BREAKING NEWS: Willian signs new four-year Chelsea deal

Tuesday in Russia was the first rest day of the Confederations Cup and, with no football games to occupy them, journalists in Moscow and Sochi liberally filled their faces.

Take a look at the lavish delicacies on offer at the Otkrytiye Arena as part of FIFA s Welcome Brunches . They took place in the afternoon and occurred three days too late to be a welcome but pedants tend to pipe down when there s a free lunch on offer.

The Kazan pack will have their chance tomorrow, while Sochi s Deputy Mayor Sergey Yurchenko and venue manager Andrey Markov could not hit the buffet quick enough following some tricky questions from reporters. As the old saying doesn t quite go, you give someone an miniature sandwich, they take a mile.

CAVI-AAAH THAT’S TASTY

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Competition: Europa League qualifier
Market: FC Midtjylland to win against Derry City
Odds:

FC Midtjylland welcome Derry City to the MCH Arena in the first leg of the first round of the Europa League qualifiers this evening, and are big favourites to see past their Irish opposition given the gulf in class between the two sides. FC Midtjylland were in the Europa League two seasons ago while Derry are 247 places lower in the UEFA club coefficient rankings.

As for the hosts, Jess Thorup’s FC Midtjylland side are coming off the back off four wins from their last five games in their domestic league, keeping clean sheets in their previous two. The Danish Superligaen side famously beat Manchester United in the first leg of their last-32 clash in 2015/16 and made …

Best Odds: 3/4

Bookmaker:

Looking to clinch back-to-back MLS victories in the early hours of Thursday, Atlanta will welcome New York City to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Atlanta United

Starting with the hosts, while Atlanta might have come under plenty of scrutiny last season as they missed out on a play-off spot, the Five Stripes have made plenty of improvements since opening the 2023 campaign. Last seen heading into the international break with an eye-catching display on home soil as they breezed their way to a 3-1 romp against DC United, Gonzalo Pineda’s men will be smelling the chance to make another statement here. Sat firmly in pole position to clinch a top-seven finish in the Eastern Conference this season, Atlanta mark their return on Thursday in the mi…

Market: Coventry win

Odds: 4/5 @

Looking to extend on their October purple patch in midweek, Coventry will host Rotherham on Tuesday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Coventry might still find themselves battling it out in the drop zone, the Blues are enjoying an eye-catching October flurry. Still holding a trio of games in hand over the teams battling them out in the bottom-three scrap, Mark Robins men will be smelling the chance to lay down another marker on Tuesday night. Last seen over the weekend putting in another rugged display as they eventually picked up a 2-0 victory away at Stoke, the one-time Huddersfield boss should find the mood in his camp at a real high. Shocking many across the Championship earlier in the month as they picked up back-to-back…

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler has verbally accepted an offer to stay with A-League club Perth Glory next season.

The Glory have been in discussions with Fowler since at least last December as the striker, who turns 36 on Saturday, weighed up whether to spend one more season in the A-League or head back to the United Kingdom to further his coaching ambitions.

With the A-League in a long off-season remission before the new campaign starts in October, Fowler has joined MK Dons as part of Karl Robinson s backroom staff, while he will also spend the next week at Bury assisting caretaker manager Richie Barker.

But despite having taken some steps towards becoming a coach after retirement, Fowler has given the clearest indication yet that he wants to play out o…

Prediction: Romania to win 1-0

Best Odds:

Bookmaker: 

Croatia and Romania will face each other in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship this week. The Group B match between Dragan Skočić’s side and Emil Săndoi’s team will be held at Stadionul Steaua in Bucharest, Romania and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Tuesday.

Croatia

Croatia have one of the best senior national teams at the moment and regularly go deep into major competitions. In Luka Modric, the country boasts a living legend and one of the greatest midfielders of all time. However, the Under-21 side are not having the best of times and are leaving a lot to be desired for.

Dragan Skočić’s side are really struggling at the ongoing 2023 UEFA European Under-…

Spain had an uplifting conversation after their inexplicable 5-1 loss to the Netherlands, according to coach Vicente del Bosque.

The reigning world and European champions were stunned as Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben netted braces in the Group B clash on Friday.

Del Bosque said his players had discussed the loss in the dressing room after the defeat left them in a delicate situation ahead of matches against Chile and Australia.

I feel bad, I’m disappointed but with enough courage to get over the defeat. We came out well and then the first half ended in a draw, he told TVE.

The dressing room has responded well because we’re a squad of professionals and good guys, both those who’ve played and those that didn’t. There are not accusatory glares.

The…

It seems as if every calendar day, Liverpool are linked with a new player. Most recently, the Reds have been strongly linked to Newcastle United left-back Jose Enrique. According to the Daily Mail, the Merseysiders have agreed to a £10 million deal to lure the defender to Anfield. Enrique was also being chased by Chelsea and Arsenal. The Gunners, who lost Gaël Clichy to Manchester City, were is dire need to strengthen their back four. Enrique is one of many signings made by manager Kenny Dalglish in an attempt to return to the top of the perch and qualify for Champions League football.

Earlier this summer, Dalglish was able to land four new players for Liverpool including: Charlie Adam, Alexander Doni, Stewart Downing, and Jordan Henderson. The question remains, are …

Barcelona star Neymar has voiced dismay with his treatment in sections of the media following his involvement in a number of legal cases, insisting he is not a criminal . 

The attacker s transfer from Santos to Camp Nou in 2013 has been the subject of legal cases in Spain and Brazil, with Neymar and his father accused of tax evasion. 

As part of the investigation, the federal court of Sao Paulo ordered assets belonging to the Brazil captain to the tune of just under €45million to be frozen in February. 

Barca agreed in June to pay a fine of €5.5m in order to close legal proceedings in Spain, but the case in Sao Paulo remains open.

Neymar is confident the matter will be resolved soon, though, insisting he is innocent.

I have not done anythi…

Manchester United scored two late goals in the space of five minutes as they came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Burnley at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood appeared to have set Burnley on course for a first away win against United since September 1962 and inflict a first defeat on caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

However, Paul Pogba s 87th-minute penalty and an injury-time strike from Victor Lindelof his first for the club salvaged a point for the home side that could yet prove important in the race for the top four.

Marcus Rashford scuffed a glorious early chance wide and Barnes could have punished that miss were it not for a vital interception by the returning Phil Jones.

Pogba had the ball in the net but was pulled up by a …