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Manchester United are fully aware that anything less than a draw will mean they miss out on Champions League football next session.

Leicester City on their part must make use of home advantage to ensure they are among Europe’s elite next term having been in third position for much of this season.

Leicester City vs Manchester United Latest Odds

Leicester have won just one of their 13 Premier League home games against Manchester United and are slight underdogs for this tie at odds of (3.15) with BetKing.

The Red Devils meanwhile are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League matches against the Foxes with odds of (2.30) favouring them to take all three points away from the King Power Stadium.

A draw is priced at (3.45).

Leicester City vs Manchester United Team News

Daniel Amartey (ankle injury), Ben Chilwell (foot injury), Christian Fuchs (Groin injury), James Maddison (hip injury), Ricardo Pereira (knee injury) and Caglar Soyuncu (red card suspension) are all unavailable for Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not have many players on the treatment table with only Eric Bailly (head injury), Phil Jones (ankle injury) and Axel Tuanzebe (leg injury), the absentees from this highly important fixture.

Leicester City vs Manchester United Preview

Leicester are averaging just 1.1 points-per-game in the Premier League since the restart (9 points from 8 games), compared to 1.8 points-per-game this season before the enforced break (53 points from 29 games).

Manchester United have opened the scoring within the opening 10 minutes in each of their last three Premier League matches against Leicester.

Leicester City vs Manchester United Tips and Predictions

Manchester United have avoided defeat in their last 13 Premier League games (W8, D5), keeping eight clean sheets.

Knowing this is the minimum requirement in East Midlands, Solskjaer’s charges are tipped to either win or draw at (1.35).

Manchester United win or draw at (1.35) with BetKing.

Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.

Punjab FC has signed Nikolaos Topoliatis as the new technical director, Goal can confirm. 

The 37-year-old has worked as a youth coach with Greek side Olympiacos for more than 12 years. He served as a technical director of the academy from 2017 to 2019. He also trained various youth teams like U12, U13, U14, U15, U16, U17 and U19. 

He won the championship with K15 in the 2015-2016 season as a coach. He also bagged the 2016-2017 championship with K17.  Whereas, as a technical director, he won the championship with K17 in the 2017-2018 season. 

He will replace Michael Browne who was released earlier this month, as revealed by Goal. 

In July 2019, I-League club Minerva Punjab had agreed to a deal with Round Glass. The 2019-20 I-League season also saw Minerva Punjab getting rebranded as Punjab FC, after Round Glass' investment. RoundGlass had taken 50 per cent of the club's shares and in March 2020, they bought the remaining shares to complete the takeover.

Punjab in the upcoming season will participate in the I-League but are eventually keen to make a jump to the Indian Super League (ISL) in the near future. 

Cameroon's Ajara Nchout's late winner sealed Valerenga's 2-1 comeback against Avaldsnes in Friday’s Norwegian Toppserien game despite Nigeria's Rasheedat Ajibade's effort at Intility Arena.

The African duo Nchout and Ajibade went into the encounter at the top scorers of their respective teams, with two goals, having started in all their sides' three matches so far this season.

Valerenga, who finished as the Toppserien runners-up last season aimed to extend their winning run to three, while Avaldsnes hoped to maintain their unbeaten start in four games on the bounce.

The FC Robo Queens product opened the scoring for the visitors, with a header after just five minutes into the match and almost doubled the lead six minutes later but her effort went wide.

After the restart, Monica Knudsen was forced to switch her formation, putting Nchout in front of Synne Jensen after the Cameroonian failed to flourish behind Marie Markussen.

The changes saw the hosts gained an equaliser when  Inigibjorg Sigurðardóttir found herself in a good position to net from a rebound after Victoria Esson denied Celin Ildhusoy in the 69th minute.

Ajibade attempted to recover the visitors' lead after getting behind the hosts' defense but her strike was denied in the 82nd minute.

A minute from time, Valerenga benefited from a defensive mistake when Clare Polkinghorne failed to clear Maruschka Waldus' cross, leaving Nchout with Esson to beat for the late winner.

