The prospect of Massimiliano Allegri following Chelsea manager Antonio Conte to the Premier League appear on the increase as Juventus travel to Cagliari on Sunday looking to tighten their grip on Serie A.

Conte led the Turin giants to three consecutive league titles before Allegri took over the helm when former Juventus midfielder Conte took the helm of Italy for Euro 2016.

Juventus hold a seven-point lead on title rivals Roma with Napoli in third at nine points adrift and Allegri is well on his way to securing a record-setting sixth consecutive scudetto.

But already, rumours are swirling.

Allegri confirmed weeks ago he is learning English and when asked specifically about reported interest from Premier League clubs he said earlier this week: “I’m not confirming and I’m not denying.”

Reports suggesting Allegri could be the long-term replacement for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal might be premature, but they appeared the same day Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri denied having met Juventus officials. Sarri, who steered Napoli to second spot in his first season in charge last term when former club striker Gonzalo Higuain hit a new league record of 36 goals, has a new contract until 2020 waiting to be signed.

But he said: “I don’t have time to think about the (new) contract. All I can tell you is I’ve called my lawyer to find out whether to sue the person who wrote that I met with (officials from) Juventus.

“This is completely false.”

With or without the rumours, Juventus look unstoppable in Italy.

Allegri’s men swept aside a battling Inter Milan to win 1-0 last week and moved further ahead with a 2-0 win at Crotone, postponed due to the Italian Super Cup final, in midweek.

Inter are still smarting and host Empoli hoping to get back to winning ways without the triple attacking threat of Mauro Icardi, Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic.

Croatia midfielder Perisic was shown a straight red card for insulting the referee and was banned for two games.

Icardi was handed the same sanction for launching a foul-mouthed tirade at the referee, as well as kicking the ball at him, without hitting him.

Inter have appealed the sanctions and are expected to have an answer before Sunday’s afternoon kick-off, when coach Stefano Pioli will also be without Brozovic after he suffered a broken toe in Turin.

City rivals AC Milan travel to Lazio on Monday buoyed by a precious 1-0 midweek win at Bologna, with nine men, which ended a run of three defeats.

“We’re very happy but we have to ask ourselves why we went down to nine men,” said midfielder Andrea Poli.

Milan were without Gabriel Paletta from the 37th minute and also lost Juraj Kucka to a second yellow card on the hour.

“There’s a good atmosphere, I can’t remember a game with so much adrenaline as that,” added Poli.

“On Monday we have to go to Rome an win.”

Lazio, however, are one of a few teams capable of troubling Roma and Napoli for one of the league’s three Champions League places. They sit fourth, 14 points behind leaders Juventus and five behind third-placed Napoli.

Striker Ciro Immobile has been criticised for a lack of goals against “big” sides, but said: “I’m under a little bit of pressure to score against a big side… it’s a very important game against Milan, they beat Bologna with nine men.”

Napoli host Genoa on Friday looking for a 13th consecutive league win, days before a Champions League last 16 clash at Real Madrid.

Despite the gap to Juve, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis said: “Even though Juventus are more clinical than us, I still believe in (finishing in) first place.

“Sarri’s football is unique in Europe. We should all recognise that we can go to Real Madrid believing in our chances.” AFP

Paris Saint Germain face a tough trip to Bordeaux while Ligue 1 leaders Monaco host modest Metz with both French giants looking for morale-boosting wins ahead of the resumption of the Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani (back) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the French L1 football match between Dijon FCO and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on February 4, at Gaston Gerard Stadium in Dijon. — AFP Photo

Pacesetters Monaco, who have hit 70 goals from 24 games this season, have 55 points, three more than PSG who are level with Mario Balotelli’s Nice on 52.

Nice make the long trip to Brittany to face Rennes on Sunday but have no midweek fixture to worry about unlike Monaco who travel to Manchester City while PSG host Barcelona in the Champions League last 16, first leg.

With Barcelona’s visit looming, PSG’s Brazilian striker Lucas grabbed a last gasp winner in the 2-1 victory at Lille in midweek, proving the capital side have depth.

