Here are our winning tips for 14th June.
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Here are our winning tips for 14th June.
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The World Cup gets underway in barely 24 hours before we get our very first big game as Spain take on Portugal in the Iberian derby.
These two sides are the teams who should go through from this group as games against Iran and Morocco would likely end in wins for them, however, the winner of this match may decide who tops the group.
Portugal were more of a defensive team when they went all the way to win Euro 2016, however, they have yet to bring new defenders into the fold, so they would be relying on the trio of Pepe, Bruno Alves and Jose Fonte who are between the ages of 34 and 36. A fast attacking team could cause them some real problems.
The Portuguese have only won three of their seven warm-up games, failing to beat any of USA, Belgium, Tunisia and Netherlands.
Spain dropped just two points in qualifying and were 5 points better than Italy who came second in their qualifying group. They also netted 36 times and conceded just three goals throughout the qualifiers, they would be looking to build on the form that has seen them avoid defeat since their exit from Euro 2016.
However, their performances may be affected by the Spanish FA’s decision to sack Julen Lopetegui just a day before the World Cup, it would be interesting to see if the players would be affected by that decision.
Portugal and Spain have each won two, drawn three, and lost two of their last seven Iberian derbies.
The last and only World Cup meeting came in 2010 as Spain beat them 1-0 on their way to lifting the trophy.
Morocco have not participated in the World Cup for the last 20 years and they would be looking to impress in this very tough group that also includes Spain and Portugal. The difficulty in playing the two European heavyweights makes this game a must-win for both of these teams and the loser would most likely be the first team to be eliminated from the competition.
The Moroccans have an impressive team led by Mehdi Benatia at the back, Hakim Ziyech in midfield, and the impressive Ayoub El Kaabi who has 11 goals in 10 international games up front. They have also remained unbeaten in over a year, winning 14 of the 18 games they have played in that period of time.
Iran on the other hand, do not have the talent or form to match the Moroccans. They were beaten 2-1 by Turkey last month before earning a boring 1-0 win over Lithuania in their last warm-up game. They have lost to Tunisia and Syria in the last nine months, so they would need to pull something different out of the hat to stand a chance of earning a point in this group.
Mohamed Salah has had a stunning league season with Liverpool, scoring 32 league goals to break the Premier League’s all-time record for a single 38 games season. He has also risen as a star for his national team. However, he may miss this game through injury and the Egyptians seem to suffer without him.
Egypt lost 3-0 to Belgium in their last warmup game, that result followed a goalless draw against Colombia. They are now without a win in their last six games, so confidence is not in high supply in their camp.
Uruguay have surprisingly opted not to play in any high profile games before the World Cup begins properly, so their 3-0 win over Uzbekistan is the only game their opponents can analyse before playing them.
That win means they have won their last three friendly games after two wins in the China Cup earlier in the year. They have also kept a clean sheet in those matches.
They are favourites to win this game for good reason.
Their defence is being marshalled by the Atletico Madrid duo of Diego Godin and Jose Jimenez, while their attack is led by Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani, two of Europe’s most feared attackers.
This will be the first time since 2006 that these nations have faced each other, with Uruguay winning that friendly 2-0 in their one and only meeting with Egypt.
After a four year wait, the World Cup finally returns and this year Russia would be the host. This game is not the most outstanding opener to a competition, but it looks like it would be a close game between not very good teams.
The host are the lowest FIFA ranked team in this competition and they face Saudi Arabia who are only three place above them in that ranking.
The Russians also have a really poor recent record as they start this World Cup with no win since October, they have lost 4 and drew 3 of seven fixtures since that time.
Saudi Arabia may be just three places better than Russia in the latest FIFA rankings, but they have performed better in their most recent games.
They lost 2-1 to Italy, succumbed to a 3-0 loss at the hands of Peru, but they did impress in their last game against Germany even though they ended as losers by 2-1.
Saudi Arabia have won just two of their last 11 games, however, they have what might be considered an advantage as 11 of their 23 players play in the same team – Al Hillal, this would offer them more understanding on the field of play.
The only previous meeting between these two nations ended 4-2 to Russia back in a 1993 friendly clash.
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Tottenham are set to add a new star to their team ahead of the unveiling of their new stadium as they have reportedly entered the race for Barcelona midfielder, Rafinha Alcantara.
Rafinha spent last season on-loan at Inter Milan but the Italians seem uninterested in making his switch permanent, leaving his future in doubt. He is not part of Ernesto Valverde’s plan for next season and with too many options midfield, his future lies elsewhere.
West Ham are also actively looking to bring him to England, however, they now face serious competition from Tottenham.
Barcelona have declared him surplus to requirements, but they would also not allow him to leave for any price that is less than £30 million.
Tottenham are sweating over the future of Mousa Dembele as he approaches the twilight of his career.
Spurs are only willing to offer him a short-term deal, but he is considering offers from China that would offer him a longer-term contract as well as a major wage hike.
Rafinha who joined Inter in January played 17 Serie A games, netting twice and providing 3 assists.
Manchester United have been dealt a major blow in their quest to sign Italian defender, Leonardo Bonucci, as the former Juventus man have declared that he is happy to remain in Milan
Bonucci has been one of Europe’s best defender over the past few seasons and helped Juventus win the Serie A for 6 consecutive seasons before moving to Milan last summer. Milan’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League may force them to sell after they spent about £200 million in transfers last summer.
Bonucci is one of the most valuable players and several teams are looking to prise him away, however, the club captain has insisted that he is happy in Milan.
“There is no problem whatsoever (at Milan).
I hope these rumours will be put to bed so we can build something important.
“We’re aiming to return to the Champions League and to compete for big objectives.
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Marcos Rojo, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailey among others have been signed by Manchester United over the past couple of seasons, but they have all failed to make the grade, forcing the club to rely on Phil Jones and Chris Smalling who were all signed by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Poland would be looking to get into the World Cup with a win under their belt. The Poles play Senegal in their opening FIFA World Cup match and that game comes within seven days of this match. With the match against Senegal looking crucial, the Poles would be looking to get to Moscow on the back of a win.
Poland could win their World Cup group as their main rival seems to be Colombia, however, their 2-2 draw against Chile showed that they still have work to do especially in defence.
In recent competitions, they have been known to sit back and hit teams on the counter, that may be their strategy heading into this World Cup, but they need to get their defence sorted.
Lithuania come into this match off the back of a 1-0 loss to Iran who are also competing at the World Cup.
That loss came after they had drawn with Latvia and loss to Estonia in the previous two games.
They would not be very optimist of a win here, but they have nothing to lose and would be out to surprise Poland.
Poland won all their home games en route to the World Cup and also did not taste defeat at home on their way to Euro 2016, they might keep that record intact here.
