Bitter rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona will embark on a season-defining eight days when La Liga action continues on Saturday.
Real will host cellar-dwellers Sporting Gijon at the Bernabeu, while Barcelona faces a tougher task against fifth-placed Levante.
Both sides will then compete midweek in the first legs of their respective Champions League semi-finals before an eagerly anticipated El Clasico showdown at Camp Nou on April 21.
Real Madrid remains four points clear of Barcelona with six games remaining in the La Liga season.
After scoring a hat trick in the 4-1 midweek drubbing of neighbours Atletico Madrid, Real star Cristiano Ronaldo could be rested for Gijon s visit.
Ronaldo has accumulated four yellow cards to date and one more would see …
Fulham have withdrawn a complaint to the Premier League relating to Liverpool s pursuit of Clint Dempsey.
Fulham had flagged the Merseyside club s conduct to the FA, and the west Londoners have since accepted an apology which cited actions that were simply not acceptable and added that Liverpool chairman Tom Werner emphasised his regret for the entire episode .
Fulham said on their official website: Liverpool s Chairman Tom Werner apologised personally to Mohamed Al Fayed, stating that his club were wholly responsible for unprofessional behaviour toward Fulham and emphasised his regret for the entire episode.
The chairman decided that this sincere action was enough, and as a gesture of goodwill, instructed that all complaints against them be dropped.
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Aston Villa manager Martin O Neill told Liverpool on Thursday to meet his club s asking price for want-away England midfielder Gareth Barry.
None of Reds boss Rafael Benitez s four separate bids for Barry have so far met their Premier League rivals asking price of 18 million pounds (36 million dollars).
O Neill, who has resigned himself to losing his club captain, fined Barry two weeks wages, some 80,000 pounds, on Wednesday after his skipper suggested the Villa boss was more interested in commentating on Euro 2008 for the BBC than talking to him about his future.
Former Northern Ireland midfielder O Neill, who barred Barry from pre-season training, told Villa s official website, www.avfc.co.uk: We are really disappointed that he (Barry) is not going to be wi…
Youngster Jordon Ibe is eager to follow in the footsteps of Raheem Sterling and establish himself in Liverpool s first-team squad.
Ibe, 18, made his senior debut for Brendan Rodgers team on the final day of the 2012-13 season, but did not feature in the Premier League last term.
The England Under-19 international joined Birmingham City on loan in February, scoring once in 11 appearances as the Midlands outfit just about avoided relegation from the Championship.
By contrast, Sterling who is exactly one year older than Ibe was a key component of the Liverpool side that went so close to winning the Premier League and has been rewarded for his stunning form in the second half of the season with a place in England s FIFA World Cup squad.
Ibe was outstanding in Liverpo…
Liverpool are interested in signing Alfonso Pastor Vacas from Sevilla, according to . The report in the Spanish publication has claimed that Real Madrid are also eyeing the 20-year-old goalkeeper.
Pastor made his first-team debut for Sevilla only this week. The youngster was in goal, as the La Liga outfit suffered a 4-0 defeat to Chelsea at home in Champions League Group E. Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored all four goals for the Premier League club.
Liverpool have Alisson as the first-choice goalkeeper. The Brazil international is a world-class custodian and is unlikely to be dislodged from his position anytime soon. Pastor is a promising young goalkeeper, and perhaps Liverpool are looking at him as a potential successor to Alisson. The Reds are level on poi…