Best odds: 11/10

Bookmaker:

Greece and the Republic of Ireland are set for a duel at the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens, also known as the OPAP Arena for commercial purposes, on Friday evening. The match is to be a part of the second round of the Euro 2024 qualifying process in Group B, where France, Netherlands and Gibraltar have already played two games each.

These two teams are relatively close to each other in the FIFA rankings, with Greece currently occupying place number 52, and Ireland three spots above in 49th.

Greece

Greece got off to a strong start in their quest for Euro 2024 qualification when they comfortably secured a 3-0 victory against the underdog team Gibraltar in late March.

The team scored two goals in the first half, courtesy…

Sergio Aguero has retired at the age of 33 due to a heart problem.

The Barcelona forward announced his decision to retire in a statement on Wednesday that was delivered at an event featuring president Joan Laporta and the club s first-team players.

Aguero, who starred for Atletico Madrid before becoming a Manchester City great, suffered chest pain in the draw with Deportivo Alaves on October 30, which the club confirmed was down to a heart arrhythmia.

Sergi Barjuan, interim coach at the time, said Aguero told him he was feeling a little dizzy .

Further tests resulted in Aguero being ruled out for three months to undergo a diagnostic and therapeutic process . 

However, after consultations with specialists, the Argentina international has been t…

Barcelona are setting records as they plough through the Women s Champions League draw, but Wolfsburg are not intimidated as they prepare for a semi-final against the mighty Catalans.

A crowd of 91,553 saw Barcelona crush Real Madrid 5-2 on Wednesday to seal a last-four place, and Jonatan Giraldez s team have won their last 37 games, scoring five or more goals in 18 of those victories.

They last failed to win in pre-season, when edged out 3-2 by Lyon at the Women s International Champions Cup in Portland, and remain on course to successfully defend the Champions League title they won by thrashing Chelsea 4-0 last May in Gothenburg.

Barcelona men s coach Xavi said the packed Camp Nou for the Real Madrid clash marked a historic day for football and society…

Best odds: 5/11

Bookmaker:

Flamengo head into gameweek 18 of the Brasileiro eager to end their recent slump as they host Criciuma at Arena BRB Mane Garrincha on Saturday.

Third-placed Mengao are winless in their last two games, causing them to fall behind league leaders Botafogo. However, they aim to secure all three points against a Criciuma side that has managed to claim just one point from their last three matches.

Flamengo

Despite having played fewer games than the two clubs above them — Botafogo and Palmeiras — recent results have hindered Flamengo s pursuit of their first league title since 2020.

A 1-1 home draw against a resilient Cuiaba was followed by a surprising 2-1 loss to Fortaleza at Maracana, causing Tite s team to fall five p…

Manchester City want to hand defender Ruben Dias a new contract, according to . The report has claimed that City, who won the Premier League title last season, are keen on tying down Dias to a new deal until the summer of 2030.

Dias has been on the books of City since the summer of 2020 when he joined from Benfica. The 27-year-old Portugal international centre-back has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world and is a key figure in Pep Guardiola’s team at City. Dias has scored three goals, given four assists and kept 43 clean sheets in 117 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career.

Football Transfers has reported that City plan to increase the weekly salary of Dias from £180,000 to £220,000 and will also give him assurances of makin…

Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Rodrygo from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024, according to . The report has claimed that if Kylian Mbappe leaves PSG at the end of the season, then the defending Ligue 1 champions will try to sign Brazil international forward Rodrygo.

Mbappe is out of contract at PSG at the end of the season. Real Madrid, who could win the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League this season, are keen on bringing the France international forward to the Santiago Bernabeu on a free transfer. So, PSG are looking to bring in Rodrygo as Mbappe’s replacement.

Rodrygo has been on the books of Madrid since 2019 when he joined from Santos. The 23-year-old Brazil international is one of the best young wingers in the world and is an impo…

Levi Colwill s own goal was the difference as Nottingham Forest secured promotion to the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the Championship play-off final.

Steve Cooper s side were in the ascendancy in the first half and their reward at Wembley Stadium arrived when Colwill turned into his own net after 43 minutes.

Huddersfield were left aggrieved in the second half after referee Jonathan Moss did not award Harry Toffolo a penalty for a challenge by Jack Colback, and Lewis O Brien had a strong case for a spot-kick too.

But Forest held firm to secure their return to the Premier League for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

Forest made a promising start as Ryan Yates flicked a header narrowly wide from a James Garner free-kick.…

Ruud van Nistelrooy was proud to be able to coach in front of his former Manchester United boss, Alex Ferguson, during PSV s Champions League play-off first leg against Rangers.

Ferguson was in attendance at Ibrox as the teams played out a 2-2 draw on Tuesday.

Antonio Colak equalised after Ibrahim Sangare s opener in the first half before Tom Lawrence gave the Scottish side the lead, though Van Nistelrooy s team had something to take back for the second leg next week after Armando Obispo headed in a leveller 12 minutes from time.

The former Netherlands striker was appointed as PSV head coach from the start of the season to replace Roger Schmidt, his first senior role in management.

Van Nistelrooy played 219 games for United in all competitions under Fe…

Erling Haaland made light of his longest goalscoring drought as a Manchester City player after netting in Wednesday s crucial 3-1 Premier League win over Arsenal.

The prolific striker scored City s third goal at Emirates Stadium to seal a victory that lifted his side above Arsenal at the summit for the first time since November.

Haaland took his tally for the season to 32 goals in 30 games in all competitions, which is seven more than any other player across Europe s top five leagues.

He now has 26 Premier League goals to his name, already matching Sergio Aguero s tally from 2014-15 as the most ever by a City player in a single campaign in the competition.

Haaland s latest strike ended a run of three games without a goal since bagging a hat-trick against …

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has confirmed it will bid to host Euro 2024.

Turkey pitched unsuccessfully for Euro 2008, 2012 and 2016, while in 2014 it withdrew a bid to host final stage matches at Euro 2020 under the model that will see the next edition of the tournament hosted in major cities across Europe.

Nevertheless, the TFF will enter the breach once more, buoyed by a sustained effort in stadium development in the country over recent years.

On this occasion we believe both as a management board and a country that we deserve to get it, said TFF president Yildirim Demiroren at a news conference on Wednesday.

Turkey is the only example of a country in Europe or even the world which has made as many as 32 stadium investments in the last few y…