Leeds v Arsenal clash temporarily suspended due to technical issues following power cut

Remi Garde has the intelligence to be a success at Aston Villa, according to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Garde is the favourite to take over at Villa Park following the sacking of Tim Sherwood last Sunday.

Sherwood was relieved of his duties with Villa having taken just four points from their opening 10 league fixtures after helping the Midlands club survive relegation last term.

Garde left Lyon at the end of the 2013-14 season for personal reasons having led the Ligue 1 club to Coupe de France glory in 2012.

The 49-year-old played under Wenger at Arsenal from 1996 to 1999 and, speaking at a news conference on Friday, the Arsenal boss said: I am convinced he is a front-runner. Remi is an intelligent man who is now experienced.

He will try t…

Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac could be leaving Stade Velodrome in the summer transfer window, according to French daily L Equipe.

The France international had been linked with a January exit as well, but he made it clear that he wanted to finish the season with OM.

However, with his current deal due to expire in June 2015, there is every chance Marseille will be forced to cash in on him at the end of the season.

Gignac reportedly has a long list of admirers among top European clubs and he continues to be linked with a switch to English Premier League.

The 28-year-old joined Marseille from Toulouse in August 2010 and has since registered 32 goals in 103 Ligue 1 appearances for the club.

Having failed to beat Gignac s former club last weeke…

Edin Dzeko continued his fine run of form in the Champions League by scoring twice and setting up another to lead Roma to a 3-0 victory over CSKA Moscow in Group G.

Following a hat-trick in Roma s last Champions League outing against Viktoria Plzen, Dzeko was at his best again on Tuesday, taking the game away from CSKA – who beat defending champions Real Madrid in their previous outing – in the space of 13 first-half minutes.

Having rounded off a superb passing move for Roma s opener, the Bosnia-Herzegovina striker doubled the hosts tally with a typically composed finish in the 43rd minute.

Dzeko was not done there, though, claiming an assist five minutes into the second half when Cengiz Under hammered home to wrap up the points and move Roma up to secon…

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals

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Two sides enjoying a bright run of form of late, Marco Silva s Everton side will welcome Brighton to Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.

Everton

Starting with Marco Silva s side, although the Blues might be coming off the back of a 2-1 loss away at Old Trafford last time out, Everton appear to be showing signs of settling to life under the former Watford manager. With the likes of Barcelona duo Andre Gomes and Yerry Mina making their debuts following injury issues, the Toffees have won their other three Premier League outings. It has also been their form at Goodison that has shown the most improvements following on from their 3-1 loss at home to West Ham back in September. Beating Palace and Fulham in…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has complained that coins were thrown at him at Anfield on Sunday as his team suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Liverpool.

He still had the spirit to make jokes about it, though.

Next time we ll do it better, didn t get me, they ll try again next year.

Pep Guardiola confirms that coins were thrown at him from the Anfield stands during the game against Liverpool

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has apologized for that after the match and said it should not have happened.

I m sorry. That never should happen.

Jurgen Klopp apologises after he was told that Pep Guardiola had coins thrown at him

— Football Da…

Danny Graham has admitted that he is yet to hold talks with Sunderland regarding his future,.

The striker moved to the Black Cats’ north east rivals Middlesbrough on loan back in January having spent the first half of the season at Hull City, where he became surplus to requirements following Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic’s transfers to the KC Stadium.

Having scored just once during his time with both Sunderland and Hull, the 28 year old has got five goals in seventeen Championship appearances for Aitor Karanka’s side, and he is keen to remain at the Riverside next season.

Graham began his career with Boro, but made just a handful of appearances for the club; spending most of his time out on loan before eventually securing a permanent move to Carlisle U…

Besiktas forward Hugo Almeida has expressed a desire to test himself in the Premier League after the FIFA World Cup.

Comments from Almeida, who was named in Portugal s provisional squad for the upcoming showpiece in Brazil, has been linked with a move to West Ham.

The experienced forward moved to Besiktas from Werder Bremen in 2010 and has become an important player for the Super Lig outfit, notching 12 goals in 30 appearances this season.

But he could seek pastures new ahead of the 2014/15 campaign after stating his ambition to play in England.

Almeida told the English press: I would be very interested in moving to the Premier League if the right offer came up.

I have always wanted to play in England. It is the best league in the world and the fans are com…

It was a small mercy for Lars Stindl that his opening goal in the 1-0 Confederations Cup final victory over Chile came so invitingly gift-wrapped.

After the brutal, relentless torment La Roja had wrought upon their opponents over the first 20 minutes of a breathless affair in St Petersburg, a more complicated task than slotting into an empty net from five yards might have resulted in any player in white simply collapsing in a heap.

The second clash in this tournament of a closely knit, passionate side with an unshakable belief that this is their time and a youthful, gifted collective knowing their best days are still to come was again a captivating spectacle.

Make no mistake this mattered.

Before the match, Germany captain Julian Draxler and coach Joachi…

Jan Kirchhoff has likened Sunderland securing Premier League survival to winning a title after they beat Everton 3-0 to ensure another season in the top flight.

Kirchhoff won the Bundesliga title and DFB Pokal with Bayern Munich in 2013-14, but left the Bavarians for the Stadium of Light in the January transfer window in order to get regular first-team football, having previously been sent on a long-term loan to Schalke.

He quickly became an important member of the first team after a difficult start to life at Sunderland and was understandably delighted with their successful battle against relegation.

It is really nice, almost like winning a title, it s unbelievable, Kirchhoff told Sky Sports on Wednesday.

We went through dangerous and difficult situati…

Tanguy Ndombele s Tottenham career appears to be back on track after Jose Mourinho expressed delight at the Frenchman s improvement.

Ndombele, 23, joined from Lyon in a club-record deal reportedly worth up to £64million last year, but he endured a difficult first season in north London.

A technically talented midfielder, Ndombele made just 12 Premier League starts in 2019-20, with injuries contributing to a stop-start season and poor form.

Speculation regarding a transfer away from Tottenham subsequently began earlier this year, and as recently as this month he was linked with joining Juventus.

But after coming on to score the dramatic winning goal in an unimpressive 2-1 Europa League qualifying win at Lokomotiv Plovdiv on Thursday, head coach Mourinho …