Verdict: Olympiakos win

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Two sides that are now 90 minutes from booking their spot in the group stages of this years Europa League, Burnley will be looking to turn around their form and a 3-1 deficit when they welcome Greek powerhouses Olympiakos to Turf Moor on Thursday night.

Burnley

Starting with Sean Dyche s Clarets, although Burnley may have enjoyed a record-breaking year last season, the hosts have struggled to adjust to the demands of playing so frequently. Needing extra time to come past both Aberdeen and Istanbul Basaksehir in the previous rounds, Burnley are also coming off the back of a 4-2 loss to Fulham in their third Premier League outing. Now only managing to pick up a single point in the league courtesy of a lac…

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang thinks both he and Alexandre Lacazette should be starting for Arsenal and the Gabon striker is even willing to play out of position to accommodate his team-mate.

Lacazette joined Arsenal to much fanfare in 2017 having developed into arguably Ligue 1 s most lethal finisher at Lyon, who were paid a reported £47million for him.

But, after an encouraging start, Lacazette struggled for form, scoring just four times in the Premier League between the start of November and April.

Aubameyang s arrival in January was undoubtedly a contributor to Lacazette s struggles, as the signing from Borussia Dortmund netted 10 times in just 13 league games in the second half of last season.

The 29-year-old unsurprisingly started by himself in attack …

AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli hopes his side can exorcise their Champions League disappointment in Thursday’s Europa League play-off against Rennes.

Milan face Ligue 1 side Rennes in the first leg at the San Siro Stadium after finishing third in their Champions League group.

The Rossoneri lost out on goal difference to second-placed Paris St Germain despite a 3-2 win at Newcastle in their final match.

Pioli told a press conference: “We go again from the disappointment in Newcastle and we’re focusing all of our energy on the Europa League.

“We know that you need to be at your very best in Europe and that’s what we want to do (on Thursday night).

“There are some good teams in this competition. We have to be ambitious, but we can’t look t…

Market: Sheffield United win

Odds: 1/2 @

Hoping to extend their buffer at the top of the Championship table on Saturday afternoon, Sheffield United will welcome Birmingham to Bramall Lane.

Starting with the hosts, heading into the international break with another eye-catching display, Sheffield United are in the midst of what has been a stellar purple patch. Last seen picking up a routine 2-0 victory away at Preston, the Blades find themselves tipped as a leading pick to book a Premier League return this season. With the mood around Bramall Lane appearing to be at a red-hot high, Paul Heckingbottom s men mark their return to action this weekend holding a three-point buffer at the top of the table. Winning each of their last four Championship outings by an aggreg…

Arsene Wenger has called for full focus as title-chasing Arsenal seek to avoid another slip-up at Stoke City this weekend.

The Britannia Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for Wenger, who has overseen only one win in five Premier League trips to Stoke.

However, the Frenchman is hopeful his side can claim three points this weekend as they look to stay close to leaders Chelsea.

Stoke is a big game for us, Wenger said on Thursday. We have to focus on our results because we are in a period where we have to push on.

We ve had two days off and sometimes it s not only physical but mental tiredness (that players need to recover from).

We had some bad memories from Stoke but we had some good memories as well it s just down to our performance of the day.

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Bournemouth have agreed a compensation figure with Blackburn Rovers relating to the former s signing of Josh King.

King signed a pre-contract agreement with Premier League new boys Bournemouth in May, after turning down a new deal at Ewood Park.

Because the Norway international is under the age of 24, Championship side Blackburn were entitled to compensation and an undisclosed fee has now been agreed upon.

King spent the best part of three seasons at Blackburn after joining from Manchester United, initially on a loan basis, in 2012.

The forward started only five league games last term, but caught the eye in the FA Cup when he ran Stoke City ragged on the way to scoring a hat-trick in a 4-1 fifth-round win.

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Jose Mourinho is facing a Football Association (FA) investigation over comments he allegedly made on the touchline following Manchester United s dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Newcastle United.

Television cameras captured the Portuguese coach muttering what are reported to have been profanities in his native tongue as he headed for the tunnel following his side s second-half turnaround, which saw them fight back from 2-0 down to take all three points.

The FA confirmed to Omnisport on Monday that Mourinho will be investigated over the incident.

Mourinho, appointed United manager in May 2016, had been the subject of intense speculation in the build-up to the game with one UK newspaper reporting he faced the sack regardless of the result.

Second-half goals f…

Barcelona s Javier Mascherano does not believe revenge will be on the menu for Juventus when they come together in a rerun of the 2015 Champions League final on Tuesday.

The clubs have not met since Barcelona ran out 3-1 winners in Berlin thanks to goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

But Mascherano does not think either team will have that match on their minds when they go head to head the first leg of their quarter-final in Turin.

I don t think revenge really exists in football, Mascherano said at Monday s pre-match news conference. There are opportunities but not revenge because you cannot retrieve what you lost. 

Juventus have changed a few players since then, and we have also, so we are only focused on playing a good game and earning …

Leicester and Leeds were relegated from the Premier League after Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stunning strike secured Everton a 1-0 win over Bournemouth and survival on the final day of the season.

The Toffees were heading down as things stood at half-time in the campaign’s concluding round of fixtures, with their clash with the Cherries at Goodison Park still goalless while Leicester led at home against West Ham.

But Doucoure’s strike from just outside the area in the 57th minute subsequently gave Sean Dyche’s men the victory they needed to guarantee safety, rendering their rivals’ results irrelevant.

— Everton (@Everton)

Dean Smith’s Leicester drop despite winning 2-1 against West Ham, Harvey Barnes having netted the first-half opener a…

Stefano Pioli has called for Milan to respond to Wednesday s demoralising defeat at Chelsea when they host Juventus in a huge Serie A clash on Saturday.

Goals from Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James condemned Milan to their heaviest ever Champions League group-stage loss last time out, ensuring the Rossoneri remain third in Group E.

Milan have fared better on the domestic front, however, and sit four points clear of the under-fire Bianconeri in the early-season Serie A table.

Speaking at Friday s pre-match news conference, Pioli called for Milan to set their chastening defeat at Stamford Bridge aside as he demanded defensive improvements.

We put the game in London behind us straight away and we ll revisit it from Sunday onwards, Pi…