Nchout, who played for 90 minutes before being replaced by Celine Karstensen, has now scored three goals in four games for Valerenga.

For Ajibade, she was in action from the start to finish in the contest and has now netted three times in four matches for Avaldsnes.

The result means Avaldsnes have now suffered their first defeat of the season and dropped to fourth with seven points, while Velerenga goes top of the log with nine points from four matches.

In their next matches, Velerenga will visit Nigeria's Ngozi Ebere and seventh-placed Arna Bjornar on August 1, while Avaldsnes will welcome Sandviken, who sit in fifth position the next day. 

Midfielder Austin Odhiambo has revealed he is 90% sure of leaving AFC Leopards in the next transfer window.

The midfielder has had a good season at the 13-time Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions and many felt he is the right player to build a team on. However, this might not be the case if his recent utterances are anything to go by.

"I am 90% certain to make a move owing to financial issues to help my family," Odhiambo told Ebru TV.

"I read somewhere that I have three years remaining with Leopards which is a blatant lie. 

"Currently, I have not managed to pay rent for my parents and I. The pressure is too much and I imagine all will be solved after signing the contract offered."

"If Leopards want me to stay, they should step forward, clear my bills and pay me all my money. That is the only way to convince me to stay and play for them next season."  

The youngster has been heavily linked with a move to Gor Mahia who are keen on replacing captain Kenneth Muguna who is reportedly on his way to Tanzania Mainland League champions Simba SC.

"I have received offers from seven teams, but I am sure with five," Odhiambo continued.

I talked with the [AFC Leopards] office last week and they promised to call back. To date, they have not done so. What does it show? That they don't care.  

"Honestly, I have gotten good offers with good money, and they have also decided to buy my contract. 

"I am looking forward to playing in the Caf Champions League next season to be exposed. It is a big stage for me and an avenue to market myself. 

"Champions League football will also increase my chances of playing in the national team."

In an earlier interview with Goal, Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda said the player is not available for direct competition. 

"No team has approached us for the player, not even Gor Mahia, not even the player coming to say he wants to leave, the player knows what clause he signed when he joined us from the youth team, so I don’t want to understand when people say he has left AFC," the former striker said.

"I want to assure our fans Odhiambo doesn’t have an exit clause for local teams so they should not be worried, we always talk to our players every day and they know, even Gor Mahia have not approached him, even Gor Mahia know the rules and they cannot move to bend them."

What makes a global brand such as Manchester United successful despite the tests of time, pandemic and recessions? How has the historic English club managed to set a benchmark for businesses across sports?

Manchester United’s Group Managing Director Richard Arnold provided insight into running of one of the biggest sporting brands in a conversation with Shikhar Malhotra, Vice Chairman and CEO, HCL Healthcare; Director, HCL Technologies and Trustee, Shiv Nadar Foundation.

Arnold spoke about the club’s intention to visit India and how the coronavirus pandemic pulled the plug.

“We don’t tend to think in terms of market. The fans are all part of a big family. India is an important part of our family. We have been organising live screenings. For the first team (Premier League) to play in India, it has been on our minds for some time now. We planned to make a trip this summer, but we could not because of the CoVID situation. But we will try to make a trip to India in the future,” he said.

Arnold has worked with several larger than life personalities at the club. He was of the opinion that these great leaders have little egos and treat everyone with respect. Showing respect regardless of reputation is an integral part of United’s culture and is something that everyone associated with the club display.

He said - “One of the fascinating parts about working with big names such as Sir Alex Ferguson, great former and present players is that people with great success in life tend to not have huge egos. They have big characters and huge personalities but one on one they are wonderful people. United chooses and develops such players.

“The academy focuses on how great character makes great players. Whether they are the most revered player of all time or a lady who makes tea, they are all people just the same. I think that is one of the most important cultures at Manchester United.

"The respect shown to those performing well and to those who are less recognised externally is the same. That is the message I want to give people. When you are meeting business people, presidents, great leaders, it is worth remembering that they might have tremendous power and responsibilities, but they are just people."

