England

Bad news first: the FA Cup fourth round will probably be a snoozer. None of the major clubs will play each other, with the best possible game being Arsenal vs. (potentially) a much more boring than usual Southampton team. Yeesh.

The good news: a couple of upsets could turn the whole thing on its head. Say Norwich City get by Southampton and then upset Arsenal, or Wycombe Wanderers beat Tottenham, or Brentford beat Chelsea, or Crystal Palace or Bolton take down Manchester City, or Wigan knock out current FA Cup champs Manchester United? That would be fun, right? RIGHT?

Claudio Ranieri, Leicerster City's twinkly-eyed Italian grandfather, er, manager, has been named the 2016 World Manager of the Year by FIFA. After leading the Foxes to the Premier League title, overcoming 5,000-1 odds, we'd have a hard time seeing anyone else getting the award.

Ranieri's 2016-17 Premier League season hasn't been as successful, with Leicester City mired in 15th, six points above the relegation zone. They are, however, in the Champions League knockout stage, where they have a good chance to advance past Sevilla to the quarterfinals.

Wayne Rooney moved level with Bobby Charlton at 249 goals for Manchester United in the Red Devils 4-0 victory over Reading in the FA Cup third round. Rooney had been stuck on 248 since late November, but his smartly taken goal on Saturday put the 31-year-old on the brink of history.

Rooney’s goal opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Some fantastic play from Anthony Martial brought the ball to Juan Mata, and his clipped pass was deftly volleyed home by the man of the hour. 

FIFA’s Video Assistant Referee system debuted at the FIFA Club World Cup to mixed reviews, but that hasn’t stopped Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho from issuing a strong plea to move forward with the technology.

Speaking with FIFA.com ahead of The Best FIFA Football Awards, Mourinho was asked for his view on the system.

It’s been a rough six months for Italian international Simone Zaza. His infamous penalty miss against Germany at Euro 2016, when he approached the ball like a duck at a discotech, has become a burden that he says he’ll carry forever. 

via GIPHY

Goals from Yaya Toure, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, John Stones and a Havard Nordtveit own goal saw Manchester City demolish West Ham at the London Stadium, 5-0. The visitors were slick in possession, holding over 67% of it, with Toure dominating the midfield and Raheem Sterling troubling a static West Ham backline throughout.

For West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, it was another torrid performance at their new home, which has been anything but a fortress this season.

If the rumors are to be believed, Manchester United are in hot pursuit of Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, and, judging by Paul Pogba’s interview with FIFA.com, United’s world-record signing could help lure him to Old Trafford.

It’s shaping up to be one helluva second half to the Premier League season, and we have the month of December to thank for that. Chelsea strode to the top of the table, but Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City are all keeping the pressure on. Behind the top four, Arsenal and Manchester United are within touching distance.

At the bottom, Hull City, Swansea and Sunderland occupy the relegation spots, but Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and even Leicester City will be sweating over their upcoming fixtures.

Mike Dean’s track record is unreal. He pioneered the Dirty South sound of the 90s while working with the Geto Boys, Nate Dogg, Tech N9ne and UGK. In recent times, he’s worked with Kanye West on all of his albums, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean and Desiigner. He’s a living legend, but Mike Dean has received a ton of criticism lately after wrongly sending off Sofiane Feghouli in Monday’s match between Manchester United and West Ham.

Four Chelsea supporters, despite claiming they aren't racists, have been found to be racists by a court in France after throwing a black man out of a Paris metro car, according to the BBC.

The men who claimed they aren't racists could be heard yelling "we are racist, we are racist, and that's the way we like it" in a video taken of the scene.

All four men were given one-year suspended prison sentences and ordered to pay their victim 10,000 Euros.