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Black Leopards midfielder Ovidy Karuru has challenged himself to “score more goals” this season because they are fed up with fighting against relegation in every Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign.

Since the 2007/08 term, the Limpopo side has been struggling to maintain their top-flight league status.

They have been relegated twice and always narrowly escape relegation, like last season, when they survived the promotion/relegation play-offs.

Karuru, who joined Leopards as a free agent in November, wants that to change as the team is currently placed 15th on the PSL standings with three points more than basement side Maritzburg United.

“For me it’s not about me, it’s about the group. I just want the team to do well and for me if I can score more goals I think I have to do that so that I can help the team achieve their goals,” said Karuru as per Far Post.

“What we have said as a group is that we are tired of fighting relegation or play-offs, we just want to finish at a respectable position, hopefully in the top-eight.”

Leopards’ best-ever finish in the PSL was eighth place in the 2001/02 and 2003/04 seasons.

Karuru is not pleased with where they currently stand on the table, saying they have unnecessarily dropped points in matches they could have easily won.

The former Kaizer Chiefs player has made three appearances in Leopards colours so far and rues not collecting maximum points in the matches he has played.

His has featured in every minute of Lidoda Duvha’s 2-2 draw against Kaizer Chiefs, the 1-1 draw against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila and the 2-1 defeat by Swallows FC.

“Yeah it’s not pleasing because at the end of the day we lost seven points,” Karuru said.

“We could have won against Chiefs, we could have managed the game against TTM and against Swallows we could have killed them in the opening 20 minutes because we were all over them.

“But it’s part of football, you win some and you lose some and we just have to raise our heads and keep on going and pushing each other.”

The Zimbabwe international arrived at Leopards and immediately made an impact by grabbing a brace on his debut against his former club Chiefs.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would benefit from an extended spell on the sidelines, according to Lee Dixon, who thinks the Arsenal striker "could come back firing" after a good rest.

Aubameyang scored 25 goals for Arsenal last season, including a double in the FA Cup final victory over Chelsea, cementing his status as one of the top strikers in English football in the process.

However, the Gabon international has been unable to live up to the same high standards in 2020-21 with his loss of form coinciding with the Gunners' alarming slip towards the relegation zone.

The 31-year-old, who signed a bumper contract extension through to 2023 in September, has found the net in just three of his 13 Premier League appearances this season and was only named on the bench for the London derby clash with Chelsea at the weekend.

Aubameyang's absence during the 3-1 victory was predominantly down to the fact he has only just recovered from a calf issue, but Dixon thinks he should remain among the substitutes for the next few weeks in order to reflect on his role in the team.

The former Arsenal defender has suggested that Mikel Arteta should stick with the forward-line that delivered a much-needed three points against the Blues, while insisting that Aubameyang is more likely to rediscover his best form if he takes a "step back".

“Nobody is bigger than the club,” Dixon told talkSPORT. “Maybe Mikel Arteta might look at the game at the weekend and say, ‘we did create some chances, we did this’.

“It might just do him [Aubameyang] a bit of good to have a little step out of the team and just look from the sidelines.

“When you watch a game from the sidelines you can sometimes learn more than you do when you’re on the pitch. Your brain is so full of information when you’re playing; you don’t always see everything, you don’t always feel everything.

“He’s obviously a hugely talented footballer and we need his goals, but it might be a time for him just to look and assess the team.

“You can actually see little ways of improving your own game when you’re sitting on the bench, because you’re watching other people and you’re seeing gaps appear from a different angle.

“When I was playing I didn’t analyse Ian Wright’s runs because they just happened, but if you were sitting on the sidelines and watched Thierry Henry or Wrighty or Dennis Bergkamp, you saw an awful lot more and it gives you a bigger and more colourful picture of that player.

“So it might do him a bit of good to step out. If they win their next two games and he doesn’t play then he [could] come back firing. That rest might do him good.”

Arsenal will back in action against Brighton at Amex Stadium on Tuesday night, before their focus shifts to a meeting with West Brom at The Hawthorns on January 2.

Wilfried Zaha expressed his satisfaction after seeing Crystal Palace battle to a 1-1 draw against Leicester City in Monday’s Premier League game.

In the keenly contested affair at Selhurst Park, the Cote d’Ivoire international put the Eagles ahead on 58 minutes after Kelechi Iheanacho had missed a fine chance to hand the visitors a first-half lead via the penalty spot.

The 28-year-old had sent a pass out wide to Andros Townsend, and the Englishman delivered an accurate cross that found him in space, before he unleashed a right-footed volley past Kasper Schmeichel at the near post.

Having in mind that his team had lost to Liverpool (7-0) and Aston Villa (3-0) before the encounter, the former Manchester United man claimed the result was pleasing, albeit, he said Palace had the chance to claim all points at stake.

"I'm happy," Zaha told Crystal Palace website. "Obviously the last couple of games have been tough for us so getting a point today, I feel like we worked hard and could have got all three points. We'll take a point.

"I'll take it. After the last results we got, the way we worked today, I'm definitely happy and I'll take that going into the New Year."

The forward - who has been constantly been linked with a move from Crystal Palace - has long since surpassed his last season’s tally for Roy Hodgson’s men, where he managed four goals in 38 Premier League appearances.

"I'm not trying to think about scoring too much, I'm just trying to make sure I'm playing well and that the chances keep on coming. I'm happy to score my eighth goal but it's all about the team,” he added.

With their latest result, the Eagles climbed to 13th spot on the Premier League log having accrued 19 points from 16 games so far in the 2020-21 season.

Zaha - who boasts of 18 appearances for the West African nation - will hope to continue to find the net again when Hodgson’s team take on Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United on January 2, as his team aims to put an end to their five-game winless streak.

Former Egypt defender and Al Ittihad Alexandria assistant coach Ibrahim Hassan feels that coaching Al Ahly is an easy job and says Pitso Mosimane would struggle by lasting just two games if he takes charge of any other Egyptian Premier League side.

Hassan’s remarks, ironically, came minutes after Al Ittihad were hammered 4-0 by Mosimane's Al Ahly in a league match on Monday.

Following the South African's appointment to lead the Cairo giants in September, he has so far enjoyed a good run of 14 unbeaten matches, including two while not on the bench after testing positive for coronavirus. 

“If Hareth [Al Ahly’s kit man] took charge of Al Ahly, he will win trophies,” Hassan said after the game according to Kingfut.

“If we [Ibrahim and his twin brother Hossam] took charge of Al Ahly we will win trophies. If Pitso coached any other team in the league, he will get sacked after two games. Al Ahly wasn’t good against us in the Egypt Cup nor in their last games nor in the Caf Champions League."

Hassan's expressed his views despite that the fact his twin brother Hossam was heading Al Ittihad's technical bench and was upstaged by Mosimane.

A journeyman in his coaching career, Hossam rarely lasts long at clubs he has taken charge of, his three seasons at Al Masry between July 2015 and October 2018 being the longest he has stayed in a job.

Since taking up his first dugout role in 2008 after retiring as a player, Egypt’s all-time top scorer has been announced as coach at various teams 13 times, including two stints at Zamalek and as many spells at Al Masry.

He is currently Al Ittihad tactician for the third time.

Mosimane, on the other hand, has had a longer coaching career dating back from 2001, but has been in charge of just four teams including a largely successful period at Mamelodi Sundowns from where he attracted Al Ahly.

The South African is yet to taste defeat in 14 games during his time in Cairo, where he ended Al Ahly’s seven-year Caf Champions League trophy drought.

He also guided them to the Egypt Cup and Premier League title as well, which he, however, refused to credit himself much for after taking over a team that had already mathematically won it.

After also having a stint at the helm of SuperSport United and Bafana Bafana, the Al Ahly role is Mosimane’s first outside South Africa.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should drop Anthony Martial for Edinson Cavani according to ex-Manchester United star Paul Parker, who says you never know which version of the French forward is "going to turn up" in matches.

The 2019-20 campaign was Martial's best yet at Old Trafford, as he managed to break the 20-goal mark for the first time since joining United from Monaco in 2015.

The 25-year-old has been unable to carry that form into their latest campaign, and his position in Solskjaer's starting XI has been called into question.

Martial has only managed four goals in 16 appearances across all competitions so far this term, the same as summer signing Cavani who has played three games less and been mainly used as a substitute.

Parker thinks the ex-Paris Saint-Germain marksman deserves to play ahead of the Red Devils' current No.9, as he believes the 33-year-old is the best natural centre-forward the club have had since Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“I’m sceptical about some of the players he [Solskjaer] is leaving on the touchline,” the former United full-back told talkSPORT. “It does worry me that you’re leaving good players on the touchline who you need to get in, get playing consistently and get the best from them.

“Edinson Cavani is one of them. The one thing United have been lacking for quite a few years now is a consistent centre-forward, somebody who knows how to play in that position with their runs, holding up the ball, playing little one-twos and movement in behind.

“United haven’t had that; the only one they’ve had of any note since Sir Alex retired was Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“All Ole is trying to do at the moment is get some consistency in their game, and if players like Cavani – with the levels they have played at – are playing then maybe they will.”

Parker also feels Martial is an unreliable candidate to fill a role on the right-wing in Solskjaer's line up, and he is not sure Mason Greenwood is up to the task either after the teenager's recent scoring dip.

“Marcus Rashford is always going to be in the team on the left-hand side, but the right-hand side is up there for auction at this moment in time," he added.

“People will say young Mason Greenwood, but I still wonder is there going to be enough from him? Everyone will say that he’s young, but you’re only young for a short number of years at Man United before you’re going to have to start showing consistency, and he hasn’t really done that yet.

“You could play Martial there, and he could play anywhere across that forward line, but you never know what Martial is going to turn up for you?

“You’re not getting any show or form and he doesn’t put any consistent runs of performances together.”

Jurgen Klopp will not let the frustrating draw with West Brom distort his impression of a Liverpool team he still regards as "a top group".

The champions have not had it all their own way this season, but they are top of the Premier League again as others try to stay in touch.

After dominating the first half at Anfield against West Brom on Sunday, Liverpool's levels dipped and they had to settle for a 1-1 draw with their visitors.

Klopp's side have not lost in the English top-flight since the 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa on October 4, and they head to Newcastle United on Wednesday looking to end the year on a high note.

In their game prior to the West Brom clash, Liverpool had thrashed Crystal Palace 7-0 at Selhurst Park.

Klopp said: "I want to win more than anything else, but I had to learn so early in life it doesn't happen all the time. That's completely fine.

"I like winning football games, especially when you deserve to win. To deserve to win [against West Brom] I thought we should have done more things. We ran a lot, we fought a lot, that's all okay but to do more of the right stuff. That's what I told the boys already, I'm not angry with them, that can happen.

"The boys are a top group. They were a top group after winning 7-0, they're a top group after drawing with West Brom, so that doesn't change.

"Maybe the perspective from outside changed, I can imagine that's immediately like this. I'm not a young manager anymore; I can judge these things in the right way.

"We're not happy about [the West Brom outcome], it's the opposite, but now it's over we cannot change that anymore, we can just make sure in the exact situation the same doesn't happen again."

Klopp spoke admiringly of Newcastle striker Callum Wilson and said Steve Bruce's side "have a couple of really good players", predicting a "tough challenge" on Tyneside.

Should Liverpool stumble again, the likes of Manchester United, Everton, Leicester City and Tottenham will take heart, but the Reds have a strong recent record against Wednesday's opponents, having won their last five Premier League battles.

Liverpool have never won six consecutive games against Newcastle in the top flight, and they may note the Magpies have developed a habit of raising their level for home games against reigning champions.

Newcastle have taken eight points from their last four home games against teams in possession of the Premier League trophy, last losing at St James' Park to such a team when they went down 2-0 to Manchester City in August 2014.

Conversely, Liverpool can point to having won their final league game in each of the last six calendar years.

Viv Solomon-Otabor will not be available for Wigan Athletic’s League One encounter against Burton Albion on Tuesday evening.

