English Premier League

Chelsea 11/10
Draw 24/10
Man United 24/10

Jose Mourinho will return to the place he is loved the most, Stamford Bridge on Sunday, as Manchester United lock horns with Chelsea in what promises to be a mouth-watering encounter. Mourinho has only come up against Antonio Conte once. It was back in 2009 when Mourinho’s Inter were held 1-1 by Conte’s Atalanta in a Serie A encounter. It will still be quite strange for Chelsea fans to see their most successful manager in the away dugout, but he’s likely to receive a great reception from the Blues fans.

The Blues are in good form having won back-to-back games against Hull and champions Leicester, scoring five goals and keeping clean sheets in both. United are unbeaten in their last three matches in the Premier League, but have drawn the last two. Mourinho knows Chelsea like the back of his hand, but he’ll be up against a master tactician in Conte, who is getting the best out of his players in an attack-minded 3-4-3 system.

Chelsea

Chelsea are coming off an emphatic 3-0 victory over Leicester City, the team that succeeded them as Premier League winners. Antonio Conte continued with his new 3-4-3 system, making it back-to-back wins since switching to a three-man defence. Despite the return to fitness of John Terry, David Luiz operated as the deepest centre-back with Gary Cahill playing on the left and Cesar Azpilicueta on the right side. All were rock-solid and routinely mopped up any threat, not allowing the Foxes a single shot on target. It was a performance of growing authority for Chelsea and Conte could even afford to give Nathaniel Chalobah, Ola Aina and Ruben Loftus-Cheek some minutes on the pitch. Although, the Italian will be most pleased that Diego Costa – who started the game on four bookings – avoided a potential suspension.

The Blues have won five of their eight matches this season and are three points adrift of leaders Manchester City. They’ve also won four out of five matches (including the 3-2 win against Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup) at Stamford Bridge this season – they had won just five in the entirety of the 2014-15 campaign. Chelsea have recovered from a poor spell of form by beating Hull City away and then Leicester at home, making sure they head into their clash with Manchester United in good heart. The Blues will be targeting maximum points against the Red Devils, who they haven’t lost to since 2012. They’re are unbeaten in their last 10 meetings against United, however, they’ve won just four times – three coming from their last five meetings at Stamford Bridge.

After back-to-back clean sheets, Conte is likely to remain with the trio of Luiz, Cahill and Azpilicueta indefence, meaning John Terry may be named on the bench yet again. Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso will continue as the wing-backs, providing defensive solidity as well as an attacking threat. In front of the defence will be N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic, who are forming a solid partnership. Willian is expected to return to the lineup in place of Pedro and will join Costa and Eden Hazard in the front three. Costa is the league’s top scorer and he’ll be looking to extend his tally of seven goals.

Manchester United

Jose Mourinho will return to Stamford Bridge with just one thing on his mind, three vital points. The Red Devils are five points adrift of leaders Manchester City and Arsenal and cannot afford to lose further ground on their rivals. Despite going unbeaten in their last three Premier League games, United have only managed to win once (4-1 at home to Leicester), drawing back-to-back matches against Stoke and Liverpool. Away from home, they started well having won consecutive games against Bournemouth and Hull City, but were then beaten 3-1 by Watford before Monday’s uneventful goalless draw at Anfield.

Mourinho got exactly what he came for against Liverpool, a valuable point against Jurgen Klopp’s in-form side. United’s plan was to frustrate the Reds and it showed as they saw only 35% possession of the ball, their lowest ever figure. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was often isolated up front, with Paul Pogba unable to get enough time on the ball to create any threat, while the partnership of Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera bossed the midfield. Although he’d love to get three points against Chelsea, who decided to sack him seven months after winning the league, Mourinho will be content to take a point back to Manchester.

