Fantasy La Liga Gameweek 4 Picks

The 2020-21 Spanish La Liga season continues this weekend after a full round of fixtures midweek.

FC Barcelona started the season with a convincing 4-0 thrashing of Villarreal over the weekend and will face Celta Vigo away on Thursday, before hosting Sevilla over the weekend.

Meanwhile. defending champions Real Madrid face a potentially tricky match versus Real Valladolid on Wednesday before travelling to Levante on Sunday.

Here are this weekend’s tips for your fantasy team:

Goalkeeper: Jordi Masip (Real Valladolid)
Real Valladolid welcome Eibar to the Jose Zorrilla Stadium in the first La Liga game of the weekend. Sergio’s side play a defensive game and had the best defensive record in the bottom half last season as a result. Although they’re without a clean sheet in their first three prior to travelling to Real Madrid on Wednesday night, weekend opponents Eibar are really struggling to score so this is an excellent opportunity to Jordi Masip to register a shutout.

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Inter kick off their Serie A season in thrilling style as they win 4-3 classic against Fiorentina

Most clubs had already played twice in Serie A, but this past weekend marked Inter’s first game of the season, and what a game it would be.

To think that at the San Siro against Fiorentina they were losing 3-2 with three minutes to go and won the game is incredible and it was a fantastic comeback by Antonio Conte’s men.

The game had started poorly for the hosts when Fiorentina took the lead after just the 3rd minute through Christian Kouame. A muddle up in defence led to one of the sloppiest goals Inter may concede all season, the back four were looking for an offside decision that never came.

Just after the brilliant Lautaro Martinez looked like he was fouled for a penalty but replays showed he wasn’t touched. Now whilst VAR can cause many problems this was an example of the system getting it right, Martinez clearly looked for the penalty. The referee changed his decision and didn’t give it, however one has to question why Martinez then wasn’t booked for simulation? This is a problem that still riddles the game.

On the stroke of half time though Martinez showed his absolute class and why Barcelona have been trying to sign him. His strike outside of the area was a thing of unstoppable beauty, that’s the side to Martinez’s game that everybody wants to see.

After half time Inter went 2-1 up courtesy of an own goal and from then on in it looked like we would only get one result, the home one. But Fiorentina were not done and equalised for 2-2 just a few minutes later through Gaetano Castrovilli.

One player who was really making his mark for the visitors was Franck Ribery, he was everywhere and played some amazing passes and he assisted to put the away side in the lead through Federico Chiesa, it was a superb pass to let the young man in.

As the game went onto its final stages it seemed that Inter would lose their first game of the season, and it wouldn’t be the first time that Fiorentina would be a thorn in the clubs side. However that man Romelu Lukaku after good build up play and slotted home an easy goal from a few yards out to make the game 3-3, but Inter wouldn’t be done yet.

Terrible defending at the far post would end up giving Inter an unlikely victory right at the end of the game as Danilo D’Ambrosio headed in and whilst Inter players peeled away in excitement the truth is Fiorentina only had themselves to blame.

The game was very open but you could argue that Inter shaded it or that a draw would have been justified. Inter had more of the ball and had 6 shots on target to Fiorentina’s four.

Inter Milan: Man of the Match- Lautaro Martinez

Martinez earned 4 points, alongside Lukaku that was the most of any player from the team. But his fantastic goal earlier on in the game was a thing of beauty and he always remained a threat, he has a bright future ahead of him.

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The new handball rule is outrageous and ruining football

The new handball rule has been affecting Premier League games of late as no one seems to know what is going on.

Goals have been disallowed and penalties have been given, too many it seems. There has been 5 already given adjudged for a player to have handled the ball, and we are in the first month of the league. Last season there was 19 the whole season. The rules have without a doubt changed what is happening on the pitch- but for the wrong reasons.

There were plenty of controversial moments just this weekend. The game that sticks out is Tottenham v Newcastle. The home side were pretty much dominant for the whole game, creating plenty of chances, although deep into injury time the score was only 1-0. That was until Andy Carroll headed the ball towards Eric Dier’s arm, Dier was looking away at the time, and whilst Newcastle appealed for a penalty, the referee waved it in. For him it wasn’t a penalty, and he had made what looked like to be the correct decision.