A club with a huge following as United are bound to be subject to high standards. The diversity among the target audience is yet another challenge that the massive brand faces. However, United have managed to pull through recessions and pandemic thanks to a widespread fanbase.

United is also one of the few football clubs to be publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the discipline and rigour with which the club manages financial sustainability has been key to their growth.

“The most exciting and challenging part of the job is the concept of how important we are to the billion people who follow us. 91 percent of the fans don’t change the team they support. We got 1.1 billion people. 85 percent of our fans say that the football club is a part of their personality and identity. That is how a billion people feel about us. time spent on us on club apps was 40 percent of total clubs last year, which is huge.

“We are connecting with 300 million fans digitally every month. That is a tremendous opportunity as well as a responsibility and a challenge just in terms of the scale, the languages, the cultural and time differences. There is a lot of detail that goes into ensuring we are appropriate all the time and are respectful of the relationship.

“Resilience is one of the core components of the club’s DNA. It prides itself on hiring and developing talent accordingly. Like Sir Alex Ferguson said, United is never beaten, they just run out of time sometimes. That’s the philosophy that inspired the 1999 Champions League. As the fans called it, the Fergie time. Just like that, we refuse to be beaten down. That’s the culture we have off the pitch as well.

“This is the second or third global crisis we have seen while I’ve been part of the club but the club came through everything and grew stronger. We invested in technology, young players. This resilience is what you hear from everyone associated with Manchester United."

It’s incredible how a 142-year-old club has managed to stay relevant across different generations and continues to cater to the interests of the current generation. Richard explained that innovation, which has always been an integral part of the club’s history, has been translated off the pitch to ensure growth.

“United’s history includes the history of innovation. Sir Bobby Charlton said that he always wants Manchester United to be the first to do the most important thing. In the 1950s, Sir Matt Busby was one of the first to take the team abroad in the summer to prepare. They took a steam ship to America and stayed there for three months.

“United have always had an incredible broadcast footprint across the world. Now we can engage with the fans directly. You can see what the fans are saying on the social media, apps and so on. And this is not just during the game but throughout the week. This is only going to be more important in the future when you can choose what content you want to engage,” he concluded.

Jose Mourinho insists he does not need to prove his worth but highlighted Tottenham's strong run of form as "the champion of the last five matches".

Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino as Spurs head coach in November.

Tottenham have subsequently improved under the Portuguese, yet he has not been able to rescue a top-four spot and Europa League football is far from assured.

Mourinho has been the subject of some criticism at times, with his side enduring a seven-match winless run either side of the season's suspension and later suffering a costly 3-1 defeat at Sheffield United.

But the coach is looking towards next season with optimism and suggests recent results show his credentials.

Spurs have taken 13 points from their past five matches, the best haul in the league over this spell as they have beaten Everton, Arsenal, Newcastle United and Leicester City.

"If you think I need to show [my worth], okay, im going to try," Mourinho told reporters. "If this is about individuals and an individual approach, lets go for an easy one.

"I'm fourth in the league [since arriving]. I arrived 14th, eight points from Arsenal, 12 from a Champions League position. But if the league starts only for me, if you want to go in that direction, I'm fourth in the league.

"If you think that's bad, that's your opinion. If you want to laugh with me, I'm the champion of the last five matches!

"I try to do my best all the time, I'm not worried about proving [anything]. My most important match is the next one, the most important season is the next one.

"It's not what you think, anything that can come from outside, that can motivate me more or less. It's just my nature; I don't need that. I look forward to next season."

Mourinho added injuries were to blame for Tottenham's earlier issues, with talismanic striker Harry Kane among those out for an extended period.

The two-time Champions League winner claims any rival manager would similarly struggle in such a situation.

"I think in this last period it was very clear that Tottenham with all the best players available can be a very good team," he said.

"You look to the season: they lost [Hugo] Lloris for a long time, then Kane. Now with everybody together, you a see a difference in performances and results.

"In case we have a similar situation, we are trying to protect the squad against unpredictable things. Let's try to have a better squad to be ready to face a dramatic situation.