United are likely to put out a similar team that played against Liverpool, with Ashley Young the only player I expect to be replaced. The backline picks itself with goalkeeper David de Gea protected by Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind. In midfield, Fellaini and Herrera will sit deep in midfield while Pogba will be allowed to do the roaming. Ibrahimovic, who has caused Chelsea many of problems in the past with PSG, will spearhead the attack and look to fire his side to victory. The powerful striker hasn’t found the net in four consecutive league matches and Mourinho will need him to rise to the big occasion. Marcus Rashford will offer a threat on the right, while fans will be hoping to see Henrikh Mkhitaryan get a chance on the left side of attack. Anthony Martial remains a doubt after suffering a knee injury in training.

Probable line-ups:

Chelsea: 3-4-3Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill; Alonso, Kante, Matic, Moses; Willian, Hazard, Costa.

Manchester United: 4-2-3-1De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Blind; Fellaini, Herrera; Rashford, Pogba, Mkhitaryan; Ibrahimovic.

Chelsea’s Diego Costa pounces late to sink battling Watford

A week into Antonio Conte’s Premier League career and, at first glance, life at Chelsea is proving all rather predictable. This was a second successive win secured late, courtesy of a goal from Diego Costa, with Watford left as deflated as West Ham United had been five days earlier. Dig deeper, though, and the visitors’ ability to recover from a rather disjointed display and claim success felt rather more significant. It was a demonstration of clout.

Conte, for all his frustrations with the transfer market and his intention still to recruit, had the depth of quality on his bench to erode the hosts’ authority. He could fling on Michy Batshuayi, plucked from Marseille for £33.1m this summer, in partnership with Costa to force Chelsea level, and inject Victor Moses’s energy on the flank where Pedro Rodríguez had been rather aimless. Most of all, he could introduce the class and invention of Cesc Fàbregas, against opponents who had just started to doubt themselves, to provide a winner.

Fàbregas, unused on Monday, was flung on for the final 12 minutes here and in effect changed the complexion of the game. Watford were distracted by his presence, infuriated by the needle the Spaniard injects into the challenge and wary of his ability to thread a pass through the clutter. Where Eden Hazard had previously been forced deep to seek out the ball and exert any kind of influence, now the Belgian felt liberated, with Fàbregas drawing the attention elsewhere. It was Hazard’s low shot, spat from distance, that Heurelho Gomes spilled for Batshuayi to ram in the equaliser.

The striker already boasts a goal, an assist and a shot thundered against the woodwork in stoppage time, from 22 minutes as a Premier League player. Yet, while he is already forging a reputation in this league, Fàbregas is seeking to justify his. His most significant contribution here was reserved until three minutes from time. Collecting possession in a blur just outside his own penalty area, the midfielder sprayed a glorious angled pass downfield that split the back-tracking Craig Cathcart and Sebastian Prödl for a galloping Costa to gather. The striker trundled on and slipped his shot through Gomes’s legs as the goalkeeper advanced.

“We all know Cesc, that he is a great player with a great technique, always with a good pass and assist,” said Conte. “I made this substitution because, at that moment, I saw Watford were thinking only about defending. So I was happy with Cesc’s impact, and I’m pleased with his attitude. He’s working very hard in training to show he deserves to play. If I see that attitude and commitment, I’m very happy.”

Both provider and scorer had been engulfed by gleeful team-mates while Conte celebrated manically on the sidelines. It had taken Chelsea six matches to register six points last term. This year, they boast that tally after two.

The seated Walter Mazzarri glanced briefly in his compatriot’s direction, reluctant as he was to offer up a reaction. These two have history from their time in charge of Napoli and Juventus respectively pursuing the Scudetto back home and, for a while here, the Watford manager must have dared to believe he could condemn Conte to his first defeat in the English game. His team, comfortable with the three-man defence he had used in Naples, had posed a threat through Nordin Amrabat and José Holebas down the flanks and, having gone close through Odion Ighalo, eventually led.

Adlène Guedioura, outstanding in combination with Amrabat, swung over a cross that looped beyond Troy Deeney to reach Étienne Capoue, unmarked on the far side of the penalty area. The angle was unkind but the Frenchman, benefiting from Gary Cahill’s flicker of hesitation, collected and crunched a left-footed shot high into the top corner beyond Thibaut Courtois’s outstretched hand. It was Capoue’s second goal in successive games – he had scored only once in his previous 57 outings – though neither has yielded a win.

