Chelsea responded to their first Premier League defeat of the season by putting west London rivals Fulham to the sword in a routine 2-0 win.
Maurizio Sarri s men were beaten 3-1 by Tottenham last time out in the league but, after easing to a 4-0 win over PAOK in the Europa League, did not to produce their best to resume normal service.
Pedro pounced on a poor passage of play from the visitors to open the scoring after just four minutes, and an excellent team goal finished off by Ruben Loftus-Cheek made the points safe late on.
Fulham had briefly threatened a leveller before that decisive blow, making it an unhappy return to Stamford Bridge for Claudio Ranieri, whose side remain bottom, while Chelsea at least momentarily move up to third.
It took a mere 22…
Chelsea are considering a surprise loan move for West Ham United forward Andy Carroll, according to the Telegraph.
The Blues failed to score for a third successive game in all competitions after drawing 0-0 with Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon and their top goalscorer Alvaro Morata has just two goals in his last ten appearances.
The reigning champions’ only other recognised striker is Michy Batshuyai has netted just twice in the league and manager Antonio Conte in looking to strengthen his squad this month with Carroll a viable option.
The England international’s West Ham career has been blighted by injury with him playing over half of his sides league games just once since his first season with the club the 2012/13 campaign.
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Juventus full-back Patrice Evra has taken the stance against racism to a brilliant new level in his latest Instagram post.
The France international posted footage of himself dressed in a panda costume a fitting choice for a Bianconeri player and showing off his finest dance moves as Desiigner s hit single Panda plays in the background.
The smiling 35-year-old then removes his head gear to urge followers to say no to racism as he assured them he is full of love .
The post was captioned with the words: Be like my panda!!! I m black,white, Asian and chubby !! SAY NO TO RACISM !!!
Evra s latest anti-racism message follows a post from last week, when he praised striker Luis Suarez for winning the European Golden Shoe award, despite the Uruguayan having been f…
Best odds: 8/11
Bookmaker:
Real Madrid and Borussia Monchengladbach will face each other at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in the final round of the Champions League group stages on Wednesday, in what will be a crucial game for both sides.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid may have won three consecutive Champions League trophies under Zinedine Zidane from 2016 to 2018, and they may be the reigning La Liga champions, but their results have recently been so underwhelming that the Frenchman found himself answering questions in press conferences about the possibility of getting the sack.
Their problems are especially evident in the Spanish top flight, where they were comprehensively beaten (4-1) by Valencia in early November, followed by a 1-1 draw against Villarre…
According to Mundo Deportivo, Spanish giants Barcelona are considering a move for Kalidou Koulibaly. The Napoli defender recently signed a new contract with the Italian club, but as we all know, that doesn t mean all too much in the modern era of professional football. Koulibaly has been looked at by several big clubs around Europe, with Liverpool being big admirers of his work.
The fee is believed to be worth around €65 million if the deal does in fact go ahead, but either way, Napoli fans must be pretty angry about this. They likely would ve assumed that Koulibaly would be remaining in Italy courtesy of his new contract, but it seems as if it is indeed true that when a big club comes in for you it s hard to say no.
The 27 year old has been a rock at the heart of the…
Ulsan emphatically ended Melbourne Victory s chances of escaping Group F with a 6-2 hammering of the Australian side in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday.
Junior Negao and Mislav Orsic struck doubles, while Lim Jong-eun and Kim Seung-jun were also on target to lead the 2012 winners into the knockout stages.
Substitute Kenny Athiu and New Zealand international Kosta Barbarouses grabbed late consolations for third-place Victory, who will be unable to leapfrog the K League 1 side in their final outing due to an inferior head-to-head record.
Ulsan will finish second behind Shanghai SIPG, who were held to a 1-1 home draw by Kawasaki Frontale after Elkeson s 68th-minute opener was cancelled out later by Kei Chinen s header.
Hulk blasted over a first-half pe…
Pumas UNAM have earned a shot at their fourth CONCACAF Champions League title after holding on for a 0-0 draw at Cruz Azul on Tuesday to secure a berth in the final.
The 2020 Mexican Guardianes runners-up, who were reduced to 10 men after Arturo Ortiz s 63rd-minute red card, will face the winner of the tie between New York City and Seattle Sounders.
Seattle won the first leg at home 3-1, with the second leg to be played on Wednesday, ahead of the continental decider with the first leg scheduled for later this month.
Juan Dinneno s double in the first leg gave Pumas the advantage in both scoreline and complexion, in comparison to what was a cagey first leg.
With Cruz Azul needing to chase the game and tie, space was not a premium on Tuesday and it was larg…
Best Odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
Making their final Premier League appearance before heading into the international break, Spurs will welcome Watford to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Tottenham
Starting with the hosts, while Tottenham might have been stunned by that first-leg 1-0 defeat out in Portugal last week, Spurs did manage to complete their European turnaround on Thursday night. Eventually storming their way to a 3-0 romp against Paços Ferreira on home soil, new boss Nuno Espírito Santo saw his side extend on their Conference League adventure. Welcoming back attacking talisman Harry Kane in midweek after what has been a rollercoaster summer for the England skipper, the former Wolves boss should be looking to lay down another marker this …
Giuseppe Rossi has returned to football! After being without a club in the past 18 months, the Italian will be returning to the country of his childhood, the United States, as he has signed a deal with the Major League Soccer outfit Real Salt Lake.
The club announced on Thursday that the Italian striker signed the contract after he was with the squad training this preseason. Real Salt Lake wanted to see the 33-year-old in action and assess how good of a signing he could be and they decided to go for it. Rossi, who last played for Genoa in the 2017-18 season, is now getting his chance to make a big comeback.
He scored 128 goals in his injury-plagued career, across 336 matches. He played for Manchester United, Fiorentina, Villarreal, Celta Vigo. Rossi also scored seven go…
Best Odds: 19/20
Bookmaker:
In what is a heavyweight showdown at the top of the Group A table, Spain will welcome a high-flying Scotland to Sevilla on Thursday night.
Spain
Starting with the hosts, while Spain might have come under real scrutiny earlier in the year as they opened their European Championship qualifying adventure in the midst of a real struggle, La Roja have come roaring back. Crowned Nations League champions back in June as they edged past Croatia, Luis de la Fuente’s side will mark their return on Thursday night looking to lay down a crucial marker. Last seen signing off September’s international break with a rampant 6-0 romp against Cyprus, the former world champions have also found a major clinical edge in the final third. Knowing that th…