"I was telling Brendan [Rodgers, Leicester manager] to lose Ricardo [Pereira], [Caglar] Soyuncu, [Ben] Chilwell, [Christian] Fuchs... Can he do a miracle?

"It's very difficult. It's difficult for everybody. It was very difficult for Tottenham.

"Do we think next season we are going to be less unlucky? Yes, we do think that. But at the same time, we have to protect ourselves and build a better squad, with more balance."

Selangor secretary-general, Johan Kamal Hamidon has urged that a salary cap for players be implemented in the Malaysian league.

In an interview with radio station Kool FM that was aired on Saturday morning, he responded to an inquiry on the annual budgets of Malaysian clubs.

"If a club wants to stay in the Super League, by finishing in the top ten position, the minimum is RM8 million (around USD1.9 million), while RM10 million is enough.

"But the gap between this range of budget and those of JDT, Pahang, Selangor and Perak's (major teams) is huge. These teams run on a budget of between RM15 million to RM25 million.

This then led him to make his suggestion on salary restrictions:

"I'm one of the proponents of a salary cap. A ceiling on Malaysian players' salaries is needed in order to 'reset' the league, because they're a little overvalued.

"In terms of investment, if we invest RM10 million in players, do we necessarily get RM 10 million back in revenue? That's the economic question that we need to answer. The market is overvalued.

"The salaries are a big chunk of the operational costs, around 80 to 90 per cent of the costs. If you want to make a big financial change, you start with the salaries. A 10 per cent change can already make a huge dent. There will be repercussions on the performance and results, but what is also important is protecting the other employees of the club,"

On a different note, Johan also voiced out the need for time for the current association management, led by the Selangor Crown Prince Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin as its president, to lead the team to success, and also to achieve synergy with its fans.

Tengku Amir Shah with Selangor fans. Photo by Zulhilmi Zainal

"I've been in discussions with the fans on how to inculcate a stronger supporting culture, but it takes a long time to put in practice. Selangor fans and Malaysian fans in general...crave success on the pitch.

"But at the same time, they've noticed the changes and transformations we've introduced off the pitch. God willing, within the next two or three years, when we bring in the results and changes, the fans will be proud to associate themselves with the club. By that time, there will be avenues for them to get involved in the club's sustainability.

"I hope they hang in there and keep believing in the Crown Prince's leadership. It's not an overnight work, so please give us two, three years to fully realise the Red Giants' potential at the highest level,"

The organisers of the Indian Super League (ISL), Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), in a meeting with club representatives on Friday afternoon indicated that they are not looking to add any more teams for the upcoming edition of the league, Goal has learnt. 

This might be an indication that they are not willing to float a tender for a new franchise. 

This comes as a blow for Kolkata giants East Bengal who have been making noise about their intention to play the ISL in the coming season. East Bengal, who parted ways with their former investors Quess Corp, are looking out for new sponsors in their bid to enter the ISL. However, it seems like the Red and Golds might have to play in the I-League for yet another season.

With their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan set to debut in the ISL after a merger with ATK, it is a real possibility now that both the giants will ply their trades in different leagues. Despite the political pressure and clout that the Red and Golds tried to exert on ISL to include them, it seems they will have to wait.

Though they are hard at work, trying to get sponsors, it seems ISL are in no mood to add a new team currently.

It was also announced that they are already working on the fixtures for next season and is expected to  made public on August 31. 

Additionally, the venue for the 2020-21 season will be declared on August 7. Goa and Kerala are believed to be the frontrunners and the former is likely to get the nod.

In any case, the matches will be played behind closed doors irrespective of location. In October, a virtual ISL workshop will be conducted and the clubs will be “presented with all the details, rules and regulations” regarding the event.

Selangor captain Taylor Regan has revealed what the team wants to achieve when the 2020 Malaysia Super League action resumes at the end of August.

On Friday evening, Twitter user @anakmember0ntak, a prominent Red Giants fan and a known member of their ultras group of supporters, wrote in Bahasa Melayu asking about the team's target in the seven remaining matches, although the Tweet was not addressed to any particular person:

"21 maximum points from seven matches, how many points are Selangor aiming for?

