Jurgen Klopp’s last home game as Borussia Dortmund manager is a sell-out. The real question is what kind of a tribute the 80,667-strong crowd can be expected to make as they say goodbye to the floppy-haired maverick, who announced in April that he will be leaving at the end of the season. “There will be a special atmosphere and I don’t know what will be going on inside me if we win,” said Klopp, whose side play Werder Bremen in a 2:30pm Nigerian time kick-off on Saturday.
Leicester City’s owners will dip into their pockets and buy the first round of beers during Sunday’s final game of the season against QPR. The Foxes secured their Premier League status last week and vice chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “We want to say thank you to our fans for their incredible support this season. “It’s been key in the team securing another season in the top flight.” Supporters will be given a voucher to claim a beer – or a bottle of water – at the King Power Stadium. QPR fans travelling to Leicester and hoping to drown their relegation sorrows on the cheap will be disappointed though, as the offer only extends to home fans. The BBC Sport’s Price of Football study found that the Foxes offered the cheapest day out in the Premier League this season, with a ticket, pie, programme and a cup of tea costing as little as £27.50. Leicester’s owners have been spoiling their fans recently, having provided breakfast for the 3,000 supporters who travelled to Sunderland last week.
Sunday 24 May 2015:
Warri Wolves vs Kano Pillars 4pm
El-Kanemi Warriors vs Taraba United 4pm
Abia Warriors vs Sunshine Stars 4pm
Wikki Tourists vs Enyimba 4pm
Nasarawa United vs Akwa United 4pm
Kwara United vs Enugu Rangers 4pm
Giwa vs Ifeanyi Uba United 4pm
Dolphin vs Sharks 4pm
Heartland vs Bayelsa United 4pm
Shooting Stars vs Lobi Stars 4pm
Sunday 24 May 2015:
Arsenal v West Brom 3pm
Aston Villa v Burnley 3pm
Chelsea v Sunderland 3pm
Crystal Palace v Swansea 3pm
Everton v Tottenham 3pm
Hull v Man United 3pm
Leicester v QPR 3pm
Man City v Southampton 3pm
Newcastle v West Ham 3pm
Stoke v Liverpool 3pm
Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor will miss his club’s final game of the season at Everton on Sunday after being allowed to return to his native Togo on compassionate grounds. Adebayor published the latest in a series of lengthy Facebook posts this week in which he revealed he had contemplated suicide due to a family feud. And concerns over the player’s mind-set have prompted Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino to step in on his behalf, Press Association Sport understands. The 31-year-old, who has already been granted compassionate leave once this season, is also set to miss the club’s post-season tour of the Far East, and his future at the club must now be in doubt. Adebayor has used his Facebook account three times to reveal his complicated family issues. In his first post earlier this month, he accused his brother Rotimi of stealing mobile phones belonging to team-mates at a leading French football academy. Adebayor’s third installment on Wednesday was the most striking as he said arguments with his brothers Kola and Peter, who died in July 2012, drove him to consider taking his own life. ”Many times I wanted to give up,” Adebayor wrote. “Ask my sister Iyabo Adebayor how many times I have called and was ready to commit suicide. ”I kept these stories for years. But if I die, no-one would know my story, no-one would learn from it. Some people say I should keep these stories private, but someone has to sacrifice himself, someone has to talk about it.”
Ghent have finally won the Belgian league after 115 years of trying. The Buffalos’ 2-0 win over Standard Liege on Thursday clinched the title and secured a place in next season’s Champions League. The Flemish club have twice finished second in the league, have won three Belgian Cups and reached the quarter-finals of the Uefa Cup in 1992. League success this season breaks the traditional domination of Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liege. Ghent were struggling with debt of more than 20m euros (£14m) in the late 1990s. However, they eliminated the debt by 2012 and a year later moved from a 13,000-seater stadium to the multi-purpose 20,000 capacity Ghelamco Arena – the first new-build Belgian football stadium in almost 40 years.
Wednesday 20 May 2015:
Sharks 1 – 1 Giwa
Taraba 1 – 1 Dolphin
Enyimba 3 – 1 El-Kanemi Warriors
Bayelsa United 1 – 0 Wikki Tourists
Akwa United 2 – 1 Shooting Stars
Lobi Stars 1 – 0 Heartrland
Enugu Rangers 0 – 0 Nasarawa United
Sunshine Stars 1 – 0 Kwara United
Kano Pillars 2 – 1 Ifeanyi Uba United
Friday 22 May 2015:
Warri Wolves 3 – 2 Abia Warriors
Paris St-Germain defender David Luiz has accused the media of a lack of respect after dismissing widespread stories that he is a virgin.The reports started after the former Chelsea man, 28, said on Instagram he “would wait” until he is married before having sex with his girlfriend. “People are saying things everywhere about whether I’m a virgin or not,” Luiz told BBC’s Football Focus. “I’m not a virgin. I’ve had more than one girlfriend in my life.” He added: “Some people in the press don’t respect people in life. I can put my head on my pillow and sleep great because I respect everyone.”
