Bitesize Prediction: Sheffield United vs Wigan – 07/04/23

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said Sunday s goalless LaLiga draw with Athletic Bilbao left a bad taste .

Madrid hit the woodwork three times at the Santiago Bernabeu as Los Blancos ended the round two points adrift of leaders and defending champions Barcelona.

It was another toothless display as Madrid failed to score in back-to-back LaLiga games – Toni Kroos and Nacho hitting the crossbar either side of half-time before substitute Luka Jovic was denied by the base of the post with four minutes remaining.

Reflecting on the result, Courtois said: It leaves us with a bad taste because we had two very intense matches [before playing Athletic].

We struggled to get into the game at the start and then we didn t have luck on our side. We hit the wo…

Paris Saint-Germain have appointed Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach.

The former Tottenham boss has signed a contract until June 2022, with the option for a further year, with the Ligue 1 champions. He will replace Thomas Tuchel, whose dismissal was finally confirmed on Tuesday after days of speculation.

The German was sacked after an inconsistent start to the 2020-21 season despite having guided PSG to their first Champions League final in August, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.

Defeats in this season s group stage to Manchester United and RB Leipzig had put Tuchel under pressure, although he was able to lead his side into the last 16 after winning their final three games.

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Tottenham forward Son Heung-min is finally showing his true potential as he prepares to return to his former club in the Champions League, says Bayer Leverkusen boss Roger Schmidt.

The South Korea international joined Spurs from the Bundesliga side in a £22million deal in August 2015 and will now face them for the first time since leaving.

After struggling to hold down a starting spot in a mixed first season in England, Son has shone in 2016-17, scoring five goals in seven appearances – including the winner as Spurs defeated CSKA Moscow in their last Group E fixture.

Tottenham sit second in the group as a result of that win, one point clear of Leverkusen ahead of their meeting in Germany on Tuesday.

After a tricky first campaign at Tottenham he s no…

Ernesto Valverde believes Barcelona should be content with their efforts in his maiden season at the helm of the club.

Barca have claimed a Copa del Rey and LaLiga double this season, but were eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Roma in the quarter-finals.

Their record-breaking unbeaten run also came to an end in spectacular fashion last time out, as Levante claimed a remarkable 5-4 victory to end Barca s hopes of finishing their league campaign without defeat.

But Valverde, who arrived at Camp Nou from Athletic Bilbao in May 2017, is adamant the Blaugrana should be proud of their achievements.

Some moments were good, some not so good, we lost one match in each competition until now, Valverde told reporters.

The Champions League…

Barcelona have sent young midfielder Carles Alena on loan to fellow LaLiga club Real Betis until the end of the season.

Spain Under-21 international Alena started Barca s first league game of the campaign but has struggled for playing time since, featuring just three more times in the top flight.

Speaking this month, head coach Ernesto Valverde admitted he would have liked to have used Alena more often this term given his impressive display against Inter in the Champions League.

The 21-year-old, who worked his way through the academy ranks and has made 39 first-team appearances, will now link up with Betis for the second half of 2019-20.

OFFICIAL | | sign Carles Aleñá on loan 

Hit it hard these months, ! 

— Real Betis …

Former Juventus director-general Luciano Moggi is facing six years in prison for his role in a player agency transfer corruption scandal when sentencing is handed down in January 2009, reports in Italy said Tuesday.

Public prosecutor Luca Palamara announced the sentences he will be pursuing, following a six-hour hearing in Rome.

ANSA news agency reported that along with the six years he is calling for Moggi, he has demanded Moggi s son Alessandro serve five years and the son of Italy coach Marcello Lippi, Davide, be incarcerated for one year and four months.

Lippi and Alessandro Moggi worked together for the GEA player agency which stands accused of pressuring players to join Juventus, whilst Luciano Moggi faces a host of accusations, notably pressuring refer…

Sigi Schmid, a German who won Major League Soccer Coach of the Year honours, will not return as coach of the MLS champions Columbus Crew, the team announced Wednesday.

The Crew, which defeated New York 3-1 in last month s title match, went 34-33 with 25 drawn under Schmid since his tenure began in 2005. This year Columbus had the best record in MLS at 17-7 with six drawn.

Sigi Schmid has formally declined our last contract offer and will not be returning, Crew general manager Mark McCullers said in the statement.

Sigi was the ideal person to turn around our competitive program and create a championship mentality within our club. As a result, we are well positioned moving forward and toward continued success.

Schmid s contract expired at the end of N…

Campaign group Kick It Out has updated its smartphone app to make it easier for users to provide evidence of racist incidents at football matches.

The first version of the app, which was launched in 2013 and facilitated the reporting of discriminatory abuse, accounted for 36 per cent of reports during the 2014-15 season.

And complainants will now have the chance to provide more conclusive evidence after functionality was added for the submission of video, photo and audio files through the app.

We have seen the app become one of the most prominent and popular mechanisms used to report incidents since its release in 2013, and took the decision last year to strengthen its level of functionality, said Kick It Out reporting officer Anna Jonsson.

We have par…

Manchester United have recalled Nick Powell from his loan spell with Premier League strugglers Leicester City.

The 20-year-old forward has made only three appearances for Nigel Pearson s side since making a season-long switch to the King Power Stadium.

And United have opted to take Powell back to Old Trafford following a disappointing spell with bottom-of-the-table Leicester.

Leicester stated on the club s official website said: Leicester City would like to thank Nick for his contribution during the last four months and wish him well in the future.

Powell joined United from Crewe Alexandra in June 2012 and was loaned out to Wigan Athletic last season.

The England Under-21 international has made only two Premier League appearances for United as …

Market: Corinthians win

Odds: 

Two sides enduring very different success of late in Brazil s top-tier, Corinthians will welcome Goias to Sao Paulo late on Wednesday night.

Starting with the hosts, putting in another impressive display and taking a point off of title contenders Palmeiras last weekend, Corinthians finally appear to have put their sluggish start to the season behind them. Now enjoying a six-match unbeaten run and yet to taste defeat in Serie A since the start of June, Head Coach Fábio Carille will be growing more impressed by his sides form on home soil. Along with snatching a point off of Verdão last time out, Corinthians have also not tasted defeat in Sao Paulo since the 6th of October 2018. With the chance to leapfrog both Internacional and S…