"How many goals are they planning to score in the seven matches?

"How many goals do they plan to concede in these matches?"

The Australian chose to respond around five hours later:

"Kita nak menang. Kita nak Asia. (We want to win and reach Asian club competition.) 

"We don’t care if it is 1-0 or 5-4. Winning is what we want most. And we want to make our families and our kids proud. If we make you proud it’s a bonus. We always give our best, love us or hate us. That is our family and we stick together.

"To win the league we would need to win 7 games. To qualify for Asia we would need 16-17 points. We will try and win every game."

But the answer wasn't enough for the supporter, who pushed the former Adelaide United player to provide a more specific answer to his initial questions.

The 31-year old defender then came back with an ambitious reply, his last in the exchange:

"21 points is what we want.

"I never wake up in the morning wanting anything but the best. That’s why I train the way I do. That’s why we (our family) train every day to be better and better. We aren’t hiding. We know what we need to do. And we will give our best...... answered?"

Red Giants boss B. Satiananthan has earlier been quoted to say that the team will be pushing for a top two finish in order to qualify for the 2021 AFC Cup or AFC Champions League, one of his targets for this season.

When the Malaysian league resumes on August 26, Selangor will be facing Felda United, Petaling Jaya City, Melaka United, Sabah, UiTM FC, PDRM FA and Johor Darul Ta'zim.

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers says there will be more pressure on Manchester United in Sunday's crunch clash at the King Power Stadium as they "need" rather than want to be in the Champions League.

The Foxes looked certain to be heading for a top-four finish, but have won just two of eight Premier League matches since the season resumed following a three-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Leicester will start the final game of the season against Manchester United a point behind their opponents and Chelsea, who are at home to Wolves for their own season-deciding clash.

Rodgers insists it will be a good season for his side regardless of the outcome this weekend, as the Foxes have already improved upon their ninth-place finish from last season.

Meanwhile, competing in the Champions League is a must for the Red Devils, who are looking to return to Europe's top competition after finishing sixth last season.

Ahead of Sunday's match, the former Liverpool and Celtic manager said: "There is a difference where we want to be in the Champions League, but when you're a club like Manchester United, there’s a need to be in the Champions League.

"We want to be in it, but if we fall short, it's still been a really good season."

Rodgers is relishing the opportunity to contest a game of such magnitude as Sunday will certainly be the biggest match since he took charge of the club.

"I've been involved in finals and two-legged games where games mean everything so I'm not new to the situation. It's just very exciting," he said.

"Sometimes things peter out in a season, but for us this is what you're looking for. Our season doesn't finish until the very end, we can finish on a high."

Rodgers added "We are playing one of the superpowers of world football with a chance to go above them and get into the Champions League. We have one last shot, and that tells you how well the players have done."

Injury-hit Leicester are set to have winger Marc Albrighton back in contention for the final match of the campaign.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has again revealed his admiration for Thiago Alcantara, but he refused to be drawn on whether his side are looking to sign the Bayern Munich midfielder.

Though the Reds are still basking in the glory of their first league triumph in 30 years, attention has already started to turn towards the defence of their title next campaign and whether Klopp will strengthen his squad this summer.

Spain midfielder Thiago is rumoured to be high on the Anfield club’s wanted list, with the player almost certain to leave the Allianz Arena this summer.

The 29-year-old has just one year remaining on his contract and has so far refused to sign an extension, telling Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge that he is keen to experience another league.

That has sparked rumours of a move to Anfield, with the Premier League champions rumoured to be keen on strengthening their midfield during the close season.

Klopp has regularly spoken about how highly he rates Thiago, who he will have seen play at first hand during his time as Borussia Dortmund boss, but has never confirmed whether Liverpool are making moves to try and recruit him.

The German was again coy on any potential deal for the former Barcelona star, though he did reiterate that he was a fan of his abilities.

"I have no idea who will play for me next year, there is nothing to say at the moment,” he told Sky Germany.

“Thiago Alcantara is a great player, but also a Bayern Munich player. That’s actually all there is to say. There’s nothing to say!”

