All posts by h716a5.icu

The Champions League is finally making a comeback to the Camp Nou.

Barcelona opened their European adventure with a draw at Signal Iduna Park with Borussia Dortmund and will surely be on the hunt for their first triumph in the competition.

But Inter are definitely not an easy opponent to face. The Nerazzurri are currently sitting top of the table in Serie A with six victories under their belts.

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Antonio Conte’s men, however, also stumbled in their first Champions League clash, drawing at home to Slavia Prague. But that makes this match even more of a must-win for both sides.

The Blaugrana have been given some good news before the clash with the return of Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele and Ernesto Valverde might spring a surprise or two for their Italian guests.

With all of that being said, here’s the lineup we think Barcelona might deploy against Inter:

There are a couple of changes on the horizon for the Catalans.

Of course, Marc-Andre ter Stegen is definitely not one of those as the German will undoubtedly man the sticks on Wednesday night as he has throughout the 2019/20 campaign.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

The back four, however, will change only slightly. Jordi Alba is still out with an injury so Junior Firpo will be chosen as the team’s left-back. In the centre of the defence, Clement Lenglet and Gerard Pique are still standing strong but Nelson Semedo might once again be dropped in favour of Sergi Roberto.

That’s what happened against Getafe at the weekend and it seemed to work rather well so it’s fair to assume Valverde might stick to his guns and give the La Masia product another go against Inter.

The midfield is pretty much set in stone by now – Sergio Busquets as the team’s pivot and accompanied by Arthur Melo and Frenkie de Jong.

Despite both Messi and Dembele getting their medical clearances before the clash, it’s doubtful that Valverde will risk them from the very start. We might see them both at one point in the game but not from the get-go.

For that reason, a trio of Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Carles Perez should be picked to start the game.

Some QPR fans have taken to Twitter to react after Nahki Wells spoke about potentially making his loan spell into a permanent stay at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

“Of course football is a business and there’s a lot more that goes into it than just me saying I’d like to stay here. But if it was possible I wouldn’t hesitate one bit.”

The 17-cap Bermuda international returned to the R’s back in the summer, once again joining on loan from Burnley after spending the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign on loan with the Londoners.

Wells has started the current campaign in fine form with six Championship goals to his name in just six league starts under Mark Warburton – the 29-year-old has made nine league appearances in total this term, and finds himself just two goals off top-scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The former Bradford forward has also netted once in the Carabao Cup – he certainly seems to be enjoying his second stint at the club.

One fan below said that he actually loves the 5 foot 7 forward, while another said that it would be the best signing in a decade if QPR manage to capture Wells on a permanent deal.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction to Well’s comments…

Many Juventus fans have given their response to a club tweet showing Paulo Dybala slot a free-kick versus Udinese.

Exactly three years ago yesterday, the Argentinian forward hit the crisp free-kick bang into the top bins against Udinese.

Unsurprisingly, many Juventus fans responded positively to the goal, expressing their appreciation for Dybala. Perhaps more surprisingly, there were a few fans who suggested that Cristiano Ronaldo needs to give up his duties as free-kick taker to have someone who is more potent in front of goal.

Things aren’t quite as sweet now as they were then for Dybala. Since Ronaldo joined the club he has lost his way in the first team, and now is more on the periphery than a guaranteed starter with the former Palermo ace being put on the transfer market for the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United this summer.

So far this season, he has still had a fair amount of game time, starting four games and playing five overall, with a WhoScored average rating of 7.28 – the third-highest in the squad.

Here are some of the replies to the tweet below…

Leeds celebrated their centenary with a far from straight forward victory over Birmingham on Saturday afternoon.A solitary goal from Kalvin Phillips eventually proved to be enough as the Whites dominated the first half with 70% of the possession.Birmingham played a more attacking brand of football in the second half that eventually saw Marcelo Bielsa’s men muster 58% of the ball by the time the final whistle blew.But despite their dominance, they failed to put away their chances – something that’s beginning to become a familiar story this season.However, away from the negatives of the display, many fans appear to have been mightily impressed with the impact of substitute Tyler Roberts.The Welshman was hailed as the game-changer in the match, with one supporter suggesting the side looked far more threatening when he was in it.Roberts was described as intelligent and pacey by another individual as a further fan praised his aerial ability.

