Inter host Udinese in Serie A on Saturday with midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic enjoying renewed optimism over their top-three hopes.

Roberto Mancini suffered his first defeat since returning as Inter head coach last weekend in a 4-2 setback to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

There were plenty of positives for the Milanese side in that fixture, though, as goals from Andrea Ranocchia and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo twice restored parity after they fell behind.

Inter s inconsistent form this season has left them in 11th place after 13 matches, but just six points separate them from third-place Napoli and a UEFA Champions League spot.

And Kuzmanovic feels the confidence is returning to the squad.

There is a feeling that we can fight for third place, he told Gazz…

Luka Milivojevic twice held his nerve from the penalty spot as Granit Xhaka went from hero to zero in Arsenal s 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace.

The Palace captain was denied from 12 yards by Jordan Pickford in last weekend s defeat at Everton but stepped up to put Roy Hodgson s struggling side ahead in first-half stoppage time.

Wayne Hennessey could only touch Xhaka s venomous free-kick into the top corner six minutes after the restart and the Palace goalkeeper just failed to prevent Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from turning home his ninth of the season at the back post.

The ball was turned Aubameyang s way when Alexandre Lacazette clearly handled a right-wing corner, meaning there was a sense of justice being done when Xhaka playing in an unfamiliar left-back role crud…

Scottish champions Celtic will face a challenge in attempt to keep the Australian international Tom Rogic around.

The 25-year-old has entered the final year of his deal at the Celtic Park and is highly likely to leave the Bhoys at the end of the current campaign.

The newly-crowned Scottish champions recorded a comfortable 5-0 win over Rangers last weekend and BBC reports that Premier League strogglers Southampton was in attendance, keeping a close eye on the Australian who managed to get his name on the scoresheet in the Old Firm derby.

The Saints are one point away from safety and head into a crucial couple of matches to preserve their top-tier status.

Southampton have a track record of signing the Southampton players – having already brought Victor W…

Christian Pulisic

Europe has long started taking note and the rest of the world followed, as the 18-year-old football sensation came bursting onto the brightest scene, crushing several records along the way.

Having joined Borussia Dortmund straight from the United States, the fantastic attacking midfielder wasted no time into grabbing his spot in the first-team and is currently enjoying a Bundesliga season as a fully proven talent at such a delicate age.

The total of 21 Bundesliga games and three goals are not enough to illustrate the full scope of Pulisic’s influence in Dortmund’s play, but the American talent stands as the leader of the new wave, that is for sure.

Ousmane Dembele

French midfielder is one of the players who had the entire footballing Eur…

Arsenal will head into a crunch spell in their season on the back of a chaotic 1-1 Premier League draw at Burnley after Granit Xhaka s blunder on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta s side, who had an 85th-minute penalty taken away after a VAR review, face a two-legged Europa League last-16 showdown with Olympiacos either side of next Sunday s north London derby.

And they will tackle that run of games knowing their top-four hopes are all but gone, with silverware and local bragging rights providing their primary motivation.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose own goal handed Burnley a 1-0 win over 10-man Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in December, capitalised on some slack defending to put the visitors ahead after just six minutes at Turf Moor.

Burnley drew level in fo…

Liverpool s Adam Bogdan has completed a loan move to Hibernian, the Merseyside club have .

signed Bogdan in 2015 while the current Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was still in charge, but since then the Hungarian made only six first-team appearances in all competitions and to say his stint at Liverpool has been unsuccessful would be a huge understatement. With his contract still to run for a further 12 months, the Reds have decided to agree to a loan move to the Scottish club as there is no realistic chance he would be able to break into manager Jürgen Klopp s plans even with Simon Mignolet set to leave.

Liverpool have been linked with a host of goalkeepers this summer after the mistakes of Loris Karius in the Champions League final, but the German would certainly rema…

PSG challenge Man City for De Bruyne

French daily newspaper that French giants Paris Saint-Germain are seriously considering a move for Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.

The 23-year-old has been in scintillating form since joining from Chelsea last January, helping the Wolves climb to second in German Bundesliga.

Reports from England suggested Manchester City were keeping close tabs on the talented footballer, while L Equipe claims PSG are keen as well.

Laurent Blanc is a big fan of the Belgian midfielder and he is eager to lure him to Parc des Princes, although he will probably have to cash in on Ezequiel Lavezzi or Adrien Rabiot first.

Kevin de Bruyne started each of Wolfsburg s 17 league fixtures this term and managed 3 goals and 10 assis…

Verdict: Benfica win and under 2.5 goals

Best Odds: 

Bookmaker: 

Two sides that will know they re now just two games from booking their spot in the Champions League group stages, Rui Vitória s Benfica side will be looking to carry on their impressive start to the new season when they welcome last years Greek Super League runners-ups PAOK to Estádio da Luz on Tuesday night.

Benfica

Starting with Rui Vitória s Benfica side, although Tuesday s hosts may have finished nine points adrift of Porto in the race for the Primera Liga title last season, The Reds have started the new season brightly. Coming off the back of a 2-0 win over Boavista last week, The Eagles have now won both of their opening domestic fixtures and one man to watch will be Portuguese…

Competition: Europa League qualifier
Market: Rangers to win against Progres Niedercorn
Odds:

Rangers welcome Progres Niedercorn to Ibrox Park in the first leg of the first round of the Europa League qualifiers, and are giant favourites to come out on top given the sever gulf in class between the two sides. Rangers, finalists in this competition just a decade, have greater European pedigree than their Luxembourg opposition who are yet to win a qualifier in any form.

As for the hosts, Pedro Caixinha’s Rangers side are coming off the back of three wins from their last four in their domestic league, while boasting a record in Europe most clubs could only dream off. The Scottish giants were in the Champions League group stage in 2010 and reached the last-16 of …

Yaya Toure s absence from the Manchester City first team has nothing to do with a lack of fitness, according to the player s agent.

Toure was the only senior player of six out of contract at the Etihad Stadium at the end of last season to sign a new deal but the 34-year-old is yet to feature for Pep Guardiola s side this term.

Fabian Delph and academy prospect Phil Foden were preferred as midfield options on the bench for Saturday s 5-0 win over Liverpool and Toure was left out of the travelling party for Wednesday s Champions League Group F opener at Feyenoord.

Guardiola told a pre-match news conference that Toure knew why he was not involved but it is between him and me .

The former Barcelona midfielder was left out Guardiola s plans at the start of las…