NFL Underdogs: NFL Picks, and Predictions Week 18

Fulham have named Scott Parker as their permanent head coach following a three-month spell in caretaker charge.

Parker took the reins after Claudio Ranieri was sacked at the end of February and, despite overseeing the Cottagers  relegations from the Premier League, he has been entrusted to take charge of the club full time.

The former England international guided Fulham to three top-flight wins in a row after relegation was confirmed by a 4-1 defeat at Watford on April 2, but that winning run came to an end against Wolves last weekend.

The players, staff and fans have all been fantastic with me since I took temporary charge, Parker said. 

We are now all focused on ending this campaign with a positive result on Sunday against Newcastle and look for…

Premier League leaders Manchester City have sealed the club-record signing of Aymeric Laporte, the defender joining from Athletic Bilbao after his €65million release clause was reportedly met.

A deal for the uncapped Frenchman has been mooted since Pep Guardiola s arrival in 2016 and was finally completed on Tuesday, with the 23-year-old signing a contract until 2023.

Laporte, who made 222 appearances for Athletic, will wear the number 14 shirt at City.

I am very happy to be here, he said. City are a club with a lot of ambition and they are one of the best teams in Europe.

Defensive reinforcements acquired!

Please to the Club!

— Manchester City (@ManCity)

Although City are 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League a…

Virgil van Dijk was flattered by Erling Haaland s belief the Netherlands captain is the best defender  in the world.

The pair are set to face off when the Oranje travel to Norway for their 2022 World Cup qualifier on Wednesday.

An intriguing duel should challenge both players, with Haaland full of praise for Van Dijk when he addressed the media on Monday.

I think he is the best defender. I think quite a few others in the room agree with me on that, the Borussia Dortmund forward said.

He is fast, strong and smart, and those are three important things you must have.

Those comments were on Tuesday put to Van Dijk, who replied:  Did he say that? That s nice of him.

The Liverpool man is relishing his return to the international stage, h…

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo fears another halt to Premier League action amid the coronavirus pandemic could give the country s biggest clubs the opportunity to launch a European Super League.

The English football authorities are carrying out regular tests on players and club staff, and the number of positive cases is rising, with 40 declared in the Premier League last week.

This has led to a number of games being postponed, while Tottenham will play Fulham not Aston Villa on Wednesday as part of the rearranged schedule.

Spurs had been due to travel to Villa Park for a midweek fixture, but their opponents requested a new date due to their players and staff either testing positive for COVID-19 or being placed in isolation as close contacts.

Instead,…

James Tavernier’s equaliser sent Rangers into the Champions League play-offs as an improved second-half display in Switzerland saw them overcome Servette.

Tavernier’s header five minutes after the break sealed a 1-1 draw which handed Michael Beale’s side a 3-2 aggregate win.

Rangers had failed to test the home goalkeeper in the first half and might have been further behind at the interval but they were the better side after the break and had chances to win the second leg.

— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC)

The result sets Rangers up for a repeat of last year’s play-off against PSV Eindhoven as the cinch Premiership runners-up bid for a second consecutive campaign in the group stages.

Beale brought Connor Goldson and Ryan Jac…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic s milestone stoppage-time strike salvaged a 1-1 draw for Serie A leaders Milan at Udinese on Saturday.

Milan s miserable week looked set to take another turn for the worse after Beto gave Udinese a first-half lead at Dacia Arena, four days after the Rossoneri were knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool.

But Ibrahimovic rescued a point with an acrobatic volley in time added on, taking his goal tally to 300 in Europe s top five leagues.

Isaac Success was then shown a red card for violent conduct as Udinese had to settle for a point in their first game under interim head coach Gabriele Cioffi, who stepped in when Luca Gotti was sacked this week.

Injury time Ibra to avoid defeat

Il gol di Ibra vale il pareggio alla Dacia …

Adelaide United striker Bruce Djite has pledged his future to the club, announcing a new two-year contract on Tuesday.

Djite, who is in his second stint with United and has made 75 A-League appearances scoring 22 goals, will remain with the club until the end of the 2014/15 season.

The 25-year-old s future was in some doubt after struggling for form in a part-time role off the bench as coach John Kosmina opted to go without a recognised striker to accommodate Argentine duo Jeronimo Neumann and Marcelo Carrusca, plus marquee star Dario Vidosic.

However the powerful right-footer returned to the starting fold three weeks ago with a goal in the 2-1 loss to league leaders Central Coast before bossing Melbourne Victory and Wellington s defences in impressive back-to-b…

Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten streak as they secured a 5-1 away victory at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

The result leaves champions Leverkusen at the summit with 84 points, while Frankfurt sit sixth with 45.

Leverkusen s record unbeaten run, meanwhile, has now extended to 48 matches across all competitions.

Xabi Alonso s team opened the scoring through Granit Xhaka s bending strike from outside the box after 12 minutes.

Hugo Ekitike s perfectly timed header restored parity just after the half-hour mark, however.

Leverkusen retook the lead just before half-time through Patrik Schick s towering header.

It was 3-1 in the 58th minute, Exequiel Palacios converting a penalty after Niels Nkounkou pulled Nathan Tella…

understands that Wesley Sneijder is set to end speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United by penning a contract extension at Galatasaray.

The Netherlands international, who played under United manager Louis van Gaal at last summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford.

However, he now looks set to remain in Istanbul with negotiations over a new deal appearing to be nearing a conclusion.

Sneijder moved to Galatasary in January 2013, and has since racked up over a hundred appearances, scoring thirty-seven goals and has so far won two league titles and two Turkish cups with the club.

He has also won titles in Italy with Inter, Spain with Real Madrid and his native Netherlands with Ajax amongst a …

Roberto Mancini feels very sorry for Michael Johnson after the troubled 24-year-old was released by Manchester City.

Johnson, once touted as a future City star and England international, battled injury and mental health problems during his time with the club and, having not featured for the first-team since October 2009, was quietly let go in December.

Although he never managed the 24-year-old, Mancini felt compelled to express sympathy with the youngster s plight, and voiced his hope that he can now sort out his personal issues.

Michael Johnson was a guy with a big talent and I am sad for this, sad for him, he told reporters.

He could do everything with his talent. I am very sorry for him. I hope he can resolve all his problems.

City take on …