Johnny's Sports News

Southampton keep on selling, two more players leave the Saints but bring good cash into the club's coffers: Calum Chambers joins Arsenal while Dejan Lovren signed for Liverpool.

After the bizarre exit at Wimbledon Serena Williams seems fit for the US Open, she makes her return to action this week.

As far as Premier League transfers are concerned, Tottenham seem set to buy a couple of players from... Southampton, who else?

I hope that Serena will be fully ready for this hard court season, and especially US open.

I hope that Serena will be fully ready for this hard court season, and especially US open.

Well, I hope she won't be at her best because I'd like Simona Halep to win it ;)

I hope that Serena will be fully ready for this hard court season, and especially US open.

 

Well, I hope she won't be at her best because I'd like Simona Halep to win it ;)

Yes, Simona is great. I like her. I hope she does well.

She'll be the world number 2 next Monday, obviously the best ever placement for a Romanian woman tennis player.

The English FA will enforce new football betting rules for players, coaches and even refs, and that's supposed to "fix" match fixing. We'll see...

As for transfers, Newcastle are looking for a new striker, Liverpool seem set to land two Spanish defenders while Arsenal might part company with their captain.

It's the decisive week for some Manchester United players, new boss Louis van Gaal will most likely let a few men go in order to build the squad that he wants.

In Spain Real Madrid made a great signing, they snatched World Cup star goalie Keylor Navas. But they have two other great goalies, Casillas and Lopez, so they might let one of the two go.

Andy Murray says he's fully fit ahead of the US Open, I'm quite curious to see if he can improve his early season performances.

Arsenal shareholder Usmanov is quite optimistic, saying the club will enter a silverware era. It was about time I guess.

I also wonder whether Nadal is going to be ready for US Open. I heard that he would skip it for sure but also that he would be ready.

Liverpool keep on signing players, they secured Manquillo from Atletico, while Manchester City keep chasing Mangala.

Meanwhile Celtic produced a shameful display in the Champions League third qualifying round, they were totally thrashed by Legia.

It seems we have a new rising star in Formula 1, Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton revealed that he admires the youngster.

Meanwhile Celtic produced a shameful display in the Champions League third qualifying round, they were totally thrashed by Legia.

This is insane, Celtic just got back into the Champions League because Legia made a huge mistake by fielding an ineligible (suspended) player! So Celtic were given a 3-0 walkover victory in the second leg and it takes them through as the first leg ended 4-1 for Legia.

Meanwhile Celtic produced a shameful display in the Champions League third qualifying round, they were totally thrashed by Legia.

 

This is insane, Celtic just got back into the Champions League because Legia made a huge mistake by fielding an ineligible (suspended) player! So Celtic were given a 3-0 walkover victory in the second leg and it takes them through as the first leg ended 4-1 for Legia.

Same thing happened Celtic before 3 years, when they loose against Sion, but becouse suspended player on the field (by Sion), they go on next step EUROPA league..

That's really stupid, football clubs have numerous staff members that should take care of things like these, fielding a suspended player is something that an amateur club could do, not a professional one.

Shock exit for Sharapova in Montreal, will she do better at the US Open?

Sunderland are clinging on the prospect of signing Fabio Borini, I think they might be able to find an even better player for that money.

I doubt it, Sharapova is a "clay queen" now. :D

Barcelona signed Arsenal's Vermaelen, finally a competent defender for Barca! He was injured quite a lot lately though, that might be a problem.

Tsonga won the Toronto Masters, finally a trophy for him after 18 months. He could well pull off a surprise at the US Open too if he keeps his current form.

Jose Mourinho backs Fabregas to be the next Lampard, in theory the Spaniard could do a great job at Chelsea.

Meanwhile former captain Garry Neville doubts Louis van Gaal's chances of claiming the title on his first season at Manchester United.

Liverpool signed yet another player, left back Alberto Moreno, I guess they might stop buying now.

Southampton spent some of the cash they got from selling players on Shane Long, might turn out to be a very good buy.

The Premier League season kicks off today, so we have some previews which include odds and my predictions:

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace

West Ham vs Tottenham

Leicester City vs Everton

Manchester United vs Swansea

Some very interesting Champions League ties coming up tonight, here are a couple of previews along with my predictions:

Napoli vs Athletic Bilbao

Besiktas vs Arsenal

Jose Mourinho says he wants to keep Petr Cech, a legendary goalkeeper and probably still one of the best in the world at the age of 32, but now the first choice goalie at Chelsea is youngster Courtois. This will be interesting, I doubt Cech will accept to be a bench-warmer.

Next year we'll see in action the youngest ever Formula 1 driver, teenager Max Verstappen. Looking forward to that.

Manchester United will add Sporting's Marcos Rojo to their squad, seems a good signing but he might need a bit of time to adapt.

In other (rather funny) news, Luis Suarez made a public promise that he won't bite any more. It's a rather tough one to keep considering he was caught in the act on the football pitch three times during his career.

Serena Williams is preparing for her third consecutive US Open title, this time it might be slightly more difficult though with Sharapova in form and the likes of Bouchard and Halep waiting for the opportunity to step into the spotlight.

Manchester City tied Edin Dzeko to a four-year contract, the Bosnian striker seems to be held in high regard by boss Manuel Pellegrini.

