City no more special than United, Arsenal and Chelsea – Hodgson

Aston Villa s clash with Newcastle United has become the first Premier League match this season to be postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak within one of the teams.

Newcastle say there are several players and staff members self-isolating after returning positive tests in recent days.

The club s training ground has been closed in an effort to contain the outbreak, which has hampered the squad s ability to train and prepare for Friday s game at Villa Park.

Newcastle lodged a request with the Premier League to have the game moved, which was accepted on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Premier League Board said it agreed that Newcastle were  unable to train and adequately and safely prepare for their match on Friday .

The statement added: The decision …

Derby County have announced that manager Gary Rowett has signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract.

Rowett was linked with the vacant position at Stoke City after impressing during his time at Pride Park, in which he has guided Derby to second place in the Championship table.

However, the 43-year-old insists he is eager to help the Rams in their promotion push, despite being flattered by reported interest from Premier League clubs.

I would like to thank my immediate staff and back-office teams who have been a massive factor in our progress to date, and will be a critical part of our success moving forward, he told Derby s official website.

The first-team squad have also been superb to work with and have really embraced the changes we felt were necessa…

Liverpool will take a strong squad to the Club World Cup later this month as expected, meaning a youthful selection will contest the EFL Cup clash with Aston Villa.

Jurgen Klopp s European champions are due to play their Club World Cup semi-final in Qatar on December 18, the day after going up against Villa in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

Liverpool had attempted to get the trip to Villa Park rescheduled on account of the fixture clash, but the EFL were unable to facilitate such a move following discussions.

As such, Klopp previously stated he would have to name two separate squads for the matches.

Our confirmed 23-man squad for the forthcoming FIFA Club World Cup

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

Thursday s confirmation of a strong first-choice sq…

Goalline technology will be available in all three Football League play-off finals as the season draws to a close.

The stakes could not be higher in Saturday s Championship final as Derby County face QPR at Wembley for a place in the Premier League.

Leyton Orient and Rotherham United clash one day later in the League One play-off final before Burton Albion and Fleetwood Town wrap up the action on Monday in the League Two showdown.

And the Football League announced on Friday that goalline technology would be used in the season-ending matches.

Hawkeye s goal decision system was first tested at Wembley in 2012 and with the use of cameras, sends a signal to a watch worn by the referee if the ball crosses the line.

Commenting on the announcement, Football League…

Reading have reportedly tabled an eight-million-pound bid for Blackpool star Tom Ince.

The Premier League strugglers have made a formal move for the long-term Liverpool target as they attempt to increase their creative options in the final days of the windows.

However, Goal.com understands Ince is holding out for a return to Anfield, as the Reds bidded for the Blackpool winger earlier this month but have not been able to agree a deal.

Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston, widely regarded as a difficult negotiator, had indicated he would not stand in the way of Ince completing a move to Anfield 18 months after he joined the Seasiders for 250,000 pounds.

But the switch had been held up by Blackpool s request to have a sell-on clause inserted into the deal for th…

Callum Wilson is in line for an England recall as boss Gareth Southgate waits on Jude Bellingham’s fitness.

Newcastle striker Wilson has scored 11 goals since he was overlooked for the European Championship qualifying wins against Italy and Ukraine in March.

On Wednesday Southgate names his squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers in Malta on June 16 and at home to North Macedonia in Manchester on June 19, with England top of Group C.

He keeps on delivering when it matters!

…

Julen Lopetegui claimed Wolves were denied a very, very clear penalty by referee Andy Madley in Sunday s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United.

Wolves were furious in January when they had a late goal disallowed for offside against Liverpool in the FA Cup at Anfield, and they remain convinced that was an injustice.

Madley was also the man in the middle that time, with Wolves denied what would almost certainly have been a winning goal as the game finished 2-2, with Liverpool going on to edge the replay 1-0 at Molineux.

That incident has not been forgotten by Lopetegui, and he was aghast at Wolves being denied a spot-kick early on against Newcastle at St James Park.

Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope took a poor touch and gave away the ball to Wolves striker Raul Jime…

Former Real Madrid striker currently plying his trade at Juventus is nearing an important crossroad in his professional career.

Los Blancos have sold the Spanish striker in the summer of 2014 but have included a buy-back option believed to be worth around €30 million for the player who went on to become one of Europe’s hottest properties.

, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have already contacted Morata’s representatives eager to splash out on the talented forward. Real Madrid apparently intend to activate their buy-back clause in order to sell Morata for a fee that is likely to be in excess of €60 million which would make a healthy profit for the Spanish giants.

Arsene Wenger is looking to bring fresh blood in attack and offer support for Olivier Giroud, …

Louis van Gaal has been sacked as Manchester United manager after two years in charge.

The former Netherlands boss arrived at the club s training ground in Carrington shortly before 0900GMT and was informed that his contract would be terminated a year early.

United later confirmed the news in a statement, more than three hours after Van Gaal had left their base.

Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward said: I would like to thank Louis and his staff for their excellent work in the past two years culminating in winning a record-equalling 12th FA Cup for the club (and securing him a title in four different countries).

He has behaved with great professionalism and dignity throughout his time here. He leaves us with a legacy of having given several young players …

Boca Juniors and Corinthians drew 1-1 in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final at the Bombonera Stadium on Wednesday.

Fernando Roncaglia had given Boca a 73nd minute lead before substitute Romarinho levelled proceedings with five minutes remaining.

Boca, six-times winners of the South American club competition, were coming up against a struggling Corinthians side sitting in the relegation zone of the Brazilian Serie A.

Throughout the first half, the hosts dominated possession but were unable to create any clear chances.

Boca went into the break with nothing to show for their dominance, however they eventually made the breakthrough on 73 minutes courtesy of Roncaglia.

He pounced on a rebound after Corinthians defender Chicao appeared to hav…