Is Atletico Madrid’s La Liga title in danger after Kieran Trippier’s 2 month ban?

Kieran Trippier has been one of Atletico Madrid’s best players this season but there has been bombshell news as he is now set to miss the next 2 months with an English FA ban.

That ban is related to alleged inside knowledge of the football world that could have been used as an advantage to then bet on that market. It must be said that Trippier has denied all of these allegations from the English FA, but for now the ban stays.

Trippier’s name has been cleared on some charges but not all and in line with UEFA’s rules it means that Trippier has been banned from all football activities for the next 14 weeks. Because of the Christmas period that means that Trippier won’t be back in action until the very end of February, and this is obviously a blow for his club.

Trippier has been a success for Atletico since his switch from Tottenham and this season so far seemed to have been his best. With 52 points so far Trippier is the best ranked defender for Atletico Madrid where he has helped keep an impressive 9 clean sheets already. Though he hasn’t scored yet that isn’t his job but he has assisted in 4 goals. Overall Trippier is only 2nd to Jan Oblak, the goalkeeper who has 61 points.

Trippier’s contribution to the team simply cannot be underestimated and of course one of the problems was his key presence, and how that will be missed. Under Diego Simeone Trippier has become a stable figure in the team and the last year has felt like a second coming for the club who were so successful in the 2010s.

Could Trippier’s ban trip up Atletico Madrid in the league and Champions League? pardon the pun. Currently the club are looking at their first La Liga title in seven years and are in 1st place with 29 points. Real Madrid their rivals and neighbours have the same points however Atletico have played 2 games less.

There is also the question that up until a few weeks ago Atletico had conceded just 2 goals, and even now it is only 5. Sure the team are full of great defenders in the likes of Mario Hermoso and Felipe but Trippier is seen as the one where the players look to both on the pitch and in the dressing room.

Trippier is pleading his innocence and will appeal and coach Simeone and thousands of fans will be hoping that his charge can be overturned, if not this could be an act of trying to get his sentence shortened.

The next few weeks after the Christmas season will be intriguing between London and Madrid and could get rather tense, watch this space.

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The Best 11 Players in La Liga 2020/21 so far

With internationals taking over the domestic season last week and this week we look at the players who are making all the noise in the Spanish league so far. Just who has been the best performing players this season?. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have struggled so far, and only 1 player overall has made the final cut- who is it? Just who has been making the biggest impact so far in the league? In a 4-4-2 formation we will find out below:

Goalkeeper: Remiro- Real Sociedad 35pts

Remiro and Jan Oblak have the same points and have clearly been the outstanding goalkeepers in La Liga, however Remiro has played more games and whist Oblak was expected to have a great season Remiro wasn’t. The shot stopper has kept 5 clean sheets so far this season and Real Sociedad are top of the league.

Defender: Kieran Trippier- Atletico Madrid 27pts

Kieran Trippier is currently the best defender in Spanish football with 27 fantasy points earned. Atletico Madrid are in great form and the Englishman has helped to keep 5 clean sheets at the back and has also assisted in a goal. His value is 7m.

Defender: Mario Hermoso- Atletico Madrid 21pts

Mario Hermoso alongside Trippier has been solid as a rock in Atletico Madrid’s defence and has helped keep 4 clean sheets, he has played 2 less games than Trippier with five matches completed so far, his value is 5m.

Defender: Stefan Savic- Atletico Madrid 20pts

Atletico Madrid dominate the defence in Spanish football that is because they have staggeringly only conceded 2 goals this season from their seven games played. Savic has 20 fantasy points so far and has helped keep 4 clean sheets.

Defender: Felipe- Atletico Madrid 19pts

Felipe not only defends well but also has pace on the counter attack and is yet another Atletico Madrid player to make it in defence this season. The club have only conceded 1 goal at home and 1 away. Felipe has helped to keep 4 clean sheets.

Midfielder: Portu- Real Sociedad 30pts

So far Portu has been the best defender in the league and has 30 points after a blistering start which has saw his team Real Sociedad in the top position. He has been involved in 6 goals, scoring 4 and assisting in 2 and has been a revelation this season, his value is 8.5m.

Midfielder: Marcos Llorente- Atletico Madrid 25pts

Back to Atletico Madrid and their best midfielder has been Marcos Llorente. He has scored 3 goals and assisted in two others. He has been a great fixture in the middle of the field and one of the best players in the league so far overall.

Midfielder: Angel Correa- Atletico Madrid 22pts

Angel Correa has been able to link up well with Llorente in midfield. His contribution to the team has also been very important. He isn’t much of a goalscorer, although has scored this season but he is all about assist, and has already set up 4 goals this season.

Midfielder: Federico Valverde- Real Madrid 20pts

From Real Madrid and Barcelona it is incredible to think that only 1 player has made this team of the season so far. It’s been an interesting season though. Valverde has scored 3 goals and assisted in one, in an otherwise bumpy start for Zinedine Zidane’s team.

