Christmas day is traditionally the biggest day of the season for the NBA. It is and has always been very prestigious to end up on the Christmas slate. Million of Americans gather together and watches the NBA on national television the whole of December 25th. So let us go through the five selected games for Christmas day.
It has been a long time since the San Antonio Spurs played on Christmas. The Spurs are going to the Mecca of Basketball (Madison Square Garden) to play The New York Knicks. There is only one big reason for that and it is the wonder boy named Victor Wembanyama. The past seasons rookie of the year took huge strides during his first year in the NBA and he ended up well deservedly on the Christmas slate. He is the future of the league. Spurs have added the veterans Harisson Barnes and Chris Paul on their roster. The New York Knicks offseason has been good since they extended the deals for Brunson and Annuoby and they traded for Mikal Bridges.
This is a rematch of the Western Conference finals the past season, which Dallas won quite easily. Luka Doncic is one of the three biggest stars in the league today and he will face another young star in the shape of Anthony Edwards. The Mavs have added Klay Thompson, Najji Marshall and Quentin Grimes to their roster. Dallas is a better team than they were the past season even if they lost Derrick Jones Jr to the Clippers. Kyrie Irving is still in Dallas and he was awesome in the playoff run last season (except for the finals against Boston). The Timberwolves extended the deal with Mike Conley and The Twin Towers (Gobert & Towns) will be making life hard for everybody around the rim.
Joel Embiid has played in the NBA for more than ten years and he has never reached the Eastern Conference finals. He could be the best scorer today in the NBA. Embiid has lost three times to the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. Philadelphia added Paul George from the Clippers in free agency. A huge move for Philly as long as George is healthy. They extended Tyrese Maxey’s deal and signed one of the best players in the Olympics, Guerschon Yabusele, from Real Madrid. The Celtics are the reigning champions and had three players representing the United States at the Olympic Games in Paris. White, Holliday and Tatum. Boston extended the deals for White and Holliday. Boston are the clear cut favourites to win the title this upcoming season.
Steph Curry and Lebron James played together for Team USA at the Olympics. On Christmas day they will face each other again in San Francisco. The final series these two had against each other when Lebvron was in Cleveland will never be forgotten. The times are a bit different now and The Golden State Warriors have lost one of the three cornerstones in the franchise. After 13 years in the Bay area Klay Thompson has moved on and will no longer play with Steph and Draymond Green. He left for Dallas. The Warriors have added Buddy Hield and DeAnthony Melton to the roster. The Lakers offseason didn’t go too well at all. The ambition was to bring in a third star next to Lebron and Anthony Davis but nothing happened with either Klay Thompson or Demar DeRozan who ended up in Sacramento. JJ Redick is the new coach for The Lakers.
These two teams played each other in Denver at Christmas in 2022 . The Nuggets won that game in overtime and Aoron Gordon had a dunk over Landry Shamet that was truly remarkable. The Nuggets went on to win the title that season for the first time ever in franchise history. On the way to the title they defeated The Phoenix Suns in the second round of the playoffs. A couple of years earlier The Suns swept the Nuggets in the playoffs with Jamal Murray out due to injury. There is bad blood forsure between these two teams' fanbases. This time they play in Phoenix and Devin Booker and Kevin Durant are the two stars on the roster. I do not count Bradley Beal as a star. Booker was splendid at the Olympic games. Frank Vogel is out and Mike Budenholzer is the new coach for the Suns.
The Denver Nuggets had the world at it’s feet after they won the title a little bit more than a year ago. Since then they have lost Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and, most importantly, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Denver added Dario Saric and Russel Westbrook to the roster in the offseason. Right now there are many question marks surrounding Denver. Mostly regarding the guard Jamal Murray and his big contract extension. They have the best player in the world though, Nikola Jokic. That is a very good weapon to have. This is a very important season for Denver and if they fail there will be big changes in the franchise.
Some experienced basketball pundits around the world are saying that this Olympic basketball tournament was the best one ever. Big words that have some truth to them. USA won in the end after France put up some serious resistance in the final and Serbia was close to beat them in the semi finals.
The semi final USA vs Serbia will never be forgotten. It was the real final of the Olympics. Serbia led by Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic did push Team USA to the wire and brink. They were up by 13 points at the start of the fourth quarter and only scored 15 points in that quarter. USA hit their shots and with some questionable decisions from the officials they won the game 95-91 in the end. Some pundits say this was the best FIBA match ever and Serbia did get the best out of this American super team.
Team Canada. Very hyped before the event started. No team play at all during the event. Not a well coached team by Jordi Fernandez. Dillon Brooks had the ball way too much in his hands. Gilgeous-Alexander was not able to carry the team on his back. Not good centers enough and an ice cold Jamal Murray. Canada needs to get back to the drawing board.
France did not play well in the round robin phase of the event. Things turned around for them when they benched Gobery and started to play Yabusele and Lessort more. France were excellent in the elimination phase beating Canada and Germany and giving the Amercans some nice resistance in the final. Three players in the shape of Lssort, Yabusele and Cordonier deserve a lot of credit for Team France. It was a tough tournament for Gobert, the defensive player of the year in the NBA the past season.
Lebron James or Nikola Jokic? It was a close call. Our MVP at the end of the day is Lebron James. The 40 year old phenomenon is excellent when it comes to FIBA events. He showed that to the world once again. He was the best player on the team that won the gold.
The game plan Serbia had against the USA was amazing. Svetislav Pesic is known as one of the best coaches in Europe for more than 30 years. He is our coach of the Olympic tournament.
Steph Curry at the point guard. Steph bailed out USA in the semis and finals with a total of 17 made shots from behind the arc. Bogdan Bogdanovic as the shooting guard. At the small forward we’ve got Lebron James. At the power forward spot we have Guerschon Yabusele and Nikola Jokic at the centre position. Our second all star team is Schroeder at the point guard. Jrue Holiday at the two. Franz Wagner at the small forward. Kevin Durant at the four and Mathias Lessort at the five.
The last basketball match of the Paris Olympics 2024 will be the ladies final this afternoon. Just like in the men’s final yesterday, Team USA is expected to win against Team France on their hometurf. Team France will do anything they can to disrupt the heavily favoured Americans.
In the semifinals France got the better of Belgium in overtime (81-75). Valeriane Ayayi hit a big shot from behind the arc in overtime that was crucial for the match. Team France defeated Germany in the quarter finals (71-84). France won the round robin stage with two wins and one loss in group B. Team France lost to Australia and won against Canada and Nigeria. Now the biggest task of the whole Olympics awaits them in the finals, The United States.
Team USA is stacked with talent. A whole lot of talent to be honest. Team USA has easily more talent than any other team at the event. They walked through the round robin (Group C) stage with three wins. Team USA defeated Germany, Belgium and Japan. In the quarter finals USA played against Nigeria and won 88-74. In the semi finals they got the better of Australia and won 85-64.
USA are massively big favourites to win the ladies final at the Paris Olympics today. Team USA are expected to win the match by a margin of 16 points. Players like Wilson, Ionescu, Stewart, Taunasi, Griner to mention a few of them, are so good and versatile. Team USA’s dominance at the event has been monumental. Nobody has threatened them, no games have been down to the wire, yet. Team France does not have the tools that are necessary to make life hard for team USA. Gabby Williams, Marianne Johannes and Valeriane Ayayi are good players but not on the level of the American players. We can expect that France will be coming out swinging hard to disrupt team USA. It will be a more entertaining match if France hit their three pointers.
Serbia showed the whole world in the semifinal that a smaller basketball nation can push The American Dream Team to the end. France led by Victor Wembanyama, will try to do the almost impossible in the gold medal match today, defeating Team USA. France has one great advantage, their fanatic home crowd in Paris.
France as we know by now finished second in Group B after Germany. The went on to defeat Canada in the quarter final and they got a sweet revenge when they got the better of Germany in the semifinals. Before The Olympics started Rudy Gobert, the defensive player of the year in the NBA was a starter. He isn’t any more. He is benched and the team got better. Mathias Lessort and Guerschon Yabusele have been getting Rudy’s minutes and the two of them are doing a great job with their physicality and grit. How will these two cope with the physicality of Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid? Lessort is a great player but a bit undersized for his position as a center. Nando De Colo is benched and Frank Ntiklina stats at point guard and Isaia Cordonier’s shooting has blossomed in the elimination phase of the olympic tournament. Batum is the glue guy team and Fournier could be an X-factor if he makes his shots from behind the arc. France's defence is awesome. They must make Shots to put pressure on Team USA.
Team USA was down by 13 points after three quarters versus Serbia in the semis. They were under obvious pressure and Lebron spent much Time talking to the referees and some of the Serbian players. At the end Serbia missed a shot or two to much and USA turned it around and won 95-91 after Steph Curry scored 36 points and made 9 out of 14 threes. Curry kept them in the game for the first three quarters when Serbia was the better team on the court. The performance from Serbia must have been very encouraging and inspirational for Team France. Joel Embiid had his best game of the event versus Serbia and he will be at the centre of attention in Paris. Embiid is from Cameroon and holds three passports. American, French and from his native country. Joel did choose to represent Team USA instead of France and that is the reason he has been booed by the French crowds during the Olympics. It will be louder than ever in the gold medal match. Steve Kerr choosed to close with Lebron, Durant, Embiid, Curry and Booker when the game was on the line against Serbia. Anything but gold for Team USA would be a huge upset and surprise.
Yesterday we had two great semifinals in the gentlemens category when France defeated Germany and Team Serbia almost stunned the USA. France will face Belgium in front of their fanatic home crowd and Team USA will square off with Australia. Will it be a final between USA and France in the ladies category as well?
USA defeated Nigeria in the quarter finals 88 - 74 and Nigeria put up a good fight over the heavily favoured Team USA. In the end the American roster is so deep that they are really hard to defeat. Anyways shoutout to Team Nigeria for the way they played at the Olympics. Team USA will square off With Team Australia in the semi final. Australia got the better of Serbia in the quarter final (85 - 67). Team USA are still undefeated at the Olympics and the roster is stacked with talents like Aja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Brenna Stewart and Diana Taunasi to mention a few of them. So Australia have a really big challenge in front of them and absolutely nothing to lose. A couple of the Australian players pretty much need to have the game of their lives if they want to win the game. One of them is Lauren Jackson is very important for the squad and she is the leader of the team. Ezi Magbegor and Cayla George are two important players for Australia.
Team Belgium had some adversities in the group stage but they survived and then they played really well in the quarter final when they defeated Team Spain quiet easily (79 - 66). Belgium is a very well coached team that doesn’t mind playing physical, or hard, at all. It is one of their main strengths on the court. Team France have a great advantage in terms of the home crowd that will rally behind them. The support for Team France will be nothing less than massive. In the quarter final the hosts got the better of Germany. They won 84 - 71. France doesn’t allow many turnovers which could be a crucial factor in this matchup. They take care of the basketball in a very good manner. France must make life hard for Emma Meeseman, the topscorer of the event so far (24.5 points per game). In their last two games Belgium has shot well from behind the arc.
OUR BET: THE ODDS:
Nikola Jokic from Serbia and the Denver Nuggets has been the MVP of the Olympic basketball tournament so far. Today he and Serbia are squaring off in one of the semi-finals with the super huge favourites, Team USA. In the other one the hosts, France, will do it’s best to avenge Germany, who beat them in the group stage.
We predicted a dog fight in the quarter final between Canada and France And that is exactly what happened. France won that low scoring game thanks to their excellent defence.The underdogs got through with great contributions from players like Lessort, Yabusele, Cordonier and Fournier. France won the match 82-73 and Gobert and Wembanyama did not see too much of the floor. Germany defeated Greece led by the eminent Giannis, 76-63. Germany is the best coached team in the tournament. Every player knows their role and they are physical, they love to play hard and they are well organised. Coach Herbert deserves all the flowers he is getting. So Germany beat France in the group phase and are expected to win again. France must be more productive and effective on the around the rim. They must slow down Franz Wagner,he has been playing great so far at the olympics. France hit some big threes versus Canada and need to do it again tonite versus Germany. Lessort and Yabusele caused Canada a lot of problems. If they repeat that against Germany everything is possible for the hosts.