Thiago has scored 31 goals in 231 appearances since making the move to Germany from Barcelona in 2013, while also laying on 37 assists.

He has won 14 major trophies in total at Allianz Arena, including seven consecutive Bundesliga titles.

He has been a regular in Hansi Flick’s side again this campaign, helping the Bavarian giants yet another domestic double, with the prospect of a first treble since 2012-13 also on the cards when the Champions League resumes next month.

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini bemoaned Kylian Mbappe's injury as he claimed he hopes to face a fully fit Paris Saint-Germain side when his team take on the Ligue 1 club in the Champions League.

While Atalanta's Serie A title hopes were all but extinguished by a 1-1 draw against Milan at San Siro on Friday, PSG returned to competitive action for the first time since March with a 1-0 triumph over Saint-Etienne in the Coupe de France final. 

Their victory came at a cost, however, with star forward Mbappe going off injured following a robust challenge from Loic Perrin in the 31st minute.

Following a scuffle and, eventually, a review from the referee, Perrin was sent off moments later in what was his last game for Saint-Etienne.

In the second half, Mbappe returned to the bench on crutches with one leg in a brace, and the forward seems to be a major doubt for PSG's Champions League clash with Atalanta in Portugal next month.

However, when informed of Mbappe's injury, Gasperini lamented the fact PSG may be without one of their best players as he says he was hoping to take on a full-strength version of the Ligue 1 champions.

"I'm sorry for him, I didn't know," Gasperini told Sky Italia. "Mbappe is a great guy, I hope it's not serious.

"We don't want to win due to the misfortunes of others.

"In fact, if you win against these types of players, your result means even more."

Atalanta's draw leaves them five points shy of Serie A leaders Juventus, with Maurizio Sarri's side able to clinch their ninth successive Scudetto with a win over Sampdoria on Sunday, though a point would be enough if both Inter and Lazio fail to win their matches.

Gasperini, though, decided to take a positive approach.

"This was an important game for the run-in, it's not easy to play Milan these days," he added. 

"We conceded in the first few minutes, then we regained balance and had a good game. I would say it's an excellent point."

Hakan Calhanoglu opened the scoring in the 14th minute, with Ruslan Malinovskiy missing a penalty for Atalanta before Duvan Zapata drew them level.

Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel says his side’s Coupe de France triumph over Saint-Etienne was an “expensive victory” after losing star striker Kylian Mbappe to a potentially serious ankle injury.

The France forward was left in agony after a horror challenge by Saint-Etienne defender Loic Perrin during the first half at the Stade de France, with Perrin shown a straight red card.

The 21-year-old was close to tears as he limped off the field and down the tunnel, reemerging late in the second half on crutches.

The incident sparked a brawl between both sets of players, with an ill-tempered encounter producing 10 yellow cards along with Perrin’s red, the third time Saint-Etienne have had a player sent off in the first half in a match against PSG this season.

The injury puts Mbappe’s participation in next week’s Coupe de la Ligue final and, perhaps more significantly, next month’s Champions League clash with Atalanta, in serious doubt.

On the pitch, a solitary first-half goal from Neymar was enough to secure the win as PSG lifted the Coupe de France for the 13th time in their history, though Mbappe's injury overshadowed the result.

"Yes, we won. In a final, that's most important. It was complicated for several reasons,” Tuchel told Eurosport. 

“There are many things to improve and analyse. That's good. But it's an expensive victory. 

“In the last three matches against Saint Etienne, they always have a red card in the first 30 minutes. And I'm not telling you what is said in the locker room before. And in addition, we are the ones who had three yellow cards.”

When asked about Mbappe, Tuchel added: “I have no news at the moment. Everyone would be worried after seeing the images of the injury. Of course, I'm worried."

Reflecting on the result, which was PSG's first competitive match since the coronavirus shutdown in March, Tuchel added: "It was hard despite the numerical superiority. It was the first competitive match [since the shutdown], but we had a lot to lose. We were the big favourites. 

"We had opportunities to score the second and I remembered last year when we lost after leading 2-0. 