The 24-year-old has been out injured following his setback in a league outing against Plymouth Argyle on October 24.

In the 1-1 draw against Ryan Lowe’s Pilgrims at the DW Stadium, the Nigeria prospect fell awkwardly on his right ankle six minutes after kick-off, before he was replaced by Will Keane.

Since then he has been out of action - missing fixtures against Milton Keynes Dons, Northampton Town, Blackpool, Chorley, Tranmere Rovers, Oxford United, Bristol Roers, Lincoln City, Sunderland, Accrington Stanley, Rochdale, Fleetwood Town and Shrewsbury Town – as Leam Richardson’s men continue their battle against relegation.

The forward is undergoing treatment for the problem which has kept him out for over eight weeks.

With Richardson’s team set to tackle fellow relegation strugglers at the Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday, the club disclosed that Solomon-Otabor alongside Harry McHugh, Gavin Massey, and Lee Evans will play no part against Jake Buxton’s Brewers, while his compatriot Emeka Obi is expected to start from the bench.

“Latics continue to be without midfielder Lee Evans, who has started the rehabilitation on his knee injury, as well as young midfielder Harry McHugh who has been sidelined recently,” a statement from Wigan website read.

“Forward Viv Solomon-Otabor has been progressing with his comeback from a long-term issue, having started gym work over the past couple of weeks, whilst fellow winger Gavin Massey is aiming for a return to action soon.

“Striker Kyle Joseph was a substitute in Latics' 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town on Boxing Day, as Latics made one change from the previous game, with Matty Palmer making his successful comeback from injury against Salop.”

Solomon-Otabor’s contract at the English team will end in January 2021 after joining the DW Stadium giants from Bulgarian side CSKA Moscow.

He arrived at a time when Wigan had faced the agony of relegation from the Championship after going into administration and having 12 points deducted.

On the international scene, the player received his first call up for Nigeria in October 2019, as a replacement for the injured Samuel Kalu for a friendly against Brazil in Singapore, where he was an unused substitute.

Gareth Bale has suffered a new injury setback, with Jose Mourinho confirming the Tottenham loan star will be out of action for "a few weeks".

Bale was forced to come off at half-time after scoring the opener in Tottenham's 3-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Stoke City on December 23.

Mourinho revealed post-match that the winger had sustained a calf injury, and subsequently left him out of his squad for the Premier League meeting with Wolves on Sunday, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Bale struggles for fitness have been well documented since his return to Spurs from Real Madrid on a season-long loan in September, with the 33-year-old only managing to score three goals during 11 appearances in all competitions, the majority of which have come from the substitutes bench.

Mourinho will not be including the Welshman in his matchday squad against Fulham on Wednesday, and the Portuguese does not expect him to be back on the pitch until well into the new year.

Asked for an update on Bale's recovery, the Tottenham head coach told a pre-match press conference: "No, I don't expect Gareth to be fit. I wouldn't say it's a serious injury, but I would say a few weeks."

Mourinho also confirmed that Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius are doubts for the clash with the Cottagers, but Tanguy Ndombele looks set to retain a spot in the 57-year-old's line-up.

Spurs' £54 million ($73m) record signing has established himself as a regular in the team after a slow start to life in north London, and his manager is pleased with the progress he has made over the last few months.

"We are happy, apart from a couple of matches where his performances were not good, overall there was a big evolution," said Mourinho.

"I believe, to play at this intensity - Premier League intensity - and to last for 90 minutes is of course another step in the direction of his fitness, but he's a player of course who is playing very well and is giving some good things to the team."

The Tottenham boss added on the challenge Fulham will pose his team in the midweek London derby: "Fulham now play a different way, they forgot some of the principles that they believed in. They have new principles of play and they are getting very positive results. It's going to be difficult."

Liverpool have appointed doctor Andreas Schlumberger as the club’s first head of recovery and performance.

The 54-year-old joins the Anfield club from Schalke, where he spent nearly a year as the German side's head of fitness.

The Reds say the newly-created role will see Schlumberger “support and work in close collaboration with the current performance, medical and rehabilitation leadership”.

