Any hopes of a Happy New Year will evaporate for Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal if his side fail to beat struggling Swansea City at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Ryan Giggs is optimistic about Manchester United's chances of beating derby rivals Manchester City to the final Champions League spot by ending the Premier League season in fourth place. United, who are sixth in the table, travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday looking to close the gap on their neighbours, who are four points and two places ahead of them. "It's not a big gap," Giggs told the Times. "Especially when you look at the league this season, teams are going to drop points. "It's been a freak season. It's a very tough league where nothing is guaranteed and crazy things have happened. "We have a lot of players back so if you win games the momentum starts and the confidence builds."
Russia declared the soccer World Cup open on Thursday at a glitzy ceremony in Moscow headlined by British pop star Robbie Williams and Russian soprano Aida Garifullina.
Manchester United are expecting a host of injured players to make their returns this month but will not rush them back into the first-team, manager Louis van Gaal said ahead of Thursday's last-16 Europa League tie against bitter rivals Liverpool. Despite having nine players currently out, including captain Wayne Rooney and defender Phil Jones, United won four games in a row prior to their shock Premier League defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. "(Antonio) Valencia is coming back, Basti (Bastian Schweinsteiger) is coming back, a lot of players shall come back in March," Van Gaal told reporters on Wednesday. "... it is hard to see whether they can cope with the rhythm of the match... Basti, for example, has only one training session under his belt. "Valencia is much more closer to being on the bench, but not to play a match."
Six of the most memorable bouts to have ever taken place in the history of boxing.
Presenting a roundup of the glossies this month. VOTE for your favourite cover girl.
Bangladesh might overtake India this year by per capita income in nominal dollars, but it is not yet close to becoming South Asia's economic powerhouse anytime soon, T N Ninan points out.
The 47-year-old former World champion is taking some time off before he gets down to tournament play in St. Louis, United States, where the focus would be on Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov, who is making a surprise return to the game.
A Capitol Police officer was killed and another injured after a man rammed his car into a security barrier outside the United States Capitol and then got out of the vehicle and lunged towards the officers with a knife, setting off a major security scare.
As the modern bikini turns 68 this month, here's some bikini trivia you'd enjoy reading.
Major winners Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day and Adam Scott shared top spot at the Masters on Friday at the end of the second round, but it was Tiger Woods who commanded the spotlight once again at Augusta National.
The fate of 237 candidates, including two ministers and a former CM, will be decided in this final phase.
Novak Djokovic took a first unsteady step toward completing the calendar-year Grand Slam on Tuesday as the Serb laboured into the second round of the US Open with a 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 win over dashing Danish teenager Holger Rune.
Get your low-down on what's happening in the world of Bollywood, right here!
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has thanked Jose Mourinho for helping him 'improve as a person' despite the breakdown of their relationship in the last few months leading up to the former manager's sacking on Tuesday.
United suffered their fourth successive defeat in all competition on Saturday when they were beaten by Stoke in the Premier League -- a result that extended their winless run to seven games.
Louis van Gaal's position in the Old Trafford hot seat looked even more precarious as Stoke City swept Manchester United aside in a comfortable 2-0 victory to kickstart a busy day of English Premier League holiday action on Saturday.
Angel Di Maria has admitted to clashing with former manager Louis Van Gaal during his ill-fated stint at Manchester United and hinted that his poor relationship with the Dutchman contributed to a dip in his performance.
Ryan Giggs will leave Manchester United in the close season to explore opportunities in management away from the club, Sky Sports reported on Friday, citing sources.
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.
Ratna Ray, professor in the department of pathology at Saint Louis University and lead researcher, said the extracts from bitter gourd showed promise in killing breast cancer cells and preventing them from multiplying.
A summary of Wednesday's action at the US Open.
World rapid champion Koneru Humpy claimed her second title in the last two months by emerging triumphant at the Cairns Cup chess tournament following a draw against compatriot Dronavalli Harika in the ninth and final round, in St Louis, United States. Humpy, who was crowned World champion in December, finished the tournament with six points. The icing on the cake was that Humpy will gain five ELO rating points (the basis for international rankings) and move to second place in the world rankings.
Van Gaal also said that they gave the ball away unnecessarily after half-time, insisting that their positions in midfield were not as good as in the first half.
Images from Day 1 of the US Open in New York, on Monday.
Ferrari showed off their 2020 Formula One car with a theatrical show of pride and passion on Tuesday, assuring success-starved fans that it was also very different under the skin to last year's model. The SF1000, marking the Italian team's 1,000th race that comes up this year, is the car Ferrari hope can end six years of Mercedes domination and dash Lewis Hamilton's bid to equal Michael Schumacher's record seven titles.
A Chicago-bound United Express flight was on Saturday forced to return to a St Louis airport within minutes of take-off after doubts surfaced about a passenger.
All the action that transpired on and off the football field
Julia Louis-Dreyfus received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but her name was misspelt.
Manchester United stayed in fifth place, one point above West Ham, but it was another depressingly dull day at Old Trafford where United were booed off after losing 1-0 to Southampton.
Indians in and around Ferguson, Missouri, tell Arthur J Pais and Suman Guha Mozumder what it's like to be caught in the thick of America's racial volcano eruption
Manchester United need to win trophy to save season, says Wayne Rooney.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal admitted it would be very hard to finish in the top four after his team's insipid 2-1 loss at Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.
Premier League leaders Leicester City can win the title but their players must prove they can cope with the pressure of expectation, says Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.
'Everybody knows that they could wait a little bit, no? It was an unfortunate decision.'
Even Louis van Gaal has been "very bored" watching Manchester United's dull games this season, the Dutch manager has admitted.
Describing former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat as a "habitual offender involved in corrupt practices", the Goa crime branch has alleged before a court in Panaji that he "actively participated" in the conspiracy and was among the beneficiaries in Louis Berger bribery case.
The actor who is all set to make her Bollywood debut graced the cover of Vogue India's June edition.
Manchester should brace itself for some fascinating local derbies if Jose Mourinho joins United, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said on Wednesday. The Germany international declined to comment on reports that the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager had agreed terms with United to succeed the sacked Louis van Gaal. However, he said every player would want to work under the Portuguese coach who will go head-to-head with Pep Guardiola who has already agreed to join rivals Manchester City.
Pressure on Franz Beckenbauer to explain payments and provide answers over a 2006 World Cup scandal grew on Tuesday, a day after the president of Germany's FA (DFB) resigned despite insisting he had done nothing wrong.
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