Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has been hailed as an “inspiration” to young players after being voted the 2019 Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association.

The PFA Team of the Season was dominated by Manchester City and Liverpool players (plus Paul Pogba). But Daniel Storey's selection spreads the recognition a shade wider.

At the start of a pivotal seven days that could well determine Manchester City’s destiny this season, manager Pep Guardiola last night demonstrated the complicated relationship he and his club share with the Champions League.

England manager Gareth Southgate would have no hesitation unleashing teenagers Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi against the Czech Republic tonight.

Daniel Storey looks at the five biggest takeaways from the weekend’s action.

One of the nice things about Graeme Souness’ stubborn refusal to sugarcoat his punditry is that he sometimes seems to forget who his lords and masters are, writes Liam Mackey.

The most-improved player award isn’t always the most coveted of titles, ranking somewhere above ‘clubman of the year’ but well below the more meaningful individual honours; but for two players at Sunday’s North London derby it is a story worth telling.

As Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane pitch into battle tonight without the services of disenchanted Harry Arter, former Ireland boss Mick McCarthy is calling on him to mount a reconciliation bid.

Manchester City can consider themselves highly unfortunate not to beat Wolves. They hit the woodwork three times, Rui Patricio made a world-class save from Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus missed a simple chance, and the Wolves’ goal should have been disallowed for handball.

England have reached World Cup semi-final for the first time since the Gazza-led team of Italia 90, which famously lost to Germany on penalties. But how do the teams compare and who makes a combined XI? We take on the challenge...

England 6 Panama 1

There will be 100 Premier League players in action at the World Cup, spread across 25 international teams.

Gareth Southgate has decided against selecting Joe Hart or Jack Wilshere.

Pep Guardiola claims his “extraordinary” and “exceptional” Manchester City side will not give up in their quest to overturn the odds against Liverpool.

Niall Quinn believes the goals will definitely come in the green shirt for Sean Maguire and Scott Hogan despite both strikers firing blanks in last week’s friendly defeat in Turkey.

Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero will face no disciplinary action from the Football Association (FA) following his clash with a Wigan fan after Monday’s FA Cup tie.

Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City to face a Leicester side containing Riyad Mahrez this weekend.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson struck a late equaliser as Burnley grabbed a 1-1 draw against Premier League leaders Manchester City at Turf Moor.

He may have lost Leroy Sane to injury and been priced out of his quest for Riyad Mahrez but if that represented a bad week for Pep Guardiola in his Manchester City wonderland, normal service was quickly resumed on the field last night.

A few big-money Premier League transfers are expected to go through before deadline day.

Kevin De Bruyne previously held the club record.

Premier League

Man City 2 Bristol City 1: Bobby Reid’s penalty drew first blood in this absorbing Carabao Cup semi-final first leg before the Championship team simply became the latest in a long line of teams to discover why Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester City are still on course for an historic quadruple.

Pep Guardiola has hailed defender Nicolas Otamendi as Manchester City’s ‘Superman’.

The halfway point of the Premier League campaign dovetails nicely with Christmas so the time has come to provide a little festive cheer by handing out some imaginary mid-season awards

Pep Guardiola is prepared to apologise to Manchester United if they consider Manchester City’s celebrations after Sunday’s derby were excessive.

Pep Guardiola is prepared to apologise to Manchester United if they consider Manchester City's celebrations after Sunday's derby excessive.

Pep Guardiola believes the loss of John Stones will present Manchester City with a tough examination of their title credentials in the coming weeks.

Manchester City maintained their magnificent start to the season against Leicester but the win at the King Power Stadium came at a cost with an injury that could keep John Stones out for six weeks.

In the 15 excruciatingly long years between 1991 and 2006, Manchester City registered not a single victory over Arsenal. To say the Gunners had become a bogey team was to underestimate the state of affairs quite radically.

Kevin De Bruyne’s emergence as one of the world’s best footballers has come as little surprise to Belgium team-mate Steven Defour. De Bruyne has been in sparkling form for Manchester City this season, helping them rack up 17 goals in their last three home Premier League games, and Defour’s side Burnley are next up today at the Etihad Stadium.

Man City 2 - Napoli 1: Early goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus saw Manchester City maintain their winning start in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Napoli.

England 1 Slovenia 0

Harry Kane fired England to next summer's World Cup but his last-gasp winner cannot paper over the cracks after Gareth Southgate's men limped to victory against limited Slovenia.

Feyernoord 0 - Man City 4: Manchester City produced an outstanding performance to open their seventh successive Champions League campaign with an emphatic 4-0 win at Feyenoord.

Raheem Sterling struck a deflected injury-time winner to give Manchester City victory after a hard-fought contest at Bournemouth - only to then be sent off for his celebrations.

Manchester City beat Real Madrid 4-1 in the ICC Tournament in front of a record crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Arsenal 2 Man City 2

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has made a veiled criticism of Manchester United and Manchester City, saying spending money does not guarantee success.

Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea fought off the challenge of Manchester City to take a step closer to the Premier League title with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

Sergio Aguero salvaged a point for City, cancelling out an opening penalty from his former team-mate James Milner, although those bare facts tell only a fraction of the story from this wonderful, breathless Etihad encounter.

Monaco 3 Manchester City 1 (6-6 on agg, Monaco win on away goals): Manchester City played their part in another Champions League thriller but it ultimately cost them their place in the competiton after they crashed out on the away goal’s rule to Monaco.

Sunderland 0 Manchester City 2: Sunderland were game, but the harsh truth is that they were woefully lacking in just about every department. Try as they might, the most stern test faced by Manchester City arrived in the aftermath of the final whistle.

The season’s first Double Gameweek, arriving as it did out of the blue, has whipped FPL managers into a veritable frenzy.