Verdict: Barcelona to win to nil

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Buoyed by the 3-0 hammering of Chelsea in the Champions League Last 16 stage, Barcelona will be looking to make another important step towards the La Liga title when they take on struggling Athletic Club. Los Leones have just crashed out of Europe, while their latest league performances leave a lot to be desired as well.

Barcelona

This is turning into a season to remember for Barcelona, who are still in contention for three major trophies. The Catalans will face Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final, while they are waiting to learn their opponents in the Champions League quarter-finals following the 4-1 aggregate win over Chelsea. Ernesto Valverde’s side have also impressed in La Liga, where they hold a…

Roma questioned Lega Serie A s controversial use of monkey artwork as part of a new anti-racism campaign, while the artist said he wanted to create something that could make people reflect and create debate .

Serie A received widespread backlash and condemnation following Monday s launch of an initiative to combat racism in Italian football.

The symbolic heart of the new three-pronged initiative is a trio of paintings from Simone Fugazzotto, an artist renowned for using primates in his work, which will be displayed permanently at Lega Serie A s headquarters in Milan.

It comes after a number of high-profile racial incidents this season, involving Brescia striker Mario Balotelli and Inter star Romelu Lukaku.

was very surprised to see what appears to be an…

Cardiff City and Sheffield United both progressed to the second round of the League Cup courtesy of narrow victories on Wednesday.

With both sides hotly tipped for promotion from their respective divisions this season, and both facing lower-league opposition, United and Cardiff went into their clashes as favourites.

And the Welsh side, relegated from the Premier League last year and targeting an immediate return, justified that tag as they triumphed 2-1 over Coventry City at Sixfields.

Finalists in 2012, Cardiff took an early lead as Guido Burgstaller struck in the fourth minute after Coventry had failed to clear their lines.

They doubled their advantage nine minutes from time when Ryan Haynes diverted the ball into his own net following Mats Moller Daehl…

Bayern Munich are readying a move for Manchester United midfielder Angel Di Maria,.

The Argentina international has failed to recreate his best form since moving to Old Trafford for almost £60m last summer, having scored just four goals in thirty-one appearances though somewhat surprisingly his tally of ten assists is the joint second best in the Premier League.

He hasn’t started for Louis van Gaal’s side for over two months, though United man has given no indication that he is ready to part company with the twenty-seven year old.

However, Bayern manager Pep Guardiola is on the look of for new recruits for next season, and has identified the former Real Madrid man as the man to help freshen things up.

The Bundesliga leaders lost 3-0 to Barcelon…

Porto starlet James Rodriguez was on the brink of a transfer to Juventus two years ago, the winger s agent Bruno Carpeggiani has revealed.

Then a 19-year-old prospect at Argentine outfit Atletico Banfield, he instead joined the Estadio do Dragao club for 5.1 million euros in June 2010 and has since become a key player for the Portuguese outfit.

I can confirm it is true, Carpeggiani told tuttojuve.com. The move was in the pipeline for some time.

I do not like to talk about deals (that do not materialise), but Juve at the time were not the side they are now.

You would have to ask (former Juventus chief scout Renzo) Catagnini why they did not take him.

Although Carpeggiani said Rodriguez loves playing at Porto, he admitted the recent sale of sta…

Arsenal s Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky, sidelined with a knee injury since January 2008, will miss this season despite signs of improvement, a Czech sports daily wrote Friday citing his agent.

If Tomas increased the intensity of his training, he would make it for the last two matches (of the season), but it doesn t pay off to take the risk because of that, Rosicky s agent Pavel Paska told the Sport daily.

Rosicky said on his website earlier he expected to return around the turn of March and April.

The 28-year-old Czech Republic captain, who played 68 matches and scored 19 goals for the national team before missing Euro 2008 because of the injury, underwent two operations on the knee tendon last year.

Rosicky was last seen in an Arsenal shirt on Januar…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is looking forward to the challenge of the Premier League campaign after a poor start to the new season.

The Reds are winless with three matches played after losing at Old Trafford to arch-rivals Manchester United on Monday, putting them seven points adrift of early pacesetters Arsenal.

Liverpool s slow start to the campaign has been a surprise and has led to apparent tempers, with James Milner and Virgil van Dijk verbally clashing on the field during the defeat earlier this week.

However, that does not worry Klopp, who pointed to his own reputation as a player before going on to detail why he likes the opportunity the loss of form has presented.

We spoke about pretty much everything. I didn t see the pictures but obviousl…

Gabriel Magalhaes made amends for a terrible mistake by scoring a late winner as Arsenal maintained their 100 per cent Premier League record with a 2-1 victory over Fulham.

Aleksandar Mitrovic capitalised on Gabriel s error to give the Cottagers the lead with his 100th goal for the club against the run of play, as Saturday s London derby burst into life in the second half at Emirates Stadium.

Martin Odegaard equalised with a deflected strike and Gabriel scrambled the ball home in the 85th minute after former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno flapped at a corner.

Victory for the Gunners in Mikel Arteta s 100th Premier League game in charge made it four out of four in the top flight this season and put them back at the top of the table.

Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

Jurgen Klopp is encouraged by videos of Virgil van Dijk training in the gym but warned the commanding Liverpool centre-back still has a long road to recovery ahead of him.

Netherlands international Van Dijk suffered a serious knee injury during the 2-2 draw against Everton in October s Merseyside derby, as a result of a robust challenge from Jordan Pickford.

Van Dijk is likely to miss the rest of the season while his status for the delayed Euro 2020 remains unclear.

This week, Reds fans would have been boosted by the sight of Van Dijk s workouts in Dubai – where Netherlands great Clarence Seedorf dropped in to work with the defender.

Klopp too is happy to see the progress being made but also ushered a cautious tone.

Good, very good I have no pr…

Manchester United attacker Jesse Lingard believes the Red Devils struggles this season are due to complacency against mid-table teams.

United have beaten Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Leicester City, and drawn with Premier League leaders Liverpool and Arsenal this term, however, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s men still languish in eighth position.

The struggling giants have flourished with their counter-attacking pace but have come unstuck against teams defending deep – beaten by Crystal Palace, West Ham, Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Watford.

United have also been held by Wolves, Southampton, Sheffield United, Aston Villa and Everton, leading Lingard to question the club s mindset ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Newcastle.

It s strange, Linga…