SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

Liverpool have been boosted in their chase for Marc-Andre ter Stegen after he hinted at a possible exit should his situation at Barcelona not improve, according to TZ. The 23-year-old has struggled to hold down a regular role under manager Luis Enrique as he is often only being played in cup competitions. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is believed to be considering a move to replace under-fire goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and could be boosted by the potential available of the Barca ace. Mignolet has been criticised throughout the campaign after making a number of costly mistakes, with the fans also turning on their current number one. Ter Stegen revealed that he wants to be given more playing time or he will begin considering his future as he looks for a team that can offer him first team football. Ter Stegen has only featured in four league fixtures this season, but has made an additional 16 appearances in other competitions.

At first glance, given that they have been eliminated from all of the cup competitions they have participated in, you could be forgiven for thinking that Chelsea have little to play for this campaign. With just days to go before their return to domestic action here's a round-up of all the latest news doing the rounds. Chelsea are currently the most active side in the chase for coveted Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. There has been much speculation about the Frenchman's future, with some reports suggesting that Pogba could be open to a move to the Premier League. The Blues have previously had a €95m bid rejected and they are said to be the only club who have even come close to Juventus' evaluation. He wants to play in the Champions League next season though which could prove a stumbling point. (L'Equipe) Chelsea are ready to sign Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann. The no.7 star has scored 17 goals in La Liga this season while he has also created 47 chances...

He may not be in the best form over the last few months, but Michy Batshuayi still has some heavyweight admirers. Juventus are the latest side to be linked with a move for the Marseille hitman, with Calciomercato [as per Goal] reporting that the Serie A leaders are set to offer between €30 and 40 million to sign the Belgian international this summer. However, Juve might have the advantage over the London pair, due to the presence of Chilean wideman Mauricio Isla, who’s currently on loan at Marseille from Juve, and may be used as a bargaining tool in negotiations between the two clubs. The 22-year-old has scored 13 goals in 30 Ligue 1 outings this season, as OM have steadily overcome their poor start to the season. He managed seven goals in 25 showings last term, but has scored only once in his last nine league showings.

Coventry v Colchester Tuesday March 29, 19:45 BST The hosts simply  cannot be trusted  at odds-on against anybody at the moment, so with their price trading at around the  1.90  mark, I have to make them my  lay of the day . Recommended Bet Lay Coventry v Colchester @   1.90

Everton are apparently growing confident of signing Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick this summer as they also look for a new goalkeeper. Carrick is out of contract at the end of the season and has not yet been informed whether he has a future at Old Trafford, apparently leading to a ‘growing confidence’ at Everton that the 34-year-old can be persuaded to move up the East Lancs road. Asked about his situation at United last week, Carrick said: "My contract is up and I’m not sure what’s happening yet. The Toffees are keeping tabs on Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton, according to the Daily Mail, while the Sun on Sunday says Southend’s Dan Bentley, 22, is also being watched.

Germany v England Saturday March 26, 19:45 Match Odds Germany start as huge favourites for this game, as one would expect.  1.69  is the price available on the home side, with England as large as  6.00  at time of writing.  The Draw is available at  4.00 . Half Time Although  Germany  are clearly the stronger side here, in light of what I mentioned earlier in the preview, it might be worth taking a look at The Draw in the Half Time market at  2.10  - it could be cagey, and that to me looks a good price. Recommended Bet Back The Draw in the Half Time market at  2.10 Over/Under 2.5 Goals This market is very evenly matched -  1.93  on Unders and  2.02  on Overs - and goal markets are very difficult to call when it comes to friendlies.

