their 2-0 league win at Hillsborough in September with a 4-2 victory over the Owls at Oakwell in March.

The countdown is on! |

— Sky Bet League One (@SkyBetLeagueOne)

Duff, who took over last summer following the club’s relegation from the Championship, said: “I bet if you look at the…

Koeman: Netherlands proved they have heart in comeback win over Turkiye

Reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2024 proves just how much heart the Netherlands have, so says Ronald Koeman.

The Netherlands came from behind to beat Turkiye 2-1 on Saturday thanks to a header from Stefan de Vrij and Mert Muldur s own goal in Berlin.

That victory set up a semi-final clash with England in Dortmund on Wednesday.

And Koeman suggested his team have proved their doubters wrong with the spirit they have shown through their run to the last four.

I think for the whole nation it s something special, he said, as quoted by The Athletic.

We re a small nation and we re part of the semi-finals with England, France and Spain. We re really proud to have the opportunity to play it on Wednesday.

It was a really emotional match and we ha…

Prediction: Fulham vs Manchester City

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker:

Looking to take another giant step towards this season’s Premier League crown, Manchester City will make the trip to Fulham on Saturday lunchtime.

Fulham

Starting with the hosts, while Fulham might have sprung a real upset last month as they secured a deserved 2-0 victory away at West Ham, the Cottagers have continued to struggle with their constancy since returning from March’s international break. Last seen missing out on the chance to claim west London bragging rights as they had to settle for a 0-0 stalemate away at Brentford, Marco Silva’s men have recorded just a single victory from any of their previous seven Premier League appearances. More than aware that they face another monumental challenge on Saturday lunchtime, the …

Prediction: Lazio vs Nice

Best Odds: 19/20

Bookmaker:

Looking to make it back-to-back Europa League victories on Thursday night, Lazio will welcome Nice to the Stadio Olimpico.

Lazio

Starting with the hosts, while Lazio might have largely limped their way over the finishing line last season, the Eagles do appear to have made plenty of improvements this time around. Getting their Europa League adventure underway with a thumping performance last week as they stormed their way to a routine 3-0 romp against Dynamo Kyiv over in Hamburg, Marco Baroni’s men should be smelling the chance to lay down another early European marker here. Likewise, putting in another eye-catching performance over the weekend as they secured an action-packed 3-2 victory away at Torino, the Sky Blues have certainly…

Sydorchuk hopeful of keeping Ukraine´s Euro 2024 fairytale alive against Belgium

Serhiy Sydorchuk is hopeful of keeping Ukraine s fairytale journey at Euro 2024 alive heading into their final group game against Belgium.

The Blue and Yellow conclude their Group E campaign in Stuttgart on Tuesday, knowing a win will secure their place in the last-16 of the tournament.

Slovakia face Romania in the other game, and with all three sides level on points heading into Matchday 3, the emphasis on winning has heightened.

Sydorchuk said his team know a triumph in their first meeting with the Red Devils would see them through to the last-16 as one of the top two, but he did not want to tempt fate.

When you say something very loudly, the echo will be very loud as well, so I think we should be silent and we should do what we can do, and we ll se…

Frank´s focus not on Toney as transfer deadline looms

Thomas Frank refused to discuss the future of striker Ivan Toney, instead choosing to focus on the players he definitely has at his disposal at Brentford.

Toney has been the subject of interest from Saudi club Al-Ahli, while Chelsea have long been admirers of the striker and have reportedly made a move this week.

The England international has been left out of Brentford s first three games of the season.

And Frank did not want to entertain the subject after Brentford s EFL Cup third round win over Colchester on Wednesday.

He said: Similar to yesterday. I am not speaking about Ivan.

I want to speak about the 21 lads in the dressing room who did well to get through to the next round of the EFL Cup against a Colchester team who deserve a lot of prais…

Barcelona-linked Gosens unsure of any interest after impressing at Euro 2020

Atalanta defender Robin Gosens is unaware of any interest from Barcelona but suggested he is open to discussing a move now that Germany s Euro 2020 campaign is over.

The left wing-back produced one of the standout performances of the tournament with a goal and an assist in Germany s 4-2 victory over Portugal in the group stage.

He started all four of his nation s matches, including 87 minutes of the 2-0 loss to England that brought an end to their campaign at the last-16 stage.

Only Joakim Maehle, Thomas Meunier and Luke Shaw (all three) have played a direct part in more goals among defenders than Gosens so far at Euro 2020.

The two big chances created by the 26-year-old, meanwhile, is behind only Jordi Alba and Shaw (both four), which includes that assi…