Competition: Premier League
Market: Crystal Palace to finish in the top-10
Odds:

Crystal Palace have picked up where they left off last season in the Premier League, with the Eagles sitting pretty in 6th place after seven games. Four wins in the division this campaign sees Alan Pardew’s side in a Europa League place early on, and they’ve already beaten defending champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Last season, Palace finished 10th in the table, improving upon their first campaign in the Premier League (11th) following their promotion from the Championship in 2012/13. Surprisingly, the Londoners’ away form has been better than on home soil in the last nine months, and the ease they’re picking up results against stellar opposition really highlights …

According to reports in England, Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater is in no real rush to leave the Premier League side. The 28 year old made the switch from Leicester City back in 2017, with one of the main reasons why being his efforts during the Foxes Premier League title winning campaign. The deal went through for a fee believed to be around £35 million, and as the weeks and months go on, that s looking more and more like a bargain for Leicester with Drinkwater not really featuring much in Maurizio Sarri s plans.

With no appearances in the League Cup or Europa League it really does seem as if he has become surplus to requirements, although it s believed that he s fine with waiting until the end of the season before making his next move. He s still a top class English midf…

Wayne Rooney bade a fond farewell to England as an experimental Three Lions side coasted to a 3-0 friendly win over the United States at Wembley on Thursday.

Gareth Southgate s decision to give all-time leading goalscorer Rooney a cameo caused some pre-match controversy with record appearance holder Peter Shilton saying caps should not be given out like gifts .

But, after being presented with a golden plaque prior to kick-off, he received a rousing reception and, as Rooney becomes a part of England s past, Southgate will be delighted by his glimpse into the future.

Jadon Sancho, making his first England start, was a constant menace and set up Trent Alexander-Arnold for his first international goal shortly after Jesse Lingard s sublime opener. 

Debutant …

Graham Potter saluted a fantastic Chelsea performance after the Blues moved to the Group E summit in the Champions League following a 2-0 victory over Milan.

First-half goals from Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang proved enough to sink the Rossoneri, who played 72 minutes at San Siro with 10 men following Fikayo Tomori s early red card.

That ended the Blues 19-year wait for a win on Italian soil in Europe s premier club competition, with their most recent triumph coming courtesy of a resounding 4-0 success against Lazio in November 2003.

To come here and win is not easy. Credit to the players, they were really good, Potter told BT Sport. We had a bit of luck with the opposition going down to 10 men.

Overall, the performance was good. It s nice to k…

Benjamin Mendy has revealed how he used his season on the sidelines to learn about the tactical side of the game thanks to Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff.

France international Mendy had to sit out the majority of Manchester City s title-winning campaign in 2017-18 after sustaining a serious knee injury last September.

However, the defender did not waste his time while recovering, watching his team-mates play while gaining a new perspective on proceedings from a side-on view.

The 24-year-old also made the most of the opportunity to quiz manager Guardiola, as well as assistant Mikel Arteta, to help broaden his knowledge of the game.

It s not easy to be on the side, to wait and to see every game, Mendy told Sky Sports.

When you see the te…

Competition: International football
Market: England to beat Denmark
Odds:

England face Denmark at Wembley, in manager Roy Hodgson’s last chance to see his newly called up players in action before he has to name a preliminary squad for the forthcoming World Cup in Brazil this summer. 888 sport are backing the Three Lions to see past Denmark, giving odds of 3/5 for England to emerge victorious.

The last time the two nations faced each other was in the 2002 World Cup, with England running out 3-0 winners.

It will be a chance for the uncapped England hopefuls to finally get a taste of international football, and potentially of what is to come in the summer. After topping Group H to qualify for the World Cup, spirits remain high in the camp of England�…

(GSM) Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott admits he might soon move away from the club in order to play regular first-team football.

The former Everton defender, who signed for City in a £24million deal in the summer of 2009, is concerned that his place in the England squad will be threatened if he does not play regular football.

Roberto Mancini s first-choice central defensive pairing of Vincent Kompany and Kolo Toure has impressed and Lescott has spoken of his unhappiness at his current situation.

I m not happy with the situation. I don t enjoy sitting on the bench, and sometimes not even making the bench, he said.

Lescott says he would even consider a loan move away from Manchester City.

That s down to myself and the club, Lescott s…

West Ham have continued their preparations for the upcoming Premier League season with the signing of Ipswich left-back Aaron Cresswell.

Cresswell was reportedly a target for top-flight rivals West Brom and Fulham but the highly-rated 24-year-old arrives at Upton Park on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, despite only signing a new contract with the Championship club in December.

The Englishman is Sam Allardyce s third signing ahead of the new campaign, following the arrivals of Argentinian striker Mauro Zarate and Senegalese midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate as the club attempts to improve on their 13th-place finish last season.

The left-back s transfer is sure to bolster West Ham s defence, having lost out-of-contract duo George McCartney and Jordan Spence.

…

Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller believes Pep Guardiola is eager to finish his spell at the Allianz Arena on a high before he leaves Bavaria at the end of the season.

Guardiola confirmed last month he will leave the German champions at the end of his contract in June Bayern later appointing Carlo Ancelotti as his successor.

The former Barcelona boss revealed earlier this week that he wishes to coach in the Premier League when he leaves Bayern amid speculation over interest from Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City.

With Bayern in the running for Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League success, Muller backed Guardiola to keep standards high.

We have known for two weeks now that he will go but we know one thing: Pep will do anything for …