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Showing posts from November, 2018

Atletico Madrid v Borussia Dortmund: In-form Germans will score again

Atletico Madrid  1.84  v Borussia Dortmund  5.10 ; The Draw  3.75 Tuesday 6 November, 20:00 Live on BT Sport Extra Borussia mark themselves out as contenders with Atletico thumping The reverse fixture produced one of the shock results in the last round of  Champions League  games, as Borussia Dortmund thrashed Atletico Madrid 4-0 at home. Dortmund's margin of victory against such an experienced European outfit, famed for their defensive solidity, was a major show of intent and marks them out as real contenders to win the competition. At the weekend they continued their fine form with a 1-0 win at  Wolfsburg , which stretched their unbeaten record this season (P17 W14 D3 L0). Lucien Favre's  side are now four points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, which is the same number that currently separates Atletico Madrid from the La Liga leaders Barcelona. A 1-1 draw at Leganes over the weekend, stretched Atletico's unbeaten run in their d...

Napoli v PSG: Will French champions fail another stern test?

Napoli  3.05  v PSG  2.40 ; The Draw  3.85 Tuesday 6 November, 20:00 Live on BT Sport 3 PSG dare not lose Big spending PSG are in danger of missing out on making the knockout stages of the Champions League, with the French title holders currently third in the highly competitive  Group C . PSG twice had to fight back from being behind to earn a 2-2 draw at home to  Napoli . It leaves Thomas Tuchel's team in a position where they dare not lose this reverse fixture. They are unbeaten in nine (W8 D1), but have struggled on both occasions that they've stepped up in class in the  Champions League . As well as dropping points at home to Napoli, the Parisians lost in their sole away match to Liverpool. After being held to a disappointing draw to Red Star in their opening Champions League match, Napoli have bounced back in fine fashion, beating Liverpool and then coming very close to defeating PSG, before conceding a 90th minute equaliser. They ...

Inter v Barcelona: Italians will fare better this time round

Inter  3.90  v Barcelona  2.06 ; The Draw  3.75 Tuesday 6 November, 20:00 Live on BT Sport ESPN European giants flying high in Group B Inter and Barcelona are the teams that are control of  Group B , with Spurs and PSV yet to claim a win after three matches. The reverse fixture a fortnight ago saw Barca win 2-0, but Tottenham's draw away at  PSV has given Inter a great chance of making the knockout stages. Avoiding defeat at home would be a huge step towards fulfilling that ambition. Inter have bounced back from that defeat with consecutive victories over Lazio and then  Genoa  at the weekend, who they thrashed 5-0. They are now second in Serie A, with the loss to Barcelona their only game that they haven't won from their last ten outings. Barcelona are unbeaten in eight (W6 D2). They have won all three of their  Champions League  games and can book their place in the last-16 with a victory. Inter should give better a...

Champions League Tipsheet: Barca to come unstuck at San Siro

Inter are in the best form of the Luciano Spalletti era and can upset Barcelona at San Siro on Tuesday, says James Horncastle... Intergalactic Inter v Barcelona Tuesday, 20:00 Live on BT Sport/ESPN Inter  could not go into Tuesday night's clash with Barcelona in better form. This weekend's 5-0 win against Genoa was their seventh in a row in the league and it built on the team's best performance of the season, a 3-0 dismantling of Lazio last Monday. Inter are hitting heights they have previously not reached in 18 months under Spalletti. The team is playing good football, boasts the  best defence in Serie A  and lost causes like Dalbert, Roberto Gagliardini and Joao Mario are suddenly contributing to decisive effect. Saturday's victory served to underline once again that Inter are  no longer dependent on Mauro Icardi for goals . The Argentine was able to put his feet up and keep himself fresh for Barcelona without his absence impacting negatively on th...

Tottenham v PSV Eindhoven: Goals on the cards again at Wembley

Tottenham Hotspur v PSV Eindhoven Tuesday, 20:00 Live on BT Sport 2 Spurs out for revenge Finally, the end is in sight for the Marathon Men. This is Tottenham's fourth game in the space of eight insane days, and while  Mauricio Pochettino  has rotated as much as possible, you can be sure a rest will be welcome. Even it will only be until Saturday evening, when they face Crystal Palace. Not that they'll be thinking about that when they welcome PSV Eindhoven to Wembley. There is unfinished business to attend to here: their Champions League hopes may be hanging by the thinnest of threads, but Spurs would love to  exact a little revenge  for the result in the Netherlands a fortnight ago, when they dominated proceedings and were undone by two individual errors. Dele Alli  and  Christian Eriksen  may be in line for returns after missing out against Wolves at the weekend, while the defence is likely to be bolstered by Davinson Sánchez. Juan Foyt...

Huddersfield v Fulham: Relegation battle could produce goals

Huddersfield v Fulham Monday November 5 2018 Live on Sky Sports Wagner's men badly out of tune Huddersfield stunned the Premier League last season, finishing 16th after 38 top-flight fixtures, but it's been much  tougher  this time. Ten games have yielded just three points thanks to draws against Cardiff, Everton and Burnley but that is the sum total of positive results in a hard campaign so far for the Terriers. Goalscoring  has been the main problem for David Wagner's side, who have failed to score in six of those ten Premier League matches. Indeed, the home fans have not yet cheered a goal and Huddersfield have not once scored more than a solitary goal this season. Worryingly they are  feeling the pressure  at the other end of the pitch, conceding 21 times to enter the weekend with the joint third worst defence in the league. However, they are a more effective unit at home, having let in just seven of that total at the Kirklees Stadium, restrict...