He previously worked alongside Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, having spent four years as the Bundesliga side’s rehabilitation coach between 2011 and 2015. He has also had spells at Nurnberg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayern Munich and the German Football Association during his career.

Schlumberger moves to Merseyside with the club suffering from a mounting injury list amid a breathless fixture schedule.

Central defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez expected to be sidelined for much of the campaign with knee injuries.

Thiago Alcantara has not played since October with a knee injury of his own, while fellow summer signings Diogo Jota and Konstantinos Tsimikas are not expected to return until February with similar injuries.

Naby Keita and Joel Matip are sidelined with muscle problems, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, James Milner and Xherdan Shaqiri only just back to fitness following injury lay-offs.

Reds boss Klopp has been vocal with his concerns over player welfare this campaign, with the delayed start to the season because of the coronavirus pandemic meaning more matches are being packed into an already busy schedule.

Wednesday’s trip to Newcastle will be Liverpool’s 25th match in all competitions in a little over four months, with three international breaks also taking place in that time.

The German believes the reintroduction of the five substitutes, used during the summer restart, would give managers greater flexibility to protect players who may be tired or susceptible to injury.

However, the proposal has been voted down three times by Premier League clubs despite it being adopted by most major leagues across Europe, including the Championship, with smaller clubs arguing that it would favour bigger clubs who have deeper squads.

Teams are now allowed to name up to nine substitutes on the bench in each game - an increase from seven - while an agreement "in principle" has been reached to introduce additional permanent concussion substitutions.

Full-back Ankit Mukherjee has mutually terminated his contract with ATK Mohun Bagan and is now all set to join rivals East Bengal on a free transfer.

The Mariners, on Tuesday, officially confirmed the separation of the club and the player. Their official statement read, "As per the mutual agreement, Ankit Mukherjee and the club have decided to part ways. We wish all the best in his career going forward."

The 24-year-old Bengali defender is now all set to join the Red and Golds on a free transfer for the remainder of the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season.

East Bengal have already parted ways with nine domestic players who have been released from the squad on loan for the rest of the season. While defender Gurtej Singh and goalkeeper Rafique Ali Sardar have already joined Mohammedan Sporting on loan and will ply their trade with the Black Panthers in the upcoming 2020-21 season of the I-League, the future of the other seven players are yet to be decided.

Ankit Mukherjee, a graduate from East Bengal's youth system, started his professional career with Calcutta Football League (CFL) side Aryan FC where he spent two seasons before joining Mohammedan in 2017. 

His impressive performance for the Black Panthers earned him his maiden ISL contract ahead of the 2018-19 season when he joined then ATK. Mukherjee appeared in nine matches in his debut season under coach Steve Coppell and had even scored a goal which came against erstwhile Delhi Dynamos. Last season, Mukherjee, got only three minutes of game time under coach Antonio Lopez Habas.

East Bengal have not had a great maiden ISL season so far as they are currently struggling at the bottom half of the league table with just three points in seven matches and are yet to register a win in the league.

The Red and Golds' defence has been a major concern for Robbie Fowler as they have been leaking goals on a regular basis. In the absence of quality full-backs in his squad, the Liverpool great has been forced to field Bikash Jairu and Surchandra Singh as makeshift backs who are predominantly wingers.

The Premier League has announced the highest number of Covid-19 positives since weekly testing began.

English football has had to adjust to the presence of coronavirus since returning from lockdown in June. Supporters have been largely unable to attend matches due to strict social distancing protocols, while players have been required to undergo weekly medical checks.

Any squad or staff members testing positive for the virus have been forced to observe a 10-day quarantine period, with a number of high-profile stars missing a significant portion of the 2020-21 campaign as a result.

Newcastle's Premier League clash with Aston Villa had to be called off at the start of December following an outbreak at the Magpies' training ground, and top-flight officials had to take the same steps to contain the spread of the illness on Monday night.

Everton's meeting with Manchester City was called off hours before kick-off after the Citizens reported a spike of positive cases.

Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker missed City's Boxing Day win over Newcastle after contracting the virus, while the club also reported that two members of staff had been sent into self-isolation.