USA defeated Brazil 122-87 in the quarter finals. Brazil had a 13-4 run in the second quarter and that was about all the fun Brazil had in the game. Some say that this version of Team USA is better than the original dream team from Barcelona 1992. It’s hard to compare teams from different eras. USA did beat Serbia handedly in the non Jokic minutes when they played each other in the group phase. USA won 110-84. In the 31 minutes Jokic played the score was 81-81. In the nine minutes Jokic rested on the bench USA wion 29-3. Serbia defeated Australia in the quarterfinals after they completed the biggest ever comeback in the history of Olympic basketball. They were down by 24 points in the second quarter and went on to win it in overtime. Jokic was massive in the OT and Serbia won the game thanks to his clutch defence. Jokic had a block and a couple of steals in the last two minutes of the OT. Latest news from Team USA is that Embiid is questionable to play. He missed the practice session yesterday. For Serbia, the Miami Heat starlet, Nikola Jovic, is probable.
Is there any way Team Serbia can threaten Team USA tonite? Well, Serbia has been really ineffective from behind the arc. They need to hit 80% of their shots from downtown to be a threat. Nikola Jokic must probably play the best game of his life. His Jumpshot hasn’t been working since the magical play off run in 2023 when Denver won its first and only championship so far. Jokic shot 46% in the playoffs in 2023 from behind the arc. He is at 20% at the Olympics. So it is pretty much impossible for Team Serbia to beat Team USA. Sometimes the impossible happens. Will it happen in this match? No, it will not.
We have arrived at the quarter final stage if the ladies Olympic basketball Tournament in Paris. We will take a closer look at two of the games. Team USA will face Team Nigeria and we have a big european derby between Team France and Team Germany.
Germany has evolved enormously as a basketball nation over the last decade Or so. That goes for both the ladies and the gents. Germany finished second In Group C after the dominant superpower that is the USA. Germany defeated Japan (75-64) and Belgium (83-69) in the round robin and lost to Team USA (68-87). Now the hostnation France awaits them in an important and very big match up. The team that wins the match has a very good chance to win a medal this weekend. Team France played in Group B and won two games and lost one They lost to Australia (72-79). The won against Nigeria (75-54) and Canada (75- 54). Having the home court advantage is huge for France. France played very Well in the two wins and awful in the loss to Australia. If France has any plans To win the match they must find a way to slow down the German superstar from The WNBA, Satou Sabally. Germany is better on the offensive end of the floor Which France could take advantage of. The German roster is more sensitive To potential foul trouble than the French roster is. The French side has more Experience than the Germans which can be crucial in games of this magnitude.
Team Nigeria finished in third place in Group B after France and Australia. They got through to the elimination phase of the event as one of the two best third placed teams in the competition. They won two games in the Round Robin stage and lost one. Nigeria won against Team Canada (79-70) and Team Australia (75-62). Nigeria lost to France (54-75). Nigeria, Australia and France won two games each and lost one. This was pretty much the group of death in the ladies tournament and hats off to Nigeria for making it to the quarterfinals for the first time in Olympic history. Team USA won Group with three wins and no losses and are extremely big favourites in this match Up. The team is stacked with great players, athleticism and length. Team USA is in Paris to win it all and nothing else. It will be very difficult, almost to the border of the impossible, for Nigeria to make an upset here.
The host nation France will play Canada in the the third of four quarter finals today in the men’s basketball tournament. France And Canada is very solid defensively so it could become a true Dogfight. USA vs Brazil will finish off the quarterfinals.
These two teams are probably the two most solid teams defensively at the Olympics. The French Twin Towers of Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert fills up the paint and it is very hard to go through them. The rim protection is awesome and the perimeter is very well guarded Thanks to Billal Coulibaly from The Washington Wizards are doing a great job. The French problem is on the other end of the floor. France is neither effective nor versatile when they have the ball in their own hands. In the group phase they won against Japan in overtime, victory Over Brazil and lost to Germany. France will have the length advantage versus Canada. Team Canada won the Group of Death and they defeated Greece, Spain And Australia. Shai Gilgeous Alexander leads the team and the defence has been solid.
Canada is stacked with good and versatile guards like Dort, Brooks, Murray, Alexander-Walker and Nembhard. For the French Guards like Fournier and De Colo will surely be a huge test against Canada. Team Canada is a bit undersized at the center position with Dwight Powell and Kelly Olynuk. It will be tough for Canada to deal with the great size of Gobert and Wembanyama. Canada’s three point shooting hasn't been Good at the Olympics so far. Often Shai Gilgeuos-Alexander has to bail them out. Team France does not have a weapon like that.
For me it’s very impressive that Brazil has reached this point of the Olympic Tournament. The qualified earlier this summer as a underdog by beating Latvia in Latvia in one of the four Olympic qualifying tournaments finals. They finished third in Group B after Germany and France. Brazil lost to both of these teams but did win against Japan. A really great job done by the players and their head coach Aleksandar Petrovic. Now the United States awaits them in the last quarter final Of the day. Team USA are of course humongous favourites to win the match. Anything else Would be the upset of the Olympic games in ages. USA won all of their three Games in the group phase (Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico). The 40 year old Lebron James is the leader of the team together with Kevin Durant. Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo have been great so far for Team USA. Steph Curry’s shots are not falling into the rim and Joel Embiid has been unable to adapt to the FIBA game. Anthony Davis could miss the game due to a minor injury.
We have reached the elimination phase of the men’s Basketball event at the Paris Olympics. We’ve got four very anticipated quarter finals ahead of us. We’ll start off with the reigning World Champions Germany who faces Greece and Giannis. Nikola Jokic and his Serbia will be squaring off with Australia.
Germany has been very impressive so far at the olympics. They won Group B after three wins and zero losses. They beat France, Brazil and Japan with A great level of comfort. Germany plays real team basketball and they play Hard and physical too. Led by Dennis Scroeder and the Wagner brothers this Team will never cave in. They are a very well coached team and Gordon Herbert is the man to thank for that. He has been the coach since 2021 and Every player knows his role on the team. There is a reason Germany are the World Champions. Greece won one game (vs Australia) and lost two (vs Spain And Canada) in the group phase. They qualified to the knockout phase as one of two the best third placed teams. Greece is coached by the former legendary player of the country, Vassilis Spanoulis. The main man on the court for Greece is of course Giannis Antetokounmpo. If Germany finds a way to slow down the Eminent Giannis half the battle is won for them. The key for Greece in this match are the other players. They must step up for Greece if they want to surprise Germany and win the game.
Australia is stacked with NBA players on their roster led by the veteran and FIBA Master, Patty Mills. They don't have any big stars on the team but a lot of solid players. The Aussies played in the Group of Death, also known as Group A with Greece, Spain and Canada. They finished second in the group despite only winning one game and lost two. Australia lost to Greece and Canada and defeated Spain, who finished last in the group. Jock Landale, their starting center, will have his hands and feet full with the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic. In the NBA Jokic does exactly what he wants to when he plays Landale. Serbia finished second in Group C after Tema USA. They lost to them in the opening match and then they defeated South Sudan And Puerto Rico. The biggest Problem for Serbia is that they don’t shoot well from behind the arc and they don't defend the tree that well either. If Australia make their Shots from the three line, they have a very good chance to win this game. Serbia’s other players must be better and start to hit some three pointers in particular. Team captain, Bogdan Bogdanovic, scored 30 points in their last match versus South Sudan. He needs to step up against Australia if Team Serbia wants to through to the Semi final stage of the tournament and fight for the medals.
Today it's the last day of the round robin phase of the men’s basketball event at the Paris olympics. South Sudan will be squaring off with Serbia and Team USA will be facing Puerto Rico. All this in Group C. Group A and B are settled.
Whatever happens in this game USA will finish as the team that is positioned first in Group C. Whatever happens Puerto Rico will be last in the group and they are leaving the Olympics tomorrow. Puerto Rico has played two games and lost both of them. First to South Sudan (79-90) and then to Serbia (66-107). Jose Alvarado and Davon Reed as the lead players is not enough at this level of basketball. Team USA defeated Serbia in their first match 110-84. Team Usa went on to win against South Sudan 103-86 in their next match. Joel Embiid didn’t play against South Sudan and Jayson Tatum did not play the first game versus Serbia. Is is possible that Anthony Davis will be rested tonight. So far Bam Adebayo, Kevin Durant and the 40 year old, Lebron James, have been playing very well for Team USA.
The two first positioned teams in each of the three groups are through to the elimination phase of the event. In Group A that is Australia and Canada. In group B it is France and Germany. Two of the three best 3rd positioned teams will reach the next phase as well. Currently Greece stands 4 points and minus 8 in point differential (group A). In Group B Brazil has 4 points and minus 7. South Sudan must lose to Serbia with three points or more for Greece to go through. Giannis will cheer for Jokic in other words.
Serbia defeated Puerto Rico 107–66 in the previous match and pretty much secured their place in the next phase of the tournament. They can afford to lose the game versus South Sudan with 21 points and still go through. In the first match of the event Serbia lost to Team USA 110-84. In the 31 minutes that Nikola Jokic played it was 81-81. In the 9 minutes he didn’t play, Team USA won 29-3. Serbia will play the game like they must win it. South Sudan won their first match of the tournament against Puerto Rico (90-79). They lost to Team USA in their second match (86-103). The pressure is on South Sudan here. If they win the game they will be positioned as the second best team in Group C.
It is time for Monday Night Football in the city of brotherly love. Philadelphia Eagles led by their QB Jalen Hurts will square off with the Atlanta Falcons and Kirk Cousins at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Eagles won in week one and the Falcons lost to the Steelers.
The first ever NFL game on Brazilian soil was played in week one. The Eagles won against the Green Bay Packers, 34 - 29 at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paolo. The Eagles defence was far from solid in Brazil and it needs to get better. Jalen Hurts had 278 passing yards, two touchdown passes and two interceptions. The running back, Saqoun Barkley, had 24 carries, 109 rushing yards and three TDs. Not a bad debut for his new team to say the least about it. The receiver AJ Brown had a good game with 119 yards, one TD and 5 rec.
Davonta Smith had 84 yards and 7 rec. AJ Brown will be out this week. That is not the best news for the Eagles and Davonta Smith would have to step up a bit or two. Brown being out doesn't concern the bookies in Las Vegas too much. They still have the Eagles as the heavy favourites in this matchup. The key players in defence for the Eagles Devin White, Bryce Huff and Josh Sweat. Eagles defence must be much better in this game than it was in the first week of the season. If that is not the case, perhaps the Falcons could steal the game from the home team.
Kirk Cousins (came from the Minnesota Vikings) is the new QB for the Atlanta Falcons and his debut didn’t finish the way he wished it would. The Steelers beat the Falcons 18 - 10. Cousins had 155 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Kirk made 16 out of 26 passes. Bijan Robinson (running back) had 18 carries for 68 yards. The wide receiver Ray - Ray McCloud III had 4 rec and 52 yards. As many times before the Steelers defence won them the game.
The Falcons have really struggled with the Eagles lately. Philly has won four out of the five last games between them. The Philadelphia Eagles have put up 109 points to The Falcons 67 points in these five matches. Perhaps things will be a bit different this time around with Kirk Cousins as the QB. Kaden Ellis and Richie Grant are two of the key players in defence for the Atlanta Falcons. They are two great tacklers and sackers. These two really need to have a great game if the Falcons aim to win this matchup.
This matchup was supposed to be about Russell Wilson coming back to the Mile High Stadium in Denver to face his former team and the coach that got rid of him, Sean Payton. Wilson will not start the game since the Steelers have chosen Justin Fields as the QB. The Steelers defeated the Falcons on day one, and the Broncos lost to the Seahawks.
Sean Payton and Russell Wilson did not see eye to eye while working together the prior season in Denver. The outlook on how football should be played differs a lot between the two of them. The Broncos drafted Bo Nix out of Oregon, and he is their new starting QB. Broncos lost 20-26 to the Seahawks in Seattle and will have a tough task at home against the very strong defensive side, the Steelers. Bo Nix was alright in his debut but is expected to take a leap forward at the Mile High Stadium today.
The Broncos' offense did not function as it should at Lumen Field last weekend. The question is if it will be better versus the Steelers, who have one of the best defenses in the NFL. The Broncos' running game will be in trouble since the Steelers are very good at defending it. It was awful versus the Seahawks, and it could get even worse today. Courtland Sutton and the other receivers on the Broncos need to make some plays if the home team wants to win this one. The Broncos' defense is very dependent on cornerback Pat Surtain, one of the best in the NFL.
Pittsburgh defeated the Atlanta Falcons last weekend thanks to their solid defense and the excellent TJ Watt. Watt could be the best defensive player in the NFL right now, and he will surely temper the Broncos' offense in this game. The Steelers won 18 to 10 last weekend, and most of the pundits in the States are expecting a low-scoring game at the Mile High Stadium today. Speaking of mile high, the high altitude in Colorado is always an advantage for the Broncos.
