The Boys in Green now return to Aviva Stadium, where they beat Latvia, looking for another massive win in front of an expectant fans base. However, they haven’t beaten France in any game since October 1981, so this will be a tough challenge.
Les Bleus began their European Championship qualifiers with a massive 4-0 win over the Netherlands, so they are easily the favourites here.
Didier Deschamps’ side are supposedly on a rebuilding journey, but they didn’t look like a team missing their veterans when they dispatched the Dutch. A brace from newly-appointed captain Kylian Mbappe, which came after Antoine Greizmann and Dayot Upamecano had given France a 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes, ensured the World Cup finalists made a positive return to competitive action after their tragic end to the World Cup.
Another win will see them set the right pace for the rest of the qualifiers. However, the visitors haven’t won any of their last three matches as the away side (D2, L1), while each of their last four such games produced exactly two goals. So they will have to tread carefully here and not become too confident.
Click here to get the best prediction for this game.
England will welcome Ukraine to London this Sunday for their second Euro 2024 qualifier match.
After a disappointing ending to their last two tournaments, the Three Lions are looking to rebuild again under long-serving coach Gareth Southgate. The Englishman is looking to secure a place for his side in the European Championship for the fourth consecutive time.
And his side have started on a strong note, beating holders Italy 2-1 in the first game at Naples. Goals from Declan Rice and record-breaker Harry Kane sealed the win and ended a miserable run of results against Roberto Mancini’s side.
Their target will be solidifying their top position with another dominant display in front of their fans at Wembley. Given their record in Euro qualifiers, they will fancy their chances against a Ukraine side that England have lost to only once (W5, D2, L1).
After narrowly missing out on a place in Qatar last summer, Ukraine are looking to go above the challenges facing them collectively as a war-torn nation. Like their hosts, they are targeting a fourth straight European Championship outing.
But unlike England, this is the visitor’s first Euro qualifiers match in this cycle. They did not play in midweek but warmed up for this game with a 2-0 win against Brentford’s second team.
With England and North Macedonia already on three points apiece, Ukraine will be desperate to put some points on the board to give them a chance to qualify from Group C.
The visitors were the only side in their group to avoid defeat in all their away games in the previous cycle (W2, D2), including both games entered as outsiders in Serbia and Portugal. So they will be confident of getting a good result.
However, their last competitive outing was a heartbreaking defeat to another British side Scotland, which denied them UEFA Nations League qualification.
Meanwhile, England have led 1-0 at half-time in four of the previous eight H2H encounters. So a goal in the first half is expected in this game.
Florida Atlantic Owls VS Kansas State Wildcats looks like a match between two teams that have nothing else to give, but still leave more to be desired and delivered.
No matter how today’s game turns out, the Owls have already made an impression in the NCAAB 2023 March Madness. However, they have no intention of stopping. This begs the question, will the Owls win the Elite Eight again? Or will the Wildcats advance to the Final Four instead?
The atmosphere for today’s match will be charged, so MatchPlug did this preview for Florida Atlantic Owls and Kansas State Wildcats. It has the best Basketball Predictions, picks, and odds from reputable sportsbooks. Use it to place your bets.
Predictions and Betting Preview for Florida Atlantic Owls vs Kansas State Wildcats NCAA Basketball Championship Elite Eight Game
The Florida Atlantic Owls stand strong after winning another stunner in the 2023 NCAA tournament. In the Sweet 16 round, they destroyed the Tennessee Volunteers in a 62-55 upset victory on Thursday night. They miraculously survived the volunteers’ ironclad defence which was said to be the best in this season’s college basketball.
The Owls’ Johnell Davis stepped up again for his team, ending with 15 points with a 9/10 shooting line from the charity stripe. Being aggressive and shooting shots from the foul line gave them dividends.
Florida Atlantic can see more opportunities at the foul line in today’s game against the Kansas team that committed a total of 17.6 personal fouls per match and got called for 24 personal fouls during the Sweet 16 round.
Betting On The Kansas State Wildcats
Season Record – 26-9
1XBet Spread: -1.5
1XBet Moneyline: 1.77
1XBet Over/Under: Over 144.5
BetMGM Spread: -1.5
BetMGM Moneyline: 1.76
BetMGM Over/Under: Under 143.5
The Kansas State Wildcats still have one game in them. They extended their time in the 2023 NCAA tournament with a 98-93 overtime win last Thursday over the Michigan State Spartans to progress to the Elite Eight round.
Kansas State’s smallest man delivered the biggest game for the team in that game; Marquis Nowell scored 20 points setting a new NCAA tournament record with 19 assists.
As a unit, the Wildcats shot 55.5 per cent from the field and had 11 made 3-pointers on 24 attempts from deep. Nowell and Keyontae Johnson present a tough challenge for Florida Atlantic, both being fast with the ball and fantastic playmakers in the perimeter and in attacking the basket. Expect Kansas State to exploit the Owls’ interior defence and weak rim protection.