This team have now surrendered leads in their first two games of the campaign, though they will have been encouraged by confirmation of the signings of Younès Kaboul and, more eye-catchingly, Roberto Pereyra.

“I’m not going to sleep very well, but we can hold our heads high,” Mazzarri said. “We played much better than we did at Southampton, where we’d played only 20 minutes like I’d wanted us to play. Today we managed 70.” That is progress. It is just not quite as marked as that of Chelsea under Conte.

Cristiano Ronaldo's leadership, evolving tactics, expanded format: What Euro 2016 taught us

After 31 days, 51 matches and 108 goals, the 2016 European Championship reached its culmination on Sunday when a gritty and well-drilled Portugal trounced hosts France in their own backyard to climb to the pinnacle of European football.

Euro 2016 was already differentiated from its predecessors, thanks to a change in format that saw twenty-four teams make the cut instead of sixteen. In addition, Spain — the winners of the last two editions - no longer seemed to have the air of invincibility around them after a horrible World Cup campaign in 2014.  Their reign as European Champions was also brought to an end by a spirited Italy side in the Round of 16. It confirmed the end of an era.

On the other hand, England's position as perennial under-achievers was further strengthened when their youthful side was embarrassed by an Iceland side that was living a fairytale. If that wasn't painful enough for the English fans, seeing neighbours Wales battle the odds to reach the semi-finals only added to their misery. In the end, the only unbeaten team in the competition were crowned its champions as the hosts' bid for a near perfect tournament fell at the last hurdle.

As the dust begins to settle on the month-long European football carnival, we assess what the latest version of it taught us.

Hard work and passion scored over talent

The tone, though, was set right at the start of the tournament when Antonio Conte's Italy — limited in terms of talent — totally dismantled the star-studded Belgian side. Almost clockwork in their approach, the Italians then matched Spain's swagger with sweat and captured the last remaining check post of their empire. Italy's run only ended after a crazy penalty shoot-out defeat to world champions Germany, who adopted a more pragmatic approach to counter Italy's work-rate and discipline.Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. This old saying wouldn't get a better testimony than Portugal's Euro 2016 triumph. Barring, some sparks of brilliance from Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal had to toil to get through every game. Each game was a challenge and they kept on overcoming them. Their opponents in the final — France — were the exact opposite. Exuberant and expansive, France rode on their talented front men to reach the final, where they were simply undone by the drudgery of Portugal. Hard work scored over talent.

On the other hand, if there was one chart that you expected Gareth Bale to top after guiding his team to the semi-finals, it would be the goal chart. But Bale, surprisingly, was on top of the 'duels won' table (58), instead of the goal chart, pointing to the fact that the worker in Bale scored over the flair-player in him in terms of contribution to the Welsh cause. So even at an individual level, it was hard work that scored over talent.

A Cristiano Ronaldo like never before

But Ronaldo was always there in the thick of things for Portugal. He was the face of their grit and attitude and led them from the front. Ronaldo wasn't always perceived among the best of the leaders in the game. The Portuguese had rarely in the past displayed great leadership skills. Maybe, playing under strong leaders like Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, and Gary Neville could have overshadowed his leadership instincts, but Euro 2016 proved he has certainly picked up things from these top captains.Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, FA Cup and Spanish Cup — Cristiano Ronaldo had it all at club level, but a barren international career was proving to be a blot on his legendary status. Struggling to be a hundred percent fit, Ronaldo only showed glimpses of his sublime best on the pitch throughout the course of the tournament and managed three goals — a fairly average tally by his own standards.

From pushing and instilling faith in Joao Moutinho for taking the penalty during the shootout against Poland, to his Fergie-like demeanour during the final, Ronaldo has come out as an excellent captain. His leadership fuelled Portugal's march to the title.

