Chelsea target Kounde left out of Sevilla squad for pre-season getaway

Aston Villa have condemned the violence from Legia Warsaw fans which left police injured before their Europa Conference League game at Villa Park.

Missiles were thrown at police as the visiting fans were held in the coach park near the stadium, before they were due to enter for Thursday’s group game.

Three police officers were injured and although the game started on time, no Legia fans were allowed into the stadium ahead of kick-off.

Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that no away fans were allowed into Villa Park for this evening’s UEFA Europa Conference League fixture with Legia Warsaw on the advice of West Midlands Police following large-scale disorder outside the stadium caused by visiting supporters.

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial)

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Deion Sanders is the new head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, the NFL Hall of Famer leaving Jackson State to take charge of a moribund Power 5 program.

Sanders profile and coaching acumen has transformed Jackson State, turning the HBCU (Historically black colleges and universities) into a powerhouse in the FCS.

He helped Jackson State land the top recruit in the 2022 class, cornerback Travis Hunter, who flipped his commitment from Florida State and had offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Oklahoma. Hunter became the highest-ranked prospect to ever commit to a HBCU or an FCS program

On the field, Sanders went 4-3 in a 2020 season that was moved to the spring of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but led Jackson State to an 11-…

Xabi Alonso has ruled himself out of the running to be the next Bayern Munich head coach because he does not have enough experience.

The former Spain midfielder, who finished his playing career at Bayern with a spell between 2014 and 2017, is currently in charge of Real Sociedad B.

Despite his affiliation with Bundesliga side Bayern, Alonso believes it is too early in his management career for him to be a contender.

Asked about the Bayern job, he told Marca: I am where I want to be and right now where I want to be is in San Sebastian with Real Sociedad.

I am a beginner in this life of being a coach and I have no goals beyond being here.

I hope I can be a better coach, here at Real Sociedad, make a career every year that I want and I m at ease.…

Alex Neil expressed his delight at Stoke’s home comforts as they defeated Watford 1-0.

New hero Andre Vidigal starred again as he notched his fourth goal in as many games since a summer move from Maritimo.

The Portuguese winger – who turned 25 in midweek – fired in a second-half winner with an emphatic strike on the volley.

And, in the process, The Potters secured successive league victories at home for the first time since April 2022, while they also beat West Brom in the cup.

“We’ve now won three games on the bounce at home and I think that’s vitally important to get our fans onside and backing us,” Neil said.

“You can see that connection starting to happen because the fans can see that the players left everything on the pitch so…

Barcelona were staring at Champions League humiliation as they went into half-time trailing Bayern Munich 4-1 in Lisbon.

Thomas Muller scored twice, with Ivan Perisic and Serge Gnabry also on target, and Barcelona s consolation came from a Bayern player too, with David Alaba netting an early own goal.

The statistics were piling up against Quique Setien s men as their night went from bad to worse, seemingly destined to tumble out at the quarter-final stage.

Not even Lionel Messi could keep the Camp Nou giants in the game, with Barcelona a defensive shambles.

Here is a look at the first half, using Opta data to show where the game was being won and lost.

4 Barcelona have conceded four goals in the first half of a Champions League match for the fi…

Neymar needs to lift the World Cup with Brazil to etch his name as a Selecao great, so says Mauro Silva, who referenced Lionel Messi s global success with Argentina.

Messi powered Lionel Scaloni s Argentina to their first World Cup triumph in 36 years after lifting the coveted Jules Rimet trophy at the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

Neymar and his Brazil team-mates were eliminated from that edition of the world s top international tournament in a quarter-final defeat to Croatia on penalties.

The Selecao forward equalled Pele s scoring record for Brazil in the Croatia loss, and subsequently broke the landmark with two goals against Bolivia in Friday s World Cup qualifier.

But former Brazil and Deportivo midfielder Silva believes Neymar must achieve glory in the …

Crystal Palace have made contact with Manchester United over the possibility of bringing Aaron Wan-Bissaka back to Selhurst Park, and West Ham have made enquiries too, but according to David Ornstein of , the 20-time English champions have no intention of selling the right-back or allowing him to leave on loan before the window closes on Thursday evening. Therefore, both approaches were turned down without a second s thought.

Wan-Bissaka has lost his place in the starting XI to Diogo Dalot, who has been putting in fine performances indeed recently. Nonetheless, United manager Erik ten Hag is adamant about having two reliable options for the right defensive flank, which means a replacement would have to be identified and signed in less than three days if Wan-Bissaka was to leave…

Antoine Griezmann will return for Atletico Madrid against Espanyol but head coach Diego Simeone insisted his focus is on the team dynamic and ensuring his talented attacking options click, rather than individuals.

The France forward made a remarkable move back from Barcelona, initially joining the reigning LaLiga champions on loan with either club holding the option to extend for a further year.

Griezmann scored 133 goals across 257 games in his first spell before that ultimately ill-fated €120million move to the Catalan giants in 2019, and Simeone revealed his new loanee is relishing a homecoming.

I found [Antoine] Griezmann eager to return to Atletico Madrid, very enthusiastic about the situation of returning to the team, Simeone told reporters on Saturday.<…

Unai Emery believes Arsenal was a test for Aston Villa to understand where they are in the season and how they can build on that going forward.

Second-half strikes from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey earned the points for Arsenal in a 2-0 win at Villa Park on Saturday.

However, it could have been a much different story for Emery s men, as Ollie Watkins missed a glorious chance in either half, while Amadou Onana struck the bar.

While the Spaniard was left frustrated by the result, he was left optimistic by the performance in their first home game of the season.

You have to accept Arsenal they are more experienced, more mature. They are strong, Emery told Sky Sports. Today was a test for us to understand who we are.

We competed, we faced them,…

Market: Cambridge United win

Odds: 5/4 @

Hoping to extend on their recent League One flurry, Cambridge will welcome Exeter to Abbey Stadium on Friday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Cambridge might have signed off November in the midst of a struggle, Neil Harris’ side have come roaring back in an eye-catching fashion. Last seen mounting a stellar comeback as they secured a 2-1 victory at home against Blackpool, the former Millwall boss will be calling on his squad to make another statement here. Unbeaten in all of their previous three appearances across all competitions, the U’s should also be excited by their continued success on home soil. Extending on their FA Cup adventure earlier in the month as they stormed their way to a 4-0 romp against Fleetwo…