Best Odds: 21/20
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Seeking a much-needed boost this weekend, Atletico Madrid will welcome a high-flying Real Betis to the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday afternoon.
Atletico Madrid
Starting with the hosts, while Atletico Madrid might have opened the 2021/22 campaign with many tipping them to reclaim their La Liga crown, Los Colchoneros find themselves in the midst of a recent struggle. Despite smelling what was a real chance away at Levante earlier in the week, Diego Simeone s side were hit with last-gasp heartbreak on the road. Throwing away the lead twice and eventually shipping a 90th-minute goal, the defending champions open this weekend s fixtures sat down in sixth and desperate to make up some ground. Marking their return from October s int…
Benfica have made an official approach to Liverpool about the possibility of signing Harry Wilson, according to James Pearce of . The initial talks have broken down with the Portuguese club daunted by Liverpool s asking price of €15 million, but the Premier League side expect them back at the table soon.
The 24-year-old attacking midfielder has so far had five different loan spells away from Anfield, plying his trade at Crewe, Hull City, Derby County, Bournemouth, and most recently Cardiff City, for which he scored seven and assisted 12 goals in 37 Championship appearances in 2020-21.
Wilson is keen on securing regular first-team football, and he is aware his chances of getting it at Liverpool in the near future are small. Therefore, he is open to the possibility of…
Javier Hernandez has urged caution ahead of Manchester United s derby clash against Manchester City on Sunday.
Roberto Mancini s side are currently two points clear at the top of the Premier League and the Mexico international insists United s rivals have developed into serious title contenders.
We don t underestimate any team, we always expect them to be difficult, Hernandez told the BBC.
We need to be at 100 per cent because both teams want to win this game.
Manchester City are doing very well, they ve improved a lot but, in my mind, we only care about us.
City have a good manager. They ve spent a lot of money and are doing great but I think, with the history of a club like Manchester United, we know most teams want to win against their riv…
German giants Bayern Munich are set to play India in a friendly at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on January 10 next year.
This will be the fifth occasion when the Bavarians will visit the country, with their first appearance being in the 111th IFA Shield in December 2005 when their second-string squad under Gerd Muller won the competition.
Oliver Kahn played his final game against Mohun Bagan in May 2008 at the Salt Lake Stadium where more than 120,000 fans assembled to catch a glimpse of the former Germany skipper.
In January 2009, the likes of Thomas Muller and Holger Badstuber travelled to India to play a few games in Kolkata and Siliguri.
A Paul Breitner-led Bayern Legends faced East Bengal Legends and crushed them 10-3 in November last year…
Managing Arsenal remains Thierry Henry s dream job but the former striker knows he has a long way to go before he can replace Arsene Wenger.
Henry announced his retirement on Tuesday after four and a half seasons with New York Red Bulls, and has signed a contract to join Sky Sports as a pundit, although the 37-year-old has long-term plans to become a manager, with one of his former clubs high on his wish list as a future employer.
While working alongside Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher as an on-screen analyst, Henry plans to complete his coaching education and Arsenal looks set to play a key role.
Henry joined Arsenal in 1999 and went on to make 258 Premier League appearances with the club including a short loan stint from the Red Bulls in the 2011-12 season sc…
Free-agent striker Younis Mahmoud will hope to repeat his heroics of 2007 after being named in Iraq s squad for the Asian Cup.
Mahmoud has been unattached since parting ways with Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli in December 2013, yet he has still been selected by head coach Radhi Shenaishil for the tournament in Australia.
The 31-year-old was the player of the competition in 2007 when Iraq lifted the trophy, scoring four goals including the winner in the 1-0 final victory over Saudi Arabia.
And he is in contention to lead the line again for Iraq as they bid to regain the title after being knocked out in the quarter-finals in 2011.
Swindon Town midfielder Yaser Kasim is also included in the squad along with Columbus Crew forward Justin Meram.
Shenaish…
Everton defender Michael Keane revealed why he rejected a move to Manchester United, saying he felt he would get more game time at Goodison Park.
The England international opted against a return to United, where he came through as a youth player and made five senior appearances, in the close-season.
Instead, Keane, 24, joined Everton in a reported £25million move from Burnley, signing a five-year contract.
The centre-back, who is set to come up against United at Old Trafford on Sunday, said his desire for game time was part of the reason he turned down Jose Mourinho s side.
They [United] were in touch with my agent and showed a lot of interest, Keane told The Times.
They wanted me, but a few things happened and I thought Everton would be the be…
Verdict: Away win
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Republic of Ireland will face in-form Sweden side on their second successive European Championship appearance, and the Irish know this is their best chance of recording a win in Group E. Meanwhile, Blagult are buoyed by the 3-0 triumph over Wales in the dress rehearsal and they will be hoping to make the premiere just as successful.
Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland have shown signs of promise in the past couple of decades, and, oddly enough, they made it to the Euro play-offs in four of last six qualifying campaigns. And while they lost to Netherlands and Turkey at the first two attempts, victories over Estonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina saw the Irish secure their place at the 2012 and 2016 tournaments. The G…
Verdict: Callum Wilson to score anytime
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Hoping to move one step closer to securing a top-four finish, Tottenham will travel to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
Bournemouth
Starting with the hosts, after playing out a dramatic 3-3 draw with South Coast rivals Southampton last weekend, it has been a sluggish end to the campaign for Eddie Howe s side. Freefalling out of the top half of the Premier League table and eight points adrift with two games remaining, Bournemouth have now managed to record just one win in their last six top-flight appearances. A huge part of the Cherries struggles at the back end of the season has been their struggles at the Vitality. Suffering back-to-back home defeats against Burnley and an al…
Ousmane Dembele is a better player than Neymar, according to Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Neymar became the most expensive player in the world in August 2017 when he left Barca for Paris Saint-Germain after the Ligue 1 side triggered his €222million release clause.
Barca invested the sum in the likes of Dembele, who arrived from Borussia Dortmund for an initial €105m, although his time at Camp Nou has been disrupted by injury and disciplinary issues.
But Dembele has made 23 LaLiga appearances so far this season, scoring eight goals to help Ernesto Valverde s side establish a seven-point lead over Atletico Madrid in the title race.
And although Barca have regularly been linked with pushing for Neymar to return, Bartomeu signalled he is…