Coincidentally, his astute captaincy comes as a stark contrast to that of Lionel Messi, who not just failed to lead Argentina to success in a major tournament, but also retired from the national team thereafter.

Whether Ronaldo can now be considered a better player than Messi is a debate for another day, it can be said that Portuguese has proved to be a better captain than the Argentine. Thanks to Euro 2016, the admirers of the beautiful game have had a chance to see a totally different side of the Real Madrid forward.

Time to pass tiki taka?

If you look at the teams with most ball possession in the competition, only Germany (63%) among the top eight managed to reach the semi-final. Portugal and France — the two finalists — are ranked joint eighth in average possession charts with 52%. Seven out of the teams with most ball possession in the tournament failed to even reach the quarter-finals. Spain (61%) and England (59%) have rarely looked more toothless in attack.Tiki Taka has pretty much been the theme of the European Championship in the last decade with Spain passing teams to death. Many teams over the last few years have tried to adopt that style of possession football and even reaped rewards. But at Euro 2016, large amount of possession has yielded very little.

A look at Germany's top passers in the tournament would probably give a fair idea why the possession-based football is failing. After Toni Kroos, the second player to have completed most successful passes is Jerome Boateng. Similarly, Gary Cahill was England's second best passer as was Ramos for Spain. This is a result of high pressing strategy, which teams like Italy and Wales have executed perfectly against the passing teams, resulting in a lot of ball possession in areas of little threat for opponents.

The tiki taka was great, but it seems to have got a bit outdated. It's time to give it a pass.

Euro 2016 — Beginning of a tactical evolution?

With tiki taka quite clearly not being as effective as before, teams have been tactically a lot more fluid. At Euro 2016, managers have chosen to play to their strengths and have lined up formations that get the best out of their players. Usually, a team like Iceland would have been cautious in their approach and gone with a five-man midfield irrespective of the players at their disposal, just to make themselves hard to beat. But they went with a 4-4-2 instead, and the rewards are there to be seen.

Fernando Santos' Portugal side lacked a good out-and-out striker and he paired Cristiano Ronaldo with Nani up front. Both, who are natural wingers, drifted away in tandem to stretch the opponent's defence and thus create spaces for the midfield runners to exploit.

The 3-5-2 was widely used in the tournament, with Antonio Conte's Italy being one of its finest practitioners. Wales too used it to good effect. What was common for these two sides was the presence of a defender with great distribution skills. Leanardo Bonucci almost functioned like a deep-lying play-maker and it was his pass that split open the Belgian defence for Italy's opening goal in the tournament. Similar roles were played by James Chester for Wales and Mats Hummels for Germany when they switched to a back three.

The Germans were tactically flexible at times and that was one reason why they managed to reach the last four despite lacking genuine bite in the attack. Against Italy in the quarter-final, Joachin Loew went cautious to nullify Italy's threat on the counter-attack and was rewarded with a win, albeit a fortunate one.

Pep Guardiola triggered a tactical evolution when he took charge of Barcelona. Euro 2016 may possibly have kick-started another tactical evolution in European football.

The format — Having 24 teams is good, but the draws need changes

Euro 2016's new format has come under heavy criticism ever since its announcement. However, after one tournament under the new format, it appears to be a mix of the good, bad and the ugly. Having more slots in qualifiers has seen five teams make their European championship debut in France. Moreover, four out of these five teams qualified for the knock-out stages. Having two third-qualifying spots has given lesser teams hope to reach the knockout stages, which has spurred them on and gotten the best out of them. Iceland is perhaps the best example.

But the problem has been with the draw, which pitted most heavyweights on one side. Winners of groups E and F, irrespective of their performance, didn't get the chance to play a third-placed team. This gave little incentive for the teams from Groups A-D to put out stronger teams in the final group matches, as they had already been assured of playing against third-placed teams in the Round of 16. Had merit been a criteria, it could have reduced the likelihood of drab matches, especially for the final round of group stage.

Hence, there need to be some radical changes made to the way teams are put in the draw to make the competition even more exciting and entertaining. But, increasing the number of teams participating has been a positive development.