Justin Fields signed for the Steelers in the offseason, and he played the match of his career against the Broncos last season when he was with the Chicago Bears. He is without a doubt locked in for this game. Fields is in a position to create more damage to the Broncos than Russell Wilson is with his limited skill set. The Steelers are aware that they can win this match thanks to their strong defense and the fact that Bo Nix is inexperienced, and that goes for the young Broncos team in general.
The matchup on the sidelines between the two head coaches will also be a key factor for the outcome of this game. Mike Tomlin is the defensive genius, and Sean Payton is the offensive genius. If we judge how it looked in week one, the Steelers' defense was much more impressive than the Broncos' offense. Not strange since the Broncos are playing a rookie QB that needs time to grow into the NFL. The mutual respect between Tomlin and Payton is huge.
We have a title bout in the bantamweight division as the headline fight at the UFC 306 in the magnificent Sphere in Las Vegas. Sean O’Malley will defend his belt against the challenger Merab Dvalishvili. It will be a special night at the Sphere since the budget for the event will be ten times bigger than usual. If you like to be entertained, make sure you do not miss out on UFC 306.
Sean “Sugar” O’Malley is the reigning world champion in the UFC bantamweight division. The 30-year-old American is currently ranked at the 6th spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. Sugar made his debut in the UFC circuit back in 2017. Sean became the champion of the bantamweight division in August last year when he defeated Aljamain Sterling. This match will be O’Malley’s second title defence. In his first title defence, Sean got the better of Marion Vera. Vera is the only fighter that has defeated O’Malley on the UFC circuit. Sean has won 18 fights and lost one. Sean has collected the UFC performance of the night award on six different occasions. One of his main advantages in the fight versus Dvalishvili is his reach. There is a 10 centimetre difference.
Merab Dvalishvili is 33 years of age and ranked at the number one position in the UFC bantamweight division. In other words, this is a very anticipated title bout in perhaps the coolest arena in the world right now. Merab moved to the States from the country of Georgia at the age of 21 and he became a professional MMA fighter ten years ago. Merab debuted for the UFC in 2017 and lost his first fight. In total, Dvalishvili has won 17 fights and lost four. This is a very well-conditioned fighter and he likes high-paced fighting. He can go the whole distance without being affected physically, which is a huge advantage for Dvalishvili in the octagon. His lesser reach could become the crucial key factor in this bantamweight title bout. One of Merab’s more memorable wins was the one against Moreas in 2021 when he was knocked down in the first round and came back in the second round to knock his opponent down and win the fight. He won the performance of the night award after that fight.
Bantamweight: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili Women flyweight: Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko Featherweight: Brian Ortega vs Diego Lopes Lightweight: Daniel Zellhuber vs Esteban Ribovics Flyweight: Ronaldo Rodriguez vs Ode Osbourne
Week two of the NFL season is off to a very anticipated start when the Miami Dolphins host the Buffalo Bills in an AFC East clash at Hard Rock Stadium. Both teams won their opening games and have the opportunity to go two to nothing for the start of the season. The QB matchup between Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Allen is one of the main keys of the game.
Both teams were successful in securing a win on day one of the new NFL season. The Dolphins defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars at home in a very close game. At the end the Dolphins won the game 20 - 17 and gave themselves a great start to the season. Most of the talk after that game was about the Dolphins player, Tyrek Hill, who got arrested by the police before the game. He played in the match and showed us some serious mental strength being able to lock all of the sudden outside noise out. It was a close game but considering the circumstances with Hill, it was a very good and solid showing by the Dolphins. Dolphins had a great rushing defence and will need to have it in the game versus Buffalo as well.
The Bills got the better of the Arizona Cardinals and won that match 34 - 28 at home in Buffalo. So the vibes are immaculate for both teams coming into this match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The Dolphins have won 14 out of their last 18 matches at home since the start of the 2022 season. That is very impressive and consistent to say the least. This could potentially turn out to be something of an uphill battle from the start for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Since it is a match between two main rivals in the AFC East the importance of this game can not be underestimated at all. A win would mean the world for both of the teams. Last season the Bills won 4 and lost 4 matches on the road.
Two of the best QBs in the league will face each other in this anticipated matchup so early in the season. Personally i enjoy watching them both play with the amazing skills and high football IQ they’ve got. Both Josh and Tua had 29 touchdowns last season. Josh had 18 interceptions while Tua had 14. Josh reached 4.306 passing yards and Tua had 4.624. Last year the completion percentage for Tua was 69,3%. It was 66.5 for Allen. They played 17 games each.
The first week of action in the NFL will be completed with the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets. The quarterback Aaron Rodgers is back for the Jets after missing out on the whole past season. The 49ers lost the Super Bowl to Kansas in February and could still have a hangover from that loss. We hit our NFL prediction yesterday when the Broncos scored over 17.5 points.
The 49ers are the defending NFC champions. According to NFL tradition or history, it is very hard to win the first game of the new season just after losing the Super Bowl. The 49ers have a challenge in front of them for sure, not just with their opponent but with history as well. In Las Vegas, the 49ers are favorites to win the game with 4.5 points. Since 2000, the teams that lost the previous Super Bowl are 10–14 in week one. Under the reigns of coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers are 2-5 in week one. Not a flattering stat.
If we keep looking at tradition and history, the 49ers have gone under the total in nine out of the last ten seasons. That could be something worth remembering when you place your bet for the match. The 49ers' offensive line has not been impressive during the preseason, and they have had four different defensive coordinators in the last five seasons. That is far from ideal in the NFL. This season, Nick Sorensen is the new defensive coordinator.
Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in the first game of last season, so he missed out on the entire season. The Jets were a disaster, and they must do better this season. The Jets finished 7-10 last season and are expected to improve with a healthy Rodgers. Right now, the Jets are expected to win the AFC East. They have a great defense, an upgraded offensive line, and a healthy Aaron Rodgers can make a huge and significant difference. One major question is what kind of shape Rodgers is in and if he still has a feel for the rhythm of the game. It wouldn’t be surprising if he has to deal with some rust at the start of the season. The match will be played in Santa Clara, California, near where Rodgers attended college. The Jets could make a true statement if they win this match, especially if the 49ers are still hungover from their Super Bowl loss in February. The Jets have statistics on their side.
Bo Nix, the rookie quarterback for the Denver Broncos, couldn’t have asked for a tougher debut in the NFL than going up against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in the first match of the season. The crowd in Seattle will be electric as their new head coach, Mike McDonald, takes the field for the first time after the long reign of Pete Carroll.
Pete Carroll will not be on the sidelines at Lumen Field for the first time in ages. Mike McDonald is now the new head coach, marking the beginning of a new era for the Seattle Seahawks. On the other side, the Denver Broncos, a franchise with a rich history of legendary quarterbacks like John Elway and Peyton Manning, have been in quarterback purgatory since Manning retired in 2015. Two years ago, the Broncos traded for Russell Wilson from Seattle and signed him to a massive deal, but it didn’t work out. Wilson is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, leaving the Broncos to look for a fresh start.
With Wilson gone, Broncos fans are thrilled to have Bo Nix, their 24-year-old rookie quarterback from Oregon, as the new hope for the team. Nix impressed head coach Sean Payton during preseason and earned the starting role. While preseason success is promising, the regular season presents a whole new level of competition. At 24, Nix brings maturity and experience from college football, and the Broncos made some progress last year in Payton’s first season as head coach. Payton, entering his 16th season in the NFL, is widely regarded as an offensive mastermind. Broncos fans are excited, especially after key players like wide receiver Courtland Sutton and cornerback Pat Surtain extended their contracts. There’s renewed optimism in Denver.
Seattle sees an opportunity to exploit the inexperience of Bo Nix in his NFL debut. However, executing that plan is easier said than done. The Seahawks' offense has struggled in recent seasons, and fans are hoping that Mike McDonald will bring much-needed improvements. Expect Seattle to rely heavily on the run game today. Meanwhile, their defense, which was subpar last season, needs to step up, or the Broncos might take full advantage and capitalize on any weaknesses.
Last week the college football season started and this week the NFL season starts with a big bang when the reigning champions Kansas City Chiefs squares off with Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens. What a season opener that one is. Soon the hunt for the Super Bowl #59 will start. We will have a prediction for that game ready here on thursday.
The Super Bowl will take place in New Orleans in Louisiana on feb 9th. At the moment the million dollar question is which two teams will reach it. Right now that is a question which is not easy to answer at all. Kansas City Chiefs are of course among the expected teams to reach the Super Bowl. The competition is, as always, fierce, the stakes are skyhigh and the margins for errors during the season are very small.
According to the bookies in Las Vegas there are eight teams that realistically can win Super Bowl #59. These teams are in no specific order Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Rams and the Green Bay Packers. All of these eight teams have the potential and the necessary talent to go all the way.
As for now i think that the Kansas City Chiefs will win it all again. After all, Patrick Mahomes is still the guy to beat in the NFL. Chiefs have won the Super Bowl two straight times and a third straight title would put the Chiefs and Mahiomes in some uncharted territory since no team has ever won three straight super bowls. So The Kansas City Chiefs will be hunting nothing less than NFL history this season. As long as the brilliant tight end Travis Kelce is more focused on the sport than his much talked about relationship with superstar Taylor Swift the Chiefs can do something that has never been done before in the history of the NFL.
Watch out for the Denver Broncos. Las Vegas have set their win total at five and a half. They will go over that, easily. Sean Payton has gotten rid of Russel Wilson and the rookie quarterback Bo Nix will start on sunday. Bo Nix has the potential to be something special in the NFL.
Oh boy what a day, or night depending where in the world you are, of fighting we have ahead of us. The action will take place in Perth on the west coast of Australia. The main card looks interesting with some fights that potentially can be remembered for a long time. Du Plessis from South Africa will square off with Israel Adesanya from Nigeria in the middleweight title fight. The stakes are high as they always should be in the octagon.
My feeling is that we have a heck of fighting night ahead of us in the RAC Arena in Perth. The stakes are always huge in a prestigious title fight like this one. For both fighters this one seems to be personal which has been reflected plenty of times in the build up to the fight. The stakes are not huge, they are actually enormous in this title fight. There are some serious differences between these two fighters and this match will settle them for now, at least.
Both of the fighters are connected to Africa. The current champion, Du Plessis is from South Africa. Adesanya, 35 years old, fights for Nigeria and was born there, but lives in New Zealand. He moved to New Zealand as a young boy at the age of ten and still lives there. Du Plessis has been trying to get Adesanya uncomfortable the whole week. The main subject has been that Du Plessis is more connected to Africa as a continent than Adesanya is. That has apparently hit a nerve with Israel Adesanya who left one of the press conferences in tears and upset. The challenger and former two time world champion will not have any problems finding motivation for the title fight in Perth. Du Plessis seems to be very much aware how to poke Adesanya. The question is if it is the right move or not and if he is trying to make it all too political.
Dricus Du Plessis, 30 years old, took the middleweight belt when he defeated Sean Strickland in January at UFC 297. This fight will be his first title defence so far. Dricus likes to state that he is the first ever UFC champion to reside in the African continent. That is one of the things that have provoked Adesanya in the build up to the fight. Adesanya hasn’t fought in the octagon for the last 12 months when he lost to Sean Strickland. Adesanya has better length, more reach and experience as well. The fight will come down to who is the hungrier of the two fighters in the octagon.
Du Plessis vs Adesanya Kai Kara France vs Steve Erceg Mateusz Gamrot vs Dan Hooker Tui Tuvasa vs Jairzinho Rosenstruik Li Jingliank vs Carlos Pretes
The UFC circuit is in Manchester, England for the first time since 2016. The main fight on the card is the highly anticipated second match, and UFC welterweight championship bout, between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. The first one in 2021 didn’t finish and was declared a no contest due to an accidental eye poke. Muhammad and Edwards can’t wait to enter the octagon in Manchester and start the fight. The stakes are high.
The co-op Live arena is pretty much brand new expected to be sold out for the UFC 304 event. The Co-op live has the largest capacity for any indoor arena in Europe and it houses 23.500 seats. The Co-op Live opened up as recently as May, 2024.
