Prediction: Uruguay vs Ecuador

Verdict: Over 2.5 goals scored yes

Best Odds: 

Bookmaker: 

Uruguay and Ecuador will open things in Group C of the 2019 Copa America. Los Charruas are heavy favourites to top the group over Ecuador, Chile and Japan, but they will need to respond to that label once the ball starts rolling. Meanwhile, Ecuador will try to prove their rebuilding process under Hernan Bolillo Gomez is going through the right path. This match will kick-off on Monday at 00.oo hrs BST.

Uruguay

Looking at history, current squad, and overall strength of the team, there s no question Uruguay are favourites ahead of this group-stage opener. In fact, Los Charruas are considered to be one of the darkhorse candidates for the tournament and it wouldn t be a stretch to see them reaching…

Iniesta: Stamford Bridge return will be special

Andres Iniesta is looking forward to a special return to Stamford Bridge, the scene of one of the greatest moments in his phenomenal Barcelona career.

Virtuoso midfielder Iniesta fired a sublime 93rd-minute finish into the top-right corner in west London to send 10-man Barca into the 2009 Champions League final, in which they beat Manchester United, at the expense of Chelsea.

The Catalan giants and the Premier League champions will go head-to-head in the last 16 this season, with the first leg taking place at the home of the Blues on Tuesday.

Iniesta is looking forward to taking on Antonio Conte s side, but acknowledged Barcelona will have to be at their best to eliminate them.

Andrés Iniesta has now made 400 Liga appearances for Barcelona, only Xavi He…

Tottenham 3-0 Leeds United: Son reaches century as Spurs close within four of top

Son Heung-min reached a century of goals for Tottenham as Jose Mourinho s side boosted their Premier League title hopes with a comfortable 3-0 win over Leeds United.

The postponement of Wednesday s scheduled clash with Fulham because of coronavirus concerns left Spurs seven points adrift of Liverpool and Manchester United.

Mourinho s men had been without a win in four league games going into Saturday s home clash with the division s fourth-highest scorers, but it was the hosts who were clinical in going third and cutting the gap to four points.

A penalty from Kane and Son s landmark goal had Spurs 2-0 up at half-time and Toby Alderweireld s first league goal since netting against Arsenal in July gave Leeds too much of a mountain to climb, the only blemish on To…

Gerrard to Sevilla: ‘Morelos isn’t for sale’

“He’s not for sale. Nothing has changed on that”. 

Those are the quick and simple words of Rangers manager Steven Gerrard who has sent a clear message to Sevilla that star forward Alfredo Morelos will not be for sale during the January transfer window. The Spanish side have made it apparent that they wanted to try and put forward some kind of bid for Morelos who, above all others, has been the shining light for Rangers throughout the course of the season so far. 

Rangers are going well both in Europe and in the league, and if they were going to sell such a key asset like Morelos, then you’d have to imagine their season would suffer in a big way. 

Gerrard has been resolute in answering these questions for a long time now, and the popular Liverpudlian c…

Prediction: Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have one of the most heated, intense rivalries in Europe. The fact that these two sides have met in two UEFA Champions League finals over the last decade should make things even more bitter between both sides. On Saturday, we will witness another thrilling chapter of this heated rivalry. This time, both sides will collide at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano. Kick-off for this match is slated at 20:00 hrs BST.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid are coming off a 2-0 away win at Mallorca earlier this week, and that result ended a three-game winless run for Los Colchoneros in all competitions (D2, L1). In fact, Diego Simeone s men have won just once in their last three Liga matches. That s a drastic change of form after the Madrid-based outfit won each of th…

Prediction: Croatia vs Belgium

Prediction: Belgium win

Best Odds: 

Bookmaker: 

The FIFA World Cup is finally onto its last set of group stage games as the tournament continues through a whirlwind of drama. There s a whole lot up for grabs and that s especially true in Group F, with three of the four nations being in with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage. Two of them, Croatia and Belgium, have pressure on them after weeks of being viewed as the group s favourites.

Croatia

They may have reached the final in 2018 but based on what we ve seen thus far, this is an ageing squad. They ve still got the stars necessary to win some big games but they ll struggle in the latter stages and that s if they even get there. They were phenomenal against Canada after a slow start but th…

Prediction: Roma vs AC Milan

Best Odds: 17/20

Bookmaker:

In what could be a season-defining showdown from the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening, Roma will welcome AC Milan to town.

Starting with the hosts, while Roma might have punched their Europa League semi-final spot last week following an action-packed 4-2 victory against Dutch giants Feyenoord, Jose Mourinho’s side are seeking some recent stability. Last seen putting in a nightmare display as they slumped to a 3-1 drumming away at Atalanta, the former Manchester United boss knows that his squad faces a potentially season-defining showdown on Saturday evening. Opening this weekend’s fixtures with just their goal difference keeping them outside the Champions League spots, Roma will be glad to make a return to home soil here. In fa…

Rangers showed ´character and guts´ to go through in Europa League, says Gerrard

Steven Gerrard praised his Rangers side for quickly overcoming the disappointment of missing out on a domestic trophy to reach the Europa League knockout stages.

Alfredo Morelos opener looked set to be sending Rangers into the knockout stages as Group G winners on Thursday, until Borna Barisic s own goal drew Young Boys level in the closing stages.

Ryan Jack then saw red in stoppage time, but Rangers held on as they joined group winners Porto – who triumphed 3-2 against Feyenoord – in qualifying for the last 32.

Gerrard was particularly pleased with the response from his players after their 1-0 defeat to rivals Celtic in the Scottish League Cup final on Sunday.

I m very pleased that we will continue European football after Christmas, said the Ran…

Simeone hails match-winner Lodi after Atletico go fourth with Celta win

Diego Simeone was full of praise for match-winner Renan Lodi after the left-back s two goals fired Atletico Madrid to an important 2-0 win over Celta Vigo.

The Brazilian struck once in each half, with both goals being assisted by Geoffrey Kondogbia as Atletico moved into LaLiga s top four ahead of rivals Barcelona, who host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Lodi scored his first brace for Atletico Madrid in 105 appearances in all competitions, becoming the only defender to score two goals in a game for the club during Simeone s time as coach.

Kondogbia, meanwhile, set up two goals in the same league game for the second time in his career, last doing so for Valencia against Sevilla in March 2018.

Speaking after the win, Simeone was keen to highlight not only Lod…

Kane beats Salah to win third Premier League Golden Boot award

Harry Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot award for the third time in his career after edging out Mohamed Salah.

The Tottenham forward netted in the dramatic 4-2 win over Leicester City on Sunday, while Salah did not find the scoresheet as Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace 2-0.

That meant Kane emerged triumphant from a season-long battle, both players having gone into the final weekend locked on 22 goals.

Kane, who finishes the season with 23 goals from 35 games, also won the Golden Boot in 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.

3 Harry Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot for a third season (also 2015-16 2016-17), becoming only the third player to win the award as many as three times, after Thierry Henry (4) and Alan Shearer (3). Magic.

�…