Market: Roma win

Odds: 19/20 @

Hoping to lay down a domestic marker on Sunday evening, Roma will travel to the Unipol Domus when they meet Cagliari.

Starting with the hosts, although Cagliari might have made their Serie A return this season, the Islanders are in the midst of a public top-flight struggle. Last seen putting in another nightmare performance as they slumped to a routine 3-0 drumming at the hands of Fiorentina, Claudio Ranieri’s side sit rock-bottom of the table and tipped as a leading relegation contender this time around. Heading into September’s international break with a 2-1 defeat against Bologna, the former Leicester boss has seen his side put just a pair of Serie A points on the board from any of their opening seven appearances. With their…

Manchester City secured a domestic treble as they earned a record 6-0 FA Cup final victory against Watford at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.

City dominated the first-half and took a deserved lead as David Silva struck the opening blow with a clinical finish in the 26th minute. That advantage was doubled in the 39th minute as Raheem Sterling smashed in Gabriel Jesus lofted effort practically on the line but the goal was awarded to the latter.

Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench early in the second-half and coolly scored, with Jesus also getting on the scoresheet. Sterling wrapped up the FA Cup late in the game as he netted two excellent goals.

City enjoy early possession

As was probably expected, the recently-crowned Premier League champions enjoyed the maj…

Lionel Messi is struggling to comprehend how Argentina are in danger of Copa America group-stage elimination as they prepare to face Qatar in a crucial clash on Sunday.

Argentina lost to Colombia in their first game and could only draw with Paraguay last time out, leaving them bottom of Group B, below Qatar on goal difference.

La Albiceleste have been in turmoil for 12 months, having endured a miserable World Cup campaign that cost Jorge Sampaoli his job, and they have rarely looked like a cohesive unit since Lionel Scaloni stepped up to the position.

Failure to get out of the group at the Copa America would be a new low, particularly given third place could be enough to see them progress.

We have to think positively and keep our confidence, Messi told r…

Personal animosity is the main source of intrigue as Jose Mourinho s Manchester United host Antonio Conte s Chelsea this weekend.

Manchester City s gallop to the title looks unlikely to falter but, in previous years, this fixture was the game that decided who would be the likely kings of England.

Old Trafford has played host to some unforgettable encounters between Untied and Chelsea and it feels like the right time to take a trip down memory lane.

April 2010 Manchester United 1 Chelsea 2

After claiming three consecutive Premier League crowns, United were in pole position for another as they welcomed second-placed Chelsea to Old Trafford at the start of April.

But Alex Ferguson was left fuming as Didier Drogba s blatantly offside winner saw the Bl…

When he joined Atletico Madrid in the close season of 2014, Jan Oblak became the most expensive goalkeeper in Spanish top-flight history at €16million.

Signed on a six-year deal, the fact that he struggled to dislodge Atletico number one Miguel Angel Moya for the first seven months of his time at the club did not seem too concerning for Oblak, as he was still only 21 and had only managed 60 top-flight appearances in four seasons in Portugal across various loan deals and with his parent club Benfica.

He finally made his LaLiga debut on March 21, 2015, at home to Getafe and has missed just 10 league matches since then for Atleti. On Saturday, he is due to make his 200th appearance in Spain s top flight when Atleti visit Valencia.

Since his debut, Oblak has consis…

Alvaro Morata believes Cristiano Ronaldo is happy at Juventus but says the superstar forward will certainly have been affected by the criticism directed his way.

Ronaldo joined Juve in 2018, signing a four-year deal in Turin.

He has gone on to help the Bianconeri to successive Serie A titles – their eighth and ninth in a row – yet has not been able to propel the team to Champions League glory.

It is a failure that cost both Massimiliano Allegri and Maurizio Sarri their jobs, while latest incumbent Andrea Pirlo will also be unable to count European success among any accolades this season, with Juve falling to Porto in the last 16 earlier this month.

Juve s chances of a 10th consecutive Serie A title also look slim, with a shock defeat to Beneven…

Olympique Lyon are without a manager and their next one could well be Laurent Blanc, according to Le Parisien. The French media outlet are reporting that Blanc is the leading candidate to become Lyon s manager, following the departure of Sylvinho.

The Brazilian and former left-back has been sacked following a 1-0 loss in the big derby against Saint-Ettiene. The loss had meant that Lyon are just one point of the bottom place and equal on points with one of the three teams in relegation zone.

According to Le Parisien, Jean Michael Aulas has been dreaming about signing Arsene Wenger for the position ever since the manager s departure from Arsenal, but Blanc is the most realistic option right now. Amongst candidates are also Remi Garde, who worked as Lyon manager from 2011 …

Ousmane Dembele has been approached by two Premier League clubs with big-salary proposals for a free transfer when his contract with Barcelona expires at the end of the season, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The French winger forced his move from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona in the summer of 2017, following Neymar s departure to Paris Saint-Germain. The Catalan club paid over €100 million for his services at the time, but he s hardly justified that kind of expense through inconsistencies and frequent injury problems.

Barcelona are still hopeful of Dembele s contract being extended, but the 24-year-old and his representatives are believed to be disappointed with the club s reluctance to accept his wage demands, while they re working on signing Erling Haaland from his …

Coventry have been preparing for their Premier League assault as popular Sky Blues kitman Chris Marsh fights sepsis.

The former Walsall defender was admitted to University Hospital Coventry this week with the infection which stemmed from a problem in his neck.

He missed Monday’s final day 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough but will be in the dressing room for Sunday’s Championship play-off semi-final first leg against the same opponents at the CBS Arena on Sunday, although cannot work as he recovers.

The effervescent Marsh credits club doctor Ganeshan Ramsamy for acting quickly and knows there could have been a very different outcome.

He told the PA news agency: “I thought it was a wasp sting but I had a really bad night’s sleep so when I came into the tra…

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli said the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been really important for the Serie A side.

Ibrahimovic is back at Milan for a second time after returning to the Rossoneri – where he won the Scudetto in 2010-11 – at the end of his LA Galaxy contract.

The 38-year-old star has made an immediate impact, scoring in Milan s 2-0 Serie A victory away to Cagliari last week – only his second appearance.

Ibrahimovic was an unused substitute as Milan eased past SPAL 3-0 in the Coppa Italia last 16 on Wednesday, ahead of Udinese s league visit on Sunday, and Pioli hailed the striker amid the club s struggles.

Spot in the quarter-finals  C mon lads! 

Vittoria e qualificazione: bravi ragazzi

— AC Milan (@acmilan) …