SOCCER ARTICLES

The World Cup Final offers a phenomenal contrast of teams and styles with a great case that be made for either side. France is loaded with a considerable amount of offensive firepower while Croatia boasts the best midfield crops in the game. Punters are debating whether it will be a high scoring affair, which would seem to favor France while a lower scoring match would tend to favor Croatia. ...  More

The promise of France is one win away from being fulfilled. Les Bleus were one of the top tier favorites to win the World Cup and have what is considered to be one of the deepest and most talented teams in the tournament. At the start of the World Cup tournament Croatia was an afterthought. ...  More

There weren’t many upsets in the Group Stage of this year’s UEFA Champions League, but the knockout stage draw pitted some of the favorites to win this competition against each other. Liverpool will have to face one of the best defensive teams in the world in Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and Real Madrid will square off in a battle of juggernauts, and Bayern Munich must take on a dangerous Chelsea...  More

There is no real Cinderella story in the Champions League coming into the knockout rounds. Nearly all the favorites to advance out of the Group Stage and into the Round of 16 made it to this point, and it’s a list of usual suspects that are the favorites. The current Champions League betting odds have Manchester City, Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain in a class of their...  More

England is home to three of the five best clubs in the Europa League according to the oddsmakers, as Arsenal, Manchester United, and the Wolverhampton Wanderers are all among the favorites to win the competition per the Europa League betting odds. However, while Arsenal have proven to be a worthy favorite, that hasn’t been the case for both Manchester United and Wolves. All three clubs should make...  More

This London Derby will have massive stakes. When Chelsea and Arsenal meet in the Europa League Final on Wednesday, there isn’t just a trophy at stake. Arsenal’s hopes of returning to the Champions League, and thus receiving a much-needed influx of cash during the transfer window, are on the line. The Gunners must beat Chelsea for the Europa League title to make it back to the richest competition in...  More

The Seattle Sounders have only claimed the MLS Cup once in their history, but this has perennially been one of the best teams in the league. Seattle has qualified for the postseason in each of its 11 seasons in the MLS, and the Sounders have never finished worse than fourth in the Western Conference. They have shed the moniker of postseason choke artists with their recent performance in the postseason,...  More

Atlanta United FC are odds-on favorites per the soccer betting odds to make it back to the MLS Cup Final. Last year’s MLS Cup winners are out to defend their title, and they will take on the 2017 league champions for Eastern Conference supremacy. Toronto FC have shrugged off an awful 2018 to rejoin the elite clubs in the MLS. They beat Atlanta 3-2 north of the border in late June, but the Five Stripes...  More

Next year’s European Championships will be the first without a defined host. Instead of the tournament taking place in one specific country, 12 separate countries will host matches throughout the event. That will make Euro 2020 one of the most wide-open competitions yet, and six countries have odds of 10-1 or less in this 24-team tournament. Qualifying began in March and will end at the end of this...  More

It took a long time for Portugal to finally win a major international championship. The small country had come close a few different times, but they broke through and won Euro 2016 thanks to a very favorable draw. Some surprising results left the bottom half of the bracket stacked with all the top teams so Portugal needed to get past Croatia, Poland, and Wales to reach the final before beating France...  More

Premier League 2019-20 season: There is a clear delineation in the race for the top four in the English Premier League. The two best teams in the English Premier League will square off on Thursday afternoon at the Etihad when Manchester City welcomes Liverpool to town. This match has lost a bit of its luster as Liverpool locked up their first Premier League title in club history last week, but the...  More

Manchester United and the Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently tied for fifth place in the Premier League with 34 points apiece. Both clubs are after a spot in the Champions League next season, and they are six points behind Chelsea for that spot. We are almost two-thirds of the way through the Premier League season, so each team is running out of time to make up that ground. That makes getting three...  More

No English team has won a domestic treble. The burden of winning the Premier League, FA Cup, and League Cup has proven to be too much for any other squad in English soccer history, but Manchester City can change that this Saturday. City have already claimed the League Cup and the Premier League titles, and they can add the FA Cup to their trophy case this Saturday. Watford will be out to stop City...  More

Manchester City have a chance to win an unheard of four trophies in one season. The Citizens have been the most impressive team in England this year, and they have already claimed the Carabao Cup. They are leading the Premier League, have made it to the Champions League Quarterfinals, and they are the odds-on favorites to win the 2018-19 FA Cup. Manchester City are the only Big Six team left, and...  More

To no one’s surprise, the pattern we have seen play out all decade long in competitions between Liga MX clubs and their MLS counterparts played out in the Leagues Cup too. As we have seen in the CONCACAF Champions League, the Liga MX sides dominated the inaugural Leagues Cup, winning four of the five matches played between Mexican and US teams, so the Leagues Cup Final will feature two Liga MX teams...  More

Liga MX has proven time and time again that it is the top league in North America. The last time a non-Mexican team won the CONCACAF Champions League was all the way back in 2005 when Costa Rican club Saprissa knocked off Pumas UNAM 3-2 in a two-legged final. It will be the first league to get its domestic...  More

The greatest rivalry in CONCACAF will add another chapter to its legacy when the United States hosts Mexico in a friendly on Friday night just outside of the Big Apple. El Tri have long had the upper hand in this rivalry, and they come into this friendly confident following Mexico’s 1-0 win over the USMNT in the Gold Cup Final two months ago. Mexico holds a 35-19-15 record against the United States. ...  More

