Xavi Hernandez said Barcelona is the "most difficult club in the world" because of the demands on his team to win while playing good football. Barca face Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal at Camp Nou on Thursday after a 1-1 draw in Germany last week. Xavi, who has taken Barca from ninth in LaLiga to second since replacing Ronald Koeman in November, has...Full Story »

Bristol Rovers could be boosted by the return of Anthony Evans for their Sky Bet League Two clash with Salford.Evans has been out since March 19 because of a calf niggle but boss Joey Barton has revealed he is back in training.Josh Grant came on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Tranmere and Rovers are monitoring his fitness carefully.It was Grant’s comeback after two months out with a ...Full Story »

Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley will need to assess three players ahead of old club Lincoln making the trip to Fratton Park in Sky Bet League One on Good Friday.Michael Jacobs (hamstring), Marcus Harness (knee) and Louis Thompson (hip) started the midweek win over Rotherham but were substituted due to minor issues.Given the quick turnaround to Lincoln’s visit, Cowley may be forced to make ...Full Story »

Midfielder Robbie Willmott could be a doubt for Newport’s Sky Bet League Two clash against Crawley at Rodney Parade on Friday.Willmott limped off during a 1-0 victory over Swindon last weekend that put County back in the play-off places.Jake Cain impressed off the bench on his return after a rib injury and appears a likely starter, while centre-back Josh Pask is available again after recov...Full Story »

Liverpool have been training today ahead of the Reds Champions League quarter-final second leg clash with Benfica at Anfield tomorrow night and there was a notable absence from their open training session today. Midfielder Thiago was nowhere to be seen according to the Liverpool Echo’s Paul Gorst and will have many fans wondering if there is something wrong with the player. Jurgen Klo...Full Story »

But Robert Page's future as boss of the Dragons remains in doubt. Gareth Bale will leave Real this summer when his contract expires Credit: REX FEATURES Robert Page's future as Wales boss remains in doubt Credit: REUTERS Bale, who was named on the bench for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea, will leave the Bernabeu when his contract expires this summer. The Wales capta...Full Story »

Reports over the past week have linked the prolific striker with a move to Spain Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn has quashed reports that Robert Lewandowski is set to leave the club this summer for Barcelona. Kahn said Lewandowski will "definitely" be with the Bavarian organisation in 2022-23 and added that it would be crazy to think otherwise. Lewandowski is enjoying another standout season ...Full Story »

Wigan boss Leam Richardson praised defender Kelland Watts for an outstanding stoppage-time clearance that secured a point from a goalless draw with Burton.In a game of few chances, both goalkeepers impressed when called upon but it was Watts who was the hero at the end, heading Joe Powell’s lob off his own line with Ben Amos beaten.“That is probably one of the best clearances I have ...Full Story »

Burton are set to be without Jonny Smith at home to Sky Bet League One leaders Wigan.Smith suffered a shoulder injury during Saturday’s goalless draw with Plymouth and failed to reappear after the break.Christian Saydee could deputise if Oumar Niasse is unavailable again after missing two games through what Brewers boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has described as “personal issues”...Full Story »

Thomas Frank felt Brentford’s performance against West Ham was their best of the season after goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney surely banished any lingering fears of relegation.The Bees’ dynamic strike duo sank lacklustre West Ham 2-0 to move 12 points clear of the Premier League drop zone.Brentford stunned Chelsea 4-1 at Stamford Bridge last weekend, but head coach Frank felt ...Full Story »

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has fired a warning to his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola ahead of the crunch Premier League clash on Sunday - with the German admitting his burning desire to beat the Spaniard is what fuels him. The duo have been title rivals for the last four seasons, with City prevailing twice and Liverpool claiming their first Premier League trophy since its inceptio...Full Story »

Son Heung-min fired a sensational hat-trick as Tottenham took control of the race for a Premier League top-four spot with a 4-0 win at Aston Villa.After Manchester United and Arsenal both lost earlier in the day, Son’s treble and a fine Dejan Kulusevski strike sent Spurs three points in clear in fourth.It was a fourth win in a row, a seventh from the last nine and makes it difficult to loo...Full Story »

Michael Duff hailed his Cheltenham team as the best in the club’s history after their 1-0 home win over Portsmouth.Liam Sercombe scored the only goal of the game to keep the Robins in the top half of the League One table with four games left.Victory kept Duff’s men firmly on course to beat the club’s highest finish of 17th place in the third tier, with last year’s League ...Full Story »

Keith Hill admitted he shares Scunthorpe fans’ frustrations after a brief second-half protest added to the woe of his side’s 4-0 defeat to Mansfield, a result which left them teetering on the brink of relegation from the English Football League.The Stags were already well on the way to three points thanks to Anthony Grant’s own goal and strikes from Stephen McLaughlin, Ryan Sti...Full Story »

Joey Barton was frustrated that his Bristol Rovers side could not find a vital winner at Tranmere.Elliot Anderson scored a superb second-half equaliser for the Gas in a tense battle between the Sky Bet League Two play-off rivals.But Barton’s men had to settle for a point from a 1-1 draw on Merseyside after responding to Kane Hemmings’ brilliant opener.Barton said: “We were a li...Full Story »

Measured Forest Green boss Rob Edwards is still taking it one game at a time after the League Two leaders were held to a 1-1 draw by a dogged Hartlepool.Regan Hendry’s 53rd-minute strike put Rovers ahead but Omar Bogle equalised with 21 minutes to go.Both sides had chances to win it in stoppage time with Pools substitute Joe Grey firing wide and Rovers’ Kasey McAteer missing a glorio...Full Story »

Ayr came from two goals down to earn a 2-2 cinch Championship draw in their home clash with Inverness.Inverness opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Shane Sutherland after good work from Billy Mckay on the right side.Logan Chalmers then doubled the visitors’ lead with a fine strike from the edge of the area seven minutes later, with Mckay once again getting the assist.Ayr reduced...Full Story »

Kilmarnock moved closer to an immediate return to the Scottish Premiership with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to struggling Dunfermline.Kyle Lafferty’s close-range finish in the first half and Oli Shaw’s header in the second kept the hosts four points clear of second-placed Arbroath with only three games to go.Killie went into the game looking to bounce back from dropping points in a...Full Story »

Celtic tightened their grip on the cinch Premiership title yet further with a 7-0 thrashing of second-bottom St Johnstone at Parkhead.Goals from Reo Hatate, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda gave the relentless Hoops an unassailable interval lead.Josip Juranovic added a fourth from the spot early in the second half and Matt O’Riley scored twice in three minutes before fellow substi...Full Story »

Mansfield moved up to fourth place in League Two with a 4-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Scunthorpe to leave the Iron’s 72-year stay in the English Football League teetering on the brink.Only Oldham and Barrow’s failure to win granted Scunthorpe what is likely to be a brief stay of execution, and play was held up for four minutes in the second half as around 30 disgruntled fans entered...Full Story »