Opinion

On Thursday night, Premier League Everton face a potentially tricky trip to Slovakian side Ruzomberok in the Europa League third qualifying round second leg.

Ronald Koeman left Southampton to take over at Everton last summer and took them back to 7th place in the Premier League during his first season in charge of the club.

The 2016/17 campaign at Selhurst Park was a rollercoaster ride and no one could settle at Selhurst Park for much of the season.

Antonio Conte surprised many people last season by taking Chelsea to the Premier League title.  Both the manager and the players were under scrutiny, especially after the way the squad performed last season.

One of three newcomers to the Premier League this season, Brighton and Hove Albion will have one target only and that’s to avoid relegation.

The 2017/18 Premier League season will be the fourth time Burnley have competed in the top-flight of English football since the Premier League was founded in 1992.

Having won promotion to the Premier League in 2014/15 by winning the Championship title, many onlookers thought Bournemouth would be relegated at the first attempt.

Last season will be remembered for the discussion surrounding Arsene Wenger’s future at Arsenal.  Will the Frenchman stay or will he go?

A key to Chelsea’s Premier League title last season was a return to form for Spanish international striker Diego Costa. The former Atletico Madrid star was back to his menacing best scoring 20 league goals.

The summer transfer window is always an exciting place, especially for fans of the top clubs in European football.

Bayern Munich claimed a fifth consecutive Bundesliga title last season, despite pressure from RB Leipzig throughout the campaign. They will be favourites to claim yet another next season, but they have yet to put up a serious challenge in the Champions League since they won the tournament in the 2012/13 season and will be hoping to correct that next term.

Feyenoord shocked the world of football by storming to their first Eredivisie title in 18 years in the 2016/17 season. The meek performance of former champions PSV Eindhoven was equally as surprising.

Last week the story broke that Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was looking to leave Spain after being accused of failing to pay taxes to the reported tune of £14.7million. The Portuguese star was reportedly furious at the Spanish tax authorities and is now looking to leave the Iberian country this summer.

The 2017 Confederations Cup will be the tenth instalment of the international football tournament.  Staged one year prior to the World Cup, the event gives the host nation an opportunity to test their organisational skills ahead of the world’s greatest sporting event.

England needed a stoppage-time equaliser from captain Harry Kane to rescue a 2-2 draw against neighbours Scotland in World Cup qualifying on Saturday evening.

According to Sky Sports Italy and the Daily Star, Premier League Liverpool are close to signing Roma winger Mohamed Salah after personal terms were agreed with the former Chelsea ace.

Wolfsburg secured their Bundesliga safety right at the last by overcoming Eintracht Braunschweig in the relegation play-off. Andries Jonker’s side managed to net twice in 180 minutes of football against a second division side that they would have been tipped to beat comfortably just 12 months ago.

Mbappe burst on the football scene last season by scoring 26 goals and producing eight assists, as the team from the principality won Ligue One and made it to the Champions League semi-finals.

With the 2016/17 season complete in the top leagues around Europe, all thoughts are now turning towards the summer transfer market.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United could be set to launch a £100million bid for Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale.