Liga Sagres runners-up Benfica will take on Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor in the Champions League third qualifying round.
With 2010/11 winners Fenerbahce embroiled in a match-fixing scandal, Trabzonspor could yet be awarded last season Turkish s league title.
Benfica finished 21 points behind Portuguese championship winners Porto and were forced to settle for a League Cup triumph.
Following the draw at UEFA s headquarters in Nyon on Friday, the teams will meet in the first leg on July 26/27, followed by a return fixture on August 2/3.
Elsewhere, Scottish Premier League winners Rangers are drawn against the winner of a second qualifying round match between Malmo and Torshavn.
Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev, semi-finalists in 1998/99, are up again…
Bolton Wanderers are the visitors to Loftus Road on Saturday for Queens Park Rangers first English Premier League match since 1996.
QPR were promoted in impressive fashion under Neil Warnock last season, winning the Championship by four points from Norwich City.
The club have retained the services of the two main architects of that success, experienced manager Warnock and mercurial captain Adel Taarabt.
Warnock, 62, has been to the top flight before with home-town club Sheffield United, but proved unable to keep them in the division.
Morocco midfielder Taarabt s Premier League experience has been even more fleeting.
He spent three years at north London club Tottenham, where he made seven first-team appearances before joining QPR, first on loan i…
Zinedine Zidane insists Real Madrid are capable of claiming a Liga and Champions League double, but warned the capital club still have it all to do in a thrilling title race.
Liga champions Barcelona were cantering towards the defence of their title, but a shock drop in form has seen Luis Enrique s men lose three consecutive league matches to blow the race wide open.
Second-placed Atletico Madrid are now only behind Barca courtesy of an inferior head-to-head record, while Zidane s men who, like their city rivals, also have a Champions League semi-final to prepare for are just a point adrift.
After losing the derby 1-0 to Atleti in February, Zidane claimed that it was not possible for Madrid to win the title but since then they have won seven straight league ma…
A first-half goal from Marco Ruben saw Rosario Central claim a 1-0 win away to Gremio in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores round-of-16 tie.
Rosario started the game brightly at Arena do Gremio on Wednesday and the Argentine side took the lead in the 14th minute thanks to Ruben s fifth goal of the competition.
The former Villarreal forward smashed home from close range after the Gremio defence failed to deal with a bouncing ball in the box.
Rosario managed to weather a late storm from their Brazilian opponents, holding on to take a 1-0 advantage with the vital away goal into next week s return leg.
Corinthians, the 2012 winners of the competition, were able to secure a good result after holding Nacional to a scoreless draw at Gran Parq…
Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen seem to have got themselves a worthy replacement for Javier Hernandez, who left for West Ham this summer.
Die Werkself have been searching for a player to spearhead their attack in the new season ever since Chicharito returned to the Premier League and it appears they chose to go with the 24-year-old Argentina international Lucas Alario.
The Copa Libertadores winner has scored 41 goals in 82 appearances for his club since 2015 and has emerged as one of the most prominent members of the Argentinean giants.
Alario moved to River Plate from CA Colon in a €2 million deal whereas the Los Millionarios could be in for a hefty profit from the transfer of their star.
reports that Bayer Leverkusen will pay the initial fee beli…
Barcelona are considering a surprise move for Wolverhampton Wanderers left-back Ruben Vinagre, according to the Mirror.
The La Liga giants have recently scouted the nineteen-year-old, who secured a permanent move to Molineux from Monaco after initially impressing on loan in the Championship.
In total, he has racked up thirty-two appearances for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, with his only goal so far coming in a 4-0 win at Burton Albion towards the beginning of last season.
He has been capped by Portugal at every level from U16s to U19s and was part of the squad that won the UEFA European Under-17 Championships in 2016.
His last club appearance came in Wolves’ FA Cup semi-final defeat to Watford at Wembley on Sunday.
The Midlands club retu…
Pep Guardiola has revealed Kalvin Phillips could be back in Manchester City action before England fly out to the World Cup.
The City manager disclosed midfielder Phillips will be a substitute for City s EFL Cup game against Chelsea on Wednesday.
Although he has not promised Phillips will come off the bench, the former Leeds United star is now at the stage of his recovery from a shoulder injury where first-team duty is a possibility once more.
The news will be cautiously welcomed by England boss Gareth Southgate, for whom Phillips has been a key figure when fit.
Guardiola said Phillips took part in a full training session on Friday and felt good .
“Against Chelsea he will be on the bench, whether to play or not I don t know, but he will be on the…
Neymar will not recover from his metatarsal injury in time to feature in Paris Saint-Germain s Champions League return clash with Manchester United, according to his father, who indicated that the forward will not play again until April.
PSG host United on March 6 in the second leg of their round of 16 tie, with the French champions taking a 2-0 lead into the game after Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe scored in a convincing win at Old Trafford.
Neymar has been out of action since he injured his foot in PSG s 2-0 Coupe de France victory over Strasbourg on January 23, and his father ruled out the possibility of the 27-year-old playing in the next few weeks.
For now Neymar is injured, Neymar Senior told Telefoot.
It s complicated and it bothers those w…
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In what could prove to be a cagey affair from the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in the early hours of Monday, Argentinos Juniors will welcome Colon to town.
Argentinos Juniors
Starting with the hosts, while Argentinos Juniors might still have their sight set on breaking into the Copa Sudamericana spots, it is fair to say that Gabriel Millito’s men are in the midst of an extended rut. Now having to settle for back-to-back 0-0 stalemates against Barracas Central and Instituto, El Bicho are now without a win from any of their previous four appearances across all competitions. Opening July with a 1-0 loss at the hands of a struggling Banfield, the Buenos Aires-based outfit have continued to show some rather glaring struggles in the fin…
Marcus Rashford is set to sign a new five-year deal at Manchester United, the PA news agency understands.
The 25-year-old forward came through the Old Trafford youth set-up and has gone on to score 123 goals in 359 first-team appearances.
Rashford broke the 30-goal barrier for the first time in his United career last season and his current deal was due to expire next summer.
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford)
But PA understands the England international has agreed terms on a contract until 2028, with an announcement possible on Tuesday.
Rashford’s contract could soon be followed by the arrival of Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana.
A deal is understood to be getting closer for the Cameroon international, who worked under Er…