Arouna Kone feels Everton are well placed to finish above Merseyside neighbours Liverpool this season.

Everton host Liverpool at Goodison Park on Sunday, with the former a point clear of their rivals in the Premier League standings after seven matches.

Roberto Martinez s Everton have often played second-fiddle to Liverpool but the blue half of Merseyside managed to earn bragging rights in 2012-13, when they finished sixth in the table two points above the Anfield club.

And Ivory Coast forward Kone believes Everton can repeat the feat in 2015-16.

This might be the year that Everton finish above Liverpool again, said the 31-year-old.

The reason is nothing to do with Liverpool but I think we ve made a good start, it s been solid, and I think throug…

Porto coach Sergio Conceicao vowed to finish the job and qualify his side for the Champions League knockout stage after his captain Hector Herrera inspired a 4-1 win over Lokomotiv Moscow.

Mexico international Herrera scored inside 90 seconds at Estadio do Dragao to set Porto on course for a deserved victory, and he provided a superb assist for Moussa Marega to make it 2-0 before Jesus Corona and Otavio added further goals.

Conceicao described how Herrera s involvement in the game had been in doubt due to an injury he picked up in Porto s 3-1 win over Lokomotiv in Moscow two weeks earlier.

Conceicao confirmed that doubts over Herrera s fitness were real but said the midfielder s selection helped to add physicality to his side in a game played in torrential rain.<…

Argentina and Fiorentina icon Gabriel Batistuta has an offer on the table to coach Adelaide United in the A-League next season.

Adelaide chief executive Grant Mayer confirmed Batistuta is the club s prime target to replace Guillermo Amor, who departed on Wednesday.

Amor guided Adelaide to their first A-League title in 2015-16 but he oversaw a disappointing championship defence as the Reds finished ninth in the 10-team league last season, with 48-year-old Batistuta now favourite to fill the vacancy despite his limited coaching experience.

We can t sit on our hands, Mayer told News Limited on Thursday.

We re chasing a suitable replacement after Guillermo Amor, [who] has all the respect and goes out on his own terms.

With Batistuta an offer has be…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 4/5 @

Looking to lay down what would be a real marker on the road this weekend, Bolton will make the trip to Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, managing to find a boost in midweek as they picked up a 2-1 win away at Mansfield on EFL Trophy duties, Sheffield Wednesday will now be seeking some stability. Failing to build on their shock 2-1 victory away at a high-flying Wigan when closing September, the Owls were hit with a worrying defeat against Oxford on home soil last weekend. Losing their Championship status over the summer, Darren Moore s men still find themselves scrapping it out in the middle of the table. Showing a host of inconsistencies since opening the 2021/22 campaign, Wednesday have now mana…

Julen Lopetegui insists he is only focused on preparing Real Madrid to face Viktoria Plzen and not on the speculation that he will be sacked as head coach.

The 52-year-old is under intense pressure after a run of no wins in five matches in all competitions, with a 2-1 defeat to Levante on Saturday leaving them seventh in LaLiga.

Widespread reports over the last 24 hours have suggested the former Spain boss could be dismissed before this week s Champions League clash with Plzen, or at least prior to the Clasico on Sunday.

But although he refused to speculate on what will happen in the coming weeks, Lopetegui stressed on Monday that he is only interested in masterminding a win at the Santiago Bernabeu against the visitors from the Czech Republic.

I m not t…

Poland manager Franciszek Smuda on Monday left goalkeeper Artur Boruc and captain Michal Zewlakow off his squad for the Euro 2012 hosts latest skill-honing friendly, after a reported bust-up.

Fiorentina s Boruc, long a Poland stalwart, was edged out by Lukasz Fabianski of Arsenal and Przemyslaw Tyton of Dutch club Roda Kerkade on Smuda s list for the November 17 home game against Ivory Coast.

Boruc and defender Zewlakow who last month notched up a national record of 101 caps reportedly angered the manager by drinking and treating flight attendants arrogantly on the way home from friendlies in North America last month.

Smuda and the Polish football federation refused to comment, but Boruc later criticised the coach s management style.

Smuda, brought on bo…

Liverpool football supporters seeking a revival after the ouster of former owner Tom Hicks have a roadmap to recovery in the success of another club Hicks recently owned, baseball s Texas Rangers.

Two months after exiting bankruptcy, the Rangers have reached the World Series for the first time in their 50-year history and will play host to San Francisco on Saturday in game three of the Major League Baseball final.

It definitely has a very positive impact on your organization and just on recognition, Rangers president Nolan Ryan said.

What I ve seen is how much Texas memorabilia I see around the country now. Our fans didn t even wear it to the ballpark when I came in 2008.

Only two weeks ago, Hicks was in a Texas court fighting to keep Liverpool after …

Bundesliga outfit Augsburg have confirmed the signing of striker Tim Matavz on a five-year contract from PSV.

The 25-year-old Slovenia international has joined the German club on an undisclosed fee.

And Matavz who only made 15 Eredivisie appearances for PSV last term cannot wait to get going at his new club.

I look forward to the new challenge in the German Bundesliga, Matavz told Augsburg s official website.

It s nice that I have only missed the first few days of preparation.

[Now I will] get to know my new colleagues and the environment at FCA in the next few weeks and integrate myself into the team, so that we can successfully start the season.

Matavz joined PSV from Groningen in 2011 and scored 24 goals in 70 league appearances.