Yet a few minutes later, the game was recalled back because VAR had got involved. Once the referee went to the on screen monitor and checked again, he changed his mind. The question is did he change his mind because he was told rules are rules or did he change his mind because he genuinely thought he had got ti wrong? Newcastle got the penalty and scored- it was their first shot on target the whole game. They had been poor and deserved nothing from the game but because of the new rule which states even if a player handballs by mistake off of another attacker a penalty should be awarded.

There were other incidents too. Everton won the game at Crystal Palace due to the same incident at Tottenham. Yes there was handball but it was very clear that it wasn’t intentional. And then why was nothing said when Kai Havertz handled the ball in Chelsea’s run up goal which gave them a 3-3 draw at West Bromwich Albion?

It makes very little sense, if on one hand the rules stay and there not good for the game, then at least make them consistent. But that has always been the problem, and whilst the rules are mostly to blame so is VAR. Had VAR not got involved in the Tottenham game and respected the referee’s decision Tottenham would have won the game. And there are plenty of sides to the argument. For example if Tottenham were 2-0 up and the penalty was given, would this even be a story?

The IFAB who approve the rules need to take a long hard look at themselves. They and VAR should never be the star of the show, just like before VAR, the referee should be respected but never seen, it’s an art. Since when did we suddenly forget the job the referee does?

If this continues it seems clear that the referee’s job will be obsolete soon. No officials are complaining as of yet but as time goes on who wants to keep being overruled in the biggest decisions?

Last night there was a panic meeting where a back tracking IFAB admitted that referees and VAR could use leeway in how they judge their decisions for penalties from now on. Wrong decision, the new rule should have been abolished there and then, watch this space because the recent meeting will change nothing, in fact it will bring even more controversy.

One final harrowing thought is on cheating. We know that even the best professional players in the heat of the moment can cheat, mostly to wind up a player to get them sent off or dive for a penalty, we don’t like talking about it, but it does happen.

How long will it be until skilled players going for a header, choose to head towards a defender’s hand and not the goal, knowing that they can get a penalty from a useless situation? It is worth thinking about.

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Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 4 Picks

Leicester City, Liverpool and Everton are the last remaining teams with a 100% winning record as we head into the fourth round of Premier League fixtures, whilst Fulham, Sheffield United and Burnley all remain pointless.

In some of the most-anticipated games of the weekend, Leeds United host Manchester City on Saturday and Jose Mourinho returns to Old Trafford as his Tottenham Hotspur face Manchester United.

Here are our recommended picks for your fantasy team this weekend:

Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Clean sheets have been at a premium to start the 2020-21 Premier League season and Liverpool have kept just one in their first three. However, a trip to Aston Villa on Sunday should be a good opportunity for Alisson to double that tally.

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Early Fantasy trends in the English Premier League

Between no fans, an explosion of offence, and a condensed offseason, there are some interesting early-season trends taking place in the English Premier League. We look at the ones impacting English Premier League fantasy football after the first three weeks of matches.

Highest Scoring Week Ever 

Week 2 of the 2020/21 Premier League season witnessed record scoring. The ten games combined for 44 goals in Matchday 2, topping the previous record of 43 goals set during the 2010/11 EPL season.

Matchday 3 saw offences continue to pour in goals, with five teams topping the three-goal mark, helping the week reach 29 goals with two games left to play on Monday.

Excluding Sheffield United, every single EPL team enters Monday, averaging at least one goal per match.

Clean sheets are challenging to come by early in the season, meaning a top-tier goaltender is more valuable than normal this early in the season. Everton’s keeper Jordan Pickford has been one of the few to shine early in the season.

Knowing whether record goals will continue to pour in is unpredictable. However, grabbing a quality keeper could help your team weather the storm if scoring continues in the EPL continues at a record pace.

Away Teams Dominate Early

Early in the EPL season, the term “playing the matchups” seems to have taken on a new aspect – and that is playing the away players.

Week 3 saw the first seven away teams get a result – after Newcastle scored at 90+7 to tie the Hotspurs and Leicester knocked in five goals against Man City to move atop the table. These outcomes make it three straight weeks where the away teams have looked superior – with 18 results in 26 games, compared to 10 results for home teams through as many games.

The lack of fans is the one glaring factor this season. Typically, a visit to Man City means a hostile environment. However, without any real fans in the stands, Jamie Vardy could just waltz his way to a hattrick in Matchday 3.

If you need to make a roster adjustment for the upcoming week, players on road clubs are outperforming home players early in the 2020/21 EPL season.