The 20-year-old was brought on for Mateusz Klich with just under half an hour remaining. In the time he was on the field he managed one key pass and two interceptions, via WhoScored.

Having had fluid drained from his knee over the summer, Roberts has only appeared from the bench four times in 2019/20.

Here’s the best of the debate.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s scored an absolute beauty last night, and it’s safe to say that Robin van Persie absolutely loved it.

It takes a degree of ability and arrogance to chance an outside footed effort like Oxlade-Chamberlain’s opener last night. Indeed, if you’ve ever tried the skill yourself, in an overly ambitious attempt to impress, you’ll know full well the risks you face – a wayward toe-poke into the neighbouring garden, window, or cat, and crippling embarrassment. Not for the faint of heart.

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“The Ox,” as he’s informally known, made it look so utterly easy, though. Following his first on the night, which was a tidy little finish in itself, the Englishman, joined Liverpool for £35m in 2017, completed Genk’s misery with a sumptuous finish that found its way into the back of the net off the underside of the bar.

Van Persie, who’s no stranger to wonder goals himself – a particular title-winning volley springs to mind – couldn’t get enough…

Some Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter in pessimistic mood after they saw Michy Batshuayi score a late winner for Chelsea against Ajax in the Champions League.

The Belgium international struck in the 86th minute of the group stage tie to hand the Blues all three points, and following his European exploits, some Palace fans don’t seem too confident of re-signing him when the January window opens.

Batshuayi is reportedly a target for the Eagles in January as the south Londoners look to be reunited with the 25-year-old, who scored five goals in nine Premier League starts for them while on loan in the second half of last season.

The former Marseille striker has made just one start under Frank Lampard this term, which came in the Carabao Cup – despite that, he has still scored an impressive four goals in all competitions.

The Europa League winners are believed to want £22m for their Belgian forward in January, although after his late winner in Amsterdam, some Palace fans on Twitter aren’t confident of a deal going through.

Let’s take a look at some of the tweets…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Patrick Bamford vs Eddie Nketiah is one of the biggest selection dilemmas at Leeds United at the moment.

Everyone is split on it. Some fans love Bamford’s work rate while others are worried about him starting.

It’s clear what Marcelo Bielsa’s view is on the matter as he’s started the former Middlesbrough man in every league game so far, and that run is set to continue against Sheffield Wednesday.

However, the loanee may be able to rival Bamford in one key area as one incredible stat has emerged.

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On the chalkboard

LUFC Data produced an infographic comparing the two forwards, and the most surprising stat to come out of it was that Nketiah actually wins more duels per 90 minutes than his teammate.

The Arsenal loanee’s tally stands at 5.1, whereas his competition in attack is currently just 3.1.

Bamford’s one redeeming quality is his work rate and his ability to press the defence, but it seems as if the youngster is even outdoing him on that front, particularly when it comes to getting stuck in on a defensive level.

Of course, we’re not blind to the fact that Nketiah comes off the bench in these games and he only plays for short periods against tired legs, so therefore he’s more likely to win these duels.

Find out a how a world-record-holding freestyler got on with the worst football in the world in the video below…

However, although we can’t prove that this trend would continue if he was a starter, it also can’t be disproven. Similarly, it cannot be ignored.

Nketiah will never be able to show that he’s the striker that his manager wants to be unless he’s given a shot.

Bielsa should have a long think about this and it could be worth seeing if he can rival Bamford’s numbers in terms of duels won if he starts.

Manchester City fans have reacted on Twitter to Sam Lee’s hilarious take on the EFL Cup draw after the club were matched with another team outside the top-flight.

There have been conspiratorial murmurs emerging following a succession of cup draws that have seen City pitted against notably inferior opposition in both domestic and European draws.

Now, with a draw against Oxford United, City are looking finely poised to claim another triumph in the competition.

In their route to the final last time out, the Citizens met with two teams outside of the top tier, with Oxford being one of them.

