Champions League 2019-20 group stage draw in full

Market: Hull City win

Odds: 

In a battle between two sides searching for a play-off charge, Hull will welcome a stalling Nottingham Forest to the KCOM on Boxing Day afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, putting in a dominant display and picking up a 3-0 win over Birmingham on Saturday, there is no doubt that Head Coach Grant McCann will be most impressed by his side s continued success on home soil. Led by leading marksman Jarrod Bowen who has continued to steal the show at the KCOM this season, the Tigers have won four of their last five matches in front of their own supporters, including winning each of their last three straight matches on home soil. Thursday s hosts should also be boosted by their most recent meeting against Forest back in October. When the two…

Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez has been linked with a return to the Premier League on numerous occasions

Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez seems to have thrown doubt over his future in Germany by failing to confirm his loyalty to Bayer.

The 28-year-old has two years left on his contract but has stated he is not sure if he will stay, because of past experiences.

Unsure about future

The striker has moved clubs on deadline day in both 2014 and 2015, so is unsure over whether he will still be with Leverkusen when the transfer window shuts.

Hernandez is quoted in Marca as saying: “You never know in football. In the last two years, I have changed [teams] on the last day of the transfer window. I thought that I was go…

World footballers union FIFPro has contacted FIFA over a drugs ban handed to Paolo Guerrero that could see the Peru captain miss the World Cup.

Guerrero tested positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine after Peru s World Cup qualifier against Argentina in October 2017.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport then upheld an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency to extend Guerrero s suspension to 14 months.

Guerrero is set to miss the World Cup as a result, an outcome FIFPro previously described as  unfair and disproportionate .

And the organisation has now contacted FIFA in a bid to have Guerrero s ban overturned, so he can go to the World Cup with Peru.

We are hoping for a breakthrough in the next 24-48 hours, FIFPro said in a brief stat…

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard insists he can bring success to Stamford Bridge this season despite the club s transfer embargo.

The Blues have been banned from registering new players for two consecutive transfer windows after FIFA found them guilty of breaching regulations relating to the signing of under-18s.

Chelsea have lodged an appeal against the ban with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), having denied any wrongdoing.

Lampard, who took over after Maurizio Sarri left at the end of 2018-19, will be expected to challenge for honours in his first term in charge but is facing an immediate disadvantage given Eden Hazard has left for Real Madrid and no further reinforcements can be made.

However, the former midfielder has total confidence in the player…

Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar kick of their first ever campaign in the Champions League tonight against Greek side Olympiakos. They will also face Belgian champions Standard Liege and Premier League Arsenal in what will prove a tough entrey in to the Europe s top continental competition.

Dutch teams have a big history in European competitions with Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord all winning the European Cup in its many different guises. However in recent years the Dutch domestic game has deteriorated and with it the clubs performances in Europe have suffered.

The Eredivisie competitive but of a poor standard

It could be argued that the Dutch Eredivisie is one of the most competitive leagues in Europe. Last season saw AZ chased by FC Twente managed by the Wally with the Bro…

The Scottish Premier League (SPL) announced Thursday they would not have a winter break next season although it could return for the following campaign.

The SPL s announcement, which stunned the Scottish Football Association (SFA), came at the same time as they revealed the 2009/10 top-flight season would start on August 8 and conclude on the weekend of May 8.

An SPL board meeting here Thursday decided the early finish to the season dictated by the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa would make a winter break impossible.

Other details of fixture dates will be announced in due course, an SPL statement said.

But season 2009/10 will not include a winter break, given the constraints presented by the early finish to the season required by FIFA (fo…

Saint Etienne are closing in on the signature of Nice midfielder Valentin Eysseric, .

Les Verts front line has undergone major changes this summer, with Mevlut Erding, Allan Saint-Maximin, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Max Gradel all leaving.

The club in turn recruited the likes of Nolan Roux, Neal Maupay and Jean-Cristophe Bahebeck, but they remain in the market for attack-minded footballers.

According to the latest reports, Saint Etienne are in advanced talks for Nice midfielder Valentin Eysseric, who should soon be arriving at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The 23-year-old has informed the club chiefs that he wants to join les Verts this summer and they are unlikely to stand in his way.

The former France Under-21 international joined Nice from Monaco in…

Croatia international striker Andrej Kramaric is on the verge of completing a January move to English Premier League strugglers Leicester City.

Kramaric, who was reportedly set to join Chelsea in a £7.5 million deal this week, will now move to the King Power Stadium after impressing at HNK Rijeka this season.

The highly-rated 23-year-old will compete with the likes of David Nugent, Leonardo Ulloa, and Jamie Vardy for place in the Foxes first-team.

Kramaric bagged 28 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions for Rijeka in 2014/15.

Podolski joins Internazionale

Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski has joined Italian Serie A side Internazionale Milano on loan until the end of the season.

The Germany international, 29, has comple…

Paul Pogba claimed he is the most criticised player on the planet, despite two key contributions in France s unconvincing 2-1 win over Australia at the World Cup.

The Manchester United midfielder played in Antoine Griezmann for the forward to win a penalty for France s opening goal, before later seeing his deflected shot go in via the underside of the crossbar for the winner.

The 25-year-old had an inconsistent season for club and country in 2017-18, but despite his performances continuously coming under the microscope, Pogba says he pays no attention.

It seems I have less right than others to make mistakes, he told Telefoot.

It s funny. I went from the biggest transfer in the world, to the most criticised player in the world. The critics will always be…

Atalanta are preparing for their first ever season in the UEFA Champions League! After their record-breaking third place in Serie A 2018-19, Atalanta are about to feature in the group stages of the elite European competition and for that they will need some experience. Martin Skrtel is supposed to have plenty of it, as he became the new signing of the Italian club.

Former Liverpool centre-back signed for Atalanta as a free agent, following his departure from Fenerbahce. The Slovakian veteran played for three seasons in Turkey and after his contract expired, he was free to choose his next destination. Atalanta came knocking on his door, as they are trying to improve their squad ahead of historic season.

Skrtel had spent eight seasons at Liverpool, playing in the Premier …