Chelsea midfielder N Golo Kante is a 50-50 chance to overcome a knee issue in time to face Arsenal in the Europa League final, according to Maurizio Sarri.

Kante sustained the problem in training over the weekend and remains a doubt for Wednesday s clash in Baku.

The France international only recently recovered from a hamstring injury that forced him out him of the second leg of the semi-final triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt and the subsequent Premier League draw at Leicester City.

Kante has been a regular in Sarri s first season in charge, starting 46 times in all competitions, and the Italian admitted his absence would be a blow to an injury-hit area of the pitch.

He had a very little problem in his knee on Saturday, Sarri said at his pre-match news …

Claudio Marchisio has left Serie A champions Juventus after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

The 32-year-old midfielder, capped 55 times by Italy, made his first-team breakthrough in 2006-07 as Juve tackled Serie B in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal.

He spent the following season on loan at Empoli and returned to become a first-team fixture in Turin, making a total of 389 appearances, scoring 37 goals.

Marchisio won the first of seven consecutive Scudetti in 2011-12 and also has four winners medals from the Coppa Italia.

Injury problems have blighted him, however, particularly in the aftermath of a ruptured cruciate ligament suffered in April 2016.

25 unforgettable years in black and white draw to a close for  

Thank you …

Pep Guardiola insists Bayern Munich and Liverpool still set the standard for his Manchester City side despite their dominant form.

City hold a 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League ahead of Tuesday s home game against Wolves, where they will chase a 21st consecutive win in all competitions.

That would bring them closer to the top five European leagues record of 23 that Bayern Munich established on their way to a treble last season.

Guardiola s men beat Liverpool 4-1 as part of their ongoing run, with Jurgen Klopp s injury-hit side having stumbled out of the title race this time around.

After Saturday s 2-1 win against West Ham, Hammers boss David Moyes hailed City as Europe s best but Guardiola insists his team s form will count for nothing unles…

Manchester United welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday, with the great rivals separated by a mammoth gap after hugely contrasting starts to the season.

Unbeaten Liverpool have pulled away from United in recent times and are 15 points ahead of the Red Devils after the opening eight games.

Back in 2014, Liverpool finished the season with a 20-point advantage over United as they came second behind Manchester City in an engrossing title race.

Liverpool s superiority has been even more keenly felt this year and in the 2018-19 season they ended 31 points clear of United, with their squad set up to contend domestically and in the Champions League in the current campaign.

United, meanwhile, appear desperately short on the quality needed to challenge on …

Best Odds: 4/11

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Turning their attention to EFL Cup action on Wednesday night, the Owls will travel to the MKM Stadium when they meet Hull.

Hull City

Starting with the hosts, while Hull might have gained a string of plaudits last season, the Tigers are getting a new era underway at the MKM Stadium. Shockingly making the decision to part ways with now-former boss Liam Rosenior over the summer, Tim Walter finds a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders. Missing out on the chance to lay down an early marker over the weekend as they had to settle for a 1-1 stalemate at home against Bristol City, the one-time Stuttgart manager has drastically struggled to make any real impact since arriving in Yorkshire. Failing to win any of their six pre-season appearan…

Arsenal bounced back from their draw with Crystal Palace by beating League One side Blackpool 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals, as both teams had a player sent off.

Unai Emery s side saw their 11-match winning run come to an end at Selhurst Park on Sunday, but they avoided falling short for a second game in a row, even if the performance left a lot to be desired.

An otherwise unremarkable first half was punctuated by Stephan Lichtsteiner s first goal for the club and 18-year-old Emile Smith Rowe seemingly wrapped things up in the 50th minute.

But Matteo Guendouzi s red card just before the hour for two cheap bookings boosted the visitors and they pulled one back through Paudie O Connor soon afterwards. 

They could not forc…

Wayne Rooney claimed his first win in charge of Plymouth Argyle with a 3-0 victory over fourth-tier Cheltenham Town in the first round of the EFL Cup.

Manchester United and England great Rooney was appointed as Plymouth boss ahead of the 2024-25 season, returning to the Championship after an unsuccessful stint at Birmingham City last season.

But the former striker s league bow saw Plymouth thrashed 4-0 at Sheffield Wednesday, with Rooney criticising his players following the first match of the campaign.

This cup meeting with Cheltenham eased the pressure on Rooney and Plymouth a little, however, even if they had to wait until past the hour mark for Ben Waine s breakthrough goal.

Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu then added to the scoring in the final 10 minu…

Kalvin Phillips is incredibly excited by the prospect of working under Pep Guardiola after completing his move to world-class club Manchester City on Monday.
The England midfielder joined from Leeds United on a six-year deal at the Etihad Stadium and is the Premier League champions third signing of the window after Erling Haaland and Stefan Ortega.
Phillips had been with his home club since the age of 14 but the opportunity to work with one of the game s greatest coaches was an opportunity that was too good to pass up.
City have again proved to be the best team in the country with an amazing squad and a manager in Pep Guardiola who is rightly considered to be the finest in the world, Phillips told the club s website.
To be able to play under Pep and learn from him and his coaching st…

Verdict: Draw

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After playing out a 0-0 draw at Molineux last week, runaway Championship leaders Wolves will make the journey to the Liberty Stadium to face off with a Swansea side who still find themselves sat at the foot of the Premier League table. For the winner on Wednesday night, the victors will face a League Two Notts County in the fourth round.

Swansea

For the Swans, former Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal is the man entrusted to guide Swansea to Premier League safety. After picking up just five points out of an available 39, Paul Clements tenure at the Liberty Stadium came to an end in December. Although Swansea have recently shown some brief signs of life, Carvalhal s new team still remain bottom of the Premie…

Enzo Maresca insisted Chelsea were equal to the masterful Manchester City in the aftermath of Sunday s 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian started his Blues tenure with a loss as Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scored in either half for the Premier League champions in their 2024-25 opener.

Chelsea mustered 1.23 expected goals (xG), however, to City s 0.82 and almost drew level when Nicolas Jackson had a strike ruled out for offside on the stroke of half-time.

Jackson was again denied by Ederson after the interval, while Enzo Fernandez s cross would have found debutant Pedro Neto for a tap-in if not for Rico Lewis late intervention.

Former Leicester City boss Maresca believes his side matched City s efforts, yet the game was decided by the quality of…