The rest of the fight card is headlined by the very interesting interim UFC heavyweight championship bout between Tom Aspinall (the title holder) and Curtis Blaydes. These two fought in July 2022 and Blaydes won that one. Aspinall got injured early in the fight. Aspinall is, of course, out to get his revenge. Aspinall is from Salford near Manchester and he will be as hungry as never before to win this important fight. Some other noteworthy fights on the main card are the prolific, Paddy Pimblett, will square off with Bobby Green in the lightweight category. Arnold Allen will fight Giga Chikadze in the featherweight category. In the middleweight category the Brazilian Gregory Rodrigues will take on Chris Duncan.
Leon Edwards has been a pro since 2011 and this fight is one of his biggest so far in his career. His fight vs Usman in 2022 is considered one of the great UFC classics all time. This fight will be Edwards third title defence in the UFC Welterweight category and such a treat for him that the fight is in his home country. The American Belal Muhammad has 23 wins out of the 27 he has fought. Five of them by knockout. The 36 year old from Chacago has the experience but not the talent that the 32 year old Edwards has.
The last quarterfinal of the Euros have the potential to be filled with some entertaining and dramatic football. Both Turkey and Holland we’re impressive in their previous games and will give it all to make it to the semis. The big news is that Demiral will be suspended.
The Turkish central defender and hero in the win against Austria in the round of 16, with his two goals, will not play tonight in Berlin. He will not be able to play for Turkey if they make it through to the semifinal either. He received a two game suspension for his political gestures after he celebrated one of his goals in the previous game. The Turkish football federation is trying to reduce the ban to only be one match, through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Both Holland and Turkey were brilliant in their round of 16 matches. Holland defeated Romania convincingly three to nothing and Cody Gapko was the best player on the pitch for Ronald Koeman’s side. Gapko has now scored three goals at the Euros so far. The other two goals for Holland vs Romania was scored by the substitute Donyell Malen. Turkey got the better of Austria in Leipzig in a very Tense and dramatic game. They went up two to nothing after a brace from Demiral but Austria came back with a goal and had a great chance to equalise in the very end of the game. Baumgartner’s header was awesome but the Turkish goalkeeper Mert Gunok made a save for the ages.
Holland’s defence is up and down at the Euros so far. They have two clean sheets and they conceded three goals against Austria in the group phase and one versus Poland. Their defence has a little of Dr, Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to it we don’t know which version will show up in Berlin tonight. When they attack the Dutch side has plenty of options. Perhaps it’s time for Deepay to finally make a difference. The Turkish side has similar strengths and weaknesses as the Dutch have. Inconsistent defence and a lot of options offensively. Montella’s side scored seven goals and conceded six in four games. Arda Guler is a joy to watch in the Turkish attack.
The captain Calhanoglu and the defender Akaydin ate back after being suspended in the game with Austria. Demiral, Yuksek and Okcu are suspended though. The Dutch are healthy and have no suspensions.
Our bet is both teams to score - YES. The odds are 1.84
England’s best player so far in the Euros, Jude Bellingham, will not be suspended in tonight's quarter final against Switzerland. He will be fined for his gesture after he scored against SlovakiaI. The Swiss are full of confidence after they beat Italy and England better watch out!
England was in big trouble against Slovakia being down one to nothing deep into stoppage time then Bellingham stepped up as the saviour and equalised six minutes into stoppage time. Harry Kane sealed the deal very early in extra time and England we’re through to the quarters. The Swiss had a matchup with their neighbours and big brother in football, Italy. The Swiss said enough is enough and defeated Italy for the first time in 31 years in a major competition. Freuler and Vagas scored the goals.
England won their group with one win and two draws but they didn’t impress anyone with their performances. Bellingham was great in the first twenty minutes against a weak Serbian side. Bellingham scored the only goal in that game. England went on to draw against both Denmark and Slovenia. Switzerland went through their group in a similar manner with one win and two draws. They defeated Hungary and drew with Scotland and Germany. Their performances was more impressive with a lot of speed and good ball movement.
The Swiss squad is very organised and the engine of the team is at their central midfield. Freuler and Xhaka have been dominating at the midfield throughout the tournament and the two are a big part of Switzerland being a very organised side. With Bellingham on the pitch England has the personnel to compete with these two in Dusseldorf tonight. Bellingham is the key on the pitch for the English side to be able to control the midfield. England has scored four goals so far at the Euros 2024. Bellingham has scored two of them.
The Swiss coach Murat Yakin will be having Widmer back after he was suspended against Italy. The team is full of confidence and they haven't lost in their last eight games. Ndoye would move to the bench if Widmer starts. England will miss Marc Guehi due to suspension. Ezri Konsa will replace him.
Our bet is Switzerland to qualify. The odds are 2.37
Austria against Turkey will be the last match in the round of 16. Both teams have an excellent opportunity to go through to the last 8 of the Euros 2024. Which would be a great achievement for both of them. So far in the tournament these squads have been displaying a solid and winning brand of football. The winner will face either the Netherlands or Romania in the quarterfinal.
The first part of the Euros was extremely successful for Austria. They won the competitive group D ahead of France and the Netherlands. Austria defeated Poland (3-1) and the Netherlands (3-2) and lost to France (0-1) in the first game of the group phase. The squad is very well coached and well managed by the German, Ralf Rangnick. He deserves a lot of credit.
Turkey, coached by the Italian Vincenzo Montella, finished second after Portugal in group F. They defeated Georgia (3-1) in the first game, lost to Portugal (0-3) in the second and won against the Czech’s in the third one (2-1). Turkey received a stunning number of 11 bookings versus the Czech’z, which will have some serious consequences for them when they square off with Austria this evening in Leipzig.
Montella and Turkey will be without two of its most important players in Leipzig. The captain Hakan Calhanoglou and the very solid defender Samet Akaydin are suspended. Montella is saying that the two are pretty much irreplaceable for the Turkish squad. Perhaps this could be something he says out of tactical reasons to put Austria in some sort of fake security. Montella also said in the press conference yesterday that Austria is the best team so far at the Euros. He also pointed out that Austria beat Turkey 6-1 in a friendly game back in march.The young and talented Real Madrid starlet, Arda Guler, will be more important than usual for the team since Calhanoglou is missing. We will find out if Guler can deal with the pressure and theexpectations.
Austria have won 15 out of 25 matches since Rangnick took over the squad in june 2022. Out of their last 19 games under Rangnick they have only lost two. Just three national teams have had a higher winning percentage since then. Portugal (73%), Spain (67%) and the Netherlands (64%). There are no suspensions for Austria tonight and all of the players are available for Rangnick to pick. This could turnout to be a very entertaining game with the high energy and pressing from Austria against the playful brand of football that Montella and Turkey represents.
Slovenia is a small country with approximately 2 million inhabitants, but when it comes to sports, stuff like that doesn’t have to matter. This is the second time ever that Slovenia is participating in the Euros and the first time ever they qualify for the knockout stage. Tonight they face the giants, Portugal, spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo. The winner will play Belgium or France In the quarter finals.
Portugal started out with two wins in group F, the Czech Republic (2-1) and Turkey (3-0) and was already through to the knockout stage at that point. They finished the group phase with a loss to Georgia and that was enough to win the group. Slovenia qualified to the round of the last 16 by finishing as one of the 4 best 3rd placed teams. Slovenia drew in all of their group matches (group C). Denmark (1-1), Serbia (1-1) and England (0-0). History was written for them as they qualified for the knockout stage for the first time ever in a major championship.
Slovenia's skipper and goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, has been one of the best keepers in the world for a couple of years now. He will have his hands full against the talented Portuguese side this evening. Oblak has been very impressive so far at the Euros and only conceded two goals in three games. He is one of the most important players for the Slovenian side and the team has a great level of trust in him. He will for sure be the key player for Slovenia against Portugal. The coach Matjaz Kek has great confidence in his skipper.
Cristiano Ronaldo was born a goalscorer. Believe or not, but he still hasn’t scored at the Euros even though he played all of the games in the group phase. As a matter of fact he hasn’t been able to score in the last seven games for Portugal at major tournaments. That is his longest goal drought ever for his beloved national side and i am sure that wasn’t anything the coach Roberto Martinez was expecting before the championships. If the draught continues other players have to step up against Slovenia, which has been the case so fast at the Euros.
Vitinha is extremely important for the portuguese side and Slovenia must try to diminish the creative midfielders effect on the game. It will not be an easy task, but Cerin Gnezda will give a try for the Slovenians. Gnezda has been one of the best defensive midfielders so far at the Euros. This is a match where Portugal will dominate the ball possession heavily. That is what they like to do and the Slovenians are used to playing with small possession of the ball. Upfront the talented and powerfull, Sesko, is the hope to score for Slovenia.
Spain is one of the main favourites to win the Euros 2024 and the only team with three wins in the group stage. Tonight they are squaring off with the darlings of the Euros so far, Georgia. Georgia’s fluent and fast brand of football has been a true delight and a breath of fresh air in the championships so far.
Spain totally dominated group B and showcased how many talented players the have in their squad currently. They scored five goals and didn’t concede a single one (the only team in the tournament to do so). Three solid and impressive wins over Italy (1-0), Croatia (3-0) and Albania with the Spanish reserves (1-0). Coach De La Fuente couldn’t have asked for a better way to deal with the group phase of the tournament. Under De La Fuente Spain are playing a more direct kind of football and less of the worldwide popular, tiki taka model, these days. So De La Fuente’s side are heavily favoured to beat Georgia this evening. As we all know though, this is sports and everything can happen.
This is the first time ever Georgia is participating in the Euros or the World cup. It is a truly big achievement to go beyond the group phase in the first try ever. The team coached by the Frenchman, Willy Sagnol, solved everything with a win in the last game against Portugal in the group phase. They defeated them two to nothing and they pretty much had two players who deserved to be the man of the match. The goalkeeper, Mamardashvili and the creative winger from Napoli, Kvaratskhelia. In the first two matches of the Euros, Georgia lost to Turkey (1-3) and drew with the Czech Republic (1-1). Sagnol’s side are the obvious underdogs in this match and they have absolutely nothing to lose. They could turn out to be a problem for Spain with their movement of the ball and constantly running players. Just like their opponents this evening, their style of play is more direct.
Spain had the luxury to afford to rest most of their key players in the last game in the group stage. Rodri and Nacho will be inserted into the starting eleven just like Morata at the number 9 position. Williams and the 16 year old, Yamal, will play on each side of Morata.
Sagnol’s side has one suspension and that is Mekvabishvili. He will most probably be replaced by the experienced Kvirkvelia. Their attacker, Mikautadze, is always a threat in front of the opponent’s goal. He has scored a goal in each of Georgia's three games at the Euros so far. Impressive, indeed. He is only the fourth player ever to do so at a major championship. The biggest key player for the Georgian side tonight will be their excellent goalkeeper, Mamardashvili (plays for Valencia in Spain). He has saved 16 out of the last 17 shots at the Euros.
The first game in the round of the last 16 at the Euros in Germany will be between the neighbouring countries of Italy and Switzerland. Italy are torn by injuries and suspensions and the Swiss coach, Murat Yakin, is saying that Italy should be afraid of Switzerland and not the other way around. Finally the knockout stage begins, and hopefully, the drama as well.
Italy scored the huge equaliser against Croatia in the 98th minute in the last game of the group stage and qualified for the last 16 as the second placed team in group B (after Spain). The Gli Azzurri won one (Albania), drew one (Croatia) and lost one (Spain) game in the group phase. Switzerland finished second in group A with one win (Hungary) and drew two games (Scotland and Germany).
The Italian coach, Luciano Spalletti was fuming at the press conference after his squad qualified for the last 16. Matteo Zaccagni scored the beautiful goal in the match against Croatia in Leipzig. Spalletti was not happy at all with the criticism he received about his team selection. That could also be the case when his team are squaring off with Switzerland in Berlin this evening.
Riccardo Calafiori, one of the best defenders in the tournament, will not be able to play due to suspension after receiving two yellow cards in the group phase. Calafiori was instrumental in the build up to Zaccagni’s goal against the Croatians. He will be missed and Italy must adapt quickly. The left wing back Federico DiMarco is injured and will not play. In total Spalletti has to make 4 or 5 changes to his starting eleven compared to the game versus Croatia. Mancini and Darmian will replace the two missing defenders and at this point nobody knows whether Spalletti will play withfour or three defenders. Chiesa will most probably be back in the starting line up after coming off the bench in the previous game.
