Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said Friday midfielder Owen Hargreaves and defender John O Shea could be back in the squad for the visit of Chelsea this weekend.

England midfielder Hargreaves has not played a first-team game since September 2008 after undergoing surgery to both knees, while Republic of Ireland international O Shea has been out with a leg injury since November.

John O Shea and Owen Hargreaves have trained very well with the first team, Ferguson said.

They are not far away and I may use one of them as substitute on Saturday and the other on Wednesday.

John O Shea in particular has done a lot of work. The boy has come on terrifically well in the last two or three weeks.

If I include one on Saturday and one on Wednesday i…

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart is dreaming of winning the quadruple this season.

Manuel Pellegrini s men sit third in the Premier League table and have already booked their ticket for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

They also qualified for the semi-finals of the League Cup last week and are yet to begin their FA Cup campaign.

It will be a successful season if we win all the trophies, Hart told Sky Sports.

We can t say we want to lose that one or we accept we are going to lose then. We have to go out to win all four and see what happens.

Manchester City have struggled to make an impact in Europe in recent seasons, but Hart is optimistic about his side s chances this term.

We are ambitious as a team, as a club and a…

A Chinese Internet gaming tycoon has confirmed he is in talks to buy British football club Liverpool, Chinese media reported Wednesday.

Zhu Jun, chairman of Nasdaq-listed online game company The9 Limited, said the negotiations to buy Liverpool were ongoing , but added that the outcome was hard to predict, the Beijing Times reported.

Officials at Shanghai-based The9 said they could not immediately confirm the comments when contacted by AFP.

Zhu, who already owns Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, has held two preliminary meetings with Barclays Capital, the investment bank hired to handle the sale, Britain s Independent newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

Chairman of debt-ridden Liverpool Martin Broughton, who is also chief of British Airw…

Wayne Hennessey s terrible error gave Aston Villa their first win in 20 Premier League matches, the goalkeeper fumbling Joleon Lescott s header over the line to gift Remi Garde s men a 1-0 home victory against Crystal Palace.

Villa had not tasted success in the Premier League since beating AFC Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, but the league s bottom club held on for a narrow win on Tuesday.

Wilfried Zaha had hit the outside of the post in the opening minute of the game after swapping passes with Jason Puncheon but both teams struggled for a cutting edge in the final third.

And it was an awful mistake from Hennessey that gifted Villa the lead on 58 minutes. Lescott s header had power but was straight at the goalkeeper, who contrived to bundle t…

Prediction: Atletico Madrid to win 3-0

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Atletico Madrid and Osasuna will face each other in La Liga this coming weekend. The match at the Wanda Metropolitano is slated to kick off at 5:30pm UK time on Sunday.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid have recovered their form and are back in pole position to win the La Liga title this season. Diego Simeone’s side are at the top of the standings at the most with 80 points from 36 matches, four points clear of second-placed Barcelona and five ahead of defending champions and city rivals Real Madrid, who have played 35 games.

There could still be a twist in the La Liga title race, but Atletico will know that that have their destiny in their own hands. A win against Osasuna would be …

Carles Puyol has apologised for making a clumsy joke in response to a tweet from Iker Casillas account on Sunday, after it appeared the former goalkeeper had come out as gay.

A post attributed to Real Madrid and Spain great Casillas read: I hope you respect me: I m gay.

Although the message was widely shared on social media, suspicions over its validity or seriousness emerged when Puyol replied to say it was time for the duo to tell our story , followed by kissing and love-heart emojis.

Spanish media reports subsequently suggested Casillas original message was an ironic response to rumours concerning a potential relationship with actress Alejandra Onieva.

Casillas has since claimed his account was hacked and apologised for offence caused, and former Barc…

Substitutes Loic Remy and Yoann Gourcuff struck late goals to give France a 2-0 win at home to Romania on Saturday that sent them top of their Euro 2012 qualifying group.

Marseille forward Remy rapped a low shot into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, at the end of a game the hosts had dominated, before Gourcuff swept home a cutback from debutant Dimitri Payet in injury time.

A match lasts 90 or even 95 minutes, so there s no point just analysing the first 75, said France coach Laurent Blanc.

The team kept working and kept faith in victory. I congratulate my players; those who played from the start and those who came on.

It was France s first win at the Stade de France since October 2009 and allowed Blanc s side to open up a one-point lead ove…

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil believes playing in the Premier League stands as the toughest challenge of his football career.

A World Cup winner in 2014 with Germany, Ozil joined Arsenal from Real Madrid the previous year and insists nothing could have prepared him for the physicality of England s top flight, along with some underhand tactics from opponents.

But the 28-year-old, whose form for Arsenal has come in for criticism over recent months as speculation continues over a possible bumper contract renewal, quickly learned complaining was not an option.

In an extract from his autobiography Gunning For Glory: My Life published by the Daily Mail, Ozil said: The Premier League is the toughest challenge I ve experienced in football. If you can t take it here, witho…

Market: Belgium win and over 2.5 goals

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With a real opportunity to make yet another statement in this years UEFA Nations League, Belgium will welcome Iceland to the Stade Roi Baudouin on Thursday.

Starting with Roberto Martinez s side, with many believing this will be the last chance for Belgium s golden generation to win a piece of silverware, the former Everton boss will be desperate to enter Euro 2020 with a squad filled with confidence. Winning both of their opening matches in this years tournament, the Red Devils are yet to be beaten on home soil in the past 30 months. Also beating Iceland 3-0 in the reverse fixture back in September, one man to watch will be Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku has five in his last four matches on international d…

What the papers say

Liverpool have expressed their faith in Colombian winger Luis Diaz after telling Spanish giants Barcelona that the 27-year-old is not for sale and is a part of their long-term plans, the Daily Mirror reports. Diaz has scored six goals and created three more in 27 games in the Premier League for the club this season.

The Mirror says Manchester United have set a price tag of £43million on striker Mason Greenwood with an unnamed Saudi Pro League interested in the 22-year-old’s signature. The forward has spent the season in La Liga at Spanish club Getafe on loan where he has scored six goals and assisted five more in 23 matches.

The Daily Mail reports Chelsea could be looking to offload several stars this summer including Raheem Sterling, Romelu Lukak…