MatchPlug Prediction
Florida Atlantic Owls have proven to be resourceful in this tournament and may recreate this behaviour in the Elite Eight round. Dusty May showed he’s a great coach, spurring the belief in the Owls that they can play against any team. He took them to cover.
San Jose Earthquakes VS Toronto FC is a game between a home side that promises to emerge winners with their strong defence and skilled forwards, and visitors who can dominate with super-fast attackers and excellent midfield play.
The stakes are high for this one, and bettors can predict who will win. However, this game will be one for the ages.
MatchPlug remains one of the best places to go for the Best Betting Tips Today and accurate MLS Picks culled from reputable sportsbooks. We have analysis, picks, and odds for today’s head-to-head between San Jose and Toronto FC.
San Jose Earthquakes played four games this season and each of them had a different ending. They won two matches and lost the other one too. This puts them at 6 points and places them in 7th position in the MLS Western Conference ranking.
Although no high scorers have emerged, the Earthquakes scored in 4 matches and allowed 6 goals against them. This gives them a -2 goal difference, but if they win today’s match, they may advance to second place, earning 9 points at the beginning of the season.
San Jose seems to have great luck, as they’ve won two of their games at home.
Possible Lineup: (4-3-3): JT Marcinkowski; Carlos Akapo, Rodrigues, Jonathan Mensah, Miguel Trauco; Carlos Gruezo, Cameron Cilley, Jackson Yueill, Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse, Cade Cowell.
Betting On Toronto FC
1XBet Spread: +1.5
1XBet Over/Under: Under 2.5
1XBet Moneyline: 4
On the other side of the field, we have Toronto FC the Eastern Conference team that is in 8th place in the table. They played four games so far, winning one, drawing two and losing one. This gives them 5 points. If Toronto wins, they can catch Cincinnati which is in 3rd place.
The team have been generous with goals, with 6 goals scored so far, giving them a ratio of 1.5 goals per game. But, they allowed 5 goals. Toronto must strengthen its defence too so that conversions become points at the end of today’s game with the Earthquakes.
They haven’t had much luck playing at home so far, recording one draw and one loss, losing 3 goals. However, their tie was against Atlanta United, one of MLS’ best teams.
Possible Lineup (4-4-2): Sean Johnson; Richie Laryea, Matt Hedges, Sigurd Rosted, Raoul Petretta; Michael Bradley, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Brandon Servania, Federico Bernardeschi; Jonathan Osorio, DeAndre Kerr.
MatchPlug Prediction
Two teams from different conferences with similar playing styles will clash today.
While they’ve both failed to score significant goals this campaign, the Earthquakes clearly have a better goal ratio and won more.
Toronto FC did not convince in road matches, but they defeated Inter Miami, a team with almost the same numbers as San Jose.
Experts expect this match to be a close one, which will end in a draw.
Recently axed Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann could soon be on his way to the Premier League, according to reports.
The German tactician was sacked on Friday by Bundesliga giants Bayern following a loss to Bayer Leverkusen that had left the Bavarians trailing Borussia Dortmund by two points in the title race.
But it seems the 35-year-old would not be out of work for long if Tottenham sack under-fire manager Antonio Conte.
The Italian could be sacked anytime soon by Spurs following a recent run of poor results, which culminated in Conte labelling his players as ‘selfish’ and questioning the owners over the club’s record of one trophy in 20 years.
It appeared that the 53-year-old was looking to be given his marching orders during the international break by Daniel Levy. But seven days later, he remains in his role as head coach.
He has spent the week in Italy visiting his family due to the international break and has left assistant coaches Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason with the training duties.
But should Levy and the club board finally pull the trigger, they will be interested in speaking to Nagelsmann to take the vacant role. Spurs previously targeted Nagelsmann when they sacked Jose Mourinho in 2021, only for the young German to agree to take charge at the Allianz Arena instead.
Should he be contacted, the German might want to wait for a few months to take up the role. That will mean he will sit out the rest of the season while Mason takes interim charge as he did following Mourinho’s dismissal in 2021.
The 21-year-old is aware of the growing interest in him at home and abroad, with Paris Saint Germain, Inter and Juventus all tracking him too.
Speaking before France’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, Thuram was asked about the clubs on his tail.
“I hear, but I don’t concentrate on it,”
“I am with Nice. I am very happy where I am.
“I am trying to get bigger with the club. I am trying to grow up with the club. So, yeah, obviously, I hear it [the interest], but it’s not the most important.
The thrilling Real Salt Lake VS St Louis City FC happens today and tempers are roused. This preview will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each team, and examine their most recent performances while offering picks and predictions to aid bettors make insightful bets.
MatchPlug creates analysis, picks, odds, Best Betting Tips Today and MLS Picks for Salt Lake and St Louis. We implore you to use our betting preview as a guide to know which of these teams will be the winner and back up your bets.
