This bizarre and altered NFL week has been great thus far, jammed with daily football action and tons of betting opportunities. The action doesn’t slow down anytime soon, with 15 games scheduled from Saturday through Monday.
Amid much pandemic uncertainty, here’s a look at my favorite spreads player props and totals I’ll be targeting in Week 16.
Enzo Fernandez is confident Chelsea will get better with time as he aims to win anything and everything in England.
Argentina s World Cup winner Fernandez was the most expensive of several January signings made by the Blues, who paid Benfica a Premier League record £106million (€121m) for the midfielder.
Chelsea have struggled since then, however, down in 11th in the Premier League, with Graham Potter becoming the second coach to be sacked at Stamford Bridge this season.
Potter at least guided Chelsea through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with European glory now realistically their only path back to that competition for next season.
Fernandez and Co. must get past Real Madrid in the last eight, with Chelsea great Frank Lampard back at …
Barcelona said Belarussian midfielder Alexander Hleb is expected at the club for a medical Wednesday prior to his transfer from Arsenal.
If he passes the medical tests, Alexander Hleb could sign a contract tomorrow (Thursday) and be presented as our new player, the club said on its website.
The Belarussian, who joined Arsenal from VfB Stuttgart in 2005, scored only 10 goals in his three seasons at the London side.
Hleb, who had also been linked with a move to Italian champions Inter Milan, said during an interview in Russia last week that he had told Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that he did not like living in London and wanted to leave the club.
If the transfer goes through, the 27-year-old would be Barca s fifth signing for the 2008-2009 season.
Luke Shaw says Manchester United have their fear factor back after an off-season of big spending under Jose Mourinho.
Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have arrived at Old Trafford as United aim to become title challengers again following several seasons of relative struggle under David Moyes and then Louis van Gaal.
Mourinho has overseen victories in all of his first three matches in charge and Shaw, who made his return this season from a broken leg, claimed the mood within the squad is buoyant.
It hasn t been the best few years, but all of a sudden it feels really good, really positive, he told the Guardian.
We feel we have that fear factor back where people are thinking this team is going to be hard to beat. I m fit, I m ha…
Martin Odegaard was always fighting a lost battle with comparisons to Lionel Messi but has the characteristics needed to flourish at Arsenal, says Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners completed a deal to take Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season on Wednesday, handing the attacking midfielder the number 11 shirt that was worn by Mesut Ozil when he joined the club.
Odegaard was signed by Los Blancos from Stromsgodset as a prodigious teenager and has had loan spells in the Eredivisie with Heerenveen and Vitesse before impressing in a temporary stint with Real Sociedad last term.
Madrid opted to recall him for the 2020-21 campaign, though the 22-year-old struggled to nail down a regular spot in Zinedine Zidane s team.
Arteta i…
Mark Hughes wants Brazilian star Robinho to prove his worth by inspiring Manchester City s bid for European football.
Robinho, City s record 32 million pounds buy, ended his goal drought stretching back to December 28 in Sunday s 4-2 victory against West Brom.
The former Real Madrid star has struggled during the second half of the season and was dropped by Hughes for City s previous league game against Fulham.
But he remains City s most talented player and Hughes hopes he can recapture his early-season form to lift the Blues to a top-seven finish.
Hughes said: We are pleased Robby is back on the goal trail. It is his first in 2009 and important for him.
As he has not been scoring, people have been highlighting that fact. But hopefully he will no…
AFC Ajax Amsterdam ace Christian Eriksen has confirmed there have been transfer talks between the Dutch Eredivisie champions and UEFA Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund ahead of the summer transfer window, .
Eriksen, 21, is one of the most in-demand players in Europe at the moment, with BVB and Liverpool reportedly leading the race for the Denmark international.
The 21-year-old, whose current contract at the Amsterdam Arena expires at the end of next season, is poised to leave Ajax after rejecting a contract extension from the club earlier this season.
A move to Dortmund would see Eriksen replace Mario Gotze, who is set to join Bayern Munich on 1 July 2013 for a transfer fee of €37 million, in the No. 10 role at Signal Iduna Park.
…
Radja Nainggolan s sale to Inter was a shared choice according to Roma head coach Eusebio Di Francesco, who expects more signings at Stadio Olimpico before the start of the new season.
Roma sporting director Monchi was the target of supporters ire after the Belgian favourite departed the club to join their Serie A rivals, with Davide Santon and Nicolo Zaniolo moving in the opposite direction as part of the deal.
But Di Francesco insists the decision to let Nainggolan go was not made above his head.
A shared choice was made, Di Francesco told Il Centro.
I have a very good relationship with Radja and we spoke recently. On a personal level I wish him all the best.
As for the transfer campaign, it s not yet finished, although our sporting director Monchi has got on with his work. He mo…
Another two for Barca’s big money buy.
La Liga
Barcelona moved three points clear of Real Madrid who are themselves three points clear of Sevilla.
Real Zaragoza are not a bad side and they will have gone to the Camp Nou knowing that Barcelona have had a couple of poor performances. Any hope they had was blown away by half-time when Barcelona took a 3-0 lead. They went on to win 6-1 with Keita getting a hat-trick, Ibrahimovic bagging a pair and Messi chipping in with a goal as well.
Sporting Gijon have had a decent start to the season and they are proving difficult to beat at home. Real Madrid couldn’t manage it as they were held to a goalless draw.
Sevilla also only managed a 0-0 draw as they were held at home by Espanyol. This was even…
Liverpool have tied full-back Joe Gomez down to a new long-term contract.
The 19-year-old arrived from Charlton Athletic in June 2015 and has made nine appearances for the club, two of which came this season following a 15-month spell on the sidelines through injury.
It was a very easy decision, he told the club s official website. It is a great club and when it was mentioned about me extending my time here, it s not something I had to think very long about.
I m very happy it s done now and I ll just look to push on.
It s massive. It means a lot to me – it s a massive gesture from the club to show that trust and faith in me.
That s why it was so important I did the same and did it so quickly, because I m very happy here.
I ve loved …
City won 3-0 at Everton before the Gunners’ clash with Brighton and despite a strong first-half showing, Mikel Arteta’s side folded with the Seagulls going in front in the 51st minute through Enciso before they picked off the hosts with late goals from Undav and Estupinan.
Asked if mentality was an issue, Odegaard insisted: “No, I don’t think so.
“I felt like we were good going into the game but yeah, in the game, it was a different story.
“We have to accept that and learn from it.
“In the first half we did a lot of good things and we had some moments where we could create some big chances and maybe score a goal or two.
“Then in the second half we gave them more and more momentum. They are dangerous when they go direct and especial…