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Karim Benzema is playing "on a different level" after helping Real Madrid to another win, coach Zinedine Zidane said.

Benzema scored and provided two assists as Madrid made it five straight wins in all competitions by beating Eibar 3-1 in La Liga on Sunday.

It was the 30th time the Frenchman has scored and assisted in the same La Liga game. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (44) has done it more often for Madrid in the 21st century.

Benzema's form was lauded by Zidane as Madrid joined first-place Atletico on 29 points, although Diego Simeone's men have played two fewer games.

"Benzema is a match winner because what he's doing is on a different level, not just because of the goals," Zidane told a press conference. 

"I always repeat myself saying the same thing about Karim. It's not only his goals, he's a focal point in our game. He's very important for us and when he scores, it's even better, obviously, but he's very important for our team.

"We have to highlight everyone's performance. It was a great game today and it was a great performance from both teams. It's a well-deserved victory."

Benzema set up Luka Modric to make it 2-0 before Kike pulled a goal back for Eibar, who felt they should have had a late penalty for a handball by Sergio Ramos.

Zidane refused to be drawn on the decision, with Madrid sealing their win through Lucas Vazquez in additional time.

“I didn’t see the handball incident with Ramos. But the referee is the one who decides," Zidane said. "He knows what he is doing and I’m not going to start talking about the referees. If he decided not to give a penalty it’s because he didn’t think it was a handball.”

Madrid's busy run of fixtures continues with a home clash against Granada on Wednesday. Zidane hinted he could rotate his squad for the game, Madrid's third in the span of eight days.

"At the moment this is how we're playing," he added. "Will there be changes? Yes, there will be changes, for sure, because it's a very long and difficult season.

"We rotate a little less now, but the important thing is that the players are performing and everyone will play their part. We've not changed much in the last few matches, but at the moment that's the way it is, these things change and we've got to all keep working together."

PSG star Marquinhos is at "Ballon d'Or level" and should have been recognised by FIFA with a position in the FIFPro Men's World XI for the last year, according to his coach Thomas Tuchel.

The club captain made a successful return from injury in PSG's goalless Ligue 1 draw with Lille after being absent from the last two matches with a hip problem.

Despite being a part of a PSG side that won all four French domestic competitions last season and finished runners-up in the Champions League, Marquinhos missed out on a place in the FIFPro World XI.

Tuchel feels the 26-year-old's performance against Lille showed that he was among the best in the world.

"Tonight, Marquinhos is Ballon d'Or level," Tuchel said to reporters after the game.

"I don't understand his absence in the FIFA XI of the year."

Despite the return of Marquinhos, PSG were hit by three more injuries in the match against Lille, with Presnel Kimpembe, Alessandro Florenzi and Layvin Kurzawa suffering issues.

Tuchel already had to contend with the absence of Neymar and Mauro Icardi, while Kylian Mbappe had fitness problems and could only come on as a late substitute.

The German warned that this season's demanding schedule will "kill the players" with his squad unable to recover properly between games.

"You already know my opinion, we are going to kill the players," Tuchel told Telefoot.

"We are always allowed to play at nine o'clock [in the evening]. We lack the rhythm to eat, sleep, recover. But it will continue like this.

"Today, we miss Neymar, Kylian, Mauro, Juan [Bernat]. Are we surprised? No. Three new players are injured now. Well done."

Speaking after his injury return, Marquinhos was pleased with the point earned by his team but insisted they could have been better in attack.

"We were able to control the match but we could have been more dangerous," the skipper told Telefoot. "We had to be well organised. 

"This is an important point for us, but we are always looking for victory."

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard hopes the revival of British managers in the Premier League will inspire a future generation of homegrown coaches.

Sam Allardyce became the 11th British head coach in the Premier League when he was appointed West Brom boss earlier this week.

That is a dramatic increase from just two years ago, when only five top-flight managers were from the UK.

Lampard is one of the British managers to come into the Premier League in that time following his appointment as Blues boss in the summer of 2019.

