On the eve of the kick-off of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, a quiet but powerful movement is already sweeping across the continent. Long before a ball is kicked, women from Morocco to Côte d’Ivoire, from Egypt to Europe, are shaping the emotional landscape of this year’s tournament. Their anticipation - layered with pride, memory and belonging - has become one of the defining stories of AFCON 2025. For decades, women were often spoken of as spectat

Here we highlight the key talking points ahead of a crucial period of the season The Festive Fixtures are upon us. Get ready for chaos and for the Premier League table to be thrown wildly off kilter in the weeks ahead. Starting Saturday, there are four rounds of Premier League matches played across 20 days, meaning a full set of 10 games once every four days between 20 December and 8 January. It promises to be a lot of fun. Bookended by Newcastle United against Chelsea and Ar

Here we assess the Premier League title picture with Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa separated by just three points at the top of the table. Already this season, the Premier League title race has twice seemed a foregone conclusion. An unblemished record in their opening five games saw reigning champions Liverpool develop an early five-point lead over the chasing pack before the end of September, only for Arne Slot’s side to suddenly slide down the table. Then, only a

All but one of the 34 previous opening matches of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals has featured the host nation and history strongly favours teams playing on home soil. As Morocco prepare to face Comoros in the opening match of the 2025 TotalEnergiesCAF Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat on Sunday, they will draw confidence from a long-standing trend that has seen host nations dominate the curtain-raiser of Africa’s flagship tournament. Since the inaugural edition in 1957

Amorim introduces a back four – bringing out the best and worst in Man Utd One of the most extraordinary Premier League matches in recent history was surprisingly readable from a tactical perspective: Ruben Amorim’s formation(s) created the all-out attacking football Manchester United fans have been craving but also a new vulnerability at the back. The movement and interchanges of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount were superb, creating numerous chances in the first

In exactly five days, Africa’s greatest event, the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 will kick-off in Rabat on Sunday with a Group A clash between hosts Morocco and Comoros that is the start of a four-week race to the title. The match will kick-off at 8pm local time (7pm GMT/9pm SAST) and will be watched by a sold-out crowd at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. Excitement is building up this week as the host nation opens the 35th edition of the tournament,

The new-look league phase of the Uefa Women's Champions League concludes on Wednesday with all nine matches kicking off simultaneously at 9pm CET (8pm GMT, 10pm SAST). At the close of play, the top four teams will qualify directly for the quarter-finals while the sides finishing between fifth and 12th go into the new knockout play-offs. Ten clubs have already ensured at least a play-off spot but three others will vie for the two remaining slots, while none of the automatic qu

Here we look at the main talking points for each fixture in Matchweek 16 Can in-form Palace repeat their FA Cup final win? Crystal Palace have won 26 points in their first 15 Premier League matches this season, their best start to a top-flight campaign and double the tally they had at this stage of 2024/25. An extraordinary calendar year for Palace just keeps getting better and better. Every time the Eagles seem to hit a new peak, they surpass it. Every time a roadblock comes

The title race is back open. Matchweek 15 began with Aston Villa inflicting only Arsenal’s second Premier League defeat of the season to halt the league leaders’ charge. That result moved Villa three points off Mikel Arteta’s side, while second-placed Manchester City capitalised by easing past Sunderland to close their gap to Arsenal to just two points. Elsewhere, a late Leeds United equaliser continued Liverpool’s struggles, Chelsea could find no way past AFC Bournemouth and

All 20 Premier League clubs discover their FA Cup third round opponents and there will be four all-Premier League ties in the third round after the draw was made on Monday evening. Manchester United will host Brighton & Hove Albion, hoping that October’s 4-2 victory in the Premier League has ended the Seagulls’ good run at Old Trafford. Brighton had won three away games in a row against the Red Devils prior to that result. Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, will be keen to avenge