The season prior, City got another favourable draw in the semi-finals, playing Bristol City over two legs.

However, fans have reacted to Lee’s joke and laughed off talk of a potential fix.

Lee said: “I think it’s time there was an investigation into these draws. It’s quite clear every club in the country has fixed them to avoid playing City.”

In a tongue-in-cheek take on the growing trend, Lee provoked plenty of reaction on Twitter.

One City fan claimed that other supporters class the cup as “meaningless” and shouldn’t care anyway.

Here’s how some fans reacted to The Athletic journalist’s tweet…

Leeds United revealed on Tuesday afternoon that Tyler Roberts had been called up the Wales squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers with Azerbaijan and Hungary.

However, it would be fair to say that the club’s supporters are not overly pleased about it as they are fearful that the attacker could pick up an injury.

The 20-year-old, who has been capped on six occasions by the Welsh national team, scored his first Leeds goal of the season against Queens Park Rangers at the weekend.

Indeed, on his first start for the Whites this term, Roberts scored Leeds’ opener just before the interval before Jack Harrison made it 2-0 in the second period.

Wales are currently fourth in Group E on eight points, four points off second-placed Hungary and six points off leaders Croatia.

Find out what happened when a world-record-holding freestyler attempting skills with the worst pair of boots available on eBay in the video below…

It is a huge couple of games for Ryan Giggs’ side, but the Leeds fans are only concerned about the fitness of their young attacker.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Sports betting is just as much of luck as it is skills. When it comes to betting on football there are many different ways to win. You can place a bet on which team will be scoring next, on the result of a game or even on which player who will score and from where. A common factor is usually that if you want to win big you have to bet specific, the more specific the higher the chances of you losing and therefor also the higher the pay-out. With the establishment of online casinos on the gambling market, betting has become even more accessible as it can now be done from the comfort of one’s home. Navigating through the jungle of online casinos can be hard, here are some tips if you are interested in finding an online casino where you can place bets and hopefully someday make it onto another list of the most unbelievable bets ever made.

Historic Leicester Premier League Win 2015/16

When the Premier League kicked off in 2015 not a lot of people would’ve guessed that it would end the way it did. Just one season earlier the foxes came back to the best league in the world, a league they had never won. The pre-season had been strong with four wins and one draw and many fans felt that there was something in the air, something that made them place their bets on Leicester City FC despite the high odds set by the bookmakers (the odds were 5000-1).

Carpenter and Leicester fan Leigh Herbert put £5 pounds on Leicester taking home the league and saw as many other of his friends and fellow fans started to cash-out, but he stuck it through. The cash-out option increased all the way up to £14.500 which had Herbert questioning his sanity and wobbling on whether or not he should stick with his original gut bet and the potential of bringing in £50.000 or cash-out the huge cash-out number. “I couldn’t stop looking at my cash out and then… £14.500! Wow! FOURTEEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED ENGLISH POUNDS/…/I could have that in my bank right now”.

In the end, Herbert cashed out half of his bet before the season ended giving him an impressive £5.680 and an additional cash-out at the end of season. A happy end to this nail-biting and historic Premier League win.

The Underdog wins – Greece takes home the European Championship 2004

The summer of 2004 saw the European Championship, or the UEFA Euro 2004 come to Portugal. Eight host cities would see 16 of the best European national teams face each other in a gruelling tournament over 23 days. The tournament was filled with surprises as it saw the top-ranking teams Germany, Spain, and Italy, being knocked-out in the group stages as well as the defending champions France fall out at the quarterfinals.

This was the second time Greece had ever qualified for the tournament and the bookmakers had set the odds at 150-1 for the Greeks to bring home the glory. After winning, loosing and drawing in the group stages no one thought that the Greeks would be so close to the victory as they were, but they managed to kick out the Spaniards due to a better goal difference. In the quarter final they faced the defending champions France but with strong defending and optimistic counter attacks they managed to score a goal in the 65’ minute and surprisingly advanced to the semi-finals where they would face the Czech Republic.

