Best odds: 22/25
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This weekend, a number of interesting matches involving teams locked in the Premier League survival battle will take place, and while some face opposition from the top side of the table, others face each other. Such will be the clash between Leicester City and Bournemouth at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Leicester City
It s a time of much turbulence at Leicester at the moment. The poor results this season, culminating with the defeat to Crystal Palace on the first day of April, have finally produced the drop that raised the water over the rim of the glass, and Brendan Rodgers has been fired from the position of the manager. The 2021 FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs simply weren t enough to keep the Northern Irishm…
Someone needs to say it out loud – Gareth Bale did not meet the expectations during his nearly five-year stay at Real Madrid.
The Welsh wizard joined La Liga giants in September 2013 for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of €100 million which made him the most expensive Real Madrid player with this fee eclipsing the previous record-holder Cristiano Ronaldo who arrived in 2009 for €94 million from Manchester United.
Real Madrid Failure?
When you play that amount of money for a player, you would expect him to grow into a leader of the team who will produce magic with his every step on the football pitch.
But instead of a wizardry from the Welsh international, Real Madrid disappointingly got a player who struggled to adapt to his new surroundin…
Borussia Dortmund were held to a 0-0 draw at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Defender Nico Schlotterbeck was sent off for Dortmund in the second half and Nuri Sahin’s side ultimately had to settle for a point.
After an underwhelming start to the match, the visitors were more aggressive following the interval, with substitute Karim Adeyemi making an instant impact with an effort from more than 20 yards out. But Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer was in place to deny the forward.
Dortmund were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when centre-back Schlotterbeck received a second yellow card for sliding in on Bremen forward Justin Njinmah.
BVB still pushed for a winner despite their numerical disadvantage, but a solid Bremen defence withstood l…
Market: Bologna win
Odds: 5/4 @
Looking to extend on their remarkable Serie A romp this weekend, Bologna will make the trip to the Stadio Friuli when they meet Udinese on Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, suffering a late collapse away at Torino last week as they eventually had to settle for a 1-1 stalemate, Udinese find themselves at the heart of a real Serie A struggle. Looking over their shoulder at a looming bottom-three scrap, the Little Zebras currently hold just a one-point buffer from slipping into the relegation play-off spot. Remarkably recording just a single win from any of their first 17 top-flight appearances this season, Gabriele Cioffi has a real job on his hands in the New Year. With their woeful Serie A struggle underlined by a 4-0 d…
“I don’t know,” he replied when asked if he would leave next year. I have one more year here but me, I never sit on my contract.
“I don’t care. If I’m not happy, I don’t play enough or the coach doesn’t like me, I don’t care about the contract.
Those are the words of Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos who has confirmed that he will not sit on his contract if the time comes for him to leave the club.
There have been rumblings that the Greek star could make his way out of the Emirates if his position in the starting XI comes under consistent threat, or if he s taken out of the equation completely.
Sokratis was able to get himself on the scoresheet last night to help lift Arsenal above Portsmouth and into the quarter-finals o…
As for the visitors, while Everton may have left the Etihad on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat against the reigning champions, the Blues have made a string of improvements since parting ways with former boss Marco Silva. With Carlo Ancelotti s new squad asking City a string of questions on New Year s Day, they have skyrocketed away from the drop zone after picking up back-to-back victories over Newcastle and Burnley. With the mood around Goodison at a continued rise and the likes of Richarlison and starlet Dominic Calvert-Lewin doing an eye-catching job of leading Everton line, there is no doubt that Ancelloti will be calling on his side to find some much-needed stability on the road. Including being hit with a 5-2 defeat when they made the trip across Stanley Park last month, Sunday s gu…
Kyle Walker has given Manchester City an injury scare ahead of the Champions League final by sitting out training with a back problem.
The England right-back was not involved as the treble-chasing Premier League champions held a session open to media ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Inter Milan in Istanbul.
Walker was substituted in the last minute of City’s FA Cup final triumph over Manchester United at Wembley last weekend.
The 33-year-old was made available by the club for media commitments on Tuesday, suggesting the issue was not too serious, but manager Pep Guardiola said no chances were being taken.
“He has had a disturbance in his back,” said Guardiola at a press conference.
“Yesterday he was not good, today he was a little bit …
Alvaro Morata has ended his difficult time at Chelsea by securing a move back to Spain with Atletico Madrid.
The striker has signed a deal that will see him spend the rest of this season and 2019-20 on loan with Diego Simeone s side, who are reported to have the option of a permanent transfer.
Morata spent four seasons with Atleti as a youth player but made his breakthrough in world football with bitter rivals Real Madrid, with whom he won eight trophies, including two LaLiga crowns and two Champions Leagues.
He is certainly not the first to represent both of the capital s big boys, though. Here are six of the best players to have turned out for Atleti and Madrid in their careers
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Agreement with over the loan of for the remainder of the current se…
Sarina Wiegman said England’s trip had yielded “many positives” after the team concluded their double-header of friendlies in southern Spain with a 5-1 win over Italy.
Four days on from the 7-2 defeat of Austria at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Algeciras, another thumping victory for the Lionesses at the same venue began with Lotte Wubben-Moy heading her first international goal in the opening minute.
Lauren Hemp extended the lead with a brace, the second via an excellent header, and after Michela Cambiaghi pulled a goal back for Italy in stoppage time at the end of the first half, substitutes Ella Toone and Rachel Daly completed the rout in the second half.
A five-star performance!
— Lionesses (@Lionesses)
Boss Wiegman told ITV: “I thi…
Pedro has completed his move to Roma, signing a three-year contract with the Serie A side.
The former Barcelona winger ended a five-year stay at Chelsea when his contract at Stamford Bridge expired at the end of last season.
The 33-year-old won the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League during his time at Stamford Bridge and becomes Roma s first signing ahead of the new Serie A season, which begins on September 19.
I am delighted to be here at Roma, Pedro said. I m excited for this challenge and to compete to achieve our targets over the coming seasons.
I want to thank the fans for the welcome they ve given me. I hope to make them happy.
A product of Barcelona s feted La Masia youth academy, he twice won the treble with the Blaugrana – scor…