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West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta is set to miss the World Cup for Brazil after suffering what appears to be a serious injury, weeks away from the international competition.
The Brazilian only joined the Hammers in the summer after showing great form on the books of Olympique Lyon and he has just started getting used to how they play.
However, he is now injured and missed their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool last night to confirm he is still not fit enough.
West Ham manager, David Moyes has admitted he does not know when the midfielder will be fit again and this has raise alarm over his chances of playing at the World Cup.
‘He has an injury, it’s quite serious at the moment.
I am not sure how long it will keep him out,’ said Moyes via Matchplug.
‘He has been a huge player for us recently, he was coming into form and giving us a different type of dynamic in the team. We are really disappointed to lose him.’
We keep on trucking forward when it comes to these predictions for the week. This time, we are going to be covering the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. Both of these teams are entering this matchup following tough losses, but there’s opportunity for one of them to get a nice bounce back win.
How Last Week Went
The Chiefs are coming into this game after losing to the Buffalo Bills in a Divisional Round rematch. The Chiefs had the ball with one minute left to try and win the game at the end of regulation, but Patrick Mahomes threw a costly interception to seal the game. It was actually the second interception for Mahomes here, twice as many picks this week as he’s had all season long. He was sort of forced to air it out constantly as the run game never really got going. Well, they didn’t try it enough for it to do so. Clyde Edwards-Helaire had nine rushes for 33 yards, Isiah Pacheco had two for nine and Jerick McKinnon had two for one. On the defensive end, the Chiefs were playing without a handful of their starters in the secondary. They held up well, but help could be needed sooner rather than later.
Now we flip over to the 49ers. They just got manhandled by the Atlanta Falcons, never being really competitive. Jimmy Garoppolo played decently, throwing for 296 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. However, the run game didn’t get anything going, forcing so much pressure on Jimmy G and a depleted 49ers defense. Jeff Wilson had seven rushes for 25 yards, Deebo Samuel had two for 11 and Tevin Coleman had four for three. Just like the Chiefs, the run game was nowhere to be found. As for the defense, half of their starters were out of action. One report stated that the team was missing a whopping SEVEN defensive starters for that game. Mind you, there’s only 11 starters on a defense. So, they didn’t have about 70 percent of their defensive talent available. They will certainly need it if they want to stop the Chiefs and Mahomes.
NFL Picks Today
In my opinion, this game doesn’t seem very hard when it comes to making predictions. The Chiefs very rarely lose two games in a row with Mahomes and Andy Reid both there for them. Plus, the 49ers are missing too many defensive starters due to injuries for them to be able to keep up. If Kansas City gets an early lead, then Garoppolo and company will have to lean on the passing game. Something they’ve not done well with so far this season. Roll with the Chiefs with confidence.
Then we talk about the total which is set for this game. It’s set at 48.5 points and that looks like a total that could reach the over. The Chiefs could pretty quickly light up the 49ers defense if they don’t get some guys back from injury. That offensive explosion could force the 49ers to air it out themselves. It could turn the game into a shootout if both offenses get hot.
Manchester United is the latest English club to become interested in AC Milan forward Rafael Leao and the Portuguese star could land in the Premier League in the summer.
The attacker has been in fine form since he joined Milan from Lille and fired them to the Serie A title in the last campaign.
United could lose Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of this season and they have already started targeting a replacement for him.
Several attackers are on their radar and Leao is the latest name on their transfer wishlist as he keeps shining in Milan.
Matchplug understands they watched him when Milan faced Chelsea in London and they could table around £60million for his signature when the transfer window opens in the summer.
However, Manchester City and Chelsea also has an interest in his signature and they will want to compete to sign him.
The Blues want to keep their core players and have been in talks with him over a new deal, but Matchplug understands that the talks have stalled because the Italian-Brazilian wants a pay raise.
He currently makes around £120,000 a week and wants a raise of £30,000 a week, which is not something the club seems willing to accept at the moment.
