De Bruyne misses Man City training ahead of Dinamo Zagreb game

The Champions League quarter-finals resume on Tuesday, with Liverpool and Barcelona primed to book their places in the final four.

Liverpool take a 3-0 advantage over Manchester City to the Etihad Stadium, while Barca head to the Stadio Olimpico with a comfortable 4-1 cushion in their tie with Roma.

If they are to progress, City will need to replicate a feat only two sides have pulled off in the competition s history but the Reds appear to have become their bogey team this season.

Lionel Messi has scored 100 goals in the Champions League, but his rather poor record on Italian soil is one of the surprising Opta stats we have picked out to preview Tuesday s matches.

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Which four are you backing to reach the semi-finals?

— UEFA Ch…

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United is due to be announced later on Christmas Eve, according to a report.

Confirmation of the investment by the 71-year-old’s Ineos Group would end a saga which has lasted more than a year.

Sky News has reported that a deal is set to be announced, 13 months after the club’s United States-based owners the Glazer family revealed their intention to undertake a strategic review of their options, including the possibility of selling up.

Ratcliffe and Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim were both in the running to oversee a buyout of the club until October.

Sheikh Jassim withdrew his bid for full control of the club on October 14, with Ratcliffe’s focus shifting to taking a significant mi…

Mikel Arteta has now been the Arsenal manager for four years, which is seventh-longest among the managers of all 92 clubs in England s Football League.

In the Premier League, only Liverpool s Jurgen Klopp, Manchester City s Pep Guardiola and Brentford s Thomas Frank have been in charge at their respective clubs longer than the Spaniard.

I m getting old I think ay?

Mikel Arteta s brilliant reaction to being the seventh longest serving manager out of the 92 clubs in the Football League!

— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV)

…

Best Odds: 4/6

Bookmaker:

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…