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CSKA are set to welcome Lokomotiv at the VEB Arena in Moscow in the Russian Premier League on Saturday evening, in what will be apart of the second round of the 2021-22 season.

CSKA Moscow

It s been quite a while since we ve last seen a season without CSKA Moscow in a European competition, but this will be one after they finished the previous campaign in sixth place with 50 points, six short of a place in the Europa League. Nonetheless, they started well enough this time around, beating FC Ufa in the opener by 1-0, courtesy of a strike by Anton Zabolotnyi. The three points at the start of the season are of huge importance, but on the other hand, it wasn t a very convincing performance against a team which usually sits in the bottom hal…

Wolves have confirmed West Midlands Police made three arrests in connection to the homophobic chants which marred Saturday s Premier League win over Chelsea.

Frank Lampard oversaw an uninspired defeat in his first game since returning as Chelsea s caretaker boss following the sacking of Graham Potter, with Matheus Nunes stunning strike boosting Wolves survival hopes.

However, the hosts victory was marred by homophobic chants being aimed at visiting supporters, which were condemned as totally unacceptable and vile in a statement from Chelsea.

Wolves responded with a statement of their own, confirming three individuals had been arrested following the incidents.

We strongly condemn the discriminatory chants aimed towards Chelsea supporters at today s game, …

Paris Saint-Germain s recruitment drive has continued with the signing of Dutch defender Mitchel Bakker from Ajax on a free transfer.

Bakker, 19, has put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Parc des Princes to become the Ligue 1 side s fourth new arrival in less than a week.

Ander Herrera and Marcin Bulka joined on frees after leaving Manchester United and Chelsea respectively, while PSG reportedly paid €18million to secure Pablo Sarabia from Sevilla.

Netherlands Under-19 international Bakker made two first-team appearances for Eredivisie champions Ajax, both during the KNVB Beker in 2018.

The left-back was named on the bench for a pair of Champions League matches last term as Erik ten Hag s team went on to reach the semi-finals.

PSG s p…

Sergio Aguero s mood is better than ever as he tentatively nears the end of an injury nightmare, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola confirmed City s all-time top scorer will start Sunday s FA Cup third-round tie against Birmingham City at the Etihad Stadium as he looks to put the after-effects of meniscus surgery behind him.

Aguero underwent an operation in June and has been forced to manage ongoing discomfort in the joint since a hamstring injury at West Ham curtailed his initial return in October.

Despite being ravaged by a coronavirus outbreak among their squad, City head into the weekend buoyed by their two finest performances of the season a swashbuckling 3-1 win over Chelsea preceding a 2-0 win against rivals Manchester United in…

Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier has initiated legal proceedings after he was accused of making racist comments about players during his time as Nice boss.

The allegations, which Galtier strenuously denies, came in an email allegedly sent by former Nice football director Julien Fournier at the end of last season.

According to The Athletic, the email s recipient was Dave Brailsford, director of sport at INEOS, the company that owns Nice.

The contents of the email were first reported on Tuesday, with Galtier alleged to have told Fournier – in Fournier s words – that the club could not have so many blacks and Muslims in the team .

Fournier and Galtier both left Nice after the end of last season. The latter s lawyer, Olivier Martin, has said t…

Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp is looking forward to competing with new Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola.

And he is aiming to take Jose Mourinho s place as the former Barcelona trainer s nemesis.

The 42-year-old became arch-rivals with the Portuguese between 2010 and 2012 as Barca fought out numerous heated battles with their old foes following the Portuguese coach s arrival in the Spanish capital.

Klopp is looking for a similar fierce rivalry with the future Bayern boss, only without the bad blood.

I want to become Guardiola s new Mourinho. We want to be an unpleasant opponent for Bayern in the next few years, Klopp told Sport Bild.

If Pep Guardiola doesn t like me during the game or because of the result, that s not a problem.

…

QPR midfielder Joey Barton has revealed that he recently rejected the opportunity to join Crystal Palace.

The 30-year-old spent last season on loan with Ligue 1 outfit Marseille, and declared that he would not play in the Championship this term prior to turning out in QPR s first four league games of the campaign.

Despite featuring prominently for the London club in 2013-14, Barton remains strongly linked with a move away, with Crystal Palace most recently touted as a potential destination.

But, when asked on Twitter about the possibility of a move to Selhurst Park, he replied: They tried but it s not the right move for me and my family right now. Hope they stay up as I like (manager Ian) Holloway.

Barton joined QPR from Newcastle in August 2011, and went on to …

Barcelona have announced a deal which will see Japanese company Rakuten become the club s main global partner and shirt sponsors from the 2017-18 season.

The agreement, which also sees Rakuten named global innovation and entertainment partners , will ensure the brand s name appears on Barca matchday jerseys for an initial four years, with the option of a fifth.

We are delighted with this fantastic partnership, which will see one of the world s premier sporting clubs join forces with a truly global innovation company which can bring expertise in big data, communications and e-commerce to support Barca s future successes, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said in the club s statement confirming the deal on Wednesday.

The agreement with Rakuten – who already ha…

Former Nice winger Marco Simone remains unconvinced that Mario Balotelli will prove to be a success at the Ligue 1 club.

The 26-year-old left Liverpool to join Nice on transfer deadline day having made just 16 Premier League appearances since moving to Anfield in August 2014.

Simone knows all about making the switch to France having represented Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco before signing for Nice in 2004.

That came after he enjoyed much success with AC Milan, and Simeone believes fellow former San Siro star Balotelli will struggle to adapt to the rigours of life in the French top flight if his attitude is not right. 

Balotelli at Nice is a big question mark for me, he told Omnisport. Not because he is not good enough, but because he struggles to be co…

Jose Mourinho is already finding the nuance in Italian news conferences a mixed blessing after the Roma boss was served a tactical puzzler ahead of the Serie A season opener.

The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager suggested he had been pining for Italy while working in the Premier League last season, due to frustration with the English media.

But when faced with a question about Roma s full-backs struggling to deliver effective crosses in the European clash with Trabzonspor on Thursday, Mourinho initially suggested he did not want to answer.

I will start with a joke, he told reporters. In England I always used to say that I missed the press conferences in Italy, because here we talk more about tactics – whereas they only want to talk ab…