Edinson Cavani’s opener, his 23rd league goal of the campaign, also speaks for itself as the Parisians juggle the desire to advance in Europe and the need to keep pace with Monaco.

“They will be different matches because Bordeaux and Barcelona are different teams. For the moment, we are focused on Friday’s game… After that, we’ll think about Messi, Neymar, Pique etc,” PSG coach Unai Emery said on Thursday.

“When you’re playing every three days you need players who are 100 percent fit, and you need to manage their training very closely” Emery said ahead of the Lille game.

Emery welcomes back two crucial players for Bordeaux in midfield ace Marco Verratti and first choice ’keeper Kevin Trapp.

Paris beat Bordeaux two weeks ago in a 4-1 League Cup thrashing but they come into the game on a run of form culminating in a 4-0 midweek win over Caen.

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim warned his players to watch out for Metz, who he pointed out have a better away record than many higher placed clubs.

He was also worrying about Manchester City and the Champions League last 16 clash.

“They are top level and afraid of nobody. They have a great squad,” he said.

“But were also going for the league. Paris didn’t win the league by chance, we have to get organised and beat Metz and Bastia (over the spell Monaco face City twice), we’ll be tired but we can play with a bit of tiredness,” he said.

Jardim however will have to do without two of his first choice players as Djibril Sidibe and Valere Germain picked up injuries in the 2-1 defeat of Montpellier on Tuesday. — AFP

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez will miss the Spanish Cup final after picking up a two-match tournament ban for his sending off and subsequent refusal to go to the dressing rooms in a tense semi-final with Atletico Madrid in midweek.

The referee shows the red card to Barcelona’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez (R) during the Spanish Copa del Rey semi-final second leg football match against Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona. (AFP/LLUIS GENE)

The Uruguayan picked up a second yellow card for elbowing in a heated semi-final second leg.

“He took way too long to leave the pitch and then when he did he hung out in the tunnel instead of going to the changing rooms,” the Spanish Federation explained when giving Suarez a two-game ban instead of one.

Suarez scored the goal that gave Barca a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou on Tuesday to secure a 3-2 aggregate win.

The defending champions now play Alaves on May 27 in their fourth straight final. Suarez will miss that game as well as the opening tie in next season’s Spanish Cup.

Source AFP

Claudio Ranieri hopes Leicester’s FA Cup victory against Derby can provide a springboard to ease the spluttering champions’ relegation fears.

Leicester City’s Yohan Benalouane (centre) tackles Derby County striker Nick Blackman. — AFP Photo

Ranieri’s side got a welcome boost as they moved into the last 16 of the FA Cup with a 3-1 win in a fourth round replay at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday.

Goals from Andy King, Wilfred Ndidi and Demarai Gray sealed Leicester’s first win in six matches at a most opportune moment.

Leicester are only one point above the Premier League relegation zone and face a crucial clash at fellow strugglers Swansea on Sunday.

Ranieri, who received a vote of confidence from the club’s Thai owners this week, believes the Cup success can lift spirits just in time to pull away from the bottom three.

“In this moment everything goes wrong but tonight one thing went right. Derby played good football and we won,” Ranieri said.

“This is what we needed and I wanted. Wilfred Ndidi made a very good goal, as did Demarai Gray.

“I’m happy with Ndidi. This young player full of personality and good character. We’ve chosen well.

“We want to do well in all competitions. We want to go forward in the FA Cup.

“The Premier League is not so good but we have to stay in the Premier League. This fresh air is good for the players.”

King has seen many ups and downs during his long spell with Leicester and the midfielder echoed Ranieri’s hope that the team’s fortunes could be taking a turn for the better.

“It’s been a tough few weeks and we’ve been getting a lot of criticism. Tonight we showed the fight we have got in the squad,” King said.

“It was important to get a win tonight to try to kickstart some form to take into the league.