His side take on David Moyes’ West Ham on Monday, with the Scot having returned to the London Stadium in December last year.

Lampard says the return of experienced bosses like Allardyce and Moyes to the Premier League can only be good for the domestic game and will hopefully inspire players who are close to retiring to go into management.

“In the modern world, I don't think it matters where you're from," said Lampard.

“But it is nice that this is the Premier League here in England and we are seeing some British managers coming through and doing very well.

“I know there will be a lot of hard work behind that. And if that can inspire younger managers, or players who want to try to become managers, that is a great thing. Sam Allardyce and David Moyes have been doing well for years.”

Chelsea go into Monday's game down in eighth place after back-to-back defeats away at Everton and Wolves.

West Ham meanwhile are currently 10th but can go above Lampard’s side and level on points with sixth-placed Southampton with a win at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard says that highlights what a good job Moyes has done in east London, given the Hammers were tipped by many to struggle at the start of the season.

“The clubs he's managed are top clubs,” added Lampard.

“What he's doing at West Ham is the job of a top manager. The observations of others who think he needs to redeem himself don't matter. I don't see it that way. There's nothing for him to redeem.”

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa said he will not abandon his attacking style despite his side's thrashing at Manchester United.

The Whites were on the wrong end of a 6-2 scoreline at Old Trafford in an incredible game that saw 43 shots on goal.

Bielsa’s side once again earned plaudits for their bold, attacking play, but Sunday’s result now means they have conceded 30 goals this season, more than any other Premier League side.

However, no team in the bottom half of the table has scored more than Leeds’ 24 goals, with Bielsa insistent that he will not alter the team’s tactics in response to the result in Manchester.

"In the first half we had similar chances to the ones they had but we weren't able to score," he told Sky Sports.

"Our attacks came from combination play and their attacks came from the fact we were losing the ball in attacking positions, and they would transition from defence to attack. Our return was slower than their transition.

"[At half-time] we were losing by a big margin and I wanted to make the couple in midfield more competitive and make them recover the ball easier.

"We will not abandon the way we play.”

Leeds striker Patrick Bamford said the team’s performance was not good enough, but accepts that Bielsa’s high risk, high reward strategy will sometimes mean they are on the end of heavy defeats.

"We can't play like that, but we don't blame anyone or single anyone out," Bamford told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It's a team game, and we as a team haven't performed to the level we should have today.

"Everyone is frustrated and disappointed but we've got to stick together.

"I can imagine for the neutral that watching Leeds is great all the time.

"To be honest, today I'd have much preferred a boring 1-0 win, but it's our style of play. Sometimes it works but if you're one yard out of place you get picked off against the best players.

"If we play exactly the way [the manager] wants to, we'd win every game. But we're human and we make errors and sometimes we're not quite at it."

Bertrand Traore scored his first Premier League goal for Aston Villa in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion, in the process ending his four-year wait to find the back of the net in the English topflight.

The Burkina Faso international had assisted Anwar El-Ghazi for the Claret and Blue Army’s first goal just five minutes into the game at the Hawthorns.

Traore darted down the right flank before bending a cross to the back post for the Netherlands international to score.

The hosts’ ambition of equalising got dashed in the 37th minute as Jake Livermore was given the marching orders following a high and reckless tackle on Jack Grealish.

He doubled his side’s advantage in the 84th minute after he collected an offload from Grealish, charged forward, cut back before picking out Sam Johnstone’s corner with a sublime finish.

El-Ghazi completed his brace from the penalty spot four minutes later after Nigeria international Semi Ajayi had bundled down captain Grealish.

Traore moved to Villa Park after falling out of favour at Lyon where he scored just four goals and provided five assists in 35 competitive appearances, his lowest goal involvement for the French giants. Overall, he had a hand in 50 goals (33 goals, 17 assists) for Les Gones, playing 126 times.

His career began at Chelsea where he played 16 times between 2014 and 2017, scoring four goals and providing an assist. During that time, he was loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem and Ajax in the Netherlands.

