Football Previews

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis hopes his team can maintain their winning momentum and beat Empoli in Tuscany on Thursday. The azzurri are riding a three-match winning streak in Serie A that has put them firmly in contention for a top-three finish and a spot in next season’s Champions League. The Naples outfit, following 3-0 wins over Fiorentina and Cagliari, ...

Boss Nigel Pearson has warned his Leicester side they have achieved nothing yet despite climbing out of the relegation zone. The Foxes are a point above the Barclays Premier League bottom three ahead of Wednesday visit of leaders Chelsea. Leicester have won their last four games, including Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Burnley, to lift them out of the drop zone ...

Roma coach Rudi Garcia is not going to panic ahead of Wednesday’s game at Sassuolo despite his team’s precarious hold on third place in the Serie A standings. A top-three finish is required to have a chance of playing in next season’s Champions League. The sides that come in first and second will qualify directly for the competition. Garcia’s team ...

Sampdoria will have to dig in on Wednesday against Hellas Verona and for the rest of the season as they try to overcome the loss of top scorer Citadin Eder to injury. Looking to hold on to a Europa League-qualifying position, Samp will have to cope without their Italian forward after he sustained a knee ligament injury in Sunday’s 4-2 ...

Torino want their upset of three-time defending champions Juventus to be a launchpad to achieve Europa League football for next season. The Granata travel to Sicily to face Palermo on Wednesday after beating city rivals Juve in Serie A for the first time in two decades. Toro had lost their previous seven meetings against Juve. “This is the icing on ...

Lazio coach Stefano Pioli is hopeful his side can start a new winning streak against Parma on Wednesday that will carry them to a second-place finish in Serie A. Fourteen points behind runaway league leaders Juventus, Lazio are trying to beat Roma and Napoli to a runners-up finish that would ensure direct qualification to the Champion League. “We want to ...

Juventus will look to get their Serie A title march going once again when they host Fiorentina on Wednesday night. The Bianconeri are 14 points clear of Lazio at the top of the standings with six games remaining but have lost some momentum with two defeats in their last three Serie A games. Juve have not lost at home all ...

Chievo have hit form at just the right time and go into Wednesday’s match at home to relegation-threatened Cagliari knowing that victory would ensure them of Serie A football next season. The Verona outfit have lost just one of their last eight league games and held second-place Lazio to a 1-1 draw in Rome on Sunday to climb to 14th ...

Atalanta’s Serie A survival hopes have been hit by a five-match suspension for top scorer German Denis. The Argentinian forward, who will begin serving his ban on Wednesday when Atalanta visit Cesena, was punished after entering Empoli’s changing room on Sunday and punching opposing defender Lorenzo Tonelli. Denis, who has netted eight goals this season including a stoppage-time equaliser to ...

Genoa will have to make a late-season push to qualify for the Europa League without Argentinian forward Diego Perotti, starting with Wednesday’s game at AC Milan. Perotti has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after sustaining a serious thigh injury in Sunday’s 3-1 triumph over Cesena. The South American, who has struck four goals and set up ...

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 Super Cup and Copa del Rey the following term ...

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 ...