Quick Report: Hamburger SV 2-3 Werder Bremen

Blackburn v West Ham

Blackburn were unbeaten in three prior to their 4-0 mauling at Arsenal last week and have put together enough points to escape from the relegation zone, all be it, by only one point. Despite last week s defeat, they do seem to be on an upward spiral.

West Ham are seventh and have lost only two of their last fifteen games. That sounds impressive but their last game, the 0-0 draw at home West Brom on Monday, was one of the worst games of football seen this season.

The statistics suggest an away win but I fancy Big Sam to continue the journey to safety.

SoccerNews prediction: 2-1

Fulham v Manchester United

Just a couple of weeks ago Fulham were thumped 4-0 at home by Manchester United in the FA Cup. That was the second in a row of thre…

Ryan Bertrand feels like he has found the perfect match after signing a long-term deal at Southampton.

Following a successful loan spell at Southampton, Ryan Bertrand believes he has found the perfect match after agreeing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the high-flying Premier League club.

Bertrand, who completed a permanent move from Chelsea on transfer deadline day, did not have any hesitation in making the switch.

His loan stint at Southampton was the ninth of his career, and he is now looking forward to spending a lengthy period at St Mary s Stadium.

I wanted to sign and commit somewhere instead of carrying on doing loans,  Bertrand told Southampton s official YouTube channel. When I had the chance to sign here, it was the perfect match.

…

West Ham United will hope their recovery on the road can continue against Swansea City on Sunday.

Sam Allardyce saw his side pick up a stunning 3-0 win at Tottenham in their last away game, but that triumph was their first as a visiting side since a 1-0 success at Stoke City on March 2.

However, it has not been all doom and gloom for the London club on their travels this term. In four away games they have conceded just one goal a Robbie Brady penalty in last month s 1-0 defeat at Hull City.

Swansea grabbed their first Premier League win at the Liberty Stadium last week, crushing beleaguered Sunderland 4-0.

The Welsh side have only completed consecutive home wins in the Premier League in a season twice since their promotion to the top flight in 2011 and were denie…

Barcelona will have to pay Clement Lenglet s release clause if they want to sign him, according to Sevilla s director of football Joaquin Caparros.

Defender Lenglet has gained many admirers since joining Sevilla from Nancy in January 2017, quickly securing a first-team role under Jorge Sampaoli and remaining a key figure last season, playing 35 times  more than any of his team-mates in LaLiga.

Reports of Barca s interest were prominent for much of the campaign and there have even been claims the club already have an agreement with Lenglet.

While his exit has long appeared almost certain, Caparros insists Sevilla will not negotiate with the Catalan giants.

Let s get one thing clear, something we ve always said: Sevilla will not sell Lenglet, he to…

Best Odds: 8/13

Bookmaker:

Looking to make it 20 wins on the bounce this weekend, Manchester City will welcome a high-flying West Ham to the Etihad on Saturday lunchtime.

Manchester City

Starting with the hosts, putting in another professional display earlier in the week, Manchester City have only continued on a remarkable run of form. Landing themselves a 2-0 victory away at German outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach while on Champions League duties in midweek, Pep Guardiola s side have a famous treble-winning season on their agenda. Making a string of changes since that 2-0 defeat away at Tottenham back in November, the former Bayern Munich boss now finds his side already holding a double-digit lead at the top of the Premier League table. Comfortably sat in pole…

Crisis-hit AC Milan head into a perilous pair of matches in the coming week that could make or break their season, but Brazilian forward Ronaldinho believes that could inspire his team.

Milan have endured a dreadful start to the season, finding goals hard to come by and scoring just six times in nine matches.

They have won only two of their first seven Serie A encounters and in the Champions League they lost 1-0 at home to Swiss minnows FC Zurich.

It is not the type of form to inspire confidence ahead of their clash against Roma at the San Siro on Sunday and then a trip to Spain to tackle Real Madrid and former star Kaka at the Bernabeu.

But having coming up short against the likes of Udinese, Livorno, Atalanta and Bari this season, Ronaldinho insists th…

Lyon striker Jimmy Briand has revealed that Premier League side West Brom have enquired about his availability.

The Frenchman made just eight starts in Ligue 1 last term, scoring only one goal as Lyon finished 16 points short of eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain.

And, though Briand is open to the idea of staying at the Stade de Gerland, he admitted he could seek a move away.

In 15 games last season I scored only one goal. That is not the kind of return I was expecting. There is some disappointment in that, he said.

Lyon are a great club, though, and I want to continue here unless I am deemed surplus to requirements.

I know West Brom have asked about me, but nothing has been done as yet. Let s wait and see what happens.

Briand has been capped on …

Toronto FC star Sebastian Giovinco insisted he is happy in MLS, despite reported interest from the Chinese Super League.

Giovinco s agent Andrea D Amico on Tuesday claimed that the 2015 MLS MVP had a huge offer from China.

But the former Juventus forward, however, told reporters he likes it in Toronto after helping the club to the MLS Cup final.

When I was back in Italy my friends ask me about MLS, Giovinco said on Tuesday.

I say I am happy, I like it here.

Earlier in the day, D Amico talked up interest in his client from the CSL, where Oscar and Carlos Tevez now call home.

He received a huge offer from China, D Amico was quoted as telling Sky Sport Italia.

We need to analyse the situation. But it won t be easy to make Toronto…

Russian heavyweights Zenit Saint Petersburg have seen their initial attempt to land the PSV midfielder Davy Propper fail, Dutch media outlet has reported.

Zenit scouts have been watching the Dutch midfielder for quite some time and have identified the 25-year-old PSV Eindhoven star as one of the top three transfer targets, according to a source close to the Russian club.

The Russians were not discouraged by the rejected approach and are expected to return with an improved offer for a player who has once more demonstrated his importance for the Eredivisie side by scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 triumph at Heracles on Saturday.

The player himself is believed to be well aware of the Russian interest and is refusing to rule out a move to Zenit, although his club …

Mikel Arteta insists his Arsenal side will continue to dig for Premier League glory as the season enters its final fortnight.

The Gunners headed into the weekend just one point behind leaders Manchester City, but having played a game more.

Brighton are the visitors to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with Arsenal hoping for the chance to move back to the summit, a position they held for the majority of the season.

Who are you backing? |

— Premier League (@premierleague)

The destiny of the title was taken out of their own hands after a 4-1 thrashing at City followed a run of three consecutive draws.

Since then, Arsenal have got back on track with impressive wins over Chelsea and Newcastle and Arteta is urging his players to keep workin…