Conte warns Napoli ´far away´ from Scudetto despite strong Serie A start

Antonio Conte warned against complacency after Napoli ended a Serie A matchday top of the table for the first time since they captured the Scudetto in 2022-23.

Goals from Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia helped Napoli to a 2-0 home win over Monza on Sunday, taking them to 13 points from their first six league games under Conte.

Having gone through three head coaches as they finished a dismal 10th as defending champions last season, Napoli have now kept as many Serie A clean sheets under Conte (four) as they managed in their previous 31 outings in the competition.

They have also managed three successive shutouts for the first time since February 2023 and are guaranteed to end matchday six at the summit of Serie A.

Conte, however, says there is muc…

Sterling will pull through – Onuoha backs Man City star as Euro 2020 looms

Raheem Sterling still has the determination and strength of character to make an impact on the biggest stage, according to former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha.

Sterling is expected to start England s opening Euro 2020 game against their 2018 World Cup conquerors Croatia at Wembley, even though his club form dwindled during the second half of the 2020-21 campaign.

So often an automatic pick during the Pep Guardiola era, Sterling fell out of favour for Manchester City as they continued their progress towards a third Premier League title in four seasons.

The 26-year-old has only scored once apiece for club and country since February, with rumours over a deterioration of relations with Guardiola and speculation surrounding whether or not he will sign a new c…

Napoli name Walter Mazzarri as new manager

Walter Mazzarri has been named as the new manager of Napoli.

The experienced 62-year-old replaces Rudi Garcia, who lasted only five months in the role.

The Serie A champions have struggled in their title defence, winning only six of their 12 matches, and sit 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan.

Walter Mazzarri è il nuovo allenatore del Napoli.⁰Bentornato Mister!

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli)

Napoli revealed the news in a brief post on social media, saying: “Walter Mazzarri is the new coach of Napoli. Welcome back Mister.”

Mazzarri has huge experience in Serie A, including coaching Napoli from 2009 to 2013.

It was a successful tenure, with Napoli qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, winning the Co…

Five more Euro teams set for 2010 World Cup berths

Spain and England are among five European teams that can secure a spot in the 2010 World Cup on Wednesday, as France could be left with just the playoffs with Portugal may be all but out.

Serbia, Denmark and Slovakia can also advance, although the Danes and Slovakians need a win coupled with other results going their way.

European champion Spain hosts Estonia in Merida and will be confident of winning for the eighth time in eight Group 5 games. The Spaniards will qualify if second-place Bosnia-Herzegovina fails to beat Turkey at home.

Favorites with the British bookmakers to win the World Cup for the first time, the Spaniards are six points ahead of the Bosnians, who have a four-point advantage over the Turks.

Vicente del Bosque s star-studded Spain is a…

Austin FC to join MLS in 2021

Austin FC will become the 27th MLS team in 2021, league commissioner Don Garber announced on Tuesday.

Austin will play in a new $225million stadium and will be Texas third MLS side, joining FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo.

However, Austin will become the city s first team in a major professional sports league.

Austin is a thriving metropolitan city – the personification of what we mean when we say MLS is a League for a new America,’ Garber said in a statement. We are extremely proud to be the first major professional sports league to become part of the culture of this historic American city.

Let s do this Austin!

— Austin FC (@AustinFC)

Austin mayor Steve Adler said the city would be positively impacted by the addition of the club.

LaLiga 2022-23: Real Madrid still the team to beat – Stats Perform AI predicts

LaLiga, home to the European champions, returns on Friday for another season.

Real Madrid ended the previous campaign by winning the Champions League, the prize they covet most, but it was also a successful year in domestic action.

Carlo Ancelotti s men eased to a record-extending 35th league title by 13 points – that is the gap Barcelona have sought to bridge in the transfer market during the close season. So, just how successfully have they done that?

Stats Perform AI has predicted the outcome of the coming campaign, estimating the likelihood of teams finishing in each position informed by their expected results in each match.

These are calculated using betting odds and Stats Perform s team rankings – based on historical and recent team performances…

LaLiga 2021-22: ´Big two´ turmoil opens door again after Atletico title triumph

If the coming LaLiga campaign can match the previous few months for drama, an epic is in store.

The 2021-22 season gets under way this weekend with Spanish football still reeling from Lionel Messi s remarkable Barcelona departure.

The move to Paris Saint-Germain leaves one of LaLiga s grandest clubs without its talisman, while rivals Real Madrid have also seen their captain depart for the French capital on a free transfer.

Where does that leave defending champions Atletico Madrid and the rest heading into the opening weekend? Stats Perform takes a look.

SPAL 2013 complete Coppa third-round line-up

SPAL 2013 completed the line-up for the third round of the Coppa italia thanks to a 1-0 win over Catania on Monday.

Gianmarco Zigoni s goal in the 59th minute was enough to settle the second-round fixture in Sicily.

Third-tier SPAL will meet Cesena in the next round, which includes Serie A giants Milan after their woeful 2014-15 campaign saw them enter the cup competition earlier than usual.

NFL Week 18 Survivor Picks: Playing it Safe With the Bills

If you’re reading this NFL Week 18 survivor picks piece with an entry still alive in your respective pool, congrats. To steal a line from Captain Kirk, you’ve boldly gone where no survivor player has gone before: Week 18.

The 2021-22 NFL season was my first foray back into the whacky world of survivor pools in more than a decade, and it came with plenty of hard – yet valuable – lessons, especially after our entry in the Circa Sportsbook Survivor Pool Contest went tits up in Week 1.

Here are some of those lessons that I will take into next season, should they actually let me do this weekly article again:

• Don’t get cute. Stick with the bigger favorites until you can’t.

• Don’t take the most popu…

NFL Week 13 Survivor Picks: Indy Bounces Back in Soft Spot

Do you need to be a chef to know what tastes delicious? Do you need to be a composer to enjoy music? Do you need to be a survivor pool expert to give weekly survivor pool advice? Ahh… don’t answer that last one.

As I stated three months ago back in Week 1, I am no survivor pool expert and 2021 was my first dip in the pool in more than a decade. Along the way, I’ve provided some valuable insights into which teams you should and shouldn’t count on for your weekly NFL survivor picks. And I’ve always led poolies to their doom. Week 12 was a doom week, with every bit of info going sideways.

Honestly, if you’re still searching for NFL survivor pools picks in December, you might get a call to write this weekly report next season. …