SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

Flamengo v Bahia Thursday 20:00 In the end, it was Philly that set Philly alight in the  MLS last night . The hosts ran out 3-1 winners to give us an odds-against bump that sees us bouncing all the way to  Brazil  for today's bet. In the early stages of this season's  Campeonato , Flamengo are scoring more frequently than anyone else (13 goals in seven games). Mauricio Barbieri's men are in second place, having taken seven points from nine at  Ilha do Urubu . The final score in both wins was 2-0, extending a fine record for the Scarlet and Blacks. Since the start of least season, they've won 12/23 home games, and in 11/12 of those wins the margin of victory was at least two goals. So far this season, Guto Ferreira's  Bahia  have lost 3/3 on the road by a combined scoreline of 0-7. In each of those defeats, the margin has been at least two goals. Last season, they went W1-D2-L7 visiting teams that finished in the top half. That record includes a...

It's fair to say that  Argentina have been busy since the last World Cup . Two Copa América finals, two Copa América final defeats, the retirement of their best player, the unretirement of their best player, one of the least convincing qualifying campaigns in living memory... and that's before we even get to their prolific managerial turnover. Rumour has it that there's an adult male living in the outskirts of Rosario who  hasn't  yet had a stint in charge of the Albiceleste - a shameful clerical error that officials should look to rectify at their earliest convenience. This being an article about Argentina at the World Cup, we are of course legally obliged to ask the following question: Can  Lionel Messi  really be considered the greatest player ever without winning football's biggest prize?  The answer, quite obviously is yes . All clear? Good. Now that's out of the way, we can get on with the minimally more serious business of laughing at Argentina'...

Real Madrid v Liverpool Saturday, 19:45 Live on BT Sport 2 and YouTube Madrid's continental class Ordinarily, you would be slightly worried about a side coming into a major cup final having won just four of their previous 11 matches. But  Real Madrid are no ordinary team  and these no ordinary circumstances: having given up on winning the Spanish title months ago, Los Merengues have been drifting in the league, using games to test options rather than going full gas. In Europe, they have ridden their luck at times: both Juventus and Bayern Munich came close to overturning first-leg deficits at the Bernabéu. But with each step,  Madrid's otherworldly grip on the Champions League seems to tighten . There's just something about them in this competition that defies logic, and Zinedine Zidane now stands on the brink of a third successive continental success. 'Historic' doesn't quite cover it. We know what to expect from this team, for the most part. Dani...

Aston Villa v Fulham Saturday May 26, 17:00 Live on Sky Sports Aston Villa built on solid foundations Aston Villa  started the season as ante-post favourites to take top Championship honours and although the Claret & Blue were unable to justify such heady claims,  Steve Bruce 's side rarely dropped out of top-six contention with a campaign built upon solid defensive foundations. Only the top two teams in the division shipped fewer goals than the Villans with  James Chester  and  John Terry  providing a strong base at the back.  Glenn Whelan  and  Mile Jedinak  have performed with aplomb in the holding midfield role with Bruce setting his side up to frustrate. Villa shaded the Expected Goals count in their play-off semi-final contests against Middlesbrough and rarely appeared in trouble, reducing the Teessiders to just three on-target efforts across three hours of action. However, the Midlands club haven't always found f...

Silkeborg v Esbjerg Thursday May 24, 19:15 Underdogs to excel in playoff clash Sweden wasn't quite as kind to us this time around, as Hacken drew 1-1 with AIK  last night, leaving us a goal short. The frustrating thing is that the scoreline was 1-1 in the 56th minute. What's Swedish for "it's the hope that kills you?" Anyway, we'll stay in Scandinavia, and take in a Danish promotion/relegation clash between Superliga strugglers Silkeborg and high-flying Esbjerg. Esbjerg went down last season, but are making a decent fist of winning promotion at the first attempt. They  finished second  in the First Division, and only lost one of their last ten matches of the campaign. Silkeborg won their final game of the first playoff section, but that was against the only team in their Superliga playoff group with a worse record than them, and they have only won one of their last six games. They finished the Superliga regular season with a run of just one vic...

Didier Deschamps' side promise to provide plenty of entertainment in Russia this summer, writes James Eastham, but concerns about defensive fragilities are well-founded... Les Bleus boast strength in depth in attack France named their 23-man World Cup squad last Thursday and the squad selection confirmed what close followers of the team already knew:  les Bleus  could be one of the most entertaining and exciting teams in the tournament. Manager Didier Deschamps named only five midfielders but seven attackers, suggesting he'll use a thrusting 4-4-2 with two genuine wingers. Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Nabil Fekir, Florian Thauvin, Ousmane Dembele and Thomas Lemar are the seven players that made the cut,  with the likes of Kingsley Coman and Alexandre Lacazette missing out. Between them the seven players that were selected provide the tantalising promise of pace, energy, skill, flair and massive scoring potential. Griezmann the pic...