Sports

Former Germany striker Oliver Neuville announced on Tuesday that he has decided to retire from football at the age of 37, after German second division side Arminia Bielefeld terminated his contract.

It s definitively over. I ve been thinking about it for a while already but that isn t how I hoped it would happen. I hoped to play for longer, Neuville told the website of German daily Bild.

Neuville, who scored 10 goals in 69 international games, joined Bielefeld last summer after a six-year stint at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

The Swiss-born striker, who played for Bayer Leverkusen between 1999 and 2004, had made nine appearances in the German second tier and scored two goals.

He represented Germany at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and was a member of the s…

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Desperate to shore up their spot in the Champions League chase, Aston Villa will travel to the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon when they meet West Ham.

West Ham

Starting with the hosts, mounting what was a thrilling Europa League comeback earlier in the week as they secured a 5-0 romp against Freiburg, West Ham will be desperate to use that performance as a platform to build on. However, although the Hammers might have punched a quarter-final ticket on Thursday night, it is no secret that David Moyes has found increasing scrutiny on his position at the London Stadium. Last seen in Premier League having to settle for a 2-2 stalemate at home against relegation scrappers Burnley, West Ham have won just a trio of their previous 13 str…

Cardiff City have completed the signing of Anthony Pilkington from Championship rivals Norwich City,.

The 26 year old moved to Carrow Road in the summer of 2011, racking up over sixty-six league appearances for the club in that time – all of which coming in the Premier League.

He sat out of Neil Adams’ side’s 1-0 defeat to newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon, with his first appearance of the season expected on Saturday as his new club take on managerless Huddersfield Town at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Blackburn born midfielder spent two seasons with Huddersfield prior to his move to Norwich, while he has also played Stockport County and Atherton Collieries.

Internationally, he has been capped six times by the Republic…

Bordeaux play host to Bastia this weekend looking to maintain the only remaining 100 per cent winning record in Ligue 1.

Willy Sagnol s side made it three victories from three last Saturday with a 3-1 success at Nice that came courtesy of coming from behind for the second consecutive game.

After falling a goal down early on, Bordeaux bounced back thanks to Cheick Diabate s second of the new season before Nicolas Maurice-Belay and Gregory Sertic got their names on the scoresheet.

Early pacesetters Bordeaux next face a Bastia side that has won, drawn and lost in their three outings, but will be on a high after picking up their first league victory of 2014-15 last time out.

Like Bordeaux, Saint Etienne are also yet to taste defeat this term, conceding jus…

Day three of the Confederations Cup saw Sochi host its first game, with world champions Germany taking on Asian Cup holders Australia.

Joachim Low s squad have been preparing with a handful of unusual drills, while Socceroos great Tim Cahill has been drawing inspiration from his finest goal on the international stage.

Away from the inclement weather of Fisht Stadium, Chile stars including Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez have been celebrating their opening win over Cameroon, although the Bayern Munich man appeared a little uncertain about his bold new boots.

Australia fans back home were turning to power naps in a bid to stay bright and alert for their clash with Germany, which kicked off at 01:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time.

What is your p…

Riyad Mahrez remains a transfer target for Roma but the Serie A side will not make a third offer for the Leicester City winger, says sporting director Monchi.

After the sale of Mohamed Salah to Liverpool, Roma have made two bids to sign Mahrez from the 2015-16 Premier League champions.

But with Leicester reportedly seeking a fee of £50million for the Algeria international, Monchi suggested the Giallorossi will not return for Mahrez.

We re not just working on one name, Monchi said at Roma s presentation of defender Hector Moreno.

It s logical, we have different options. In the case of Mahrez it s become public knowledge, with others it hasn t. We ve made two offers, the second is fair and then we stopped.

I do not know [how likely a deal is], …

Mohamed Salah joked that Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 on Sunday because he was back from injury.

Egypt international Salah missed the 1-1 draw between the teams at Old Trafford – the only Premier League game Liverpool have failed to win this season – due to an ankle injury.

In the build-up to the return match at Anfield, the 27-year-old cheekily suggested Jurgen Klopp s side had failed to come out on top because of his absence.

Liverpool moved 16 points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City, while still possessing a game in hand, after Salah latched onto a long ball from Alisson following a corner in second-half stoppage time, adding to Virgil van Dijk s opener in the 14th minute.

As you can see today I get back from the injury so we won th…

Peru will be without the experience of Claudio Pizarro when they visit Paraguay for the first match in a double header on Friday.

The sides are due to meet twice in the space of four days, with the second fixture scheduled for Monday, but Bayern Munich striker Pizarro will be absent for both.

It was confirmed last week that the 75-cap forward would be sidelined for several weeks after suffering a tear in his right thigh.

The news will have come as a blow to national team coach Pablo Bengoechea, who is looking to build on a promising run of form of late.

Peru have won four of their last five fixtures, with the only defeat coming away at World Cup surprise package Chile last month.

The 54th-ranked nation followed up that defeat with a 1-0 win over G…

Market: Eibar win

Odds: 7/12 @

Hoping to claim back-to-back Segunda victories on Wednesday night, Eibar will welcome Lugo to the Ipurua Municipal Stadium.

Starting with the hosts, managing to make a welcomed return to winning ways over the weekend with a gritty display on the road, Eibar have their sights set on clinching a La Liga return this season. Eventually claiming a 1-0 victory away at Malaga a few days ago, Los Armeros should find the mood in their camp at a high. Losing just one of their previous seven Segunda matchups, a run that stems back to September 17th, Gaizka Garitano s side will be desperate to lay down another marker on Wednesday night. Opening the midweek fixtures leading the chase in the play-off hunt, Eibar have also continued to shine on h…

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool s win over Napoli offered a reminder they are still a top team , though he acknowledges they cannot rest on the achievements of last season.

The Reds got back to winning ways with a 2-0 win over the Serie A leaders in their final Champions League group-stage game, with both sides heading through to the knockout rounds.

Late goals for Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez helped rebound from the latest disappointment of a difficult season, with Liverpool having lost late on to Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday.

Klopp says his team know they have quality, but they need to sometimes take stock of themselves in order to achieve the right results amid a tough campaign.

We don t doubt the quality, I don t think anybody doubts …