Liverpool v Everton the pick of FA Cup third round

Liverpool will host Merseyside neighbours Everton in the FA Cup third round – one of a handful of local derbies thrown up in Monday s draw.

Jurgen Klopp s men host Everton in their first Premier League clash of the season on Sunday and will now meet again over the weekend of January 5-8.

It will be the first FA Cup derby between the sides since Liverpool prevailed 2-1 in a 2012 semi-final – the Reds going on to lose to Chelsea in the final by the same margin.

Brighton Hove Albion are at home to Crystal Palace having played out a goalless Premier League draw against their bitter rivals last week, while Middlesbrough welcome Sunderland in an all north-east affair.

Holders Arsenal will begin their bid for a 14th FA Cup away to Nottingham Forest, with la…

Milito: Inter are no one-man team

Former Inter star Diego Milito has dismissed the notion that they are overly reliant on striker Mauro Icardi.

The club captain has been in exceptional form in the early part of the season, scoring six goals in five Serie A appearances to help his side to 10 points from their first five games.

Icardi scored both goals in Wednesday s 2-0 win over Empoli, while he netted the equaliser before setting up Ivan Perisic for the winner in the crucial 2-1 victory over Juventus.

Indeed, the Argentina international has been involved in more goals seven than any other player in Europe s top five leagues this term, but Milito has denied that Inter are a one-man team.

4 Mauro Icardi is the only player able to score in four different games in the Serie A 2016-17. Basic. …

Man City keen on Brazilian starlet; Icardi could leave Inter

Man City keen on Brazilian starlet

Portuguese newspaper that Manchester City are keeping close tabs on Atletico Parnense midfielder Nathan Allan de Souza.

The 18-year-old shone at the Under-17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates last year, scoring five goals in as many games at the tournament finals.

His talent was then spotted by scouts working for Europe s top clubs, with Manchester City reportedly leading the chase at the moment.

Nathan was even praised by Diego Armando Maradona and it is perfectly clear the attacking midfielder has a bright future in the game.

The youngster was recently handed his senior debut for Atletico Paranense and has so far scored one goal in two league starts.

The Brazilian giants, however, face a tough task in…

He can make it – Gotze backs Bolt´s football bid

Mario Gotze believes Usain Bolt can succeed as a professional footballer after witnessing his development first-hand during the superstar athlete s stint at Borussia Dortmund.

The eight-time Olympic champion is on trial with the Central Coast Mariners and is hoping to win a permanent contract with the A-League club over the next 12 months.

Gotze saw Bolt s potential during a training stint at his Bundesliga club earlier this year, and thinks the 32-year-old sprint king can make the transition from athletics to football.

I think [Bolt] can make it. I don t really know the level of the Australian league and I don t know the teams there, Gotze told Omnisport.

He is a sportsman and he has a lot of abilities that are important to be successful in footbal…

It was close…very close – Hummels reveals level of Man United interest

Mats Hummels says he was very close to joining Manchester United when Louis van Gaal was manager in 2014.

The Germany international was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford while he was still at Borussia Dortmund, but a move to the Premier League failed to materialise.

Any chance of Hummels swapping Germany for England was ended for the time being in the close-season when the defender opted to leave Dortmund for fierce Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich.

Hummels claims there was also interest from LaLiga powerhouses Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, but the most concrete proposal came from United.

Yes, [a deal was close], Hummels told the Daily Mail. Yes, yes, yes. It was close. Very close. 

There were talks, several times in the l…

West Brom making a move for Odion Ighalo

West Brom are reportedly in talks to sign Watford striker Odion Ighalo

I am not quite sure what to make of what I read earlier on. According to , West Brom are attempting to sign Watford striker Odion Ighalo.

In fact, there seems to have been talks between the two clubs regarding the player.

Depending on which report you read, West Brom have either agreed a fee of £17million or are to offer the same sum to Watford. The deal looks like it could be a goer, though. Watch this space.

Fortunes have waned this season.

Odion Ighalo was sensational in front of goal last season and finished the campaign with a very respectable tally of 17 goals. His partnership with Hornets Troy Deeney captain helped the team to survive relegation.

The partnersh…

Hazard putting injury woes behind him

Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard is confident he can push on this season after an injury-hit first two years in LaLiga.

Hazard signed for Madrid from Chelsea for a reported fee of an initial €100million (£89m), though there was potential for the deal to rise significantly due to additional bonus payments.

However, the Belgium attacker has hardly made an impact in the Spanish capital and is reportedly one of the players Madrid are open to selling as they look to ease their financial difficulties in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Niggling injuries have derailed Hazard s Madrid career, restricting him to just 43 appearances in total across all competitions over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, with 31 of these being starts.

Yet the 30-year-old, wh…

The big Friday Premier League quiz

Sheffield United pulled off a stunning defeat of Manchester United on Wednesday and it will be an even bigger shock if they beat Premier League leaders Manchester City this weekend.

Oliver Burke s deflected strike sealed what was only a second top-flight victory of the season for the bottom-of-the-table Blades at Old Trafford, preventing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s men from returning to the summit.

Chris Wilder was playing for the South Yorkshire club when they last beat City away from home and it would be a monumental turn up for the books if they were to end Pep Guardiola s side s 11-match winning streak.

The wounded Red Devils travel to Arsenal on Saturday, while Chelsea host Burnley the following day looking for a first win of the Thomas Tuchel era and champ…

Porto 3 Schalke 1: Fahrmann heroics prove fruitless as hosts secure top spot

Porto sealed top spot in Champions League Group D as two quickfire second-half goals helped them overcome Schalke 3-1. 

Though both sides were certain of their places in the last 16 thanks to Galatasaray s earlier defeat at Lokomotiv Moscow, Porto knew that a victory would secure pole position with a game to spare.

And despite goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann s best efforts, Porto took control when Eder Militao headed home his first goal for the club in the 52nd minute and Jesus Corona made it two three minutes later.

With the crossbar denying Felipe a fluke goal, Nabil Bentaleb s late penalty set up a grandstand finish, but Moussa Marega s stoppage-time strike wrapped up the win.

That moved Sergio Conceicao s men on to 13 points, their only misstep in five …

Dortmund bring in Adeyemi as Haaland replacement

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed the signing of Germany international Karim Adeyemi from Salzburg ahead of Erling Haaland s imminent departure to Manchester City.

Boyhood Dortmund fan Adeyemi completed a medical on Tuesday and has signed a five-year deal with the Bundesliga side, who are reported to have paid an initial €30million.

The 20-year-old s arrival was announced around an hour after City confirmed an agreement has been reached to sign Haaland from Dortmund at the end of the season.

Adeyemi becomes Dortmund s third signing ahead of the transfer window officially opening, following the additions of defensive duo Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck.

After the transfers of Sule and Schlotterbeck, we are getting another very exciting player for ne…