Ex-Sunderland striker Darren Bent belives a defeat this weekend in the FA Cup would doom Newcastle United Manager Eddie Howe.
Howe watched his fortunes at the St. James’ Park club transformed within weeks.
He was heroic last season, leading the team to fourth position and the Carabao Cup final.
But he must now find a way to defeat local rivals and Championship side Sunderland in the cup.
“I don’t even think it would be from the supporters,” Bent told talkSPORT of Howe, whose team are in ninth place in the Premier League and out of Europe entirely.
“I think the supporters understand they’re ahead of schedule and the job that he’s done has been fantastic.
“But I think the owners have now had a taste of European football and they want to invest money into the squad – you can invest more money in the squad if you’re in the Champions League.
“But if they start to drift away from Europe – which at the minute, they are – I think the owners might panic and go: ‘Enough’s enough, get someone else in.’
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was hopeful after his team lost 4-3 to Girona on Wednesday night.
Alvaro Morata delivered a hat-trick for Madrid, but Girona won due to an injury-time winner from Ivan Martin.
Simeone said: “I always look at the positive side, we didn’t start well, they were superior for 30 minutes but when we attacked the goals came, there was danger, we were able to tie and we had a great second half.
“We made a huge effort that led to making the changes because I saw the players were very tired. Last play, their goal and all that remains is to congratulate them, with this forcefulness they are going to do very well.
“We were not strong enough in defence to resolve some plays that ended in a goal.
“Today I saw a huge effort. The work throughout the second half was very positive. Defeat is negative and losing to a rival that is going to be direct for the Champions League. We were not forceful like them and we are congratulating our rival because it was a great game.”
Premier League giants Arsenal have found out the price a vital transfer target, Dušan Vlahović. The Gunners are shopping for a center forward to reignite their title charge.
But, manager Mikel Arteta has been told that Dusan would cost them £50 million.
The Juventus and Serbia forward is a signficant target for Arsenal, as he has the strength and goal scoring prowess their team is missing up top.
Sky Sports reports that whule Juventus is ready to sell Vlahović, they want huge cash for him.
Arsenal could buy him slightly cheaper, if they can add another player in the deal.
This football season might just be one of the best there’s ever been. There are multiple contenders for the title in Spain, England, and Germany, including some unexpected teams that might just pull off a fairytale victory. There have also already been more high-scoring, highly dramatic games in divisions across Europe, too. The general quality of team play has improved, and this has been supported by some truly wonderful individual performances from players who remind us why we fell in love with the game in the first place.
There’s still a long way to go before the winner of the 2024 Ballon d’Or is announced, but we have a sneaking suspicion that it’ll be awarded to one of the following players, who have all been in exceptional form for their teams so far this season.
Jude Bellingham: Real Madrid
Anyone who watched Jude Bellingham play for Dortmund last season knew he was going to be a world-class player, so it’s no surprise that Real Madrid forked out more than €100 million to sign the English midfielder. It was assumed, however, that Bellingham would need at least a couple of seasons at the Bernabeu to reach his full potential. But that’s not what’s happened. The 20-year-old got off to a great start at his new club and has already proven to be a vital player for Real Madrid. Due to his great performance with Los Blancos and important, game-winning goals, Bellingham is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or on online sports betting websites like Betano, and he’s also a big reason why England will go into Euro 2024 confident that they can finally win another trophy. With time on his side, there’s no telling what Bellingham can achieve in his career — or even this year.
Kylian Mbappe: Paris Saint Germain
That Kylian Mbappe will one day eventually win the Ballon d’Or is a given. And there’s every chance that it’ll be in 2024. The French superstar has been in sparkling form this season, racking up more than a goal a game. If he can lead France to glory in Euro 2024 and pick up a Champions League medal with Paris Saint Germain, the 24-year-old will be a shoo-in for the world’s most prestigious individual football trophy.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: Liverpool
It wasn’t too long ago that outsiders were questioning Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ability. While his manager, teammates, and Liverpool supporters all knew that the footballer was a generational talent, there were major question marks about his defensive abilities from other quarters. Now, though, no one is doubting just how special of a player Alexander-Arnold is. His new hybrid role, in which he plays in both defence and attack during games, has allowed the Liverpool-born star to show off his extensive talents. He’s been vital to Liverpool’s resurgence as a title contender and has marked himself as not just one of the best players in Klopp’s team but one of the best in the world.
Harry Kane: Bayern Munich
Harry Kane finally left Tottenham in the summer in his quest to finally land a trophy. Bayern Munich, who routinely compete for the league, domestic cups, and the Champions League, seemed like as good a place as any to do it. He was billed as the replacement for goal-machine Robert Lewandowski, and the England captain has more than lived up to the task. He’s been scoring for fun, averaging more than a goal a game, and has notched up plenty of assists too. No one really thought Harry Kane would be anything other than a roaring success in Germany, and happily, that’s just what he’s done.
Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel has shown interest in West Ham United defender Thilo Kehrer. The German international lost his spot a West Ham this campaign and is ready to leave in January.
France has also shown interest for the former PSG defender, but Bayern is also keen.
Fussball Transfers reports that Tuchel intends to speak one-on-one with Kehrer to convince him about joining Munich.
Tuchel will want to assure Kehrer about his playing chances after his troubles with West Ham.
Italian Minister Matteo Salvini defended the discontinuation of the Growth Decree.
The tax break for Italian clubs has been scrapped amid claims that doing so will set back Serie A teams in the global transfer market.
AC Milan fan Salvini posted to social media: “The objective of the Government is to help Italian football and above all get the best out of the youth academies.
“For this reason, the Lega decided to stop the decree that allows foreign players to pay fewer taxes.
“I am convinced this is a choice based on equality and common sense. The Growth Decree allowed clubs to sign athletes from abroad with a discount: an extraordinary help that lasted for years, which should’ve been an opportunity to relaunch our leagues. Making them more competitive and attractive.
“That was not the case, so I am surprised by the reactions of the clubs: they make it look like the problem in Serie A is a sort of lack of universal benefits for players who came in from abroad.
“I take responsibility for my decisions, as always. If other colleagues have different ideas, I invite them to discuss them publicly.
“The good of Italian sport is above all based on football: I am open to any debate and proposal.”
Arsenal boss Mike Arteta addressed that the way Fulham defeated the Gunners is concerning. Arterta accepts they were flat for the 2-1 reverse.
He said: “Throughout 100 minutes we were never at the level to win the game.
“We weren’t efficient enough. We didn’t have enough ball speed, enough movement, enough threat. We gave ball after ball away. We were regaining it, but when we won the ball back we gave the ball away which is the most dangerous moment to do that. If you don’t have the consistency of momentum, you don’t have a threat in the final third and you concede two goals like we did today, it’s very difficult to win the game. We didn’t deserve to win the game, that’s very clear and simple.
“If you drop games in this league you drop points. In Anfield we lost two points but we had a big performance. We lost three points against West Ham and we had a big performance. Today is a different story. That’s why we feel sad because we were nowhere near the levels that we need across the 90 to do that.”
Arteta added, “We need to improve. We need to win games and in order to do that we need to win games. In order to do that we need to do it with players that after 20 league games, we have the chance to be the best in the league with these players. They are really good and we’re going to continue to work with them.”
Cagliari enters today’s match undefeated in four straight home games and will want to gather momentum ahead of an important second half of the season. They left with nothing as they lost 2-0 against Hellas Verona last weekend.
So far, they’ve lost three of their last four games, with a 2-1 home win over 10-man Sassuolo on December 11 being the exception. After two straight losses in road games, Cagliari will now be playing at home, where they are undefeated in their last four games, securing three wins and one draw since October’s 4-1 defeat to AS Roma.
Betting On Empoli
1XBet Spread: 0
1XBet Over/Under: Under 1.5
1XBet Moneyline: 3.5
BetMGM Spread:
BetMGM Over/Under: Under 1.5
BetMGM Moneyline: 3.60
Empoli couldn’t find its footing the last time they played when they lost 2-0 against Lazio at the Carlo Castellani Stadium. The team is now five successive matches without a victory, losing three and claiming two draws since a shocking 1-0 win over Napoli on November 12.
With 12 points from 17 matches, Empoli is 19th in the Serie A table, one point below the hosts.
MatchPlug Prediction For Cagliari VS Empoli
Cagliari and Empoli know today’s score could play a significant role in their quest for surviving the rest of the season and experts expect them to take the fight to each other. However, Cagliari has a slight home advantage and they may claim all three points.
Udinese is presently in 17th position in the Serie A standings and has not played well so far this season. They were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Torino in their last game and will want to take things up a notch this weekend.
Betting On Bologna
1XBet Spread: +1.5
1XBet Over/Under: Under 3
1XBet Moneyline: 12
BetMGM Spread: –
BetMGM Over/Under: Under 3.5
BetMGM Moneyline: 23.00
Bologna is in fourth position in the league table presently and has been in impressive form so far this campaign. The Bolognese club edged Atlanta to a crucial 1-0 victory this week and will want to recreate it in this match.
MatchPlug Prediction For Udinese VS Bologna
Udinese packs a punch on their day but flatter to deceive this season. Bologna is the better club at the moment and has the upper hand in this game.
Final Prediction: Bologna Moneyline.
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