When it comes to football Italy has always been the big brother and Switzerland the little one. The swiss haven’t been able to defeat Italy in the last eleven games between them. This time they have the confidence and believe that they will make it. As their coach Yakin said the other day, the Itlalians should fear the Swiss. Widmer is suspended due to two yellow cards in the group phase and that will most probably the only change in Yakin’s starting lineup compared to their last game against Germany. Vargas or Amdoumi will replace Widmer.
The battle of the midfield will be one of the keys of the game. Xhaka and Freuler have been playing very well and they will be a challenge for the Italians. Another important key of the game will be between the goalkeepers. Donnarumma had 11 saves versus Croatia and Sommer has to be on his highest level to give Switzerland a good opportunity to go through to the quarter final. The winner will play England or Slovakia in the next round.
Our bet is that Switzerland will qualify to the quarterfinals. The odds are 2.10
Portugal have already secured the top spot in group F with two solid wins. There are three teams in the tournament that have won their two first games. Portugal is one of them and Spain and Germany the other two. Los Selecao are squaring of with Georgia in Gelsenkirchen tonight and they will rest some of the players.
As we know Portugal have secured the tip spot and they will play their last 16 match on monday. The opposition is unknown at this point. Georgia are last in the group with one point. The Czech republic stands at one point and they will face Turkey tonight, who currently have the second spot with three points. Georgia needs to defeat Portugal to be able to go through to the last 16 as one of the four best placed group 3’s.
Portugal has defeated the Czech Republic (2-1) and Turkey (3-0) so far at the Euros. In both of those games the winger from AC Milan, Rafael Leao, got booked for diving. He will not play due to suspension tonight. The coach, Roberto Martinez, will rest some of his star players and rotate. It will be surprising if Ronaldo, Pepe, Bruno Fernandez or Bernanrdo Silva plays against Georgia.
Portugal has been impressive since the World Cup in 2022 (lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals) with 15 wins out of 17 matches. A couple of young players like Joao Felix and Fransisco Conceciao, who scored the winning goal versus the Czech Republic, could start tonight.
Although Georgia has only collected one point so far at the Euros they have been playing good and fluent football. This is the first time ever the country is at the Euros and Willy Sagnol’s side are displaying some attractive and attacking football. Their technical level is high but sometimes the tactical levels are lacking short compared to their more experienced opponents. They lost the first game in the tournament to Turkey (3-1) and in the second game they drew with the Czech Republic (1-1). Players like Kvaratskhelia, Kashia and Mikautadze are always a threat to any opponent.
Belgium and Ukraine will be squaring off this evening in a match with big stakes and opportunities. A win will take them to the last 16, a draw could be enough as well. It is all wide open in this tantalising group E.
This is easily the most exciting group before the last round of the group stage. All four teams stands on three points before the decisive matches between Ukraine and Belgium and in the other game that is played simultaneously, between Slovakia and Romania. A win will guarantee Belgium or Ukraine a spot in the knockout stage and a draw will be enough to take both sides to the next stage as long the other game in the group doesn’t finish with a draw. No question about it, the stakes are high in Group E.
Belgium started the Euros with an unexpected loss to Slovakia (0-1). Romelo Lukaku had a couple of disallowed goals in that match and the coach, Tedesco, received some serious criticism for some of his choices regarding his tactics. Anyway Belgium stepped up in the second match of the group stage when they defeated Romania 2-0. Yet again Lukaku had a disallowed goal and their captain, De Bruyne put the nail in the coffin, with the decisive 2-0 goal.
Belgium did not concede a goal against Romania, but still it is obvious that they have some big problems defensively. Which was also a factor in the opening match versus Slovakia. They really need to step up on that end to be able to defeat Ukraine tonight. If the opponent attacks them with speed around the box their central three defenders look really slow.
Ukraine lost their first game at the Euros and they didn’t look good at all when Romania took them apart (3-0). So they had to step up in the second game against Slovakia and when the Slovaks took an early lead after 17 minutes things looked dark. But Ukraine stepped up big time and turned things around with two goals in the second half. Shaparenko scored the equaliser early in the half and Yaremchuk scored the winner in the 80th minute.
If Ukraine can take advantage of the slow paced Belgian defence they have a great opportunity to win the game tonight and go through to the last 16. Key players like Zinchenko and Mudryk must play solid as they did in the second half against Slovakia.
England still haven’t lost in the Euros, but the critisicm has been fierce towards the players and the coach, Gareth Southgate. The pundits and fans are not happy with the way England has carried themselves so far at the Euros. Even though they are through to the last 16.
England are in the driver’s seat in group C and could secure the top spot with a win or a draw against Slovenia. England has four points followed by Denmark and Slovenia with two points each. Serbia has one point and they will square off with Denmark tonight. Everything is pretty much up for grabs in group C. At this point all three teams have the opportunity to go through to the knockout stage of the tournament, together with The Three Lions.
Trent Alexander - Arnold has been playing out of his normal position at the right back by Southgate during the Euros. Trent has received a lot of criticism as a holding midfielder and Southgate will sideline him for the game tonight. This is professional football at the highest level but perhaps it is a bit unfair since a player can not be blamed for a bad decision from the coach. Connor Gallagher will replace Alexander - Arnold.
England beat Serbia in the first game (1-0) and they drew with Denmark (1-1) in the previous match. In both games they have allowed their opponents to take control of the play after a good start. Kane, Saka and Foden haven’t looked their best, far from to be honest and Bellingham needs to step up if England wants to go deep in the tournament. That goes for Declan Rice as well.
Slovenia has never won a game at the Euros. They were so close to doing it against Serbia in the previous game. They were up 1-0 but Jovic scored a crucial goal for Serbia in the 95th minute. In the first game they drew with Denmark after they scored the equaliser late in the game (1-1). Slovenia needs a win against England tonight in Cologne to be sure to go through to the last 16. A draw could do it, but in that case they will be depending on some other results going their way. Slovenia has never beaten England before. They have played each other six times. England has won five times and there is one draw. So there is a big challenge ahead for Slovenia.
Kylian Mbappe could make a comeback after he broke his nose in the first match against Austria. France are squaring off with Poland tonight and a win could take them to the top of group D. At least a win will guarantee them one of the two top spots in the group.
France and the Netherlands are holding the two top spots at the moment with four points each. They drew (0-0) when the played each other in the previous match. Austria stands at three points and Poland hasn’t collected a point yet. Poland can not go through to the next round which of course is a huge advantage for France in tonight’s game.
Mbappe’s goal scoring and his ability to create chances for others is needed because France have only scored one goal in two matches so far. France really has to step up in the goal scoring department if they want to go deep in the Euros. The match against Poland could be an excellent opportunity to change things around since the Poles have absolutely nothing to play for and their motivation could be on the lower side of things.
In yesterday's mandatory press conference Dechampes said when he was asked about Mbappe that Kylian feels the urge to play, but the mask that he is supposed to wear is affecting his vision on the pitch negatively. There is no decision taken yet whether the French Superstar will play. Although it would be good if he gets some time before the last 16 starts this weekend. Personally I believe he will come in from the bench. If he plays he must avoid a yellow card since he got one in the first game. The same goes for Dembele.
The Barcelona striker, Robert Lewandowski, will probably start the match for Poland. He missed the first game and came in from the bench in the previous one. The Euros have been tough on Poland so far with two losses, first against Holland (1-2) and then Austria (1-3). They will rotate the lineup. Anything but a win for France tonight would be a surprise.
We’ve got a true blockbuster in the Champions League tonight when Manchester City hosts Inter from Milan. We should not expect 11 goals like in yesterday’s game between Bayern and Dinamo. We’ve also got Bologna, debutants in the competition, against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Bologna hasn’t played at the highest level of European club competition since 1964. This is their first time ever in the Champions League, a long 60-year wait! Bologna is the 11th Italian club to enter the Champions League. Thiago Motta is no longer Bologna’s manager (he’s at Juventus now). They also lost key players Calafiori in defense and Zirkzee up front. Vincenzo Italiano is the new manager, having joined from Fiorentina. Bologna has played four Serie A matches this season, with three losses and one draw. They played Como away this weekend, securing a 2-2 draw after being down 0-2, marking their first Serie A point of the season.
Bologna will face a very experienced Shakhtar Donetsk, who have participated in the Champions League 14 times in the last 15 seasons. Shakhtar’s manager, Marino Pusic, led them to a domestic league title last season, although they’ve had a slow start this time around. They did win their last league fixture, defeating Lviv 5-2, with Bondarenko scoring a hat trick.
Bologna will welcome back Ndoye, Holm, and Erlic after their recent injuries. Cambiaghi, Ferguson, and El Azzouzi will miss the match. Shakhtar’s striker Marion Gomez returns to the starting lineup.
Bologna: Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler; Orsolini, Aebischer, Moro, Ndoye; Castro Shakhtar: Riznyk; Konoplya, Franjic, Bondar, Pedrinho; Bondarenko, Kyrskiv, Sudakov; Zubkov, Sikan, Kevin
Both clubs have started their domestic league seasons in splendid fashion. Manchester City has won all four of their Premier League fixtures so far. This weekend, the Citizens defeated Brentford 2-1. Erling Haaland has started strong, scoring nine goals already. Inter needs to be wary of the constant threat Haaland brings to any defense. These two clubs met in last season's Champions League final, with City winning 1-0 thanks to a Rodri goal. Pep Guardiola’s side is expected to win at the Etihad Stadium tonight. The Citizens are undefeated in 23 straight Champions League matches and won the treble last season.
Inter has not forgotten their loss in the final and would love to avenge it. So far, Inter has two wins and two draws in Serie A this season. They drew 1-1 against Monza this weekend and sit two points behind Udinese at the top of the Serie A table. There are speculations that Simone Inzaghi might bench Lautaro Martinez, but that seems unlikely. Thuram is the only player in Inter’s squad to have scored more than one goal this season.
Marko Arnautovic and left-back DiMarco will miss the match for Inter, as will Tajon Buchanan. Nathan Ake is out for City.
City: Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland Inter: Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Augusto; Thuram, Martinez
This edition of the Champions League has a lot of news to it. We have a format which is completely new. More teams than ever are participating in the Champions League and the teams are guaranteed to play eight matches instead of six as it used to be. We will present all the news for you here.
The reason for the new format is obvious. It’s the money and nothing else. As the organisers of the tournament, UEFA is very aware that some of the biggest clubs in Europe are interested in creating some sort of Super League without UEFA being involved in it. The clubs would, of course, like to keep a bigger part of the money cake for themselves. So UEFA came up with the new format to please the biggest clubs to some extent.
Every team is guaranteed to play two more games. At the end of the day, every club in the Champions League will play an extra match at home and away. At home, the clubs get revenue and an opportunity to get some extra points. As we know, every club gets paid for every point they generate in the Champions League. This will be especially appreciated amongst mid-tier clubs that rarely, or never, reached the knockout phase of the old format.
The format with 32 teams divided into eight groups with four teams in each group has been around forever. The two best-placed teams in each group went on to the knockout phase. Now there are 36 teams and no group play. Each team will play four teams at home and four other teams away. In other words, there will now be eight different opponents for each club instead of three as it used to be. The table of the new edition of the CL will be counted as a regular league table. The 36 teams were divided into four pots, and all the teams are playing two opponents from each of the four pots.
There will be 16 teams in the knockout phase just as there used to be. Teams that are placed one to eight in the table are directly qualified for the knockout phase of the CL. Teams placed in the positions 9 to 24 will battle it out for the last eight spots in the knockout stage. These teams will play the classic two-legged home and away format. This is a very interesting setup that could create more drama and excitement for everybody involved.
A lot has happened since the first edition of the Champions League in the early ’90s. Back then it was eight teams in two groups and the two best-placed teams in each group went on to play in the semifinals. Personally, I’m excited that they will try something new in this context and I’m looking forward to experiencing the new Champions League format.
Only two clubs have zero points after three games in the Premier League so far this season. Southampton is one of them and they will face a squad in crisis. Manchester United have only won one Premier League game and they must respond with a win tonight. Two desperate teams will start off the Premier League this weekend.
Erik Ten Hag didn’t get sacked this summer, which was surprising for many that are following the club closely. The start of the new season has not shown any major improvements at all compared to last season. Before the international break, they lost at home (0-3) to their big northwestern rivals Liverpool. It was a very disappointing display from Manchester United to say the least. United did start the new Premier League season with a narrow win against Fulham at Old Trafford (1-0). They lost to Brighton in the second match away (1-2).