On his return to English football, he got a goal as Aston Villa got the better of Bristol City 3-0 in the EFL Cup third round at Ashton Gate on Thursday night.

With this result, Villa moved to ninth in the Premier League log after garnering 22 points from nine outings.

They take on Crystal Palace at home on Boxing Day in their next Premier League game, while West Brom are next in action against Liverpool on the road on December 27.

On the international scene, Traore made his senior debut for the Stallions at the age of 15 years in a friendly match against Equatorial Guinea.

He has also represented the West African country at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Pep Guardiola does not expect to bring in a new striker during the January transfer window, despite Manchester City's goalscoring problems.

City have scored just 19 goals from their 13 Premier League matches, 18 fewer than at the same stage last season.

The club's greatest ever goalscorer Sergio Aguero has missed much of the season as he recovers from knee surgery while Gabriel Jesus was also missing from the 1-0 victory over Southampton on Saturday.

But asked about the possibility of signing a forward, Guardiola said: "No I don’t think so. The economic financial situation is what it is. All the clubs struggle and we are no exception."

Guardiola is frustrated by the lack of goals but believes City will start scoring regularly again as they have throughout his time at the Etihad Stadium.

"It’s not a lack of rhythm – it’s a lack of momentum to score goals," he added. "They make good situations, it’s not rhythm, it’s momentum.

"Goals are something special, it’s a touch and a flow and now we don’t have it.

"At the same time we will get closer to it by winning games and that’s why [Saturday] was so important."

City's scoring problems have been offset by a stronger defence, as Guardiola's side have conceded just once in their last eight Premier League and Champions League matches.

Summer signing Ruben Dias has helped shore up the defence while John Stones has rediscovered his best form since re-establishing himself in the first team.

"It’s incredible, that’s the way we can still be there, knocking on the door of the teams above us, work hard and be solid," Guardiola said.

"Ruben has helped us a lot since he came. He’s settled well with John. We need it.

"To be this stable and waiting for the people up front and one day maybe we’ll be fresh to score goals."

Dias has added leadership to a defence that struggled last season but Guardiola played down comparisons with former captain and club legend Vincent Kompany.

"He’s always focussed. He’s able to lead the line, the same with John," he said. "That’s why our club bought an exceptional player, especially for his personality. You have to build something from them.

"Vincent is irreplaceable – he was 10 years here. When I met him he was maybe 31 years old and Ruben is 22 or 23.

"It’s important to buy players who can help you for many years and we are pretty sure he is going to give us big moments."

Karim Benzema led the way as Real Madrid claimed a fifth successive win in a 3-1 triumph at Eibar on Sunday to go second in LaLiga.

Zinedine Zidane had been under intense pressure at the start of December due to a run of poor results, but the win at Ipurua was their fifth on the bounce across all competitions and leaves them on the tail of bitter rivals and pacesetters Atletico Madrid.

Benzema looked in the mood right from the start of an action-packed first half, the striker scoring and then teeing up Luka Modric in the early exchanges, before also having an effort disallowed for offside soon after Kike Garcia's stunning effort gave Eibar a lifeline.

Eibar certainly had their chances to clinch what had seemed an unlikely draw, but failed to take their opportunities and were punished again when Benzema played through Lucas Vazquez to wrap up the points in stoppage time.

Wasteful Paris Saint-Germain missed the chance to go top of Ligue 1 as they were held to a goalless draw by Lille on Sunday.

Moise Kean wasted several opportunities in a stalemate at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, where the champions ought to have consigned Lille to a first home defeat of the season in the top flight.

Kylian Mbappe was introduced just 13 minutes from time after being named as a substitute on his 22nd birthday and the striker did not have enough time to grab the winner.

The draw instead moved Lille back above Lyon at the summit on goal difference, with PSG only a point off the pace.

Thilo Kehrer headed just wide and Rafinha nodded Angel Di Maria's cross into the side-netting as PSG warmed to the task after a frantic start.

