Monthly Archives: March 2021

La Liga Game Week 28: What to expect from the top teams

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The La Liga Santander title race is heating up at just the right moment, with Atletico Madrid dropping points, Barcelona picking up steam, and Real Madrid hanging on. Los Blancos are six points behind leaders Atletico Madrid but head into game week 28 with a boost after the return of Sergio Ramos and the fine form of Karim Benzema. The odds for this week’s games will be stacked. This week is a higjly anticipated week for sports in general, including horse-bettors.com, where some of the world’s finest in horse racing as the Cheltenham Festival, one of the most prestigious in the world, currently races on.

Atletico Madrid are lucky to still have a cushion at the top of the table because Simeone’s men have only two wins in their last five games, and their loss to Chelsea in the Champions League confirms their poor form. The Rojiblancos will look to bounce back this weekend when they face Alaves who sit in eighteenth place and are battling relegation.

Alaves are on a poor run of their own, with four defeats and a draw in their last five matches. Their position in the table means they have a chance to fend off relegation, meaning they might be a problem for Atletico if Simeone’s men do not play at their best. Barcelona have the best form of the top three, and seem reinvigorated after the voting of Joan LaPorta back as president of the club.

Lionel Messi seems to have particularly benefitted from the move as the Argentine has found his scoring touch once again. Now out of the Champions League, the Blaugrana have all their energy to invest in the pursuit of Atleti and the La Liga crown. That pursuit continues in game week 28 when they face Real Sociedad on Sunday. Playing away to Sociedad has always been difficult for Barca, but an in form Messi will no doubt be a welcome sight.

Four wins in the last four games have Koeman’s men four points behind Atleti. One huge factor may be the El Clasico which is set to play next month. The winner of that game may well be the last real threat to Atletico and the Blaugrana will be keen on reestablishing their dominance over Madrid with a win. Real Madrid are six points adrift but just two behind Barcelona, meaning any slip up from the Catalans will see their rivals overtake or draw level with them, with the Derby fast approaching.

Madrid needed late-game heroics from striker Karim Benzema to get all three points but given their solid form and the boost of Ramos’ return, Los Blancos should be able to handle the task of handling a pesky midtable team in Celta Vigo. This is always a tricky game for Zidane’s men, but with the title at stake, there should be a burning desire to get on the front foot from the kick off. Real have looked solid in recent weeks, and have most of their key players back in the lineup again. Still in the chase for Champions League glory, Zizou’s men may have more to do than the other two teams ahead of them but that is part of the usual expectations at Madrid, one the team is very capable of handling.

Superstar Martinez could be heading for Barcelona as Inter approach Aguero

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Name who has been the best player for Inter this season as they try to win their first scudetto in 11 years and most people would say Romelu Lukaku. But Lautaro Martinez wouldn’t be too far behind after a stunning season.

The 23 year old Argentinian has really impressed this season and even last summer he was starting to attract the mega clubs of European football. The fact that Inter should win Serie A this season is spearheaded by Martinez’s fantastic statistics for Antonio Conte’s side.

Martinez has scored 14 league goals so far from 27 games and has 16 overall from 37. He is projected to be the next star of world football when it comes to strikers. One could suggest that Martinez is the type of player that started slow in his career, if we compare him to Kylian Mbappe but Martinez has all of the qualities to become just as good as Mbappe and perhaps even beyond. In short Inter have quite a star on their hands.

It is thought that the likes of Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City and Barcelona are very interested in taking the player and one would have to wonder how much for? The pandemic has brought prices down for now, but one would still presume that Martinez’s price tag could be between £100-150m. Can Inter afford not to sell at that price?

Manchester City are on the look out for a striker as veteran forward Sergio Aguero has announced that he will be leaving the club after 10 years playing at the Etihad. Obviously a straight swap is out of the question but City might be able to offer Aguero plus £120m, and that could be tempting for Inter. True Aguero is pushing on for age now but he is still sharp and alert and would score goals in Serie A.