"The satisfaction remains to have won. We did not concede a goal and we did not get angry even if we were not at our best”

PSG defender Marquinhos was also satisfied with the win, though he conceded the injury to Mbappe and Thilo Kehrer, who limped off early on, overshadowed the win.

“It wasn't our best game. But we had to win,” Marquinhos told France 2. “Obviously, Mbappe's injury worries us, and that of Kehrer. Hopefully they are not too serious. We will see how it goes. They are two important players in the squad.

“You just have to think about preparing and working well. There are still trophies to go for. We will see day by day.”

Younes Belhanda netted from the penalty spot after Galatasaray were held to a 2-2 draw at Antalyaspor on Friday night in what was the first game of the final round of Turkish Super Lig fixtures.

The Yellow-Reds came into this match having no chance of making it into any European competition as Istanbul rivals Besiktas occupied the final qualification spot for the Europa League with a four-point gap after they got the better of another city rival in Fenerbahce 2-0 last weekend.

For the Scorpions, they were safe with a top-half finish guaranteed regardless of their result and the team closest to them on the log, that being Gaziantep.

The home team started brightly here with Angolan midfielder Fredy Kulembe putting them in front in the 19th minute. Eren Albayrak played a great cross into the box and Fredy pulled the trigger with a half volley.

Antalyaspor took a 1-0 lead into the break but Galatasaray levelled it up in the 58th minute via Marcelo Saracchi.

Fatih Terim’s men had the opportunity to take the lead in the 65th minute after Amilton Silva committed a handball offence in the box. Belhanda stepped up to take the resultant penalty kick, sending Antalyaspor goalkeeper Ferhat Kaplan the wrong way.

It did seem Gala would claim all three points, however the home team equalised in injury time thanks to Gustavo Blanco with the assist coming from Silva.

Belhanda played for 87 minutes and was replaced by Jimmy Durmaz. Algeria winger Sofiane Feghouli was also taken off in the same minute and Yunus Agkun coming on.

The Moroccan ends the season with five goals and two assists.  All games he scored in ended without defeat (W2, D3), the most productive being a 3-2 win at Kayserispor on August 30, 2019.

He has been in the Turkish commercial capital since 2017 when he joined from Dynamo Kyiv in between loan spells at Schalke 04 and Nice. Belhanda has played 103 times in competitions for Gala, scoring 13 goals and providing 23 assists.

The 30-year-old has five titles in his time in Turkey so far (two Super Lig, one Turkish Cup and one Turkish Super Cup).

He started his career at Montpellier in France and was part of the squad that miraculously won the Ligue 1 title in 2012 ahead of strong favourites Paris Saint-Germain.

Algeria's Yacine Brahimi and Ivory Coast's Yohan Boli were on target as Al Rayyan came from behind to defeat Qatar SC 2-1 in Friday's Stars League fixture.

The victory boosted Al Rayyan's chances in the title race as they moved to a point behind league leaders Al Duhail who have a game in hand.

Brahimi cancelled out Kayke's opener for Qatar SC at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium from the penalty spot in the 40th minute.

The strike extended the Algeria international's tally to 12 goals after 18 games, and he is the second highest goal scorer in the Qatari top-flight with a goal behind his compatriot Baghdad Boudjenah who has scored 13 goals for Al Sadd so far this campaign.

Boli's 84th-minute goal secured maximum points for Al Rayyan as they grabbed their 12th league win of the season.

The Ivorian attacker who moved to Qatar from Belgian outfit Sint-Truiden in January, has scored four goals in six league outings so far for the Lions.

Boli, Brahimi and Cameroon’s Franck Kom were in action for Diego Aguirre's side from start to finish.

Al Rayyan, placed second with 41 points after 18 matches, host fifth-placed Al Arabi for their next Stars League fixture on August 1.

Ibrahim Amada says Madagascar’s first-ever participation at the Africa Cup of Nations during the 2019 edition in Egypt was “indescribable.”

The island nation made it into the continental tournament after finishing second in Group A of the qualifiers behind Senegal – who were runners-up in the final, and ahead of Equatorial Guinea and Sudan.

