Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has hailed the influence of new manager Manuel Pellegrini ahead of the new season.

Pellegrini, who was appointed on June 14, secured his first piece of silverware following City s 1-0 win over Sunderland in the Asia Trophy final on Saturday.

Stevan Jovetic, Alvaro Negredo, Fernandinho and Jesus Navas have all moved to Eastlands in the close-season as City ready themselves to try to claim back the Premier League title from rivals Manchester United.

And Kompany, 27, is excited by Pellegrini s vision for the club.

We’ve had a lot of good things in our team. Our organisation and discipline has been really good, Kompany told The Manchester Evening News.

(Pellegrini) has got his own vision and I think like every big ma…

Stoke City and Crystal Palace will each be out to clinch their first points of the term when they meet at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

Both teams made a losing start to the new campaign, Stoke succumbing to a 1-0 loss at Liverpool in Mark Hughes first competitive game in charge, while newly promoted Palace were defeated by Tottenham at Selhurst Park by the same scoreline.

Stoke will have left Anfield feeling unfortunate not to have snatched a point after Jonathan Walters late penalty was saved by Simon Mignolet but, despite that disappointment, Hughes men should be confident of sealing victory at their home ground, where they lost just five times in the league last term.

Even with that impressive record, Stoke only avoided relegation by six points, and Hughes wil…

Bolivia and Colombia will hope to spark a turnaround in fortunes in their respective World Cup qualifying campaigns when they meet in La Paz on Thursday.

Julio Cesar Baldivieso s hosts and their Jose Pekerman s visitors have one win apiece so far to lie eighth and seventh respectively in the gruelling CONMEBOL grind for a place at Russia 2018.

Colombia are without a victory since beating Peru 2-0 on matchday one, with a 20th-minute goal from Lucas Biglia enough for Argentina to leave Barranquilla with the points last time out in November.

There was arguably greater disappointment for Bolivia, who took the lead against Paraguay through New York Cosmos striker Yasmani Duk five days on from a 4-2 triumph over Venezuela.

However, two goals within four minu…

A new FIFA president is set to be elected on Friday the latest chapter in a tumultuous nine months for world football s governing body.

With a corruption scandal engulfing the organisation, Sepp Blatter announced his planned resignation before being banned from all football-related activities for eight years after allegations of a disloyal payment made to Michel Platini.

UEFA president Platini, previously a contender to replace Blatter in the top job at FIFA, was also banned for eight years as the sport was shaken to its very core.

Here, we look at how events unfolded leading up to Friday s election.

May 27: Swiss authorities arrest seven top FIFA officials, including vice-presidents Jeffrey Webb and Eugenio Figueredo, as part of a Unite…

Croatia claimed pole position in Group D with a hard-fought 2-0 win against Nigeria thanks to an own goal from Oghenekaro Etebo and a Luka Modric penalty.

Midfielder Etebo, who joined Stoke City for €7.2million on Monday, turned a Modric corner into his own net after Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic both flicked the delivery on.

Nigeria s previous goal conceded at the World Cup in 2014 was also an own goal, defender Joseph Yobo the unfortunate player to put through his own net in a last-16 defeat to France.

And when William Troost-Ekong needlessly dragged Mandzukic down in the box, captain Modric coolly converted the 71st-minute penalty to give Croatia a winning start on their fifth appearance at the finals.

Croatia had the better of a close contest li…

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has told the club s former sporting director Matthias Sammer to avoid commenting on the Bundesliga champions in his new job as a television pundit.

After he resigned from the role due to a brain condition last year, Sammer this week caused a stir by describing Bayern s new star signing James Rodriguez as limited after his arrival on a two-year loan from Real Madrid.

The 49-year-old, who was in charge when Bayern won the treble in the 2012-13 campaign, also told the club to ensure Thomas Muller is not sidelined after the signing of James due to the Germany international s importance to the club.

Muller is together with some other players the soul and the future of Bayern, Sammer said in his position as a Eurosport expert. …

Sky Sports understands that Juventus are still in pursuit of Manchester United forward Anthony Martial.

The Serie A Champions remain keen on bringing in the France international despite talks of the Red Devils lining up a new lucrative contract for the player.

Martial started less than half of United’s league games in each of the last two full seasons while this term he has played just one hour of football after being subbed off in last month’s 3-2 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Since signing from Monaco in the summer of 2015 he has racked up a total of one hundred and thirty-seven appearances in all competitions, scoring a total of thirty-six goals – the last of which coming in a 1-0 win over Burnley back in January.

Internationally the …

Verdict: Lazio Draw no bet

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

The top of the table clash in Group K of the Europa League will see out-of-form Nice take on high-flying Lazio, who head into the game on the back of an impressive victory over Juventus in Turin. Les Aiglons, on the other hand, need to try and make amends for two successive Ligue 1 defeats and in doing so edge closer to the first position in the group.

Nice may have failed to reach the Champions League group stages after a third-place finish in Ligue 1 last term, but said exit gave them an opportunity to enjoy a longer campaign in Europa League. So far has been so good, as les Aiglons recorded two comfortable wins over Vitesse and Zulte-Waregem, and everything suggests they will be vying Lazio for the fi…

Colin Dagba has signed a new five-year contract with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.

The 21-year-old defender has committed his future to the club until June 30, 2024.

Dagba joined PSG s youth system from Boulogne-sur-Mer in 2016 and has established himself as a regular in Thomas Tuchel s first team.

The full-back has played 26 times in all competitions since signing his first professional contract in July 2017, winning the Ligue 1 title and Trophee des Champions last year.

The France Under-21 international has made four appearances this term, all in the top flight.

has signed a contract extension with until June 

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)

Garrissone Innocent has also signed a new deal with PSG …

Ajax coach Erik Ten Hag says the Dutch club is doing everything to try and sign Manchester United s Daley Blind, citing the defender s versatility as a potential asset to his squad.

Blind moved to Old Trafford from Ajax in September 2014 and enjoyed three seasons as a regular first-team player before finding his opportunities in Jose Mourinho s side limited in 2017-18.

Ten Hag was quoted by Sky Sports News claiming he was confident of adding either Blind or Boca Juniors defender Lisandro Magallan to his options for the new season.

Describing Blind, Ten Hag said: [He is] a player with a lot of experience, in the Premier League and in the Dutch national team.

Do you remember ?

It’s a !

— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax)

He can handle both …