Tag Archives: Soccer

RAUL MEIRELES : RONALDO WOULD BE BETTER OFF IN PREMIER LEAGUE

Cristiano Ronaldo is looking at leaving Real Madrid by summer time and Raul Meireles believes that the Premier League would be the best place for the Balloon d’Or winner if and when he decides to make the move.


Due to the kind of treatment he has gotten from the tax authorities in Spain, the Real Madrid forward is looking at leaving the club soon.

Earlier in the month of June, the prosecutor’s office of the country located in Madrid filed a tax fraud lawsuit against the former Manchester United’s striker.

Unconfirmed reports emanating from various quarters have it that Ronaldo is looking to rejoining the club he left from to Real, which is Manchester United for the next season.

The former Chelsea midfielder, Meireles is of the belief that where the striker makes the move, then the English top flight would be the best fit for him.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Meireles said:

“Yes of course [he could return to the Premier League]. He was very successful in the Premier League so I think that if he does not want to stay at Real Madrid, or he wants to leave, then the Premier League is the right place for him to be.” Continue reading →

JUVENTUS TO KILL OFF MONACO IN RETURN LEG

Serie A champs Juventus are expected to kill off the competition against Monaco when both sides meet in the return leg of the Champions League on Tuesday.


The Italian side have a two goal advantage that they would exploit to the fullest when they host the French side. Juve started well, with Gonzalo Higuain grabbing a brace in the first leg at Stade Louis II last week.

The coach of the home side Massimiliano Allegri is taking no chances as he rested key players over the weekend when they face Torino in the local league. They struggled to get a 1-1 draw despite their numerical advantage for over 30 minutes.

Higuain had to dig deep to secure a point for the team but the Bianconeri failed to extend their league record to 34 successive victories. The team would rely on the Argentina international again as they face an attacking youthful French side.

Monaco are still dreaming of an epic final with any of the Madrid teams despite the 2-0 limit. They defeated Nancy 3-0 over the weekend to keep their Ligue 1 hopes firm and warn Juve that they could usurp them at home. That would make Monaco the first team to overturn a 2-0 home defeat in the history of the tournament knockout rounds. Continue reading →

VIETNAM MOVES TO CURB BLACK MARKET BETTING

Vietnam has moved to block widespread betting in the black market through the launch of a pilot program that allows citizens over 21 years place bets in regulated events.


Vietnamese citizens can now engage in soccer betting and horserace bets as efforts to crackdown on illegal gambling dens and online betting sites proved abortive.

The country maintained a long time ban on gambling but recently announced the move to ease the regulations. The plan is to build facilities around the country so interested people can place bets. For soccer betting, Vietnamese can only officially place bets in FIFA-recognized international games with a maximum wager of $45.

The move would limit Vietnamese citizens that were fleeing the country to place bets in Cambodian casinos, the government said.

“Changes in Vietnam gambling laws will lead to increased competition for Cambodia’s casinos and will likely affect local businesses. Cambodia’s casinos have been typically operating without much immediate regional competition. Continue reading →

ALLARDYCE AHEAD TO REPLACE PARDEW

Disgraced former Three Lions manager Sam Allardyce is leading the race to replace Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew, according to Sky Bet.


After Pardew supervised just one victory in 11 Premier League matches, hence his sack on Thursday.

The Eagles are set to name a new manager that would help them beat relegation threats as the season reached halfway. Allardyce seem to have the magic wand and is preferred, being that he has never been relegated to the lower division as a top-flight manager. His working knowledge of the Premier League is another advantage. With Palace chair Steve Parish disclosing that the club would get a new manager “as quickly as possible,” Allardyce would definitely rank top on the list.

Football betting site Sky Bet give the former Bolton Wanderers boss ½ as the likely choice whilst installing former Birmingham coach Gary Rowett as the second in line at 2/1 odds.

There is Chris Coleman at 6/1 to return to the club but it remains unlikely given the World Cup qualification bid. Former Three Lions coach Roy Hodgson has 14/1 chance while Red Devils legend Ryan Giggs has 18/1 chance at clinching the role. Continue reading →

CARRASCO TO SCORE IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAME

Yannick Carrasco is one of the stars set to get a goal when Atletico Madrid play Rostov in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.


The player has stepped out of the shadows of Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres of recent and has a high odds of getting a goal anytime.

City face Barcelona again after their recent 4-0 thumping. Lionel Messi almost singlehandedly handed City manager Pep Guardiola one of his worst nights as a football manager. Even football betting experts wouldn’t have predicted such for the former Barcelona coach. However, the floodgates were opened after Claudio Bravo was sent off. City entered the game with a 6/1 odds to win but they are 19/10 to win at home.

Manchester City only just returned to winning ways after six games. They thrashed West Brom in convincing fashion, and are set to face a weakened Barcelona side – when compared to the last squad. Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba are injured; Jeremy Mathieu remains suspended for the red card he picked up. Andres Iniesta remains sidelines as well. Continue reading →

Kolo Toure is ecstatic over having Christian Benteke as his teammate

Christian Benteke decided to sign for Liverpool on July 22 as the Belgian made a move from Aston Villa over to Liverpool for a transfer fee of €32.5 million and he has already managed to make an impact in Anfield as Benteke scored the only goal of Liverpool’s match against Bournemouth.

Kolo Toure is overjoyed about having Christian Benteke as his new teammate, the Liverpool defender is certain that with this recent addition to the team, his team now have a new attacking dimension which adds more depth to the offensive department.

The 34 year old Ivorian defender praised Benteke as Kolo Toure said: “It is always difficult to play against a player like him he is really strong, he can hold the ball up, set the ball up for other players and can score goals, which is really important. I’m happier to have him on my side, definitely!

Toure admitted in saying that he is happier to be playing alongside Benteke. There is no doubt that Benteke will be a consistent starter for Liverpool as the Premier League club splashed out a substantially high fee to sign the Belgian attacker but Kolo Toure on the other hand has not been featured in any of the 4 opening matches of the season for Liverpool.

The veteran defender is mostly just being used as a substitute player and this is certainly not the way that the Ivorian player wants to spend his career as he is 34 years old and is reaching the twilights stages of his career. Continue reading →

Chelsea will be starting the new season as the favourites to win the 2015-16 league title

Chelsea will be starting the new season as the favourites to win the 2015-16 league title according to bookmakers, who place the reigning champions as favourites to retain the title.

The fixture list for the new Premier League campaign has just come out with the blues being backed at 2/7 to beat Swansea City on opening day of the season. This will undoubtedly be a very tough match for the blues despite being at Stamford Bridge. The inexperienced Gary Monk has just overseen a brilliant campaign for the Welsh club and more is set to follow based on the transfer rumours.

However, it will be difficult to stop Chelsea who will be having Radamel Falcao as one of the backups for Diego Costa. Compared with Didier Drogba, Falcao should be a step up in terms of quality right now. Even though Drogba came up with some important goals against the likes of Newcastle and Tottenham, his age was shown on a number of occasions. Chelsea’s main title rivals – Manchester City – will be travelling to the Hawthorns in order to take on a West Brom team that avoided relegation comfortably after the arrival of Tony Pulis. Arsenal, meanwhile, start with a London Derby against West Ham, who will have a new manager in the form of Slaven Bilic. Continue reading →