Enzo Maresca is glad he has a tough choice to make in terms of his team selection as Chelsea prepare to face Brighton and Hove Albion.

Chelsea have won three in a row without conceding in all competitions, most recently beating fourth-tier Barrow 5-0 in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

Christopher Nkunku scored a hat-trick in that third-round tie to make it six goals in nine games this season, yet he has made just one Premier League start.

Nicolas Jackson has himself been in good form with six goals in 10 games four of those goals in the league and looks set to return upfront for the visit of Brighton on Saturday.

They re both doing fantastic, Maresca said. Not only because they score, but because they work off the ball.

The way they sacrifice for the t…

China will play host to the Trophee des Champions in 2018 and 2019, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has announced.

The deal was made in partnership with the Kaisa Culture Sports and Tourism Group, with the games to be played in Shenzhen.

A third edition will also take place in China between 2020 and 2023.

The news comes just two days after the LFP announced a broadcasting deal with CCTV, the nation s predominant state television network.

The curtain-raiser has been contested outside of France since 2009, with last year s match between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, which the former won 2-1, taking place in Tangier. 

…

Ethan Nwaneri marked his first Arsenal start with a double as the Gunners swept aside League One side Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in the third round of the EFL Cup.

While Nwaneri was one of the youngsters included in a line-up that featured 16-year-old goalkeeper Jack Porter, it was one of Arsenal s senior players that opened the scoring at Emirates Stadium, with Declan Rice curling in from the edge of the area.

The Gunners doubled their advantage eight minutes before the break, with Nwaneri sliding home to net his first senior Arsenal goal after being found by Raheem Sterling.

Nwaneri netted his second of the contest soon after the restart, with the youngster capitalising on a mistake by Chris Forino before squeezing the ball under Luke Southwood.

Mikel Artet…

World football will undergo a rethink over the coming years in a bid to make the game more attractive by the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Friday.

FIFA s executive committee accepted at a meeting in Zurich to set up a task force with footballing officials, coaches, players, referees and medical experts to come up with ways to improve football in all areas .

They will assess the present situation of football with the laws of the game, and rules and regulations, to see if there s something we can do to make football more attractive, Blatter told journalists.

Any changes that emerged from Task Force Football 2014 will be applied at the World Cup in Brazil, he added.

Referring to criticism of the game at the World Cup in Sout…

The only game in St Petersburg in our third full week out here was Sweden s forgettable 1-0 win over Switzerland.

One of the region s temporary residents of course saw off the Scandinavians this weekend, but England s game against Colombia provided a truly memorable moment for the Omnisport contingent as we took in the penalty shoot-out drama alongside some vocal and gracious South Americans.

There was time for an appallingly inaccurate prediction, dodgeball in Repino and American football on Krestovsky Island.

Saturday concluded with the vocal and defiant locals seeing Russia s unexpected run ended by Croatia.

…

Giorgio Chiellini is relishing coming up against Harry Kane in the final of Euro 2020, with the veteran Italy centre-back claiming he is a huge fan of the England captain.

Kane endured a lacklustre group stage before coming to life in the knockout stages of the tournament.

The Tottenham striker has four goals to his name, leaving him in with a shout for the Golden Boot when Gareth Southgate s men take on the Azzurri in Sunday s final at Wembley.

If Kane is to follow up scooping the same prize at the 2018 World Cup, he will have to get the better of Chiellini and his long-time ally Leonardo Bonucci at the heart of a formidable backline.

Italy had amassed 11 consecutive clean sheets before their 2-1 last-16 win over Austria and such solidity is a huge facto…

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have occupied the top two spots in the Ballon d Or voting in all but one of the past nine years, and 2017 promises to continue that trend.

The Barcelona superstar just holds the edge on his rival with five wins to Ronaldo s four, and if the trophy truly stands as the ultimate reward for individual brilliance as it claims  Messi will extend that advantage at Thursday s ceremony in Paris.

Ronaldo took home the prize last year, at the end of a 12-month period that saw him claim European glory on both domestic and international fronts with Real Madrid and Portugal.

He has enjoyed a similarly stellar 2017, scooping a LaLiga winners medal as well as a third Champions League crown in four seasons.

But the Ballon d Or does n…

As an England fan I am accustomed to being put through the mill at the hands of the Three Lions.

Every World Cup year England are touted as possible world champions and every time they disappoint.

Unfortunately after watching the USA game I feel it will be the same old story this time.

Early

People will accuse me of jumping the gun or being premature in that prediction on one game. However in the 1-1 draw with America some weaknesses were exposed.

We have a propensity to shoot ourselves in the foot in major tournaments and we have already in South Africa.

Blunders

In every World Cup an incident happens that derails England’s chances of winning the tournament. In World Cup 1990 it was missed penalties against Germany. We failed t…

Brentford have announced the signing of Denmark midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard in a reported £12.6million (€15m) transfer.

Damsgaard leaves Serie A, where he had played for Sampdoria since 2020.

The 22-year-old scored only two goals in 46 league games in Italy, providing four assists, but he caught the eye at Euro 2020 last year as Denmark reached the semi-finals.

Damsgaard scored twice, including a spectacular first goal in the 2-1 last-four defeat to England, as well as adding an assist.

A message from our new

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC)

Brentford coach Thomas Frank said of Damsgaard, who has signed a five-year contract: Mikkel is, in my opinion, another classic Brentford signing.

He is a young player with big potential t…

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off an emotional victory against the Kansas City Chiefs and head to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions in Week 3 of the NFL season.

The Lions are winless to start the year and oddsmakers expect that to continue with NFL betting odds installing Detroit as an 8.5-point home underdog.

Here are our best free Ravens vs. Lions picks and predictions for Sunday, September 26, with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET. 

…