England can spoil Wales’ bid for Six Nations history January 30, 2014 WILLIAM CHRIMES AND BEN CLEMINSON PREVIEW THE BEST OF THE WEEKEND’S SPORTING ACTION WALES will look to rewrite rugby’s history books over the next 10 weeks as they bid to become the first nation to win three consecutive Six Nations championships. Having landed a third grand slam in impressive fashion in 2012, they needed a [...]
City to maintain mesmerising unbeaten home record January 30, 2014 IT’S NO exaggeration to claim Manchester City are the best team in the world right now after their latest demolition job over Tottenham on Wednesday night. Manuel Pellegrini’s men had destroyed Spurs at the Etihad 6-0 earlier this season and were sublime once again as they smashed the north Londoners 5-1. The title looks like [...]
Seahawks’ defence can help secure first Super Bowl for Seattle January 30, 2014 THE Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos battle for Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday for what will only be the second occasion in 20 seasons that the No1 seeds from each conference will decide the championship. It’s a clash of two of the best units on each respective side of the ball, with identical 13-3 season [...]
Premier League: Chelsea lose ground at top as Pellegrini’s men hit five January 29, 2014 AT STAMFORD BRIDGE TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 vs MANCHESTER CITY 5 CHELSEA 0 vs WEST HAM UNITED 0 MANCHESTER City manager Manuel Pellegrini refused to label his side Premier League title favourites despite last night’s demolition at White Hart Lane which took them top of the table. Sergio Aguero hit his 27th goal of the season [...]
Man City deals set for scrutiny as losses drop January 29, 2014 MANCHESTER City made £47m from the sale of intellectual property last season, helping them to slash losses and boost their chances of meeting European financial fair play (FFP) rules. City banked £22.5m from selling intellectual property to related parties, plus a further £24.5m from selling to third parties – deals that could be linked to [...]
Broad defends Stokes’ absence January 29, 2014 ENGLAND’S Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad defended his decision to omit all-rounder Ben Stokes from the team that lost by 13 runs to Australia in Hobart yesterday. Australia put on 106 for the first wicket as they reached 213-4, but England could only post 200-9, despite an unbeaten knock of 65 off 27 balls from Ravi [...]
England strong enough for title January 29, 2014 LOCK Joe Launchbury has warned England’s Six Nations rivals they are made of sterner stuff this year, as they seek to avenge their 2013 title surrender, starting in France on Saturday. England required victory against Wales 13 months ago to clinch a first grand slam since 2003, but were outmuscled in a 30-3 defeat. There [...]
Arsenal poised to sign Draxler January 29, 2014 ARSENAL were last night closing in on the signing of midfielder Julian Draxler from Schalke, after a club delegate flew to Germany to tie up the deal ahead of tomorrow’s 11pm deadline. Draxler has a £37m buyout clause in his contract, though the Gunners are thought unwilling to meet it. The 20-year-old, currently sidelined with [...]
Vettel calm after testing trouble January 29, 2014 FORMULA ONE: World champion Sebastian Vettel is refusing to panic after a troublesome start to pre-season testing in Jerez, having completed just 11 laps in two days. Formula One has changed rules regarding engine specification and chassis design. Vettel said: “With such a big rule change it’s usual to have teething problems.”
Lukaku injury not as bad as feared January 29, 2014 FOOTBALL: An ankle injury suffered by Everton’s Romelu Lukaku during Tuesday’s 4-0 derby defeat to Liverpool is set to keep the striker out for “weeks rather than months” the club have confirmed. Manager Roberto Martinez said: “There is no ligament damage and the injury is not as bad as we first thought.”