FIFA will have to take measures to curb violence during 2018 FIFA World Cup

For all the exhilarating football played on the pitch, Euro 2016 was marred by incidents of off-field violence, especially involving fans of Russia and England. The failure of Russian fans to control their hooliganism resulted in a suspended ban being imposed on them. Fortunately, their football team did as poorly on the football pitch and exited the competition before they could be banned.

However, this raises huge concerns about the 2018 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted by Russia. Despite one of the Russian ministers assuring utmost safety and security for touring parties, FIFA will have to lay down strict rules to punish those who indulge in such violence. They need to avoid the showpiece event being hurt by hooliganism that surfaced on a consistent basis in the initial stages of Euro 2016.

Chris Smalling: Gary Cahill won't let England down at Euro 2016

Chris Smalling has backed Chelsea defender Gary Cahill to play an influential role at Euro 2016.

Cahill’s place in England’s starting XI has been questioned after the Blues’ poor campaign, during which he was dropped to the bench behind Kurt Zouma.

Smalling looks certain to start in England’s opening group game against Russia on Saturday night, leaving Cahill battling it out with Everton’s John Stones for the other berth in central defence.

But Cahill, who has won five major honours with Chelsea and is the England vice-captain, is expected to be handed his 44th cap by Roy Hodgson in Marseille.

And Smalling told Standard Sport: “Having such an experienced defender like Gary playing alongside you can only be a help to whoever plays next to him. He has won so many things in his career, including the Premier League and Champions League, and he can bring that experience to the side.

“He has been at the top of his game for a very long period, so it is comforting to play alongside someone of that calibre.”

Cahill doesn’t feel like his place is assured and knows he has a battle on his hands. He added: “There are always new people coming up, young players coming through. That’s why you can’t take things for granted. There may be someone in front of you who you’re chasing but there is always going to be someone behind you as well. 

“There is competition throughout the England squad and I don’t think anyone is certain of their place in the team.”

Gary Cahill: FA Should Consider What Was at Stake in Emotional Game

Gary Cahill wants the Football Association to show leniency as they dish out punishments following Chelsea's heated 2-2 draw with Tottenham, the ​Evening Standard report. 

Monday night's match at Stamford Bridge threatened to boil over as Spurs grew increasingly frustrated that their title aspirations were being extinguished by their bitter rivals. 

Referee Mark Clattenburg brandished 12 yellow cards in total, nine of them to Tottenham who are anticipating Moussa Dembele being slapped with a retrospective ban after he appeared to eye-gouge Diego Costa in a scuffle.

Tempers flared up at full-time as coaches and players from both teams had to be separated but Cahill hopes the FA take the nature of the match into account.

When asked if he hoped the authorities would demonstrate leniency, the England international said "Of course, when there is that much at stake, people aren't going to roll over, it's competitive. That's the way it is. We should enjoy the game for what it was.

"Did it ever cross the line? You're asking the wrong guy because I think in games like that the passion and commitment is there from both sides. There was a lot at stake.

"We know what it takes to win the League and it is very difficult to produce performances week in, week out, to train every single day and dedicate yourself the whole season to do it.

"We knew what was at stake for them and it shows how well they have done - they don't roll over and give up the game, likewise we don't."

The Blues had to fight back from 2-0 down to deny Spurs the chance to win the title and their opponents lost their composure towards the end.

However, Cahill, who played against several of his international team-mates, insists the game ended on good terms despite the bruising challenges. 

"I'm sure that the Chelsea fans enjoyed that, but I also have respect for Tottenham" the 31-year-old added. "I have a few friends in that dressing room.

"Are we still friends? Yes. They will go away feeling so disappointed that they just fell short and I can understand that.

"The emotion was just there. It's normal to react, but when everything has settled down, when it's calm, it's finished."

Chelsea vs. Everton 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch FA Cup online

The FA Cup has reached the sixth round, and the highest-profile match of the round sees Everton host Chelsea in what should be a very exciting match. Both teams are eager for a silver lining in their season, and the FA Cup would be an awfully shiny consolation prize for a tough campaign that hasn't exactly gone to plan.