There have been rumours that Inter have been looking at Aguero for his quality and experience although the one drawback is the amount of times he has been injured over the years. Still Aguero leaves the Premier League having scored the most goals ever for an overseas player and that could seal the deal with Inter.

PSG seem to have bottomless pockets and that would be quite a capture for the French champions who could, in effect, over the most money to Inter.

However one would have to suspect that if Martinez was going to leave the San Siro it would be to go to the Camp Nou and link up with his countryman Lionel Messi. Barcelona still want Neymar to return but surely going for youth would be the correct move for the Catalan club.

As for Martinez he may be tempted to stay at Inter and try and deliver the club the Champions League. Ultimately though the final decision will come down to Inter and if big money is offered this will be a huge test for the club who will probably be forced to sell.

As for this season, Serie A took a break for the past 10 days due to the international games. But Inter resume their title challenge away to Bologna on Saturday. Presently Inter are 6 points ahead of 2nd placed Milan and have a game in hand.

How well do you know Italian football? Do you want to battle the best Serie A Fantasy Managers? Play fantasyseriea.com now!

 

How a blank Gameweek 29 will affect your team!

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The season is steady drawing to a close and for FPL addicts like us, it has been quite a ride and we have been rolled with it until now. Game week 29 is what we call a blank, meaning some teams will not be playing at all. There will only be a total of four matches, and eight teams in action.

If ever there was a time to think of drawing a joker, including a Ladbrokes promo code, now is the time because it may be a telling week going forward, especially if you fall in the trap of making one particular hasty decision.

A blank week just before a final stretch of eight game weeks is not the most ideal of positions because it forces you to make changes that may be irrevocable to your team or at the very least have consequences down the line. In the matches for the game week, Fulham take on a reeling Leeds team that will be eager to right their ship after a string of hard-to-digest losses.

Patrick Bamford will be the talk of the day, after picking up an injury early on in the last game. He is the third most owned player in FPL and is still uncertain for Friday’s game. Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier is hitting on some good form and a favourable run of games should see him continue to thrive. In Saturday, Brighton and Hove Albion face a scrappy Newcastle side that broke hearts last week by snatching a last-minute draw against Villa (Martinez owners felt this one). Dunk, Gross, and Maupay are the players to watch out for in Brighton, while Lascelles seems to be picking up a nice bit of form for Newcastle.

On Sunday, another London Derby will be in the works for Arsenal as they take on West Ham. Arsenal is looking resurgent and should be sky high in confidence after taking down Tottenham last week. Mikel Arteta was not clear on how long captain Aubameyang will be out due to disciplinary sanctions but Lacazette looked good enough for any Frontline, meanwhile, West Ham have been this season’s surprise team and will have Lingard back in the lineup after missing out last week against parent club Manchester United. Finally, Aston Villa will take on a Tottenham side that may be without the most owned player in FPL, Hueng Min Son. The Korean picked up a muscle injury against Arsenal and was force d to come off.

For most players, the maximum they have in the game week is five players. Playing against someone who is still diligent enough to have their Free Hit card will be plain old bad luck, but points will be hard to come by. With Bamford’s status unknown, it will be a gamble to use a free transfer or taking him off only to see him suit up. Unlike Bamford, Son can be weighed when Tottenham play in Europe on Thursday, even though that could still be misleading. The trap for this Gameweek will be to rush in and use a Wildcard chip, which could be a great way to get maximum points but then you are stuck with some head scratching lineup going down the stretch.

Can Erling Braut Haaland go on to become the Champions League’s all-time top scorer?

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Erling Braut Håland has made the headlines for all the right reasons since he broke on to the scene at Red Bull Salzburg in 2019. Now at German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, of course, he is continuing to steal the spotlight and is more often than not a nightmare to tame for the opposition defenders.