Another Premier League weekend is coming up, here are a couple of match previews for Saturday along with my predictions:

Everton vs Arsenal

Chelsea vs Leicester

After getting just one point in two matches Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is not so sure that he'll win the title, but he is certain things will get better soon.

In Spain Real Madrid ended the "Khedira issue", at least for now.

Liverpool sold Suarez and bought another troublemaker, Italian striker Mario Balotelli. Manager Brendan Rodgers says this is the last chance for the talented forward to prove himself at this level.

Arsenal face a crucial test tonight in the Champions League playoff against Besiktas, you might want to read the match preview and my prediction.

Manchester United splashed the cash on Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria, the transfer fee is the biggest ever paid by a British club. It's quite a gamble for new manager Louis van Gaal, Di Maria should deliver right away.

Meanwhile in the Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich made a solid signing in Roma's Mehdi Benatia, a very good central defender which usually scores a few goals as well.

Arsenal are hit by bad injuries again, first-choice striker Olivier Giroud will be out until the end of 2014 with a broken leg.

Jenson Button could see his Formula 1 career end even though he wants it to continue, McLaren seem poised to get Fernando Alonso and let Button go.

An exciting Premier League weekend is coming up, I picked two matches to preview and you will find my predictions in there as well:

Burnley vs Manchester United

Everton vs Chelsea

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho decided to sign Loic Remy, he should make a valid backup for first-choice striker Diego Costa.

At the US Open Maria Sharapova suffered a heavy defeat, the stage seems set for another Serena Williams triumph.

Some big deals went through on the Premier League transfer deadline day, the most important saw Danny Welbeck join Arsenal while Manchester United brought in Radamel Falcao, on loan for now but they can buy him at the end of the season.

Fernando Alonso says he won't leave Ferrari to join McLaren, at least not before his contract runs out at the end of 2015.

We should have a spectacular match at the US Open between Monfils and Federer, I hope the Frenchman will rise to the occasion.

Djokovic will play Nishikori in the US Open semi finals, it's quite interesting to notice that the head-to-head record between the two players is all square at one win apiece!

At Manchester United Robin van Persie will finally have a real competitor for his place in the starting line up, Radamel Falcao. Check out the post for some interesting betting options.

Euro 2016 hosts France recorded a confidence-boosting 1-0 success over reigning champions Spain, Chelsea's new signing Loic Remy scored the decisive goal.

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagged his 50th goal for the nation, breaking a record that has been standing for almost a century.

Serena Williams cruised to her 18th Grand Slam title, she's 32 years old so I guess she might nick a few more crowns before she retires.

In football Portugal were shocked at home by Albania in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, they were without Cristiano Ronaldo but still, it was quite a shameful result. Romania did well though, recorded a 1-0 win in Greece despite being down to 10 men for most of the second half.

Andy Murray dropped out of the ATP top 10 for the first time since 2008, he might miss the World Tour finals in London this year unless he gets great results in the remaining tournaments.

England got off to a bright start in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, they notched a 2-0 victory in Switzerland thanks to a brace from new Arsenal boy Danny Welbeck.

Andy Murray dropped out of the ATP top 10 for the first time since 2008, he might miss the World Tour finals in London this year unless he gets great results in the remaining tournaments.

 

He didn't play the indoor season last year due to his back surgery. I has solid chances to earn enough points for the World Tour finals.

That's a valid point Markotik, he doesn't have any points to defend so in theory he should make up some ground on Berdych.

A terrible season for Ferrari eventually led to the chairman stepping down, it will be quite strange to see the Italian team without Luca Di Montezemolo after he has led them for 23 years.

Marin Cilic is held in high regard by his coach Goran Ivanisevic, the former Wimbledon winner says Cilic's US Open win is just the start of a series of famous triumphs.

Manchester United's vice-chairman predicts a bright future for the club, they are doing well financially but that does not guarantee results on the pitch though.

Interesting match tonight in the French league, Lyon vs Monaco, check out the preview which includes my prediction.

The USA won the basketball World Cup again, their success was expected as they dominated pretty much every game in the competition. Well done to Serbia for reaching the final though, quite an achievement.

Big Champions League match tonight, Arsenal travel to meet Borussia Dortmund. Check out the preview and my prediction.

Two big Champions League matches coming up tonight, both between English and German teams, check out the previews which include my predictions:

- Bayern Munich vs Manchester City

- Chelsea vs Schalke

The Europa League group stage kicks off on Thursday evening, there are a few interesting matches in there. I've previewed two of the most exciting clashes:

Everton vs Wolfsburg

Partizan vs Tottenham

Solskjaer's adventure as a manager in England ended prematurely, he left Cardiff after less than nine months in charge but results were pretty much against him. I hope he will prove his worth next time.

Sad news from the world of tennis, Li Na is set to retire because of injuries. She's just 32 years old, so normally her career should have continued for at least a few more seasons.

Li Na is one of my favorite players. I'm really sad that she had to retire.

Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini decided to criticise Chelsea after their 1-1 Premier League draw, I guess that's not very fair.

Meanwhile Man United boss Louis van Gaal criticised his own players after the shock 5-3 defeat at Leicester, he has every reason to do so.

There will be a few mid-week league matches across Europe tonight, I have selected two of the most interesting to preview and predict:

Napoli vs Palermo (Serie A)

Malaga vs Barcelona (Primera Liga)