Saints vs Washington Week 5 Picks and Predictions: Hit the Bye on a High?

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In a battle between the now-former and current Serie A champions, Juventus will welcome Inter Milan to Turin on Saturday evening in what is another mouthwatering affair.

Juventus

Starting with the hosts, managing to avoid what was a scare away at Sassuolo earlier in the week, Juventus still find themselves in an uphill battle to clinch a Champions League spot for next season. Eventually leaving the Città del Tricolore with a 3-1 win on Wednesday night, The Old Lady are still a single point adrift from finding a route back into the top-four. With time really starting to tick away and just a pair of Serie A matchups remaining this year, Head Coach Andrea Pirlo knows that he is also fighting a battle to keep hold of his role in the Allia…

Carlo Ancelotti has claimed it is not mission impossible for Everton to end their miserable record against Merseyside rivals Liverpool.

Everton s dire run in derbies continued earlier in December, with a 5-2 defeat at Anfield marking the end of Marco Silva s tenure.

The Toffees have not beaten Liverpool, who currently lead the Premier League by 10 points, in any competition since 2010.

Ancelotti, however, defeated Jurgen Klopp s full-strength team this season, with Napoli beating the Reds 2-0 in their opening Champions League fixture.

Everton visit Anfield again in the FA Cup on January 5 and Ancelotti is relishing going up against the European champions.

The Evertonians know my record against Liverpool, they will be happy with this, the Italian,…

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund which owns Newcastle has taken majority stakes in four of the Middle Eastern country’s biggest clubs, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s team Al Nassr.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is taking 75 per cent stakes in Al Nassr, Asian Champions League finalists Al Hilal, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad, who are understood to be interested in signing Karim Benzema after his intention to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season was confirmed.

The PIF also own an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle following the completion of a protracted and controversial takeover in October 2021.

As part of today’s announcement of the Sports Clubs Investment and Privatization Project, four Saudi clubs – Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, Al Nassr, and Al Hilal – have been…

A 12-year-old boy has been charged and reported in relation to the alleged racist abuse of a Rangers player during the Old Firm derby in December.

The incident allegedly took place during Rangers 2-1 victory over Premiership champions Celtic on December 29.

The boy cannot be named for legal reasons, Police Scotland confirmed on Monday.

Superintendent Mark Sutherland of Greater Glasgow Division said: Abuse of any form is completely unacceptable and Police Scotland will continue to rigorously investigate any reports of abuse we receive and bring those responsible before the relevant authorities.

We d remind the public that, as the person charged is below the age of 18, he cannot be named or identified for legal reasons as per the Criminal Procedure (Scotl…

Christian Pulisic will have no issues adapting to life in the Premier League and will thrive at Chelsea, according to Borussia Dortmund s sporting director Michael Zorc.

Chelsea confirmed the signing of 20-year-old Pulisic on January 2 for a fee of €64million, with the winger remaining at Dortmund on loan until the end of 2018-19 as they aim to secure their first Bundesliga title since 2012.

Pulisic has enjoyed a stellar rise to prominence at Dortmund since joining the club in 2015, and Zorc has no doubts over the youngster s ability to take the Premier League by storm.

He s a lad who comes with that typically American self-confidence, Zorc told ESPN at Dortmund s training camp in Marbella.

Many of his characteristics will help him in England where ev…

Polish full-back Mateusz Zukowski has left Rangers to join Slask Wroclaw.

The 21-year-old moved to Ibrox on a three-and-a-half-year contract from Lechia Gdansk in January 2022.

However, the Poland Under-21 international made only one first-team appearance, in a Scottish Cup win away to Annan just weeks after his arrival.

Zukowski has been allowed to leave Rangers and return to his homeland for an undisclosed fee.

“Everyone at the club wishes Mateusz Zukowski the very best of luck for the future,” Rangers tweeted as they confirmed his departure.

Meanwhile, Rangers appear to be close to finalising a fifth new signing of the summer, with Brighton forward Abdallah Sima reportedly undergoing a medical on Wednesday ahead of a proposed season-long lo…

Luka Modric has revealed he held talks with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in 2011 over a possible transfer from Tottenham.

The Croatia international starred for Tottenham in the 2010-11 campaign their first in the Champions League and was strongly linked with a move away.

He admitted at the time he was interested in a switch to London rivals Chelsea but Spurs were said to have knocked back a £22million offer at the time.

Modric was fully aware of Chelsea s attempts to sign him and, nearly a decade on, he has opened up on the conversation he held with Abramovich on the billionaire s yacht.

With the 2010-11 Premier League season over, I was ready for my summer vacation, he wrote in Luka Modric: My Autobiography, which is being serialised by The Guardian…

Hansi Flick has reiterated his stance regarding the future at Bayern Munich, determined only to concern himself with the finish line against Borussia Dortmund.

Flick has taken over at Bayern in a caretaker capacity since Niko Kovac s sacking, having previously served as assistant coach.

The 54-year-old s first game in charge saw the Bundesliga champions defeat Olympiacos in the Champions League in midweek, but he faces a mammoth fixture this weekend.

Bayern, fourth in the Bundesliga and four points off the top, host second-placed Dortmund on Saturday.

As Flick explained following Bayern s European win, the upcoming match can be his only concern despite the continued wait for the appointment of a new coach potentially impacting his role at the club.

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Stevenage boss Steve Evans has been charged by the Football Association for failing to comply with a touchline ban.

Evans has until Thursday to respond to an allegation that he breached the terms of an existing punishment – social media users suggested he was too close to the pitch – during his side’s 3-1 League One defeat at Peterborough on March 13.

An FA spokesperson said on the governing body’s official X – formerly Twitter – account: “Stevenage’s Steve Evans has been charged for allegedly failing to comply with the terms of an automatic touchline suspension.

— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson)

“The manager allegedly breached the terms of his suspension at their EFL League One game against Peterborough United on Wednesday…

Milan s unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt after 11 games as Yusuf Yazici s hat-trick secured an emphatic 3-0 victory for Lille in the Europa League.

Inspired by the form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic – who already has eight goals to his name – Stefano Pioli s side have made a wonderful start to 2020-21.

But Ibrahimovic, who was subbed off in the 62nd minute, failed to lift the Rossoneri in a dismal showing at San Siro, with Yazici running the show.

The 23-year-old Turkey international opened the scoring from the spot 21 minutes in, before becoming the first player to score a hat-trick against Milan in all competitions since Rivaldo in October 2000 with quickfire strikes early in the second half to move Lille one point clear at the top of Group H.

3 Yusuf…