Barcelona eye Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski

Antonio Conte has expressed sympathy over the situation at his former club Chelsea after owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government.

Abramovich, who has previously been photographed with Russian president Vladimir Putin, had his assets frozen on Thursday, with the decision made in the wake of Russia s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Chelsea have been granted a special sporting licence to be able to continue trading as a football club, but measures have been placed upon them, including a ban on selling tickets, with only season-ticket holders permitted to attend matches.

Tottenham manager Conte spent two seasons at Stamford Bridge between 2016 and 2018, winning the Premier League in his first year and the FA Cup in his second term, before being sack…

One round remaining, two teams involved, and just two points separate them.

LaLiga s title race has been at its most gripping in years this term, arguably capturing the imagination more than any since 2006-07.

Back then, there were three teams in with a chance of taking home the title on the final day of the season: Real Madrid and Barcelona, of course, plus Juande Ramos Sevilla.

As it was, Madrid and Barca won on the last day whereas Sevilla – who needed a win and for the other two to lose – lost at home to Villarreal.

Madrid finished top by virtue of a better head-to-head record over Barca, who were essentially denied the title by their local rivals Espanyol, slumping to a 2-2 draw with them on the penultimate day to hand Los Blancos the initiative…

Gareth Bale appears to be living on borrowed time at Real Madrid and the summer transfer window could mark the end of his regal dream in the Spanish capital.

The Welshmen joined Real Madrid in 2013 for a then-world record transfer fee. With a little over €100 million paid to Tottenham, Real Madrid broke the 2009 record of €94 million invested in Cristiano Ronaldo. Former Tottenham winger was widely expected to become the Portuguese superstar’s natural successor at Santiago Bernabeu.

Six years into his Real Madrid career, however, it can be concluded that Gareth Bale is a wasted investment.

Troubled Talisman

Once Cristiano Ronaldo announced he would be leaving for Juventus last summer – 45 days following – Real Madrid believed they finally had a ready…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 7/10 @

Looking to build off of their Champions League victory earlier in the week, Manchester United will make the trip to a high-flying Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, although Southampton might have eventually had to settle for a point away at Wolves last time out, it has been a stellar run of form for the South Coast outfit. Despite being unable to call upon an injured Danny Ings, Ralph Hasenhüttl s men are enjoying a seven-match Premier League unbeaten run, their most successful spell since November 2013. Still flirting with the European spots and wit their recent purple patch highlighted by 4-3 and 3-3 draws against Aston Villa and Chelsea respectively, the former RB Leipzig boss has also seen his…

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis revealed the club s stadium could be renamed to honour Partenopei great Diego Maradona after his death on Wednesday.

Maradona – arguably football s greatest ever player – died at the age of 60 after a suspected heart attack, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) confirmed midweek.

A World Cup winner with Argentina, Maradona enjoyed great success in Naples, where he guided Napoli to unprecedented Serie A glory in 1986-87 and 1989-90 – the Italian team are yet to add to their only two Scudetto honours.

As Napoli fans and Naples natives mourn the death of Maradona – a God-like figure in the city – De Laurentiis said the Stadio San Paolo could be named after the football icon.

 A legend never dies

…

Roma manager Daniele De Rossi said his players will not be daunted by the visit of Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Saturday – and insisted “no team is unbeatable”.

Inter Milan secured a 1-0 win against second-placed Juventus last weekend to open up a four-point lead at the top of the table.

Roma, who last month parted company with Jose Mourinho, sit in fifth position, 19 points behind their opponents on Saturday.

Matchday minus one!

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN)

But De Rossi’s side will face Inter at the Stadio Olimpico fresh from an impressive 4-0 mauling of Cagliari – their third consecutive win since De Rossi took the managerial reins.

Roma have lost five of their previous six league games against Inter – last securing a…

Sergi Barjuan is willing to help Barcelona in any way he can, having been in contact with next coach Xavi ahead of his arrival at Camp Nou.

Xavi is soon to be confirmed as the latest Blaugrana boss, with Al Sadd confirming on Friday they had agreed a deal with the Catalans for his departure.

The Barca great, who played 767 times for the club, second only to Lionel Messi (778), will succeed Sergi, who has served as interim coach since Ronald Koeman was sacked.

With the team preparing for Saturday s game at Celta Vigo, Sergi was keen to wait on official news of Xavi s appointment.

Al Sadd has made the statement, Barca has not yet, he told a news conference. We have to wait for it to be from both sides.

We have a good relationship and I have contac…

Thomas Tuchel is optimistic Tammy Abraham will be in the squad for Chelsea s trip to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Abraham had been a major doubt for the visit to St Mary s Stadium after suffering an ankle injury in Monday s 2-0 win over Newcastle United.

But Tuchel, who has overseen five wins on the bounce in all competitions, revealed the striker would train on Friday with a view to being involved at the weekend, along with Kai Havertz.

However, the match will come too soon for Thiago Silva (muscle problem) and Christian Pulisic may miss out with a calf issue.

We are very happy that Tammy is good and free for training, said Tuchel. If things go well then he is in the squad.

Thiago will be out for the game, he s not ready. And …

Best Odds: 4/9

Bookmaker:

In desperate need of a qualifying boost on Friday evening, Spain will travel to Tbilisi when they meet Georgia for a Group A showdown.

Georgia

Starting with the hosts, enjoying what was a real Nations League romp last year and gaining a string of plaudits, Georgia certainly opened their qualifying adventure riding a major wave of momentum. However, while Willy Sagnol’s men might have opened their Group A campaign with a 1-1 draw against Erling Haaland’s Norway, the Crusaders have struggled to find much stability. Last seen putting in a toothless display as they were hit with a 2-0 loss at the hands of Scotland, the one-time Bayern Munich coach will know that his squad faces another heavyweight challenge here. Hit with a 4-0 drummin…

Best odds: 1/1

Bookmaker:

Galatasaray have the chance of mathematically securing the Turkish Super Lig title on Sunday, when they face bitter rivals Fenerbahce at the Nef Stadyumu in Istanbul. It will be a nice prelude for the Champions League final, which takes place six days later in the city on the Bosphorus.

Galatasaray

Galatasaray haven t been crowned Turkish champions since 2019, and last season was a particularly sore disappointment for their supporters, seeing their team finish in 13th place. Looking at it from the other side, it will only make the prospect of climbing back on the throne even more exciting.

As things stand at the moment, Okan Buruk s side top the table with 82 points, five ahead of the visitors with two games left. A draw will o…