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Aston Villa go into the Christmas games in fourth place knowing that games against Arsenal and Liverpool could see them announce themselves as genuine title contenders.

Everyone at Villa Park is well aware that last February Villa found themselves in a similar position but faded away badly and eventually finished sixth.

Martin O’Neill is desperate for his players to remain focussed and to not get carried away with their success,

The same thing might happen again. We are on a decent run but the Premier League is very unforgiving. You are going along nicely, you win a couple of games but then you pick up a couple of injuries, lose a game and want to know where the next win is coming from. I think it s very much the case of same again. We …

American midfielder Ricardo Clark has agreed to a deal with German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. The 26 year old Clark has put pen to paper a deal that will see him stay at Frankfurt till the end of the 2009-10 season. The contract also contains an extension option.

Clark was a free agent after his contract with MLS club Houston Dynamo ended in 2009.

This is Clark s first stint outside the United States.  He started his senior career with the New York Red Bulls ( then known as the MetroStars) in 2003 before being traded to the San Jose Earthquakes in 2005.  Clark was part of several Earthquakes players who moved base to Texas  for the 2006 season, thereby forming Houston Dynamo.

Clark is expected to make his first appearance for the club only in Februa…

France coach Didier Deschamps says he does not hold a grudge against Karim Benzema and has claimed the Real Madrid striker could return to the national team.

Benzema has been in international exile since being placed under formal investigation by French police in November 2015 over an alleged blackmail plot involving fellow France international Mathieu Valbuena and missed out on Euro 2016, with the striker subsequently suggesting Deschamps bowed to racially motivated pressures in leaving him out of his squad.

French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet recently stressed Deschamps is free to select the 29-year-old, and the coach has now hinted a comeback could be on the cards.

What happened is in the past now. I do not feel any resentment toward him, D…

Pep Guardiola will leave Bayern Munich when his contract expires at the end of the 2015-16 season and be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti.

The former Barcelona boss still has six months left to run on his deal, but a period of intense speculation over his next move is now in store, with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United linked with making a move.

Following his decision to leave Germany, here are some of Guardiola s best and worst moments of his Bayern career to date ahead of an end to the season that is set to define the success of his reign…

LOW Loses first game in charge to Dortmund 

Guardiola s debut match saw two goals from Marco Reus give Dortmund a 4-2 win over Bayern in the DFL-Super Cup. He also went on to lose to Dortmund…

FIFA has invited football s governing bodies to an online summit to discuss biennial World Cup plans and the international calendar on September 30.

FIFA, led by chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, has been promoting the idea for the World Cup to shift format and take place every two years.

Wenger s proposal would see a major final held every year, the former Arsenal manager previously suggesting players would be playing in another tournament if it was not the World Cup either way.

However, UEFA and CONMEBOL have both rubbished the suggestions due to scheduling concerns, with FIFA now inviting the pair along with all other member associations and league representatives to discuss matters further.

There is a broad consensus within the gam…

Aurelien Tchouameni has dismissed talk of him being the new Paul Pogba and explained why he turned down Paris Saint-Germain to join Real Madrid.

Tchouameni has emerged as another big French talent, prompting Madrid to lure him to Santiago Bernabeu from Monaco for a fee of €80million that could rise to €100m in June.

PSG are among the top European clubs who were also eager to land the midfielder, but he had already agreed to sign for the European champions.

Tchouameni has been likened to France team-mate Pogba, but the 22-year-old does not want to hear those comparisons after making a name for himself.

He told Telefoot: I am not the new Pogba, I am Aurelien Tchouameni, I try to write my own story. Pogba is a player I followed a lot when he was little a…

Lazio sporting director Igli Tare has quashed rumours Hernanes could leave the club amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Brazilian midfielder was linked with a move to the French capital during the close-season but Tare insists he is fully committed to Lazio and their Serie A campaign.

Lazio have had a mixed start to their league season, recording three wins from their seven matches, with Hernanes involved in six of them and scoring two goals.

The 28-year-old moved to Italy in 2010 from Sao Paulo and Tare expects him to stay at the club for a little longer.

Despite his inconsistency, Hernanes remains a fundamental player for us, Tare told Corriere dello Sport. You just have to think back to the goals he has scored.

Every time that I have spoken to hi…

French club Toulouse FC have confirmed the signing of young Uruguayan defender Adrian Gunino on loan from Danubio Fútbol Club. The loan is for a period of one year, at the end of which TFC can exercise the right to buy the 21 year old s services on a permanent basis.

Montevideo born Gunino started off his career with Danubio and was on loan at Argentine giants Boca Juniors last season. He primarily plays on the right side of defence.

Gunino was part of the Uruguayan squad that played at the FIFA U-20 2009 World Cup. Uruguay qualified from a group that also included Ghana, Uzbekistan and England before losing to Brazil in the Round of 16.

[Source:- Toulouse FC]

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Former Barcelona captain Xavi believes the club s all-star forward trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar is the best attacking line-up in football history.

Messi and Neymar finished first and third respectively in last week s Ballon d Or vote having, along with Suarez, inspired Luis Enrique s team to a haul of five trophies in 2015.

Xavi, who was present for three of those successes before calling time on his illustrious Camp Nou career, believes the coach has impressively developed Barcelona s style from the sublime tiki-taka period under Pep Guardiola – making them equally potent on the counter-attack as they are in possession.

Luis Enrique has evolved Barcelona, said Xavi, who now plays for Qatari club Al Sadd, in an interview with Marca. He is serio…

Diego Simeone has chosen not to reveal the outcome of his talks with Fernando Torres over the striker s Atletico Madrid future.

The 31-year-old s deal at the Vicente Calderon is due to expire at the end of the season and, despite club captain Gabi giving his backing to Atleti making Torres move from AC Milan permanent, there has yet to be any concrete progress in negotiations.

A FIFA registration ban, set to prevent the Liga side from bringing in new players during the next two complete transfer windows, is likely to complicate matters should the club s appeal against the sanction fail.

Simeone has confirmed talks have taken place between himself and Torres, who has not played since January 6, but refused to elaborate on the player s future.

We ve spoke…