Milan, Inter Play for Pride in San Siro Derby

Years back a clash between AC Milan and Inter would have been the talk of the town and the attention of the world would have been focused at the San Siro Stadium as the two Milan sides clash on Sunday. But not anymore as both teams are just living on past glories and are occupying 8th and 10th positions on the Serie A log, therefore, the encounter will just be another clash

However, Milan full-back Ignazio Abate insists there will be no lack of motivation in Sunday's match against fierce rivals Inter.
The Milan derby is traditionally one of the most revered contests in world football due to the prestige and history the two Serie A giants boast.

However, this weekend's contest at San Siro has a somewhat underwhelming feeling considering the struggles of both teams in the league this season.

Much was expected of Filippo Inzaghi's first season in charge of Milan, but they are seven points adrift of the UEFA Europa League places and some 28 off the pace of leaders Juventus.

Roberto Mancini's return to Inter has also as yet failed to yield a turnaround in fortunes and they are two spots and one point below their rivals in 10th.

Despite the sides' respective failures, Abate  who has been deputising as captain for the injured Riccardo Montolivo  says the burning desire to secure bragging rights remains as fierce as ever.

"It is not the same derby as a few years ago. But there is still motivation to win. We want to give satisfaction to the club and to the fans. They're a good team with good players and great strikers like Mauro Icardi and Rodrigo Palacio, so we'll have to be careful," he told Sky Sport Italia. A day earlier Juve have the chance to respond to one of the biggest upsets in Serie A history in last week's 1-0 defeat to Parma when the champions play their top-of-the table encounter against Lazio.

Massimiliano Allegri's side saw a 20-match unbeaten league run ended at Stadio Ennio Tardini, but returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Monaco in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals first leg.
Lazio have proved to be no pushovers, though, and a run of nine wins in 10 league matches has seen them usurp city rivals Roma into second.
Roma could only muster a 1-1 draw against Torino last time out and they will attempt to get back on track against Atalanta, while fourth-placed Napoli will hope to capitalise on any slip-ups by beating relegation-threatened Cagliari.

Cesena are seven points adrift of safety and face a make-or-break encounter at Europa League hopefuls Sampdoria today.
Empoli and Verona are not fully out the mire yet, the former host Parma, while the latter visit Fiorentina on Monday.

In other matches, Sassuolo and Palermo are at home against Torino and Genoa respectively, while Udinese visit Chievo.

2017 AFCON: Eagles Draw Egypt, Tanzania, Chad in Group G

By Duro Ikhazuagbe

Nigeria and Egypt who failed to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations along with Tanzania and Chad were yesterday drawn in Group G of the 2017 edition whose qualification matches are slated to begin in June.

By this arrangement, either of Super Eagles or the Pharaohs will be missing again when the finest of Africa’s football nations gather on Gabon for the kick off of the biennial continental showpiece.

Although there is still a faint chance for the two teams to qualify with the winner of the group picking the automatic ticket while the group runners up can still sneak into the tournament as one of the two over all best runners up.

The Pharaohs have clashed with Nigeria 17 times at full international level with the Pharaohs winning six and drawing six of these meetings.

Egypt beat the Eagles 3-2 in their last clash in April 2012.
However, Super Eagles caretaker coach, Daniel Amokachi, was unfazed by Nigeria’s pairing with Egypt. "By his grace, we will qualify for AFCON 2017 from this group," stressed Amokachi who handled Eagles in two international friendlies against Uganda and South Africa a fortnight ago.

Another Ex international, Garba Lawal in his reaction yesterday was not worried about Egypt, insisting that the Pharaohs have the same problems that made it impossible to qualify for the last AFCON.

“Egypt will always be a great team. They have had their problems partly because of the political problems affecting the country. They appear to be overcoming these problems and will push Nigeria for top spot,” he noted.

He however refused to go with the general impressions that both Tanzania and Chad will be easy prey for the Eagles.
“Both Tanzania and Chad will not be pushovers as every country now knows how to play football.
“We can’t afford to play for one of the ‘second-best’ spots. We have to top this group and as such we have to be fully prepared to do battles,” warned Lawal.

The tough road to the final was not a tough one for both Nigeria and seven-time champions Egypt alone.
South Africa and Cameroun are to similarly battle for Group M’s lone ticket in another tough duel. The Bafana Bafana are a far lesser force than they were in 1996 when they trounced the Indomitable Lions  3-0 in the opening match en route to conquering Africa in Johannesburg.

Defending champions Cote d’Ivoire will face Sudan and Sierra Leone in Group I, which also includes host Gabon. However, matches against automatic qualifiers Gabon count as friendlies with no points awarded.

The Yaya Tours inspired Ivorians lifted a trophy that symbolises African national-team supremacy for the second time two months ago by edging Ghana 9-8 in a penalty shootout.

The Black Stars who won the last of four Cup of Nations titles 33 years ago, are in Group H with Mozambique, Rwanda and Mauritius.

THE DRAW

Group A: Tunisia, Togo, Liberia, Djibouti
Group B: DR Congo, Angola, CAR, Madagascar
Group C: Mali, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, South Sudan
Group D: Burkina Faso, Uganda, Botswana, Comoros
Group E: Zambia, Congo, Kenya, Guinea Bissau
Group F: Cape Verde, Morocco, Libya, Sao Tome
Group G: Nigeria, Egypt, Tanzania, Chad
Group H: Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Mauritius
Group I: Ivory Coast, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Gabon
Group J: Algeria, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Seychelles
Group K: Senegal, Niger, Namibia, Burundi
Group L: Guinea, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Swaziland
Group M: Cameroon, South Africa, Gambia, Mauritania