Sevilla eyeing Portuguese starlet

Garry Monk has challenged Swansea City to win back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since December 2012 on Saturday.

Swansea welcome Aston Villa to the Liberty Stadium having responded to reports of infighting and questionable half-time snacks with a 2-1 win at Newcastle United last week.

Both the hosts and Villa have endured their fair share of controversy in recent weeks, with the suspension of both assistant manager Ian Culverhouse and head of football operations Gary Karsa dominating the headlines coming out of Villa Park a fortnight ago, but Paul Lambert s men played out a goalless draw with Southampton last time out to avoid losing five in a row.

Swansea six points clear of the relegation zone will be looking to maintain the momentum generated by…

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is aware of the ongoing rumours linking him with Real Madrid, but has insisted he is happy at Old Trafford.

The Spain international, who joined United from Atletico Madrid for a reported fee in the region of £17.8 million, has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe over the past two seasons.

Although De Gea initially struggled with the physicality of the English Premier League, he is now one of United s most consistent week-to-week performers.

Recent reports have suggested Real Madrid are contemplating a move for the Spain No. 1, whose current contract with United is set to expire in June 2016, but the 24-year-old remains happy in Manchester.

It is difficult to …

West Ham United booked their spot in the Championship play-off final with a 3-0 win over Cardiff City on Monday.

West Ham already held a 2-0 lead on aggregate after the first leg, in which Jack Collison s first half double handed them the initiative.

And playing in front of their home fans at Upton Park, West Ham cruised to victory in the second leg as they set up a meeting with either Birmingham City or Blackpool in their bid to return to the English Premier League at the first attempt.

Club captain Kevin Nolan nodded in the opener for Sam Allardyce s side after just nine minutes, a goal that signalled an end to Cardiff s unlikely hopes of snatching a result.

Portuguese forward Ricardo Vaz Te – who scored 20 goals in the regular season – netted the …

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal eased to a 6-0 win away at Luxembourg in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Ronaldo got the ball rolling early on with a tap-in, before further goals from Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva made it 3-0 inside 18 minutes, while Ronaldo added another just after the half-hour mark.

Second-half goals from substitutes Otavio and Rafael Leao completed another routine victory for Portugal after their 4-0 win over Liechtenstein to kick off their qualifying campaign and the rein of new head coach Roberto Martinez.

They sit top of Group J after two games, two points ahead of Slovakia in second after their win against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Portugal took the lead in the ninth minute when a ball to the far post from Bruno Fernandes was headed ba…

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Looking to make an immediate return to winning ways on Saturday evening, Napoli will welcome Atalanta to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Napoli

Starting with the hosts, watching their remarkable winning run come to an abrupt end last weekend, there is no doubt that Napoli will be looking to prove that was nothing more than a minor blip. Despite eventually slumping to a 1-0 loss at home against Lazio, the Azzurri still holding a staggering 15-point buffer at the top of the Serie A table. Still cruising their way towards a first domestic crown since 1990 this year, Luciano Spalletti s side have only continued to gain a string of plaudits from across Italy. Likewise, getting their Champions League knockout stage adventure off to a dre…

Brighton and Hove Albion have announced the return of striker Leonardo Ulloa on loan from Leicester City until the end of the season.

Ulloa has been on the fringes at Leicester, playing only 18 minutes across four substitute appearances in the Premier League this term.

The 31-year-old scored 26 goals in 58 appearances in his previous spell for Brighton, who have already broken their club record to sign PSV striker Jurgen Locadia this month.

Seagulls boss Chris Hughton is thrilled to be bringing Ulloa back to the club, three and a half years after the Argentine left for Leicester.

We re delighted to welcome Leo back to the club, said Hughton. He s scored goals at Premier League level and will further strengthen our attacking options.

I wasn t h…

Juventus have replaced Benedikt Howedes with Stephan Lichtsteiner in their Champions League squad for the knockout phase.

Germany international Howedes, who has managed only one Serie A appearance since his move from Schalke last year, suffered a torn thigh muscle in December.

With the 29-year-old still some way off a first-team return, head coach Massimiliano Allegri has opted to remove him from the 23-man European squad and add Lichtsteiner.

The 34-year-old Swiss defender has been a regular in Juve s side in domestic competition, playing in each of their last four league games.

Juve face Tottenham in the last 16, with the first leg taking place in Turin on February 13.

Here is our 23-man squad list for the knockout stages.  

— Juve…

Mainz striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting says Cameroon are missing their former captain Samuel Eto o.

Eto o is serving an eight-month suspension following a match boycott last November.

The 23-year-old German-born player, who switched allegiance to Cameroon in 2010, told reporters after the Indomitable Lions unimpressive 1-0 victory against Guinea Bissau in 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying that the absence of the four-time African football of the year had left a hole.

We are all missing Eto o. We used to have a very good time with him before his suspension and the team was in good shape, but now you can feel that somebody is not there. We re really missing him, Choupo-Moting said.

I used to score goals through his assists. The setup used to do wonde…

France midfielder Alou Diarra admitted his side paid Spain too much respect during their lacklustre Euro 2012 quarter-final loss.

A Xabi Alonso double condemned France to a second consecutive defeat of a tournament that had begun with such promise, arriving as they did on the back of a 21-game unbeaten run.

Laurent Blanc s side, however, will return to France in only marginally better shape than after the 2010 World Cup when infighting and a player led revolt left the team in tatters.

And Diarra, who was involved in an altercation with Samir Nasri after the loss against Sweden and subsequently lost his place in the side, admitted Blanc got his tactics wrong against the reigning world and European champions.

He said: Well, we should obviously consider who…

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho praised Ryan Sessegnon s display in their 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League  but feels the youngster still has a lot to learn.

Sessegnon scored his maiden goal for Spurs during an eye-catching Champions League appearance at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

It was also the 19-year-old s first start for the club since his move from Fulham and Mourinho was suitably impressed, albeit adding there is plenty of room for improvement.

That is the quality we know he has. He arrives always in dangerous positions and he is a good finisher, Mourinho told BT Sport.

He has a lot to improve. He lost too many individual duels and he has to learn how to use his body. 

He was playing experienced players and has a…