The Etihad Campus training ground was closed at the start of the week, leaving City's upcoming fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United in major doubt.

The Premier League have now revealed coronavirus numbers at clubs across the division have reached a new peak, with official figures published on their website on Tuesday.

"The Premier League can today confirm that between Monday 21 December and Sunday 27 December, 1,479 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19," a statement released by the organisation reads. "Of these, there were 18 new positive tests. Players or club staff who have tested positive will self-isolate for a period of 10 days.

"The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency. No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public after each round of testing."

Several fixtures in the English Football League (EFL) have also been postponed over the festive period, with a total of seven games cancelled on Monday.

Football Kenya Federation Premier League side Kakamega Homeboyz have entered into a Ksh20 million sponsorship deal with the betting firm, MozzartBet.

The sponsorship partnership will last for one year as both parties confirmed during an unveiling ceremony conducted in Kakamega town on Tuesday.

Kakamega Homeboyz’s head coach Nicholas Muyoti and captain David Juma promised the new partners good representation in the ongoing campaign.

“We promise to be good ambassadors of MozzartBet and we will not let you down,” Muyoti said during the unveiling ceremony.

“As players, this season we will make sure that we win the trophy and make our sponsors happy,” Juma said. “We don’t have any excuse, we now have everything and we will make sure we do Kakamega Homeboyz’s fans proud by winning the title.”

Chairman Cleophas Shimanyula revealed why his side has had a poor season start where they have picked just four points from four games against Vihiga United, Posta Rangers, KCB and Ulinzi Stars.

“We suffered a bad start because eight of our players were diagnosed with Covid-19 and five of them were first-team players,” Shimanyula stated. “We had struggles because we had to use our junior players.”

However, Shimanyula maintained that Muyoti will not be sacked after losing two of the four games into the 2020/21 season.

“I assure the coach that we will not sack him, we don't sack coaches because of a bad start,” the chair added. “Be assured I will stand by you as you do your job.”

Muyoti, on his part, assured the fans and the chair that they will work hard and start posting good results.

“We have not had a good start and everyone knows we did not have some of our players available because of sickness and injuries but we will come back,” added the former Thika United head coach.

AFC Leopards’ chairman Dan Shikanda, who was in attendance, surprisingly stated his wish to see the Kakamega side win the Premier League title.

Ingwe and Kakamega Homeboyz have turned out to be fierce rivals in the recent history especially given that both enjoy massive support in the Western region.

"I want to see Kakamega Homeboyz also win the title because AFC Leopards are going continental, we want to win Caf matches and become the kings of Africa,” said the Ingwe official.

Peter Thiongo’s move from Kakamega Homeboyz to AFC Leopards is the recent development that drove a sharp wedge between the two top-flight sides.

AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda has set his sights on winning the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League as well as the Confederation of African Football (Caf) title before retiring.

The Kenyan giants have never qualified for any Caf competition's group stage and the last time they tasted the league title was way back in 1998. The former striker was elected as the Ingwe chairman in June 2019 and in his first season, the club went on to finish sixth on the table despite the financial challenges faced.

"I want to retire after I win the Caf title with AFC Leopards and do not want to win the league to go lose 6-0," Shikanda told Goal, referencing the recent outcome of the Caf Champions League game between their bitter rivals Gor Mahia and Algerian outfit CR Belouizdad.

The Kenyan champions fell 6-0 to the North Africans who scored their goals through Amir Sayoud, who scored a hat-trick, Hamza Bellahouel, Larbi Tabti, and Maecky Ngombo during a thoroughly one-sided display. The former Sofapaka striker stated the off-pitch matters were too much for the East African outfit.

"We have a strong squad and I know we will soon conquer Africa. I do not want to laugh at Gor Mahia but we do not want to go out there and lose 6-0. 

"I know I will win the league title soon and also conquer Africa but I do not want to go and lose by a [humiliating margin]."

The 13-time league champions have started the season on a high and have managed to collect nine points from their opening four games. The only loss came against Western Stima.

