Leagues

The 2014/15 Report Card: Kane has company for Tottenham top marks as wingers flop

The 2014/15 Report Card: Kane has company for Tottenham top marks as wingers flop

Mauricio Pochettino guiding Tottenham to a fifth-place finish in his first season in charge, one better than the Andre Villas-Boas/Tim Sherwood combination the term before, but with five points fewer than his predecessors neatly summarises Spurs’ inconsistencies. Having not dealt in the business of mere summary for some time, news.bwin.com … Read more

Juventus the masters in set-piece scrap with Freekickerz

Juventus the masters in set-piece scrap with Freekickerz

After seeing two Freekickerz fail to best Bayern Munchen twosome Xabi Alonso and Dante, the dead-ball duellers sent a one-man delegation to take on the might of Juventus.

Defending the honour of the self-proclaimed set-piece specialists was he known only as Konstantin, who was met at the Serie A kings’ Turin dwelling by no fewer than four Old Ladies.

Simone Pepe, Leonardo Bonucci, Alvaro Morata and Roberto Pereyra tackled the clearly confident challenger in three separate contests, with the Juventus lads doling out a resounding beating.

First up was ‘Four Balls, Four Goals’, in which players were required to place the ball into unguarded mini goals.

The task proved too tough for Konstantin, notching just one from his four attempts before the quartet of Serie A champions made it look painstakingly easy with a full house to take a 1-0 lead.

Next came ‘Centring Your Target’, where the objective was to put the ball through rings of descending size into the goal.

Konstantin, again, failed to deliver and headed into the final challenge 3-0 down after Bonucci drilled through the medium-sized ring for two points.

To finish was ‘The Challenge of Champions’, which entailed scoring in one goal by hitting the crossbar of another stood opposite.

Once more, this proved too daunting an ask for Konstantin, though in his defence, the Juve boys struggled too, until Pepe mastered it with his final effort.

Interview: Gareth Bale on Real Madrid’s chances in El Derbi madrileño

Interview: Gareth Bale on Real Madrid’s chances in El Derbi madrileño

Real Madrid are gearing up to land their third win in a week when they face Atletico Madrid – bwin caught up with Gareth Bale to get the inside track.

Los Blancos are 6/4 favourites to gain revenge for their Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Diego Simeone’s men in their latest meeting.

Atleti, meanwhile, are 19/10 outsiders for victory in front of the Vicente Calderon partisans and a second consecutive draw between the two sides is a 12/5 bet.

Having played in numerous north London derbies during his time at Tottenham, Bale is vastly experienced in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a high-profile bragging-rights battle.

Despite being in just his second season at Santiago Bernabeu the Welshman has already racked up an enormous nine meetings with Real’s Madrid rivals.

He only played Arsenal once more during six campaigns as a Lilywhite.

Gareth Bale strikes for Tottenham against Arsenal

Bale will be keen to add to the one goal he has struck against Los Colchoneros in last season’s Champions League final and can be backed at 7/4 to do so, while it’s 4/1 he bags in a Real win.

Sign up for a new account at bwin.com today for a £30 free bet that turns a £120 profit if the 25-year-old scores in a Real Madrid win.

The Welshman also found time to praise the recent form of Karim Benzema who has recently surpassed Fernando Hierro in the club’s all-time scoring list.

Raphael Varane and Marcelo congratulate Karim Benzema on his scoring against Real Sociedad

Benzema is 6/4 to net his 18th of the season in the derby.

Conversation eventually turned to the prospects of Bale’s first Primera Division title for Los Blancos, but he wouldn’t be drawn on the subject, instead insisting that the side won’t be looking beyond the next game in their quest for the championship.

Real are currently 9/25 favourites to win the league, with Barcelona second in the betting at 5/2 and Atletico Madrid third at a distant 20/1.

Casillas sets Real Madrid historic treble target

Casillas sets Real Madrid historic treble target

Iker Casillas is hoping that Real Madrid can emulate the likes of Manchester United and Celtic by winning a historic treble this term.

For all their success down the years, the Spanish giants have never managed a clean sweep of both domestic trophies and the Champions League in the same season.

However, under the shrewd guidance of Carlo Ancelotti, Los Blancos are three points clear at the top of La Liga, into the final of the Copa del Rey and strong favourites to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of Schalke.

Casillas has won almost every club trophy available since making his debut for Real in 1999 and also captained Spain to two European Championship wins (2008 and 2012) and World Cup glory in 2006.

But the legendary stopper is hungry for more silverware and is desperate to see Madrid join a seven-strong band of treble-winning teams that includes United’s class of 1999 and Celtic’s 1967 ‘Lisbon Lions’.

“I’d like the last piece of news for this season to say that Real Madrid had won the treble,” said Casillas.

“That on May 24th, Real Madrid won the first treble in its history.

“We know it is difficult because there are other teams that also want to win titles.

“But we are where we want to be right now, which is fighting in all three competitions.”

In an exclusive interview with bwin, which you can watch by opening the player at the top of this page, Casillas also discusses the favourite moment of his career, who he considers to be Schalke’s danger man, his love of padel, and more.

Real Madrid are currently priced at 2/5 to build a first-leg lead over the Bundesliga side in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday night, with the draw available at 15/4 and the hosts rated as 23/4 outsiders.

In addition to United and Celtic, the five other teams to have won the treble are Ajax (1972), PSV (1988), Barcelona (2009), Inter Milan (2010) and Bayern Munich (2013).

X