Best Odds: 19/20

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In need of a second-leg comeback at Richmond Park on Thursday night, St. Patrick’s will welcome Dudelange to Ireland for what could be another lively affair.

St. Patrick’s Athletic

Starting with the hosts, missing out on what they had billed as a golden first-leg opportunity last week, St. Patrick’s will know that they face a real uphill battle here. Eventually slumping to a lively 2-1 defeat away in Luxembourg, Jon Daly’s men are still trying to find some stability since returning from June’s international break. Despite entering July with a stunning 7-0 romp against UC Dublin, that is one of just two victories that the Irish outfit have recorded from their previous five appearances across all competitions. Nevertheless, c…

Maurizio Sarri has agreed a two-year extension with Lazio to keep him at the club until June 2025.

Lazio became the 21st club to be managed by Sarri when the Italian was appointed last June on a deal that was set to expire in 2023.

The 63-year-old subsequently guided the Biancocelesti to fifth in Serie A this season, six points behind fourth-placed Juventus, to secure Europa League football next term.

Sarri, the oldest manager to win Serie A after triumphing with Juventus in the 2019-20 season, has notable experience in the Europa League, having lifted the trophy with Chelsea in 2019.

Lazio have committed to invest in the Sarri project after announcing the coach has signed a new contract with the Serie A club, keeping him in charge for the next three se…

Chelsea are preparing to renew deals with several of their players. After Frank Lampard started the season with a lot of youngsters who performed well, the Blues were getting closer to offering new deals to some of those academy graduates. Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham are amongst those who are set for contract extensions, but now the reports are that Chelsea will also offer new deal to Willian.

They are expected to start talks with Brazil international for his new deal, according to the Express. Willian is 31 years old and has been at Chelsea since the summer of 2013, but the problem could be the club policy. Chelsea are known for not wanting to extend contracts for more than a year of those players that are 30 and older.

Willian s contract is set to expire in the su…

Mikel Arteta hailed Gabriel Jesus s chaotic nature after the forward continued his impressive start for new side Arsenal in Saturday s pre-season win over Everton.

The Brazil international, recently signed from Manchester City in a reported £45million deal, made it three goals in two outings as Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners in Baltimore.

Jesus, who scored his first two goals for Arsenal in last week s 5-3 win over Nurnberg, also assisted Bukayo Saka for the Gunners second goal against Everton.

Arteta has been impressed by the 25-year-old s instant impact and in particular his ability to disrupt opposition defences.

He creates chaos, he creates uncertainty and he s always on your shoulder, Arteta said. 

He s always there to nick the ball off yo…

Leicester City appear to be truly interested in signing Adam Lallana from Liverpool when his contract expires this summer. That is, at least, what Leicester Mercury are indicating at the moment.

Lallana came to Liverpool from Southampton in the summer of 2014, when Brendan Rodgers, the Reds boss at the time, sought to bolster their squad with a number of signings to increase depth and try to compensate for the loss of Luis Suarez, who had just made his way to Barcelona. Since then, the versatile midfielder has made a total of 178 appearances for the team now led by Jurgen Klopp, with 44 goal involvements (22 goals and assists each). Rodgers, who made way in the Anfield dugout for Klopp in October 2015, is now in charge of the Foxes, and when asked about Lallana back in February…

Liverpool are expected to make a move for Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde at the end of the season, according to AS.

Having had several unpleasant experiences with Los Blancos in the Champions League since that infamous 2018 final in Kyiv, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is surely aware of the quality of the 24-year-old Uruguay international, particularly after his fine assist for Vinicius Junior s winner in this year s final against the Merseysiders.

Liverpool agreed to pay £85m (add-ons included) this summer for one Uruguayan, striker Darwin Nunez, and they were believed to be willing to pay that much for Valverde as well. However, Real refused to even negotiate on the subject as Casemiro s transfer to Manchester United appeared on the horizon. That was apparentl…

Germany are still waiting for their first Nations League win after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland on Sunday.

The 2014 World Cup winners were relegated from League A in the inaugural 2018-19 Nations League but a change in format to the competition saved them from demotion.

Die Mannschaft s winless run was extended to five games with a draw against Spain on Thursday and they were again frustrated in Basle.

Ilkay Gundogan gave Germany the lead inside the opening quarter of an hour but an inability to convert chances came back to hurt Joachim Low s men as Silvan Widmer s well-taken goal secured a share of the spoils for Switzerland.

Germany dominated possession early on and were rewarded in the 14th minute when Gundogan rounded off a well-worked …

What the papers say

Tammy Abraham, 26, could make a return to Chelsea as Roma look to keep hold of Romelu Lukaku. The Daily Mirror reports the Italian club could offer the England striker in a swap deal for Lukaku, 30, who is currently on loan.

Kalvin Phillips is available for a move from Manchester City – at a price. According to the Daily Mirror, City want £50million for the England midfielder, 27, having paid £42m in 2022.

Arsenal have become the latest team to weigh up a move for Crystal Palace’s England defender Marc Guehi, reports The Sun. Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea have already been linked to the 23-year-old.

Mikel Arteta is also keen on strengthening his midfield options with Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, 24, in his sights…

Sevilla have fired head coach Julen Lopetegui, with a comprehensive 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League proving to be his final game in charge.

Lopetegui led Sevilla to just one win in their first seven games of the season in LaLiga, and widespread reports had suggested he would be relieved of his duties after Wednesday s match.

The former Spain and Real Madrid coach s final game with Sevilla proved to be an unhappy one, as goals from Raphael Guerreiro, Jude Bellingham, Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt saw Dortmund dominate.

Speaking to Movistar after the defeat, Lopetegui revealed: Right now I m still coach of Sevilla but I ve already said goodbye to the team.

I don t get a negative feeling right now. The first thing I feel is gratitu…

Injury has ruled out Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker for more than a fortnight but manager Jurgen Klopp admits it could have been worse and the Brazilian should be fit to face Manchester United next month.

The keeper appeared to sustain a hamstring problem late in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester City and although he managed to complete the match he is set to miss the next five matches – two of which he would not have played in as Caoimhin Kelleher deputises in the Europa League.

Alisson will miss European ties against LASK and Union Saint-Gilloise as well as Premier League games against Fulham, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace but should make a timely return for the visit of their arch-rivals on December 17.

Jürgen Klopp has confirmed both Alisson B…