Football News

Monday, February 23, 2015

Tottenham vs Sheffield 2-2 Highlights 20-02-2015 Capital One Cup

Sheffield United vs Tottenham Hotspur
Competition: Capital One Cup Semi-Final
Match date: 28 January 2015
Venue: Bramall Lane, Sheffield

Sheffield United 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur:

28' 0-1 Christian Eriksen // 77' Che Adams 1-1 // 79' Che Adams 2-1 // 88' 2-2 Christian Eriksen

The match of Tottenham and Sheffield United in Capital One Cup ended as 2-2 draw. However it was Tottenham that dominated this match in all aspects but perhaps this match was not meant for their win as they created chances but couldn’t get the winning goal from their opponent. On the contrary their opponents did very well to defend themselves in this match and in the end they managed to get a draw from it.

Congo DR vs Tunisia Africa Cup of Nations - January 26, 2015

DR Congo vs Tunisia - Competition: Africa Cup of Nations, Group B

DR Congo record in the year 2015 is actually pretty nice, because they have not lost a game so far. Even after two games at the Africa Cup of Nations they could stay unbeaten in. Still they won’t be too happy, cause theres no win on their side in these last games. In group B they collected 2 points (1:1 against Zambia, 0:0 against the Cape Verde Islands). Still they have the chance to advance to the next round, but to do so they would need a win against Tunisia to be safe. With a X in the next game, and a win by the Cape Verde Islands against Zambia they would fall back to the 3rd position. Therefore they will do anything to get the 3 points in the last match. Especially in the offense they still have to improve with only one goal scored so far at the Africa Cup.

Tunisia team already stands with one foot in the quarter final of the Africa Cup of nations. Especially after match day 2 in group B they seem to have the best chances for advancing. The reason is their close 2:1 win against Zambia on match day 2. Nevertheless this last meeting was not an easy game for them with a 0:1 leg in minute 59. Still they did not need to much time to find the equalizer. This happened 10 minutes later but the crucial 2:1 was scored late, in minute 88 by Yacine Chikhaoui. After the 1:1 in their kick off match against the Cape Verde Islands and the win against Zambia they have 4 points on their side, one more draw and they stand in the quarter final of the Africa Cup of nations. They will try to stabilize the defense and not to concede a goal in the best case, but with Congo desperate for a win, they could get some space for counter attacks in this last group stage match.

Match date: 26 January 2015
Kick Off Time: 18:00 GMT
Venue: Estadio de Bata (Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of)

Napoli 2-2 Udinese Coppa Italia Highlights 22-01-2015

Stadio San Paolo, Naples - 22 January, 2015 - Coppa Italia - 20.00 UK KO

Reigning Coppa Italia holders SSC Napoli beat ten man Udinese on penalties to book a meeting with Inter Milan.

SSC Napoli 2-2 (Pen 5-4) Udinese (Coppa Italia):

58' 0-1 Cyril Thereau // 65' Jorginho (pen.) 1-1 // 99' Marek Hamsik 2-1 // 104' 2-2 Panagiotis Kone

SSC Napoli win 5-4 on penalties:
-Scored for Udinese:- Bruno Fernandes, Guilherme, Kone, Danilo
Missed for Udinese:- Alan

-Scored for SSC Napoli:- De Guzman, Jorginho, Mesto, Hamsik, Higuain

Algeria vs South Africa Africa Cup of Nations 19-03-2015

Algeria vs South Africa - Competition: Africa Cup of Nations

Algeria team played a very good World Cup in summer, even almost defeated world champions Germany when got beaten in the Round of 16 not before extra time. Most players of the young side were born and educated in France and since Vahid Halilhodzic retired after the World Cup, they now also have a French coach in Christian Gourcuff. The ‘Fennecs’ stand for an offensive short passing game and they do have strong offensive players like Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Yacine Brahimi (FC Porto), El Arbi Hillel Soudani (Zagreb), Islam Slimani (Sporting Lisbon) or Saphir Taider (Sassuolo). On the other side their defence is not the most solid and with Essaïd Belkalem (Trabzon) an important central defender will miss the Africa Cup due to an injury. Algeria won the first five games in thequalification, lost the only match in Mali when were already qualified.

South Africa did not qualify for the last World Cup and were even kicked out as hosts on group stage in the 2014 African Nations Championship. Considering that the ‘Bafana Bafana’ had won the Africa Cup four times in the past, the last years were obviously very disappointing for them, they also did not survive the group stage of the 2010 World Cup in their own country. But at least they managed to stay unbeaten in a 2015 Africa Cup qualifying group with Nigeria, Kongo and Sudan and are meanwhile undefeated in eleven games since March 2014. Shakes Mashaba, who became national coach in July 2014, nominated mostly players from teams of the South African Premier Soccer League. Striker Tokelo Rantie plays in England for the Championship side AFC Bournemouth, defender Anele Ngcongca for the Belgium team KRC Genk. Due to a knee injury defender Patrick Phungwayo has been ruled out of the Africa Cup.

