Best Odds: 1/1

Bookmaker:

In what is a heavyweight Champions League opener on Wednesday night, Bayern Munich will welcome a struggling Manchester United to the Allianz.

Bayern Munich

Starting with the hosts, eventually suffering last-gasp heartbreak over the weekend as they had to settle for a 2-2 stalemate against Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich will be seeking an immediate response here. Nevertheless, despite dropping their first points of the season a few days ago, Thomas Tuchel’s squad have their sights firmly set on mounting a genuine Champions League charge this time around. Unbeaten in each of their opening four Bundesliga appearances this season and opening proceedings on August 18th with a routine 4-0 romp away at Werder Bremen, the former Chelsea bo…

Ethan Ampadu insists he has a lot more to achieve in football as he prepares to become the youngest Welshman to win 50 caps.

Ampadu is set to break Chris Gunter’s record at the tender age of 23 in Thursday’s Euro 2024 play-off semi-final against Finland in Cardiff.

The versatile Leeds player, who can operate at centre-back or in midfield, will reach the 50-cap milestone at the same age as England pair Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen.

“Everyone wants to try and achieve it as quickly as they can,” said Ampadu, who made his Wales debut against France as a 17-year-old in 2017.

“Whether that was by the time I was 23 or 28, just to achieve the milestone itself is a massive achievement. I’m not really too interested on how quick you can do it.

…

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker:

Looking to clinch back-to-back qualifying victories on Friday night, Wales will welcome Armenia to the Cardiff City Stadium.

Wales

Starting with the hosts, while Wales might have endured a public World Cup in Qatar over the winter, Rob Page’s side have certainly claimed a welcomed boost since opening 2023. Getting their European Championships qualifying adventure underway on March 25th as they snatched a stunning last-gasp 1-1 draw away at Croatia, the Dragons have mustered four points from their opening two Group D appearances. Likewise, last seen picking up a gritty 1-0 victory at home against Latvia, that result was remarkably the first win that Wales have collected from their previous 10 matchups across all competitions a run th…

Portugal boss Fernando Santos does not believe Euro 2016 represents Cristiano Ronaldo s final chance at international success.

Ronaldo will be 33 by the time World Cup 2018 kicks off in Russia, assuming Portugal qualify, leading many to believe it s now or never for the Real Madrid superstar.

But Santos, speaking ahead of his team s Group F opener against Iceland in Saint-Etienne on Tuesday, places little interest in a player s age.

He said: Ronaldo is great, he s highly motivated. He was motivated when he got here from winning the Champions League with Madrid and that has grown.

We all have the same ambition. I don t think it s his last chance, he still has a few years ahead of him. We are all here regardless of how old we are – 18 or 38.

In…

Fiorentina have left winger Nico Gonzalez out of their squad for Thursday s Europa Conference League clash with Puskas Akademia amid suggestions he is close to joining Juventus.

Gonzalez is reportedly a top target for new Juve head coach Thiago Motta, with the Bianconeri expected to sell Federico Chiesa and bring in another wide player.

The Argentina international joined Fiorentina in 2021 and has become one of their foremost attacking threats, contributing 12 goals and two assists in 29 league appearances last term.

However, he was left out by new boss Raffaele Palladino as Fiorentina started their Serie A campaign with a 1-1 draw at Parma last week.

He will also play no part when they host Hungarian side Puskas Akademia at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in …

Pyjama bottoms de rigueur for Kiraly, come rain or shine

For those of us who have never seen Gabor Kiraly training before, there was one question of everyone s lips (well, two of us anyway): Does the veteran goalkeeper even go so far as to train in his lucky grey tracksuit bottoms?

And the answer was confirmed as a resounding yes, despite it being a hot, humid afternoon in Lyon.

The 40-year-old former Crystal Palace player, now back with Szombathelyi Haladas, the club where it all started for him in 1993, even showed off some surprisingly silky skills in training near Stade de Gerland ahead of the Group F showdown with Portugal at Parc OL on Wednesday.

s Gabor Kiraly may train in his pj bottoms, but he has some

— Iain Strachan (@IainStracha…

Erik ten Hag cut a frustrated figure after watching Manchester United dominate Crystal Palace without reward, saying his side ate them alive .

United accumulated 1.64 expected goals (xG) to Palace s 1.07, with 1.4 of that xG coming in the first half for the visitors, though the spoils were shared in a goalless draw at Selhurst Park.

Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson provided an inspired performance against his former side on Saturday, making seven saves, while Ten Hag s team were denied by the woodwork on three occasions.

Alejandro Garnacho struck the woodwork after 27 minutes, with Bruno Fernandes sending the rebound over via the top of the crossbar, as United passed up numerous opportunities.

When we don t win, I m not content, United manager Ten Hag sa…

There were no major surprises in Croatia coach Slaven Bilic s provisional 27-man squad for Euro 2012.

The only real concern for the 43-year-old is the fitness of Dejan Lovren, who injured his foot playing for Lyon in the club s 1-0 Coupe de France final win over Quevilly a fortnight ago.

However, despite the knock, Bilic has opted to include the defender in his selections in the hope he will recover in time to play in Poland and Ukraine.

Elsewhere, there is room for Nikola Kalinic and Ivo Ilicevic with the trainer toying with the idea of selecting one of the forwards in his eventual 23-man squad alongside his usual frontline of Ivica Olic, Eduardo, Mario Mandzukic and Nikica Jelavic.

Croatia have a warm-up friendly versus Estonia on May 25 before travell…

Best Odds: 5/2

Bookmaker:

Two sides who will be looking to open their Europa League adventure with an early statement on Thursday night, Ajax will welcome Marseille to Amsterdam.

Starting with the hosts, while Ajax might have eventually punched their Europa League group stage ticket following a lively 4-2 aggregate victory against Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets last month, the Dutch giants are in the midst of a recent wobble. Putting in a nightmare performance on their return from September’s international break last weekend as they slumped to a 3-1 drumming against Twente, Maurice Steijn’s side have come under some mounting scrutiny. Mustering just a single victory from any of their opening four Eredivisie appearances, Ajax are also seeking some crucial defens…

Troy Lesesne is only looking up as D.C. United look to continue their playoff push against the Chicago Fire on Saturday, having won three of their last four games in MLS to close on the wild-card spots.

D.C. beat Toronto FC 3-1 last time out, with Dominique Badji and Gabriel Pirani netting late on to decide a game that remained level with 88 minutes played.

Lesesne s team are now 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, three points clear of 14th-placed Chicago and two adrift of Atlanta United in the final wild-card place.

We re not going to back down, Lesesne said. We still realise there s a lot to play for in 2024, but while there s an opportunity, we have to make the most of it.

When it goes 1-1 like that, you have a choice. But for us, it s never a…