Idrissa Gueye came to the rescue with a great block after Kehrer gave the ball away inside his own penalty area as PSG tried to play out from the back, but Thomas Tuchel's men continued to pose a bigger threat.

Kean was denied by Mike Maignan when he tried to flick home a cross from Di Maria, whose dangerous free-kick was almost turned into his own net by Jose Fonte at the back post but Lille's goalkeeper made another save to keep his side on level terms.

Kean poked Layvin Kurzawa's inviting cross wide of the near post early in the second half and Yusuf Yazici strayed offside before he found the back of the net at the other end.

Di Maria was proving to be a real threat on his return to the starting line-up and his cross from the left flashed across the face of the goal as PSG continued to dominate with no reward.

Burak Yilmaz's long-range drive was tipped around the post by Keylor Navas before Mbappe was finally introduced just prior to Presnel Kimpembe making a brilliant last-ditch tackle when Lille hit PSG on the break.

Kimpembe limped off due to the damage done in that challenge and neither side could grab a late winner.

Argentine football continues across the festive season this December and January with the playing of the Copa Diego Armando Maradona.

All games are live streamed on Fanatiz and you can sign up to watch free here.

Boca was crowned 2019-20 league champions in March after coming out on top during the 23-game season. 

The Copa Superliga was scheduled to follow on from the regular campaign, but was scrapped after just one game as football came to a halt.

This season’s action began with a new cup format, renamed after Diego Maradona following his death in November, where six groups of four teams competed for 12 places in the Campeon de Copa phase.

This next step consists of two groups of six teams and the winner of each will play in a final clash on January 17.

The winner of the Campeon phase will then qualify for the 2021 Copa Libertadores.

There is also a Sudamericana spot open to the sides disputing the Complementary phase, which is exactly the same in format and includes all the teams that failed to qualify for the Campeon phase.

It is expected that the new season of the next Primera Division season will then follow in March 2021.

Fanatiz has the rights to the Copa de la Liga Profesional worldwide, excluding  Argentina, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Israel, Russia, Switzerland and the Balkans.

How to watch Huracan vs River on US TV

Huracan were left delighted last weekend as they kicked off this second phase of the Copa Diego Armando Maradona in spectacular fashion. 

Having fallen two goals behind to Independiente in the first 10 minutes, the Globo fought back to win 3-2, aided by an early red card suffered by Thomas Ortega. 

They will now hope to pick up a second straight win against Marcelo Gallardo's Millonario, who became the first Argentine side to qualify for the 2020 Libertadores semis on Thursday. 

The local Copa has been of secondary importance to River all this season due to their continental exertions, but in a week that they sealed a fourth consecutive berth in the last four of South America's most important club competition the Nunez club would love to cap their celebrations with yet another victory.

Live Stream: Fanatiz English ( stream now )

Huracan vs River team news and preview

Huracan's prospects for Sunday's clash are boosted by the return of three key first-teamers to action. 

Saul Salcedo, Leandro Grimi and Lucas Merolla are all available to coach Israel Damonte after a spell on the sidelines, while Renato Civelli is also in line to start having sat out the clash against Independiente due to suspension.

Marcelo Gallardo is set to field a strong team against the Globo to bolster River's Copa Maradona chances now the Libertadores adjourns until the start of January. 

Veteran defender Javier Pinola sat out Thursday's 6-2 thrashing of Nacional but will return to the starting line-up, while Franco Armani maintains his place in goal ahead of Enrique Bologna, who has played several times in the domestic competition instead of the Argentina No. 1. 

Watch all this weekend's Copa Diego Armando Maradona matches on Fanatiz in the US  with a 7-day free trial.

What other Copa Diego Armando Maradona matches are available on Fanatiz?

All games are live streamed on Fanatiz and you can sign up to watch free here.

Serie C side Casertana have hit out at the authorities and their opponents after they were forced to play Sunday's match against Viterbese with nine men.

Casertana registered as many as 15 positive cases of Covid-19 prior to the encounter but were told they must play or face sanctions.

