Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun will play with a protective mask in Mainz 05 Europa League group stage tie against French side Saint-Etienne.

Balogun suffered a face injury in Main 05 dramatic 4-4 draw with Hoffeinheim over the weekend in the Bundesliga. A game they were at a point leading by 4-1.

The Nigerian lasted the entire duration of the game despite the facial injury he sustained but will wear a protective mask in tomorrow’s Europa League clash.

No time frame has been on how long he will be wearing the mask. However the Nigerian appears to be very comfortable in the mask as he was all smiles in it when heading for training ahead of tomorrow’s Europa League game.

He is one of the first name on the team sheet of the German side for competitive games. A form he replicated when Nigeria defeated Tanzania 1-0 in an AFCON 2017 qualifiers in Uyo.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has named his squad for tonight rescheduled UEFA Champions League clash against Borussia Monchengladbach.

The manager made three changes to the squad that defeated Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford. Bringing in Ilkay Gundogan for his Manchester City debut alongside the returning Sergio Kun Aguero who takes the place of Kelechi Iheanacho.

Bacary Sagna also lost his spot in the starting line up to Pablo Zabaleta.

Leicester City second record signing Ahmed Musa have been ignored by coach Claudio Ranieri in the starting line up for Leicester City first ever UEFA Champions League tie.

Musa signed from CSKA Moscow was named on the bench for the tie against Club Brugge with record signing Islam Slimani taking his spot in the starting line up.

The Super Eagles deputy captain has only started one game for the English champions since joining them this summer. He could still come before the end of the game, same way he has done in their previous games.

Nigeria Professional Football League side Heartland FC of Owerri were involved in a road accident in the city of Maiduguri, where they will be the guest to El-Kanemi Warriors in a league tie.

As at the time of reporting, no death was reported but news had it that some of the players sustained serious injuries and they are presently being taken to hospital for treatment.

We gathered that about seven players were injured, while three officials are reportedly badly wounded from the accident that occurred as the team were making their way from the airport to the city centre.

More on this will follow later.

Victor Moses will be making his 50th appearance for Chelsea, if he gets to play against Liverpool on Friday and ahead of the game, the winger has praised the coaching methods of new coach Antonio Conte.

After spending the last three years out on loan to Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham respectively, the 25 year old is now thriving under the Italian and he has credit his upturn in fortunes to the strict diet regime of the new coach.

‘He is a great manager if you look at what he did at Juventus and he is a very passionate manager and he wants the best from us,’ said the 25-year-old.

‘You could see in pre-season how hard everyone was working. I think he is the right man for this club.

‘He came in and changed quite a few things and everyone was expecting that. The food regime and the training have changed and he wants everyone to gel together as a team. He speaks to every player and wants the best from each and every one of us, and he will get the best out of us.’

Moses emphasised the strict dietary requirements are good for the players’ bodies and that Conte is very keen on making sure they stay away from injuries.

‘We appreciate that and it will help us in the long run,’ he added.

‘We know what is expected of us this season and we will hopefully do our best.

‘It is going to be a hard league and we have to take every game seriously. Every one is a must-win game for us.’

Nigeria have not given up hope on luring former Liverpool forward Jordon Ibe to play for the Super Eagles, despite his initial reluctance to commit his future to Nigeria.

Ibe now at Bournemouth was approached by then Super Eagles manager Sunday Oliseh, but he asked for more time before he formerly make up his mind about switching allegiance to Nigeria.

It’s almost a year from the time he was approached by Nigeria, although there’s no immediate plan to reach out to him anytime soon. Nigeria could be tempted to come back for him in a not too distant future.

“We have not given up hope on him. He didn’t turn us down completely, he only asked for more time, so probably in the future we will try for him but not for now”. A member of the Technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation said.

Now at Bournemouth, he has appeared in all of their first four games of the season for the modest team. He is however still searching for his first goal of the season.

According to reports exclusively gathered by Owngoalnigeria.com, Sfaxien of Tunisia Nigerian midfileder Kingsley Sokari could be called up for Nigeria’s World Cup 2018 clash against Zambia.

We gathered he is one of the players under consideration by new coach Gernot Rohr in his bid to improve the midfield of the Super Eagles in their World Cup qualifiers campaign.

Last season, the 21 year old was one of the top performers for Sfaxien, playing a very big role in their second place finish in the league. It appears he was proposed to the coach by one of his assistants.

” Sokari is among the names under consideration by the new manager Gernot Rohr. He could be invited but for now he is one among several names on the tentative list of potential invitee” a source told Owngoalnigeria.com.

Sokari was heavily tipped to make the Nigeria Olympic team, but personal differences with the coach of the team Samson Siasia kept him out of the team for the business end of their campaign that resulted in the bronze medal at the games in Rio.

Scouts from English Premiership side Swansea City were present in Croatia during the league game between RNK Split and NK Istra to run the rule on 20 year old Nigerian forward Theophilus Solomon.

Originally owned by Rijeka, he is presently one of the shining lights of his loan side with three goals from the first five games he has played so far. Including one in last weekend 3-0 victory over Split which was watched by the scouts.

He has twice been voted into the team of the week, in his first full season in a top flight team in Croatia after an injury hit time at fellow first division side NK Zadar in 2014.

Solomon has been in Croatia since 2014 but the forward is finally living up to the high ratings he commanded when he arrived in the country after 15 goals for second division side NK Sibenik last season.

So far he has 20 professional goals and has scored a hattrick in each of the two seasons he has played as a professional with the goals coming during his time on loan to Zadar and Sibenik.

Reports from Croatia has it that their presence at the game was leaked by a Croatian scout who is a friend to one of the scouts from Swansea City present at the game.

Odion Ighalo has been given a significant pay rise at English Premiership side Watford, after signing a new five year deal reportedly worth twice his former pay.

His new deal which will run to the summer of 2021 was announced by the club, which is his second contract extension in one year since joining the club on a permanent deal in October 2014.

The Nigerian is highly regarded at Watford due to his impressive goal scoring rate since his move to the team from Granada of Spain two seasons ago.

27 year old Ighalo scored 20 goals in 38 appearances to help fire Watford to the Premiership in his first season at the club, and followed that up with 16 goals last season in his debut season in English top flight league.

His partnership with captain Troy Deeney is regarded in some quarters as one of the fiercest attacking combo in the league, due to the way they compliment the playing style of each other.