Atletico Madrid captain Gabi wishes the Europa League decider against Marseille will not be Antoine Griezmann s last final with the club as speculation mounts over his future.

A third Europa League title is on the line for Atletico, who face Marseille in Lyon on Wednesday amid Griezmann s links with Spanish champions Barcelona.

France international Griezmann – who opted to remain in Madrid for the 2017-18 season despite strong interest from Manchester United – is a rumoured target for Barca.

And veteran midfielder Gabi hopes the 27-year-old remains at Atletico beyond this season s Europa League showpiece.

We ve been talking on Antoine [Griezmann] the whole year, Gabi told reporters. He is fine.

I see him very good, physically very good, focu…

World champions Germany have arranged friendly matches against England and Italy for March next year.

Germany, World Cup winners in Brazil 12 months ago, last faced rivals England in November 2013, when Per Mertesacker scored the only goal in a 1-0 win.

The two teams are set to meet in Berlin on March 26, before Italy provide the competition for Germany in Munich three days later.

Italy managed a 1-1 draw when the teams faced off in November 2013.

Germany will hope the matches serve as a warm-up Euro 2016 in France, with Germany second in qualifying Group D after six matches.

These are exactly the games that everyone wants, Germany assistant coach Oliver Bierhoff said.

It was important that we measure ourselves in the few dates tha…

Wellington Phoenix moved into the A-League s top six following a 3-1 win over Western United that extended their unbeaten run to seven matches.

After four defeats to start the campaign, Wellington have had an upturn in form and Ufuk Talay s side led 1-0 at half-time through David Ball s poked finish from a Ulises Davila cross.

New Zealand international Callum McCowatt then scored his first A-League goal after the break before Davila beat the offside trap and coolly finished 10 minutes from time.

The home side would grab a consolation, though, Steven Taylor bizarrely blocking a shot with his outstretched arm when lying on the ground to concede a penalty that Alessandro Diamanti converted.

However, that was all United had to show for their efforts as they …

Hansi Flick wants every member of his Bayern Munich team to work on turning their defensive struggles around as they prepare for a dangerous Bundesliga clash with in-form Freiburg.

Bayern saw their hopes of a second successive treble ended on Wednesday as they suffered a shock DFB-Pokal exit at the hands of 2. Bundesliga promotion challengers Holstein Kiel.

They conceded a 95th-minute equaliser to make it 2-2 at the end of normal time, with the second-tier side going on to prevail 6-5 on penalties.

Flick s side have not kept a clean sheet since the Champions League win over Lokomotiv Moscow on December 9, while the second of just two shutouts in the Bundesliga came back in the 5-0 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt on October 24.

Bayern have faced the fifth-fe…

Paris Saint Germain s resurgence will be tested to the full this weekend when Paul Le Guen s side have the unenviable task of hosting champions Lyon in what is being billed as a Parc des Princes clasico .

PSG are on a roll, notching up their third win inside a week against Le Havre last weekend, with prolific striker Guillaume Hoarau grabbing his eighth goal of the campaign.

Lyon defender Cris is relishing the away day trip to the French capital and the prospect of taking on Hoarau and company.

Hoarau has a real talent, he s a player who works a lot, a true battler. I ll have to keep him in my sights, even if he s not the only one we ll have to keep tabs on.

Assessing the nature of the task facing PSG in Paris on Saturday Cris added: They re climbin…

High-flying Tottenham will take their four-match winning streak to Anfield on Sunday, hoping to unseat a rejuvenated Liverpool.

Andre Villas-Boas Spurs have catapulted into third spot in the league with a whiff of Champions League in their nose.

They should at least secure a top-four spot, but now they are two points inside the top-three, Villas-Boas will only be looking skywards to guarantee their group-stage spot in Europe s elite competition in 2013/14.

The Reds, meanwhile, have climbed back into contention for securing a spot in the Europa League next season with back-to-back victories.

Albeit against either poor or distracted opposition the latter being Swansea, who were preparing for a League Cup final when they lost 5-0 at Anfield Liverpool have pu…

Liverpool F.C. manager Brendan Rodgers is shocked by Dunga s decision to omit midfielder Philippe Coutinho from the latest Brazil squad.

Coutinho, who joined the Reds from Italian Serie A side Internazionale Milano for a reported fee of £8.5 million in January 2013, has been left out of the Brazil squad ahead of next month s friendlies against Costa Rica and the United States.

The Brazil international, Liverpool s Players Player of the Year in 2014/15, tallied five goals and five assists in 35 English Premier League appearances for the Reds last season.

Everything that I d seen last season and the changes in the squad [indicated] that he was going to be one of the flagship players for the new dawn of Brazilian football, said Rodgers.

…

that Liverpool are eyeing a move for Manchester City’s James Milner, with the England international’s contact set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

The 29 year old, who bagged a brace in City’s come-from-behind FA Cup third round victory over Sheffield Wednesday, is in demand following a string of impressive performances in a number of positions for the Premier League champions.

Arsenal have also been linked as the former Newcastle United and Aston Villa man’s contract runs into its last six months.

Since moving to Eastlands, Milner has racked up one hundred and seventy appearances for the Manchester club, winning the Premier League twice, as well as both the FA and League Cups.

Internationally, he has been capped fifty-three tim…

Clement Lenglet is yet to make a decision regarding his future despite appearing on the verge of completing a move to Barcelona, his agent has said.

Defender Lenglet has gained many admirers since joining Sevilla from Nancy in January 2017, quickly securing a first-team role under Jorge Sampaoli and remaining a key figure this season, playing 35 times – more than any of his team-mates – in LaLiga.

Reports of Barca s interest were prominent for much of the campaign and there have even been claims the club already have an agreement with Lenglet.

Sevilla said they were in contract talks with Lenglet last month as they attempted to fend off any interest from Barca.

His exit has long since appeared almost certain, but agent Gregory Dakad told ABC…