Now Manchester United are facing the newly promoted Southampton. The Saints have lost all of their three opening matches this PL campaign. The first loss of the season came to Newcastle away on opening day (0-1) and the second loss was at home to Nottingham (0-1). Just before the International break they lost to Brentford away (1-3). Only one goal scored in three matches and it was in stoppage time vs Brentford when they were down three to nothing. Sugawara scored the goal by the way. So far neither the offence nor the defence has worked out well for the newly promoted team.
His spell at Old Trafford hasn’t been easy so far for Ten Hag. He could, and should, blame himself for that to a big extent. He could be more accountable about it too as far as I am concerned. Pretty much every manager that has been at the club since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2011 has been in trouble from early on. We can all see what the English newspapers will write and say if United lose to a newly promoted team with three losses out of three possible. As we know, it is not all on the manager and the players on the pitch since this is a truly mismanaged club in the last decade or so. The fact that they kept Ten Hag after last season is yet another sign, of many, how badly managed this club is these days.
Southampton: Ramsdale, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens, Sugawara, Fernandes, Downes, Smallbone, Walker-Peters, Brereton Diaz & Archer.
Manchester Utd: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo, Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford & Zirkzee.
Casemiro is a big doubt for United and Bruno Fernandez will most probably play. Luke Shaw is out just like Rasmus Hojlund, Victor Lindelof and Mason Mount are. Bazunu and Sulemana are out for the Saints. Armstrong, Archer and Stewart will not be ready to play the match.
There is one game scheduled for La Liga this evening. Betis host Leganes at the Benito Villamarin stadium in Seville. Real Betis needs the win badly tonight. Betis has played three matches in La Liga this season and they are still without a victory. Leganes is off to a better start in La Liga and is looking to steal a point, or three, from Betis.
Leganes has played four games so far in La Liga this season. One more than Betis has. Leganes has had two draws, one win and one loss. In other words, Leganes has collected five points in four matches played. Leganes has scored three goals and also allowed three goals. The last game before the Nations League break, Leganes lost at home to Mallorca (0-1). They started out their campaign with a draw away to Osasuna. On matchday two, Leganes defeated Las Palmas at home (2-1). They drew away to Valladolid in the third match of the season (0-0). On September 4th, Leganes defeated Fuenlabrada (3-0) in the Spanish cup.
In general, the manager Borja Jimenez should be satisfied with the start of the season for his team. Juan Cruz has scored two league goals from his midfield position and is something of the team’s engine on the pitch. For a newly promoted team, they have done great so far. Marc Batra and Cedric Bakambu are not available to play.
No win in their first three matches in La Liga is not good enough for a club like Real Betis. The club has one of the most experienced managers in football. Manuel Pellegrini from Chile has been in clubs like Real Madrid, River Plate, Villareal, Malaga, Manchester City, and West Ham to name a couple of them. He has won the Premier League and La Liga. It is great for the club to have a coach of the magnitude that Pellegrini has at this point. Now the club must start winning some matches. In their previous match in La Liga, they lost to Real Madrid (0-2) away at The Santiago Bernabeu. Betis started the season with a draw to Girona at home, last year’s Cinderella story in Spanish football. They followed that up with another draw, this time to Alaves away from home.
Real Betis has qualified for the Conference League in Europe. Prominent players like William Carvalho, Giovanni Lo Celso, and Juanmi should be able to step up and be serious contributors in this crucial match early in the season. Betis needs to get their goal scoring in order to be able to turn things around. Since Real Betis has been struggling at home lately, they really need to score some goals.
Betis: Silva, Sabaly, llorente, Natan, Perraud, Roca, Carvalho, Rodri, Fornals, Ruibal & Ezzalzouli. Leganes: Soriano, Altamira, Saenz, Sergio, Hernandez, Tapia, Brasanac, Raba, Rodriguez, Munir & Garcia.
Ireland will host England, their main rivals, in Dublin in the Nations League. England had a huge heartache at the Euros this summer when they lost the final to Spain. Gareth Southgate is no longer manager for the three lions and Theft will be coached by Lee Carsley, the former under 21 manager for England.
These two long time rivals will square off at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. It is a fixture in the Nations League B group 1. Who will England react after the loss in the final of the Euros this summer, will there be a hangover or not? Lee Carsley Is the interim manager for but nothing else. We do still not know who the new England manager will be. There has been rumours about ten different managers at this point.
The new manager for Ireland is Icelandic and the name is Heimir Hallgrimsson. He used to coach the national team of both Iceland and Jamaica. He is replacing Steph Kenny who will be remembered as a failure at the position. Ireland was a force to be reckoned with in the 90’s but has lost a lot of quality over the past two decades.
As the former Under-21 manager for England Carsley has selected a couple of players that will make their debut probably for the three lions. It is Livramento, Gomes, Madueke and Gibbs-White. Trippier is retired now from international football and Ben White still does not wish to play for England. Kyle Walker was not selected by Carsley. Foden and Watkins have pulled out of the game and household names like Bellingham will not play the match. That goes for Toney, Shaw and Ramsdale too.
The 35 year old captain Seamus Coleman is recalled by Hellgrimsson. The big and 19 year old talent Evan Ferguson from Brighton is ready to play and to contribute. The keeper Max O’Leary could make his international debut as the attacker from Leicester City, Kasey McAteer.
Ireland: Kelleher; Coleman, O'Shea, Collins, Brady; Ogbene, Browne, Smallbone, O'Dowda; Ferguson & Idah
England: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Maguire, Colwill; Rice, Mainoo; Saka, Eze, Gordon; Kane
Manchester City’s start to the new season has been 100%. They beat their local rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield and followed that up with two Premier League wins out of two possible. West Ham have won one and lost one game in the Premier League under their new manager, Lopategui.
West Ham will host the reigning English champions Manchester City at the London Stadium in today’s evening match. West Ham hasn’t defeated Manchester City since September 2015. Slaven Bilic was the club's manager then and West Ham and they haven't won against Manchester City in 17 matches. That is a long time for sure. With the new manager, Julien Lopategui, West Ham are changing their identity a bit. West Ham lost to Aston Villa on opening day and won their fixture last weekend away to Crystal Palace. Tomas Sousek and Jarrod Bowen scored the goals for the Hammers in the two to nothing victory. The Hammers played a midweek fixture in the EFL cup against Bournemouth and won the match one to nothing.
Manchester City has been so dominant the last decade in the Premier League that we almost take them and the way they play for granted sometimes. We should not do that. Instead we should enjoy them while this era sort of lasts. The Citizens have scored six goals in their two opening league fixtures. Last weekend they won against the newly promoted Ipswich Town four to one. On the opening day of the Premiership Manchester City defeated Chelsea away from home. Haaland has scored four of the club’s six goals in the Premiership so far. The Citizens have been very solid at the start of the season. More so than usual under the management of Josip Guardiola. There is no slow start to this season like there have been some seasons before this one.
West Ham will have to do without their experienced left back Aaron Cresswel who is nursing a hamstring injury. The seriousness of his injury is not determined yet. Lopetegui has a lot of midfielders to choose from. Players like Rodriguez, Alarez and Ward-Prowse are in contention for one of the available starting spots in the midfield. Palmier is expected to be back at the left back position which means that Wan-Bissaka will play on the right side. Lucas Paqueta will probably start and one of Niclas Fullkrug or Micheal Antonio will start the match for West Ham. A win would be more than huge for West Ham. It has after all been nine long years since they won against Manchester City.
Guardiola will have to do without the midfield dynamo Rodri at the London Stadium. He will be missed but City has plenty of good options to replace him in the best way possible. Phil Foden is expected to start after he missed the match against Ipswich. Kovacic will most likely come off the bench. Stones and Walker were benched the prior match and will probably be benched again in this one. Jack Grealish could start the match instead of Savinho.
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson, Alvarez, Sousek, Bowden, Paqueta, Kudos & Antonio.
Man City: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Bernardo, Savinho, De Bryune, Doku & Haaland.
Only four teams are undefeated two weeks into the new Premier League season. Arsenal and Brighton are two of these four sides. Liverpool and Manchester City being the other two. Fittingly enough they play each other in the early Saturday game at the Emirates. Brighton has only won one of the last four Premier League matches against Arsenal.
Arsenal had a very tough game last weekend at Villa Park in Birmingham. They won two to one in the end against Aston Villa. Thomas Partey and Leandro Troussard were the goalscorers for the Gunners. A big and important win for Arteta’s men. The keeper David Raya was brilliant between the posts. In the first fixture of the Premier League season Arsenal got the better of Wolverhampton at the Emirates. They won two to nothing after goals from Saka and Haverz. Overall The Gunners have started the new season where they left the previous one. That would be in the best possible way.
Brighton crushed and embarrassed Everton in matchday one and they won three to nothing at Goodison Park. Mitoma, Wellbeck and Adingra scored the goals. Last week they defeated Manchester United in a very dramatic match. They won it two to one. Joao Pedro scored the winning goal in the 90th minute. Danny Wellbeck scored the first one against his childhood club. There is no question about how well Brighton has kicked off the new Premier League season. The manager Fabian Hurzeler is happy with his team.
Gabriel Jesus is out for Arsenal again. That goes for Tomiyasu and Tierney as well. The Gunners just signed the Spanish midfielder, Merino, he will likely come in from the bench. As far as Brighton goes the new signing O’Riley will miss the match and so will Solly March.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Saka & Troussard.
Brighton: Steel, Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu, Milner, Gilmour, Minteh, Pedro. Mitoma & Wellbeck
Inter will host Atalanta in Milano this evening when the third matchday of the Serie A season kicks off. Inter are unbeaten so far in the league and have not lost to Atalanta in the last 12 games between them. Will Gasperini’s men turn things around at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium tonight?
Simone Inzaghi’s squad has won one match (Lecce) and drew one (Genoa) so far in the domestic league. It is definitely early days of the Serie A and Inter are currently sitting at the second spot in the league table. Inter are a very strong squad at home in Milano. For example they only lost one of their 19 home fixtures in the league the past season. The reigning Italian Champions brought in Jadon Sanchez in the off season to bolster their options at the wing.
Atalanta has won one match and lost one so far this season in the Serie A. They won their first match four to nothing away against Lecce. Atalanta lost to Torino last weekend. They lost two to one after being up in the game and they missed a penalty (Mario Pasalic) late in the match. Gasperini was not happy about it after the match was finished. Has Gasperini some big tactical changes up his sleeves to confuse Inzaghi at Giuseppe Meazza tonight? Hopefully he does for Atalanta’s sake since they have not beaten Inter in the last 12 matches. They finished at the 4th spot in Serie A the past season.
Buchanan and Martinez are out for Inter. Stefan De Vrij will return to the bench but will not start the game. Taremi will start upfront next to Marcus Thuram and Marko Arnautovic will be on the bench. It is a bit messy in Atalanta currently as Lookman and Koopmeiners are looking for transfers away from Bergamo. Musso and Toure recently left the club. Kolasinac and Bakker will be out against Inter and Scamacca and Scalvini will be out for a longer spell.
Inter: Sommer, Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Di Marco, Mikhitaryan, Thuram and Teremi.
Atalanta: Carmesecchi, De Roon, Hien, Djimsiti, Bellanova, Ederson, Ruggeri, Pasalic, Brecianini, De Ketalaere and Retegui.
The second leg of the Europa League playoff will be played tonight and we have a very interesting match between Rapid Vienna and Braga. Rapid lost the first leg in Portugal two to one and have to turn things around at the Allianz Stadion if they wish to go through.
Once upon a time the centre of football in Austria was the capital Vienna. That is no longer the case. With the emergence of Red Bull in Salzburg and the fact that Sturm from Graz won the domestic championship the past season the shift ff powers have changed in the country. Rapid is a historical club in Austria and they have a solid fanbase. It would mean a lot for everybody surrounding and involved in the club if they make it to the Europa league. The club participated in the Champions League the past season. Rapid Vienna finished at the 4th position in the Austrian championship last season.
Braga won the first leg in Portugal two to one and wll design their matchplan accordingly. They have the margins on their side before the game starts, but that can change very quickly In european competition, as we know. They fell behind in the game last week but a goal and an assist from Salazar turned the match around into the hands of Braga. Braga has defeated Servette and Maccabi Petah Tikva in the two previous qualification rounds. Braga won their match in the domestic league this weekend when they defeated Moreirense three to one after two goals from Salazar. Rapid Vienna lost their league fixture this weekend to Linz away (0-3). Rapid defeated Trabzonspor and Wisla Krakow i the two prior rounds of qualification.
