Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti brushed off suggestions this week could prove decisive in the LaLiga title race as his side prepare to host city rivals Atletico.

Ancelotti’s men head into the contest 10 points clear of their opponents and locked in a tight battle at the top of the table with next week’s opponents Girona.

A win on Sunday would ensure they go into that contest in top spot, regardless of how the Catalan side get on against Real Sociedad.

Ancelotti refused to put any kind of conclusive weight on the next seven days but did acknowledge the significance of the two upcoming home clashes.

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)

He told a press conference: “(The week is) not decisive, but important. It’s very important t…

Martin Odegaard hit back at critics who claimed Arsenal over celebrated their victory over 10-man Liverpool – insisting they will remain “humble” throughout their Premier League title challenge.

The Gunners moved to within two points of Jurgen Klopp’s leaders following a 3-1 win over 10-man Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for Arsenal before Gabriel Magalhaes’ unfortunate own goal levelled for the visitors on the stroke of half-time.

A mix-up between Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk allowed Gabriel Martinelli to restore Arsenal’s lead in the second half, with substitute Leandro Trossard making sure of the points in stoppage time after Ibrahima Konate had been sent off.

By all means enjoy it, but enjoy it by b…

Sam Allardyce has praised West Ham s squad for overachieving against the targets he set at the start of the Premier League campaign.

Despite a frustrating second half of the season, West Ham have already exceeded their points totals from 2012-13 and 2013-14 while being on course for a top-half finish.

Allardyce has come in for criticism from sections of the club s support and his own future remains unclear, but the former Bolton Wanderers boss has targeted three points at Aston Villa on Saturday.

If you look at the progress we re making, in the three seasons we ve had in the Premier League we ve struggled in a couple of months of those, Allardyce said. 

We ll look at the season as a whole, we ve already got one more point than we ve achieved so far…

Sunderland visit Arsenal on Wednesday needing just a point to confirm their Premier League survival.

Dick Advocaat s men missed the chance to make sure of their top-flight status for next season last Saturday as they were held to a 0-0 home draw by Leicester City.

But the Wearside club still hold a three-point advantage over third-bottom Hull City and only require a draw at the Emirates Stadium to stay up.

However, earning a point against an Arsenal side that can seal third place and a spot in the UEFA Champions League group stage with a win will be no easy feat.

A heavy loss would keep the pressure very much on Sunderland  whose goal difference is inferior to Hull s and only five better than that of struggling Newcastle United  ahead of a final-day m…

Atletico Madrid are reportedly very close to completing a deal to sign James Rodriguez from Real Madrid.

After several years of heavy speculation, during which the Colombian spent two years on loan at Bayern Munich, it seems he won t be leaving the Spanish capital at all. He could make a short trip across town from the Santiago Bernabeu to the Wanda Metropolitano instead.

There are apparently several Premier League clubs interested in his services, but quote Colombian journalist Javier Hernández Bonnet in saying that Rodriguez can already be considered 80% an Atletico player, that s how advanced the negotiations between the two clubs are. And his information comes from the same source which revealed his move to Bayern well before it happened.

The 28-year-old a…

Market: Wolfsburg win

Odds: 1/2 @

Looking to shore up their Champions League spot on Saturday afternoon, Wolfsburg will welcome away day strugglers Koln to The Volkswagen Arena.

Starting with the hosts, while Wolfsburg might have suffered back-to-back defeats when opening March, they have bounced back in an eye-catching fashion. Heading into the international break with a 2-1 win away at Werder Bremen, The Greens managed to kick on from their thumping 5-0 romp against Schalke. Still sat in pole position to secure themselves a Champions League spot for next season, Oliver Glasner s side have gained plenty of plaudits from across Germany this year. With leading marksman Wout Weghorst now finding the net in his last three contests on the spin, Wolfsburg have also g…

South Africa and Botswana will hope to snatch a spot in the final round of the CAF section of FIFA World Cup qualifying on Saturday.

The pair are currently second and third in Group A respectively, and will need leaders Ethiopia to stumble against rock-bottom Central African Republic in order to reach the third and final qualifying phase.

World Cup 2010 hosts South Africa were expected to stroll through the group, but have struggled, crucially losing 2-1 to Ethiopia in the last round of fixtures in June.

Stanley Tshosane’s Botswana side will need to pull of an unlikely victory in Durban and hope Ethiopia lose in order to progress, but the 56-year-old is confident of their chances.

The mood in the camp is excellent as we have never been this close to achieving g…

The world s deadliest finishers will be out prospecting over the coming month in South Africa as they look to land the World Cup golden boot award.

Ronaldo, Gerd Muller, Gary Lineker, Paolo Rossi the roll call of previous winners trips off the tongue and at least a dozen of today s top strikers will be vying for the honours at this year s finals in South Africa.

Brazilian legend Ronaldo wrote his name into the history books four years ago in Germany when he bagged his 15th World Cup goal, beating the record of Germany s Muller set in 1970.

Ronaldo top-scored in 2002 on the way to lifting the trophy as he brilliantly left behind memories of the 1998 final loss to France, in which he was largely anonymous after suffering an apparent seizure before kickoff.