Both parties have not spoken to each other on the negotiating table recently, but the Blues are likely to accept his demands if Graham Potter considers him a key member of his squad and wants the midfielder to remain at Stamford Bridge.
Robby Anderson is officially off the Carolina Panthers. That’s right, the troubled wide receiver just got traded to the Arizona Cardinals. Not even a full day after he was ejected from the ballgame against the Los Angeles Rams by his own head coach. It wasn’t a good look Anderson on the day and he was already having a pretty bad season for the Panthers as it was. Shortly after hearing the news of the trade, he reacted on Twitter positively, responding in only emojis but making it clear that he was thankful.
Robby Anderson And His Incident
For those that weren’t aware of the incident between Robby and his coaches, let’s walk you through what we know. Anderson was seen getting into verbal altercations with the Panthers wide receivers coach Joe Dailey. They were initially talking in the first half but Robby refused to talk in the second. The arguments were bleeding over everywhere else as well. Interim head coach Steve Wilks had to calm down Dailey after the confrontation was settled. Though it wasn’t just Dailey that was getting into fights with Robby. Anderson went at the interim head coach Wilks as well and was eventually escorted out off the field. Wilks and the rest of the staff had enough.
According to Anderson, he said, “My job is, I’m here to do all I can to help us win. It’s third down. I’m being taken out of the game. You know, I don’t think I should be OK with that. So, I made a comment. It’s the money down. Why am I being taken out? And that’s that.” It’s a fair thing to say in this situation but also doesn’t feel like it’s the entire story of stuff that was shared between the two. He continued by saying, “One thing I do, and I always stand on it and continue to do, is I give my all in everything that I do. I don’t play this game for money. I don’t play this game for fame, I play this game because I love the game of football.”
Wilks Responds To On-Field Blow-Up
Throughout the year so far, Anderson has caught 13 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. At the time he was removed from the game, he had zero catches on 38 offensive snaps. Head coach Wilks said, “I’m going to say this. No one is bigger than the team. And I’m not going to focus and put a lot of attention on one individual. We can talk about the game, can talk about situations within the game. We can talk about the things we’re going to do moving forward. But I’m not putting a lot of energy into one individual.”
Now that Anderson is officially off the team after three seasons with them, the Cardinals are on the hook for his salary. They are going to be paying the remaining $690,000 that he’s owed from the Panthers. Ahead of the 2021 season, Carolina inked Robby to a two-year, $29.5 million extension which had $20 million guaranteed. I take it that the Panthers really are serious about cleaning house and restarting. DJ Moore, Brian Burns and Christian McCaffrey could certainly see themselves on the move shortly as well.
After years of having their bullpen get called a liability to their team, the Philadelphia Phillies proved that it is no longer a liability at all. They were the sole reason that they found a way to beat the Atlanta Braves. Advancing further into the MLB playoffs. During a critical, series clinching Game 4, a group of Andrew Bellatti, Jose Alvarado, Zach Eflin, Brad Hand and Seranthony Dominquez pitched a combined six innings. In that span, they were able to strike out 15 batters and walk none on their way to a crucial victory. Plus, we can’t forget that Noah Syndergaard started for the first time in two weeks. Allowing just one run in three innings of action.
The momentum and the swagger are really starting to show out for the Phillies bullpen. They’ve deserved it after all. Alvarado described their pitching as, “strike one, strike two and good luck.” This group didn’t care those other starters such as Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez already pitched in the series. They were ready to get called into action and didn’t want to lose with this opportunity sitting in front of them.
Pitching Has Killed The Phillies Lately
Over the past 11 years that the Phillies missed the playoffs, the bullpen was the major issue. Back in the shortened 2020 campaign, the Phillies bullpen had a combined 7.06 ERA. This is the second highest bullpen ERA that the league has seen over the past 90 years that baseball has been around. They even had an MLB record tied with 34 blown saves the following season in 2021. Even earlier in this season, the bullpen was letting them down in big moments. They blew a six-run leading the ninth inning against the New York Mets back in May. The first time that this has ever happened to them since 1994. It was the second time since 1937 as well.
