Market: Under 3.5 goals

Odds: 1/2 @

With this weekend s MLS fixtures opening up at the New Crew Stadium on Saturday night, Columbus will host New England in a matchup that is famously a cagey affair.

Starting with the hosts, while Columbus might have thought they had turned a real corner with their three consecutive wins on either side of the international break, The Crew have shown some recent issues once again. Despite being handed what looked like a golden chance away at Austin earlier in the week, Caleb Porter s men had to settle for a sluggish 0-0 stalemate on the road. Failing to bounce back from that 1-0 loss against Philadelphia Union on June 24th, the Eastern Conference outfit have also drawn a blank in back-to-back contests across all formats for the t…

Albania boss Gianni De Biasi is adamant France will not underestimate his side in Marseille on Wednesday despite suggestions the hosts will rest a host of key players.

Having won their opening match against Romania, France will be expected to brush aside De Biaisi s men before facing Switzerland in a clash that could decide which team tops Group A.

In their last two friendly meetings, however, Albania have emerged with a win and a draw and De Biasi is anticipating Deschamps to play his big guns.

He said: I don t think they will [underestimate us], because I think we are well known now. We played against them twice, in November 2014 and June last year, I think they know us pretty well.

They won t underestimate us and will go on the pitch with great determ…

Roma and Brazil shot-stopper Alisson can become the world s best goalkeeper, according to Claudio Taffarel.

Alisson, 25, is linked with a move to Liverpool after impressing in the Serie A, having joined Roma from Internacional in 2016.

Taffarel, who played for the likes of Parma and Galatasaray during his club career and won the 1994 World Cup during 101 caps for Brazil, believes Alisson is capable of becoming the world s best.

I ll always respect the career of [Gianluigi] Buffon, who has been brilliant. But I believe that Alisson, as a goalkeeper, is more technical with a different posture, he told Omnisport.

He always stands assertively and is confident in what he does. Alisson is really impressive.

In the time that we worked with him at Inte…

Wales manager Chris Coleman has reacted angrily to Serbia left-back Aleksandar Kolarov s comments about his side s playing style.

The 25-year-old, who signed for Manchester City from Lazio in 2010 for 17 million pounds, upset the Welsh faithful after claiming that all teams in Great Britain play the long ball, ahead of the two nations FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

But Coleman responded to the claims, diverting the attention onto the problem that could face Serbia rather than his side s style of football, namely Gareth Bale.

When asked about the claims, he told reporters: That s up to him. How much has he actually seen of us? Has he watched our games? Has he been scouting us?

It s up to us to keep Mr Kolarov busy. If Gareth plays down his side he…

Napoli striker Edinson Cavani says it is not fair to judge compatriot and Liverpool star Luis Suarez for his on-field mistakes.

Suarez was banned for seven games in 2011 after biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal in the shoulder, and did not play again for Ajax following the incident, as he sealed a switch to Liverpool for more than 22 million pounds.
And the controversial 26-year-old could leave Anfield in similar circumstances, after he was slapped with a 10-match suspension for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during a Premier League fixture in April.
Suarez has not played for Liverpool since, due to the ban, and he has been widely linked with a move away from England, where he dislikes the intense media speculation surrounding him.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munic…

Erling Haaland was not included in Manchester City s squad to face Liverpool on Saturday after failing to recover from a groin injury.

The Norway star has 42 goals in 37 games for City this season, but had been a doubt after suffering the injury that ruled him out of the recent international break, with Pep Guardiola saying on Friday that his star striker s availability remained uncertain.

Haaland was not even named among the substitutes, as Julian Alvarez took his place up front in the team to face the Reds.

Guardiola made six changes to the team that thrashed Burnley 6-0 in the FA Cup last time out as City aimed to keep the pressure on leaders Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

Ederson, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Ilkay Gundogan and J…

Paris Saint-Germain defender Danilo felt his side did not respect their opposition during Sunday s surprising 1-0 home loss to Lyon.

The hosts controlled the ball with 62.2 per cent of the total possession, but found themselves on the wrong end of the expected goals 1.61 to 1.13 after conceding quality chances in both halves.

PSG were lucky to go into half-time level after Alexandre Lacazette s 39th-minute penalty struck the woodwork, but their luck ran out 11 minutes after the break when Bradley Barcola finished off a cutback from 18-year-old right-back Sael Kumbedi.

The loss leaves the Ligue 1 leaders with only a six-point buffer over second-placed Lens and Marseille.

Pour faire de beaux rêves On vous propose le but de Bradley Barcola lors de ce

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Melbourne Victory confirmed the appointment of Marco Kurz as their head coach for the next two seasons.

The German, 50, replaces Kevin Muscat at the A-League giants, remaining in Australia after leaving Adelaide United.

Kurz, who has also previously coached the likes of 1860 Munich, Kaiserslautern and Hoffenheim, won the 2018 FFA Cup with Adelaide.

It s an honour to be named as head coach of Melbourne Victory, a big club with a strong history, passionate fanbase and true drive for success, Kurz said in a statement on Friday.

I ve got to know Melbourne Victory from afar, and had tremendous respect for them during that time, so it is exciting to join the club.

During the interview process we had aligned beliefs about the direction forward which w…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revelled in the long-awaited return of star midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

Thiago came off the bench in his first appearance since October as Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw by Newcastle United in the Premier League on Wednesday.

The former Bayern Munich man, who sustained a knee injury in a 2-2 draw with Everton on October 17, was a 73rd-minute substitute and managed to make 23 passes with 91.3 per cent accuracy midweek.

We signed Thiago actually because we thought he was a good player, so you can imagine we would like to have him in the team. That s clear, Klopp told reporters during his post-match news conference.

What the other boys did in the time he was not available is absolutely incredible. James Milner, for exampl…

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez called for the club s board to align their ambitions with those of the supporters after his team ended the season with a 3-0 home victory over Chelsea.

Dwight Gayle s first-half goal and a second-half brace from Ayoze Perez earned Benitez s men three points that secured them 10th place in the final Premier League standings and ended a run of four successive defeats.

The result gave Benitez revenge for the 3-1 defeat Newcastle suffered at Stamford Bridge in December 2017 and he called for owner Mike Ashley to invest in his squad this summer.

It was a great way to end, he told reporters. It was a perfect day for the fans and for everyone as it was a great atmosphere.

— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)

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