Author: Tristan Wells

Juventus will get their Club World Cup campaign underway tonight as they face Emirati heavyweights Al Ain in Washington, D.C.After a challenging Serie A campaign, where the Bianconeri finished fourth in Serie A and failed to escape the Champions League league phase, Igor Tudor will hope to brighten the mood in Turin with a strong Club World Cup run.They face Al Ain, the 14-time UAE Pro League champions and two-time AFC Champions League winners. They finished second at the Club World Cup in 2018, falling 4-1 to Real Madrid in the final thanks to goals from Luka Modric, Marcos Llorente,…

Royal Ascot is upon us again as one of the signature events on the horse racing calendar takes centre stage this week.250,000 spectators are expected to flock into the grandstands across the five days in Berkshire.Three top-level Group One races all took place on the opening day, setting the tone for quite the event, which has been labelled in the build-up by jockey William Buick as “the biggest five days in our sport”.It is believed that a total of £10million will be handed out in prize money across the festival’s 35 races, of which eight will be Group One-ranked.Here, Standard…

The Bees will head into the new campaign without their long-time manager for the first time since 2018 after he left to join Tottenham. They also face losing some of their best players in Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, both of whom have been linked with moves away from the club this summer.It is a tough start for Brentford, who welcome Aston Villa to west London in their second game, before facing Chelsea, Manchester United, Man City and Liverpool before the end of October.Brentford will be reunited with Frank at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 12, with Frank heading…

Chelsea’s first real test comes away at Manchester United in the middle of September. It is part of a favourable opening run for the Blues as they do not leave London in their first four games.Further London derbies against Tottenham and Arsenal come in November. They meet champions Liverpool on October 4, with the return game set for May which is their penultimate away fixture of the season. The traditional festive period will see Chelsea welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge the day after Boxing Day before hosting Bournemouth to round off the calendar and into 2026. The season concludes…

Both club and coach will be determined to significantly improve on the 2024/25 domestic campaign, which saw Spurs finish a scarcely believable 17th in the league, just above the relegation zone, with only 38 points and 22 defeats. Ange Postecoglou won the Europa League, ending Spurs’ 17-year trophy drought, but was still sacked.Frank has since taken over, having been lured from his role at Brentford to replace the Australian at the helm. Spurs have made the Mathys Tel loan move permanent and are targeting Bryan Mbeumo to further strengthen their attack.Spurs’ first real test comes in their second game as…

City underperformed last term, finishing third in the table, and 13 points off champions Liverpool. They were missing Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and talismanic striker Erling Haaland for long periods of the campaign, and have seen Kevin De Bruyne depart. But City have already spent big this summer in a bid to steal back the title from Arne Slot’s Reds. City’s first big test comes in their second game as they welcome bogey team Tottenham to town. It is part of a tough opening run for Guardiola’s side, with their first Manchester derby against United coming in their fourth game…

The fixtures for the 2025-26 season were released on Wednesday and the Gunners face Manchester United away on the opening weekend and Liverpool away in their third game.Arsenal then play Manchester City at home in their fifth game of the campaign, meaning their title credentials face a tough early test.Thomas Frank’s first game in charge of Tottenham will be at home against Burnley, while Chelsea face Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend.Liverpool kick off the new season with a Friday night game against Bournemouth at Anfield on August 15. Manchester City start away at Wolves.West Ham begin…

Alonso, after leaving Bayer Leverkusen, succeeded Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the domestic league season and it is straight down to work for the Spanish tactician.Los Blancos – the most successful team in Club World Cup history with five titles – should be motivated following a disappointing final few months of the 2024/25 campaign where they finished runners-up to Barcelona, lost in the Copa del Rey final and were knocked out by Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final.Their first game of the new-look competition is a Group H showdown against the most decorated club in Asia.Al-Hilal will be out…

Boosted by four summer signings already, Pep Guardiola’s side are expected to make a winning start to life in Group G. Though they will have to guard against complacency in their showdown with the Moroccan heavyweights.One of four CAF teams competition in the new-look Club World Cup, Wydad qualified thanks to winning the Champions League in 2022 which means in the process they defeated Al Ahly – the dominant force in African football.An intriguing meeting awaits as anything other than a Man City win would be regarded as a big shock.Date, kick-off time and venueMan City vs Wydad AC is…

Missing 13 players called up for the British and Irish Lions, Saturday’s fixture is a great chance for a number of hopefuls to stake their claim for a regular berth under Steve Borthwick ahead of a two-Test summer tour to Argentina next month that is followed by a one-off clash against the USA in Washington.It is England’s first outing since the end of an eventful Six Nations in March, when they ended up finishing second after destroying sorry Wales 68-14 with a stunning 10-try blitz in Cardiff that was ultimately not enough to pip France, who sealed the title after…