Sassuolo boss Eusebio Di Francesco has challenged his players to show no fear when the Italian club begin a first Europa League campaign at home to Athletic Bilbao. The Neroverdi, who finished sixth in Serie A last season, came through two rounds of qualifying to take their place in the group stages, which will also see fixtures against Genk and Rapid Vienna. Di Francesco accepts it is going t...Full Story »

Substitute Joel Pohjanpalo scored his first Bundesliga hat-trick as Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to win 3-1 against Hamburg. Bobby Wood gave Hamburg the lead just before the hour mark, but the visitors could not hold on, and it was Pohjanpalo who undid their good work. The Finn, introduced from the bench in the 72nd minute, levelled seven minutes later and then struck twice in stoppage ti...Full Story »

This story just seems to rumble on. And I'm backing  Messrs Tarantino, Spielberg etc to look at the timeline of events and see it as their next Hollywood blockbuster. It's that crazy. Over the weekend, you may have heard about the horrific kidnapping of Mexico and Olympiakos striker Alan Pulido by a masked gang. News then broke of Pulido's escape, but only later did it emerge that he ...Full Story »

Alan Pulido is seen next to Tamaulipas state governor Egidio Torre Cantu after Pulido's rescue. The Mexican footballer Alan Pulido, who was kidnapped and held for 24 hours over the weekend, escaped his captors by disarming and taking a mobile phone away from one of them, then calling the police, according to an official summary report obtained the Guardian. The report, a summary of three phone...Full Story »

Matt Ritchie's late goal salvaged Bournemouth a 1-1 draw as the Cherries condemned West Brom to an eighth Premier League game without a win. Salomon Rondon headed Tony Pulis' regimented and defensive-minded visitors into the early lead, but Claudio Yacob's mistake gifted Ritchie the late leveller. Craig Gardner missed a first-half penalty for the Baggies, who were unable to hold out in a low-q...Full Story »

Hannover remain rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga after losing their eighth game in a row. Koo Ja-cheol scored the only goal of a 1-0 victory for Augsburg, who pulled four points clear of the bottom three ahead of their trip to Anfield on Thursday. Tobias Werner could have added a late second for the Bavarians while Hannover rarely tested Marwin Hitz, earning boos of disapproval from thei...Full Story »

James O'Connor could return for Walsall's crucial game with promotion rivals Wigan at the Banks's Stadium. The defender missed last week's 1-1 draw at Crewe with a dead leg with Matt Preston deputising at the back. Goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray is still a doubt after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury. Isaiah Osbourne is working in the gym to recover from a knee injury which ha...Full Story »

Craig MacGillivray is set to retain his place in goal as promotion-chasing Walsall host Millwall in Sky Bet League Two. First-choice Neil Etheridge missed the midweek win at Doncaster with a knee injury and is again likely to be on the sidelines. Midfielder Bryn Morris will hope for his first action following his loan move from Middlesbrough after being an unused substitute at the Keepmoat Sta...Full Story »

Oldham breathed fresh life into their battle to beat the drop in League One with a 1-0 victory at fellow strugglers Shrewsbury. Oldham, whose last league win had been a 2-1 triumph at Chesterfield on November 14, were the brighter side throughout as they gained their first victory since John Sheridan returned to the club as manager. The Latics made an enterprising start and Matty Palmer squand...Full Story »

Birmingham City have lost their early-season impetus and dropped more valuable home points in a dour 0-0 draw against struggling Blackburn Rovers at St. Andrew's. It was Birmingham's first point in three games and the third successive match in which they have failed to score. Defensive-minded Blackburn were intent on at least sharing the spoils and were well worth their point. Surprisingly...Full Story »