The club claimed, even, that some of those who took to the field were showing symptoms of coronavirus, but had returned negative tests prior to kick-off.

A hard-hitting statement from the club reads: “These are difficult days, full of fear and concern for all Casertana FC members as well as for their families.

“We have a squad decimated by a dangerous and devious virus. As many as 15 positive for Covid-19 cases have been present.

“In the presence of a situation, the dynamics of competition and agonism should leave room for pragmatism. And, instead, a few hours before kick-off of the match on the 16th matchday of the Serie C championship, Casertana FC is forced to take note of the refusal of US Viterbese 1908 to reschedule the fixture in the face of logic that should have made this an inevitable postponement, and the Lega Pro itself, which did not consider a postponement necessary.

“In compliance with Article 48, paragraph 3 of the NOIF (Italian Football Federation internal rules) which states: 'The obligation to field the best team allowed by one's own technical situation,' Casertana FC is forced to take the field against Viterbese with fewer players than 11.

"To this it must be added that some of them are feverish, although they returned negative results in the last cycle of tests. It is a danger to themselves and to others.

“We would have wished for greater respect for the real protagonists of this sport, those who go out on the pitch every day and who give their families a living thanks to what is a real job.

“In a historical moment in which Italian citizens are struggling, indeed they are forced to stay at home, a football team, decimated by an invisible enemy, is forced to take the field at all costs. It is an embarrassing signal to the entire community.

“In light of this, public health no longer becomes a priority, but it takes a back seat to other interests. We apologise to our fans, helpless victims like us in the face of an absurd decision.”

Casertana went on to lose the game 3-0.

Princella Adubea provided an assist as Racing Santander defeated Friol 3-0 in Sunday’s Spanish Reto Iberdrola showdown.

Adubea was handed her eighth league start in the current campaign as a substitute and made a key contribution to help her side return to winning ways following four matches without a win.

Racing cruised to their third triumph of the season thanks to a first-half strike from Irantzu Ibarrola Garcia before second-half efforts from Yamila Badell and Gloria Villamayor.

The hosts got the encounter off to a flying start when Garcia broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark at Bezana.

After the restart, Badell added the second of the match on the hour mark before the Black Queens star was introduced as the replacement for Garcia in the 70th minute.

The Ghanaian striker made an instant impact five minutes after being brought on as she sent a well-taken long ball through for Villamayor to ensure the hosts ended their four-match winless run.

Ghana's Adubea, who has now scored twice and provided an assist in eight matches for Racing Santander, was in action for 20 minutes.

With the result, Racing have moved to third on the log with 13 points from eight matches and will square up against bottom-placed Pozuelo Alarcon in their first game of 2021 on January 10.

Mohamed Salah is unhappy at Liverpool and the Reds are considering cashing in on the Egyptian, according to his former international team-mate Mohamed Aboutrika.

Aboutrika says the 28-year-old was particularly frustrated at not being made captain for the recent Champions League tie against FC Midtjylland, though there are apparently other reasons why he is unsettled at Anfield.

"I called Salah about his situation at Liverpool and he is upset, but that would never affect his performance on the field,” Aboutrika told beIN Sports.

"I know that Salah is not happy in Liverpool, he told me the reasons why he is not happy but they are secrets and I cannot talk about it in public. One of the reasons that made Salah angry was that he was not the captain against Midtjylland."

Salah publicly expressed his frustration at not being given the armband against Midtjylland, telling AS he was “very disappointed” at the decision.

The former Roma and Chelsea forward was expecting to be named captain as the most experienced player in the team, but the armband was instead worn by 22-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Salah was dropped to the bench for Liverpool’s game at Crystal Palace on Saturday, though Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said he was simply giving him a rest after a hectic period of the season. Salah did, however, come off the bench and score a brace in a 7-0 thrashing of Palace.

In the same interview Salah also reiterated his admiration for Real Madrid and Barcelona, two clubs regularly linked with a move for the former Basel player.