Real Salt Lake had a rocky start to the season, but luckily other team fared far worse, so they are in 8th position in the Western Conference standings after recording one win and two losses.
They’ve played two games on the road and one home game, they won their first away game with a 1-2 score against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Then after playing home and away matches, they lost to two other stronger teams, the Seattle Sounders and Austin FC.
Salt Lake played little so far, statistics say they have a ratio of one goal scored per game and conceded two at home. Therefore, they must strengthen their defence to face the leaders.
Possible Lineup (3-5-2): Zac MacMath; Andrew Brody, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva; Scott Caldwell, Bode Hidalgo, Jasper Löffelsend, Damir Kreilach, Diego Luna; Justin Meram, Jefferson Saravino.
Betting On St Louis City
1XBet Spread: +1.5
1XBet Over/Under: Under 2.5
1XBet Moneyline: 3.54
St Louis City had a great start to the 2023 season. They’ve played one more match than their opponents and did so with an impeccable roster. This performance got them a 100% winning percentage in their first four games and a total of 12 points.
For goals, Louis City hasn’t disappointed too, they scored 11 and conceded four. This doesn’t show that they have a fantastic attack, but defence as well. Matter of fact they have the same number of wins home and away; but there is a scoring difference, with a ratio of 3 goals at home and 2.5 away.
All the players in the club are essential, but João Klauss and Jared Stroud stood out, they scored the most with three and two goals respectively.
Possible Lineup (4-3-3): Roman Burki; Jacob Nerwinski, Timothy Parker, Kyle Hiebert, John Nelson; Miguel Perez, Indiana Vassilev, Eduard Lowen; Rasmus Alm, João Klauss, Jared Stroud.
MatchPlug Prediction
The home team will have a challenging tussle against the visiting team.
They’ll be playing what can be called the most consistent and strongest side and may not have the power to defeat them, as they’ve won only against a lesser team, while St Louis SC destroyed all their opponents.
MLS has once again brought fans its offerings to keep them entertained this weekend. For Matchday 5 we’ll be seeing a lot of interesting games and Portland Timbers VS LA Galaxy is one of them.
Portland is off to a weak start this season, last week Atlanta United defeated them. LA on the other hand found themselves in a 1-1 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps at home.
Coming back home after the terror they faced at the hands of Atlanta United provides some succour for the Portland Timbers. They started the season on a bad note, and if they don’t step up soon they’ll hit a dead end.
After winning Kansas City on matchday 1, the Timbers proceeded to lose three consecutive games finishing 10th in the Western Conference with just 3 points. But the biggest challenge they face is that they are the only team in MLS that has allowed more goals, with 10 goals in the past 3 games.
This record is something they’d want to improve on for today’s match vs LA Galaxy. It’s happening at their home field, where they lost their last 11 games and scored only 9 times in this span.
Possible Lineup (5-3-2): David Bingham; Juan Mosquera, Dario Zuparic, Larrys Mabiala, Zac McGraw, Claudio Bravo; Cristhian Paredes, Eryk Williamson, Diego Chará, Santiago Moreno, Nathan Fogaça.
Betting On LA Galaxy
1XBet Spread: +1.5
1XBet Over/Under: Under 2.5
1XBet Moneyline: 2.915
BetMGM Over/Under: Under 2.5
BetMGM Moneyline: 2.90
The Los Angeles Galaxy like their opponents is struggling this season. In the first 3 games they played this year, they failed to make three out of three.
When their matchday 1 game was suspended against LAFC because of weather conditions, Galaxy couldn’t find their game and now place 12th in the Western Conference with just two points.
Los Angeles’ core weakness is the lack of goals, they lost 3-1 to FC Dallas, drew 0-0 in a road game to Kansas City, and held a 1-1 draw at home by Vancouver.
Additionally, Chicharito Hernández will be absent from today’s game and hasn’t played this year because of an injury. Douglas Costa was sent off against the Whitecaps too.
But, Galaxy hopes today can get them off to a good start when they play on the road against the Timbers. They want to match the performance they had last year for their away matches. Los Angeles was the best club in MLS in this regard and lost just three of their last eight games.
Possible Lineup (4-1-4-1): Jonathan Bond; Kelvin Leerdam, Jalen Neal, Chris Mavinga, Raheem Edwards; Gaston Brugman; Marco Delgado, Riqui Puig, Efrain Alvarez, Tyler Boyd; Dejan Joveljic.
MatchPlug Prediction
Although LA Galaxy’s offence seems to be absent this season, today’s game is their chance to bring some action against the Portland Timbers’ defence.
Portland will not allow 5 goals again at home, but their current defensive problems won’t be solved by magic, especially since they’re playing against a club as tough as the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Furthermore, consider that the Timbers have responded to attacks to an extent, scoring in all their matches, and in the head-to-head games between the two teams, both scored at least one goal in 14 matches of the last 20.