The Stars Scoring Early in the Season

Early draft predictions are looking pretty smart to start the EPL fantasy season, as top-rated players are lighting up the stat sheet. Mohamad Salah, Danny Ings, Jamie Vardy, and Son Heung-Min are off to strong starts, while Harry Kane has four helpers to lead the league early.

The strong starts from the stars coincide with the offensive explosive occurring early in the season. While the top guys should continue to produce throughout the year, some of the early season surprises – such as Neal Maupay and Patrick Bamford – may be worth shopping early with their value at an all-time high, especially if your team needs a keeper or defence.

“Manchester United Nani goal” by gordon2208 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Big Club Fantasy Disappointments so Buy Low

While some stars are producing early in the year, the big names on Man City, Man United, Arsenal, and Chelsea have yet to live up to expectations.

Both Manchester teams came into the year without much of an offseason. Still, Kevin De Bruyne – star of Man City – should not be outperformed by Jarrod Bowen on West Ham United.

The slow starts mean someone could be shopping one of these players for a low return. Even if Kevin De Bruyne is off to a slow start, he is still a fantasy stud. If you can survive his lower production now, you should see significant returns on your fantasy team later in the season.

Fantasy Trends and Soccer Betting

Much of the information above is useful for betting on soccer as well as playing EPL fantasy. Knowing that road teams are having early success and unusually high offensive production from just about every club can help you make better wagers.

Knowing where to bet is essential as well. The best Canadian sportsbooks for EPL odds offer a wide selection of quality markets on every single match.

Look for away underdogs and overs on the goal totals to offer the best soccer betting value as the 2020-21 EPL season heads into Matchday 4.

Sports Betting with Betway: How to Place Football Bets

Each day, thousands of players join a sports betting website- whether for football matches or other- with the aim of placing bets but more importantly for most fans it is to  make money and win bragging rights over friends. So how do you get started? Your options when it comes to sports betting websites depend on your country of residence.

For Nigerians who reside in their home country, there are several options. No matter what your preferred sports is, you are most likely able to find a betting site that appeals and caters to you. If you feel comfortable betting with local brands, there is a long list of Nigerian betting brands to choose from. However, if you prefer fair bookmakers review, several options await you.

About Betway

One of the most trusted and popular international betting brands available to Nigerian punters is Betway. The leading bookmaker website features a sportsbook and a casino. Betway is licensed in several nations including Nigeria, Malta, Spain, U.K, Italy, Denmark, and Belgium. In Nigeria, Betway is licensed by the Lagos State Government and the National Government of Nigeria. The bookmaker is also regularly audited for fair gaming and safety.

The credibility of the Betway brand is undisputed as there are several signed sponsorships with popular sports clubs. One of the most popular football clubs in partnership with Betway is West Ham United in the English Premier League.

Online Sports Betting with Betway

There are over 30,000 bet markets available to punters on Betway. Of course, football dominates the bookmaker’s marketplace, however, other options include horse racing, cricket, rugby, table tennis, boxing, Aussie rules, handball, basketball, and baseball. The Betway website has a user-friendly interface that allows bettors to access all options quickly and without hassle.

How TO REGISTER

Registration on Betway is easy and seamless. There are limited steps to ensure punters are not put off yet safe enough to avoid account breach. Below are the steps involved in signing up with Betway.

  • Enter www.betway.com.ng on your browser

  • Navigate to the top of the page and click on “Sign Up”

  • Enter the details required in the appropriate fields and click on “ Register”

After all details have been submitted, you can then make your first deposit and start placing wagers. If you qualify for any promotion, you will be notified by the bookmaker and you can decide to claim it or not.

Betway Sports App

Betway allows punters to enjoy betting both on their computers and mobile devices. Players can wager on their Android and iOS devices by downloading the Betway Sports App. The Betway app can be downloaded from the bookmaker’s website or the App store. The app is easy to use and offers a practical interface to bet on the go. All you need is an internet-enabled Android or iOS device and you are ready to play.

Premier League’s Game of the Week: Manchester City 2-5 Leicester City

If any of Manchester City and Leicester were going to win 5-2 then 99% of the chance it would be Manchester City, at the weekend we saw the rule to that exception.

In a stunning result Leicester who have started the season in style put 5 goals past Pep Guardiola’s City side, champions in two out of the last 3 seasons as they sailed to a stunning 5-2 victory at the Etihad.