The team's interim coach Anthony Kimani went on to explain why his team fell to the Powermen.

"I think we had a good performance but not the result we expected, we started the game very well, created several chances but we were not able to utilise our chances and again we also lost concentration at a very vital moment of the game, we got punished and we were not able to pick ourselves from that particular point," Kimani told Leopards online TV

"We lacked the urgency that we wanted and we also were not able to be as mobile as we wanted to be, we were not able to run in the right spaces because they were playing very compact.

The Premier League need to provide greater transparency over why games are called off because of Covid-19 and set parameters for future postponements, says former Manchester City defender Danny Mills.

City’s Premier League trip to Everton on Monday was called off a little over four hours before the game was due to kick-off because of a coronavirus outbreak among the Citizens squad.

City say the decision was taken on medical advice in conjunction with the Premier League and Everton after the latest round of testing returned a number of positive cases.

Gabriel Jesus, Kyle Walker and another two members of staff had previously tested positive for Covid-19, but City's clash with Newcastle United on Saturday still went ahead.

The Toffees later released a statement of their own claiming they were only informed of the decision to postpone the game once it had been made and wanted “full disclosure” of all the information submitted by Manchester City to the Premier League.

It is the second Premier League match to be postponed because of coronavirus this season, after Newcastle’s match against Aston Villa was called off at the start of December following an outbreak at the Magpies’ training ground.

Mills expects more matches to be postponed given the rise in cases across the country, but says the authorities should provide clear reasoning for each case.

He told Sky Sports: “I think the issue is at what point do we start to cancel games, what are the protocols? Is it four players out? Is it five? Is it six? Is it backroom staff?

“I think what we need, and we never really had it with the Newcastle issue, is a bit of transparency and we need the Premier League to come out and say why the game was called off.

“I think Everton are a little bit upset and miffed that the game was called off at such late notice. They haven’t really been given too many reasons because of that and I think that’s all it needs. The Premier League just needs to come and say ‘look, the game was called off because of x, y, z,’ whatever it might be.

“Even if they have to take it on a case-by-case basis when this happens [again] because it is going to happen as we move forward and this virus mutates and starts to change and all these types of things.

“People just want to know what the parameters are and when games are likely to be called off.”

Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane says he might need to look elsewhere or just leave things as they are after Mamelodi Sundowns closed negotiations with the Cairo giants on the possible transfer of winger Gaston Sirino.

Talks collapsed after Sundowns could not climb down from the €5 million (R89 million) price they insisted for Sirino’s departure while Al Ahly are not prepared to meet that figure.

Discussions between the two sides have reportedly been dragging on for the past two seasons since Mosimane was still at Downs.

Al Ahly’s interest in the player grew following the arrival of Mosimane in Cairo but the coach now appears to be throwing in the towel in his pursuit of the Uruguayan he brought to Sundowns from Bolivian Primera Division side Bolivar in January 2018.

"This is the current situation and we need to deal with it. We may need a replacement and we may not. Mohamed Sherif is doing his job and we trust him," Mosimane said according to Egyptian football website King Fut. 

“If we find a player with special abilities before the Club World Cup, why won’t we sign him? We need two players with special characteristics.

“I need these two players to find replacements for Hussein El-Shahat and Afsha [Mohamed Magdy]. I have Taher Mohamed, but he is very unlucky and played a great game today before his injury.”

While Al Ahly are not ready to meet Sundowns’ price tag on the 29-year-old, the African champions are reportedly enticing the player with an attractive personal deal.

Reports from Egypt suggest that Al Ahly are prepared to double Sirino’s current salary and splash a hefty signing-on fee for him.

Faced with the possibility of earning big money in Egypt, Sirino appears to have grown frustrated with Downs for not yielding to Al Ahly’s pressure.

The player is believed to have skipped Monday’s training to push for a move to Cairo although Sundowns deny that his absence was a protest action.

Sirino who extended his Downs contract by a further five years in June 2020, is yet to feature in a Premier Soccer League match this season.

Atletico Madrid have confirmed the termination of Diego Costa's contract.