His two most recent goals in the Champions League helped Dortmund progress to the quarter-final stages of the tournament against a dogged Sevilla and took his overall record for BVB to 47 goals in 47 games since he signed for the club last January.

It’s an incredible goal tally, and rightfully, he is being tipped to be the next big thing in European football. He is scoring goals with such ease and the fact that he is only 20 years of age makes it all the more mind-boggling for the average onlooker.

His two goals in the Champions League against the La Liga outfit took his tally in Europe’s elite competition to 20 goals in just 14 games. That in itself is an incredible feat. In fact, he is the fastest and youngest player in the history of the competition to reach the impressive landmark. So, it’s no wonder he alone can make Dortmund all the more favourable in the 2021 Champions League odds.

Håland broke the previous record set by Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane in 10 fewer games, and he is already just two goals away from breaking into the top 50 all-time scorers in the tournament.

In comparison with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who are first and second in the all-time scorers chart with 134 and 120 goals respectively, it took Ronaldo until he was 24 and 56 games to notch up 20 strikes and Messi, who was 22, 40 games. So, that puts in perspective just how amazing Håland’s feat is.

The question now is whether the Norwegian international can keep up his goal-scoring prowess in the long run and bag as many goals in the competition as the two aforementioned stars? There’s no doubt that it’s going to be a tough task for Håland. He would need to score 10 goals a season in the Champions League for the next 10 years to match Messi’s current tally and even more to surpass Ronaldo’s.

Of course, he is just 20 and as a striker he could play well into his 30s, so it is doable. However, he must keep fit and would need to play for a club getting far in the Champions League’s knockout stages year-after-year for the remainder of his career if he wants to truly get within touching distance of the Barcelona and Juventus forwards.

Nonetheless, German journalist Raphael Honigstein is confident that is the 20-year-old can keep scoring in the same fashion, then he’ll outscore both Ronald and Messi by the time he hangs up his boots.

“He’s only played 30 months at this level, and he’s only going to get better. If you put him in a better team… I don’t know where this could stop,” Honigstein told talkSPORT.

“The stats are crazy, if he continues scoring at the same level, he will outscore both Ronaldo and Messi, which seems absolutely crazy to contemplate, but he could do it!”

As Håland continues to steal the headlines in the UEFA Champions League news, all of the remaining teams in the competition, along with those still fighting for a place in the quarter-finals, will dread facing the 20-year-old in the next round.

Five Bargains to shine in the final months of the Premier League season

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With the Premier League set to enter its final two months, now is the perfect time to begin preparations for the all-important run-in. Ending the season with a flurry can be the difference between securing league victory or falling at the final hurdle.

Most fantasy football competitors are going to want to keep hold of their expensive, high-scoring stars. The key now is to find some bargain buys that can complement them with consistent point-scoring performances and the occasional stellar showing.

Below we have highlighted five players that could be in for a good end to the season.

Defender – Joachim Anderson – Fulham – 3.0m

There is no doubting that Fulham have endured a tough campaign, but they are certainly still fighting to stay in the division after an upturn in form.

One key element to this has been their recent battling qualities and new-found rigidity in defence. Scott Parker’s men are now priced at 9/5 with Betiton to go down. In fact, many popular new betting sites now make Sheffield United, West Brom and Newcastle more likely for the drop.

Crucial to this has been 24-year-old Norway defender Joachim Anderson and his partnership with Tosin Adaraybioyo. Fulham’s recent win over Liverpool at Anfield took their clean sheet tally to five in seven.

Goalkeeper – Dean Henderson – Manchester United – 7.0m

Manchester United continue to develop under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their recent win over champions-elect Manchester City proved. United have also looked much more solid at the back thanks to the impressive form of both left-back Luke Shaw and centre-back Harry Maguire.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson is now set to get even more game-time due to David de Gea returning to Spain to be with his new-born child. Henderson took his opportunity with two clean sheets in his first two games. It means he could be a value pick to continue to chalk up more clean sheets heading into the final months.

