Pepe: I am not violent – Neymar has more yellows

Casemiro will miss Manchester United’s trip to Sheffield United on Saturday after sustaining a “small issue” while playing for Brazil, the club have said.

The midfielder was in action for his country in World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela last Friday and then Uruguay five days later.

In an update on players on United’s official website following a session at their training ground on Thursday, the club said: “Casemiro was absent, having remained in Brazil, on the club’s advice, to recover as swiftly as possible from a small issue picked up while playing for his country.

Encouraging news from our training camp ahead of Saturday s return. ||

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

“He will be unavailable for Saturday’s game with the Bl…

Juventus are not afraid of being hit with a ban from European competition despite their Serie A points deduction.

That was the defiant message from Juve s chief football officer Francesco Calvo, who was appointed in January just days after the Bianconeri were hit with a 15-point punishment.

Those charges for the Turin side followed investigations into financial violations from past transfer dealings, with former Juve president Andrea Agnelli and ex-sporting director Fabio Paratici handed bans.

While Massimiliano Allegri s side aim to battle back on the pitch, there are suggestions a second investigation by UEFA could result in Juve being banned from playing in Europe.

But Calvo insisted Juve have no reason for concern with European football s governing bo…

Writing a diary has convinced Joey Barton he has a future in the Premier League.

The troublesome England midfielder, who has played for Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers in England s top-tier, has not played a Premier League game since Queens Park Rangers were relegated at the end of the 2014-15 season.

But the 33-year-old midfielder, now at Burnley after a loan stint in France with Marseille, believes he has found new ways to rid himself of the pent-up frustrations that have often distracted him and caused unsavoury episodes on and off the park.

He spent two months in prison in 2008 after attacking a man in Liverpool in a particularly low moment of his career, but Barton said writing a diary with his innermost thoughts had allowed him to…

Just days after their League Cup final, Liverpool and Manchester City meet again, this time in the Premier League showdown at Anfield. Reds will be keen on getting one back to the Citizens, but Manuel Pellegrini’s men are on the slightly improved run of form and will be tough to break.

Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp’s charges were awarded with the opportunity to exact instant revenge to Manchester City at Anfield as they look to bounce back from their loss in the League Cup final. The penalty shootout denied Jurgen Klopp his first piece of silverware at Liverpool since replacing Brendan Rodgers in October. Liverpool will be hoping to repeat the 4-1 hammering at the Etihad Stadium in November and the German tactician has already promised a strong reaction from his squad. R…

Pep Guardiola is optimistic Manchester City can seduce Eric Garcia into extending his contract at the Etihad Stadium despite previously telling the club he wants to leave.

Spanish defender Garcia made City aware back in August that he would not sign a new deal, with the 19-year-old s present contract expiring at the end of June 2021.

A return to Barcelona, whose academy Garcia was at before joining City in 2017, has been suggested as the most likely destination and Los Cules were linked with a move in the previous transfer window.

But Garcia was selected to start City s 3-1 Champions League win over Porto alongside Ruben Dias in the absence of Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake on Wednesday, with John Stones on the bench.

Guardiola explained his reasoning for…

Danylo Sikan’s first-half header earned Shakhtar Donetsk a memorable Champions League win after beating Barcelona 1-0 in Hamburg.

A frustrating first half saw the only real chance come from Mykola Matviyenko before Sikan gave the hosts the advantage five minutes before half-time with a looping header.

Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Oleksandr Zubkov had chances for the hosts after the break before Barca began to grow into the half following a quadruple substitution, but Shahktar held firm to see out the win.

It is a missed opportunity for Barcelona, where one point would have earned qualification with two games to spare, while victory earned Shakhtar a valuable second win in Group H.

Despite some early pressure from Robert Lewandowski, Shakhtar began to push …

Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks hopes to make his comeback in the near future after signing a long-term contract extension with the Premier League club.

The 25-year-old missed the majority of last season after he was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma in October.

But the Wales international, a member of Rob Page s squad at Euro 2020 last year, was given the all-clear in May and returned to a modified training programme.

Brooks is eager to resume his career soon after putting pen to paper on a deal until at least June 2026.

We re delighted to confirm that has signed a new deal with the club

— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth)

I am so pleased to have signed this deal and am looking forward to the next few years with this gre…

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic feels N Golo Kante is a better holding midfielder than Claude Makelele.

Makelele made over 200 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea between 2003 and 2008 and was regarded as one of the best players in his position at the time.

Kante has often been likened to his compatriot, but Matic is adamant the 25-year-old former Leicester star has something extra.

Many people say that he is the new Makelele, but I don t think so, Matic told Sky Sports.

Makelele was a great player and we all respect him, me especially because I know that position and how it is difficult to play. But I think that N Golo is better than him. He is doing his defensive job very well and with the ball he has some extra quality.

I know how d…

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) have announced that national team manager Rob Page has signed a new four-year contract.

Page took over as Wales boss on a caretaker basis in November 2020 following Ryan Giggs arrest on assault charges and led the side to World Cup qualification for the first time in 64 years.

The 48-year-old also helped Wales reach the last 16 at Euro 2020 and secure Nations League A qualification for the first time.

Giggs resigned in June, with Page taking over permanently, and the FAW have moved to secure him to a long-term deal with a view to their qualifying campaigns for Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.

There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team and I can’t wait for the challenge the next four years will br…

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar scored hat-tricks as Paris Saint-Germain brought an emphatic end to their poor away form with a resounding 6-1 victory at Clermont in Ligue 1. 

Neymar and Mbappe struck in the opening 19 minutes as PSG ended a run of four straight losses on the road in all competitions and moved 15 points clear at the summit.

Jodel Dossou pulled one back for Clermont but Neymar scored from the spot and then set up Mbappe three minutes later as Mauricio Pochettino s men showed their teeth in the closing stages.

Mbappe completed his hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining and then returned the favour for Neymar, teeing him up for his third as PSG stayed on track for the title.

The visitors took the lead in controversial circumstances, Neymar s goa…