In the tournament proper, the Barea were paired with three-time champions Nigeria as well as Guinea and debutants Burundi.

To the surprise of many, Madagascar finished top of Group B, one point ahead of the Super Eagles and reached the quarter-finals where they lost 3-0 to Tunisia.

"We'd been dreaming of participating in the AFCON since our childhood, and that materialised at the age of 27 or 28," Amada told Fifa.com.

"What we experienced in Egypt was indeed indescribable. Qualifying for the competition for the first time in our history was already a great achievement, let alone our stunning run to the quarter-finals.

"We were extremely happy. With limited resources, the people of Madagascar have a tough life. But we managed to bring some joy into their lives during the month of the tournament.”

"For our people, the event was more than just a football competition. We helped reunite our people. For me, participating in the AFCON and progressing to the quarter-finals is still the finest memory of my career, and I'm sure it will remain engraved in the collective memories of the Malagasy people."

Madagascar’s feat at Afcon 2019 has made them a team to be reckoned with and 19-time capped Amada wants the team to carry that strong form into having a shot at making it to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Indian Ocean-based country have never made it to the Mundial before and will have to navigate their way past Benin Republic, DR Congo and Tanzania - who all featured at Afcon 2019, before they make their way into the final qualification round that determines the five African representatives at the global showpiece.

"We want to carry that momentum into the World Cup qualifiers, but we must take it one step at a time and not rush things,” Amada continued.

“Not many people were watching us or knew our playing style before the AFCON, but now everyone is paying attention to us and knows exactly how we play. As a result, they will prepare well to face us.

"Naturally, not everyone will qualify for the World Cup, but we'll do everything we can to improve our chances of qualifying. It would certainly be great to take part.

"In Africa there are no small or big teams. Congo DR will be lying in wait for us, as we eliminated them in the Round of 16 at the AFCON. I don't think they'll have forgotten that so soon. Tanzania performed strongly in the AFCON qualifications, and Benin are very well known. I believe we all have an equal chance and that any of us could top the group. But let's not get into permutations: the teams that perform best on matchdays will qualify.

"Our goal is to pull off the impossible and qualify, but we must focus on one game at a time. Our strength lies in our team spirit. It would be great to participate in the World Cup. Everything is possible, as the latest AFCON tournament proved."

Simy bagged a brace as Crotone earned a 5-1 Italian Serie B win at Livorno and gained automatic promotion to the Serie A after Spezia were held to a goalless draw with Cremonese.

The Pythagoreans came into this match six points clear of the Little Eagles and were well aware they would be making it back into the top-flight if they won their match while Spezia failed to garner maximum points at the Stadio Giovanni Zini.

It didn’t start well for Giovanni Stroppa’s men as Livorno took a 12th minute lead thanks to Mattia Trovato.

It was all Crotone from there however with Niccolo Zanellato and Alberto Gerbo netting in between Simy’s 35th-minute strike. Junior Messias made a run down the right flank and his pass found Simy who tucked the ball home with consummate ease.

Crotone extended their 3-1 first-half lead after the break via Salvatore Molina before Simy put the final nail in the coffin from the penalty spot in the 59th minute for his 20th Serie B goal of the season which now takes him top of the charts ahead of Pietro Iemmello and Stefano Pettinari.

The 28-year-old Nigeria international simply had a storming game with a total of seven shots, three of which were on target while he also missed two big chances. He made 10 accurate passes which was at 90.9%.  Simy equally won four of five total duels.

Crotone are back in the Serie A for the first time since the 2017/18 season when they finished 18th. It was just their second season in the top-flight having gained promotion the previous season for the first time ever and finished in 17th spot.

Simy joined the Calabria outfit in 2017 from Gil Vicente and scored seven goals in 23 outings in that campaign.

Having gone three games without a goal after the restart of Serie B in June, Simy scored in his next three matches which started with a hat-trick against league champions Benevento in a 3-0 win before solo goals against Cittadella and Pordenone.

Crotone end their season with a home tie against Frosinone before travelling to Trapani on July 31.