There is nothing to say de Gea will get the shirt back upon his return and Henderson is also eyeing the number one spot for England ahead of this summer’s Euros.

Defender – Nelson Semedo – Wolves – 4m

Wolves have been inconsistent in the extreme this season as injury issues, formation changes and a questionable summer transfer policy all came to a head in 2020/21.

However, a recent return to their trusted 3-4-3 formation has helped them find their feet again. Nuno’s men now have a favourable run of fixtures against teams below them in the table and this could be a good time to look at their players.

Summer signing Nelson Semedo struggled with the pace of the league early on but looks to have settled down into the right wing-back role at Molineux. He is getting into more advanced positions and benefiting from the extra protection that playing with three centre-backs affords. More points are due to come his way.

Midfielder – Pedro Neto – Wolves – 6.5m

The same reason that Semedo has been included means there is also an argument for finding a space for Portuguese wonderkid Pedro Neto.

The Wolverhampton winger is flourishing in his new role out on the right where he can cut in-field and shoot with his left. However, recent games have also seen examples of how comfortable he is trusting his right foot to get accurate crosses into the box.

He already has five goals and seven assists to his name in the league and will be targeting more in the coming matches. Throughout April and into May, Wolves will take on Fulham, Sheffield United, West Brom, Burnley and Brighton.

Midfield – Mason Mount – Chelsea – 8m

Mason Mount has had a fine campaign for Chelsea and anyone who thought he was only a favourite of former boss Frank Lampard has quickly been proven very wrong.

The young England midfielder has quickly become an important part of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea too. He has scored goals and made assists as Tuchel’s influence has grown. Getting him in your team for the run-in could be a great move.

Chelsea are another side with favourable fixtures on the horizon, including West Brom, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Fulham.

How to Translate The Language of Football?

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Without a doubt, the language of football is something that we all learn when we are still relatively young! It also explains why every country and every language will have a specific set of terms that will vary between the actual sports terms and the slang words that will make sense when something specific happens. It means that translation of the football language, be it the real game or video games simulation, always becomes a creative process that must be approached the same way as localization of a mobile application or the multilingual website. 

  • Analyze The List of Professional Terms. Always start with analyzing the terms that football players and coaches use since it is vital to keep things professional. Ensure that you are offering exceptional assistance for the younger audiences who are only learning the terms and want to receive the best experience possible. Starting from the free Google Translate checking to professional translation service providers, you must consider the level of language skills you want to achieve, which can be done only by certified professionals who have experience in the relevant field. Start with analyzing those terms that you want to translate and consider the risks of over translating!

  • Consider The Slang Words and International Aspects. Let us not forget that the language of football always includes the complex mixture of slang expressions that make sense to the players and meet the cultural point of the country. Turn to Portuguese in Brazil or consider the way how German soccer players explain being stable and bullet-proof. It will start making more sense, so translating these from English (or to English) becomes an important task where you must consider the spirit of the local football rules, customs, and traditions! It may take more time and creativity from the translator, yet it will always pay off in the long run!

  • Talk to Professional Football Players. Do not ignore talking to professional football players or even online communities who can share their experience by offering better translation options or corrections for those cases when you are unsure about what term to use or how to shorten something because of the GUI restrictions. Just like those video games experts or law specialists, you will always have to deal with the content that will only make sense to professionals or dedicated subject’s aficionados, which is why it should act as the pre-grading for your translation task. The trick is to keep things alive and add more life and flexibility to your translation!

  • Use Various Memory Tools For Translation.  Turning to machine translation may not be the best option. But, using memory tools with the language databases and the list of relevant football terms is a good solution that you must consider, especially if you are dealing with more than one foreign language and want to achieve accuracy.

