Rojo swaps Spartak for Sporting

Frank Lampard believes England are finally ready to deliver at the World Cup thanks to Fabio Capello.

After failing to qualify for Euro 2008, England are firmly on course for next year s World Cup in South Africa.

Capello s team have won all seven of their Group Six matches and Lampard admits the transformation is down to the England coach s ability to make his players believe in themselves.

In terms of England, I ve never experienced a time when I have gone into matches feeling as confident as I do now, Chelsea midfielder Lampard told the Sun.

The contrast with before is stark. Before, we felt we would probably lose or drop points and it gives you a really good sensation going into the season to feel so optimistic about the challenges ahead with club …

Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has endorsed Pep Guardiola s decision to sign a three-year deal with Bayern Munich.

Bayern are believed to have beaten clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City to Guardiola s signature, and Zubizarreta believes the Bundesliga giants can offer the former Barca coach the perfect base to launch a new project.

I m very pleased for Guardiola. It means that he s doing well and that he s well rested; it means that he s eager to return to the world of football, Zubizarreta was quoted as saying on the Barcelona website.

Bayern are a club that can offer you a solid and stable project, they also have good players. He s found what he was looking for and I m happy for him. Bayern are a top notch team.

(Current Barca …

Nice have been the surprise packages so far in Ligue 1. But can they go the distance? Photo: AFP

Nice were really not expected to be where they are this season. Yes, Les Aiglons are a solid side, and finished in a decent fourth spot last term. However, given the way PSG simply cruised to the Ligue 1 title last term, many had figured that this season s title race would be over even before it started.

Well, that is not how things have turned out so far. Heading into matchday 12, Lucien Favre s side were six points ahead of the chasing pack. Six points means that regardless of whatever Monaco or PSG achieved, Nice would still go into the international break as league leaders. Unfortunately, Les Aiglons had their wings clipped by Caen this past weekend, and that gap has now…

Lazio have completed the signing of Pedro from arch-rivals Roma.

The former Spain winger will remain in the Eternal City in a new era for Lazio under Maurizio Sarri.

Lazio did not state whether they had paid a fee for Pedro or the length of contract he has signed.

The 34-year-old was not part of Jose Mourinho s plans and has now been reunited with Sarri, who he played under at Chelsea.

Pedro has been given the number nine shirt after passing a medical on Thursday.

 Introducing our new number

— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio)

The former Barcelona wideman made 27 appearances for Roma in Serie A last season, scoring five goals and providing two assists.

Pedro created 29 chances and had a dribble success rate of 64.44.

…

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has underlined his happiness at the club as he prepares to mark his 50th game in charge against Chelsea on Sunday.

The Northern Irishman arrived at Anfield last summer having helped Swansea consolidate their Premier League status after leading them to promotion via the Championship play-offs.

And, while Rodgers says his first season in charge on Merseyside has been something of an emotional rollercoaster, he highlighted his optimism for the future.

There s been delight, there s been disappointment, there s been frustration, there s been incredible relationships that we ve built here already, he said.

It s a challenge, there s absolutely no question about that. I m very hopeful that we can meet the challenge going forwa…

Marco Reus rejected a double-your-money offer from abroad to remain at Borussia Dortmund last month, .

The 25 year old put pen to paper of a new £140,000 per week deal with Jurgen Klopp’s side in January though Real Madrid had line up a contract worth twice that, while there was also interest in the midfielder from the Premier League.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool had all been linked with the former Borussia Monchengladbach man, who has racked up over a hundred appearances since signing for Dortmund in the summer of 2012.

His next goal for the club will be his fiftieth in all competitions, while internationally he has been capped twenty-three times for Germany, scoring seven times though he missed their World Cup triumph last summer through inj…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 

In what could be a lively contest in midweek, Lazio will welcome fellow high-flyers Verona to the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday night.

Starting with the hosts, putting in what was another rampant display and putting five past SPAL over the weekend, Lazio have transformed into Serie A s inform outfit. WIth the mood around the Stadio Olimpico at a continued high and with their sights set on landing a Champions League return having enjoyed a Serie A unbeaten run that stems back to the 25th of October. With Head Coach Simone Inzaghi watching seen his side win 13 of their last 14 top-flight matchups he will be hugely excited by leading marksman, Ciro Immobile. Bagging a brace on Sunday, the Italian sensation has already recorded a st…

UEFA president Michel Platini on Wednesday stood by his view that the record 94 million euros which Real Madrid paid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo was indecent during a visit to the Spanish giants stadium.

The amount seems indecent to me, he told a news conference at the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of Real s Champions League clash against AC Milan.

But that does not bother me in the case that the club has the money to do it. And there is no problem with Real Madrid because they have the money to do it, added Platini who was sitting beside Real president Florentino Perez.

The two men went out of their way to show that there was no bad blood between Real, which spent 250 million euros on new signings in the pre-season, and UEFA, which is seeking to curb splurges by club…

John Stones could spend time playing in midfield for Manchester City this season, according to Pep Guardiola

The 24-year-old England international, who helped City win the Premier League title last term after joining from Everton in 2016, is nominally a centre-back.

But Stones briefly moved up the field when Vincent Kompany came on as a substitute late in the 2-0 Community Shield win over Chelsea on Sunday.

And Guardiola acknowledged it was a promising display from the former Barnsley player at Wembley.

John made an excellent World Cup and showed again his personality, he said.

I was happy to see him in the last 10 or 15 minutes like a holding midfielder. John maybe can play there. We will see what s going on in the future. In the Premier League…

Erik Ten Hag is confident Manchester United’s encouraging run will not be derailed by Lisandro Martinez’s knee injury.

The Argentinian defender was forced off in the second half of last weekend’s victory over West Ham and faces two months on the sidelines after suffering ligament damage in his right knee.

It was only Martinez’s fourth game back following a lengthy spell out because of a recurrence of a foot issue, with United winning three of those matches and drawing one.

Sending strength,

Our defender has sustained a knee injury and is expected to be out of action for at least eight weeks.

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

“It is a setback, of course. Licha was returning, you see his contribution to the team when he is playin…