Manchester City will stand on the verge of winning a second Premier League title in three years with victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday.

Liverpool s 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday left Brendan Rodgers men just a single point clear at the top, meaning victory in their game in hand against Villa at the Etihad Stadium would see City lead the way heading into the final weekend of the season.

Avoiding defeat against West Ham on Sunday would then likely be enough for Manuel Pellegrini s side, with the 2011-12 champions boasting a significantly better goal difference than Liverpool.

City arguably overcame their biggest hurdle in the run-in by battling to a 3-2 victory at Everton on Saturday, and forthcoming home clashes with Villa and West Ham will not fill many of t…

Jupp Heynckes was quick to praise everybody associated with former club Bayern Munich after being named FIFA World Coach of the Year.

The 68-year-old masterminded Bayern s unprecedented treble in 2013, guiding the club to a 23rd Bundesliga title as well as the DFB-Pokal and the UEFA Champions League last season before retiring and making way for Pep Guardiola.

Heynckes achievements were recognised at the FIFA Ballon d Or awards ceremony in Zurich on Monday as he beat former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp to land the gong.

It is the first time a German coach has won the award since its inception in 2010 and Heynckes wasted little time in paying tribute to the players and staff he had at his disposal at Bayern.

I m …

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has distanced himself from reports he could join LaLiga giants Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Belgium international Courtois spent three seasons on loan with Madrid s fierce rivals Atletico before establishing himself as Chelsea number one for the 2014-15 Premier League season.

Madrid are thought to be on the lookout for a goalkeeping upgrade on the back of their 2015 move for Manchester United s David de Gea falling through and Keylor Navas dwindling form this term.

By contrast, Courtois has cut an assured figure in helping to steer Chelsea towards Premier League glory and foresees his long-term future being at Stamford Bridge.

I don t see myself at Real Madrid, he told Cadena Ser.

I see myself at Chel…

After missing out on the 2012 tournament by losing to Portugal in the play-offs, Bosnia-Herzegovina will be desperate to avoid the same scenario by winning the first leg of the Euro 2016 play-off in Zenica. Looking to spoil their plans will be injury-plagued Republic of Ireland, whose away performances against top sides have been anything but impressive.

Bosnia-Herzegovina haven t enjoyed a great deal of success since the country gained independence from Yugoslavia, but the national team were always quite competitive and they finally qualified for a major tournament by reaching the 2014 World Cup last summer. Their first appearance at the biggest stage did not go well as they were pipped by Nigeria to a place in the knockout stages and that clearly left a negative effect on the…

Bayern Munich could be set for a busy transfer window.

With Barcelona struggling financially, clubs are eyeing some of their talent.

Bayern are reportedly interested in a number of players at Camp Nou.

TOP STORY – DE JONG, TER STEGEN WANTED IN MUNICH

Bayern Munich are eyeing Barcelona quartet Frenkie de Jong, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Pedri and Sergino Dest, according to Sport.

Barca are a club in crisis amid their financial woes, which led to the departure of superstar captain Lionel Messi on a free transfer at the start of the season.

Now, Bundesliga champions Bayern are looking to capitalise, having previously been linked with midfielders De Jong and Pedri, goalkeeper Ter Stegen and right-back Dest.

ROUND-…

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni disapproved of CONMEBOL s decision to move the Copa America to Brazil, describing the situation as alarming amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This year s Copa America – postponed from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic – had been due to be shared between Colombia and Argentina, though both countries were removed as co-hosts following respective political and coronavirus issues.

CONMEBOL confirmed the 2021 tournament will go ahead as planned, with Brazil taking over hosting duties in pursuit of back-to-back titles, despite being one of the country s worst hit by the COVID-19 health crisis.

As Argentina prepare to open the showpiece event in the scheduled curtain-raiser against Chile on June 13, Scaloni questioned the gover…

Sir Alex Ferguson reckons the stakes have rarely been higher for a Manchester derby ahead of Wednesday s match at Eastlands.

Manchester City trail Ferguson s second-placed Manchester United by three points as both sets of supporters continue to get used to the Blues heightened expectations of success.

Ferguson has rarely wasted an opportunity to comment on what is going on at Eastlands since the Abu Dhabi United Group s takeover of City in 2008.

He has often expressed wonder at the millions City have spent on new players and was quick to criticise the Blues over the Welcome to Manchester Carlos Tevez poster they erected in the city centre shortly after signing the Argentinian from United.

Ferguson also branded them noisy neighbours after United s 4-3 der…

Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United need to knuckle down, rack up wins and improve in possession as they attempt to sneak into the Champions League spots.

This has been a season to forget for Erik ten Hag’s side, who put back-to-back Premier League defeats behind them by edging past relegation-threatened Everton 2-0 on Saturday lunchtime.

First half penalties from Fernandes and Marcus Rashford decided the contest at Old Trafford, with the former calling on United to ignore background noise and focus on themselves during the run-in.

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— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Put to the Red Devils skipper that it feels like every match feels like a big game right now, he told MUTV: “It is actually.

“Obviously we know that this se…

Andy Carroll will undergo a scan on his hamstring injury on Thursday with West Ham boss Slaven Bilic insisting there is no reason to be negative .

Carroll lasted just 15 minutes of Tuesday s 3-1 win at Bournemouth after suffering a setback in yet another injury-plagued season.

The England striker has rarely had a consistent run in the first team since joining the Hammers from Liverpool in 2012 but did return over the Christmas period with goals against his previous employers and Southampton.

Bilic, whose side visit Newcastle United at the weekend, said at Thursday s news conference: Andy has a scan today so we will wait for that. It s his hamstring, it s something in between a big and little one.

Of course we will be cautious, and it is a blow for us bec…

Peterborough United scored two late equalisers to earn an FA Cup fourth-round replay at London Road after dramatically drawing 2-2 at West Brom on Saturday.

Saido Berahino shrugged off speculation about his future by giving West Brom the lead with a brilliant strike after just 14 minutes at The Hawthorns, beating Jak Alnwick with a clipped shot from outside the penalty area.

The Premier League outfit had only won one of their last five matches in all competitions and Peterborough deservedly equalised through Shaquile Coulthirst with 11 minutes to go after some slack defending. 

Berahino put West Brom back in the lead with another fine strike on 84 minutes but substitute Jon Taylor hit back with a volley a minute later to set up a replay. 

West Brom had …