Denmark  1.94  v Iceland  4.80 ; The Draw  3.60 Thursday, 19:00 There are several reasons to believe that  the hosts will make light of recent developments to triumph at   1.94 . Recommended Bet:  Back Denmark to win @   1.94 Czech Republic   1.85  v Scotland  5.20 ; The Draw  3.70 Thursday, 19:45 Recommended Bet:  Back both teams to score @   2.10 Italy   3.40  v Spain  2.48 ; The Draw  3.25 Thursday, 19:45 Italy's cross-generational flair for underperforming in friendlies indicates that  Spain are a great bet to achieve what would be their eighth successive win at odds of 2.48  in Udine. Recommended Bet:  Back Spain to win @   2.48

Croatia  1.37  v Israel  12.00 ; The Draw  5.30 Wednesday, 17:00 Recommended Bet:  Back Croatia to lead at half time and full time @   2.18 Romania   1.41  v Lithuania  11.50 ; The Draw  4.80 Wednesday, 18:00 Of course there are no sure things in international friendlies, but  the Romania win to nil looks like the most statistically sound selection for this contest at appetising odds of   2.12 . They had the best defensive record in Euro 2016 qualifying, giving up just two goals in ten encounters. Recommended Bet:  Back Romania to win to nil @   2.12 Poland   2.06  v Serbia  4.30 ; The Draw  3.50 Wednesday, 19:45 The Poland win appears to be rather attractively priced at   2.06  given that they are on a run of four victories in five (nine in 15 over a wider period) and their guests are enduring a spell of three losses in four (seven in 11 over a similarly more expansive timef...

Wales v Northern Ireland Thursday, 20:45 Live on BBC Wales Match Odds We also have to factor in the absence of Gareth Bale, and to a lesser extent Aaron Ramsey, when considering any bet on a fixture involving the Welsh. That, coupled with Northern Ireland's knack of avoiding defeat, means that I'm leaning towards  The Draw  selection at odds of  3.20  for small stakes. Over/Under 2.5 Goals Of course with it being a friendly, this could go one of two ways - really open and expansive game, or, more likely, a dull and drab tactical affair - but my money would have to be on the Under 2.5 Goals selection here at odds of  1.62 . Recommended Bets 1point Back The Draw @   3.20 1point Back Under 2.5 Goals @  1.62

Real Madrid are set to underline Cristiano Ronaldo's fading status at the club by making Gareth Bale their highest paid player. That is according to The Sun, who believe Los Blancos are to reward Bale for becoming the highest-scoring British player in La Liga history by increasing his £300,000-per-week wages. The news is unlikely to please Ronaldo, who sees himself as the number one galactico at the Santiago Bernabeu. But the Portuguese has long been linked with a move away from Madrid, and Bale's pay rise highlights how is viewed by club president Florentino Perez and the rest of the club's hierarchy these days. It will also put off rumours of Bale leaving. Manchester United are reported to be a possible destination but Ed Woodward can wave goodbye to any dreams of signing the Welshman if he signs a new, lucrative deal. The 26-year-old's season has been mired by injuries but he has scored 43 goals in 76 matches since moving from Tottenham three years ago. ...

It was a long and oftentimes painful transfer saga this past summer as Man United and Real Madrid worked to finalize a transfer of star goalkeeper David de Gea. Ultimately, the deal fell apart quite literally at the last minute as the paperwork was not properly filed before the end of the summer transfer window. Despite rumoured interest in David de Gea persisting for most of the season, Real Madrid appear to be ready to wash their hands of him and stick with their current goalkeeper. According to the Metro, Real Madrid have grown more than satisfied with their current starting goalkeeper Keylor Navas and are ready to move forward by giving him a new contract in the near future. De Gea is tied for fourth in the Premier League with 10 clean sheets this season and has an off-putting £30 million release clause in his contract. Navas has allowed just 24 goals in 28 matches and ranks third on the Zamora Trophy chart. The Red Devils are fortunate that de Gea is sticking around though...

Gonzalo Higuain struck twice as Napoli came from behind to beat Genoa 3-1 at the Stadio San Paolo to keep their Serie A title hopes alive. The win sees Napoli push to just three points behind leaders Juventus again after a third league win in a row, and it came thanks to Higuain's double and a third goal from Omar El Kaddouri. Juventus beat Torino 4-1 earlier in the day and Maurizio Sarri's team went into the early-evening game knowing they needed a win to stay in close touch with the front-runners. Napoli were taken by surprise when Gian Piero Gasperini's visitors opened the scoring after 10 minutes as Tomas Rincon's powerful right-footed shot from outside the box caught goalkeeper Pepe Reina off guard.