The Cultural Aspect 

Translating the language is far not everything if you ignore the culture of football! As you may already know, FIFA encourages the use of body language for the referees as they can use hand signals and whistles to explain certain mistakes or situations that are unclear. Nevertheless, English remains the official language that the referees must be able to speak. Even though it is the most commonly spoken language, both Spanish and German football championships, let alone the Asian league branches, will use their native languages for commenting and video reporting. Just listen to Spanish La Liga live on the radio or on TV, and you will be inspired enough to learn the language! It also confirms why it is crucial to translate the language of football without missing all the cultural aspects! 

Man Utd: Three players that need to do much better after the international break

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As the international break is a couple of days away from ending, the majority of Manchester United supporters will be wondering how the manager and the players will prepare for the final four to six weeks of the season. Sitting in second place, along with remaining in the Europa League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men still have a fair amount to play for in the remaining short period of the campaign.

Following the club’s departure from the FA Cup to Leicester City two weeks ago, the chances of winning a piece of silverware this season is through the Europa League route only, which still has the likes of Arsenal, Ajax, Roma and Villarreal in the intense competition. Nevertheless, the Red Devils are still favourites to win the trophy, and if the manager goes two seasons without delivering a league title or trophy, a lot of doubts and questions will be raised by the Old Trafford faithful.

With no further ado, here are the three players that need to improve after the international break…

Anthony Martial

From having his most prolific campaign in a Manchester United shirt last season, scoring 17 goals and producing six assists in 32 league appearances, to being on the worst form of his professional career, Anthony Martial has contributed to only seven league goals directly in 1488 minutes of Premier League football. The Frenchman’s issues in front of goal and lack of consistency, has led to the links to Erling Braut Haaland, who was wanted by both the club and manager, over a season ago.

Given how Manchester United play under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Martial is a key individual for his system, especially with his hold-up play and his ability to bring the midfielders and the other attackers into the game. On the other hand, the 25 year old’s stiff movement in the final third of the pitch and his consistency to hide away in games is showing to be a huge problem, and if these weaknesses are not ironed out, it would not be a surprise to see him slowly drifted away from the starting line-up, as the top teams in European football have a number nine that is complete and dominant.

Bruno Fernandes

For sure, many will wonder why Bruno Fernandes has made this list, someone who is proving to be one of the key performers for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United this campaign. However, the Portuguese international has not been himself since the start of 2021, as he has found it difficult to effect and influence the game in the way he normally does so. Not only that, but he has been playing week in and out without an actual rest, causing a massive hinderance on his day-to-day impact and output.

Over the last few months, Fernandes has been showing some inconsistency and flaws in his game, where he tends to overdo his passes, spam constant crosses as well as lead a single and unnecessary press, allowing the opposition to take advantage of the space that he leaves behind. The good news happens to be, he is suspended for Portugal’s final fixture of the international break, resulting in his return to Manchester a couple of days ago, which will allow him to enjoy the final days of resting before playing in the Premier League again.

David De Gea

Without a doubt he is regarded as a fans favourite and someone who has individually helped Manchester United during their decline after the Sir Alex Ferguson-era, though, David De Gea is now holding back the football club from playing their best football and most importantly from competing for titles and trophies under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The fact that he can no longer produce his outstanding reflexes, he is not vocal enough as a goalkeeper and is seriously unconvincing at playing out from the back, makes him a huge defensive liability.

Furthermore, Dean Henderson has been given a number of chances to prove himself in De Gea’s absence, in which he has outdone the expectations of the manager as well as the supporters with quality performances against the like of Manchester City, Real Sociedad in both legs and AC Milan in the second leg. And if he continues to perform at a high level as well as minimise the weaknesses in the Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof partnership, then the Spaniard’s time at Old Trafford will most certainly look to be over.

The Best 5 Premier League players so far in 2020/21

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Domestic football is on a break until the beginning of April, so there are no Premier League team of the week.

This is a chance then to see which Premier League players have been performing the best this season based on their fantasy points and gives you the chance to see if you have any players.

