David Silva retires from football at the age of 37 after serious knee injury

Russia can seal progression from the Euro 2012 group stages with a draw against Greece in Warsaw on Saturday.

Dick Advocaat s side have been one of the most impressive at the tournament so far, following up a 4-1 opening day thrashing of the Czech Republic with an entertaining 1-1 draw against co-hosts Poland.

Midfielder Alan Dzagoev has starred, netting three goals, while the performances of Andrey Arshavin and Roman Shirokov have also come in for praise.

Despite the fact that a point would be enough to earn Russia progression to the quarter-finals, Shirokov insists they will be determined to produce victory in the Group A tussle.

Of course a draw with Greece will also put us into the knockout stage but we should win and stay in Warsaw (for the quarter…

The Premier League is set to return next month and ahead of that moment, we thought it d be a good idea to run through a few early doors predictions that we ve got for the campaign ahead specifically, down the bottom end of the table.

Thanks to our friends at , there s a full list of relegation odds currently available with the following five clubs being deemed the most likely to slip through the trap door and into the Championship.

Bournemouth 8/15

The Cherries were fairly solid in bouncing back up to the Premier League but there s a part of us that thinks they aren t built to survive as they once were. The gap between the two divisions is getting wider and wider and it can become quite easily to fall into the yo-yo habit, especially if you haven t got the flex of bei…

AC Milan managing director Adriano Galliani wanted to bring Vincenzo Montella to San Siro two years ago, but is happy to have his man now.

The Rossoneri have lacked stability in the dugout since the departure of Massimiliano Allegri in January 2014, with Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Cristian Brocchi each only granted short spells at the helm.

Perhaps as a result, Milan have failed to qualify for European competition since, but the arrival of Montella ahead of the 2016-17 season appears to have put them back on the right path.

The former Sampdoria boss masterminded a 1-0 win over Serie A leaders Juventus on Saturday, closing the gap at the summit to just two points.

While Galliani would have liked to have placed Montella in char…

A record 9.63billion US dollars (£7.6b) was spent on international transfer deals in 2023, according to a new report from FIFA.

English clubs led the way, spending £2.3bn across the January and summer windows last year, out of a total which smashed the previous single-year record set in 2019 by more than two billion US dollars.

FIFA’s Global Transfer Report found Saudi Arabian clubs were the third-highest spenders on cross-border deals, splashing out 970m US dollars (£765.9m) in 2023 compared to just 50.4m US dollars (£39.8m) in 2022.

Chelsea were unsurprisingly identified as Europe’s top spenders on international deals, with five other English teams in the top 10 and a further five in the top 20.

The top 10 player transfers alone generated more t…

The final Monday Night Football game of the 2021 NFL season takes place between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers tonight.

Cleveland has been eliminated from the playoffs but Pittsburgh is holding on by a thread — and longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will likely be playing his final home game at Heinz Field. Big Ben has gone a commanding 25-2-1 against Cleveland in his career and oddsmakers are expecting him to add to that tally with NFL betting lines jumping the fence to install the Steelers as 2.5-point  home faves after they opened as underdogs.

Here are our best free Browns vs. Steelers NFL betting picks and predictions for Monday, January 3. 

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Finding an edge in the NFL odds at this point in the season is like finding your wife the perfect Christmas gift: it’s not going to fall in your lap. And it’s not a foot bath thing, either.

Lines are tight as a (little drummer boy’s) drum at this time of the year, which means you need to mix in some situational handicapping — AKA spot bets — into your research routine. I do the heavy lifting with the NFL Week 16 odds, picking out my favorite letdown, look-ahead, and schedule spots for this week’s slate.

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It’s the marquee game of the week as the Baltimore Ravens travel to the Bay Area to take on the San Francisco 49ers. 

Both teams have a very realistic chance of representing their conference in this year’s Super Bowl and both teams will be looking to make a statement. 

Add in the fact you have two MVP candidates squaring off in Lamar Jackson and Brock Purdy, and you have yourself some must-see football action!

While there are a number of different subscription-based TV channels and streaming services available to watch this game… did you know that you can also live stream Ravens/49ers directly from legal sports betting sites?

In Canada, bet365 is one of our most trusted NFL betting sites — and the premier platform that offers NF…

Ralf Rangnick says Manchester United have a “higher ratio” of double vaccinated players than the Premier League average, and the club would hesitate before signing any player not vaccinated against Covid.

United’s past two games – against Brentford and Brighton – were postponed after an outbreak of the virus among Rangnick’s squad that left only eight outfield players available. But with 25 players now in training before Monday’s trip to Newcastle, the German claimed that United’s number of double vaccinated footballers is among the highest in the division.

Government pledge £1m to help Bury fans to buy back Gigg LaneRead more

“I don’t know which of our players have had two or three [the booster]…

Olympic basketball is fun. But doesn't it look a little too much like NBA basketball? Sure, the lanes are were trapezoidal, and the three-point line's a little bit closer, but those tweaks are minor when compared to the upheaval that FIBA's proposed three-on-three basketball brings. Watch the clip above to get a taste of what mixed three-on-three looks like, and then listen up to Slate's Josh Levin, on this week's excerpt from the Hang Up and Listen podcast, to hear why we should love (and hate) this possible Olympic addition. You'll also learn about BallerLevel. BallerLevel! You can listen to the full podcast here or subscribe on iTunes. …

The University of Central Florida ended the season as the only undefeated team in college football, and though they didn’t make the playoff, they have decided to go ahead and claim the national championship. They’ve spent the time since they beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl justifiably boasting and generally fucking with the college football world—none of which is exactly out of character—while setting up their masterpiece. On Tuesday, they planted their flag. Condolences to all the other teams, who tried their best and lost. UCF AD Danny White told Dan Le Batard that a parade is in the works, and also told an Orlando radio station that he wanted to hang a banner. Puffing your chest out is one thing; actually paying your coaching staff bonuses for winning the national championsh…