Prediction: Braga vs Maccabi Petah Tikva

Graham Potter defended his decision to leave Brighton and Hove Albion for Chelsea after Seagulls fans booed him upon his ultimately unhappy return to the Amex Stadium on Saturday.

Potter spent three years at Brighton prior to departing for Stamford Bridge earlier this season, transforming them into an entertaining side after taking over a struggling team in 2019.

Saturday was his first return to Brighton with new side Chelsea and Potter was widely jeered by the home fans, who also sang you re getting sacked in the morning .

Brighton won the game 4-1, dealing Potter his first Chelsea loss and preventing him from becoming the only English manager to go unbeaten in his opening 10 games in charge of the club.

When was asked about his reception after the game,…

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has lashed out at World Cup organisers and Canada boss John Herdman, stating his side deserve respect .

The 2018 World Cup finalists opened their Qatar 2022 campaign with a goalless draw against Morocco in Group F, which kicked off at 1pm local time on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of his side s next match however, Dalic hit out at FIFA, suggesting his team should have been handed a cooler, more favourable late-day slot for their match as incumbent runners-up.

The fact that we played the first match at 1pm disturbed our rhythm, he stated. I attribute our lack of energy in that first match to the early kick-off.

The fact that Croatia plays at 1pm is not respectful. England, Spain, France and Brazil are not playing at that time…

Market: Central Coast Mariners win

Odds: 4/7 @

Looking to extend on their A-League romp, Central Coast will welcome Perth Glory to the Industree Group Stadium on Sunday morning.

Starting with the hosts, while Central Coast might have opened up the 2023/24 campaign in the midst of a real struggle, the Mariners have come roaring back in some style. Last seen putting in another thumping display as they cruised their way to a 3-0 romp away at Brisbane, it appears that the mood in Mark Jackson’s camp is at a red-hot high. Firing on all cylinders and extended on their AFC Cup adventure earlier in the month, the former MK Dons boss will be calling on his squad to make a New Year’s Eve statement here. In fact, with their recent purple patch underlined by a 4-0 victo…

Bayern Munich, Newcastle United and Chelsea are reportedly all interested in promising Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

Meslier, 22, arrived at Elland Road on loan as a 19-year-old in 2019, forcing his way into the starting role as they won the Championship and earned promotion before the club made his deal permanent for £5million.

Since then, he has become the youngest goalkeeper to reach 50 Premier League appearances, and the youngest goalkeeper to tally 10 Premier League clean sheets, earning 11 caps for France s under-21 team in the process.

His exploits – including a season-high nine saves in a 2-1 win against Liverpool in October – have caught the eye of some of Europe s big spenders, and Leeds could be forced into a tough decision sooner rather …

Former Scotland defender Gordon McQueen has died aged 70 after his battle with dementia.

McQueen, whose 16-year playing career during the 1970s and 80s included spells at St Mirren, Leeds and Manchester United, was diagnosed with vascular dementia in early 2021.

A statement issued on behalf of the McQueen family said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather.

is saddened to learn of the passing of former defender Gordon McQueen at the age of 70, following a battle with dementia

— Leeds United (@LUFC)

“We hope that as well as creating many great football memories for club and his country, he will be remembered for the love, laughter and bravery that characterised his career an…

Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu has extended his contract with the national side following a successful performance at the World Cup in Qatar.

The Samurai Blue were one of the tournament s surprise packages, beating Germany and Spain in the group stages to top Group E, before suffering a penalty shoot-out defeat to Croatia in the last 16.

After impressing in Qatar, Japanese Football Association president Kozo Tajima announced Moriyasu had extended his contract to run until after the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Japan have featured in every World Cup tournament since 1998, including as co-hosts alongside South Korea four years later, but have never entered consecutive tournaments under the same head coach – a record Moriyasu will look…

Best Odds: 13/10

Bookmaker:

Desperate to claim a much-needed boost in the early hours of Thursday, Los Angeles will welcome St. Louis to the BMO Stadium in midweek.

Los Angeles FC

Starting with the hosts, putting in another downbeat display last weekend as they eventually had to settle for a sluggish 1-1 draw against San Jose, it is no secret that Los Angeles are in the midst of an MLS nightmare., Opening July with a routine 2-0 defeat away at Dallas, Steve Cherundolo’s men have now collected just a single point from any of their previous four MLS appearances. With that extended crisis underlined by a 2-1 loss against bitter local rivals LA Galaxy earlier in the month, the California-based outfit have come under a huge amount of scrutiny on either side of Jun…

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) have distanced themselves from former LaLiga referee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira in the wake of allegations involving Barcelona.

LaLiga giants Barca are alleged to have paid €1.4million to a company part-owned by Negreira between 2016 and 2018.

Negreira, who was the vice president of the CTA, held his role with the RFEF from 1994 to 2018. It is alleged Barca wanted to ensure that there would be complete neutrality in refereeing decisions affecting the club.

Barca responded with a statement on Wednesday saying they had hired the services of an external consultant that supplied the club s technical secretaries with reports in video format of youth players from other clubs …

Aston Villa are the favourites for Champions League football next year despite a disappointing turn in their form, says David James.

With Tottenham having lost heavily at Fulham on Saturday, Villa had the chance to move five points clear of Ange Postecoglou s team and consolidate their place in the top four when they faced West Ham on Sunday.

However, they ultimately had to settle for a point at London Stadium, thanks to Nicolo Zaniolo s equaliser, though West Ham had a late winner disallowed by VAR.

It left Villa, who have been unable to maintain the level of performances they showed at the end of 2023, still in control of their destiny, sitting three points above Tottenham, in fifth, albeit Spurs have a game in hand.

With five teams potentially set for …

Paris Maghoma rescued a point but a 2-2 Sky Bet League One draw with Shrewsbury dented Bolton’s hopes of automatic promotion.

The third tier’s lowest scorers twice shocked their hosts by taking the lead.

But facing a first home defeat to their visitors for 34 years, Bolton salvaged a draw when Maghoma fired home his ninth goal of the campaign after 71 minutes.

However, Ian Evatt’s side still trail second-placed Derby by three points, with both teams having two further games to play.

Shrewsbury survived an early scare when Mal Benning deflected a Cameron Jerome effort against his own post.

Shrews goalkeeper Marko Marosi – in excellent form throughout – twice denied Aaron Collins before Tom Bloxham’s surging run and excellent delivery se…