Javier Pastore and Jeremy Menez will miss Paris Saint-Germain s trip to Bordeaux on Friday, coach Laurent Blanc has confirmed.

Argentina international Pastore has been ruled out of the Ligue 1 champions visit to the Stade Jacques Chaban-Delmas with a foot injury, while forward Menez who has yet t
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o play in 2013-14 is still absent after undergoing back surgery in the close-season.

Jeremy Menez and Javier Pastore are not available for the Bordeaux trip, Blanc said on Thursday.

However, Brazilian defender Marquinhos who joined from Roma for a fee of €31.4million in the close-season could be set to make his first appearance for the club after recovering from a virus.

Marquinhos is now healed. He is within the group, but I m not sure (he can play) 90 min…

Liverpool s Philippe Coutinho has been linked with Paris Saint-German and Barcelona this summer.

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho failed to rule out the possibility of leaving the Merseysiders this summer when recently asked of the alleged interest from perennial French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.

It seems clear he’s keeping his options open as his stock can’t be much higher, coupled with the deficiencies in the Liverpool squad likely to keep him waiting for silverware.

Is Coutinho too good for Liverpool?

The Brazilian recently scored a hat-trick for his country in their Copa America victory over Haiti, and is coming off the back of a good season at Anfield too. He swooped four club awards at the end of the campaign, while scoring an…

As Celta Vigo star Nolito closes in on a much-hyped move to Manchester City, team-mate John Guidetti formerly of City himself says the former Barcelona man will thrive in England.

Nolito started all three of Spain s group-stage games at Euro 2016 and looks likely to become Pep Guardiola s second signing since taking over at City.

Guardiola has already worked with Nolito at Barcelona, handing him his Camp Nou debut in 2010 and Guidetti has no doubts about his suitability to City and the Premier League.

He is an amazing footballer, the 24-year-old Guidetti said following the conclusion of Sweden s disappointing Euro 2016 campaign, which they failed to win a game.

I played with him this year and for a striker to have someone like that playing on the wing f…

Liverpool dealt Barcelona a crushing 4-0 defeat in the first International Champions Cup match played at Wembley.

Jurgen Klopp s men were at their irresistible best against the floundering Liga champions, taking the lead through the brilliant Sadio Mane.

In the second half, a Javier Mascherano own goal against his former club, a Divock Origi strike and a looping stoppage-time Marko Grujic header added to a deserved scoreline that threatened to embarrass Lionel Messi and his team-mates. 

By the time that Barca got to grips with Liverpool s dynamic attacking play, the game and the tournament was beyond them, handing Paris Saint-Germain the title.

A hip issue meant Daniel Sturridge missed out for the Merseyside side, making way in one of three changes…

Bologna have appointed Davide Ballardini as their coach on a deal until the end of the season following the dismissal of Stefano Pioli.

Ballardini comes in less than 24 hours after Pioli was relieved of his duties at the Serie A strugglers.

Bologna are only one point above Serie A s relegation zone having collected a mere three wins from 18 games, with Pioli s final match in charge ending in a 2-0 defeat against bottom club Catania on Monday.

And the Emilia-Romagna outfit have now turned to Ballardini sacked from his second spell at Genoa at the end of last season to try and steer them away from danger.

A statement on the club s official website read: Bologna FC 1909 announces that it has entrusted the technical guidance of the first team to Davide Ballardini, wh…

England and Croatia face a crunch clash at Wembley Stadium as their first UEFA Nations League group stage comes to a close.

The victor in the capital will see them secure a semi-final berth, whilst both teams are still under threat of relegation.

England

Gareth Southgate s men come into the clash at Wembley in a buoyant mood having dispatched of the United States of America 3-0 at home last time out in Wayne Rooney s final appearance for the national team. Jesse Lingard gave the Three Lions the perfect start with a tremendous strike, before Trent Alexander-Arnold doubled the lead. Debutant Callum Wilson rounded off a perfect night with his first goal for the national team.

The victory ensured that England made it four games unbeaten having notched up three wins…

Can Isco get back to Zinedine Zidane s favour? / Image via independent.co.uk

Things have not gone down the way they were expected to go after December 2012 for Francisco Roman Alcoron Suarez, commonly referred to as Isco, the Golden Boy of Spanish football.

Bright Beginnings

A product of Valencia’s youth system, Isco hit the ground running at Malaga after his 2011 move from Los Che’s B side. Having not been given enough chances to prove his worth in his parent club, Isco was eager to make his case and get under the limelight with little time wasted in between.

Commanding performances in the middle of the park for Malaga and a creative string which often made clear difference on the pitch have quickly earned Isco much desired place under the spotlights, maki…

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The Premier League returns once again this weekend in the final set of fixtures before we officially enter the hectic December period. All teams will be forced to deal with increased scrutiny now as they attempt to navigate their way through a collection of tough fixtures in the top flight. Two such teams who have a lot of work to do, but for very different reasons, are Norwich City and Arsenal who will meet in one of the Sunday kick-offs at Carrow Road.

Norwich

Norwich s style was really fun to watch across the first few weeks of the new campaign, but it certainly seems as if the allure of it all has started to wear off just a little. From their poor defensive work to their parade of injuries, the Canar…

Kevin Grosskreutz spoke to Sky Germany recently, and in doing so, he revealed that he believes Mario Gotze should leave Borussia Dortmund in the winter for the second time in order to try and revitalise his career. The 26 year old, who has played for both Dortmund and Bayern Munich in his career, has been on something of a decline for months now with some believing that he s already hit his peak in the game.

Gotze is best known for scoring the winning goal in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final, which ensured that Germany became world champions. In the interview Grosskreutz listed Liverpool as a potential destination for Gotze where he could go in order to try and set things straight, with his reasoning being that Jurgen Klopp knows him quite well.

Still, Gotze would do well …

Manchester City are eyeing a club record bid for Real Madrid midfielder Isco, according to the Mail Online.

The twenty-five year old, who has twice been linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium in the past could now be willing to listen to advances of the Citizens who are steamrollering their way to the Premier League title.

He has started eighteen games in La Liga and six in the Champions League so far this season but may be allowed to leave as Zinedine Zidane looks to freshen things up in the summer.

In total he has racked up two hundred and thirty-nine appearances in all competitions since signing from Malaga in the summer of 2013, scoring thirty-nine times while he has been part of the squads that won the league in 2017, the Copa del Ray in 2014 and the …