Dortmund seek knockout improvement, Cavani tackles Barca drought – Champions League in Opta numbers

What the papers say

Romelu Lukaku has reportedly agreed to personal terms in a move to Juventus this summer as Chelsea look to offload the striker and pick up a striker in a swap deal, the Star reports. Chelsea are eyeing Serbian Dusan Vlahovic. Juventus want more than just Lukaku as part of the deal, though, asking for an additional £35million for the 23-year-old.

Manchester City and Chelsea are reportedly in the race to sign Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, but the Daily Mail says there is confusion with his release clause.

Widespread changes could be on the cards under Tottenham’s new manager Ange Postecoglou, with the Evening Standard reporting Hugo Lloris, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil are up for sale. The club are also interested in s…

Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic wants to re-sign with the Scudetto-chasing Rossoneri after his latest goalscoring exploits for the Serie A high-flyers.

Ibrahimovic opened the scoring with a stunning first-half free-kick in Wednesday s 3-0 victory at Genoa, a result that moved Milan within a point of leaders Napoli, who squandered a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw against Sassuolo.

The victory was a welcome return to form for Milan, having gone from unbeaten domestically to licking their wounds following back-to-back league defeats.

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli signed a contract extension last week and Ibrahimovic wants to be the next to put pen to paper as the evergreen 40-year-old eyes silverware with the club.

I have fun, before the match, we had already decide…

Former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United striker Michael Owen says he could retire if he cannot find the right club.

Owen s contract with United ended last month and he is yet to agree a deal with a new club, but the ex Newcastle United man is not willing to drop down to the Championship in search of regular football.

With interest in his services from English Premier League teams apparently minimal, 32-year-old Owen has said he may considering retirement.

If a good opportunity doesn t come my way then so be it, he posted on Twitter.

At this stage of my career it has to be something that I m going to enjoy doing.

Not being disrespectful when saying I wouldn t play in The Championship. Always said I wouldn t drop down the leagues li…

Australia will make a late call on captain Sam Kerr’s fitness for their Women’s World Cup showdown with France.

Chelsea striker Kerr missed the group stage with a calf injury but came off the bench for the final 10 minutes in the round-of-16 victory over Denmark.

Australia boss Tony Gustavsson must now decide whether Kerr is fit to start Saturday’s quarter-final date with Les Bleues at Brisbane Stadium.

Eleven Blues have progressed to the quarter-finals!

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW)

“If Sam is fit to play 90 minutes, she is starting,” Gustavsson said at his pre-match press conference.

“That’s not even a question, and the team knows it.

“I definitely would never, ever see Sam as a disturbance to the team. We…

Borussia Moenchengladbach have confirmed the transfer of Luuk de Jong from Twente for a fee reportedly in the region of 15 million euros.

The striker has signed a contract until June 2017 with the Bundesliga club.

Gladbach have been in the market for attacking reinforcements since the departure of Marco Reus to Borussia Dortmund, and coach Lucien Favre has now got the new striker he had set his sights on.

We are very pleased that it s now a done deal after all, and that Luuk will be able to travel to our training camp in Tegernsee on Friday, Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl commented.

In Luuk, we have secured the services of a very talented striker who has already plenty of international experience under his belt with Twente and the Dutch national …

The Football Association have announced the appointment of West Brom s Dan Ashworth as their new director of elite development.

Ashworth brings an end to an eight-year spell at the Hawthorns having been promoted to sporting and technical director at the club back in 2008.

His start date in his new role has yet to be confirmed, but he will be based at the St George s Park facility, home to the FA s new national football training centre.

I am really pleased and indeed honoured to have been offered the opportunity to join the FA, Ashworth told the FA s official website.

Working within the national set-up has always been a life-long ambition.

To do so at a time when the future of the game in this country has never looked brighter, through the comp…

Cesar Azpilicueta has agreed a new three-and-a-half-year deal at Chelsea, the club have confirmed, tying the defender to Stamford Bridge until 2020.

The versatile 27-year-old has impressed during Antonio Conte s first season in charge, operating as part of a three-man defence and contributing to the Blues march to the top of the Premier League table.

Nominally a full-back, the Spain international has become accustomed to playing on the right side of Conte s preferred backline, alongside David Luiz and Gary Cahill.

The former Osasuna player could make his 200th appearance for Chelsea against Sunderland on Wednesday, having joined from Marseille in 2012.

. has today signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract!

Full story

— Chelsea FC (@C…

Herve Renard is hoping to win his third Africa Cup of Nations title as a coach but is well aware of the task facing Morocco in Group C ahead of their opener against a resurgent DR Congo on Monday.

After breaking into the top 50 of FIFA s world rankings in 2016, DR Congo appear to be getting somewhere close to their former glory days of the 1960s and 70s, when they won AFCON in 68 and 74, as Congo-Kinshasa and Zaire, respectively.

Two years ago they managed to finish third in Equatorial Guinea and they possess a squad with a significant amount of experience in European football, making them an interesting proposition in terms of progression to the knockout phase after getting past their pre-tournament row over unpaid bonuses.

But Group C looks set to be fiercely …

Verdict: Draw no bet Southampton

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It is another Cup challenge for Southampton, who take on Arsenal in the FA Cup just days after completing a narrow win over Liverpool in the EFL Cup during the week. Both teams are on a three-match winning run and we should be in for an exciting match at St Mary’s.

Southampton

Good times are back at Southampton, who are coming off from the 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the midweek League Cup semifinals. Having clinched their place in the final at Wembley, the Saints now shift their focus to the FA Cup action feeling motivated to take another big-name scalp at the weekend. The Saturday’s fourth round clash at St Mary’s is the only Premier League duel in the FA Cup and there is no doubt that b…

Granada moved to the top of LaLiga after a 1-0 win over Real Betis on Sunday, less than five months on from their promotion back to the top flight.

Diego Martinez s side took advantage of the postponed Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, with Alvaro Vadillo s second-half goal sealing all three points at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.

The Andalusian side have enjoyed a remarkable return to LaLiga after two seasons in the second tier, winning six of their opening 10 games, including a memorable 2-0 victory over Barca on September 21.

With Barca not playing this weekend after their clash with Madrid was postponed, Granada were able to move a point clear at the top of the table.

Their haul of 20 points from 10 games this season is as many as they managed …