Didier Deschamps is confident he has prepared his players for any tactical surprises his opposite number Roberto Martinez might spring
Villa's chief executive Christian Purslow said 10 first-team players are among 14 positive cases of coronavirus at the club.
It took a great escape in injury time to get there after being two goals down to Japan, but Belgium can now view their quarter-final against Brazil free of the weight of expectation.
Tottenham Hotspur gained a slender advantage in their League Cup semi-final against London rivals Chelsea as Harry Kane's penalty earned them a gritty 1-0 first-leg win.
Belgium go into Monday's World Cup last 16 match against Japan full of confidence but wary that relying on individual talent against similarly well-organised but less fancied teams has cost them dear in the past.
Eden Hazard expects to enjoy playing with greater freedom and less pressure on his shoulders this season as Premier League leaders Chelsea demonstrate their strength in depth by challenging for four trophies, including the Champions League.
England and Belgium face a World Cup conundrum ahead of Thursday's crunch in Kaliningrad
Chelsea moved within three points of clinching the Premier League title with a 3-0 victory that condemned Middlesbrough to relegation on Monday after goals from Spaniards Diego Costa and Marcos Alonso plus a tap-in by Nemanja Matic.
Paris St Germain suffered their first defeat of the season when they were beaten 2-0 at Stade Rennais on Sunday to drop their first Ligue 1 points of the season.
Marouane Fellaini played chief tormentor as France suffered a 4-3 home defeat in a home friendly against Belgium on Sunday.
Chelsea goalscorer Willian said they must go on the attack against Barcelona at the Nou Camp next month to have any chance of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has no plans to let any of his English Premier League title-winning squad depart Stamford Bridge in the close season.
Jose Mourinho will receive a third Premier League winners' medal on Sunday but the Chelsea manager is not feeling so charitable this time .
Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra all scored late on in response to Eden Hazard dragging Chelsea back into the game with a curler in the 82nd minute after Tiemoue Bakayoko was sent off for a second booking on the half-hour.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from Europa and Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Chelsea banished any fears of a repeat of last season's shock FA Cup fourth-round exit to Bradford City when they crushed Championship (second-tier) side Milton Keynes Dons 5-1 away to reach the fifth round on Sunday.
A summary of Sunday's Premier League matches.
Brazil midfielder Casemiro stretched Real's advantage right before halftime with a gut-busting run to meet a cross from compatriot Vinicius, but Levante hit back shortly after the interval through former Madrid forward Borja Mayoral.
Diego Costa scored twice but could not prevent Chelsea losing their 100 percent Premier League record in a controversial 2-2 draw at Swansea on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Zinedine Zidane has said his side are in a delicate situation as they prepare to host arch-rivals Barcelona in a La Liga title showdown on Sunday
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
Such is the level of consistency of Manchester City (nine straight wins) and Liverpool (five straight victories), that it can be easy to lose sight of just how good this title race is.
Guus Hiddink is set to take over as Chelsea manager until the end of the season.
Rewind five years and Liverpool hosted Chelsea with three games remaining, knowing victory would have left them six points clear and a first league title since 1990 almost secure.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the English Premier League.
Images from the World Cup qualifying matches played on Wednesday night.
Premier League leaders Chelsea moved 10 points clear at the top on Sunday despite being held by Burnley in an entertaining game played amid flurries of sleet and snow.
The 25-year-old Mata struggled for game time this season under Jose Mourinho, with Chelsea's manager preferring an attacking midfield trio comprising Brazilian internationals Oscar and Willian and Belgium winger Eden Hazard.
Tottenham Hotspur have shown impressive durability in the Premier League lately, but they will need to be at their most steadfast to deny champions and league leaders Manchester City who travel to Wembley on Monday.
Arsenal missed the chance to heighten the congestion at the top of the Premier League and suffered fresh injury blows when a frustrating 1-1 draw at Norwich City failed to take them alongside leaders Manchester City and Leicester City on Sunday.
Defensive errors were again a common occurrence in the Arsenal backline, but Fiorentina failed to take advantage.
Germany defender Nico Schulz scored a late winner as their new-look side snatched a 3-2 win away to the Netherlands in their opening Euro 2020 Group C qualifier on Sunday, an absorbing clash that swung in fortunes from one side to the other.
Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of a first victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 26 years disappeared as a 2-2 draw left Leicester City celebrating the Premier League title on Monday.
IMAGES from the EPL match played between Chelsea and West Brom at Stamford Bridge in London on Monday
ManchesterCity moved up to third in the Premier League on Saturday while Newcastle United boosted their hopes of survival by coming back from two goals down at Liverpool to draw 2-2 and secure a precious point.
The 24-year-old has scored three league goals already and Shevchenko, who never replicated his superb goalscoring record for AC Milan in three subsequent years at Chelsea, believes there is much more to come from the Spaniard.
Romelu Lukaku's 50th league goal for Everton put them on the way to a deserved 2-0 victory over West Ham United on Sunday, ending a run of four league games without a win. It kept the Merseysiders sixth in the Premier League and West Ham in the bottom five.
Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 in a pulsating London English Premier League derby on Saturday with defender Marcos Alonso scoring an 81st-minute winner after the Gunners had fought back from an early 2-0 deficit.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances