The 32-year-old, who has been hit by a string of injuries since signing for the Catalan club in 2014, limped off the field in the second half of Belgium’s 2-1 win over Switzerland in the Nations League on Friday. “Tests carried out this morning confirm that first team player Thomas Vermaelen has a right hamstring injury. He will be sidelined for approximately six weeks,” the club said in a statement....
Messi is out of contract in 2018 and the 29-year-old is yet to agree a contract renewal as speculation mounts over his future. Former Barca team-mate and Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer Villa - now captain of New York City in MLS - believes Messi’s future will be decided soon. “I think it will happen [a renewal] in the future, sooner or later,” Villa said. “Barcelona love Messi and Messi loves Barca, anything else we can’t imagine....
Ozil would be interested in potentially joining the Liga giants or Jose Mourinho’s side, with the Germany international’s contract with the Gunners due to expire in summer 2018. Arsenal 8/13 to beat Watford There is, however, still a chance Ozil could remain with Arsenal, despite no offer over a contract extension having yet arrived after talks over a renewal were put on hold back in February. Ozil, who recently bought a new house in London, is able to sign a pre-contract with a foreign club in January, although it is understood he remains happy living in the capital city where he is settled and has made many close friends....
The Blaugrana came into the game on the back of a superb pre-season run, with the club winning five and drawing two of their seven friendlies. Despite the gulf in class and quality between the two sides, the visitors did just enough to claim a point. Robert Lewandowski and fellow summer signing Frank Kessie had the ball in the back of the net either side of the half-time break, only to be denied by the offside flag on both occasions....
Paris Saint-Germain thumped Barca 4-0 in their last-16, first-leg tie on Tuesday to heap the pressure on coach Luis Enrique, and while Messi’s late winner prevented a second embarrassing result in six days, the Catalans failed to produce the commanding response that many expected. Early on Barca looked every inch a side desperate to respond emphatically to that humbling result in Paris and it was hardly surprising to see Messi put them ahead after just four minutes at Camp Nou....
The Catalan giants are cruising. The win over Leganes gave them a 12-point lead over Atletico Madrid at the top of the La Liga table. After beating Roma 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League semifinals first-leg, Barcelona returned to the La Liga action on Saturday against Leganes. Ernesto Valverde made four changes to the side that beat AS Roma in the midweek. He rested Andres Iniesta, Samuel Umtiti, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba while Lionel Messi started upfront....
Here are the players who could miss a title-deciding derby. Barcelona Andres Iniesta injured his knee on the 22nd of October during a match against Valencia. He was expected to be out for more than 6 weeks, but the player has already returned to training. The player could possibly be a viable option to play in the game. Jordi Alba, on the other hand, suffered an injury against Real Sociedad, after falling awkwardly....
Barca beaten by Malaga and lose ground in title race Madrid looked comfortable enough after Pepe’s header gave them the lead in the capital clash at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, Zinedine Zidane’s side conceded late in the game and had to settle for a 1-1 draw. That meant Barca could go joint top of the table by beating Malaga and with the Andalusians on a three-game losing streak at La Rosaleda, it seemed the Catalans would not have too much trouble....
The Blaugrana were stunned in Italy, giving up a 4-1 first-leg lead to crash out on away goals, having been favourites for the competition. Barca have been widely criticised for their display but still lead LaLiga and Valverde says his side must move on quickly, with a tough test against Valencia to come on Saturday. “We lost the possibility of staying in a competition we were excited about being in – it’s a big disappointment,” he said....
The 32-year-old midfielder damaged knee ligaments last month and returned to training on Friday. “Andres is waiting to be given the all clear by the doctors but this is just a formality. He is fit and he has been training with us,” Luis Enrique told a news conference. “He is available for selection.” The Spain international missed Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad, a result that left Barca six points adrift of La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who are unbeaten in 31 games in all competitions....
The Premier League — with more money than it knows what to do with — has no representatives left in the Champions League after Barcelona’s victory over Manchester City on Wednesday. It was all so very predictable in the end. MORE: Ronaldo to MLS? | Klinsmann thinks Zelalem is ready | Goal of the season? The assertion that Premier League clubs have massively underachieved in Europe for far too long can no longer be challenged....
Until recently, politicians like Weld seemed to have the power, while analysts like Tillman labored in obscurity, crunching the numbers of states, towns and sewer authorities and rating the risk of bonds they offered for sale to investors. Traditionally, their ratings of corporate debt have drawn more attention. But the spotlight on “muni” ratings is now a laser. For one thing, there’s more of this kind of debt out there (about $1 trillion)....
“No decision has been made, we haven’t reached the conclusions on how we want to continue yet,” said Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff after an hour and a half long meeting at the Sakhir circuit. Team bosses said various new formats were discussed, as well as staying with the current one, but there would be no going back to 2015 qualifying because both the governing FIA and commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone were opposed....
The 18-year-old took just 55 minutes to defeat seventh seeded Chinese Shixian Wang 21-18, 21-17 in the quarterfinal to assure India of at least a bronze at the competition. “I congratulate Sindhu on reaching the semifinals and ensuring a medal. But she has the capability to go all the way in the tournament and I wish her all the luck in her endeavour,” BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta said....
United defender Bailly made his first league start since February on Sunday, but had to be taken off after a collision with Mateo Kovacic. Solskjaer’s side are now winless in their past four games in all competitions, and also lost Marcus Rashford to injury in the second half. But while unable to provide an update on Rashford, Solskjaer confirmed Bailly is unlikely to feature again this term. “Injuries? Rashy, we strapped him up before the game,” Solskjaer told a news conference....
Bairstow was unbeaten on 66 at the break while Jos Buttler was batting on 38 at the other end. For India, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took a wicket each. Coming together at the fall of Ben Stokes, Buttler and Bairstow added 61 runs between them to help restore some measure of respectability to the England scoreboard. The Punjab Cricket Association I.S. Bindra Cricket Stadium has been a lucky ground for the Indian team as they have not lost a Test match at this venue for the last 22 years....
Mayfield made headlines for criticizing the athlete and his team in the article. The player was quoted as saying, “I cannot believe the Giants took Daniel Jones. Blows my mind.” He added that NFL teams tend to “forget you’ve gotta win” in college, where Jones had a record of 17-19 as a starter at Duke. Mayfield’s name became a trending topic on Twitter and the quarterback’s words garnered mixed responses online, prompting Mayfield to say that the quote from GQ was misconstrued....
There are many products and treatments for severe eczema. Some options, like a baking soda bath, are easily accessible and effective at soothing the itch. While there’s no definitive research proving that taking a baking soda bath for eczema is beneficial, many people who have eczema find relief with the treatment. Baking soda cannot cure eczema, but it does offer natural antibacterial capabilities that may help keep your skin clean as it heals....
Balan Wonderworld is set in the mysterious Balan Theater, a musical theater that changes its form to match the imaginations of characters who have lost something (or someone) dear to them in their lives. All of this is curated by the equally mysterious Balan, an entity who assists the player multiple times throughout their journey. RELATED: Persona 5 Strikers Preview: Getting the Gang Back Together Again The opening of the Balan Wonderworld demo, which is available later today to players looking to get their hands on the game before its March 26th release date, allows the player to pick between two playable characters, a boy named Leo Craig, and a girl named Emma Cole....
RELATED: 10 Action RPGs To Play If You Like Baldur’s Gate Similar to Divinity: Original Sin 2’s development, Larian has released Baldur’s Gate 3 in early access to get player feedback. While the early access build is short with only the game’s first act being playable, there is so much depth in the current build that fans should be wary of a few mechanics and features before diving in. Here are ten things that fans should know before diving into Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access build....
