Lucas Leiva believes Liverpool must beat Hull City on Wednesday if they have realistic aspirations of UEFA Champions League qualification.

Brendan Rodgers side were top of the Premier League on Christmas Day, but now sit fifth in the table after consecutive 2-1 defeats at Manchester City and Chelsea.

Liverpool have not competed in the Champions League since 2009-10, but have established themselves as one of the leading contenders to finish in the Premier League s top four this season.

The Merseysiders home form was a major factor in their strong first half of the campaign, with them having won eight of their nine top-flight games at Anfield, scoring 25 goals in the process.

And Brazil international Lucas feels continuing this trend in 2014 is key to their hopes o…

Best Odds: 6/4

Bookmaker:

Looking to get the defence of their Champions League title underway on Wednesday night, Bayern Munich will welcome Atletico Madrid to the Allianz.

Bayern Munich

Starting with the hosts, while a stunning shock defeat away at Hoffenheim last month might have brought an end to Bayern Munich s remarkable unbeaten run, the defending European champions have bounced back in impressive fashion. Last seen returning from the international break by picking up a routine 4-1 victory away at Bundesliga debutants Arminia Bielefeld over the weekend, the German giants have won their last four matchups across all competitions and have already got two pieces of silverware in the bag this season. Lifting both the UEFA Super Cup and the German Super Cup th…

Jurgen Klopp is thrilled Joe Gomez has agreed a new long-term contract at Liverpool, calling it a smart decision from both the player and the club s hierarchy.

Gomez has steadily established himself as a first-team regular at Anfield since arriving from Charlton Athletic in 2015, nailing down a place in Klopp s starting XI this term.

The 21-year-old made his England debut last year and has impressed for the Three Lions, though injury robbed him of a place in their World Cup squad.

He sustained another injury in last week s win over Burnley, suffering a lower-leg fracture, meaning he is again set for a spell on the sidelines.

Although Klopp sympathises with Gomez s injury problems, he has no doubts the contract extension which was announced on Monday will …

Newly-appointed England captain / Image via the FA.com

It was never going to be easy to replace the like of great Steven Gerrard as Liverpool captain, but Jordan Henderson never backed down under this huge responsibility.

Some English fans need to be reminded of this little detail which occurred earlier in 2015 when midfielder was officially named permanent holder of the captain’s armband under Brendan Rodgers.

The 26-year-old English international midfielder went through thick and thin since then, fighting criticism, doubts and heavy pressure but has successfully emerged from under the mud to become an important figure for his club impressing with confidence and quality performances that have recommended him for his new England role.

Well-deserved Honour…

The beauty of all this is the process, Lionel Scaloni said post-game.

Sixteen games unbeaten and through to the Copa America quarter-finals for the 14th consecutive CONMEBOL tournament.

Papu Gomez s delightful 10th-minute effort over onrushing Antony Silva extended Argentina s undefeated streak, while snapping a four-match winless drought against Paraguay on Monday.

Add seven clean sheets during an unbeaten run, dating back to the 2019 Copa America semi-finals, and it sounds wonderful for La Albiceleste in pursuit of a first major title since 1993.

This is not your usual Argentina, despite boasting a record six-time Ballon d Or winner – Lionel Messi, who equalled Javier Mascherano s appearance record with his 147th cap – hellbent on claiming an elusi…

Claude Puel offered no comment when asked about his future after Leicester City slumped to a disappointing home defeat against struggling Southampton on Saturday.

The Foxes lost 2-1 at the King Power Stadium despite playing against 10 men for nearly an hour, with the result coming less than a week after their embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of fourth-tier side Newport County.

Some fans aired their frustration with boos at the full-time whistle, yet Puel is unconcerned by the criticism and instead has made clear his desire to carry on in charge.

Leicester have lost three of their four outings since upsetting reigning champions Manchester City on December 26, while they have daunting fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham to follow on fro…

Joachim Low insists Thomas Muller is still a key player for Germany and backed him to rediscover his best form, despite leaving the Bayern Munich man out of his starting XI in France.

Muller has struggled in recent months, scoring only once for his country in 2018, and he was limited to a role as a substitute in Tuesday s defeat to the world champions, having been substituted before the hour-mark days earlier against the Netherlands.

But Germany coach Low is not giving up on the forward, suggesting he is not the only member of the 2014 World Cup-winning team searching for a return to form after a tough start to their Nations League campaign.

We have still got three or four players who are world champions and they haven t forgot how to play football from one day …

Romania stormed to a 3-0 win over Ukraine in their Euro 2024 opener on Monday, with Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin and Denis Dragus scoring in their first victory at the European Championships for 24 years.

Ukraine dominated possession early on but a loose pass from Andriy Lunin put them in trouble after 29 minutes. Dennis Man intercepted and found Stanciu on the edge of the area, and the Romania skipper shaped a wonderful first-time effort into the top-left corner.

Sanciu later clipped the crossbar directly from a corner as Romania grew in stature, and they had their second goal seven minutes into the second half.

Marin came onto a loose ball and struck a low shot from 25 yards out, which Real Madrid goalkeeper Lunin allowed to squirm under his dive and into the …

Market: Solihull Moors win

Odds: 6/5 @

Looking to book their spot in this season s National League play-off final, Solihull Moors will welcome Chesterfield to Damson Park on Sunday lunchtime.

Starting with the hosts, managing to sign off their regular-season campaign with a thumping 3-0 win away at Boreham Wood, Solihull Moors find themselves in the midst of a real purple. Given an additional break heading into Sunday s semi-final showdown, Neal Ardley s side have gained a host of plaudits from across the National League this season. Breezing their way to another play-off finish this year, the Midlands-based outfit have now won each of their last five outings on the spin. Likewise, suffering just a single defeat since back on March 12th, Solihull have also found…

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has signed a new contract with the Premier League club.

The England midfielder, who had two years left on his previous deal, has agreed to an extension that will reportedly run until the end of the 2024-25 season.

Henderson has spent 10 years at Liverpool since joining from Sunderland and captained Jurgen Klopp s side to Champions League glory in 2019 before leading them to a first top-flight title in 30 years in 2019-20.

I m obviously very honoured and proud to continue the journey I ve already been on here, Henderson told Liverpool s website.

It s amazing to finally get it done and just concentrate on looking forward and what the future may hold.

I m in a different place, of course, as a player and as a pers…