France coach Didier Deschamps, who has kept tinkering with his squad since the start of the European Championship, will be forced to rejig once again when the hosts face Iceland for a place in the semi-finals. With centre back Adil Rami and holding midfielder N'Golo Kante suspended, Deschamps, who has been praised for shrewd tactical moves in the tournament, is looking for the best options for Sunday's game at the Stade de France.
France kick off their Euro 2016 campaign against Romania on Friday with the host nation desperate for a ray of sunshine after being hit by strikes, floods and scandals in the build-up. Protests against a labour law and torrential rain that has caused the Seine river to rise to levels not seen in decades have created a bleak backdrop to the tournament where France will start as favourites. A state of emergency is also still in force after last November's Islamist attacks killed 130 people in Paris at several sites including the Stade de France, the venue for Friday's opening game.
Arsene Wenger hailed his team's first-half performance as "nearly perfect" and allowed himself to entertain the possibility of winning the title, despite Manchester City winning all six of their games so far to sit five points ahead of Arsenal.
France's hopes of reaching the World Cup finals are hanging by a thread after a 2-0 first-leg defeat away to Ukraine in their playoff on Friday while Cristiano Ronaldo's late winner gave Portugal the edge against Sweden.
Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck a vital late goal to seal a 3-1 win over Valencia on Thursday and give his side breathing space for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final in Spain next week.
A Sergio Aguero hat-trick helped Manchester City get back to winning ways in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United, as they stayed 12 points ahead of Manchester United who had to dig deep to secure a 1-0 win at Burnley.
Sweden missed the influence of captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was resting a sore calf muscle, as they struggled to create chances in a dull 0-0 draw with Slovenia in their penultimate Euro 2016 warm-up in Malmo on Monday.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said he was unsure whether there were divisions in the club's boardroom regarding his future and that he was more focused on salvaging his team's stuttering Premier League campaign.
Cech's solid 'keeping and Liverpool's staunch defence ensured the match ended in a goalless stalemate
Inter will be his sixth club in a career which began when he made his debut for Anderlecht as a 16-year-old and has taken him to Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion and Everton.
Centre forward Eder, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was among 10 players from that squad omitted from Santos's list. Other unlucky players included midfielders Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches, forward Nani and defender Eliseu.
Alexandre Lacazette's free-kick sent Arsenal into the Europa League semi-finals with a comfortable 1-0 win away over Napoli, while Chelsea beat Slavia Prague 4-3 in a roller-coaster game, helped by a Pedro brace.
Bernardo Silva has made an encouraging start to the Premier League campaign and the Manchester City midfielder said that feeling more settled at his second season with the champions was a key factor in his performances.
Holders Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 12th time on Saturday, outclassing Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley with stunning goals from Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez setting up their one-sided victory.
FA Cup holders Arsenal were taken to extra time before a horrendous error by Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici brought the Championship side's dream to an end in a 2-1 semi-final defeat on Saturday.
Leicester's EPL title credentials on show against champions Chelsea.
France decimated Iceland in a 5-2 win to end the Nordic nations Euro 2016 dream run in the quarter-final on Sunday.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
Pressure is something that Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says comes with the territory, but after a dismal run, the odds on him becoming the season's first managerial casualty are swiftly shortening.
Teenager Marcus Rashford followed up two goals on his Manchester United debut in midweek with another double plus an assist as Louis van Gaal's team dented Arsenal's Premier League title hopes with a 3-2 win on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho's first Premier League game as manager of Manchester United ended in a comfortable 3-1 victory away to Bournemouth on Sunday.
Arsenal stayed ahead of Manchester United in the race to qualify directly for next season's Champions League when they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday while Manchester City made sure of their place in the group stage with a 4-2 win at Swansea City.
Bitter rivals Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho had wildly contrasting afternoons on Saturday as Arsenal went top of the Premier League and champions Chelsea lost again with their manager being sent off.
Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard scored the goals the goals in a match that saw Diego Costa play central character.
The long-running feud between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho shows no sign of healing after another high-profile falling out on Sunday, this time the result of a dispute over territory.
England beat France 2-0 in an emotional friendly at Wembley on Tuesday when more than 70,000 fans paid tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks with English fans roaring out a spine-tingling rendition of the visitors' national anthem.
Aaron Ramsey scored a hat-trick on Saturday as Arsenal thrashed Everton 5-1 in the Premier League at the Emirates with a display of free-flowing football that the Gunners have sorely lacked away from home this season.
An Eden Hazard hat-trick swept Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League on Saturday when they beat Newcastle United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge after previous leaders Arsenal were thrashed 5-1 at Liverpool.
Manchester City went 11 points clear with a record 14th consecutive Premier League win in an entertaining derby against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Andy Carroll scored a eight-minute hat-trick as West Ham United's last London derby at Upton Park ended in a barnstorming 3-3 draw with Arsenal on Saturday -- a result that dented both club's respective ambitions.
Manchester City made sure of third place in the Premier League when they romped to a 5-0 win at Watford on Sunday to ensure a Champions League berth for next season.
Arsenal moved top of the Premier League table but were unconvincing in a 0-0 home draw with Middlesbrough who were well worth their point on Saturday.
With eight teams remaining at Euro 2016, a guide to the form of the quarter-finalists, looking at their strengths and weaknesses.
Jose Mourinho maintained his hold over Arsene Wenger with leaders Chelsea enjoying a routine 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday after the two old adversaries became involved in an ugly touchline spat.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to devastating effect as Barcelona swatted Celtic aside 7-0 at the Nou Camp to lay down a marker in Champions League Group C on Tuesday.
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea turned from domestic whipping boys back to European stalwarts on Wednesday, beating his former club Porto 2-0 to top Champions League Group G.
Jose Mourinho suffered a nightmare homecoming as Porto, the club he led to the Champions League title in 2004, inflicted a 2-1 defeat on his woefully out-of-sorts Chelsea side in Group G on Tuesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances