As we prepare to usher in a new year, 2017 saw the retirement of some football royalty.
AC Milan hero Kaka, charismatic World Cup-winning magician Andrea Pirlo and Roma icon Francesco Totti all hung up their boots.
Bayern Munich champion Philipp Lahm, team-mate Xabi Alonso and Chelsea favourite Frank Lampard also followed the trio into life after football.
We look back at the stars who brought down the curtain on their illustrious careers over the past 12 months.
KAKA
The Ballon d Or, World Cup, Champions League, Serie A, LaLiga, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Copa Del Rey and Supercoppa Italiana Kaka won it all. The 35-year-old announced his retirement from professional football in December following the expiry of his contract at MLS …
Defending champions Bayern Munich face strugglers Stuttgart on Saturday hoping to end their 2010 Bundesliga campaign on a high, but with one eye on next year as Arjen Robben returns to training.
Bayern are sixth in the table and lag 17 points behind leaders Dortmund, but are set to welcome back injured stars Robben, Germany veteran Miroslav Klose and striker Ivica Olic after the Christmas break.
The Bundesliga finishes for the year on Sunday evening with Bayern s game and coach Louis van Gaal wants three points from Stuttgart to close the gap.
The champions are expected to launch a title surge next season, especially with chief playmaker Robben due back in January.
The flying Dutchman has been out since July s World Cup with a torn hamstring, but resumed…
Kyle Walker is eyeing European Championship qualification and “a little bit of payback” when England host Italy.
Tuesday’s sold-out qualifier will be the first time these sides have met at Wembley since the Azzurri pipped Gareth Southgate’s men on penalties in the Euro 2020 final.
The nations have met in Wolverhampton, Milan and Naples in the intervening 27 months but their reunion under the arch naturally brings memories flooding back from England’s agonising near-miss.
Walker admits the chance to put that ghost to bed adds a little extra, but the main focus is getting the point they need to seal Euro 2024 qualification with two games to spare.
Next:
…
The Green Bay Packers come to the Golden State to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football in Week 3, playing on a short turnaround after a win over Detroit on Monday.
San Francisco is home after opening the schedule with two straight away games, winning at Detroit and Philadelphia. The NFL betting odds are giving the visiting Packers 3.5 points in the Bay Area, with books still not certain of the validity of the Cheeseheads, who were rolled by New Orleans in Week 1.
Here are our free NFL picks and predictions for Packers at 49ers on September 26.
…
Super Bowl is one of the rare times on the sports calendar that everyone – gambler or not – knows the point spread.
Big Game betting has massive mainstream appeal, as stories flood the news wires about the Super Bowl odds and who bookies think will win it all—or at least cover the spread. But in that fleeting moment of understanding also comes plenty of misunderstanding.
Even seasoned Vegas veterans may not know these five facts about Super Bowl betting:
…
The G-Men upset Minnesota last week on the back (and arm, and legs) of Daniel Jones, but Philly presents a big challenge to New York’s QB… and those wanting to bet on him.
Ever the optimist, I’m going to instead focus on someone that should find success on Saturday and take a more positive approach with Saquon Barkley props.
The Giants’ star RB hasn’t had a massive workload down the stretch of the season, but going against a vaunted Eagles offense — which both the writers for our Giants-Eagles betting preview and Giants/Eagles prop picks think will shine — Barkley is going to need to be as involved as possible.
Here is my best free NFL pick for Saquon on Saturday… along with a Barkley-based same-game parlay.
…
I’ve been lucky enough to win plenty of bets in my life and also unlucky enough to lose plenty. Most losses can simply be chalked up to being a realistic bettor who knows you won’t win every time. These ones can just roll right off your shoulders, as long as they’re not piling up.
The most excruciating type of loss for me personally, aside from those rare one-in-a-thousand bad beats, is when I tease an NFL odds favorite down inside of three points, and it goes on to lose outright after dominating the majority of the game. This was the case last week with the Philadelphia Eagles, who were leading from the 3:04 mark in the first quarter all the way to the fourth with 1:46 left on the clock.
It was a true stinger, especially since it was a case …
Finding the best value on NFL odds has become just a little bit easier, as most sportsbooks routinely offer odds boosts and sportsbooks promos on select betting markets.
These promotions are specially curated offers, which range from sportsbook to sportsbook, that can offer users enhanced prices on NFL player props, sides, totals, and NFL futures, popular parlays, or entice users a create an account at a new sportsbook.
Sometimes you get a 25% better value on a superstar to score a touchdown, or a chance to get more value on your favorite bet of the week — regardless of the offer, these promotions frequently provide bettors with a chance to extra value for their NFL Week 18 predictions.
However, these betting boosts are often time-sensitive,…
As a sports bettor, it can be hard to wrap your head around betting on a team coming off a loss or even one coming one where they got completely obliterated.
However, any seasoned betting veteran will tell you situations where a team is coming off a performance where they were far from their best is often the right time to pounce… unless we’re talking about the Carolina Panthers.
Off-a-loss trends are one of my favorite situations to track in leagues like the NFL and NBA, as some teams become absolute monsters in this spot. It just so has it we have a few on display here in Week 3.
I’ll break down these specific trend spots, along with NFL betting trends for each game on the slate to help get you prepared. Best of luck with all your bets!
…