Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech does not believe playing in the Europa League next season would be a disaster, though the club still hope to seal a Champions League spot on the Premier League s final day.
Even if the Gunners beat Everton on Sunday, they would need Liverpool to draw against Middlesbrough or Manchester City to lose at Watford with a goal difference swing of five in their favour if they are to stand any chance of a top-four finish.
If they do not, finishing fifth will mean Arsenal play in the Europa League for 2017-18, something they have not done for 17 years.
But Cech, who won the Europa League with Chelsea in 2013, feels the competition deserves respect, especially now that it offers the winners a Champions League place.
A European trophy…
With another stacked European schedule on the cards this weekend, the action opens up on Saturday afternoon. So, for those of you out there looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have searched far and wide to find you a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday 6th March
BST 15:00 Millwall vs Blackburn Rovers
Starting with Saturday s hosts, while Millwall might have endured a sluggish end to February, The Lions managed to make a much-welcomed return to winning ways in midweek. Coming from behind at home against Preston on home soil, Gary Rowett s side secured a late 2-1 victory in South London and they have extended their stay in the top-half of the Championship table. Although many might feel that a late play-off charge might be…
What the papers say
Ivan Toney is looking rather popular right now, with The Independent reporting that Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has his eyes set on the banned Brentford star.
Toney’s forced football hiatus for betting breaches runs out in January, and it seems Chelsea are keen to snap up the one-cap England striker.
Word on the sideline is that a deal could be struck in the frantic final days of the transfer window but Brentford would want a cool £80 millionfor the 27-year-old, who has two years left on his current deal with the Bees.
Speaking of Chelsea, the Daily Mail reports that Arsenal has rebuffed an approach from the Blues for 23-year-old attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe. But Chelsea are said to still be eager for his signature, and may b…
Scotland boss Gordon Strachan has a host of key players missing for the clash as Darren Fletcher, Steven Fletcher, Kenny Miller, Scott Brown, James Forrest, Charlie Mulgrew, Danny Fox, Lee Wallace and Gary Caldwell are all ruled out.
West Brom midfielder James Morrison has been named as Scotland s captain for the tie.
It s going to be hard. The squad is young. Some of our players don t even play European football, so it s imperative they get some kind of training for big games, Strachan said.
But, for all our hard work, we know we are playing against world class players.
Croatia are missing two key players in Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka, who are both suspended.
Dinamo Zagreb s 16-year-old starlet Alen Halilovic, who has been linked with a nu…
Denis Suarez has called on Villarreal to treat Thursday s Europa league tie with Sparta Prague as though it were a visit of Barcelona.
Europa League semi-finalists in 2011, eliminated by eventual winners Sevilla in last season s competition and having reached the last eight this term with wins over Napoli and Bayern Leverkusen, Villarreal will enter this tie with plenty of confidence.
Sparta will be no pushovers, however. The Czech side are one of just two clubs to have started the season in the Europa League who remain in the competition unbeaten, along with Liverpool, scoring three goals in each of their last three away games.
An eye-catching 3-0 win at Lazio in the last round helped Sparta become the first Czech side to reach the quarter-finals of European co…
Diego Costa arrived in Spain on Friday as the striker closed in on his return to Atletico Madrid from Chelsea.
The Premier League champions on Thursday confirmed they had agreed terms with Atletico for the sale of the Brazilian-born Spain international for a fee that could reportedly rise to €60million.
Costa will not be able to play for Diego Simeone s team until January as Atletico serve a FIFA-imposed player registration ban.
But, having succeeded in forcing through his departure from Stamford Bridge, Costa landed in the Spanish capital to undergo a medical.
Atléticos, a friend says hi!
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish)
The centre-forward moved to the Blues after helping Atletico to win LaLiga in 2013-14 and proved…
David Ospina urged Colombia not to let their impressive victory over Poland go to waste as they seek another three points against Senegal and qualification from Group H.
The 2014 quarter-finalists got their Russia 2018 campaign off to a torrid start, Carlos Sanchez s third-minute red card against Japan setting the tone for an opening 2-1 defeat.
They bounced back in style against Poland, however, cruising to a 3-0 win in Kazan on Sunday to eliminate their opponents and keep their own hopes alive.
Colombia sit third in the group, a point adrift of Japan and Senegal, who defeated Poland 2-1 in their first game before an entertaining 2-2 draw with the Blue Samurai last time out.
While a point will definitely be enough to see Senegal through to the last 16, C…
Barcelona have joined the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld, according to the Mirror.
Manchester United have been linked with a move for the Belgium international for some months and now the La Liga giants have thrown their hat into the ring.
With mounting injury concerns, the Catalan club could well table a bid for the twenty-nine-year old when the transfer window reopens in January, with Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt also on their radar.
Alderweireld made just fourteen league appearances for Spurs last season, though he has played in all but one of their eight so far this term.
In total, he has turned out for the North London club one hundred and fifteen times since signing from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2015, scoring si…
Spanish daily newspaper Marca understands that Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement with Villarreal to sign central midfielder Rodri Hernandez.
The highly rated youngster will be joining los Rojiblancos at the end of the season in a deal that could be worth up to €25 million.
Signing a high-quality holding midfielder has been a priority for Diego Simeone for quite some time, as Tiago (retired), Gabi (nearing the end of his career) and Augusto Fernandez (injury problems) are no longer viable options.
Everybody agrees that Rodri is the right man for the job and he is also seen as Sergio Busquets’ successor in the Spain national team.
Rodri Hernandez had spent seven years in Atletico Madrid youth academy before joining Villarreal in 2013 and he wen…
Graham Potter was delighted to see Hakim Ziyech show his quality at the World Cup, but the Chelsea head coach says there will always be talented players out of favour at Stamford Bridge.
Ziyech was one of the stars of the tournament as Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar, playing a prominent role in several devastating counter-attacking displays from the Atlas Lions.
However, the tricky winger has enjoyed limited time on the field in the Premier League this season, featuring for a total of just 148 minutes and only starting one game.
Ziyech s strong performances in Qatar have led to suggestions he could leave Chelsea in search of regular game time, but Potter remains hopeful he will excel at Stamford Bridge.
<…