Get the lowdown on every Uefa Champions League Matchday 6 contest as we take a look at the key facts and stats from every fixture as the league phase continues. All matches kick off at 9pm CET unless stated. Tuesday Kairat Almaty v Olympiacos (4.30pm) Kairat Almaty are without a win in their last eight Uefa competition matches (D3 L5). The Kazakh side are also winless in 11 Uefa club competition group stage/league phase matches (D3 L8). Kairat Almaty have kept five clean shee

The fifth set of league phase matches in the Uefa Women's Champions League are on Tuesday and Wednesday, with seven of the 12 qualification places still up for grabs and the race for direct quarter-final entry intensifying. The expanded 18 teams are competing over six matchdays, with the top four clubs progressing directly to the quarter-finals and the sides finishing between fifth and 12th advancing to February's knockout round play-offs, where they will vie to complete the

Will Villa and Watkins stop Arsenal in their tracks again? Aston Villa have won five of their 12 matches against Arsenal since returning to the Premier League in 2019 and on more than one occasion, their victory has seriously damaged Mikel Arteta’s title challenge. The home fans will feel confident, the away fans will just want to get their trip to Villa Park out of the way. If those sentiments are shared in the dressing rooms then this could be a significant day in the title

Will Newcastle’s flying fullbacks outwit this narrow Spurs team? The problems keep mounting for Thomas Frank and Tottenham Hotspur and when you’re down on your luck sometimes it feels like everything goes against you. A trip to St James' Park could hardly have come at a worse moment. Newcastle United are rejuvenated by the return of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, who excelled at the weekend by providing cutting attacking energy with their overlapping and underlapping runs. T

A weekend of goals galore and comeback wins concluded with a fiercely-fought London derby that could not split leaders Arsenal and one of their main pursuers Chelsea. That result saw Manchester City leapfrog Enzo Maresca’s side into second place after they secured a last-gasp victory over Leeds United, while Aston Villa saw off Wolves to stay fourth. Liverpool, without the benched Mohamed Salah, earned a much-needed win at West Ham, Sunderland came from two goals down to beat

Can Arsenal take a big step to the title or will Chelsea prove they are still in the race? Results last weekend have made this derby at Stamford Bridge the biggest match of the 2025/26 Premier League season so far and should Arsenal win it could prove to be crucial in the title race come the end of the season. There is still a very long way to go but Arsenal’s potential rivals are dropping like flies. Liverpool’s six defeats in seven Premier League matches leaves them with an

Eze takes advantage of passive Spurs midfield Eberechi Eze’s brilliant hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur was a coming-of-age moment for the new Arsenal No 10 and, perhaps, a decisive moment in the title race after Manchester City had dropped points at Newcastle United a day earlier. Here was evidence that Eze doesn’t just provide Arsenal with greater depth when Martin Odegaard is out. Eze is also a notable point of difference; a slaloming, powerful attacker who can provide

League phase leaders Bayern München aim to extend their dominant streak against second-placed Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona meet in the Champions League for the first time since 2018 and Erling Haaland targets another successful outing against a German club. Here we take a look at the key facts and stats from every fixture as the league phase continues. All matches kick off at 9pm CET unless stated. Tuesday Ajax v Benfica (6.45pm) Ajax and Benfica are the only teams yet to e

Spurs potentially opening up the title race? Until Arsenal end their two-decade wait for a Premier League title, doubts will linger and the prospect of a wobble will never be too far away, no matter how well they are playing. The 2-2 draw with Sunderland prior to the international break was a perfectly reasonable result that ought not to change perceptions of Mikel Arteta’s side. However, the timing was unfortunate, because immediately after Regis Le Bris discovered a possibl

Achraf Hakimi claimed the CAF Men’s Player of the Year award and compatriot Ghizlane Chebbak the CAF Women’s Player of the Year prize in a double triumph for Morocco at the CAF Awards 2025 in Rabat on Wednesday, as Africa’s best performers of the year were honoured. The star-studded ceremony was attended by players, coaches and legends from across the continent and beyond, in a celebration of excellence in African football as the game continues to make major strides on the in