The lone MLS team to win their Leagues Cup match last month was the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy did not use star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the match, but they managed to advance thanks to a penalty shootout victory over Club Tijuana. They overcame a 2-1 deficit due to goals from Emmanuel Boateng and David Romney, and then Tijuana only found the back of the net once in the shootout. LA will...  More

Through the first two weeks of the La Liga campaign, it’s not Real Madrid or Barcelona at the top of the table. Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are instead tied atop the standings with six points through two matches, and they are looking to shrug off their reputation as outside contenders in Spain. Both clubs spent heavily this offseason, and neither club has allowed a goal yet. ...  More

Athletic Bilbao fired a shot across the bow of La Liga last week by stunning defending champions Barcelona in the first game of the 2019-20 La Liga season. The Blaugrana had lost a total of four league matches in their last two campaigns, so they are in an unfamiliar spot entering Matchday 2. Real Madrid and Sevilla are at the top of the table entering this week, and they are favored to remain there. ...  More

Manchester United have an opportunity to pick up some silverware this weekend when they face AC Milan. They are the only team left with a chance to nip Benfica for the International Champions Cup, but they need to win by three or more goals in order to claim the preseason trophy. As for AC Milan, the club is just hoping for a result, although a goal might do after being shut out in both of its previous...  More

There will be a mini-Barcelona reunion on Saturday in Japan as Barcelona faces Vissel Kobe in a preseason club friendly. Vissel Kobe has three former Barcelona players on the roster, and the Blaugrana are looking forward to squaring off against their former teammates on the pitch. This will be Barca’s last game in Japan before heading back to Europe. ...  More

Atalanta are looking to win their first trophy in nearly 60 years. The small club in Lombardy has risen to new heights under manager Gian Piero Gasperini over the past three seasons, and they are now on the precipice of winning their first trophy since winning the Coppa Italia in 1962-63. Atalanta have defeated Lazio in both of their previous meetings this season, and one more win over the capital...  More

AS Roma have finished in the top three in Serie A for five straight seasons. With those finishes, they have continually earned spots in the Champions League, allowing them to refill their coffers and keeping them competitive among Europe’s elite. They may find themselves in a trying situation this offseason if they can’t get back to the continent’s most prestigious tournament. ...  More

The two teams that enthralled England with an epic race for the league title last season will meet for the FA Community Shield on Sunday in London. Liverpool claimed the biggest prize of them all by winning the Champions League last season, but Manchester City became the first club to win the domestic treble by winning the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, and Premier League. City nipped Liverpool by a single...  More

This isn’t the game that either England or Sweden wanted to be in after making it to the semifinals, but both countries have a winning history here. The Three Lionesses made it to the Women’s World Cup Semifinals for the first time back in 2015, and they managed to beat Germany in the third-place game after a crushing loss to Japan in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Sweden has finished in third place twice,...  More

This will be the third straight Women’s World Cup Final appearance for the United States. The USWNT were stunned by Japan in 2011, but they were able to get their revenge by blasting Japan 5-2 in the 2015 Final. They are out to win back-to-back titles for the first time in their history and add a fourth star to their emblem this Sunday when they take on the Netherlands. The Netherlands are the eighth...  More

On Sunday, the United States and Mexico will meet in the Gold Cup Final for the sixth time in the competition’s history. The two titans of CONCACAF have won 13 of the 14 Gold Cup tournaments since the competition was rebranded, and they were...  More

A rematch of the 2017 Gold Cup Final will determine one of the finals participants this year. The United States and Jamaica met to decide the winner of the Gold Cup two years ago, in what turned out to be a very evenly matched game. The USMNT and the Reggae Boyz were tied most of the way, but a Jordan Morris goal in the 88th minute gave the United States a 2-1 lead that would take them over the line....  More

Brazil can wipe away 12 years of frustration in one fell swoop on Sunday. The preeminent soccer power in South America has never had much luck at Copa America. Both Argentina and Uruguay dwarf Brazil in terms of total titles, yet the Selecao could cut into that lead with a win over Peru this weekend. Brazil are heavy favorites as hosts of this competition, and they smashed Peru in their earlier...  More

For the third straight time, Chile and Argentina will meet on the last weekend of Copa America. However, while their previous two battles were to determine the winner, this year’s clash will be for third place in South America’s premier tournament. The two previous finals between these rivals ended similarly. Chile focused on defense and Argentina couldn’t break through, resulting in both the 2015...  More

The first UEFA Nations League winner will be decided on Sunday. Portugal and Netherlands will meet to decide the inaugural champion in a rematch of one of the most infamous games in soccer history. At the 2006 World Cup, these two countries met in the Round of 16 in a game that is now known as the Battle of Nuremberg. There were four red cards and 16 yellow cards doled out during the match, a record...  More

England and the Netherlands will square off in the second UEFA Nations League semifinal on Thursday. The Three Lions are favored to win this match due in large part to the strength of English football over the last 12 months. We saw England make it to the World Cup Semifinals for the first time since 1990, and English teams won both the Champions League and the Europa League. However, that has led...  More