Together with picking out the top 5 we will also have honourable mentions of other players who have performed well this season and could well make their way into the top 5 by the end of the season.

The top 5 best Premier League players so far this season:

1. Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 101 pts

If you had Bruno Fernandes in your team at the beginning of the season what a pick that would have been given that the midfielder costs just 8.5m. He has been such an important player for Manchester United that we can say that the club would not be 2nd without his input. And let’s talk about his contribution so far the Portuguese star has scored 16 goals and assisted in another 10 goals. If you want to know why United are doing well in the Premier League this season, look no further.

2. Ederson Moraes- Manchester City 98pts

When Manchester City win the league this season people will talk about how well Ilkay Gundogan has performed alongside Phil Foden. But the key to City’s title will be in their defence and Ederson in goal has had a terrific season. So far he has helped to keep 16 clean sheets, which is a fantastic record. On top of that Ederson has even assisted in a goal, which is a remarkable fact. He continues to get better by each season.

3. Harry Kane- Tottenham 93pts

By far England’s best striker Harry Kane may not win any trophies this season (the Carabao Cup withstanding) but even if he doesn’t what a personal season it has been again for Kane. Kane’s record for Tottenham in the league is nothing short of mind blowing and he has been involved in 30 of the clubs league goals. Tottenham have scored 49 goals, just let that sink in. Tottenham will be doing everything in their power to keep their star forward this summer as he will surely be in demand.

4. Mohamed Salah- Liverpool 90pts

It almost feels like this has been a quiet season for Salah given his presence over the Premier League in the last 2 seasons. But actually Salah has been as busy as ever, it’s just that Liverpool as a team faced such an implosion that nobody could have seen it. Still for Salah he has scored 17 times and assisted in 3 goals, that is hardly a poor season and the Egyptian international himself is actually having another solid and brilliant campaign.

5. Edouard Mendy- Chelsea 86pts

In truth Edouard Mendy was scripted to be the 2nd goal keeper at Chelsea, but once given his chance he has impressed enough to become the clubs number 1 shot stopper. It’s encouraging for him that new manager Thomas Tuchel has kept him on and can also, like former manager Frank Lampard, see his immense qualities. Mendy has kept 14 clean sheets so far and is turning out to be a real star with the Blues.

Honourable mentions:

John Stones is having his best season as a professional player and is such an important part of the set up at Manchester City. Before this season his place was genuinely under threat but he has stepped up to the mantle and is not just defending well but is good to score goals too- he currently has 4 so far.

Ilkay Gundogan another Manchester City player, like Stones is having his best season. Gundogan can be provider but he has also scored some very important goals this season and has 12 so far. Ruben Dias is yet another City player in defence which has held everything together and looks like the perfect replacement for club legend Vincent Kompany. Dias has 73 pts so far.

Let’s not forget about Harry Kane’s strike partner, Heung-Min Son who has been unfortunate lately having his injury and missing some key games. But Son has had brilliant spells this season and has scored 13 goals and assisted in another 9. Indeed Kane and Son are arguably the best striker partnership in Europe when they are firing on all cylinders.

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Koeman must get credit for Barca revival

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Once the international break is over and done with, Barcelona will resume their assault on the La Liga title, and whilst they remain four points behind leaders, Atletico Madrid, they’re certainly the form team of those towards the summit of the Spanish top-flight.

Valladolid are next up at the Camp Nou, and whilst no opponents can be taken for granted, three points will certainly be expected from Lionel Messi and Co.

Then comes the big one. El Clasico. Continue reading →

Is Messi more in than out at Barcelona?

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Just seven months ago Lionel Messi was a burofax away from leaving Barcelona.

That one piece of paper was the Argentinian’s ticket out of the club he’d served man and boy, but whose love for it had waned after one too many lies from club president, Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Though Manchester City were suspected as being as a potential destination, no formal offer was ever made, and that remains the case to the present day. Continue reading →