Everton can take confidence from a comprehensive recent victory over Stoke City ahead of the two sides meeting at the Britannia Stadium.
Roberto Martinez s men recorded a 4-0 home win over Stoke on November 30, courtesy of goals from Gerard Deulofeu, Seamus Coleman, Bryan Oviedo and Romelu Lukaku.
The Merseyside club have claimed 13 points out of a possible 18 since that match and will begin 2014 in fourth, having lost just twice in the Premier League this season the fewest defeats of any top-flight team.
Stoke followed their reverse at Goodison Park with a four-match unbeaten league run, but their momentum has been severely dented by successive heavy reverses at the hands of Newcastle United and Tottenham.
Mark Hughes should at least have a few more options at h…
Owner Katharina Liebherr has assured Southampton supporters she has no intention of selling the Premier League club.
Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese resigned last week following a reported fall-out with Liebherr, sparking fears that manager Mauricio Pochettino could follow.
Pochettino eased those concerns when he insisted he had no intention of quitting, but speculation has mounted that Liebherr, whose father Markus owned the club prior to his death in 2010, is eager to sell.
Liebherr, who took over as non-executive chairman following Cortese s departure, is adamant that is not the case.
In an open letter to fans on the club s official website, she has called for a period of stability following the recent off-field upheaval.
Liebherr said: The past week…
Sami Khedira may have missed Germany s friendly with England but he insists he feels fitter than ever as he prepares to lead the world champions against Azerbaijan.
The Juventus midfielder withdrew from Wednesday s clash against the Three Lions in Dortmund as a precaution, and watched on as Lukas Podolski scored the only goal of the game to mark his final international appearance.
Germany face Azerbaijan in Baku on Sunday in Group C of World Cup qualifying hoping to maintain their 100 per cent record with a fifth successive win.
Coach Joachim Low confirmed the 29-year-old will captain the side and Khedira who suffered cruciate ligament problems earlier in his career is raring to go, insisting he feels in great condition.
It is difficult for me to say t…
Nottingham Forest are closing in on the signing of Hull City striker Matty Fryatt, .
The former Leicester City man is out of contract, and turned down the chance to extend his stay at the KC Stadium, rejecting their offer of a new deal last week.
New Forest boss Stuart Pearce is keen to bolster his attacking options, after a number of the squad from last season weren’t offered new deals with the club.
Fryatt joined Hull in 2011, and went on to score thirty-one goals in ninety-four appearances for the club in all competitions – his last outing coming in the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal at Wembley last month.
Forest finished eleventh in the Championship last season after winning just two of their final sixteen league games, and they can be backed…
Lorenzo Insigne is in the final year of his contract with Napoli and his refusal to sign a new deal is reportedly frustrating the club hierarchy. According to , Inter Milan, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid are all keeping an eye on the situation with the intention of signing him on a free transfer at the end of the season.
The 51-cap Italy international, who played a big role in the country s run to the European title this summer, is a product of the academy at Napoli. He s been on the club s books his entire career, though he had loan spells with Cavesi, Foggia and Pescara. For Napoli, he has so far had 199 goal involvements (111 goals, 88 assists) in 406 appearances in all competitions. This season, he started and captained the team in all nine competitive matches they …
With Ligue 1 really taking center stage this weekend, we are offered a string of noteworthy meetings from across Europe on Saturday. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a weekend acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday 29th August
BST 15:00 Blackburn Rovers vs Doncaster Rovers
While a sluggish back end of the year might have finally cost Blackburn a play-off spot over the summer, Tony Mowbray s men did shock many across the Championship last season. Managing to squeeze in a couple of behind closed doors friendly contest before Saturday s EFL Cup tie, the one-time West Brom boss couldn t have asked for a better preparation as they managed to clinch back-to-back 4-1 and 3-1 victories agains…
Two goals in the final 10 minutes saw AFC Wimbledon emerge 2-0 victors against Notts County in Sky Bet League Two.
Substitute Connell Rawlinson’s own goal saw the visitors lead late on, with on-loan Kofi Balmer’s header doubling the Magpies woes, leaving them winless at home in 2024.
Dons almost found themselves in front within the first minute when Omar Bugiel saw the ball land at his feet inside the area, firing his shot over the crossbar.
Macaulay Langstaff squandered the best chance of the half after a neat one-two inside the area, only to place his effort well over.
The hosts’ top scorer almost made amends early in the second half but was unable to turn home Aaron Nemane’s delivery on the line.
Johnnie Jackson’s side would take the …
Renewed corruption allegations involving FIFA executive members surfaced on Monday just days before they are due to appoint the hosts of football s 2018 and 2022 World Cups under the eyes of world leaders.
The Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported that Ricardo Teixeira of Brazil, African football chief Issa Hayatou and his South American counterpart Nicolas Leoz were tied to a secret list of payments from bankrupt FIFA marketing partner ISMM/ISL a decade ago.
The firm collapsed in 2001 in a storm of controversy over alleged kickbacks for TV rights contracts, prompting a FIFA criminal complaint that was later dropped.
A court in the Swiss canton of Zug eventually handed down fines on three ISMM/ISL executives in 2008 for embezzlement or accounting offences.
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Diego Costa proved to be the scourge of 10-man Arsenal once again by playing a pivotal role in Chelsea s 1-0 Premier League victory at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The Spain striker was embroiled in a spat which saw Arsenal s Gabriel sent off in the champions 2-0 win in September, while also clashing with Laurent Koscielny in that game.
The latter of those confrontations earned him a retrospective three-match ban, but Costa had an even more decisive impact here.
In a five-minute period midway through the first half, Costa drew a professional foul from Per Mertesacker that saw the Arsenal defender sent off, before netting the winning goal from Branislav Ivanovic s excellent delivery.
Even the second-half introduction of Alexis Sanchez featuring for the …
Brazil want Neymar to compete at the Copa America Centenario and Olympic Games this year, according to Brazilian Football Confederation technical director Gilmar Rinaldi.
The Copa America takes place in the United States from June 3-26 and Brazill will play at their home Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino has ruled Lionel Messi out of contention for one of the three spaces available for players over 23-years-old at the Olympics.
However, despite the physical demands it would have on his Barcelona team-mate, Brazil are eager to have Neymar involved for both tournaments.
In principle, yes, [we want Neymar for both tournaments] but we are going to talk with the players and the clubs, Rinaldi told Globo.
It s a …