Anthony Martial could leave Manchester United next summer

Carlo Ancelotti snapped back at suggestions Karim Benzema is playing less for Real Madrid as a precautionary measure ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup with France.

The veteran forward has not played since a 3-0 win over Elche in LaLiga almost a fortnight ago, instead reduced to a spectator on the sidelines for Los Blancos with a hamstring problem.

With the World Cup set to start later this month, Benzema – who was omitted from Didier Deschamps title-winning squad at Russia 2018 – is hopeful of making the cut.

Speaking ahead of Madrid s Champions League clash with Celtic on Wednesday, Ancelotti shut down discussions the Ballon d Or winner has been absent in order to facilitate his ticket to Qatar.

Benzema hasn t played because he s picked up a couple …

Villarreal have appointed former Barcelona boss Quique Setien as their new head coach following Unai Emery s decision to leave for Aston Villa.

The Premier League club appointed Villarreal s 2021 Europa League-winning coach on Monday after sacking Steven Gerrard, but the Yellow Submarine have moved quickly to secure a successor.

A statement released on Villarreal s website on Tuesday confirmed Setien had signed a contract to run until the end of the 2023-24 season.

Setien built a reputation for favouring an attractive, possession-based style during a two-year spell with Real Betis, but has not coached since enduring an ill-fated stint at Camp Nou during the 2019-20 campaign.

Setien s final game at Barca was their historic 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in th…

African teams should be confident of going far in the World Cup, and even winning the tournament, according to Senegal boss Aliou Cisse.

Senegal beat hosts Qatar 3-1 on Friday to get their first points on the board in Group A.

The Africa Cup of Nations winners lost star player Sadio Mane to injury before the start of the World Cup, and were unable to put away their chances in an opening loss against the Netherlands.

But Cisse believes his team, as well as other African sides in action in the Middle East – Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia – should have faith they can challenge the top nations.

Cisse pointed to the shock wins for Japan and Saudi Arabia, over Germany and Argentina respectively, as evidence to support his claim.

Just look at …

Manchester United are interested in signing Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Sporting want as much as €100 million for the striker, and that former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners are willing to pay that.

Gyokeres has been on the books of Sporting since the summer of 2023 when he joined from Coventry City. The striker has been playing well for the Portuguese giants this season. The 25-year-old has scored 10 goals and given five assists in 13 Portuguese league matches and has scored three goals and given one assist in five UEFA Europa League games this season.

United are seventh in the Premier League table at the moment with 31 points from 19 matches, six points behind fourt…

Leeds United are in advanced talks with RB Salzburg over the proposed transfer of Maximilian Wober, according to Sky Sports.

Born in the Austrian capital, Wober played for several clubs a various youth levels and his emergence as a professional player came with Rapid Vienna in January 2016. He moved on to Ajax 18 months later and played for Sevilla as well before returning to his homeland to join Salzburg in the summer of 2019. Since then, he s made a total of 129 appearances for the club in all competitions, with nine goals and as many assists to his name.

Standing 6 2 tall, Wober is primarily a centre-back, but being left-footed and boasting considerable pace for his frame, he is also well-suited to play on the left defensive flank and that s the role he s mostly been…

Ryan Lowe lauded Emil Riis after the striker scored his first goal in more than 15 months to help Preston win 2-0 at Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Danish forward fired beyond Jak Alnwick in the 30th minute to put the Lilywhites ahead against the run of play at Cardiff City Stadium – with Ben Whiteman notching Preston’s second five minutes before the break.

It was Riis’ first goal since returning from a year-long lay-off due to a knee injury, with his last strike coming against Middlesbrough in October 2022.

And boss Lowe said Preston are doing everything in their power to mould Riis into the “perfect” centre-forward.

“We’ve all been waiting for Emil to come back,” said Lowe. “He looked strong physically, I’m pleased with his…

Liverpool made a winning return to Premier League action as Mohamed Salah starred and Stefan Bajcetic scored his first senior goal in an entertaining 3-1 Boxing Day win at Aston Villa.

Salah handed Liverpool a strong start when he converted Andrew Robertson s delivery from close range – making the left-back the defender with the most Premier League assists in history.

The Egypt star then teed up Virgil van Dijk to steer home a deflected second, though Liverpool came under pressure after Ollie Watkins halved the arrears with just over half an hour remaining.

However, Jurgen Klopp s side made the points safe late on as substitute Bajcetic rounded Robin Olsen to score his first Premier League goal, moving Liverpool within five points of the top four.

goals…

Ange Postecoglou has insisted Champions League qualification is not the equivalent of a Willy Wonka golden ticket and will be meaningless unless Tottenham can build on it this summer.

Spurs travel to Aston Villa on Sunday with both clubs vying for fourth spot, which will guarantee a place in Europe’s elite competition.

Fifth could also secure Champions League football, but Postecoglou – without naming them – cited Manchester United and Newcastle as examples of teams who have failed to kick on after finishing in the top four last season.

Ange provides the latest team news ahead of , including an update on Pedro Porro

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

“There are a couple of teams who got into the Champions League this year from last y…

Luciano Spalletti praised Napoli s supporters for helping his side lift their levels after they cruised to a 3-0 win over Cremonese in Serie A.

Goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen and Eljif Elmas saw the league leaders extend their advantage to 16 points at the summit.

After losing to their rock-bottom visitors in the Coppa Italia last month, the hosts were able to take their revenge at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

But it came after something of a loose start, with Spalletti praising encouragement from supporters as key to helping his team focus in the second half.

Our city, our fans, they care about what we are doing here, he told DAZN. [They understand] the possibility that we can do important things.

Everyone could see, perhaps…

Market: Elche win

Odds: 17/20 @

Two sides who find themselves scrapping it out at opposite ends of the Segunda table, Elche will welcome Albacete to the Estadio Martínez Valero on Sunday evening.

Starting with the hosts, while Elche might have lost their La Liga status with a real whimper last season, Sebastian Beccacece s men have their sights firmly set on securing an immediate top-flight return. In the midst of what has been a real Segunda romp this time around, Los Franjiverdes will certainly be smelling the chance to make another statement here. Last seen putting in another rugged performance away at Villarreal B as they secured a 1-0 victory, the mood in Beccacece s camp should be at a red-hot high. Opening March with a thumping 3-0 win against Alcorcon, …