Panathinaikos on Tuesday fired Dutch coach Henk ten Cate, with the club appointing Greece Under-21 manager Nikos Nioplias as his successor.

Ten Cate, who had six months left to run on his contract, was given his marching orders after talks with Panathinaikos president Nikos Pateras.

The former Chelsea assistant manager said in a statement: It has been an honour for me to cooperate with Panathinaikos and the results support my work.

I have laid the groundwork for this team. I respect the fact that some people may not be happy with the general picture, but my assistants and I have given everything to succeed.

The president s decision will not affect our relationship and the friendship we have developed. I would also like to thank all Panathinaikos fans f…

Liverpool came from behind to secure a third win in a row as they beat West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium on Wednesday.

Lucas Paqueta s fierce strike gave West Ham an early lead, before Cody Gakpo equalised from distance and Joel Matip headed in a second-half winner.

The win took Liverpool up to sixth in the Premier League, ahead of Tottenham on goal difference before the north London side host Manchester United on Thursday.

David Moyes men remain five points away from the relegation zone, but their loss here could give rivals hope of dragging them back into the conversation.

5 Trent Alexander-Arnold has assisted five goals in the Premier League this month, the most assists by a Liverpool player in a single month in the competition. Back.

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Mark Hughes is dreaming of the Capital One Cup final as his Stoke City side prepare to take on Birmingham City in the fourth round.

Stoke s last Wembley experience came in 2011 when they finished as FA Cup runners-up, but Hughes has visions of taking them there again in his first season in charge at the Britannia Stadium.

However, the Welshman is not prepared to risk playing his first-choice XI as he attempts to juggle league and cup campaigns.

We will be strong on Tuesday, said Hughes. I always pick strong sides for cup games.

It s a competition that we want to progress in, so we will go to Birmingham and look to win the game, and secure a spot in the last eight.

I will make changes some will be enforced and others will be to give other players an opportun…

Thiago Alcantara is excited to return to action with the Spanish national team in their Euro 2016 qualifier against Luxembourg on Saturday, 19 months after his last cap.

The Bayern Munich star missed the majority of last season with a serious knee injury picked up towards the end of the 2013-14 campaign, which ruled him out of the 2014 World Cup.

However, since completing his comeback in April and steadily gaining match sharpness with Bayern, the former Barcelona midfielder is once again back in contention at international level. 

And the 24-year-old believes his latest call-up his first since March 2014 is a reward for both his persistence while recovering and his fine form at Bayern.

He told reporters: After a long injury the hardest part is to get a…

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The battle at the top of the La Liga table has been a fierce one thus far and it doesn t seem as if that trend is going to slow down anytime soon. From the top four race to the actual title itself, nobody really knows what s going to happen between now and May but we do know there s going to be a lot of entertaining football on display across Spain s top flight. Today, we re going to take a look at what should be a thrilling showdown between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.

Real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane is hardly the most popular manager in world football, but he s certainly someone who knows what it feels like to win and lift silverware. Despite all of the problems that have been evident at the Bernabeu…

Mikel Arteta s decision to include Ethan Nwaneri was a pure gut feeling after the 15-year-old made Premier League history at Brentford.

Arsenal were cruising towards a 3-0 victory over Thomas Frank s side on Sunday after goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira before Arteta sent on Nwaneri in stoppage time.

Aged just 15 years and 181 days, Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League history, breaking Harvey Elliott s record of 16 years and 30 days for Fulham.

Fellow youngster Lino Sousa was an unused substitute and Arteta suggested the injury to Martin Odegaard, alongside impressive performances for Arsenal s youth side, offered Nwaneri the chance.

It was a pure gut feeling. I met the boy and really liked what I saw, the …

Zenit St Petersburg can reach the UEFA Champions League knockout stage for only the second time if they win at Austria Vienna on Wednesday.

Luciano Spalletti s side currently have the edge over Porto in the race for second spot behind Atletico Madrid in Group G.

Victory in the Austrian capital would guarantee Zenit s progression, while they could progress with a draw or defeat should Porto fail to beat Atletico in Spain.

Zenit previously made it through the group stage in the 2011-12 season before bowing out to Benfica in the round of 16.

Vienna are already guaranteed to finish bottom of the group, but will be keen to end their maiden Champions League campaign on a high by claiming a first victory.

One of their two points to date was collected at Zenit on O…

Blackpool F.C. chairman Karl Oyston has confirmed the club have offered Tom Ince a new deal at Bloomfield Road, understands.

Ince, 21, left Merseyside for Lancashire in the summer of 2011 and has gone on to tally 32 goals and 26 assists in 103 appearances in all competitions for the Seasiders.

The England Under-21 international, whose current contract is due to expire at the end of the season, has been the subject of interest from a host of European clubs, including Ajax, Internazionale, Liverpool and Swansea City, in recent times.

Due to his age, Blackpool would receive compensation should Ince decide to leave the club in the summer, but a massive bid could secure a January move for the 21-year-old ace.

We get compensation if he goes ab…

Having been linked with all through the summer, Ajax s Frenkie De Jong spoke about his future again, and this time he was a little bit clearer.

As reported by , the youngster was asked to comment on speculations by FOX Sports, and he said that at this point it seems he is set to stay in Amsterdam. He refused, however, to rule a move out completely, saying that he would be reminded of his words by the public if he said he was definitely staying, and then left. He simply said his plan was to stay, but admitted everything could change in football.

Sport are speculating that a statement like this almost certainly closes the door for a move this summer, a feeling strengthened by Director of Football stating quite clearly that De Jong remains a part of the club s plans for …

Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen has suffered an injury to an intercostal muscle during training, the club has confirmed, potentially ruling him out of Saturday s trip to Real Valladolid.

The 29-year-old, who has made just two LaLiga appearances in his two seasons at Camp Nou, featured heavily in Barcelona s pre-season matches, starting all three of the club s International Champions Cup games.

Barcelona paid Ajax €13million for Cillessen in August 2016, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains the club s first choice.

A statement on the club s official website said: Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen has picked up a sprain to an intercostal muscle on his left side.

His availability for the upcoming fixtures will depend on his recovery from the injury…