“We have 14 massive games left in the league but now we are through in a couple of rounds of the cup. Why can’t we write another story in that?” AFP

Champions Juventus extended their lead at the top of Serie A to seven points with a 2-0 win at Crotone as nine-man AC Milan stunned Bologna 1-0 on Wednesday.

Having seen their lead cut by Roma’s 4-0 success over Fiorentina on Tuesday, second-half goals from Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain kept Massimiliano Allegri’s team on course for a sixth straight scudetto.

“We could have done better in the first half, especially in the speed of our passing, but overall we were organised, giving away little or nothing and approaching the game with lucidity and organisation,” said Allegri.

“Roma and Napoli (third at nine points) are playing well, but we’re thinking about keeping our concentration on what we have to do.

“Also tonight, for example, we didn’t concede a goal and that’s something positive.”

The defeat leaves Crotone languishing in 19th place and nine points from safety.

The Calabrians did not disgrace themselves and proved stubborn opposition for an hour.

But they ran out of steam as Croatian Mandzukic converted a rebound following a header from Kwadwo Asamoah on 60 minutes.

With 16 minutes left, Higuain calmly slotted home when faced with only goalkeeper Alex Cordaz to beat.

That took his season’s tally to 16 league goals, just one shy of Serie A’s top scorer Edin Dzeko, who bagged a brace for Roma on Tuesday.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We expected Crotone to get behind the ball, making it difficult to get forward and find the man between the lines,” said Juve centre-back Leonardo Bonucci.

“In the first half our tempo was low, but as Allegri said, we did well to remain patient, like we did against Inter and as we will have to in the next few games.”

Later on Wednesday, Milan ended a three-match losing streak in sensational fashion as Mario Pasalic tapped home from close range a cross from Gerard Deulofeu.

But victory had seemed improbable after the dismissals of centre-back Gabriel Paletta in the first half and Slovak midfielder Juraj Kucka just before the hour mark.

Centre-back Alessio Romagnoli had also been forced off with injury after half an hour.

Bologna toiled despite the two-man advantage and created few clear chances.

And they were stunned when Spaniard Deulofeu got to the byline and crossed through a defender’s legs for the unmarked Pasalic to stroke home from inside the six-yard box.

“There are moments during the season when you have to show that little extra, and today we did that,” said Milan coach Vincenzo Montella.

“We showed the spirit of this team and, given how the match went, we can say we deserved to win.”

Milan stay in seventh but are now just two points behind bitter city rivals Inter in the final Europa League qualifying spot.

It was more misery for mid-table Bologna after their 7-1 trouncing at Napoli over the weekend. – AFP

Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana believes his side can learn from Premier League leaders Chelsea and put a miserable start to 2017 behind them.

England midfielder Adam Lallana has scored six league goals for Liverpool this season. (AFP/Anthony DEVLIN)

The Merseysiders have yet to win a Premier League match in 2017, taking just two points from a possible 12.

As a result Jurgen Klopp’s side have dropped out of the top four for the first time since September and are 13 points adrift of table-toppers Chelsea.

They managed a draw with Chelsea but their next match saw them beaten 2-0 at Hull on Saturday.

Liverpool’s league losses so far this season – to Burnley, Bournemouth, Swansea and Hull – have all come against teams currently in the bottom nine.

By contrast, Chelsea have dropped just two points in 12 matches against the bottom clubs, with Antonio Conte’s side holding on to 1-0 wins away to Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace and Sunderland.

“You can see they have a lot of experience and that they are used to winning,” Lallana told Wednesday’s Liverpool Echo newspaper.

“They know how to win games even when not at their best. You don’t have to always win by scoring five or six.

“Maybe that’s an area we need to improve on. We maybe need to realise how good we are at times.”

The England international added: “Milly (James Milner) is probably the only one in our group who has that type of experience because it only comes from winning silverware like he did at Manchester City.

“Myself and the other players haven’t won titles or loads of cups so we need to learn from him and listen to him because that type of experience is vital.

“We need to learn and get back to winning ways in the league as soon as possible.”

Source AFP