Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone expects Valencia to be direct in attack when the Spanish clubs meet in the Europa League on Thursday.

Atletico will host the semi-final first leg and Simeone expects Valencia to use longer passes when attacking away from home.

They tried to play quick high passes (the last time they played Atletico) so we ll see tomorrow what they come here to do, the Argentine coach said.

I remember after they played us they went to Barcelona and there they tried to play short passes and that didn t work that well.

I think tomorrow they will try to quick high passes and not play short passes surely.

Either way, Simeone is wary of Valencia s attacking strength, with Roberto Soldado the main threat having scored 26 goals…

Arsenal had Granit Xhaka sent off as they slipped to an insipid 1-0 defeat against Burnley at Emirates Stadium adding to Mikel Arteta s woes.

The Gunners forced Nick Pope into a number of saves, but their hopes of sealing a first Premier League win since the victory over Manchester United on November 1 were hit when Xhaka was dismissed shortly before the hour mark for grabbing Ashley Westwood by the throat.

Their misery was compounded in the 73rd minute when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed into his own net from Ashley Westwood s corner, to the dismay of 2,000 returning Gunners supporters.

Arsenal, who have now lost four consecutive top-flight home games for the first time since December 1959, remain in 15th with 13 points, while the Clarets move up to 17th pl…

“If a club is really interested I am now at an age when we would have to sit down and decide whether the time has come to leave”.

Those are the words of Hoffenheim defender Nico Schulz, who is a primary target for Borussia Dortmund during the upcoming summer transfer window. The 26 year old has been with Hoffenheim since back in 2017, when he made the jump over from Borussia Monchengladbach. Schulz has been a target for Dortmund for quite some time now, and it appears as if they’re finally ready to make a serious move for the German international. At the age of just 26 it already seems like Schulz is one of the most complete and sophisticated defenders in Europe, and if he can carry that form over to a spell with Dortmund, the sky really is the limit.

Either way, …

Lazio manager Maurizio Sarri wants to sign Marcos Alonso from his former club Chelsea, according to . Sairri worked with Alonso at Chelsea, and the Italian tactician has told Lazio to sign the Spain international left-back.

However, it is going to be tough for Lazio to sign Alonso. Chelsea are aiming to reclaim the Premier League title this season and will also be determined to win the Champions League for the second season in a row. Ben Chilwell is also injured now, which means that Alonso, who can operate as a left wing-back, will get playing time under manager Thomas Tuchel.

Alonso has scored one goal and provided one assist in eight Premier League appearances for Chelsea so far this season. The Chelsea no. 3 has made one appearance in the Carabao Cup and four times …

Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has received a first England call-up for three World Cup qualifiers next month.

Bamford has been given the nod by Gareth Southgate for the games against Hungary, Andorra and Poland.

The 27-year-old scored 17 goals in 38 games for Leeds on their return to the Premier League last season.

Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope were also named in a 25-man squad after missing Euro 2020 due to injury, while Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard has been recalled.

There is no place for United s in-form teenage forward Mason Greenwood or Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell.

England boss Southgate said This is a fresh cycle. We were never looking to make a lot of changes. Ben White…

Liverpool suffered another blow to their dwindling Premier League title hopes as Michail Antonio s late header snatched a 2-2 draw for West Ham at London Stadium.

Jurgen Klopp s side disappointed in Wednesday s 2-0 defeat against Everton, with Jarrod Bowen s goal and assist inflicting further pain for the Reds on Saturday.

Liverpool responded well to Bowen s first-half opener, edging ahead through Alphonse Areola s own goal after Andy Robertson s 48th-minute leveller, only for Bowen to tee up Antonio s headed equaliser 13 minutes from time.

This draw left Liverpool two points behind leaders Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ Sunday meeting with Tottenham and one behind Manchester City – who have two games in hand on the Reds – while West Ham remain eighth.

…

Breel Embolo scored the winner against his birth nation as Switzerland beat Cameroon 1-0 at Al Janoub Stadium in their World Cup Group G opener on Thursday.

The Yaounde-born attacker refused to celebrate his second-half tap-in but his goal sparked jubilant scenes for the Swiss at full-time as Murat Yakin s side inflicted Cameroon s eighth successive World Cup defeat, one shy of the record.

The Indomitable Lions had the better of the first half and kept Yann Sommer relatively busy in the Switzerland net, though there were a couple of warning signs for Cameroon just before the break.

Embolo had been involved in one of those incidents and was fittingly the man to break the deadlock in the 48th minute, with Switzerland ultimately good value for the win after an effec…

Zenit St Petersburg have signed Hulk from Porto and Axel Witsel from Benfica, both on five-year deals, for fees of 40 million euros each.

Hulk, 26, will wear the number 29 shirt for Luciano Spalletti s side, who currently sit top of the Russian Premier League after seven games.

Hours after announcing a deal for the Brazilian, Zenit also confirmed the signing of Belgian midfielder Witsel, who will take the number 28 jersey.

It s now official. Both players had signed five-year deals, Zenit spokesman Dmitry Tsimmerman said.

We were trying to sign them before the September 3 deadline for the Champions League so they can play for us in that competition as well as the Russian league.

Having cut his teeth in Japanese football with Kawasaki Fontale, …

Liverpool, Newcastle and Sunderland are all looking at Genoa defender Andreas Granqvist, according to The Sun.

The Sweden international has been in impressive form for il Grifone over the last two years and he is heavily tipped to leave Stadio Luigi Ferraris for greener pastures in the January transfer window.

The Sun understands that a number of Premier League sides could enter a real bidding war for the experienced defender.

Liverpool were the first English club to express interest in the 27-year-old, but Newcastle and Sunderland are also believed to be following the highly rated centre-back.

Andreas Granqvist recently admitted he was flattered by the reported interest from Liverpool, so it appears he prefers a move to the Premiership despite being on …

CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout claimed the federation had to work hard to keep their 4.5 qualifying spots for the World Cup.

The South American federation held onto their allocation of spots for football s showpiece, after the FIFA Congress decided in May that the spots-per-federation allotment would remain the same from the Brazil World Cup through to Qatar.

Napout revealed it was not simply a matter of FIFA signing off on the same numbers, stating CONMEBOL desperately defended the extra half-spot they have held since the 2002 World Cup in South Korea/Japan.

[They] have great value, the 57-year-old told CONMEBOL.com, referring to the half-spots they held onto for the Russia and Qatar World Cups.

They are football conquests in recognition of South…