Swansea keen on Leeds United’s Byram

Spain are through to the final of Euro 2008 following a very convincing 3-0 win over the Russians in the semi final on Thursday.

The Spaniards were the stronger side in the first half but never created a one hundred percent chance.

And there was bad news for the Iberians as star striker David Villa pulled a muscle in his upper leg when taking a free kick and had to come off.

His replacement Cesc Fabregas though, proved to be of great importance in the second half and improved the connections between midfield and attack.

The deadlock was broken in the 50th minute when Andrés Iniesta sent in a low pass for Xavi Hernández to put the ball between goalkeeper Akinfeev s legs.

And things got more certain for Spain in the 73rd minute. Fabre…

Germany coach Joachim Loew says he expects his side to beat Spain in Sunday night s Euro 2008 final in Vienna with or without their injured captain Michael Ballack.

The Chelsea midfielder is facing a desperate race against time to make the kick off at Vienna s Ernst Happel Stadium having damaged his right calf muscle in Germany s final training session on Friday.

Having scored two goals so far at Euro 2008, Ballack played a key role in helping his side reach the final, but Loew says his side can beat Spain who ever takes to the field.

He said: I expect a win, of course, it s been a long, hard road and the tournament has taken up a lot of strength. But we will mobilise all our forces for the match to bring the trophy back to Germany.

The Spaniards hav…

Jose Mourinho believes Harry Kane will feature in the north London derby with Arsenal despite an unspecified injury that will keep the Tottenham striker out of their Europa League clash with LASK. 

Tottenham remain top of the Premier League on goal difference despite being held to a goalless draw by another of their London neighbours, Chelsea, last time out. 

Kane played the full 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge but appears a doubt for the derby with 14th-placed Arsenal. 

Revealing that Erik Lamela, Carlos Vinicius and Sergio Reguilon also have injuries, Mourinho told a media conference: Lamela is an injury from three weeks, a month. 

I don t believe he has a chance for the weekend. Harry, Vinicius and Sergio   there is a chance for the weekend. …

Suspended New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has sued NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for defamation.

Vilma was suspended for the entire 2012 season for his role in the Saints bounty scandal, in which New Orleans players were allegedly rewarded for hard hits and injuring opposition players.

According to an NFL investigation, Vilma, a defensive captain, offered $10,000 for a player to knock out then-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre or then-Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner in 2010 a charge he vehemently denies.

Maybe this will get some people s attention, Vilma wrote on Twitter.

As I ve said before, I ve never paid or intended to pay any amount of money to any player for intentionally hurting an opponent.

The suit file…

Chris Hughton has categorically rejected speculation Celtic striker Moussa Dembele is set to join Brighton and Hove Albion for £18million.

Reports over the festive period indicated the 21-year-old was close to joining Brighton, with Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers accepting he could not guarantee the striker s future.

Dembele hit 17 Scottish Premiership goals last season to build a reputation as one of the hottest young strikers in Europe, with Real Madrid and Chelsea listed among his potential suitors.

But Dembele has been less prolific in a campaign disrupted by a hamstring injury, scoring only four times in the league in 2017-18, although Celtic are still on track to collect yet another title.

Brighton sit 12th in their first Premier League season but hav…

Competition: La Liga

Market: Leganes to beat Espanyol

Odds:

La Liga is back for yet another massive round of games as Spain s top competition continues to heat up. The table has remained incredibly tight as a victory is quite often able to see a side climb up a number of places, and with this in mind, Leganes host Espanyol on Sunday.

Leganes have been in fairly good form this season and they are looking to continue to forge their way up the table. After 19 games they have won seven, drawn four and lost eight times, scoring 17 goals and conceding 19 times. In their last five games they have only won once, while they have lost twice and drawn twice which has seen them onto 25 points for the season so far, nine clear of the relegation zone. Of cou…

West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen has agreed a new one-year contract with the club.

The 39-year-old moved to Upton Park from Bolton Wanderers in 2012 and has served as both number one and a back-up to Adrian during his time at West Ham.

He is now under contract for a third season with the club and the former Finland international is eager to challenge for the starting spot in West Ham s XI next term.

I m delighted to sign for another season and I m really looking forward to it, he told the club s official website.

Hopefully I can put in a proper challenge to get a starting place again. Physically, I feel good now and I felt good last season so I hope I can carry on from there and play football.

You never know what is going to happen next season, but th…

Zenit are in talks to sign Vitesse striker Wilfried Bony, the player’s representative has revealed.

In spite of the heavy interest from England’s top flight, the Ivory Coast forward seems to have decided to move to the Russian Premier League in the winter transfer window.

Vitesse plan to sell their prized asset to the highest bidder, with the player’s agent revealing Zenit, CSKA Moscow and Ajzhi are currently in the race for the talented forward.

“I have already spoken with Zenit about Bony,” Dalibor Lacina .

“The Russian club are studying the possibility and conditions of Wilfried’s purchase, and we expect more concrete proposals.

”In this case, I note that there is no exclusive agreement with Zenit, and I can say that we have be…

Bernardo Silva believes Sergio Aguero s return will provide Manchester City with the boost they need to claim the bragging rights in this weekend s derby.

Aguero played 25 minutes as a second-half substitute and scored the second goal in a 3-0 win over Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday.

City boss Pep Guardiola said Aguero would not start against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday but Silva was delighted to have the club s record goalscorer back in the mix, with complications in his recovery from meniscus surgery having limited the 32-year-old to five appearances this season.

Everyone knows he s important, the Portugal midfielder said in quotes reported on City s website.

He is one of the best players the club has ever had and a g…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he has full faith in David de Gea after critics rounded on the top goalkeeper following Manchester United s Champions League exit.

United great Paul Scholes accused De Gea of bottling it as he was afraid of getting hurt when Justin Kluivert put RB Leipzig 3-0 up in a crucial Group H encounter on Tuesday.

The Red Devils set up a tense finale by scoring twice in quick succession late on, but crashed out with a 3-2 defeat to the Bundesliga side.

De Gea also came in for criticism last season following some basic mistakes and his performance in midweek led to more calls for Dean Henderson to replace the Spain international.

United boss Solskjaer gave his backing to De Gea ahead of the derby with Manchester City at Old Trafford on S…