Goal reported at the start of the week that Costa had informed Atletico officials of his desire to leave the club six months before the expiration of his contract.

The 32-year-old cited personal reasons for wanting to leave Wanda Metropolitano after being excused from training, having also made it clear that he had no intention of signing an extension.

The current Liga leaders have granted the forward's wish ahead of the January transfer window, with the 32-year-old now officially a free agent.

"Atletico de Madrid and Diego Costa have reached an agreement for the termination of the striker's contract, which was to end on June 30, 2021," a statement on Atletico's official website reads. 

"The striker asked to leave the club for personal reasons a few days ago and on Tuesday signed the termination of his contract. The club thanks Diego Costa for his dedication during these years and wishes him well in the next stage of his professional career."

Costa had struggled with persistent fitness issues ever since his return to Atletico from Chelsea in 2018, with his output in the final third suffering as a result.

The Spain international only scored 12 goals in 61 La Liga appearances during his second spell with Diego Simeone's side, with just two of those efforts recorded in the first half of the 2020-21 campaign.

Costa's final goal for the Los Rojiblancos came from the penalty spot during a 3-1 home win over Elche on December 19, with Luis Suarez grabbing a brace to wrap up the comfortable win.

Goal understands that Simeone sanctioned Costa's exit on the understanding he would be able to bring in another frontman in the winter market, as Suarez is now the only natural centre-forward in his ranks.

Costa has been linked with several clubs following news of his desire to leave Atletico, with Premier League clubs including Arsenal among those rumoured to be interested in the veteran front man.

Atletico are due back in Liga action following the winter break on Wednesday night, with 12th placed Getafe set to arrive at Wanda Metropolitano.

A rejuvenated FC Goa side who have had a six-day break before facing Hyderabad FC on Wednesday is eager to build on their fortuitous win against Jamshedpur FC. 

Juan Ferrando feels that his team is yet to hit top gear and that will only be possible when the individuals focus more on the collective output. 

"We need to improve game by game but I think we are not in 100 per cent performance. We have very good players in my squad but we need to be a team. This is difficult because there are a lot of games and not a lot of training (training sessions) and then we have to work under pressure to get three points."

The Spanish coach feels that the encounter against Hyderabad will be a tough one but they also have a plan which they would like to impose. 

"It will be a difficult game because they are very good in transition and positional attack. There are a lot of details when you play against different teams but it's necessary to put forward a few details because they will have more ways to play.

"I prepare a plan but don't forget that Hyderabad's plan can also be different. Maybe tomorrow they play 4-4-2 with (Fran) Sandaza and Aridane (Santana). In this case, it's necessary to control the last pass but we don't know the plan for Hyderabad."

Meanwhile, Goa have conceded a handful of goals through set-pieces and this is one of the reasons that they have been able to keep just one clean sheet, that too against the league's lowest-scoring team i.e. Odisha FC. But the coach is content as long as his team scores one more than the opponent. 

"In my mind, there are two points. Firstly, I'm not worried if we concede goals but the most important is to score more goals. The second point about set-pieces - for example, we have conceded three goals in penalties - it's very important to know why. In my opinion, it's very important [for my players] to connect. When we are working in the defensive line, it's very important to understand the zones, space and who is there in free space. We need time as we need to change game by game. ATK [Mohun Bagan] or Bengaluru, maybe they have more success because they have worked together year by year.

"We need to find the best position for everybody. It depends on the opponents. For example [Roy] Krishna likes to attack in free space, or [Nerijus] Valskis as a reference. We need to prepare the team for different points. So it's necessary to work on these details," Ferrando pointed.

The ISL Shield winners have been over-reliant on Igor Angulo and to some extent on Jorge Ortiz for goals but the coach feels that it is just a matter of time before other players step up.

"Now it's Igor but you see for example against NorthEast [United] Alberto Noguera missed two or three opportunities, Lenny missed a few opportunities against Odisha. At the end of the day, I am happy for Igor and Ortiz. Maybe tomorrow it can be [Alexander] Romario or Edu Bedia in one action. The most important thing is, when we are working on an attack, everybody has opportunities," the Goa coach ended.