Aboutrika expects his friend and former team-mate to make the move to one of the Spanish giants someday, believing Liverpool will find a big-money offer too much to resist.

"If Salah was a player at Real Madrid or Barcelona, and playing at the same level as Liverpool, he would've won the Ballon d'Or, and it is normal for a Spanish newspaper to ask Salah about Real Madrid and Barcelona,” added the 42-year-old.

"In my opinion, Liverpool are considering selling Salah for economic purposes.

"I do not have any influence over Salah's decisions, he is my friend and brother, and he is smart enough to know what is best for him."

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has heaped praise on midfielder Scott McTominay, who made Premier League history on Sunday with his quick-fire double against Leeds United.

The Scotland international became the first player in the league's history to score twice in the first three minutes of a match, getting United off to a perfect start at Old Trafford. 

McTominay's brace put United on their way to a 6-2 victory, as Bruno Fernandes also scored a pair of goals while Victor Lindelof and Daniel James got on the scoresheet as well. 

Solskjaer was happy with the way his team started against Leeds, saving particular praise for the man who gave his side an early two-goal advantage.

"We've been criticised for our starts but the boys were prepared," Solskjaer told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We've approached the game really well. We've looked at videos and looked at ways to exploit them but also ways to stop them hurting you. It was a great start.

"Scott used to be a striker as a kid – he is a physical monster. He can win in the air, he wins tackles, but he's so strong and he's quick as well. He just ran into the space that we hoped he would get and it was good work by the other players to create the space and good finishes.

"I have to stop Scott from doing that sometimes – he is an attacking midfielder by nature. But when he sees space in front of him, why stop him? But he's great at shielding his back four."

Solskjaer was also happy to see James get on the scoresheet in a rare start, marking the Welshman's first league goal since he scored against Southampton in August 2019.

"The goal will give Dan James a lot of confidence too," the Norwegian added "He's been biding his time, been patient, been working hard and he's still as fit as a fiddle and I was very, very pleased for him."

United moved into third place with the win and sit just five points behind first-place Liverpool with a game in hand over Jurgen Klopp's men. The Red Devils boss, though, was quick to stress how many games remain this season, dismissing any talk of mounting a challenge for the title. 

"It's 13 games into the season – we're a work in a progress," he added. "We're getting better, we're getting fitter and stronger but there's still a few details to nail and let's talk about the title later on."

One of Nigeria’s foremost football academies, Tripple 44, has agreed a partnership with Diamond Sports Management.

The pact signed on Saturday will see the United Kingdom-based organisation become the Ibadan-based outfit’s official agency.

While they have only existed for four years,Tripple 44 produced players like Porto-target Emmanuel Adeyemo, AC Alcanenense’s Innocent Ejiofor and Nigeria U20 attacking sensation, Peter Olawale.

This venture is a landmark achievement for Samuel Olatunji-Okuku’s team, and the expertise of former West Ham United and Diamond Sports director Cem Sagar will assist the academy in providing first-class management and representation to the flood of football talent at Tripple Academy.

“One of the things that attracted us to Diamond Sports is the fact that we have a lot in common,” Olatunji-Okuku told Goal.

“First, both organisations were founded around the same time. Their company was established in 2016 the same year Tripple 44 was established. So, it’s just like we as a young club finding a partner who has got a big vision and we feel we can group with them and that’s an icing on the cake for us.

“He [Sagar] is like a brother and someone I can easily relate with. He’s being at the top level of the game having played for West Ham United and he knows what is expected of every footballer.

“He is not only going to help us in terms of transfer alone, he is going to help in the development of our coaches and the players. It not about money-making partnership but It's going to be a symbiotic kind of relationship and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Echoing the sentiments of the Tripple 44 boss, Sagar also expressed his delight on this "interesting project" while highlighting what the Nigerian team would stand to benefit.

“I think making this agreement with Tripple 44 Academy was an interesting project for us to take on at a time when we were having offers from three other academies across Nigeria," the ex-Hammers star said.

