Market: Atlanta win

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On Thursday, Atlanta will look to take advantage of the first of their two games in hand when they travel to the Gillette Stadium to face off against New England Revolution.

For New England, back in November, The Revolution turned to former Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel in an attempt to improve on last years ninth place finish in the Eastern Conference. Currently sat sixth in the table, The Blues are coming off the back of a 3-3 draw away at the Vancouver Whitecaps last time out, Friedel will be hoping to improve on his sides recent defensive issues. Although New England have only lost two of their last 12 at the Gillette Stadium, The Revs have now conceded 10 in their last four and they have only kept one clean sheet at hom…

Manchester United advanced to the League Cup fourth round with a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton on Wednesday even though the holders played more than half of the match with 10 men.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who made 11 changes to the team that defeated Manchester City on Sunday, saw Brazilian defender Fabio Da Silva sent off for a professional foul in the first half at Old Trafford.

Fabio, making only his fifth appearance, slipped as he tried to catch Michael Kightly in the 28th minute and only managed to drag the Wolves winger to the turf as he sprinted clear.

But Michael Owen had scored the winner against City and he turned provider with a pass to Danny Welbeck that allowed the young forward to break Wolves stubborn resistance in the 66th minute.

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Avram Grant has been appointed as Portsmouth s director of football, the club have confirmed.

The 54-year-old Israeli returns to Fratton Park having occupied the same role from 2006 to 2007 before succeeding Jose Mourinho as manager of Chelsea.

It is the first significant move since Ali Al Faraj completed his 90 per cent buy-out of the club from Sulaiman Al Fahim earlier this week.

Grant, who took Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final, will work alongside manager Paul Hart as the club aim to climb off the bottom of the Premier League with just one win from eight games so far.

Grant has also worked as coach of the Israel national team. He was one penalty kick away from leading Chelsea to Champions League glory as the Blues lost to Manchester United i…

Southern League side Hereford United have been wound up by a High Court judge.

The club relegated from the Football League in 2012 were reported to owe £116,000 to HM Revenue and Customs, although owner Andy Lonsdale had promised to invest £1milllion.

Lonsdale, though, was late in arriving at court on Friday, and the judge elected to proceed with the winding up order.

Herefordshire Council reacted to the news by revealing their plans for repossessing the club s Edgar Street grond.

As Hereford United Football Club (1939) Limited is in the process of being wound up and a liquidator will be appointed, this action triggers the council’s right as landlord to forfeit the leases, read a statement.  The council will now pursue this and seek to gain formal …

Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane is stepping up his efforts as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

The France international broke into the Real starting XI last season under Jose Mourinho, impressing many with his assured and confident performances in both domestic and European competition.

However, the 20-year-old, who moved to the Bernabeu from Ligue 2 side Lens in 2011, has yet to feature under new manager Carlo Ancelotti after undergoing surgery to repair meniscus damage to his right knee sustained against Espanyol in May.

Varane s comeback may not be too far away, though, with the Lille-born centre-back confirming that he has now returned to training with the ball at his feet, and is looking to make further progress in the near future.

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Argentina are the biggest World Cup name in danger of being sent home early from Russia 2018.

After taking a single point from their first two matches in Group D, Lionel Messi and his side need to produce something special against Nigeria to stay in the tournament.

But there are plenty of other teams yet to secure their place in the knockout stage of the World Cup, while a few nations are already assured of their exits.

Here, we wrap up everything you need to know about the permutations for all eight groups heading into the final round of fixtures.

GROUP A

Russia and Uruguay have already confirmed they will be in the last 16, but top spot is still up for grabs when they meet in Samara on Monday. But with Spain potentially finishing beh…

Stoke City have tabled a £5m for Sunderland defender Paddy McNair, according to the Mail Online.

Gary Rowett, who was named as the Potters’ new manager a month ago is aiming to get the club back to the top flight at the first time of asking and has identified the former Manchester United man as one of his top targets as he looks to shore up the defence.

McNair moved to the Stadium of Light two years ago and has made a total of twenty-eight appearances for the North East club in all competitions, scoring seven goals.

However, he was unable to help the Mackems avoid relegation in both seasons as they finished bottom of the Premier League in 2017 and then the Championship twelve months later.

During his time with Manchester United he played twenty-se…

Aaron Ramsdale has sealed his switch from Sheffield United to Arsenal and he has already made his debut for the Gunners, keeping a clean sheet in their six-goal win over West Bromwich Albion in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Here s what the 23-year-old goalkeeper had to say on his role at the club and relationship with the regular No.1, Bernd Leno.

We both want to push each other.

Aaron Ramsdale speaks about the competition with Bernd Leno ahead of making his debut for Arsenal

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

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As for the visitors, after enduring a very worrying end to the 2018/2019 season and managing to record just two victories in their final 10 Bundesliga matches, Hertha have promoted new Head Coach Ante Čović from the reserves this summer. Having to settle for a bottom-half finish in the final standings last year, The Old Lady have shown some real improvements during pre-season and the mood in their camp should be on a high. Putting five past Eichstätt in the first round of this year s DFB Pokal, Hertha also managed to secure a very eye-catching 4-0 win over Premier League outfit Crystal Palace a fortnight ago. Despite managing to bag 12 goals in just their last three appearances, Friday s guests have been frequently unable to come away with a clean sheet, something that is becoming a …

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has been charged with improper conduct by the English Football Association after his rant at the officials after his side s defeat against Tottenham last month.

Benitez was furious with referee Phil Dowd for failing to award two late penalties in Liverpool s 2-1 opening weekend loss at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham defender Bonoit Assou-Ekotto shoulder-charged Andriy Voronin and then handled Fernando Torres s cross.

The decisions were very poor. Everyone could see the first one was a penalty. The second one was handball but we knew it would not be a penalty, Benitez said at the time.

The Spanish coach also claimed fourth official Stuart Attwell was too young to be involved in a top Premier League match after he sent off Benit…