In the semi-final the game went to extra time and was looking to go into penalties leaving all those who had bet on Greece to take home the final in trembles. In the 105+1 minute of Extra Time Dellas managed to score a header and take the team to a dream final against the host nation Portugal.

Greece had met Portugal in the group stages, winning 2-1, but where in no way over confident when they stepped onto the stage. A tough game with a single goal scored in the minute 57’ by Charisteas saw the Greece take home the gold and a few lucky betters multiply the money they betted 150x! The Greek national team gave Greeks everywhere a magical summer and ignited a hope in all small nations that one day, they can do the same, be the underdogs and win.

African Cup of Nations – A big betting mistake

Sometimes the best betting stories are the ones that teach us what not to do. This story is definitely one of those. In 2010 Angola was set to meet Mali in the first game of Group A in the African Cup of Nations. Before the game started Angola where the slight favourites as the home team and hosts of the tournament.

The game started with Angola taking the lead dominating on the field with help from the crowd. In the 37th minute Flavio scored the first and before the half-time whistle he managed to also score the second, giving Angola a comfortable head start heading into the second half of the game. In minute 65 Angola got a penalty which they took advantage off. After a little while Angola received another penalty which they once again scored on leaving the scoreboard 4-0 for the Angolans. At this point a student placed his student loan, £4.400 on Angola winning the game. Not the best of bets for two reasons; 1. He read the odds wrong and at the moment he placed the bet his profit could only amount to £44 and 2. He didn’t know what would happen next…

In minute 78, only five minutes after the last penalty Keita manages to get in the first ball for Mali. Another, 10 minutes pass and this time it is Kanoute who zings in the ball behind the Angolan keeper. The score is now 4-2 but there is still no real belief in that the Angolans are about to draw this game. The game continues and 4 minutes are added on the clock. Min 93 and Keita is once again there, the score is now 4-3. Minute 94 Yattabare finishes a sensational comeback for Mali 4-4 in a comeback that leaves the poor better we previously mentioned without his student loan. The lesson here, know what you are betting on and don’t bet your entire student loan!

The luckiest woman alive

Every once and a while we hear about people who have no clue about betting accomplishing something that a lot of people who gamble regularly never ever accomplish. This is one of those stories. In 2017 an unnamed woman decided that she wanted in on the fun that her husband and son were having every weekend. They were both watching and betting on English football and she thought… how hard can it be.

Her husband had been doing the £1 weekend accumulation game since he was 18, betting £1 on the outcome of 12 games, and he had never come close to getting the 12 games correct so he thought his wife had no chance. The wife would have the ultimate laugh when on Sunday evening the games where all over and she had managed to bet right on 12 out of 12 games. Cashing out a fantastic £574278,41. You may ask how did she make her bets? She just chose the ones “…she liked the sound of…”. Now that if anything, is luck!

The most skilled gambler in the world

As previously mentioned, it is not only luck that brings home the bacon, often it is also skill, analytics, knowing the game. For Mick Gibbs this is the case. In 1999 he correctly predicted the outcome of nine European football games earning him £157000 but it wouldn’t stop there.

In 2001 Gibbs decided to try his luck and skill on 15 football games across Europe with the odds of 1666666-1 he bet 30 pence. He then anxiously awaited the outcome. By the end of game 14 he could feel the nerves building, he was just one game away from an impressive win. It now all depended on the outcome of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Valencia. Gibbs had bet on the German side to win.

The final was taking place in the epic stadium San Siro in Milan. Already in the third minute Valencia were rewarded a penalty after a mistaken handball. Mendieta took the penalty and scored. A few minutes later Bayern were rewarded a penalty but missed. It isn’t until the 50th minute when after a clear handball Bayern are given a second penalty which the German side manage to capitalise on and equalise the game.

At full-time the score is still 1-1 taking the final into extra time and then later penalties. It is during this penalty shoot-out that the foundation for the myth and legend surrounding Oliver Kahn is born. At the last penalty its 4-4 if Kahn manages to save it, it will be Bayern’s third title. Pellegrino steps up, shoots and Kahn catches… the moment he grabs the ball Gibbs cashes out a £500 000 win. Now if that is not skills, I don’t know what is…