Striker: Mikel Oyarzabal- Real Sociedad 27pts

With Real Sociedad being the best team so far in the league it is no surprise that they have a striker who has started so well. Mikel Oyarzabal has chalked up 27 points through scoring six goals and also assisting in a further two. His current value is only 8m and he could end up being the best striker over the season at this rate.

Striker: Paco Alcacer- Villarreal 24pts

Paco Alcacer seems to be having a second wind as a striker and has done well with Villarreal so far this season. He has scored 5 goals and assisted in 2 and wit 24 points he is currently the 2nd best striker in Spain. His value is a real bargain at just 3m.

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Fantasy La Liga Gameweek 5 Picks

The 2020-21 Spanish La Liga season continues this weekend following the international break with Granada and Sevilla kicking off the action on Saturday lunchtime.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are both in action on the same day, with the champions welcoming Cadiz to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium before Ronald Koeman’s side are also in the capital, away to Getafe.

Hare are our recommendations for your fantasy team this weekend:

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid have kept three clean sheets in their four La Liga games to start the new campaign and are widely-expected to add another one versus Cadiz this weekend. Thibaut Courtois himself has been in fine form to start the new campaign.

Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 29

Atalanta: Ruslan Malinovskyi is suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Josip Ilicic is not 100 percent after an ankle sprain but he is at his coach’s disposal. José Palomino is out with a thigh injury. 

Bologna: Federico Santander and Andreas Skov Olsen remain out with thigh strains. Andrea Poli will miss up to ten days with a thigh pull. 

Brescia: Andrea Cistana (lower leg) and Jhon Chancellor (thigh) will be back in mid-July at the earliest, Dimitri Bisoli (patellar tendon) is out until December. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 21

Atalanta: Timothy Castagne is out with a sore knee for the second week in a row. 

Bologna: Mattia Bani and Nicola Sansone are suspended. Stefano Denswil and Gary Medel and Ladislav Krejci (knee) remain sidelined.

Brescia: Mario Balotelli was slapped with a two-game suspension. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 20

Atalanta: Hans Hateboer is suspended, while Timothy Castagne missed the midweek Coppa Italia game with knee soreness, but it was likely just precautionary.

Bologna: Stefano Denswil remains iffy after missing one with a thigh ailment and it will likely be a couple more weeks before Ladislav Krejci comes back from his knee problem.

Brescia: Dimitri Bisoli is disqualified. Daniele Dessena is close to being fully cleared from his malleolus fracture. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round Seven

Atalanta: Luis Muriel returned in Champions League from his tonsillitis and thus they have no injuries to worry about.

Bologna: Roberto Soriano is suspended, while Mitchell Dijks is trying to come back from a ribs contusion, but he has yet to resume practicing fully.

Cagliari: Charalampos Lykogiannis is dealing with some Achilles soreness, while Ragnar Klavan has some thigh muscle fatigue. They are iffy for the weekend. Christian Oliva and Simone Pinna are under the weather. Among these, only Oliva has been able to recover enough to be called up.  Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspensions Report – Round Six

Atalanta: Luis Muriel is dealing with tonsillitis and his recovery for the weekend is uncertain.

Bologna: Danilo could be back from his thigh strain in this round, while Mitchell Dijks is very likely to miss another one due to a rib injury.

Brescia: Giangiacomo Magnani, Emanuele Ndoj (ankle) and Ernesto Torregrossa (quad) are expected to stay on the mend. Mario Balotelli has a minor neck problem. Continue reading

Serie A Injury and Suspension Report – Round 38

sandro

Juventus: Blaise Matuidi and Federico Bernardeschi are suspended, while Joao Cancelo and Mario Mandzukic both fractured their nose in the same week and are unavailable for Sunday. Alex Sandro is dealing with a rib contusion. Douglas Costa (calf), Mattia Perin (shoulder) and Sami Khedira (knee) remain sidelined as expected. Cristiano Ronaldo will be rested, while Wojciech Szczesny has suffered a knee injury.

Napoli: Allan and Kalidou Koulibaly are disqualified. Amadou Diawara looked close to returning from a foot fracture for a pair of weeks, but he was again unable to make the squad list, like Adam Ounas that is banged up and David Ospina, who is still in Colombia. Mario Rui is out with an undisclosed injury.  Continue reading

Serie A Team of the Week – Round 35

felipe

Bartlomiej Dragowski (7 points): he came through time and time for Empoli against Fiorentina, helping them keep a rare clean sheet with various great saves on attempts and the final one on a Dusan Vlahovic’s point-blank header was simply a thigh of beauty.

Felipe (13 points): he is the second defender to bag two goals in the same game after Merih Demiral managed few rounds back. He took advantage of Chievo’s abysmal defending on set pieces to perforate them first with a header and then with a tap-in after settling the ball in a rather fortuitous way. Continue reading