Football Previews

Diego Simeone takes charge of his 200th match at the Atletico Madrid helm when the Primera Division champions travel to Villarreal on Wednesday. Simeone, who celebrated his 45th birthday on Tuesday, was appointed head coach in December 2011 and led Los Rojiblancos to Europa League success during his first season, the UEFA Super Cup and Copa del Rey the following ...

Deportivo La Coruna coach Victor Sanchez del Amo insists he is satisfied with the progress his side have made in his short time in charge of the club, even though they have not won any of their last 11 games. The Galicians visit fellow strugglers Elche on Wednesday in a relegation six-pointer, and the coach believes his side can pick ...

Carlo Ancelotti has set his Real Madrid side the target of winning all their remaining games as they hunt for the Primera Division title. A run of five consecutive wins since the Clasico defeat to Barcelona sees Real just two points behind their rivals as they prepare to face Almeria at the Bernabeu on Wednesday. Despite a late goal taking ...

Sevilla coach Unai Emery has warned his side against getting distracted by their upcoming match against Real Madrid when they visit Eibar on Wednesday. The Andalusians are still in the hunt for fourth place, and trail Valencia by two points. They are also looking to go the entire season unbeaten at their Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan home, with Madrid’s visit on ...

Celta Vigo coach Eduardo Berizzo has admitted his side’s hopes of catching Malaga in seventh place hinge on them beating the Andalusians on Wednesday at Balaidos. Malaga’s slide in form has seen their hold on seventh spot loosened, and Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Deportivo La Coruna was their sixth successive match without a win. Celta, meanwhile, have witnessed an upturn ...

Borussia Dortmund must get past old foes Bayern Munich in this week’s DFB-Pokal semi-final at the Allianz Arena if they are to keep alive Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of bowing out with silverware. Klopp will leave Dortmund at the end of the season – with former Mainz boss Thomas Tuchel already confirmed as his replacement – and is set to take ...

Hull boss Steve Bruce has called for Barclays Premier League officials to act to curb rising ticket prices ahead of his side’s KC Stadium clash with Liverpool on Tuesday. Visiting fans’ group Spirit of Shankly is organising a boycott of the game in protest at the B£50 admission charge, and Bruce echoed his Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers in backing its ...

Levante coach Lucas Alcaraz has called on his players to take confidence from their performance at Getafe as their Primera Division survival fight reaches a critical point against bottom-side Cordoba on Tuesday. The Valencia-based outfit ended a three-match winless run with a 1-0 triumph at Getafe on Sunday. The victory, Levante’s eighth of the campaign, lifted them to 15th place ...

Athletic Bilbao could not have picked a better time to face Real Sociedad and get a rare win against their Basque rivals with the two sides squaring off on Tuesday at the San Mames stadium. Real Sociedad, who have not lost to Athletic since 2012, have won three of the last five derbies and are in the midst of a ...

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes Tuesday’s game against Getafe is one his team must win to capture the Primera Division title. The league leaders go into the encounter at the Nou Camp on the back of last weekend’s 2-0 triumph at city rivals Espanyol. The result kept Barca two points clear of Real Madrid with five games remaining. “The three ...

Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini has warned his players to expect a very difficult game at Udinese on Tuesday. The Nerazzurri travel to the Friuli stadium having collected seven points of a possible nine in their last three games. Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Roma lifted Inter to ninth in the standings. “We have to continue to work because we are ...

Laurent Blanc is remaining cool under pressure after Paris St Germain were once again overtaken by Lyon in the race for the Ligue 1 title. Back in the autumn, the capital club took their time to dislodge early leaders Marseille, and they soon found themselves usurped by Lyon, who are targeting a first championship in seven years. Les Gones bumped ...

Valuable points will be at stake for Champions League-chasing Valencia and relegation-threatened Granada when the teams square off on Monday at the Mestalla stadium. Los Che, who have won just one of their last four league games and saw a 10-match unbeaten run halted in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at league leaders Barcelona, are looking to strengthen their grip on ...

Napoli coach Rafa Benitez firmly believes his team can finish second in Serie A and clinch direct qualification to next season’s Champions League. The Naples outfit go into Sunday’s home game against Sampdoria in fourth place in the standings, five points adrift of Lazio, who are second. With seven games remaining and Napoli hosting Lazio in their final game of ...

New Cagliari coach Gianluca Festa has set his sights on masterminding a great escape for the Sardinian club over the last seven games of the season, starting with Sunday’s match at Fiorentina. The former Middlesbrough and Cagliari player this past week replaced Zenek Zeman, who resigned, and his Serie A coaching debut will be at Fiorentina. Cagliari are 19th in ...