Everton come into this match hopeful of a good result, having beaten Chelsea once at home in the league this season and battling them to a 3-3 draw in London. They're also catching Chelsea reeling off their Champions League knockout in what was a truly uninspiring performance against Paris Saint-Germain -- but that could be a double-edged sword.

That disappointment could prove to be the spark that Chelsea need to get "right" and start a late-season surge. We'll know pretty early in this match if that's the case -- if Chelsea come out swinging fast and hard, Everton will very likely finish this match with their heads hanging low in defeat. If not, they've got a real chance to send Chelsea back to London licking their wounds.

Key player -- Willian (Chelsea)

Everton have struggled all year against guys who run at their back line all day long, and that's exactly what Willian brings to the table. His ability to unsettle a back line and create holes for his teammates to exploit is nearly unparalleled in England, and when you add his immense skill on set-pieces to the equation, he'll be the key man in Chelsea's efforts to knock Everton down.

Key matchup -- Romelu Lukaku (Everton) vs. Gary Cahill (Chelsea)

Lukaku is always eager to try to get one over on his old teammates at Chelsea, and Everton fans have to be drooling at the prospect of him lining up against Cahill right now. The English international has looked stiff and a step off the pace of late, and even at his best he's struggled against Lukaku's size and athleticism. In the state he's in now, Lukaku could have an absolute field day against him.

Everton injuries and suspensions

Out: Tyias Browning, Tony Hibbert In doubt: Bryan Oviedo, Gareth Barry, Aaron Lennon, Tom Cleverly

Chelsea injuries and suspensions

Out: Kurt Zouma, Radamel Falcao In doubt: Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, John Terry

Match Date/Time: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. local

Venue: Goodison Park, Liverpool, England

TV: Fox Sports 2 (U.S. - English), Fox Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), Sportsnet World (Canada)

Online: Fox Soccer 2 Go, Fox Sports Go (U.S.), Sportsnet World Now (Canada)

Manchester United stars will consider leaving if Jose Mourinho appointed manager

JOSE MOURINHO's appointment as Manchester United manager could see several players consider leaving, according to reports.

The Portuguese boss has been heavily linked with the United job since being sacked by Chelsea in December.

Current manager Louis van Gaal is under severe pressure and is likely to be replaced in the summer, particularly if they miss out on Champions League football next season.

Mourinho has made it clear he would like to take the Old Trafford hotseat should it become available.

However, his reputation for not blooding academy graduates is causing some unease amongst the United board and playing staff.

And The Times claim some United players fear they will not be given a chance under the former Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Porto boss and will consider leaving.

Van Gaal has been willing to give youth a chance during his turbulent spell in charge, handing debuts to 14 academy graduates.

However, earlier this month Mourinho's closest friend and confidante Eladio Parames wrote inStarsport that the 53-year-old was subject to a smear campaign and that he had promoted youth at all of his previous clubs.

"It doesn't stop being a lie, even if whoever hears or reads it may think it is true," Parames said.

"This happens with Jose Mourinho and his alleged reluctance to play with young players. It simply is not true.

"For instance, at Real Madrid, Jose called 20 young players of the 'cantera' (youth academy) to make their debut in the first squad.

"And that doesn't include the young Frenchman Raphael Varane."

He added: "Does anybody really think that Louis van Gaal would play with Rashford for the love of it if Antonia Valencia, Matteo Darmian and Phil Jones weren't injured?

"Or does anybody believe that Rashford would play if Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and Marouane Fellani weren't also in the Carrington Hospital?

"At Madrid, Iker Casillas was put the bench so young Antonio Adam could play. Similarly, at Inter Chivu was left out in favour of Santon.

"At Chelsea, Zouma was chosen ahead of Gary Cahill and David Luiz and before that Carlo Cudicini had to give way to the young Cech.

"These were options, not needs - options. Options from the coach that never gives a chance to young players."