Opinion

Napoli suffered the terrible news that captain Lorenzo Insigne had agreed to a $13 million a season contract with Canada’s Toronto FC last week. The news comes on the heels of Napoli’s fight to reignite their Serie A title hopes for the second half of the campaign.

Every once in a while, the football schedule produces days like this. We have not one, not two, but three high-profile derby games to look forward to on Wednesday – and they all kick off around the same time.

The Africa Cup of Nations is one of the major international football tournaments in world football. It ranks alongside the European Championship and is only second to the World Cup for African nations.

There have not been many big moves in the January transfer window at the time of writing. However, one major deal to come out of nowhere in the Premier League sees the return of Philippe Coutinho to English football.

The Africa Cup of Nations starts this weekend and we will be witnessing many Premier League stars take centre stage in Cameroon this weekend for what is set to be one of the closest AFCON competitions in some time, mainly due to the sheer amount of Premier League talent on show.

After matchday 16 in the Championship, Tony Mowbray’s Blackburn Rovers found themselves sitting in 2nd place in the league standings. Nine matchdays later, Blackburn Rovers are second in the division and just three points off of first-place Bournemouth.

The Premier League is home to many of the quickest and trickiest players in world football. As a result, certain players draw more fouls than others.

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations begins on the 9th of January and will be contested between the top African countries in Cameroon. In order to avoid a clash with many of the major leagues around the world, the tournament was due to be played in June and July but the climate was not favourable for football.

On Monday night, Manchester United suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Wolves at Old Trafford.

The Italian Serie A resumes this week and we could have an exciting finish to the season at both ends of the table. In terms of the title, Inter Milan are the defending champions and the team to beat as they sit top of the league at the halfway stage.

Everton’s hierarchy appointing former Liverpool head coach Rafa Benitez last summer is right up there with the most controversial managerial appointments of the Premier League era.

The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations gets underway on Sunday, January 9. Cameroon is hosting the tournament for the second time, having previously staged the event in 1972.

It is time to crown Manchester City the Premier League winners. The holiday period has laid a devasting blow to Liverpool’s once thriving title challenge – and that of Chelsea’s, too.

Despite the postponements of games and the upcoming winter breaks around Europe, we still get to witness some magnificent games across Europe this weekend. Here, we’ve grouped together the best ones to watch.

Results have not been great for Chelsea in recent weeks and they have been dealt another blow with the news Ben Chilwell is to miss the rest of the season.

2021 has been an amazing year for major international tournaments. Events such as the European Championship, Copa America, and CONCACAF Gold Cup brought joy – and heartbreak – to millions of football fans across the world.

In the last decade, Tottenham have become a regular feature in the Premier League’s top-four. Under former head coach Mauricio Pochettino, the team from north London regularly finished in the Champions League spots.

Real Betis go into La Liga’s Christmas break in third place and will begin the second half of the Spanish top-flight season seeking to build upon their 33 points from 18 matches.

James Ward-Prowse scored his first free-kick of the season in last week’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, reminding everyone of his unrivalled dead-ball ability.

The draw for the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League is complete and we have some exciting matches to look forward to next year. As per usual, the four Group A winners will progress to the finals, which will be held in one of the qualifying countries.