Burnley boss Sean Dyche has drawn a line under an incident involving Danny Drinkwater in which the midfielder was reportedly attacked outside a nightclub.
It was claimed the 29-year-old was ejected from a venue in Manchester before being set upon by a group of six people, one of whom was allegedly armed with a blunt object.
Drinkwater, on loan at Burnley from Chelsea until January, damaged his ankle in the altercation and is unable to play in Saturday s Premier League match at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Dyche says he has spoken to Drinkwater about the incident but is not prepared to be overly critical of the player in public as he attempts to help him get his top-flight career back on track.
The big picture is he is a 29-year-old footballer and nobody wan…
Verdict: City to win Both teams to score
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Premier League table-toppers Manchester City travel to Germany where they will lock horns with Schalke at Veltins-Arena in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.
Schalke
Bundesliga outfit Schalke face a daunting task of getting into the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in eight years. Manchester City are a side to be reckoned with and the Germans will need to go above and beyond their abilities in order to go pass the Citizens despite their relatively confident group stage campaign.
The Germans finished second in Group D, four points adrift of Porto but with only one defeat in six matches. Schalke were huge seven and eight points ahead of Galat…
Chris Wilder cut a relieved figure after Sheffield United managed a long-awaited victory at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
The Blades battled for a 1-0 win over Watford in the Championship, remaining unbeaten through the first four games before the season s first international break.
Callum O Hare, signed on a free transfer from Coventry City prior to this campaign, proved the difference as his dazzling run forced an own goal from Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann after just two minutes.
Victory marked United s first win at home in league action since overcoming Brentford in the top flight last December.
Wilder was understandably pleased for his side to get off the mark in front of their home fans, with many of his new signings – and those who struggled in th…
We ve presented a contract to Roy, we are talking to him about that, but I think everyone is pretty focused on the games,” Parish said.
Roy said himself in the press the other day that he is very relaxed about the whole thing. We are very relaxed about it; I think we will get that done in the fullness of time.
Those are the words of Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish who has confirmed that they have offered a brand new contract to manager Roy Hodgson. The boss currently has a year remaining on his current deal, but the belief is that he will indeed choose to stay with the Eagles as opposed to going elsewhere.
The club s recent run of form could change that given that they re lingering towards the relegation battle, but for the time being, it seems lik…
Marco Silva s prospects at Everton look bleak. Sunday s last-gasp defeat to high-flying Leicester City has left the Toffees in 17th and a trip to Anfield does not present the ideal remedy.
Kelechi Iheanacho s VAR–assisted strike in second-half stoppage time cost Everton a share of the spoils at the King Power Stadium, a day short of the anniversary of Jordan Pickford s calamity gifting Liverpool all three points in the first Merseyside derby of last season.
Jurgen Klopp s side have gone from strength-to-strength since then, losing just one Premier League match – to Manchester City in January.
Everton gained a modicum of revenge in March, when a goalless draw at Goodison Park ultimately proved costly for the Reds, who missed out on the league title by two po…
While we might only have a handful of Premier League fixtures on the cards this weekend, there are plenty of heavyweight affairs.
On a schedule that is highlighted by Tottenham’s trip to Old Trafford, the likes of Manchester City and Newcastle will also steal centre stage.
As the Premier League title chase looks to really heat up in 2024, we have taken an in-depth look at some of this weekend’s best betting markets.
Saturday, January 13th
17:30 Newcastle vs Manchester City
While Manchester City might have found themselves at the heart of a domestic wobble prior to November’s international break, the Sky Blues have come roaring back in some style. Extending on their FA Cup adventure last weekend as they breezed their way to a 5-0 romp against Cham…
There was plenty of drama in Tokyo on Tuesday and that is set to continue as the Olympic Games ramps up further on Wednesday.
A titanic tussle in the swimming pool should be well worth watching, but action on the bikes and in the basketball court will also draw plenty of eyes.
Stats Perform guides you through the events not to be missed.
TITMUS OUT TO TOP LEDECKY AGAIN
Katie Ledecky is one of the dominant forces in the pool, taking gold in each of her prior four individual Games finals since her 2012 debut as she headed to Tokyo, but she was upset in the 2020 opener.
Ariarne Titmus, the 20-year-old Australian, beat the United States world record holder by more than half a second in the 400m freestyle final.
Now, Titmus is coming for Ledeck…
Lionel Messi brought up another incredible career landmark by scoring his 400th LaLiga goal against Eibar at Camp Nou on Sunday.
Messi is the first player to reach a quadruple century of goals in the history of Spain s top flight.
Here, we take a look at 10 of his very best in league action for Barcelona.
Albacete (H): May 1, 2005
Even at 17, Messi had the confidence of a veteran. Having already had one goal wrongly ruled out for offside an audacious chip from the edge of the box Messi s confidence was far from knocked and just a minute later he latched onto Ronaldinho s scooped pass before lobbing the ball over Albacete stopper Raul Valbuena from 16 yards. Some way to open your account for one of Europe s great clubs.
GOAL MORNING!!…
Market: Rennes win
Odds: 4/6 @
Looking to extend on their domestic romp this weekend, Rennes will welcome Montpellier to Roazhon Park on Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Rennes might be facing a real uphill battle in their bid to book a European ticket this season, Julien Stephan’s men are riding an extended wave of momentum. Last seen putting in another action-packed display as they claimed a 3-2 victory away at Lyon, the former Strasbourg should find the mood in their camp at a real high. Extending on their Coupe de France adventure on January 21st as they edged their way past Marseille, the Brittany-based outfit have won all of their previous five domestic appearances across all competitions. Signing off 2023 with a 3-1 romp away at Clermo…
Marco Verratti says he will do everything to play for Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday s Champions League final against Bayern Munich, a match he described as the most important 90 minutes in the club s history.
Italy midfielder Verratti was unable to play in the quarter-final triumph over Atalanta due to a calf injury that plagued him prior to travelling to Lisbon.
Verratti managed a short cameo off the bench as PSG outclassed RB Leipzig to reach Sunday s final at the Estadio da Luz.
The 27-year-old is doing what he can to be involved but accepts the final decision lies with head coach Thomas Tuchel.
He said: I m better, I started again slowly with the team. This injury was a bit hard to digest. I have resumed with the group for two to three days and I will…