Month: November 2024

Scotland boss Steve Clarke is desperate to reach the Qatar 2022 World Cup as his side prepare for an emotionally charged encounter with Ukraine.

The two sides meet in a UEFA qualifying semi-final playoff at Hampden Park this week, with the winner set to face Wales for a spot at the end-of-year tournament.

The match will mark Ukraine s first competitive fixture since the nation was invaded by Russia in February, with neutrals likely to be cheering Oleksandr Petrakov s visitors on in Glasgow.

Speaking ahead of the clash, Clarke says the emotional tenor of the game will be led by their opponents, but insists his side will only be focused on their own on-field goals.

We always said we would be guided by the Ukrainians as to how they felt, he stated.

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One-time World Cup winners France lead the chase in Group E, with les Bleus hoping to make amends for the 2010 tournament when they crashed out in the group stage. Playing without Franck Ribery but with some of world s most talented footballers, Didier Deschamps side are rightly considered group favourites.

The up-and-coming Switzerland side aim to at least get past the group stage after the triumph over soon-to-be champions Spain did not prove sufficient to reach the knockout stages last time out. Taking part at the World Cup for the third time, Ecuador and Honduras will be out to spring a surprise or two and try to upset the odds and qualify for the Last 16 stage.

Winners of Group E

France have come a long way since the Raymond Domenech reign that ended up costing th…

Spain produced their best performance of Euro 2012 to hammer Italy 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final.

Although Los Rojas were favourites for the tournament they still had to go out there and prove they were the best and they did it in devastating fashion.

Best

The first half was arguably the best I have ever seen a team produce when it comes to passing, attractive football.

The Spaniards were simply magnificent, passing the ball to one another like the Italians wasn’t even on the pitch.

The two first half goals summed up the way that the Spanish like to play the game, with short incisive passes and well taken finishes. This Spanish team is definitely the best international team I have seen in my lifetime and I’m doubtful that any other national can …

Marcus Rashford came off the bench to steer Manchester United to a 1-0 victory over struggling Wolves at Molineux and send them into 2023 in the top four of the Premier League.

Rashford had scored two in two since returning from the World Cup but was benched by Erik ten Hag on Saturday for disciplinary reasons as United put in a blunt first-half performance.

The England international was introduced at the break and had a huge impact, firing home a 76th-minute winner with a powerful finish past Jose Sa, before he later had a second ruled out following a VAR check.

It could be a huge three points for United on the road as they leapfrog Tottenham into fourth, with Spurs due to play Aston Villa on Sunday.

The hosts received a huge let-off early on when an und…

England have reached the Women s World Cup semi-finals again, but the manner in which they have done so has been far more impressive.

Four years ago in Canada the Lionesses were one of the competition s surprise packages, beating Norway and the hosts in the knockout phase before being eliminated when Laura Bassett scored a stoppage-time own goal against Japan in the last four.

Phil Neville s class of 2019 have returned to that stage in France and meet the United States, the defending champions and tournament favourites, in Lyon on Tuesday.

Here we crunch the Opta numbers on Mark Sampson s 2015 team and Neville s squad to show how England have been considerably better at both ends of the pitch in 2019.

Expected goals excluding penalties (0.9 per game …

Monday Night Football in Week 6 of the NFL season features a terrific matchup between the Super Bowl favorite Buffalo Bills and the AFC South-leading Tenessee Titans.

Buffalo is off to a fantastic start this year and NFL betting lines have the Bills as 6-point road favorites for Monday’s showdown at Nissan Stadium.

Here are our best free Bills vs. Titans picks and predictions for Monday Night Football on October 18, with kickoff at 8:15 p.m. ET.

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The NFL’s Week 2 preseason finale features a Monday night football matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets, two franchises desperate to turn around their fortunes in the 2022 season.

While both teams secured narrow road victories in the opening week of preseason play, the Jets experienced a major setback when second-year quarterback Zach Wilson went down with a knee injury in the first quarter of their 24-21 win over Philadelphia. The 2021 No. 2 overall draft pick underwent surgery on a meniscus tear Tuesday, and it’s questionable whether he’ll be ready to go in Week 1 of the regular season.

For now, the Jets are left to move on to preseason game No. 2, in which they opened as a one-point home underdog. Read below for our best f…

The second game of the 2023 NFL preseason kicks off Thursday at Gillette Stadium as the New England Patriots host the Houston Texans as a 3.5-point home dog, with a total of 36.5.

NFL odds moved after bettors steamed the Texans once news that rookie quarterback CJ Stroud will start, as will plenty of the other Houston starters. However, Thursday should see plenty of competent QB play on both sides while the Pats could be showing off duel-threat signal-caller Malik Cunningham as well — making that Over look very good at its current low number

Here are my free NFL picks and predictions for the Texans vs. Patriots.

Texans vs Patriots odds

Texans vs Patriots predictions

Bettors have seen this total drop…

Two of the top contenders in the AFC will face off on Sunday Night Football this week, as the Cincinnati Bengals play host to the Buffalo Bills. This matchup will keep the NFL player props market busy as the game is littered with star power.

These two teams are meeting for the first time since last year’s playoffs when the Bengals beat the Bills 27-10 in Buffalo. This time around, the NFL odds make Cincinnati a slight home favorite, but the 1.5-point line suggests that this game is a virtual tossup. 

I have a few NFL picks I like in tonight’s game, which I’ll dive into below with a look at the latest SNF odds.

If you’re looking for full coverage of this matchup, check out our Bills vs. Bengals picks and predictions, as well …

We’ve seen weather play a pivotal role in the outcome of NFL playoff games through the first two rounds of the tournament — messing with several NFL picks — and Sunday’s AFC Championship will be no different.

The early forecast is calling for less-than-ideal conditions when the Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs for a 3 p.m. ET kickoff at M&T Stadium, which could affect the Conference Championship odds as we approach the showdown.

How much will weather impact the NFL odds? And will this forecast hold up as the week goes on? We’ll find out as I take a look at what to expect from Mother Nature in my Chiefs and Ravens weather report.

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