Rumour Has It: Allegri, Can and Mandzukic all linked with Man United

Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema has suffered another injury setback after head coach Jonas Eidevall revealed she requires knee surgery.

The 27-year-old Netherlands international missed almost 10 months last year following an ACL injury suffered in December 2022.

She has made just four Women’s Super League appearances since returning to action in October and now faces “several weeks” back on the sidelines.

“She requires a minor knee surgery and that is going to have her off the pitch for several weeks,” Eidevall said.

“We will have an update on that after the surgery and when we see how she is progressing.”

Miedema had played for the Dutch in the recent international break but Eidevall played down any suggestions of a club versus cou…

Best Odds: 3/5

Bookmaker:

Hoping to open their European qualifying run with a statement on home soil, Croatia will welcome Wales to the Stadion Poljud on Saturday night.

Croatia

Starting with the hosts, putting in another famous World Cup flurry over the winter as they claimed a bronze medal finish in Qatar, Croatia have only underlined their status as one of Europe s elite. Now securing at least a semi-final showdown in back-to-back World Cup adventures, the Blazers will be looking to keep up their recent momentum here. Eventually signing off their Middle Eastern run with an eye-catching 2-1 victory against African heavyweights Morocco, Zlatko Dalic s men will be looking to make an early Group D statement here. Causing an almighty upset over the winter as they…

Enzo Maresca conceded Leicester rode their luck en route to booking their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win against Birmingham.

Birmingham spurned a number of first-half chances before Foxes striker Jamie Vardy opened the scoring after 47 minutes with his first goal in over two months from Marc Albrighton’s cross.

Yunus Akgun smashed his first Leicester goal into the top-left corner from the edge of the penalty area after 72 minutes before Dennis Praet sealed the win two minutes from time with a confident finish from substitute Tom Cannon’s cutback.

Maresca said: “We were lucky in the first half, they had many chances. The second half was much better, we controlled the game and made some tactical adjustments.

“A big part of the…

Manchester United did little to turn down the noise surrounding manager Erik Ten Hag’s future after an ultimately dramatic but largely uninspiring 1-1 draw at Brentford.

United looked to have turned a lifeless display into an unlikely three points after Mason Mount climbed off the bench to fire them ahead six minutes into stoppage time.

But Brentford equalised less than three minutes later through Kristoffer Ajer to snatch a point which was the least they deserved.

Ten Hag had shrugged off speculation over his job this week before returning to the scene of his catastrophic second match in charge, when they conceded four goals in the opening 35 minutes.

On the evidence of this underwhelming performance, they have hardly made any progress since that chast…

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has insisted he cannot yet be talked of in the same breath as celebrated predecessors Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson.

Howe has hugely enhanced his reputation since being appointed to the hotseat at St James’ Park by the cub’s new Saudi-backed owners in November 2021 and overseeing a dramatic change in fortunes.

Within 18 months, the 45-year-old had guided the Magpies to a first domestic cup final in 24 years and secured a top-four Premier League finish playing a thrilling brand of football, an achievement comparable to those of Keegan and Robson during their respective tenures.

As a result, he has won a similar place in the affections of fans, although asked if he recognised the comparison, Howe said: “No. For me personally, I d…

Gareth Southgate accepted England were not good enough in a 2-1 Euro 2020 qualifier loss away to the Czech Republic on Friday.

England topped Group A ahead of the clash at Eden Arena having taken a maximum 12 points from four games and victory would have secured their place at the finals.

The Three Lions made a positive start when captain Harry Kane converted an early penalty, but the lead lasted less than five minutes as Jakub Brabec punished sloppy defending to score from a corner.

Jaroslav Silhavy s side moved level on points with England when Zdenek Ondrasek came off the bench to fire home the winner on his international debut.

England had scored at least four times each of their previous matches in the campaign to date but fell to a first qualifyi…

Jurgen Klopp challenged his Liverpool youngsters to follow the example of Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic to help alleviate the Reds defensive woes after admitting he is unsure what solutions will arrive in the January transfer market.

The Premier League champions have been rocked by long-term injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, leaving Joel Matip as the only recognised senior centre-back.

Right-back Trent-Alexander Arnold is also sidelined, while Fabinho – who has filled the void in defence in the past – has been struggling with injury in a cramped fixture schedule.

Nathaniel Phillips, 23, started in the 2-1 win over West Ham at the end of last month, while Neco Williams and Rhys Williams are other younger alternatives ahead of Sunday s match against L…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 4/7 @

In what could prove to be an enjoyable Europa League opener on Wednesday night, Midtjylland will welcome Hoffenheim to Denmark.

Starting with the hosts, suffering major Champions League qualifying heartbreak last month as they eventually fell to a 4-3 aggregate defeat against Slovan Bratislava, Midtjylland are desperate to claim an immediate response on the European stage. Nevertheless, although the Danish-giants might have eventually had to settle for an action-packed 2-2 stalemate away at Randers last weekend, Thomas Thomasberg’s side are already pencilled in as a leading contender to defend their domestic title this year. However, despite suffering just a single competitive defeat across any competition since opening …

Jurgen Klopp sarcastically described Dietmar Hamann as a fantastic source after the former Liverpool player suggested the club s poor form may lead to a change of manager.

Liverpool head into Wednesday s Champions League group game at Rangers with just four wins to their name from 11 matches this season in all competitions.

Sunday s 3-2 loss to Arsenal leaves Liverpool with 10 Premier League points this term, with that their lowest tally after eight games since the 2012-13 campaign (nine points).

And speaking on Tuesday, Hamann said Liverpool chiefs may soon have to discuss Klopp s future at Anfield after seven years in the job for his German compatriot.

Klopp did not take kindly when asked for a response to Hamann s comments during his pre-match press co…

Manchester United booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League after an uninspiring 0-0 draw with Real Sociedad at Old Trafford on Thursday. 

With their progress to the next round all but secured after a thumping 4-0 first-leg win in Turin last week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted to start with Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw on the substitutes bench, while Dean Henderson replaced David de Gea in goal. 

Mikel Oyarzabal should have taken advantage of a sluggish start from United, but his early penalty flew well over, while Bruno Fernandes and Daniel James went close for the hosts before the break. 

Substitute Axel Tuanzebe saw an effort ruled out during an insipid second half, though it mattered little in the end as United booked their p…