Rodrigo leaves Leeds to join Qatari side Al-Rayyan

Andrea Pirlo says Antonio Conte is the person who inspired him to move into coaching and is fully aware of the mind games being used by the Inter boss ahead of Sunday s Derby d Italia.

Midfield great Pirlo worked under Conte for Juventus and Italy during his illustrious playing career before retiring in 2017 and taking up his first managerial role with Juve last August.

Pirlo has made an inconsistent start to life in the Allianz Stadium dugout, but his side have won their last three league games to move to within four points of second-place Inter with a game in hand.

Despite being a further three points behind leaders Milan, Conte suggested ahead of Juve s trip to San Siro that the reigning champions remain the Scudetto favourites given they have won it nine year…

Manchester United and Chelsea are set to do battle for the signing of West Ham star Declan Rice.

Rice, 22, is being touted for a move in the close season, with Chelsea having reportedly led the race for the midfielder s signature.

But United could be ready to fight for the England international.

TOP STORY – MAN UTD TO CHALLENGE CHELSEA FOR RICE

Manchester United are prepared to challenge Chelsea to sign Rice ahead of 2021-22, according to ESPN.

The report says United are eyeing a forward, centre-back and defensive midfielder as priorities at the end of the season.

Rice is contracted at West Ham, where he arrived as a youth player from Chelsea in 2014, until 2024.

ROUND-UP

Eric Garcia looks set to f…

Gareth Southgate is set to bring up 50 games in charge when England start their qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup.

San Marino are the visitors to Wembley Stadium for the milestone match, with Southgate the seventh to make it to a half-century at the helm for England.

His record so far is impressive: 29 wins, 10 draws and 10 defeats. He has also introduced some notable names to international football, many of which will form the backbone for the Three Lions in this year s delayed Euro 2020 tournament. 

In total, 42 players have made their senior debuts under the current boss. Plenty have made an impact, though some have fallen by the wayside since getting a taste of the senior team. 

79 Jadon Sancho has been involved in 79 league goals bef…

Gareth Bale s return to English football coincided with a Tottenham implosion against West Ham, as David Moyes  team earned a place in Premier League history. 

From 3-0 behind after 81 minutes, West Ham incredibly scrambled a 3-3 draw from their trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

No team in the Premier League had ever previously come from so far back, so late in a game, to avoid defeat. 

Burnley are now the only team without a point in the Premier League after Sheffield United and Fulham both got off the mark in a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane, while Brighton and Hove Albion had 20 times as many shots as Crystal Palace in their Selhurst Park battle but also finished in stalemate. 

Aston Villa, meanwhile, have joined early leaders Everton in sending …

Prediction: Match to end in 1-1 draw

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VfB Stuttgart and Werder Bremen will face each other in the Bundesliga this coming weekend. The match between Die Roten and Die Werderaner will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Arena and is scheduled to kick off at 2:30pm UK the on Sunday.

VfB Stuttgart

VfB Stuttgart are one of the biggest clubs in Germany, but they are in real danger of getting relegated to the second division at the end of the season. Die Roten wet down to 2. Bundesliga at the end of the 2018-19, but they went back up again. And now they could suffer relegation again.

Bruno Labbadia’s side are 15th in the Bundesliga table at the moment with 16 points from 18 matches. VfB Stuttgart are level on points with 16th-pla…

Atletico Mineiro have reached an agreement to sign Diego Costa as a free agent, according to . The final details of the terms will soon be thrashed out and the official announcement should come some time next week, as soon as the medical is completed.

The 32-year-old striker started out at Barcelona Esporte Clube in Brazil, from where he joined Braga in Portugal in the winter of 2006. A year and a half later, he signed for Atletico Madrid and had numerous loan spells before establishing himself as a regular starter under Diego Simeone. Having just helped the Rojiblancos win the La Liga title in 2014, he joined Chelsea for €38m and over the following four years, he won two Premier League titles and one League Cup.

He returned to Atletico for €60m in January 2018 to h…

Arsenal could sell Callum Wilson for £18 million in the final days of the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Arsenal have been alerted to the availability of the 31-year-old England international striker.

The report has claimed that Arsenal are on the hunt for a new striker in the middle of the season. Newcastle have to raise money to stay in line with Premier League profit and sustainability rules. The Magpies are ready to cash in on Wilson now.

Wilson has been on the books of Newcastle since 2020. The 31-year-old is an important player in Eddie Howe’s side, but the England international striker has had injury problems during his time at St. James’ Park. Wilson has made 215 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career, sc…

Harry Kane can still be a trophy winner with Tottenham and deserves a statue in his honour, according to club chairman Daniel Levy.

Levy addressed the Cambridge Union and told an audience of students Kane should also consider it significant that he has legend status already with the north London giants.

The 29-year-old England captain has been linked with a host of bigger clubs, including Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, and his contract is due to expire at the end of next season.

He has never won a major title with Spurs, although he has become the club s record scorer, overtaking Jimmy Greaves in February of this year.

He can absolutely win a trophy at Spurs, Levy said of Kane.

But being a legend is also important. The…

Bayern Munich defender David Alaba has not signed any agreement with Real Madrid, according to his father and advisor.

Spanish publication Marca, which is known for its links to Madrid, claimed on Monday that a deal had been agreed between the club and player for a move at the end of the season.

Alaba s contract expires in June and is therefore free to discuss terms with other clubs, Bayern having seemingly exhausted all chances of a renewal.

The Austria international s future has been a source of speculation for much of the last year, but Bayern insisted throughout that they would not be held to ransom and a departure now looks the likeliest option.

But Alaba s father, who also acts as an advisor, has given hope to other interested parties, adamant nothi…

England take on Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the key tournament statistics with one game remaining.

Goals

The 63 matches prior to the final have seen 163 goals scored, an average of 2.59 per game.

That is significantly lower than last summer’s European Championship, won by the Lionesses on home soil, when there was an average of just over three goals per game – 95 in 31.

While that was higher than the last men’s Euros – averaging 2.78 goals per game (142 in 51) – this summer has seen fewer goals than at the most recent men’s World Cups. The 2022 event in Qatar saw 172 goals in 64 games (2.69 per game), three more than in 2018 (169, 2.64 per game).

Spain lead the way with 17, with Japan mana…