Pep Guardiola is a really nice man. Here’s why: As the former manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, the 45-year-old has a wide array of world class players that he has worked with. Having been a very successful manager at both clubs, playing some wonderful football in the process, it … Read more
September defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal led to Chelsea being effectively written out of the Premier League title race in September, but a run of three wins to nil have forced the bookies to scribble the Blues back into the picture. Antonio Conte’s troops have been whittled into 13/2 fourth … Read more
Last Result: Bristol City 1-0 BLACKBURN WOLVES 0-1 Leeds Kick-off: 17:30, 29/10/16 TV: Sky Sports 1 Stadium: Ewood Park Head-to-head: (Last five meetings, most recent first) Wolves 0-0 Blackburn, Blackburn 1-2 Wolves, Blackburn 0-1 Wolves, Wolves 3-1 Blackburn, Wolves 1-1 Blackburn Key Stats: – Just one of Wolves’ last six … Read more
Few foresaw Diego Costa sitting at the top of the Premier League top scorer standings after nine games but, nevertheless, the Spaniard leads the way with seven strikes to his name. The combustible Chelsea star is one ahead of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, while he’s two clear of five-goal trio Theo … Read more
Last Result: Arsenal 0-0 MIDDLESBROUGH BOURNEMOUTH 0-0 Tottenham Kick-off: 15:00, 29/10/16 Stadium: The Riverside Stadium Head-to-head: (Most recent first) Bournemouth 3-0 Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough 0-0 Bournemouth, Bournemouth 0-0 Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough 3-3 Bournemouth, Bournemouth 1-2 Middlesbrough Injuries and Suspensions Middlesbrough: Out – Grant Leadbitter Doubt – None Bournemouth: Out – Lewis Cook, … Read more
Next time somebody bores you with the line that no division can rival the Premier League for unpredictability, point them in the direction of the Bundesliga table. Schalke, Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg and Hamburg, all of whom have finished on the podium in the past 11 years, are in the bottom … Read more
A regularly regurgitated gripe among those willing to devote the necessary time and brain power to analyse England squads for tournament qualifiers and friendlies is how reputation often seems to carry more weight than form in the selection process. In such moments, it seems clear that appeasing egos is of … Read more
There are plenty of people associated with Chelsea that are enjoying Antonio Conte’s switch to 3-4-3, but Eden Hazard could arguably have the widest smile of the lot. The Belgian forward was named man-of-the-match as the Blues ran out 4-0 victors over Manchester United last time out, capping a fine … Read more
With the transfer window still over two months from opening and no competition anywhere near its conclusion, times are understandably tough for sports news generators to fill their allotted column inches. Site visits are down in this notoriously barren period, but the gossip peddlers are still playing with transfer yarns, … Read more
In the early part of the current decade, Chelsea v Manchester United made a play to be the most entertaining and unpredictable battle between so-called ‘big six’ outfits. The 2011/12 and 2012/13 campaigns saw the pair churn out scorelines of 5-4, 3-3, 2-2, 2-3 and 3-1, with both protagonists taking … Read more
Talk of Arsenal’s evolution into ‘the real deal’ as far as a Premier League title contenders was concerned was hushed by the Gunners’ goalless draw with Middlesbrough this weekend. A run of seven straight wins in all competitions was curtailed by the Emirates stalemate, which came just three days after … Read more
Championship matchday 14 sees arguably the division’s three biggest box-office draws, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Leeds, all lining up at 15:00 on a Saturday for only the third time this season. news.bwin decided to use the opportunity to analyse the incidents that reoccur most frequently in matches involving each of … Read more
If Liverpool v West Brom doesn’t get you psyched, there are televised Saturday teatime offerings from Serie A, the Bundesliga and La Liga for you to switch the channel to. news.bwin have picked out a bet from each of those showdowns, which can be combined in a 287/25 treble: Sampdoria … Read more
Last Result: CHELSEA 3-0 Leicester – Diego Costa (first), Eden Hazard, Victor Moses Liverpool 0-0 MAN UTD Kick-off: 16:00, 23/10/16 TV: Sky Sports 1 Stadium: Stamford Bridge Head-to-head (last five meetings – most recent first): Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd, Man Utd 0-0 Chelsea, Chelsea 1-0 Man Utd, Man Utd 1-1 … Read more