Early on Sunday morning I was walking through my local park in south London, where around eight guys were playing football on the grass. At one stage, one of them ran clean through: round the keeper, goal at his mercy, only to roll the ball wide. “Daniel James!” he exclaimed to himself as he went to fetch it. “Daniel James,” he muttered again, shamefaced and still furious. And before long, all his mates were calling him “Daniel James” as well.
About eight hours later, the real Daniel James was charging towards goal at Stamford Bridge in that rapid but largely innocuous style of his. Has there ever been an attacking player who ran so fast while carrying so little perceived threat? When we think of the game’s great speed merchant…
In what was a nail-biting Champions League showdown on Wednesday night, Bayern Munich clinched their semi-final ticket as they secured a 1-0 victory against Arsenal at the Allianz.
With the German giants putting in a gritty performance in north London last week as they claimed a first-leg 2-2 stalemate, it was midfield talisman Joshua Kimmich who proved to be Bayern’s hero here.
Watching the Germany international produce a thunderous header in the 63rd-minute, Wednesday’s hosts will now turn their attention to a heavyweight semi-final battle against Real Madrid.
Despite being unable to call upon the likes of Serge Gantry and Kingsley Coman here, Bayern cashed in on an Arsenal squad who failed to find any real fluidity away from the Emirates.
Missing …
When Cristiano Ronaldo touched down in Turin, it sparked pandemonium in northern Italy, but drew a collective gasp from Juventus rivals.
Already enjoying a stranglehold on Italian football, the seven-time reigning Serie A champions had just signed one of the all-time greats from Real Madrid.
The addition of Ronaldo to a squad overflowing with quality – plus the arrivals of Emre Can, Joao Cancelo, Mattia Perin and the return of Leonardo Bonucci – has Juve as favourites yet again to claim an eighth successive Scudetto, though the Bianconeri s transfer business also has Massimiliano Allegri primed to deliver a coveted European crown.
Juve have only won two Champions League titles having lost five finals since 1996, so Ronaldo s arrival has the club fighting on a…
Arsenal go into this game knowing that a continuation of their current ifne form could carry them even closer to the precipice of the Premier League, whereas Burnley will look to halt what appears to be an alarming slide towards the foot of the table.
Arsene Wenger is never one to talk down the ability of his team, but his relative silence on their credentials this season would appear to suggest he is happy for his players to do the talking on the field. After last weeks win over Stoke City, This Arsenal team will want to show that their skill can outshine the crude play of other teams, after Aaron Ramsey was scythed down by Ryan Shawcross last week. The young midfielder will be out for the rest of the season with a broken leg and his colleagues will be keen to show that whatev…
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 10/11 @
Marking their return from September’s international break this weekend, West Brom will travel to Fratton Park when they meet Portsmouth on Sunday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, storming their way to a Championship return for this season, Portsmouth simply have their sights set on keeping hold of their second-tier status this time around. However, despite opening the 2024/25 campaign with an action-packed 3-3 stalemate away at promotion contenders Leeds, John Mousinho’s men have largely failed to find any kind of stability. Heading into September’s international break with another worrying display as they slumped to a 3-1 drumming at home against Sunderland, the Blues have failed to win any of their first five …
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has acknowledged the 2019-20 season across Europe would likely be lost if football is unable to restart by the end of June.
The 2019-20 season has been suspended indefinitely across most of Europe due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Euro 2020 also pushed back to 2021.
While leagues are hoping to restart between the end of April and the beginning of June, there is as yet no definite return date and Ceferin has conceded it may be impossible to finish the season at all.
In that case, UEFA s president has suggested the campaign would have to be considered as null and void.
If we don t succeed in restarting, the season will probably be lost, Ceferin told Italian publication La Repubblica.
There is a plan A, B and C…
There are not many who believe Chelsea have much of a chance of beating French champions PSG, but that is nothing new for Gary Cahill.
Cahill was part of the Chelsea side that enjoyed an unlikely triumph over Bayern Munich in 2012 to take out the title.
Chelsea were managed by stand-in Roberto Di Matteo at the time and Cahill is hoping current interim manager Guus Hiddink can achieve a similar feat with the club, despite his side still being in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
We have to prove that we’re a good team and good players on the biggest stage. he said.
Everyone talks about wanting Champions League football and they want Champions League.
We’ve managed to get through the group and we are facing PSG. It’s massive.
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You would be hard-pressed to find a bigger upset than the Jets outright defeating the Bengals like what happened in Week 8, but with some more huge spreads, maybe we’re in store for a similar fate.
Here’s a look at my two favorite NFL parlay picks for Week 9.
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Week 1 in the NFL features an intriguing AFC West matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers.
These teams faced off in Week 18 last season with the Raiders clinching a playoff spot in a 35-32 thriller and sending the Bolts to the golf links. The Raiders kicked a field goal with time expiring in overtime instead of settling for a tie, which would have resulted in both teams making the postseason.
With the young and hungry Chargers heavily motivated for this rematch, here are my best free NFL picks and predictions for Raiders vs. Chargers on September 10.
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With another NFL season upon us and online sports betting sites being more competitive for recreational action than ever before, bettors should be maximizing their expected value book-to-book by taking advantage of the plethora of advanced sportsbook features.
Some are more useful than others, while some are just simple and easy ways to get better NFL odds. Either way, there is a wide range of features available, and I’m going to share the ones I think will have the most positive impact for bettors for the 2023 NFL betting season.
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