SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

Man United v Chelsea Monday, 17:30 Live on BT Sport 1 Man United Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for Man United and  Louis van Gaal , they were soundly beaten by Stoke on Boxing Day and they now trail the top four by three points. Not only did they lose again, they also  failed to score , and out of the rest of the top half of the division, there is only Liverpool who have netted fewer. It's actually a bit of a surprise than LVG is still the manager for this fixture and if he doesn't deliver the three points today, it has to be odds-on that he will either be  relieved of his duties or, as he threatened after the Stoke game, simply walk away. Wayne Rooney was dropped for the trip to the Britannia and that proved to be a mistake as United didn't look dangerous until he was introduced at half time. There's no doubt that England's record scorer  will be starting for this one and history shows that when he's got a point to prove, he...

Crystal Palace  2.06  v Swansea  4.40 ; The Draw  3.50 I suggested prior to Boxing Day's fixtures that Swansea might be on the verge of a return back to form, and a victory over West Brom while keeping a clean sheet will certainly have done wonders for their confidence. Palace also kept a  clean sheet  on Saturday, drawing 0-0 with in-form Bournemouth, a result that moved them up to fifth in the table and just two points off a Champions League slot. On the balance of what we've seen this season Alan Pardew's men deserve to be favourites to win this game, but the fact that Swansea have just kept  back-to-back clean sheets  and are seemingly getting back to where they were earlier in the season, it's hard to put the home side up as a confident selection, especially given they've accumulated more points on the road this term. A tentative wager on the  Draw  has to be the call, an outcome that I'm sure both sides would probably sett...

Wolves v Reading Saturday December 26, 17:15 Live on Sky Sports 5 Wolves There's always a Championship manager never more than one bad defeat away from potentially losing their job and Kenny Jackett is the man who currently finds himself in that position after Sunday's 4-1  thrashing at Sheffield Wednesday , where his men took the lead before being blown away and probably should have lost by more than they did. That defeat leaves Wanderers languishing down in 17th place and they are now looking down at the seven-point gap to the bottom three  rather than up to the play-off spots where most of their supporters had expected to be pushing for a place again this season. Their home form has been rotten all season and last week the cameras were there as they lost 3-2 against Leeds despite  Benik Afobe  returning to form with a well-taken strike to put them ahead. Jackett, who 61% of fans want out according to a poll in the local paper, admitted his side were out-mus...

Gianni Infantino has been left flying the flag for UEFA in the Next FIFA President betting after UEFA president Michel Platini was wiped out of contention once and for all by an eight-year ban from all football-related activities, a punishment shared by outgoing FIFA chief Sepp Blatter. The two most powerful men in football were investigated by the governing body's ethics committee over a  £1.3 million payment  made by Blatter to Platini in 2011, which they explain as being delayed remuneration for work conducted by the latter as the former's technical adviser between 1998 and 2002. The committee concluded that it was a "disloyal payment" which had no legal basis in the original agreement that the pair struck at the start of their since-severely-fractured working relationship. Though it was not proven to be a bribe, it was determined that a "conflict of interest" had occurred. Both men have protested their innocence and aired their intention to appeal...

A pair of Ligue 1 goalkeepers could be crossing the Channel if today’s press reports are to be believed, with Liverpool and Newcastle United seeking to add something between the sticks. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds suffered a big setback in their bid for reclaim a place in the Premier League’s top four  by losing handsomely at Watford , and a poor display for understudy stopper Adam Bogdan started off that 3-0 loss. Mandanda to move to Merseyside? With first-choice keeper Simon Mignolet missing out injured and his own form giving cause for concern, the Anfield outfit have thus been put on alert by indications from Marseille custodian Steve Mandanda that he may move to England. The Stade Velodrome side have been a selling club for some years now, so long-serving skipper and stopper Mandanda, 30, may just be the latest in a long line of assets that L’OM cash in on. Liverpool cannot expect a clear run on Mandanda, however, as Merseyside rivals Everton are beginning to think about a...

Mouscron-Peruwelz v Sporting Charleroi Tuesday December 22, 19:30 It proved to be a delightful night. I went to see the new Star Wars film (ridiculously amazing, by the way), and when I emerged, I discovered that  our boys Casertana  had bashed Messina 4-1. The Force is strong with us at the moment, so let's hope that continues. We're making the short hop across to Belgium, and taking in a top-flight game between Mouscron-Peruwelz and Sporting Charleroi. Belgium sometimes gets a bad rep for being a bit dull, but these two sides appear to be trying to change that. Mouscron-Peruwelz are a lowly 14th in the 16-team standings, but outside the top five only Mechelen have a better scoring record. Mouscron-Peruwelz have banged in  28 goals  in 19 games, but their problem is at the back, as they have leaked 30 goals. All of this means Mouscron-Peruwelz are a rather  entertaining  watch. 12 of their 19 Belgian Pro League games have featured at least three g...

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Hannover v Bayern Munich Saturday December 19, 14:30 Although we won't know for certain until talks take place next week, it appears Bayern Munich coach  Pep Guardiola  will be on the move at the end of this season, with Carlo Ancelotti his likely replacement. If Guardiola does go, he will have brought the Bundesliga some glamour and some sparkling football, and he may well leave Sabener Strasse having delivered a hat-trick of league titles. Speculation about Guardiola's future plans is for a different column, but for now the Catalan has a title race to win. Last weekend's wholly unconvincing 2-0 win over Ingolstadt kept the Bavarian giants  five points clear  at the top, but Borussia Dortmund show no signs of slowing down in their pursuit. Even though Bayern were well below their best last week, they still won by two goals, and I expect them to do something similar at Hannover. Regular readers will know that Hannover have burned us on a few occasions this sea...

Chelsea v Sunderland Saturday December 19, 15:00 GMT Chelsea Ding dong, the witch is dead! Well, that will apparently be the view of most of the Chelsea players and the rest of their employees following the sacking of  Jose Mourinho  on Thursday. He probably had to go, but the players themselves should also be embarrassed with how they played for him at times. The general  assumption  is that the reigning champs will now play like they did when walking their way to the title last year, but I'm not convinced. The Blues were beaten for a ninth time in 16 matches on Monday and they hover just one point above the  relegation zone . They have lost five of their last eight and were beaten 1-0 by Bournemouth when they were last on this ground. Sunderland Things are just as bleak at the  Stadium of Light  as Sunderland are only being kept off the bottom of the table by the embarrassment that is Aston Villa. The performances and results have impr...