All of this became too common for the Phillies and they wanted to change that right here and now. The job isn’t finished just yet though as they march into NLCS against the San Diego Padres. A red-hot Padres team that is coming off of victories against both the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers in their previous series. Luckily, Dominguez is starting to pitch his best ball. He returned from the injured list back on September 11th, but has since found his rhythm again. During Game 4, he was averaging a velocity of 99.5 miles p er hour in the ninth inning. He had three strikeouts as well and saw him pitch the 12 hardest balls that he has all season long. When asked about it after the game, he said, “I’m back. I’m definitely back.”
There is a near guarantee that the group of pitchers that hit the mound in this pivotal series winning game is going to see some more action against the Padres.
Former Chelsea man Joe Cole has warned Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans that he needs to start performing like he can play for a top club if he wants to join one.
The Belgian midfielder has been on the radar of the top European clubs as he looks to run down his contract at the King Power Stadium.
Despite links to these top clubs, none made a serious effort to sign him last summer and he might need to prove his quality again to get their attention.
He did little to justify that as Leicester played out a goalless draw against Crystal Palace yesterday and Cole warns he needs to do more.
The former England international said via Matchplug: ‘This is a player who has been looked at by some of the top clubs so he will be thinking I’m a Champions League player but you need to perform like a Champions League player, you need to perform in all situations. Maddison’s levels have not dropped.
‘His character is one I admire.
He wasn’t quite on it today but he was trying to get on the ball and make things happen.
‘Tielemans is a player I admire, and I rate so much and if he can improve his game five to ten per cent get control, run the midfield and that’s when the points will be coming.’
NFL predictions continue with the New York Jets taking the trip to face off with the Green Bay Packers. The Jets surprisingly have the exact same record as the Green Bay Packers despite a very severe talent difference in these rosters. This could be a major game for each of these squads, as a loss for Aaron Rodgers could crush the Packers morale. Let’s dive into what these two teams have to offer right now.
The Jets are coming off of a game in which they beat the brakes off of the Miami Dolphins. Granted, Miami got forced to start their third-string quarterback after Teddy Bridgewater left in the first quarter with an injury. But still, the Jets were dominant down the stretch. Zach Wilson threw for 210 yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions, but their rushing was great. Breece Hall had 18 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown while Michael Carter had 10 for 21 and touchdowns. On the other end of the ball, Sauce Gardner found his first interception of his career.
Then we flip to the Packers now. Green Bay got upset in London by the surprisingly talented New York Giants. Rodgers had 222 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions on the day. Aaron Jones had 13 carries for 63 yards and AJ Dillon only had six for 34. One factor that really showed how unfortunate their offense was is that the veteran Randall Cobb led the team with seven receptions for 99 yards. The closest receiver was four receptions for 35 yards from Allen Lazard. Their defense didn’t do anything either. Preston Smith got one sack… that was all that happened. No turnovers from this incredibly talented team. That has to be changed if the Packers are hoping to start winning games.
NFL Picks Today
This is actually a tough game to pick. The Jets are playing good football right now while the Packers are underwhelming. Giving the Packers a 7.5 game spread seems like it could be a little too much for a team that is consistently playing close games. After all, Green Bay has only won one game by more than 7.5 points all year long, that being against the Chicago Bears. We can go with the upset on this one, take the Jets with the +7.5-point spread.
Then we move onto the total for this game which is set at 45.5. There is potential for a good chunk of scoring in this game. The Jets, if they don’t turn the ball over, can genuinely find some type of success early on. Meanwhile, Rodgers and the Packers are bound to put up at least 20 points in the afternoon. I think this is going to be one of those 30-24 final scores that the Packers come out on top. The Jets cover the spread and the total hits the over.
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