“One of the benefits it would bring to Tripple 44 and Diamond Sports Management is being able to control players’ development together, where we will be more involved in day to day development of the players, helping the coaches to improve the players.

“People that have seen our selected team know that have never lost a game in Nigeria. This shows that what we are trying to do with the boys and the ways we are trying to implement gaming styles and tactics is quite different.

“This is the first time we are making an agreement like this and from what I have seen of Tripple 44, they are a very young team and seeing them producing international players within four years is a big achievement, so we are ready to take on this project with them.”

Victor Osimhen will play no role when Lazio welcome Napoli to Stadio Olimpico for Sunday’s Serie A encounter.

The Nigeria international was expected to return to the squad at an earlier date after the management of the Blues confirmed that the former Lille star had returned to training and has been undergoing physiotherapy.

“Victor Osimhen worked on the pitch, in the gym and had physiotherapy,” read a statement from Napoli read during their preparations for a Europa League game against Real Sociedad.

“The squad was split into two groups for the session, with those who started Sunday’s game at the Stadio Ezio Scida doing recovery work in the gym.

“The remainder of the squad began with a warm-up and some passing drills, then focused on tactics, technique, building play and shooting, before finishing with a mini-match and a gym circuit.”

In the first leg of the tie against Sociedad, which ended in favour of the Italians, the Nigeria international was shown a red card by referee Craig Pawson in the third minute of added time for a second caution.

Osimhen, 22, has been on the treatment table since suffering a shoulder dislocation during Nigeria’s 4-4 draw in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone.

He has subsequently missed the Blues’ last eight encounters, against AC Milan, Rijeka, AS Roma, AZ Alkmaar, Crotone, Real Sociedad, Sampdoria and Inter Milan.

Senegal international Kalidou Koulibaly leads Gennaro Gattuso’s team quest of returning to winning ways having made Napoli’s starting XI, while Algerian defender Faouzi Ghoulam will start from the bench.

After an impressive spell with Lille, Osimhen was snapped up by Napoli for a club-record fee of €80 million. He has since scored two goals for the team across all competitions in the 2020-21 campaign.

Gor Mahia have finally confirmed they will honour their Caf Champions League first round first leg against CR Belouizdad as scheduled on Wednesday after getting a solution to their travelling logistical problems.

It was initially feared the Kenyan champions would not make it to North Africa for the game and had even requested the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to reschedule their game.

K'Ogalo have now confirmed they have secured the necessary facilitation to enable them to travel.

"No passenger flight is allowed to land in Algeria and we had to seek authorization from Algeria, which we got and that had to be confirmed by their Embassy here in Nairobi as well – we got the two important letters that we are free to travel," club's chairman Ambrose Rachier revealed.

"With the authorization letters, we were connected to Qatar Airline by the authorities because that’s the only Airline they use for evacuation and is allowed within their airspace. We are trying our best to make it to Algeria – we are trying to secure the group booking then hit the runway."

The veteran administrator went on to explain the measures the club had taken to ensure the game is played.

"As an option, we had to place in our request for the match to be played in any North African country where flights are allowed," he continued.

"We haven’t received any confirmation on that but we will now go-ahead to travel since we were given authorization. 

"Our biggest hurdle is the locked Algerian airspace, bookings from Nairobi are a big problem.

"Authorization to enter Algerian space has been acquired through late [on Saturday] but at least that hurdle is now behind us. We are ready with Covid-19 tests done with all results confirmed negative. It is all systems go."  

Now the next hurdle is for the team to settle the players' allowances and salaries. Earlier on, the players had staged a go-slow, threatening to boycott the game.

"We have not been paid our November monies as well as this [December] month," a senior player in the team told Goal on Sunday.

"Yes, we had a meeting on Saturday and our stand was made clear. The office should pay us our allowances and salaries before we talk about the Algeria trip.

"As it stands, nobody has communicated to us regarding the logistics of the game. We are in the dark over everything, but again, they cannot tell us because our stand has been made clear."