Competition: Euro 2016 Qualifier
Market: Republic of Ireland to win against Georgia
Odds:

Republic of Ireland host Georgia in Group D of the Euro 2016 qualifiers, with Martin O’Neill’s men in need of win to stay in contention of making next year’s finals. Currently third in the table, Ireland are just two points adrift of second-placed Poland, and one point ahead of fourth-placed Scotland.

A win could see them into an automatic spot in the table depending on results, and home advantage should see them taking all three points. Bet 365 are giving odds of 8/15 for Green Army to come out on top against a Georgia outfit who are all but ruled out of qualifying for the 2016 tournament.

The home side are unbeaten in their last three group games, picki…

Belgium cruised to a 4-1 away victory over Andorra on Saturday, sealing their qualification for Euro 2016.

Radja Nainggolan s deflected effort gave Marc Wilmots men the lead, before Kevin De Bruyne struck with a stunning free-kick just before half-time.

Alarm bells were briefly ringing after the break when Andorra s record goalscorer Ildefons Lima netted a penalty, but Belgium quickly responded with a spot-kick of their own, scored by stand-in captain Eden Hazard.

Laurent Depoitre made it four with a close-range finish, before Hazard missed a chance to net his second penalty of the match as his effort was saved in the closing stages.

After reaching the World Cup quarter-finals in 2014, Belgium will now play in the Euros for the first time in four tourname…

Carlo Ancelotti says Luka Modric and Toni Kroos understand the need to refresh Real Madrid s midfield after the duo found themselves on the bench for last week s win at Athletic Bilbao.

Modric and Kroos were introduced as late substitutes during Madrid s impressive 2-0 win at San Mames on Sunday, with the former Germany man making the points safe with a fine long-range finish.

Modric s tally of 17 starts in all competitions this season has been bettered by team-mates Federico Valverde (24), Kroos (21) and Aurelien Tchouameni (18), while no Madrid midfielder has made more total appearances than Eduardo Camavinga s 27.

Speaking ahead of Thursday s Copa del Rey quarter-final against rivals Atletico Madrid, Ancelotti said the experienced players in his squad understo…

Inter went back to the top of the Serie A table with a routine 3-1 win against Roma at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday.

Goals from Denzel Dumfries, Marcelo Brozovic and Lautaro Martinez took the Nerazzurri to victory, continuing their excellent record against the team from the Italian capital, despite a late strike from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

It was not the result or performance that former Inter coach Jose Mourinho will have been looking for, with the defeat coming as a big blow to the Giallorossi s hopes of European qualification.

Simone Inzaghi will have been very pleased with what he saw from his team, who move a point ahead of Milan in the race for the Scudetto having played the same number of games, with their city rivals facing Lazio in Rome on Sun…

It was almost as though Thomas Tuchel was trolling Pep Guardiola, picking three defensive midfielders and two strikers. 

Guardiola had paid a high price for leaving his water carriers out of May s Champions League final battle between these teams. On Friday, he pointedly stressed he would not complain about his squad, yet also acknowledged City lacked a lethal finisher in the mould of a Romelu Lukaku. 

But this was a day when Guardiola resoundingly won the tactical battle, inflicting a first defeat of the season on Tuchel s Chelsea, ending City s sequence of three successive defeats to the men in royal blue. 

Chelsea had last enjoyed a longer run of wins against City when they strung eight together from December 2005 to March 2009, the balance of power in…

Diego Maradona enjoyed a stellar career, playing for some of the world s biggest clubs and instilling himself in World Cup folklore.

It is a year since the Argentina great died at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack.

While his career was not shy of controversy, at his best Maradona was simply unplayable, and enjoyed success in South America and Europe, as well as on the international stage.

Stats Perform takes a look at his five greatest achievements, from World Cup success with Argentina to an era of Serie A glory with Napoli.

Bernabeu ovation

It takes something truly magnificent for Real Madrid fans to contemplate applauding a Barcelona player. Maradona delivered just that in June 1983, when he rounded Los Blancos goalkeeper Agustin and t…

Mikel Arteta said Mauricio Pochettino was “like a father” to him in his early playing days ahead of their meeting in Arsenal’s clash against Chelsea in the Premier League.

Arteta played alongside the Chelsea boss at Paris St Germain before their rise as coaches in Europe’s top divisions.

The Arsenal manager talked up the influence Pochettino had on him as a player, admitting he was inspired by the Argentinian as a teenager.

Now playing: Mikel s pre-Chelsea press conference

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— Arsenal (@Arsenal)

The pair will face off at the Emirates on Tuesday.

When asked how influential Pochettino was for Arteta as a player, he said: “He’s one of the most.

“I was 17 or 18 in Paris with no experience in pr…

Rodri deserves to be in contention to win the Ballon d Or and has revolutionised the way people look at holding midfielders, believes Lucas Leiva.

Rodri enjoyed another magnificent campaign in 2023-24 as Manchester City retained their Premier League crown, then was named Player of the Tournament as Spain won Euro 2024.

The 28-year-old played 50 matches for City across all competitions last term, with Pep Guardiola s team only losing one of those games – versus Manchester United in May s FA Cup final.

He also contributed eight goals and nine assists in the Premier League last term, both of which represent his best figures in any league campaign.

At Euro 2024, he ranked seventh among all players for open-play passes (430) and fifth for open-play passes …

Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City are not experiencing a personality crisis as he aimed a startling put-down at former Manchester United stars Patrice Evra and Dimitar Berbatov.

The City manager was riled by criticism from Evra and Berbatov, now both working as pundits, after City surrendered a winning position to go out at Real Madrid s hands in the Champions League semi-finals.

Evra claimed Guardiola can’t train people with personality , while Berbatov offered a response that was not far from Guardiola s own assessment, albeit saying City had to be more concentrated and focused in the closing moments.

There was also criticism from former Milan and Madrid star Clarence Seedorf, who said City lacked the necessary mentality to come through such a test, c…

Newcastle and Arsenal are set to go toe to toe for the services of Borussia Dortmund star Julian Brandt, according to the . No move is likely to happen in January, so the two Premier League rivals are preparing to try and make it happen at the end of the season as they seek to strengthen their wide attacking positions.

Brandt has been targeted by Premier League clubs for a long time now. He confirmed that Liverpool wanted him in 2017, when he was still at Bayer Leverkusen. He refused to leave the BayArena at the time and the Merseysiders signed Mohamed Salah instead, and it s fair to say they haven t looked back.

Two years later, Brandt left Leverkusen for Dortmund in a deal worth €25 million, and since then, he s made a total of 185 appearances for the black-and-yell…