Prediction: Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas to win 2-0
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Esporte Clube Vitoria and Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas will lock horns with each other in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A this week. The match between Thiago Carpini’s side and Artur Jorge’s team will be held at the Barradão and is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 am UK time on Friday.
Esporte Clube Vitoria
Esporte Clube Vitoria are one of the oldest clubs in Brazil and have one of the most successful youth systems in the world. They are current champions of Brazil, having won the 2023 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A title.
Colossal are 15th in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A table at the moment. Thiago Carpini’s side have picked up 15 points from 15 matches a…
Santi Cazorla says Barcelona are fortunate to have his former team-mate and coach Xavi in the dugout, as he emphasised the importance of the Blaugrana holding onto young midfielders Pedri and Gavi.
Xavi led Barcelona to second place in LaLiga last term after returning to the club where he won three Champions Leagues as a player last November, having coached Cazorla as part of his only previous managerial assignment, at Qatari outfit Al Sadd.
Cazorla and Xavi were also team-mates during an immensely successful spell in the Spanish national team s history, with the former Arsenal and Villarreal midfielder featuring in triumphant European Championship campaigns in 2008 and 2012.
Speaking to Barcelona s official media channels during a visit to Camp Nou on Friday, Ca…
New Manchester City signing Sergio Gomez highlighted the key role club legend Vincent Kompany played in shaping his career and recent move to the Etihad Stadium.
Gomez joined City from Anderlecht for a reported fee of £11million (€13m) on Tuesday to become Pep Guardiola s fourth signing of the transfer window after Kalvin Phillips, Erling Haaland and Stefan Ortega.
The left-back was instrumental for the Belgian side under Kompany last season, racking up 49 appearances and registering 15 assists along the way.
Kompany enjoyed a hugely successful spell with City between 2008 and 2019, winning 12 trophies, including four Premier League titles and two FA Cups.
And Gomez, who spent his youth career with Barcelona before a stint at Borussia Dortmund, recei…
The Lionesses will face Spain in their first-ever World Cup final this weekend after knocking tournament co-hosts Australia out of the competition on Wednesday night in Sydney.
Should the European champions succeed in lifting the trophy on Sunday, they will have to navigate their way past a Spanish side rife with talent – including nine players from 2022/23 Champions League winners Barcelona.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five players to watch when the monumental meeting kicks off in front of over 75,000 fans at 11am BST.
Lauren James
The 21-year-old forward missed England’s quarter-final and last-four ties while she served a two-match ban for a red card she was shown after stepping on the back of defender Michelle Alozie in the Lionesses’ last-16 batt…
Best Odds: 4/5
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Looking to make a pre-Euro 24 statement of intent on Tuesday night, Hungary will travel to Dublin when they meet Ireland.
Ireland
Starting with the hosts, enduring what was a Euro 24 qualifying nightmare last year, Ireland are simply desperate to find some kind of stability. Appointing one-time Manchester United defender John O’Shea on a temporary basis back in February, the Greens are dealing with a string of public issues. Collecting just six points from any of their Group B appearances and coming under hefty scrutiny, they have also secured just a single victory from any of their previous eight matchups across all competitions. Last seen during March’s international break putting in another toothless display as they slumped to a…
Gareth Southgate wants England to retain a relentless winning mentality akin to treble winners Manchester City as the road to Euro 2024 continues.
Monday’s Group C encounter against North Macedonia marks the halfway point of qualification for next summer’s tournament in Germany.
England already look all but assured of reaching the Euros having won at reigning champions Italy and beaten Ukraine in March before swatting aside Malta 4-0 on Friday night.
As it stands after 3 games…
Group C
— England (@England)
Southgate’s opposite number Michele Marcolini said the minnows, ranked 172nd in the world, could not get anywhere near the visitors as they had an “amazing attitude on the pitch from the first minute”.
That is th…
Spain attacker David Silva insists he is over his injury worries and remains hopeful about his chances of being fit for his nation s Euro 2016 opener.
Vicente del Bosque s men are aiming for a third straight European Championship and open their tournament against the Czech Republic on June 13.
Silva was limited to 24 Premier League appearances for Manchester City this season due to ankle and hamstring injuries.
But the 30-year-old said he was nearing full fitness and eyeing Spain s Group D opener.
I m fine, Silva said, via Marca.
I hope to reach the first game. I m not sure. The feelings I have are good.
Silva is a veteran of 96 international caps for Spain and understands why his nation are favourites to win a fourth European title.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will go into Saturday’s FA Cup clash with derby rivals Sunderland adamant he does not need daily reassurances from the club’s big-spending owners.
The Magpies will run out for the third-round tie at the Stadium of Light having lost seven of their last eight games and each of the most recent four in all competitions.
It is a sequence which has led to speculation that Howe’s future as head coach under a Saudi-backed regime which has invested around £400million in new players since taking over in October 2021 could be uncertain.
Sources on Tyneside have dismissed talk of pressure on the 46-year-old in the wake of a difficult run, although defeat by the Black Cats is unthinkable if a season which has already brought Champions league a…
Emiliano Martinez remains hungry to win more titles with Argentina having secured his third trophy in as many years at the 2024 Copa America.
Martinez kept his fifth clean sheet of the tournament in Argentina s 1-0 win over Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper registered five catches in the victory over Colombia, the most for a goalkeeper in a final in the last 10 editions of the Copa America.
Furthermore, Martinez made four saves, becoming the first Albiceleste goalkeeper to register five clean sheets in a single edition of the tournament as he scooped his third Golden Glove at a major tournament.
Martinez has been a pivotal figure in Argentina s recent successes at the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup, keeping s…
Matt Bloomfield understands fans’ frustration with his Wycombe side but insists they are not “desperate” for results.
Taylor Perry’s brilliant long-range strike earned Shrewsbury a 1-0 win and left Wanderers winless in eight League One games.
Bloomfield said: “I understand there will be criticism from the fans and rightly so because of the results. I’m in a results-based business so I get that but they are going against us at the moment.
“Barring the Morecambe performance (in a 2-0 defeat) when I told you guys how unhappy I was with it, we’ve played some very good stuff.
“Desperate is the wrong word if I’m honest as it sends out the wrong message.
“The lads gave me everything and I can’t question their application. It’s j…