Chelsea are celebrating an awards double with Jose Mourinho and Eden Hazard being voted the Premier League’s manager and player of the year respectively. Mourinho led Chelsea to their first League title in five years, while forward Hazard led the way on the pitch with 14 goals and eight assists. The duo were selected from the Barclays Panel that included a group of former players, journalists and football stakeholders. Mourinho was chosen from a five-strong list of candidates drawn up by the Premier League, the others being Ronald Koeman, Garry Monk, Nigel Pearson and Arsene Wenger. Koeman, of Southampton, has guided Saints into Europa League contention despite losing a number of key players last summer. However, the Dutchman recruited well and – with one match remaining this season – the south coast club have the joint-meanest defence in the Premier League. Swansea’s Monk is nominated after leading his team to their highest ever points total in England’s top flight. An excellent end to the season for Leicester City earned Pearson a nominee, as the Foxes collected 19 points out of 24 to reach Premier League safety having, at one stage, being seemingly cut adrift at the base of the table. And Wenger maintained his record of securing Champions League football for the Gunners for an 18th consecutive season. Meanwhile, four Chelsea players were among the list of eight from which Hazard was chosen. The others were John Terry, Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic but the Belgian international made it a personal treble having already claimed the PFA and Writers awards. The other four in contention were Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, goalkeeper David de Gea of Manchester United, Tottenham’s PFA Young Player of the Year Harry Kane and Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal.
Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza has been photographed playing football as protests continue over his bid to run for a third term in office. Mr Nkurunziza was playing in his daily kickabout with friends in the capital, Bujumbura. In the latest unrest, a protester was shot dead in Bujumbura. Last week, there was a failed coup against Mr Nkurunziza. Senior officials from both the army and police have been accused of involvement. The protester was shot in the back by police in the opposition stronghold of Musaga, a witness said. On Wednesday Mr Nkurunziza said in a speech on state radio that an insignificant part of the capital was experiencing unrest while the rest of Burundi was peaceful. He urged those who have fled the country to return.
Luis Figo has joined Michael van Praag in withdrawing from the FIFA presidential election on 29 May. Ex-Portugal midfielder Figo, 42, pulled out on the same day as Van Praag, 67, to leave Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan as Blatter’s only rival. Blatter is favourite to win a fifth term as president and Figo said: “This process is anything but an election. “This process is a plebiscite for the delivery of absolute power to one man – something I refuse to go along with.” Figo also highlighted the need for change in his withdrawal statement. “I travelled and met extraordinary people who, though they recognized the value of much that had been done, also concurred with the need for change, one that cleans up FIFA’s reputation as an obscure organization that is so often viewed as a place of corruption,” he said. “I have seen with my own eyes federation presidents who, after one day comparing FIFA leaders to the devil, then go on stage and compare those same people with Jesus Christ. Nobody told me about this. I saw it with my own eyes.” He also questioned an election process in which a main candidate – Blatter – had not produced a manifesto “so that federation presidents know what they’re voting for”. Figo added: “There has not been a single public debate about each candidate’s proposals.”
Napoli boss Rafael Benitez has emerged as a leading candidate to become the next Real Madrid manager. Current Real boss Carlo Ancelotti is widely expected to leave his post after this weekend’s final game of the season against Getafe. Talks between the parties are under way, with 55-year-old Benitez’s Napoli contract due to expire next month, although no agreement has been reached. West Ham have also made contact with the former Liverpool and Chelsea boss. Sam Allardyce, currently preparing West Ham for Sunday’s game at Newcastle, is set for talks about his future early next week. Benitez began his coaching career at Real Madrid B and has also managed Valladolid, Osasuna, Extremadura, Tenerife, Valencia and Inter Milan. While at Liverpool, he famously led the side to victory in the 2005 Champions League final and also tasted success in the FA Cup and Uefa Super Cup. In a brief spell in charge of Chelsea in the 2012-13 season, he steered the Blues to victory in the Europa League. During his time in Italy with Napoli, he has won the Coppa Italia and led the club to the semi-finals of this season’s Europa League.