Braga are unbeaten in all competitions so far this season and they are on an four match long winning streak. The club hasn't lost a Europa League qualifying match since the year of 2013. Rapid have lost their last two games and the defence have been fragile with five goals conceded. Both games were played away from home and the home record is at 100% so far this season. Lukas Grgic is suspended for Rapid and will not play in the match. He will be replaced by Oswald.
RAPID: Hedl, Auer, Ro-jao, Cvetkovic, Bolla, Seidl, Oswald, Sangare, Schaub, Burgstaller & Jansson.
BRAGA: Matheus, Marin, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Victor Gomez, Moutinho, Carvalho, Bruma, Ricardo Horta, Salazar & El Wazzani.
Red Star will host the Norwegian side of Bodö/ Glimt at the Rajko Mitic stadium in Belgrade. The visitor’s won the first leg of the Champions League playoff two to one and the late away goal from the Serbian side could be crucial on aggregate. One of these clubs will play in the Champions League this fall. Which side will it be?
The Norwegians were up two to nothing in the second half of the first leg at the Aspmyra stadium last week. With 15 minutes left of the game Red Star scored the crucial away goal thanks to Ognjen Mimovic. Bjortuft and Maata scored for the hosts. Mimovic’s goal could be a decisive factor at the end of the day for Vladan Milojevic’s side. The Norwegians had a lot of scoring chance but were not effective enough in the opposition's box.
The Norwegians play a physical brand of football and they are very effective in transition. They have played 20 league fixtures in the Norwegian Elitserien and won 13 of the games. They also have five draws and only two losses. They won against Sarpsborg this weekend convincingly (6-0). Kjetil Knudsen’s side love to counter attack and will have plenty of opportunities to do so since Red Star must attack to be able to turn things around on aggregate and secure a spot in the Champions League. Red Star’s league fixture the past weekend were postponed and the team has been able to fully focus on the match against the Norwegians. The manager Milojevic says that tonight's match is “more than battle for life, it is a battle for death, it is all in gods hands”. Red star is a strong home team and they have won 19 out of their last 21 matches at home. Their fanatic home crowd are always a factor in the big European games.
The Norwegians will miss a couple of important players in the game tonight. Omar Elabdellaoui, Gaute Vetti, Nino Zugelj and Brice Wembangomo. Hauge and Hogh are ready to play. The captain Patrick Berg is crucial forther team in the midfield. Red Star needs to make him less dominant on the pitch in this game if they aim to go through. If they don’t stop Berg the Norwegians will play in the Champions League soon. There are no injury concerns for Red Star at this point.
PREDICTED LINEUPS Red Star: Ilic, Mimovic, Djiga, Spajic, Seol, Elsnik, Hwang, Milson, Ivanic, Olayinka, Ndiaye.
Bodö/ Glimt: Haikin, Sjovold, Bjortuft, Gundersen, Bjorkan, Fet, Berg, Evjen, Hauge, High, Maata.
We are in the second round of the Chengdu Open in China. Two of the top seeds will play on the center court in the evening session. The talented Frenchman Mpetshi Perricard will square off with Hanfmann, and the Chilean Jarry will face Klein from Slovakia. Nicolas Jarry has not won a match on tour since May and is in desperate need of a victory.
Mpetshi Perricard is seeded 7th at the Chengdu Open and ranked 51st in the world. He defeated Sun Fajing from China in the first round, firing 34 aces and winning in three sets. The 21-year-old has only played 16 matches on the main tour in 2024, winning seven. He lost in the first round of the US Open and the Cincinnati Masters. Giovanni didn’t qualify for Montreal and was eliminated in the round of 16 in Washington. Wimbledon was a strong showing for him, where he reached the 4th round (lost to Musetti).
The German Yannick Hanfmann, 32 years old, got the better of Shintaro Mochizuki in the first round, winning in two sets. Hanfmann is ranked just inside the top 100 at 95th. He has played 37 matches on tour, winning 20. Last week, he won both of his Davis Cup matches but did not qualify for the US Open. He reached the semifinals in Kitzbuhel and the round of 16 in Gstaad, both on clay after Wimbledon. These two players have never faced each other before.
As one of the top four seeds at the Chengdu Open, Nicolas Jarry had a bye in the round of 32. Jarry is seeded 3rd and had a strong spring on tour but has struggled recently. The 28-year-old is ranked 28th in the world and has won 16 of the 34 matches he’s played on the main tour in 2024. Nicolas reached the final of the Rome Masters, losing to Zverev in straight sets. Since then, he has shockingly suffered six straight first-round exits at major events, including Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Olympics, the two Masters in Montreal and Cincinnati, and the US Open. The big question going into this match is where Jarry stands in terms of confidence, as his last tour win came against Tommy Paul in the semifinals of the Rome Masters back in May.
Lukas Klein and Jarry have never faced each other. Klein defeated Walton in straight sets in the first round of the Chengdu Open. The 26-year-old is currently ranked 127th and has won six of the 15 matches he’s played on tour in 2024. Klein mostly competes on the Challenger tour and is known as one of the grinders in the tennis world. A win here would be a massive achievement for him, as he faces a player ranked 100 spots above him, especially considering Jarry’s shaky confidence.
Fabio Fognini is the biggest star of the evening session at the Chengdu Open in China. Fabio will square off with Roman Safiullin from Russia in the first round of the event. So will Borna Coric from Croatia and Aleksandar Vukic from Australia.
This is a first-round matchup between two players just ranked inside the top 100. Vukic is at number 92, and Coric at 97. Coric from Croatia has been struggling on the court lately. Coric and Vukic have played each other once on the ATP Tour at Canada Masters 2023, and Vukic won the match comfortably in straight sets (6-2, 6-3). Borna has played 28 matches on the tour in 2024 and won 11 of them. He lost in the first round at the US Open, and the Chengdu Open is his first event since then. He reached the round of 16 at Winston-Salem, didn’t qualify for the Cincinnati Masters, and lost in the second round in Montreal. Borna also lost in the first round in both Washington and Atlanta. In other words, Borna needs to win some matches starting as soon as possible. Borna’s highest ranking ever was at the 12th position in November of 2018.
Aleksandar Vukic from Australia has played 38 matches on the ATP tour in 2024, and Vukic has won 16 of them. Vukic has not played since the US Open, where he lost in the first round to Purcell. He reached the round of 16 in Winston-Salem, didn’t qualify for the Masters in Cincinnati nor the Masters in Canada. He lost his only match in Washington to Kokkinakis and Bellucci in Atlanta. So here we have a match with two players in desperate need of a win.
Fabio Fognini has not played that much on the ATP tour in 2024. In total, the Italian has played 20 matches and won 11 of them. He is currently ranked at the 79th spot in the world. His highest ranking ever was at the 9th position in the summer of 2019. Fabio has won nine titles in his career to date. At this point, Fabio is 37 years old, just like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The three of them were born within a week in May 1987. Fabio lost in the first round of the US Open to Machac. He played mostly on clay during the summer, reaching the round of 16 in Umag and losing to Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals in Gstaad. Fabio also reached the third round at Wimbledon (lost to Bautista-Agut).
The 27-year-old Roman Safiullin from Russia is ranked at the 56th position in the world. Roman has played 32 matches on the tour in 2024 and won 12 of them. His highest ranking ever was at the 26th spot at the start of 2024. He lost in the second round of the US Open to Arnaldi, fell to Eubanks in the round of 16 in Winston-Salem, and won the challenger in Cary (def. Bellucci in the final). Safiullin lost in the first round of the Canada Masters to Davidovich-Fokina.
The ATP tour will be in China for the next couple of weeks. Two different ATP 250 events start in China today, followed by the Beijing ATP 500 and then the Shanghai Masters. We’ve got two predictions ready for you from the Chengdu Open. Musetti and Bublik are the two top seeds at the event.
Adam Walton from Australia and Lukas Klein from Slovakia will play each other for the first time in the opening round of the Chengdu Open. Walton is ranked 94th in the world and hasn’t played since his first-round loss at the US Open to Muller. He also lost in the first round at Winston-Salem, didn’t qualify for the Cincinnati Masters, lost in the first round in Washington, and reached the round of 16 in Atlanta as a qualifier. Walton has played 13 matches on the main tour in 2024 and won only three. The 25-year-old turned pro in 2022 after playing college tennis in Tennessee. Lukas Klein, ranked 127th, lost in the US Open qualifiers and played Davis Cup last week, losing both matches to Marterer and McDonald. Klein has mostly competed on the Challenger tour in 2024, winning 6 and losing 9 matches on the main tour.
Lorenzo Sonego, the 29-year-old Italian, is seeded 6th at the Chengdu Open. Sonego is ranked 50th and has played 40 matches on the ATP tour in 2024, winning 18. He hasn’t competed since his first-round US Open loss to Tommy Paul. Sonego won the Winston-Salem title just before the US Open, beating Alex Michelsen in straight sets. That was his only title this season. Sonego is known for his big plays, though his accuracy isn’t always spot on, but he has a solid serve. He has faced Japan’s Taro Daniel once before, winning that encounter. Daniel, ranked 90th, hasn’t played since the US Open, where he also lost in the first round in five sets to Schoolkate from Australia. It’s been a rough season for Daniel, with eleven consecutive first-round exits on the ATP tour.
Both the WTA and the ATP tours will be in Asia for the next couple of weeks. Currently, we have two WTA events taking place: one in Seoul, South Korea, and the other in Hua Hin, Thailand. Here are two predictions for the event in Hua Hin.
Lesia Tsurenko from Ukraine is one of the real veterans on tour. At 35 years old (born in 1989), Tsurenko has played 850 matches on the WTA tour. She is currently ranked 92nd in the world, with her highest career ranking at 23rd back in 2019. Tsurenko has won four titles so far in her career, though none this season. In 2024, she has played 27 matches, winning 10 of them. She lost the final last year in Hua Hin and has many points to defend this week, making it a crucial tournament for her. She faces Magda Linette from Poland in the opening round.
Linette, aged 32, is currently ranked 43rd in the world, with her career-high ranking of 19th achieved in March last year. Like Tsurenko, Linette has played around 850 matches on the WTA tour. In 2024, she has competed in 44 matches, winning 23. Linette has one title this year and three in total.
Rebecca Sramkova will face 22-year-old Mananchaya Sawankgaew from Thailand in the opening round. Sramkova, currently ranked 102nd in the world, is 27 years old and hails from Slovakia. Her highest career ranking was 89th in May this year. In 2024, she has played 49 matches, winning 30 of them. Sramkova had an excellent week at the Jasmina Open in Tunisia, where she reached the final but lost to Briton Sonay Kartal in straight sets (3-6, 5-7). However, the long journey from Tunisia to Thailand could take a toll on her, which may give her opponent, Sawankgaew, an advantage. Sawankgaew is currently ranked 195th in the world and has mostly competed in ITF and Challenger events this season. In 2024, she has played 55 matches, winning 34.
The two ongoing WTA 500 events in Guadalajara and Monastir have reached the final stage and we will have a first-time WTA tour winner in both locations. In Monastir Sonay Kartal will square off with Rebecca Sramkova. In Guadalajara Magdalena Frech will face the sensation of the week, Olivia Gadecki.
What a magnificent week it has been for the Briton Sonay Kartal. She has reached her first ever WTA final and could potentially end up with her first title as well. She will play against Rebecca Sramkova from Slovakia. Sramkova has not won a title on the WTA tour either, so there will be some history written today. Kartal only played for 22 minutes in her semifinal versus Eva Lys from Germany. Kartal was up 5-1 in the first set when Lys retired. Kartal, who is a qualifier at the event, has defeated the following players in the main draw: Cristian, Hontama, Starodubtseva, and Eva Lys. Kartal is ranked outside the top 150 in the world and will make a giant leap in the rankings in the coming week. She has been playing well on the smaller tour for some time and now she has made her big breakthrough on the highest level.
Sramkova has, just like Kartal, won titles on the ITF tour, and both of them have had some success on the challenger tour too. Rebecca Sramkova defeated the only seed left in the draw, Lucia Bronzetti (seeded 7), in two sets (6-3, 6-4). Sramkova was also impressive in the QF when she beat Sorribes Tormo after being a set down. In her two opening rounds, she got the better of Jacquemot and Burel. The 27-year-old is ranked at the 136th spot in the world. This is the first time these two players face each other.