Algeria last 5 matches:

11/10/14 Malawi 0 – 2 Algeria
15/10/14 Algeria 3 – 0 Malawi
15/11/14 Algeria 3 – 1 Ethiopia
19/11/14 Mali 2 – 0 Algeria
11/01/15 Tunisia 1 – 1 Algeria

South Africa last 5 matches:

15/11/14 South Africa 2 – 1 Sudan
19/11/14 Nigeria 2 – 2 South Africa
30/11/14 South Africa 2 – 0 Côte d’Ivoire
04/01/15 South Africa 1 – 0 Zambia
10/01/15 Cameroon 1 – 1 South Africa

Match date: 19 January 2015
Kick Off Time: 19:00 GMT
Venue: Estadio de Mongomo, Mongomo

AC Milan vs Atalanta Italian Serie A - January 18, 2015

Milan team are a big team. However, their form is awful. They are currently on 8th place with 6 wins, 8 draws and 4 losses with a goal difference of 27:21 and 26 points after 18 rounds. In round 17, AC Milanwere handed a stark reminder of how much work they still have to do to return to the upper echelons in Serie A after Sassuolo claimed a famous 2-1 victory at San Siro. Filippo Inzaghi’s men harboured aspirations of climbing into the European places and Andrea Poli put them on the right track in the earlyexchanges with his first goal of the season. Ambitious visitors Sassuolo were in no mood to roll over, however, and two assists from Domenico Berardi helped Gianluca Sansone and then, after the break, Simone Zaza to turn the game around. Last round, AC Milan shared points with the hosts Torino. Jeremy Menez’s third-minute penalty put Milan ahead but they then found themselves having to weathera fierce Torino storm, a situation not helped by the visitors’ loss of Mattia De Sciglio to a red card before half-time.

Last round there was late drama at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia as Atalanta drew 1-1 against Chievo in what turned out to be a closely fought encounter. Atalanta began the game in a postive fashion and were eager to launch the ball into the Chievo half as often as possible. Davide Zappacosta put Atalanta in the lead after 71 minutes following a fantastic long-range strike. Despite a red card for Gianpaolo Bellini, it seemed as if the hosts would hold on to claim the three points, but in the final minute Lazarevic stepped up to curl a free kick into the corner and salvaged a point for his team. The draw left Atalanta on 17 points, one place and two points above the relegation zone. They have 3 wins, 8 draws and 7 defeats with a goal difference of 14:24 and 17 points so far.

AC Milan last 5 matches:

20/12/14 Roma 0 – 0 Milan
30/12/14 Real Madrid 2 – 4 Milan
06/01/15 Milan 1 – 2 Sassuolo
10/01/15 Torino 1 – 1 Milan
14/01/15 Milan 2 – 1 Sassuolo

Atalanta last 5 matches:

07/12/14 Atalanta 3 – 2 Cesena
13/12/14 Lazio 3 – 0 Atalanta
21/12/14 Atalanta 3 – 3 Palermo
06/01/15 Genoa 2 – 2 Atalanta
11/01/15 Atalanta 1 – 1 Chievo

Juventus - AC Milan Betting: Inconsistent Rossoneri to play their part in a high-scoring clash

With Filippo Inzaghi's side as weak at the back as they are dangerous going forward away from home, Al Hain-Cole expects plenty of action when they face their former coach

AC Milan will be hoping to kick-start their ailing season when they travel to Turin to take on Juventus in Saturday's high-profile Serie A clash.

Having recorded a first win in six matches at home to Parma last weekend, the Rossoneri are available at15/2 (8.50) with bet365 to secure a morale-boosting victory at the home of the champions.

However, after winning 27 and losing none of their previous 29 league fixtures on home soil, the hosts are clear 4/11 (1.36) favourites to come out on top for the fifth consecutive encounter between the sides.

Inter were the last team to leave the Juventus Stadium with something to show for their efforts following last month's 1-1 draw, and you can get odds of 4/1 (5.00) on their city rivals also earning a point here.

bet365 customers in the UK can also watch and bet on this game live on Saturday evening through the bookmaker's website.

After being shown the door at San Siro in January after almost four seasons in charge, Massimiliano Allegri will be keen to get one over on his former club.

The 47-year-old has certainly landed on his feet since replacing Antonio Conte in the summer, maintaining his predecessor's high standards in suffering just one league defeat so far to open up a seven-point gap at the top of the table.

In contrast, his ex-employers have been the antithesis of stability since his departure, with current coach Filippo Inzaghi having replaced Clarence Seedorf in the summer after the Dutchman survived just six months at the helm.

This uncertainty seems to have been translated onto the pitch, where Inzaghi's men have struggled all season for consistency, particularly on the road.

While their record of 16 goals scored away from home is the joint-second best in the division, the guests' goals against tally of the same figure is worse than that of relegation-battling Atalanta and Empoli.

Considering the Bianconeri have scored 33 times in 11 domestic matches on home soil so far, entertainment appears guaranteed against a mercurial Milan team, meaning odds of 4/5 (1.80) are not to be missed on over 2.5 goals going in.

Conte: I will not resign as Italy coach

The former Juventus boss has no intention of stepping down and has urged the clubs to fully support him

Antonio Conte has reiterated that he will not walk away from his role as Italy head coach, while calling for greater cooperation from domestic teams.

Conte took over from Cesare Prandelli last August having led Juventus to three consecutive Serie A titles.

Italy have since won five and drawn one of the six matches overseen by Conte, but rumours that he was ready to quit surfaced recently after he was forced to cancel a team meeting later this month as clubs were unwilling to let their players attend.

However, the 45-year-old intends to stay put until Euro 2016 at least.

"I'll stay in my post until the European Championships in 2016," he told La Repubblica.

"Resigning has never been an option. I think I'm a very responsible person, especially in difficult times, and this is one of those times.

"I made an important commitment and I intend to respect that.

"I expect greater cooperation from the clubs. To bridge the gap to other nations, I must be able to work as a coach, not just as a selector."

Italy currently sit second in Group H of the Euro 2016 qualification campaign with 10 points from four games, level on points with leaders Croatia.