Monaco owe most of their recent success to their young guns, but when they face Manchester City looking to overturn a two-goal deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, they will turn to a more experienced player in Radamel Falcao.
Senior players' liking for Ravi Shastri tilted it in his favour.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has underscored the unpredictable nature of the Premier League this season, stating that it seemed as if "nobody wants to win the league".
Liverpool put their recent troubles behind them, showing touches of their best early-season vibrancy to overcame Arsenal 3-1 at a jubilant Anfield and leapfrog the Gunners into third place in the Premier League on Saturday.
The departing Didier Drogba threw down the gauntlet to the young Chelsea squad on Sunday as he led Premier League celebrations at Stamford Bridge, telling them they had to win more titles to stand comparison with the class of 2005.
Hull City were relegated and Newcastle United survived the drop on a dramatic final day of the Premier League season on Sunday when West Ham United announced that manager Sam Allardyce's contract was not being renewed at Upton Park.
Karnataka have almost sealed their spot in the final of the Ranji Trophy after only 36.1 overs of play was possible against Punjab in the penultimate day of their semi-final match during which they consolidated their lead to 177 runs.
Key moments in Chelsea's Premier League title-winning season.
Veterans Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir's prospects of making an India comeback are all but over as the celebrated opening duo stayed away from selection in the 15-member North Zone squad for the Deodhar Trophy.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Brief reports of English Premier League matches on Saturday:
New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi has no qualms in saying that Mumbai, in the warm-up match, showed the visitors how to play in Indian conditions and they will have to play better to beat the hosts in the upcoming Test series. Ronchi felt there were more positives than negatives to take out of the only warm-up match of the team's India tour. "I think getting used to the wicket which was changing over three days (was one takeaway). It was deteriorating a bit with guys facing more spin towards the end and ball doing a few different things. Mumbai bowled and batted really well.
Despite all the hype, however, the match will do well to live up to some of the Manchester derby tussles down the years. Here are five of the most memorable:
Robin Van Persie scored a dramatic stoppage time equaliser to earn Manchester United a deserved 1-1 draw at home to Premier League leaders Chelsea on Sunday.
BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee member Sourav Ganguly explains why they decided to defer the naming of India's new coach. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
With Manchester City drawing 2-2 at Arsenal and Liverpool suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat by Aston Villa, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea were the big winners in the fourth round of Premier League games.
A scarcity of gold medals in the first few days of the Olympics is leading China to reflect on its past obsession with finishing first, amid agreement that being champion is no longer everything.
Australia thrashed England by eight wickets in their fifth and final one-day international at Old Trafford on Sunday to win the series 3-2 and take some consolation for the pain of Ashes defeat.
Mind games have begun ahead of the Asia Cup final played between host Bangladesh and India at Mirpur on Sunday. While India's team director Ravi Shastri has termed it as 'yet another match', Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza called India as clear favourites to relieve pressure from his young side in the title clash. "We all know that Indians are clear favourites in the final. Let there be no debates or discussions on that," Mashrafe said at a packed match-eve press conference. India have been in rampaging form with four convincing wins in the tournament, including the 45-run thumping of Bangladesh in their opening league match. "What we have got is a young team which has won matches playing as a unit. We still don't have a T20 star, who can single-handedly win us a match. Crowd, pitch, conditions, everything will favour us but that can never ensure that we will win the final," Mashrafe clarified. Commenting on Shastri's statement, Mashrafe said that for his team which rarely makes final appearances, it's a "big occasion". "What Ravi Shastri has said is absolutely right. It is another match for them as they are used to hype and big matches. They can take it like 10 other matches. "India has played big finals, won trophies. What is easy for them may not be that easy for us. But we are trying to focus on the game, shut ourselves from the hype and remain and play as normally as possible," the Bangladesh skipper said.
Arsenal will have to produce the biggest second leg comeback in a Champions League knockout tie to avoid a seventh successive exit at the last 16 stage when they host Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
His retirement will leave a hole at the top of New Zealand's batting order in limited-overs matches, while it could also change the way they approach games in future.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers took an upbeat view on a dismal night as the five-times European champions were bundled out of the Champions League following a 1-1 draw with FC Basel at Anfield on Tuesday.
AS Roma and Manchester City clash for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
India have won all their six games against Pakistan in the World Cup.
The year was 1986 and with just three league wins to their name by the first weekend of November, Manchester United dismissed Ron Atkinson as manager and appointed Alex Ferguson.
Asian and Middle Eastern airlines -- but no Indian names -- dominated the Top 10 slots at the World Airline Awards.
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris next month with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
European soccer chief Michel Platini wants yellow cards to be replaced by a rugby-style system of sin bins.
An early Peter Crouch goal gave Stoke City a 1-0 home win against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Monday to pile more pressure onto beleaguered Toon boss Alan Pardew.
He is meeting stalwarts such as Google's Eric E Schmidt, Carlyle's David M Rubenstein, Cargill's David W MacLennan, MasterCard's Ajay Banga, and Pepsico's Indra Nooyi.
Following Chelsea's tame draw against Manchester City, questions are being raised about the Jose Mourinho-managed team's game plan and attitude.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to Manchester United on a year-year contract "to finish what I started," the 35-year-old announced in a club statement on Thursday.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Women archers were on target in the individual events, while Manoj Kumar scripted a triumph of the underdog in the boxing ring on the fifth day of the Rio Games.
Manchester United teenager Marcus Rashford wrote another chapter in his fairytale introduction to top-flight football, scoring a brilliant goal to secure a 1-0 win in his first derby match against Manchester City on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Sweden beat Italy 1-0 to gain the upperhand after their World Cup playoff first leg on a chilly night, while a young England side held Germany goalless and Belgium drew 3-3 with Mexico despite Romelu Lukaku's double but France eased to a 2-0 victory against Wales.
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