Sports

The Premier League will resume on Friday after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II led to last weekend s fixtures being postponed, although Manchester United s match against Leeds United and Chelsea s clash with Liverpool will not take place.

The league postponed all fixtures at the weekend and on Monday as a mark of respect after the UK s longest-reigning sovereign passed away at the age of 96.

The situation has also had an impact on continental competitions this week, with Rangers Champions League clash against Napoli being pushed back a day and Arsenal s Europa League contest with PSV postponed.

Earlier on Monday, the English Football League (EFL) confirmed fixtures will resume on Tuesday, while The Football Association encouraged clubs to observe a m…

Liverpool will face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday at Anfield as they strive to secure European qualification at the end of a poor season by their standards.

Spurs are now under the command of Ryan Mason, the third man to take charge of their team this season, and on Thursday, they grabbed a point with a superb second-half performance against Manchester United, despite going into the period with a two-goal deficit.

The team they have is still absolutely exceptional!

Jurgen Klopp says he is preparing for the best possible Tottenham side .

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews)

…

Mick McCarthy expects Martin O Neill to be confirmed as Republic of Ireland boss, with Roy Keane reportedly set to be his number two.

Ipswich Town manager McCarthy has been strongly linked with returning for a second spell in charge of the Republic after Giovanni Trapattoni was sacked in September.

But O Neill is reported to be on the verge of replacing the veteran Italian, who paid the price for failing to guide Ireland to the FIFA World Cup next year.

McCarthy again stressed on Friday night that he had not held talks with the Football Association of Ireland and the 54-year-old maintains that O Neill is set to take his first role in international management.

McCarthy told Sky Sports: I ve said all along, I haven t been asked about it and I don t see why I should…

Former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti believes Cristiano Ronaldo would not be scoring as many goals if it were not for Karim Benzema s hard work.

Ronaldo last month equalled Raul as Madrid s all-time top goalscorer with 323 strikes and has won the European Golden Shoe three times since joining the Santiago Bernabeu side after previously being awarded the trophy in 2007-08 while at Manchester United.

While the Portugal international s remarkable feats have earned plenty of justifiable plaudits, Ancelotti feels France striker Benzema deserves much of the credit for Ronaldo s success and thinks they form the ideal attacking partnership.

I think that Ronaldo s success is largely down to Benzema s hard work, Ancelotti told Canal+.

Karim is a calm guy. He …

Los Angeles FC striker Carlos Vela was drinking pina colada on holiday when he discovered Barcelona were interested in securing his services.

The 30-year-old, formerly of Arsenal, was linked with a loan move to Camp Nou at the turn of the year after impressing for LAFC in his debut campaign in the MLS.

Vela scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists in 2018 and concedes he would dearly have loved a January switch to the LaLiga giants, who instead opted for Kevin-Prince Boateng.

It was really close, he told BS The Podcast. My second month for holidays, I was there with my pina colada and my agent called me to say look, Barcelona is calling you. They want you to play for four months then you can go back to LA . 

39  . y contando

— carlos vela …

There s plenty of talk about what has gone wrong at Arsenal in recent years, as well as about their current situation. The Gunners sit bottom of the Premier League table, with no points and no goals scored.

Some blame technical director Edu for the signings the club make, some say it s Arteta who is yet to get the best of the players at his disposal.

Here s Edu himself, underlining the difference between Arteta s responsibilities and those of his own.

The recruitment is we, we have different responsibilities but we have to see everyone as a group.

Arsenal s technical director Edu on his working relationship with manager Mikel Arteta

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

…

Defender Russell Martin has signed a new three-year contract with Premier League club Norwich.

The 27-year-old, who moved to Carrow Road in 2010 following a short loan spell from Peterborough, made 36 appearances for Chris Hughton s side last season.

And the Scotland international full-back admitted that it was an easy decision to extend his stay.

I m extremely delighted everyone knows how I feel about playing for this football club, he told the club s official website.

Since I first arrived here it s gone unbelievably well and I feel really settled in the area.

I m happy playing for this club and I ve got a great relationship with the players, staff and the supporters, and I m just delighted to be here for another three years.

Manager Hughton added:…

Everton manager Roberto Martinez praised Antolin Alcaraz after his debut in a pre-season game with Accrington Stanley on Wednesday.

The Paraguayan defender followed Martinez to Goodison Park from Wigan after his contract expired at the end of last season, and the Spaniard was impressed with his first outing for the club.

Martinez brought the 30-year-old to England in 2010 to tighten up his Wigan defence, he did just that as the club survived relegation from the Premier League in two consecutive seasons.

However, injury problems restricted him to just 77 appearances during his time at the DW Stadium.

Alcaraz struggled with a groin injury during the last campaign, playing just 14 times, but showed no signs of this issue after coming on against the League Two outfit…

Neymar believes Barcelona can still catch Real Madrid in LaLiga s title race, despite the European champions impressive form this season.

Madrid currently lead rivals Barca by a solitary point, but Zinedine Zidane s side have two games in hand and have lost just once in the league this term.

However, reflecting on the way Madrid chipped away at his own side s advantage at the top in the 2015-16 campaign, Neymar remains optimistic of a title challenge.

I know it s a little hard, but nothing is impossible, he said in an interview with Red Bull. Last year, we were 12 points ahead of second place and we only won by one or two [points], if I m not mistaken.

There are still a lot of games to go, a lot of matches, anything can happen, and we are really focu…

Aston Villa have completed the signing of Yannick Bolasie from Everton on a season-long loan.

The 29-year-old winger left Crystal Palace for Everton in a reported £25million move at the start of the 2016-17 Premier League campaign, but he struggled to recreate his best form at Goodison Park.

And with the Toffees subsequently bringing in a series of wide options, chiefly Theo Walcott, Richarlison and Bernard, Bolasie s departure has been on the cards for several weeks.

Middlesbrough were said to be close to a deal, but Villa have beaten the Championship leaders in the race to land Bolasie.

My main aim here is to get this club promoted, Bolasie told the Villa website. A club of this stature has to be in the Premier League.

We are delighted to – …