Best odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
On Wednesday evening (early Thursday morning in Europe) at the Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, Portland Timbers will be welcoming Los Angeles FC in the MLS. The match will be the 13th of the season for the hosts, and 14th for the visitors.
Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers as we know them today were founded in 2009, though they bear the name of a club originally formed in 1975. They ve been a part of the MLS since 2011, and they finished top of the Western Conference twice so far, in 2013 and 2017. Last season they ended in third place.
At the moment, the team led by Giovanni Savarese occupy the seventh place in the conference with 16 points, five less than LA FC in fifth, two less than Minnesota in sixth (though they …
Players could harm themselves if not given enough support during times of crisis, according to former Huddersfield youngster Tareiq Holmes-Dennis.
The defender was forced to retire in 2020, aged just 24, after a serious knee injury.
Holmes-Dennis needed counselling when his career was cut short and while he feels concern for player welfare has improved, claims there needs to be a prolonged push to aid those in need.
Former Manchester City youngster Jeremy Wisten took his own life in 2020 after being released following a battle with a knee injury and Holmes-Dennis worries about the mental health of others.
“When you see young boys that have taken their life because they can’t cope – coping with the stresses of being released – it should never get t…
As the Premier League title chase starts to reach a boiling point, we have a heavyweight Saturday schedule from across England’s elite.
With Arsenal looking to at least briefly climb back to the top of the table, Manchester United will also steal centre stage on Saturday lunchtime.
For those of you who are looking to stick on a weekend acca, we have found a trio of Premier League betting tips that are worth taking note of.
Saturday, March 9th
BST 12:30 Manchester United vs Everton
Suffering a late collapse away at the bitter local rivals Manchester City last weekend, it is no secret that Erik ten Hag finds continued speculation over his long-term future at Old Trafford. Eventually falling to a 3-1 loss at the Etihad, United have suffered back-to-bac…
Joao Cancelo has accused Manchester City of being “ungrateful” and claimed “lies were told” about his exit from the club.
The Portugal full-back is currently on a season-long loan at Barcelona after a spell at Bayern Munich in the second half of last term.
Cancelo had been a key part of manager Pep Guardiola’s squad until shortly before his unexpected, deadline-day departure for Germany in January 2023.
Stories later emerged suggesting Cancelo, who had fallen behind Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake in the pecking order, had been a disruptive influence in the dressing room.
The 29-year-old told Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola: “Lies were told. I was never a bad companion for them and you can ask either Ake or Rico. I don’t have any superiority or…
Chelsea could join the race for Villarreal winger Alex Baena, according to . The report has claimed that Liverpool and Manchester City are preparing an offer to secure the services of the 21-year-old Spanish winger, who has a release clause of €35 million in his contract, and that former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea could become involved in the race son.
Baena has been on the books of Villarreal since 2011 and has established himself in the first team now. The Spain Under-21 international turned out for Villarreal C and Villarreal B in recent years and spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Ginora.
The winger has made six substitute appearances in La Liga for Villarreal so far the season, scoring three goals in the process. Baena has also scor…
Mikel Arteta hopes Arsenal are reeling from giving up a two-goal lead against Liverpool as the Gunners manager outlined the importance of luck in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal hold a six-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table, although Pep Guardiola s team have a game in hand.
The Gunners led 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday, but a thrilling match ultimately finished 2-2, with Aaron Ramsdale having to deny Liverpool a late winner.
Reflecting on that draw ahead of a trip across the capital to face West Ham, Arteta said: When you concede in the last few minutes, you have to be upset.
We wanted to win the game, but as well we have to be realistic. We have to accept that we had an exceptional period in the first half where we should have ki…
Antonio Conte oversaw his first Serie A victory in charge of Napoli, who ran out commanding 3-0 winners over Bologna at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone were all on target for the Partenopei as they bounced back from their defeat by the same scoreline at Verona on matchday one.
The hosts had not lost their opening two games of a Serie A season since doing so under Zdenek Zeman in 2000-01, and they broke through in first-half stoppage time.
A lovely move culminated in Kvaratskhelia clipping a delightful ball into the box for the onrushing Di Lorenzo to control and fire home.
Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead with a quarter of an hour remaining; his shot after a fine solo run deflecting beyond Lukas…
Dejan Lovren has completed his return to Lyon from Zenit on a deal until June 2025.
The Croatia defender, who was part of the side that finished third at the World Cup, is back at his former club for a second spell, 10 years after leaving the Ligue 1 side for Southampton.
Lovren, who played six of his country s seven matches in Qatar, brings a wealth of experience to Lyon s back line, having also helped the Vatreni reach the World Cup final in Russia in 2018.
The 33-year-old previously made 102 appearances for Les Gones between 2010 and 2013 winning the Coupe de France in 2012.
He then spent seven years in England at Southampton and Liverpool, where he won the Champions League and Premier League titles, before winning back-to-back domestic crowns with Zen…
Toni Kroos is approaching the end of his current contract with Real Madrid. According to Fabrizio Romano, his goal is to retire at the club which he joined in 2014 and where he s won four Champions League trophies (in addition to the one he won with Bayern Munich in 2013), playing a total of 396 matches across all competitions so far.
At the age of 33, he might be a little young to be considering retirement, but it wouldn t be unheard of; Zinedine Zidane hung up his boots at that age, also as a Real Madrid star.
At the moment, it appears the decision is his to make. Los Blancos are ready to offer him a new one-year deal, and he s considering whether to accept their proposal or to call time on what has been an illustrious career. Quite apart from the numerous trophies wo…
Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has vowed his side will not be taking lowly Preussen Munster lightly on Tuesday in the DFB Cup.
Tuchel’s side sit top of the Bundesliga and head to third division Munster on the back of last week’s Champions League win over Manchester United and Saturday’s 7-0 thrashing of Bochum.
The Bayern boss recalled the club’s embarrassing 1-0 defeat to German minnows Vestenbergsgreuth at the same stage of the DFB Cup in 1994 when the fourth-tier side caused one of the competition’s biggest upsets.
Tuchel on the game:
We re expecting an opponent that will fight hard to pull off an upset. They will likely look to make the most of their set pieces, in addition to relying on the support from their fans.
— FC Bay…