FOOTBALL

Serie A Predictions: Juventus vs Napoli

Published

2 years ago

January 13, 2023

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This week’s Seria A action will kick off before the weekend rolls in as Juventus and Napoli will renew their rivalry under the Friday night lights at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus have shaken off their poor form at the start of the season to climb to the second spot in the standings. But they are still seven points adrift of their upcoming hosts, who will go ten points clear if they can see off the Bianconeri.

Napoli showed signs of rustiness after the World Cup restart.

In their first match back, they faced fellow Scudetto contenders Inter Milan and lost 1-0.

The defeat could have made the title race in Italy wide open. But an away win at Sampdoria last weekend, combined with some favourable results in other fixtures, have relaxed the pressure on Gli Azzurri at the top of the table.

Luciano Spaletti hopes Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who have 23 Serie A goals between them, will wreak havoc on the Juventus defence.

Napoli are not overly reliant on their formidable attacking duo for their goals, as they have scored 39 Serie A goals in total so far. That means they have scored 16 goals in 17 matches from players other than Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia.

Napoli’s goalscoring fluidity could make the difference at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium tonight.

Napoli fans will also be delighted to learn that their team don’t have any new injuries to worry about.

Any change Luciano Spaletti makes will solely be for tactical reasons. Elif Elmas produced a brilliant display against Sampdoria, so he could keep Piotr Zieliński out of the first XI once again. Mário Rui and Mathías Olivera will fight for the left-back position.

In the first few weeks of the season, many ruled out Juventus’s chances of finishing in the top four. But the Turin outfit have remarkably turned things around and found themselves firmly settled in the Scudetto race.

Juventus did not concede a goal in the Serie A since Brahim Díaz rattled the back of the net for Milan’s second goal against Juventus at San Siro in October. Since that 2-0 defeat, Juve did not drop a single point in the division.

Juventus will make it nine wins in a row if they can win against Napoli. More importantly, they will come within four points of the top spot. So, Massimiliano Allegri should feel tempted to compromise his pragmatic approach and take the game to Napoli in their own backyard.

However, Juventus don’t have their best possible XI available for this potentially Scudetto-deciding clash.

Dušan Vlahović, Paul Pogba, Juan Cuadrado, and Leonardo Bonucci are confirmed absentees.

Mattia De Sciglio and Gleison Bremer are in a race against time to regain match fitness before the trip to Naples.

Our Prediction

Juventus might go for a more attacking approach against Napoli to substantially reduce the points gap. And that could allow Napoli’s excellent attacking shape to tip the balance of the tie towards the home team’s favour.

We foresee a 2-1 win for Napoli.

Kickoff Time: January 14, 1:15 AM (IST)

Venue: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

FOOTBALL

WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football

Published

9 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.

Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.

Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –

🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”

(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC

— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.

Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo

On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.

With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.

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Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee

Published

9 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Jude Bellingham shown Red Card (Image Credit: Twitter)

England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.

In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.

Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.

Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC

— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024

“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.

“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.

We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti

“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”

“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”

FOOTBALL

PL 2023-24: MCFC vs MUFC Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy League Today’s Captain, Vice-Captain, and more for Manchester derby

Published

9 months ago

March 2, 2024

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Super Sunday is set to witness the Manchester Derby in the Premier League 2023-24. The match between Manchester City (MCFC) and Manchester United (MUFC) is set to take place in Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City. The two teams have had a contrasting journey in the league till now. The fortunes of City changed ever since Pep Guardiola took over the club as the manager.

While the home side are placed in the second position in the points table currently, United are in the sixth place in the points table. In their previous encounter, City hammered Luton Town by 6-2 in the FA Cup. United have shown massive improvements in the last few weeks after not having a good start to their campaign. United were involved in a thrilling game where they beat Nottingham Forrest by 1-0 in their last game.

Both teams feature some of the best players in the world. The likes of Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and others would be taking part in the match. Manchester City will start the match as the favourites, given their record in the ongoing league so far and the match taking place in their home. United with their improved record can challenge the home side.

MCFC vs MUFC – Match Details

Match – Manchester City (MCFC) vs Manchester United (MUFC), Premier League 2023-24

Venue – Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Date and Time – 3^rd March 2024, 21:00 IST

Live Coverage – Star Sports Network and Disney plus Hot Star

MCFC vs MUFC – Head-to-Head

Both the teams from Manchester have a rich history in the sport. they have been up against each other in 191 instances. In as many games, Manchester United have been historically the better side with 78 wins to their name. City have managed to win 60 wins, as 53 games ended in a draw. In the last five games between the two sides in the Premier League, City have won four of the five games.