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Monday Kickoff: Aguero could face Real Madrid, QPR’s Johnson sidelined, & more

SergioAgueroCity (ISIPhotos.com)

Manchester City is preparing to start a very difficult UEFA Champions League group this week and could receive a major boost ahead of a showdown vs. Real Madrid with the return of Argentine striker Sergio Aguero.

Sidelined for the past month with a knee ligament injury, Aguero has traveled to Madrid with Manchester City ahead of Tuesday's high-profile group stage clash and could feature in the match

City was drawn into a Champions League group that includes Real Madrid, Ajax and Borussia Dortmond and the English champions will be looking to advance past the group stage after being eliminated in the group phase last year.

Here are some other stories to get your Monday going:

QPR'S JOHNSON SIDELINED WITH TORN ACL

Queens Park Rangers halted Chelsea's perfect start to the new Enlish Premier League season, but that result came at a high price.

The London club has lost striker Andrew Johnson for what may be most of the season after scans revealed a torn ACL. Johnson suffered the injury during the first half of QPR's scoreless draw vs. Chelsea.

Johnson joined QPR in the summer on a free transfer from Fulham, and had been expected to partner with Bobby Zamora in a revamped attack for former Fulham manager Mark Hughes. The season hasn't quite worked out that way for QPR, which remains winless this season.

PALERMO FIRE MANAGER

It took just three games for the first manager in one of Europe's top leagues to lose his job, and it is no surprise that Italian side Palermo is the first to pull the triger on a firing.

Palermo fired Giuseppe Sannino after the team's 1-1 draw vs. Cagliari, with former Inter Milan boss Gian Pero Gasperini appointed the team's new manager.

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has developed a reputation for firing managers quickly and he lived up to that reputation yet again. Palermo has had a staggering 18 managers since Zamparini took over the club ten years ago.

2014 WORLD CUP MASCOT UNVEILED

A three-banded armadillo has been unveiled as the new mascot for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The mascot, which has yet to be officially named, was unveiled late on Sunday by former Brazilian national team star Ronaldo during a national television broadcast in Brazil.

The endangered armadillo is indigenous to Brazil.

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What do you think of these developments? See Aguero helping Manchester City overcome their early start to the season? Think Queens Park Rangers can turn things around without Johnson? Is there a worse job in European soccer than head coach of Palermo?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Aguero’s son has Sergio Aguero as a father and Diego Maradona as a grandfather on his mother’s side. High standards to live by, soccer wise.

    Reply

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