When people ask about the Premier League title and think about who’s going to win it, some are wondering if the title is already dusted. When you look at an amazing win and game like the Leicester game at Stadium of Light versus Sunderland, many wonder if the game has already been decided.
This victory versus Sunderland came in thanks to Jamie Vardy Strikes and it put them at a staggering seven points ahead of their foe Tottenham. Both teams have exactly five games left and this will be a huge deciding factor in exactly who’s going to be ahead of who in the Premier League lineups. Read more
Louis Van Gaal is understood to have been told by the Red Devils’ hierarchy that he would not lose his position in the coming summer.
There have been many occasions in the ongoing season when it has looked like Van Gaal is on the brink of getting axed and one more bad game would just be it. But, every time, with some sort of performance, the Dutch coach has managed to save himself. Read more
Although there is still plenty to play for in the remaining two months across every major domestic league in Europe, players and managers alike would be forgiven for having one eye on the upcoming European Championship in France.
The former still have time to put themselves in the picture for selection for their respective national team, with their fingers firmly crossed that that remain injury-free and do not have their hopes of participating at a major international tournament dashed. Read more
It has been a less than halcyon campaign as far as anybody connected with Chelsea is concerned, and with a 17 point gap to close before they can even consider a flirtation with Champions League football it looks like the cup competitions are their only avenue for potential success.
And yet…..there’s a spooky symmetry at work with the 2011/12 season. It was here that the Blues finished sixth in the Premier League after a hugely inconsistent run which saw the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas (for 2015/16 read Jose Mourinho) and the temporary appointment of a ‘goodwill caretaker’ in Roberto Di Matteo (see Guus Hiddink for this year’s vintage). Read more
Lionel Messi had to miss out from the semi-finals of the Club World Cup back in December of 2015 due to a problem that he had with kidney stones and now recent medical tests have emerged which has detected and confirm that the Argentine is still suffering from this problem and he will have to go under the knife in order to help solve this issue.
Lionel Messi recently reached the 500th goal mark during the Copa del Rey match that his team played against Valencia on February 3 and the final scoreboard displayed 7-0 in favor of Luis Enrique’s team as they obliterated their opponents. The Argentine scored 3 times in this match while Suarez found the back of the net on 4 occasions. Scoring 500 goals in the entirety of his career is an accomplishment that not many players are able to reach but the Argentine superstar managed to do this at the age of 28.
There can be no question that Chelsea were the dominant force in the Premier League last season, with Jose Mourinho’s men sweeping aside all that stood before them with ominous ease. It was the combination of superb defensive resilience and ruthlessness in attack that saw Chelsea not only set a new league record for the length of time spent at the summit, but also effectively saw them win the title in the first half of the season.
All the plaudits which headed their way were thoroughly deserved, but although their rivals looked on with enviable eyes, there was little surprise when Bookies.com made Chelsea favourites to successful defend their Premier League crowd. However, no-one could predict the dramatic fall from grace that they have endured this season, with Mourinho not only losing his job at Stamford Bridge for the second time in his managerial career, but Chelsea find themselves just one point above the relegation zone. Read more
The Champions League final is now the most watched sporting event in the world and this year’s showpiece between Barcelona and Juventus promises to be a game you can’t take your eyes off.
Barcelona’s victory over Manchester United in 2009 was the first time the Champions League final had overtaken the Super Bowl in terms of number of television viewers. Audience figures have continued to increase over the past few years, with around 165 million people globally watching last year’s final between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
A similar figure will be expected this year when both finalists will walk out at Berlin’s Olympiastadion aiming to win a Treble.
Barcelona have already won La Liga and the Copa del Rey this season. Juventus, meanwhile, have won Serie A and the Coppa Italia. Barcelona have history of winning the Treble as they achieved that feat in 2009, but Juventus have yet to win all three trophies in the same year.
So, in front of a potentially record-breaking television audience, who is going to come out on top and be the Treble winners?
With Lionel Messi in their team, Barcelona are always going to be the favourites to win and the Argentinian superstar has been in sensational form over the past few months. He scored a stunning goal as well in the Copa del Rey final win over Athletic Bilbao.
He is also trying to become the first player to score in three Champions League finals after previously scoring against United in 2009 and 2011. It is certainly worth searching for the free bets that bookies offer to have a punt on Messi scoring in the final again.
Barcelona will be appearing in their eighth final in the competition and they have so far won four of those. Their first victory came against Italian opposition when they beat Sampdoria in 1992, while their most recent defeat came two years after that when they were thrashed in 1994 by the great AC Milan side of the era. But Barcelona have won their last three finals – all against English opposition – and their front three of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar is going to take some stopping.
Juventus are also in the final for the eighth time, but it is their first appearance since losing on penalties to Milan 12 years ago. Juve have only won two of their finals – against Liverpool in 1985 and Ajax in 1996 – and no team has lost six finals.
The Italians also have a poor scoring record after scoring just three goals in their last seven appearances.
However, they do have players with experience of winning the Champions League as Patrice Evra and Carlos Tevez both won with United, and Alvaro Morata was part of Real’s successful team 12 months ago. Also, midfielder Andrea Pirlo was part of the Milan side which beat Juve in the final in 2003.
Pirlo, along with veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, also has happy memories of the Olympiastadion after winning the World Cup at the venue in 2006 when Italy beat France on penalties.
There is plenty of evidence pointing towards a Barcelona win, but in beating Real Madrid in the semi-finals, Juventus showed they can cope with a mesmerising attack and it would be no surprise if they became the latest team to win this Treble.
It’s getting to that point in the year again, where hundreds of tennis fans mark their calendars for their favourite event, with a number of prestigious summer tournaments remaining.
Those fans not lucky enough to secure tickets to Flushing Meadows for the US Open though, can take advantage of numerous free live streams, though it is advisable that you have strong internet connection, of at least 10mbps, or are in a Wi-Fi hotspot, such as a café or a bar.
With virtually every match covered, there is no reason to miss a single shot, with the action at Flushing Meadows usually serving up a tennis treat. Read more
With British teams having made an early exit from European competition this year, there is little domestic interest in this week’s Champions League quarter-final ties. Instead, the focus of much of the English football public will already have switched to the forthcoming FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
Some may say that the competition is a distraction from the important business of the Premier League, and others may say that the significance of reaching the final has been diminished by hosting the semi-finals at the home of English football. But that will not stop the remaining four teams giving it everything they have to make it through. In this article we look at four of the men who will be shouldering much of the goalscoring responsibility for their teams at Wembley. Read more
The Everton boss Roberto Martinez has refused to go too much into the statements made by Kevin Mirallas just ahead of the last weekend’s Merseyside derby.
Amidst all the excitement about the derby, Mirallas spoke to one of the Belgian dailies about his desire of featuring in the European Cup. In that interview, the winger said he would not mind taking transfer to a club where he gets to play European games. Read more