And no one could have seen it coming. In City’s first game of the season they made light work of Wolves beating them 3-1. Whilst Leicester had started well they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in midweek against Arsenal, though Brendan Rodgers was able to leave a few regulars out.

As for the game it looked over almost as soon as it had started as Riyad Mahrez the former Leicester player, who else? gave City the lead. This was now going to go to script surely and City were supposed to wipe the floor with the unbeaten Leicester, but that didn’t happen.

Leicester made their presence felt and James Maddison was all over the pitch, there was a sense that this game wasn’t all going to be about City. Then before half time Leicester were awarded a penalty and Jamie Vardy scored his 3rd goal of the season. The half ended 1-1, and still even with 45 minutes gone nobody could have predicted the outcome.

It was early in the second half that the change happened. Vardy scored again a brilliant flick that put the Foxes in the lead, and then just five minutes later it was another penalty, again for Leicester and in the space of 21 minutes Vardy- the top goalscorer last season had completed his hat trick.

At 3-1 the game wasn’t over and yet it felt it like the home side despite their quality had been winded. The game rolled on and City tried but the minutes ticked away and then the brilliant James Maddison smashed a long range shot right into the back of the net, it was 4-1, the game was over for City, but the game wasn’t over.

New signing for Guardiola’s team Nathan Ake got a goal back to make it 4-2 near the end, could there have possibly been a crazy comeback? In the Premier League you can really never say never but that wasn’t happening today.

A third penalty confirmed that when Youri Tielemans converted, the score was now 5-2. It was an incredible result and even though there were 3 penalties there was nothing controversial about the decisions, no one complained everyone accepted even Guardiola had to, his team had been well and truly beaten and he was right to be annoyed with his defenders after the game, basic errors at this level left viewers stunned.

With the win Leicester the 2016 champions are top of the league once more, they have scored an incredible 12 goals. For City this feels like deja vue in that they started slow last season and dropped too many points as their rivals Liverpool started strongly, the gap is already six points between City and the champions.

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Growing excitement over Gattuso’s Napoli

“Nobody gave me anything,” is reportedly the mantra Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso is trying to instil in his players.

The former Milan legend understands this better than most. As a player, Gattuso wasn’t blessed with the divine talents of his partner-in-crime, Andrea Pirlo, or even with the skillset of vastly underrated teammate Massimo Ambrosini. Gattuso was a fighter, someone who wasn’t going to pick out a rampaging right-back with a sumptuous 40-yard diagonal pass or produce an outrageous piece of skill, he was the player who did the grunt work, who took the ball from the opposition and gave it to his more talented colleagues. The Calabrian-native made a career out of it, and won a flurry of accolades as a result.

And in his short stint as Napoli coach, he’s succeeding in transferring his ethos to the players. Gattuso has brought a tighter cohesion to the team, installed a more diligent work ethic than had seemingly been evident during the final months of the Carlo Ancelotti era.

Gattuso guided the club to the Coppa Italia title in June, beating Juventus 4-2 on penalties. It was their first piece of major silverware since lifting the same trophy in 2014. It must also be remembered that Napoli beat Lazio, Inter and Juve en route – three of the top four sides last season – and conceded a single goal.

Going into this season, the club has almost gone under the radar. The €60m signing of Victor Osimhen hasn’t received the coverage that a signing of that expense should garner. Much of the focus surrounding the club has been on the potential departures of Kalidou Koulibaly and Arkadiusz Milik.

Eight goals in their first two Serie A games without reply suggests that Gattuso’s side mean business. They looked sluggish in the opening half against Parma on the opening day, and didn’t spring into life until the introduction of Osimhen in the second half, who caused havoc with his mere presence.

The Nigerian was granted his first start against Genoa at the San Paolo, and was instrumental in Napoli’s 6-0 demolition job, including a deft touch for Piotr Zielinski’s goal. Whilst Osimhen hasn’t got on the score sheet himself, it’s evident that he offers more to the Partenopei than Milik, who’s more static and less nimble than the 21-year-old.

Furthermore, Chucky Lozano has impressed Gattuso with his start to the season following a disappointing debut campaign in Italy. “I’m not giving anything to him,” said Gattuso following the 6-0 win. “He’s a different player now, he’s got great strength in his legs, and doesn’t fall to the ground like a kid when he gets kicked.” Lozano has inherited the departed Jose Callejon’s position on the right flank in Gattuso’s 4-2-3-1 system, and with the pressure of being the club’s most expensive signing lifted due to the arrival of Osimhen, the Mexican is beginning to look like the player Napoli shelled out €42m on a year ago.