We will have a first-time winner on the WTA tour in Guadalajara as well. Magdalena Frech has played finals on the WTA tour before but never won a title. The 22-year-old Olivia Gadecki from Australia is in her first-ever WTA tour final and she has made herself known to the tennis world during this week in Mexico. Gadecki qualified for the main draw in Guadalajara and hasn't looked back since. In her semi yesterday, she beat Camila Osorio in straight sets (6-3, 6-2). Olivia is ranked at the 152nd spot in the world, and that makes her the third-lowest ranked player to make a WTA tour final in 2024. If Gadecki defeats Frech she will be the lowest-ranked champion on the WTA tour this season. Gadecki defeated Sloane Stephens, Danielle Collins, and Martina Trevisan before the semifinal. A very impressive run so far from Gadecki in Mexico.
The 26-year-old Frech from Poland is currently ranked at the 43rd position in the world, and she has displayed some very good tennis during the week. Frech has only lost one set on her path to the final at the Guadalajara Akron Open. She has beaten Bektas, Krueger, Stakusic, and Garcia. She lost a set to Krueger. Frech lost in the first round at the US Open to Minnen, and she seems to be a different player after that tough and bad loss. Out of the two players in this match, Frech has the pressure to win it. She is a couple of years older than Gadecki and has been to finals earlier on the WTA tour. Olivia has the potential luxury of being able to be more relaxed on the court and feel less pressure. Gadecki has nothing to lose here and pretty much everything to win.
Yesterday Carline Garcia got lucky when Bouzkova gave her a walkover. Garcia had lost all four prior matches to Bouzkova. Garcia will face Frech in the second semi. Gadecki has been the sunshine of the event and will square off with Osorio in the first semi. Since the walkover our bet in that match does not count. We hit our bet that Gadecki would defeat Trevisan.
Both of these players are unseeded at the event and both of them have had a great week so far where they have exceeded the expectations by far. One of them will be in the final which is huge for these up-and-coming players. Osorio is from Colombia and she is 22 years old. Back in 2019, she won the junior US Open. So far in Guadalajara Camila has defeated Baptiste in two sets, in the second round she beat Kudermetova in three sets. In the QF she won against Rakhimova in straight sets. Osorio is currently ranked at the 80th position in the world. She played in Guadalajara last season but lost to Frech in the first round. They could end up being the finalists tomorrow.
Gadecki has impressed a lot of people during the week in Mexico. The Australian qualified for the event and has beaten both Sloane Stephens (6-3, 6-4) and Danielle Collins (6-3, 6-3) in the main draw, two solid statement wins from Olivia. She lost her first set this week in the quarterfinal against Martina Trevisan but won the match convincingly (6-2, 3-6, 6-1) in the end. The 22-year-old Olivia Gadecki is ranked at the 152nd spot in the world and will make a huge leap in the next ranking. This will be the first matchup ever between Gadecki and Osorio.
The 5th seed Magdalena Frech will square off with the fourth seed at the event, Caroline Garcia. Garcia is a bit more rested since she got through thanks to a walkover from Bouzkova yesterday. Magdalena got the better of the Canadian teenager Marina Stakusic in straight sets (6-4, 6-3). In her two opening matches Frech defeated Bektas (two sets) and Krueger (three sets). Frech has never ever won a WTA tour event. The 26-year-old from Poland is ranked at the 43rd spot in the world at the moment. Frech has won 31 matches and lost 25 in 2024. Garcia, 30 years of age, has actually only played one match this week in Guadalajara. As the 4th seed, she had a bye in the opening round and in the second round she defeated Ena Shibahara in two tie-break sets. Bouzkova gave her a walkover before yesterday’s QF. Garcia is ranked at the 30th spot in the world at the moment and she has won 16 out of the 31 matches she has played on the WTA tour in 2024.
We have reached the semifinal stage at the Jasmina Open in the city of Monastir in Tunisia. The only seeded player left in the draw, Bronzetti, will face Sramkova and in the second semifinal Lys will square off with Kartal. Yesterday was an awful day for me betting wise. Both our bets at the Jasmina Open did not go in. It’s time for some sweet revenge.
This will be the first match ever between Sramkova and Bronzetti. Bronzetti played against Antonia Ruzic in the QF and won easily in straight sets (6-1, 6-2). Lucia played at Jasmina Open last year and reached the quarterfinals and lost to her compatriot, Paolini (she is number four in the world at the moment). Bronzetti is at this stage the overwhelming favourite to win the Jasmina Open. So far Lucia has beaten Galfi, Li, and Ruzic at the event and she still hasn’t lost a set. She is ranked at the 86th position in the world and has played 50 matches on the tour in 2024 and won 23 of them. Sramkova is one of three unseeded players in the semis and she played very well in the QF against the expected winner Sorribes Tormo. She lost the first set and came back to win the match (1-6, 7-6, 7-5). A strong showing from Sramkova. She never gave up and believed in herself. Rebeccca Sramkova played aggressively and hit 44 winners in the match. In her first two matches of the Jasmina Open, she defeated Jacquemot in three sets and Burel in two sets. Rebecca is ranked at the 136th spot in the world at the moment and she has played 47 matches and won 29 of them. She has mostly been on the challenger tour.
Eva Lys showed the world some great sportsmanship in yesterday's quarterfinal against Sonmez. Lys had a setpoint in the first set and the umpire ruled a ball out from Sonmez but Lys said the ball was good. A nice gesture from Lys that Jack Draper could learn something from. Lys won the match in straight sets at the end (7-5, 6-3). Lys plays for Germany but was born in Ukraine. She has beaten Tsurenko in straight sets and the one seed Mertens in three sets. Eva Lys is ranked at the 126th spot in the world and she has won 27 and lost 145 matches on the tour in 2024 (Mostly challenger). Sonya Kartal is up one to nothing in the head-to-head. They played on the grass surface back in 2022. Sonay Kartal from the UK is ranked at the 151st position in the world and she has played and won a lot of matches on the lesser tours and opponents. Sonay qualified for the event. So far in the main draw at the Jasmina Open, Kartal has gotten the better off Christian in three sets, Hontama and Starodubtseva in straight sets.
With both the number one and number two seed out of the tournament at this point the title is up for grabs for the remaining eight players in the draw at the Guadalajara Akron Open in Mexico. The one seed Ostapenko lost to Stakusic yesterday. We hit our bet that Stakusic would win a set. Shibahara didn’t win a set against Garcia but lost two sets in tiebreak. So we got one of our two predictions right yesterday.
Martina Trevisan is ranked just inside the top 100 at the 99th position in the world. Trevisan is a lefty from the beautiful city of Florence in Tuscany. Martina is 30 years of age and she has won one title so far in her career. Trevisan is going for her second ever title in Guadalajara. Martina’s highest ranking ever was at the 18th spot back in May 2023. Martina has won 18 and lost 26 matches on the WTA tour in 2024. So far in Guadalajara Martina Trevisan has beaten both Dolehide and Zarazua in straight sets.
Olivia Gadecki from Australia has been very impressive so far in Guadalajara. Olivia is 22 years old and she did qualify for the event. She won two out of two matches in the qualifications (Babos & Joint) and then went on to win two matches against very tough opponents. Olivia got the better of Sloane Stephens in the first round and she beat Danielle Collins in the second round. Gadecki won both matches in straight sets. She is currently ranked at the 162nd spot in the world but will of course make a big leap next week. These two players have never played each other before. TREVISAN VS GADECKI TIPS: WINNER - GADECKI THE ODDS: 1.49
Caroline Garcia is from France is the 4th seed at the Guadalajara Akron Open and she will face the number 6th seed Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic. Garcia and Bouzkova have played each other four times and Bouzkova is up four to nothing in the head to head. Three of the matches have been played on grass and only one on hard court. The match on hard court was in the Canada Masters last year. Garcia, 30 years of age, entered the event in the second round and she got the better of Shibahara in two sets, both of them decided in tiebreaks.
Garcia hasn’t played well lately and this week could perhaps turn things around for her. In 2024 she won 17 and lost 16 matches on the WTA tour and is ranked at the 30th spot in the world. Marie Bouzkova is 26 years old and currently ranked at the 45th position in the world. Her best ranking ever was at number 24 in December 2022. She has played 37 matches and won 19 of them in 2024. She has won one title so far in her career and is going for yet another one in Guadalajara. So far Bouzkova has beaten Eala and Stefanini in Guadalajara, both in straight sets.
The top seed Elise Mertens is out of the Jasmina Open after her loss yesterday to Eva Lys. The field is wide open at this point and anybody can win the title in Monastir. We did not have a good day betting-wise with both bets missed. Mertens lost and Ann Li did not win a set in her match against Bronzetti.
Sara Sorribes Tormo from Spain has been playing solidly so far at the Jasmina Open in Tunisia. Sara is 27 years of age, has won two titles in her career and nine this season. This event could be a nice opportunity for her to perhaps win. There is no question that she can win if all the pieces fall into the right place. Sorribes Tormo has won 15 and lost 21 matches on the tour in 2024. Sara is currently ranked at the 115th spot in the world. Her opponent in today’s match, Rebecca Sramkova, is from the Slovak Republic and she is ranked at the 136th position in the world. Just as Sorribes Tormo, Sramkova is 27 years of age and Rebecca has played 44 matches on the tour in 2024 and won 28 of them. So far at the Jasmina Open, Sramkova has defeated Burel in two sets and Jacquemot in three sets. Sorribes Tormo has beaten Jana Fett in three sets and Anna Blinkova in straight sets. This is the first time they ever play each other on the WTA tour.
Bronzetti is the highest-seeded player left in the field at number seven. Lucia has won one title in her career and she will go for her second one ever and first title this season in Monastir. Bronzetti is from the seaside town of Rimini in Italy. She is 25 years old and she is currently ranked at the 86th position in the world. Lucia has played 46 matches on the tour in 2024 and she has won 20 of them. The highest ranking in her career was at number 46 in April earlier this season. She has beaten Dalma Galfi and Ann Li so far at the Jasmina Open and she won both matches in straight sets. Bronzetti will face Antonia Ruzic from Croatia. Ruzic has been a very pleasant surprise this week in Tunisia with her nice display of tennis. Ruzic is 21 years old and could potentially have a bright future in the WTA tour. At the moment, Antonia is ranked at the 173rd spot in the world. She has mostly played on the challenger tour and she has won 28 of them.
The second seed Danielle Collins is out of the event in Mexico and the path for the top seed Jelena Ostapenko to win in Guadalajara is looking a bit easier. Jelena will face Stakusic and she is expected to win the match. Caroloine Garcia will face the talented Ena Shibahara from Japan. Yesterday we hit one of two predictions which means that we are at 3 out of 4 so far at the Guadalajara Akron Open.
Caroline Garcia from France is the 4th seed at the event in Guadalajara and she will play against The Japanese-American Ena Shibahara in the round of 16. They have never faced each other before. Shibahara entered the main draw through qualification and in the opening round she defeated Birrell in two sets (6-4, 7-6). Shibahara played very aggressively and hit 31 winners. Ena is 26 years of age and she just made her debut in a Grand Slam event as a single player when she qualified for the US Open recently. She lost to Iga Swiatek in the second round after beating Saville in the round of 128. Ena has been having a good year on the challenger tour and she has won plenty of matches. Caroline Garcia is 30 years old and back on tour after having some personal problems off the court. She is currently ranked at the 30th position in the world, her highest ever was at number four back in 2018. Garcia lost to Zarazua in the first round of the US Open in two sets. This is her first match of the event in Guadalajara. Caroline has won 16 and lost 16 matches in 2024. This will be the first matchup between the two players.
Ostapenko is the top seed at the Guadalajara Akron Open in Mexico. This will be Jelena’s first march of the event. As a matter of fact this will be her first match since she lost to Naomi Osaka in the first round of the US Open. Ostapenko is just ranked outside the top 10 at number 12. Her highest ranking ever was at number 5 back in 2018. She might be a bit rusty at the moment and she hasn’t played well lately. She lost her first match at Cincinnati too. She lost in the first round at the Olympics and Jelena won one match in Toronto (def. Badosa). Ostapenko has won one match and lost four since she reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Jelena has won 31 and lost 18 matches in 2024. Stakusic is from Canada and she is far from experienced as her opponent Ostapenko is. Stakusic has mostly played on the challenger level and she has won 20 and lost 17 matches in 2024. Marina is ranked just outside the top 150 in the world. Stakusic is still a teenager and she has talent, for sure. In the first round Stakusic got the better of Schmiedlova in straight sets (6-2, 6-4). This match could have an upset in store for us since Ostapenko is rusty and not playing too well at the moment.
