Man Utd to face Forest in EFL Cup semi-final, Newcastle to meet Southampton

The modest apartment of Ulrich M Boume Dioba has a clear view of one of South Africa s World Cup stadiums, an image of hope for the young Gabonese footballer but also a stinging reminder of his struggles.

The 22-year-old from the central African country of Gabon played his nation s Premier League, his star has waned since arriving three years ago in South Africa, where he s struggling to find a club making the world stage represented by the Free State Stadium a distant dream.

It s been eight months since I had a team, says 22-year-old Dioba, his athletic build clad in a tracksuit and sneakers.

Dad sometimes sends me money, but that s painful for me. I am supposed to be sending the money home.

When I was small, dad told me off when I threw away food. …

Even by this season s standards, it was a strange start at Stamford Bridge. 

Manchester City went 4-4-2 despite the notable handicap of having no strikers. Stand-in goalkeeper Zack Steffen seemed to forget the back-pass rule. Chelsea started without Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham but felt looping Hakim Ziyech crosses was still the best Plan A. Kevin De Bruyne, for the 34th time in a row in the Premier League, failed to score with a shot from open play. 

When City suddenly, imperiously took control as Chelsea froze in the bitter London cold, you wondered if those bizarre but competitive first 18 minutes had been conjured up by broadcasters to throw the stay-at-home viewer off the scent, a Premier League narrative directed by the Coen brothers. 

All at once…

Frank Lampard has warned England to keep cool if Wednesday s crucial World Cup qualifier against Croatia threatens to turn nasty.

Fabio Capello s team can book their spot at the World Cup with a victory over the Croatians at Wembley, but the visitors are desperate for three points themselves as they fight for second place.

With England still sore over Croatia s rough tactics during their 4-1 win in Zagreb last year and Croatian coach Slaven Bilic claiming that Capello s outfit are a flawed team that lack Englishness it is certain to be a fiesty occasion on Wednesday.

But Chelsea midfielder Lampard doesn t want his team to let any Croatian provocation distract them from the goal of reaching the finals in South Africa.

We need to keep cool heads, keep cal…

Inter eyeing Arsenal duo

Turin-based newspaper that Inter are showing interest in Arsenal forwards Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski.

The Nerazzurri are in desperate need of attacking reinforcements and sporting director Piero Ausilio is currently in London looking at potential targets.

And after watching the Crystal Palace v Liverpool clash yesterday, the Inter official is expected to head to the Emirates this evening and be in attendance as Arsenal host Southampton.

According to Tuttosport, both Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski are on the Nerazzurri s radar and Ausilio will use the visit to London to establish the initial contact with the Gunners.

Neither of the two forwards is currently in the first team plans of manager Arsene Wenger and the…

There is an endless debate over who is the better player Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. This had also led to the debate of who is the greatest player of all-time, despite the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff all holding good claims.

For me, the perceived battle for supremacy used to be like Luke Skywalker v Darth Vader. Now it is more like Batman v Superman. They both have their fans, but they also both have their detractors.

However, like Batman and Superman, I find it hard to talk about one without the other one. The last two World Cups have been seen as battles for supremacy between the pair. In truth, I enjoy watching both players, but they are very different in personality, which is why there such a massive divide.

Different personalities