During the Maurizio Sarri reign, the point was always argued that Napoli had a great starting XI, but little in the way of players that could’ve come off the bench and made a difference. However this is no longer the case. The January signings of Diego Demme, Stanislav Lobotka, Matteo Politano and the summers arrivals of Andrea Petagna, Amir Rrahmani and Osimhen have given Gattuso a far greater squad depth than either of his two predecessors were afforded.

In addition to having a bigger squad, with Serie A allowing five substitutions for this season only, Napoli could be one of the main beneficiaries of the rule, as Inter exemplified in their 4-3 win against Fiorentina last weekend.

Whilst yes, one could argue that their two wins were only against Parma and Genoa and that it’s very early in the season to be making grand proclamations, but, whisper it quietly – Napoli look a formidable opponent, and are in with a strong chance of securing Champions League football next season.

How well do you know Italian football? Want to challenge the best Italian Football Fantasy Managers? Play www.fantasyseriea.com now!

Napoli make statement in Serie A title race

Napoli have made an excellent start to the 2020-21 Serie A campaign, with victories against Parma and Genoa.

Gino Gattuso’s side hammered Genoa 6-0 at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday with five different goalscorers. This fixture last season ended 0-0. This weekend’s game itself was delayed for three hours after it had been revealed opposition goalkeeper Mattia Perin had tested positive for Covid.

In this season’s opener, Napoli were 2-0 winners away to Parma. Although the opponents are much changed from last season and potentially in for a relegation battle this time around, Parma did the double over Gattuso’s side last campaign.

Napoli have therefore taken six points from fixtures they only took one from last campaign, when they finished seventh, having previously finished in the top three for four consecutive seasons.

Gli Azzurri have already had six different goalscorers in two games – Dries Mertens, Hirving Lozano, Piotr Zielinski, Eljif Elmas, Lorenzo Insigne and Matteo Politano.

They could do with all the goalscorers they can get this weekend as Napoli travel to Turin to take on the defending champions, Juventus. The Old Lady have started the season with four points from their two games – drawing 2-2 away to AS Roma this past weekend.

Juventus have taken a big gamble with the appointment of rookie head coach Andrea Pirlo. Although they have the strongest squad in the league and have won the Scudetto for the past nine consecutive seasons, the competition is getting closer.

AC Milan and Internazionale continue to strengthen their squads with a number of signings this summer, although Napoli have not been as active so far, with less than a week of the window to go.

Victor Osimhen is the only new arrival in Naples so far, and has made an impressive start to life in Serie A. However, both Jose Callejon and Allan have departed.

Keeping hold of Kalidou Koulibaly may be the best business Napoli could do this summer, with interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Manchester United.

The rest of the first team remains strong, especially with Lozano starting to settle in now. Piotr Zielinski is one of the stars in Italy and , Arkadiusz Miluk, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens are reliable for goals in attack.

However, Gattuso himself doesn’t have the best of records as a head coach. He lasted just eight games in charge of Palermo, and his season-and-a-half in charge of AC Milan saw the Italian giants finish 6th and 5th before he was dismissed.

This weekend’s trip to Juventus will give us a better idea where both Napoli and the reigning champions are. Can Gattuso get an impressive result at the Allianz Stadium, even maintain their 100% winning start, and had Juventus a big title blow in the process?

Rivals Inter have already made their statement of intent this season, with the arrivals of Alexis Sanchez, Achraf Hakimi, Nicolo Barella and Arturo Vidal, among others. Meanwhile, AC Milan have acquired Sandro Tonali, Simon Kjaer, Ante Rebic and Brahim Diaz.

Do you know Italian football well? Think you can challenge the best Serie A Fantasy Managers? Play www.fantasyseriea.com now!

Serie Best Fantasy XI – Round Two

Thomas Strakosha (7 points): among the four goalkeepers that managed to keep a clean sheet in this round, he was the one that was called into action the most and had a key save on a long-range effort by Marko Rog.

Adam Marusic (7 points): the Serbian fullback took over the left flank against Cagliari since Jony was recently sold and Mohamed Fares has yet to be announced. He was actually a force to be reckoned as he dished Manuel Lazzari a ball that just needed to be nudge in few minutes into the contest and linked up with Ciro Immobile to ice it in the second half. Continue reading