Saints vs Falcons Week 1 Picks and Predictions: Saints Prove Steady Without Sean Payton

Erik ten Hag says Lisandro Martinez’s knee injury “doesn’t look good” and the concerned Manchester United boss is praying centre-back has avoided a “personal disaster”.

The 26-year-old looked crestfallen after being forced off on just his fourth appearance since returning from four months out following the reoccurrence of a foot issue.

Martinez was surrounded by concerned United team-mates in the second half after going down clutching his right knee having been landed on awkwardly by West Ham full-back Vladimir Coufal.

The Argentina international was able to continue for a short period, only to pull up again and eventually trudge down the touchline to supportive chants from the Old Trafford faithful.

Ten Hag is fearing the worst and says “we…

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has acknowledged Liverpool’s trophy-laden era during the 1970s’ and 1980s’ planted the seeds for him to become a manager.

Postecoglou has made no secret of his childhood love for Liverpool and recalled on several occasions how he used to watch matches in the early hours of the morning in Australia with his dad Jim.

Kenny Dalglish was an early hero for the 58-year-old and he believes watching the teams of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley win European Cups helped shape his pathway to a coaching career that has seen him manage across the globe.

“I was just consumed by football,” Postecoglou reflected ahead of Saturday’s visit of Liverpool.

“I’ve said before, it wasn’t just playing the game. My infatuation was wit…

Argentina know they will advance to the knockout stage of the Copa America if they end a four-game winless run in their rivalry with Paraguay on Monday.

La Albiceleste have not beaten Paraguay in six years, although three of the four games in the meantime have ended all square.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has been frustrated by the frequency with which his side have been held.

The team are unbeaten in 15 games going back to the 2019 Copa America, but they have won only eight of those matches alongside seven draws – including a home World Cup qualifier against Paraguay.

A sequence of three stalemates in a row was broken last time out, though, when Argentina defeated Uruguay 1-0 to move level with Chile at the top of Group A.

I think that the …

Everton are interested in signing Raphael Onyedika from Club Brugge in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Everton are among a number of clubs who are keen on Onyedika, and that Belgian side Brugge could sell him.

Onyedika has been on the books of Club Brugge since the summer of 2022 when he joined from Midtjylland. The Nigeria international midfielder has been superb for the Belgian side and has established himself as one of the best and most important players in the team. The 22-year-old has made 17 starts and two substitute appearances in the Jupiler Pro League this season.

Club Brugge are third in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League table at the moment with 45 points from 27 matches, as many as 20 points behind leaders Royale Union Sain…

Stephen Kenny has admitted he does not expect to continue as Republic of Ireland manager when his future is decided next week.

The 52-year-old’s current contract effectively ended with Tuesday night’s 1-1 friendly draw against New Zealand in Dublin and the Football Association of Ireland’s board will meet next week to decide whether to stick or twist.

Public support for Kenny’s tenure waned as the Euro 2024 qualification campaign he had built towards came and went without the success he craved, and he acknowledges that the writing is on the wall.

He said: “Obviously the board are meeting next week. They’ve a decision to make and I respect whatever that decision is.

“Of course, it would be a dream to carry on and manage the team, of course it…

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick is hopeful his side can take the “positive experiences” from their FA Cup third-round loss into their Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Boro were knocked out of the FA Cup by Matty Cash’s late strike in the 87th minute, which took a deflection into the bottom corner.

However, Boro’s attention quickly turns to the Carabao Cup, where they come up against Premier League Chelsea at the Riverside on Tuesday and Carrick hopes his players can take inspiration from their performance against Aston Villa.

He said post-match: “The boys are disappointed, which is good that they’re disappointed.

“It’s not an acceptance of ‘we’ve got beat’, it shows to me, more importantly, how much they felt they were righ…

According to , Barcelona are interested in signing Erling Haaland from Manchester City in the summer of 2025. Agent Rafaela Pimenta, who represents the Norway international, has already met with Barca s sporting director Deco last month to discuss the possibility of his transfer to the Catalan giants.

Only a day before, claimed Haaland had his eye on moving to Barcelona s arch-rivals Real Madrid, and saw the upcoming Champions League duel between the La Liga leaders and the Premier League champions as the perfect opportunity to show his class to his desired destination club.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old striker is under contract with City until 2027, and his services are likely to cost well in excess of €100 million, for any club intending to prize him away from the Et…

Market: Hacken win

Odds: 19/20 @

Getting their Europa League qualifying campaign underway on Thursday evening, Aberdeen will travel out to Sweden when they meet Hacken.

Starting with the hosts, while Hacken might still face an uphill battle to retain their domestic crown this season, the Swedish giants are in the midst of a stellar purple patch. Tipped as a standout contender to spring what would be a qualifying upset this month, the Wasps certainly find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Keeping up their recent charge over the weekend and picking up some perfect momentum as they landed an action-packed 3-2 victory against Sirius, Per-Mathias Hogmo’s men have gained a string of plaudits from across the continent. Extending on their Europa League qualify…

Germany head coach Joachim Low has batted away talk of  world-class  Toni Kroos retiring from international football after this year s European Championship.

Real Madrid midfielder Kroos withdrew from the Germany squad at the start of last week, ahead of their opening World Cup qualifying fixtures.

Low s side claimed maximum points from their first two Group J games against Iceland and Romania and will expect to make it a hat-trick of triumphs when North Macedonia visit Duisburg on Wednesday.

Kroos is Die Mannschaft s most-capped active player – and joint 10th overall – having featured 101 times since his Germany debut in 2010.

His last appearance was in November s humiliating 6-0 Nations League defeat to Spain, although he did emerge with s…

Two of the top sides in La Liga will meet this Sunday in a thrilling encounter, as Barcelona will take on Sevilla at Camp Nou. Los Blaugranas are coming off a huge win over Inter Milan midweek in the UEFA Champions League, while Sevilla did the same thing against APOEL in the UEFA Europa League. Now these two sides will collide in La Liga. Kick-off is scheduled for 20:00 hrs BST.

Barcelona

Los Blaugranas endured a tough start to the 2019-20 season and arguably, their lowest point was a 0-2 away defeat at Granada where fans were questioning whether it was worthwile to keep Ernesto Valverde as the manager. However, the reigning Liga champions have turned things around of late and now enter this game on a three-game winning streak across all competitions. They are coming off a com…