Ballon d´Or 2018: Alisson and Benzema among first five nominees

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson are among the first five players named as nominees for the 2018 Ballon d Or.

Manchester City s Sergio Aguero, Madrid star Gareth Bale and Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani are the three other players to have been revealed by France Football.

Benzema s inclusion comes as something of a surprise, the 30-year-old having scored just five LaLiga goals throughout last season as Madrid finished 17 points behind champions Barcelona.

However, he did score five times in nine appearances as they won the Champions League for a third season in a row.

Team-mate Bale is nominated after playing a key role in that European triumph, which included two goals in the 3-1 final victory over Liverpool, …

15-03-2010 Liverpool vs Portsmouth

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez will be hoping his Liverpool renaisance can continue, while Portsmouth will continue what looks to be an impossible battle to stay in the Premierleague.

Liverpool have finally started to show some form this season and now find themselves just a point behind Manchester City in 6th place. They really have some work to do to reach that crucial fourth placed spot in order to gain champions league football, but it s only in recent weeks that the have looked like being able to put a run of results together. A lot is down to the returning form and fitness of Steven Gerrard and Fernndo Torres. Any team stripped of its two prize assets will struggle, and Liverpool are no different. However, now they have both players back with a few games under their belts, I…

Euro 2008 day fourteen, quarter-final – Turkey 1-1 Croatia aet – Turkey win 3-1 on penalties

After the great display of football provided by Germany and, to a lesser extent Portugal, on the previous evening I was looking forward to the game between the two underdogs Turkey and Croatia.

What the two teams actually served up was a few minutes of excitement and not much else other than whole hearted effort.

The first half passed with only one incident of note which summed up the general quality of the game. Modric cleverly created a gilt-edged chance for Olic who couldn t miss from six yards out. Unfortunately for him and Croatia he did miss. He managed to hit the bar. Luckily for Croatia the ball fell straight to Kranjkar who only had to nod the rebound into the empty net from eight yards. You ve guessed it, he missed as well.

Croatia pushed forward in th…

“This has nothing to do with 2018” – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp on Real Madrid challenge (Video)

Speaking to the press ahead of his team s clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said his team are motivated by the prospect of getting into the next round by beating Real Madrid, and not by the controversies which took place in the 2018 final when these two teams last met.

https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1379143682935427074

On this day in 2012: Andre Villas-Boas sacked by Chelsea

On this day in 2012, Andre Villas-Boas left Chelsea as former midfielder Roberto Di Matteo was appointed interim manager until the end of the season.

Villas-Boas, 34, lost the job he had held for just eight months less than 24 hours after a 1-0 defeat at West Brom which left the Blues sitting in fifth place in the Premier League table and having won just five of their previous 15 games in all competitions.

The Portuguese had been recruited at great expense – around £13.3million – as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement by then Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in June 2011 and handed the task of overhauling an ageing squad after winning a remarkable quadruple with Porto.

However, he quickly found himself under pressure and reports of dressing room unrest coupled wit…

NFL Week 10 Bet Now or Bet Later: Grab Cardinals Fast Against Spiraling Panthers

The 2021 NFL schedule hits double digits in Week 10 with the season passing the midway mark. Oddsmakers are locked in, with more than two months of data fueling their weekly power ratings, point spreads and totals.

Regardless of the week, the sharpest NFL betting tip is always to find the best odds for your opinion. That means jumping into action early into the week or waiting for the market to move to the number you want. 

We help you plan that attack, with our NFL Week 10 best spread and total to bet now and the best lines to bet later.

NFL Power Rankings: Reinvigorated Saints Passing Game Has NOLA Climbing

Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books and I’m trying my best not to overreact to some of the results, but too many incidents have me shaking up my NFL power rankings heading into Week 2. Even though top of the list didn’t see much movement, there are plenty of movers and shakers from 5th to 32nd.

In games on a neutral field, every higher-ranked team would be favored or, at least, a pick ’em on the in this format. For two teams ranked closely together, the difference in the spread would be a home-field advantage (if any), which varies slightly from team to team.  

Week 1 NFL Parlay Picks: Season Starts with Shootout in Seattle

Week 1 of the 2023-24 NFL season has arrived, bringing with it a sense of optimism (unless you’re an Arizona Cardinals fan). The slate is wiped clean for all 32 teams, as well as NFL odds bettors looking to make this campaign an unforgettable one.

I’ll try to get the year started off on the right foot by parlaying my two favorite spread plays for Sunday. Then I’ll give out my best same-game parlay play for a late afternoon affair.

Be sure to check out all our NFL picks and predictions for Week 1.

Jalen Hurts Odds and MNF Props: Jalen Runs Wild on Monday Night

In a Super Bowl rematch, the Kansas City Chiefs have the Philadelphia Eagles coming to Arrowhead Stadium to close out the Week 11 odds in what could be one of the best games of the year between the current favorite in their respective conferences.

While Taylor Swift may be the biggest star mentioned throughout the broadcast, the Eagles taking flight under the Nick Sirianni regiment has everything to do with their star under center shaking off early career criticism and blossoming into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Jalen Hurts is poised to take the “Brotherly Shove” platinum under the Monday night lights and exploit one of the few weaknesses on Kansas City’s defense.

You can see how I’m betting the Jalen Hurts odds as w…

Brandon Aiyuk Odds and Super Bowl Props: Stepping Up in Crunch Time

We’ve got somewhat of a homecoming for San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk at Super Bowl LVIII.

He grew up in Reno, Nevada and played his high school ball in the Silver State, about six and a half hours north of Las Vegas, which hosts the Super Bowl odds between San Francisco and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, February 11.

Aiyuk is having somewhat of a quiet postseason for the Niners. Outside of a monster 51-yard reception in the NFC Championship, the WR has 49 total yards on his other five receptions in the playoffs along with a touchdown against Detroit.

I size up the Super Bowl player prop odds and give my best NFL picks and predictions for Brandon Aiyuk odds.

For more NFL odds analysis and Super Bowl predictions, don’t forget to con…