CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Celtic and Arsenal will battle for a place in the lucrative Champions League group stages today in a mouthwatering playoff clash.
Both teams are among the 20 who will be hoping to emerge victorious from a two-leg tie that will allow them to join the 22 automatic qualifiers in the group stage, the draw for which will be held in just over two weeks.
Scottish Premier League runners-up Celtic warmed up for the match with Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal at Parkhead by beating Aberdeen away 3-1 on Saturday, while Wenger’s men hammered Everton 6-1 in their English Premier League opener in Liverpool.
Arsenal go into today’s clash as the overriding favorites and, having experienced their ruthless efficiency at close hand, Everton manager David Moyes suggested Celtic would have to perform formidably at the back as well as up front if they were to limit the damage.
“Arsenal have got a real capability of scoring on the counterattack,” the Scot said. “Every time we had a shot at goal and we let it go from the goalkeeper’s arms, they nearly scored at the other end. I was nearly hoping that more shots were going to fly past the post.”
Celtic’s new manager Tony Mowbray has seen his side show their character at this early stage of the season.
The Hoops fought back from a 1-0 first-leg defeat at home in the third round of qualifying to beat Dynamo Moscow 2-0 in Russia, a result which secured their place in the playoff.
Celtic striker Aiden McGeady, who grabbed a brace on Saturday, admitted it would be a tough 90 minutes, but he believed the hosts should face Spanish ace Cesc Fabregas and company with plenty of faith in their abilities.
“We know we are the underdogs and they are obviously the favorites, but they are definitely beatable,” the Republic of Ireland midfielder said. “A lot of teams in the Premier League beat them last season by getting in and around them, and not letting them play, and that’s something we have to do on Tuesday night.”
Sporting, who finished runners-up in Portugal last season, will be looking to be more prolific at home if they are to achieve their aim of appearing in the group stages for a sixth time against Fiorentina of Italy.
In the first leg of their qualifying round, Paulo Bento’s side advanced on the away goals rule after a 1-1 draw with Dutch side FC Twente, who had held the Portuguese to a scoreless draw in Lisbon.
VfB Stuttgart are aiming for their third appearance in the group stage, but will do so against Champions League newcomers Timisoara of Romania without midfielder Martin Lanig.
He suffered cruciate ligament damage to his right knee in the 4-2 victory against Freiburg on Saturday, joining Christian Trasch on the injury sidelines after he broke a wrist last week.
Greek side Olympiakos will travel to Sheriff in Moldova in determined mood having failed to reach the group stages last season after being ousted by Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta.
Olympiakos are now coached by Anorthosis’ former coach Temuri Ketsbaia.
Having taken Anorthosis to the Champions League group stages last year where they finished bottom of Group B, Ketsbaia may look on with a little interest when another Cypriot team, Apoel FC, travel to Denmark to face FC Copenhagen.
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
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