Barcelona missed out on the chance to go 11 points clear at the top of the Primera Division as they squandered a two-goal advantage in a 2-2 draw at Villarreal. Ivan Rakitic's half-volley and a classy 'Panenka' penalty from Neymar had given Luis Enrique's side a comfortable lead before half-time. But Villarreal fought back after the break, Cedric Bakambu halving the deficit before Jeremy Mathieu knocked the ball into his own net just moments after coming on as a substitute. Despite failing to win for the first time in 13 league games, Barca increased their lead over nearest challengers Atletico Madrid at the top of the table to nine points after the Rojiblancos lost 2-1 at Sporting Gijon, while Villarreal remain fourth, picking up a first point in three games. The hosts made a bright start, former Barcelona B player Denis Suarez dribbling his way towards the area and shooting a couple of feet wide of the far post, and then Bakambu taking down a pass by the near...

Harry Kane grabbed a brace to move top of the Barclays Premier League scoring charts and help Tottenham keep the pressure on Leicester with a 3-0 win over Bournemouth. Kane needed only 44 seconds to find the net at White Hart Lane and the striker was on target again 15 minutes later to take his league tally to 21 for the season, before Christian Eriksen added a third in the second half. The victory reduces the gap between Spurs and league leaders Leicester back to five points while Bournemouth remain 13th, 12 points above the relegation zone. Kane bagged a hat-trick in Tottenham's 5-1 win over the Cherries in October and given that treble heralded the end of a difficult start to the season for the forward, who had then scored only once in 13 previous appearances, there is some symmetry that five months on, against the same opposition, he has established himself as the league's most lethal predator.

Philippe Coutinho's moment of brilliance extinguished Manchester United's faint hopes and saw Liverpool through to the Europa League quarter-finals. Boasting a two-goal advantage from last week's frenetic, one-sided encounter at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp's men made the short journey knowing an away goal at Old Trafford would throw their rivals' comeback hopes off-kilter. For a while Louis van Gaal's side had looked capable of a memorable comeback, only for Coutinho's magic to kill the mood - and United's hopes of progressing from the last-16 tie - as Liverpool held out for a 1-1 draw on the night, seeing them through 3-1 winners on aggregate. Martial missed the target shortly after Sturridge flashed wide at other end, where crowed trouble in the East Stand upper tier saw many miss the final whistle. It appeared a handful of visiting fans had made it into the home section, with stewards required to break up the brawling.

Tottenham were left to focus fully on their Barclays Premier League title challenge as Mauricio Pochettino's side bowed of the Europa League last 16 following a 2-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund. Spurs needed a minor miracle to retrieve a 3-0 deficit from the first leg in Germany but Pochettino named Harry Kane as a substitute and instead it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's double that secured Dortmund a 5-1 win on aggregate. Son Heung-min added a late consolation for the hosts. The game felt almost irrelevant as it drifted into its latter stages but suddenly there were two goals in three minutes as Aubameyang fired past Lloris from close range before Son intercepted Neven Subotic's under-hit back-pass, rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home. By the time the final whistle blew the stadium was half-empty but those remaining were still singing at the end, fully aware Tottenham's most important tests are still to come.

Middlesbrough v Hull Friday, 19:45 Live on Sky Sports 1 Match Odds Boro are still fancied by the market at  2.52  with the visitors  3.25 , fractionally longer than the draw at  3.15 . In fairness, Boro's home form is still strong, that trio of  recent defeats  all came on the road (although all three were at sides in the bottom third of the table) and Karanka's men have won their  last two outings  at the Riverside - they're 12-3-2 in all this season. Over/Under 2.5 goals Given the way Hull's recent games have gone it's no surprise to see unders trading as short as  1.51  in this one, with overs  2.92 . Each of the visitors' last  nine league games  has gone under the 2.5 line and those nine matches have featured just 10 goals in all. The Tigers have conceded  just 21 goals  this season (the best defensive record in the Championship), while their opponents here have the next best return with only 23 le...