Football

In 1999, Pep Guardiola turned to Xavi Hernández. “You will retire me, but there’s this kid who will retire us both,” he said, referring to Andrés Iniesta, who he’d just seen compete in the Nike Cup youth tournament. That was the way that baton was supposed to be passed. From Guardiola to Xavi to Iniesta. […]

As an individual moment, a snapshot, it was surely one of the best of Cristiano Ronaldo’s long and illustrious career. The way he watched the clipped pass from Leonardo Bonucci come over his shoulder, the way he struck the ball flush on the full volley, the velocity generated, and the stage – a Champions League […]

Premier League attention turns to Manchester this weekend, as City and United contest their first derby of the season. City remain unbeaten this season, of course, and United are fresh off that unlikely win in Turin on Wednesday night. Here’s the stats digest… • Kevin De Bruyne is Pep Guardiola’s only absentee. • Jose Mourinho […]

After getting another three points in the bag against Sheffield United last weekend, Nottingham Forest host Stoke City, at The City Ground, on Saturday Afternoon and having lost just one of their last eleven home Championship matches, Forest fans may well be entitled to believe there is some value in their price, provided by BetBright, […]

Despite its delight in the power of money, it’s hard to think of an industry that is frequently so disobedient to free market discipline as football. For a start, profit is only a secondary motive. Most of the clubs at the top of the game would leave accountants unimpressed by their profits and or their […]

Felipe Anderson’s career so far has been much like his dribbling style – nobody really knows what he’s going to do next. He is still only 25 years old, which doesn’t feel right when considering how many ups and downs his path has incorporated. At times he has appeared an outstanding prospect, wanted by the […]

After retaining the League Cup and winning their Champions League quarter-final against Grasshopper Club Zurich, the goals which had largely eluded Nottingham Forest in the 1978-79 came in a glut. Going into their semi-final clash with FC Cologne, Forest had netted 19 times in a run of five league wins out of six. Trevor Francis […]

For the third year running, the spending of Premier League clubs exceeded £1billion in the summer transfer window. After 11 games, it will surprise few that two of the biggest culprits, Liverpool and Chelsea, sit comfortably inside the top three. They forked out a combined £306million. The correlation between spending and early-season success is not […]

Welcome to the BetBright STATZONE, where we give you the stats and you make the decisions! Can you believe it’s ‘WEEK TWELEVE’ in the Premier League? We’ve another full set of fixtures to take in that are spread over Saturday and Sunday this weekend and we get going with Cardiff vs Brighton in the Saturday […]

Sometimes, football makes fools of us all. After 26 minutes at Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers had been comfortably the better side. After 30, they were two goals down to Tottenham. There wasn’t a person in the ground who saw that scoreline in the game’s future. Spurs had struggled. Mousa Dembele had limped off in the opening […]

UEFA Champions League preview – Group C: Red Star Belgrade vs Liverpool – November 6, 2018 – Rajko Mitic Stadium – 17:55 hrs BST Red Star Belgrade vs Liverpool Tips: Red Star Belgrade 1-1 Liverpool 14/1  Red Star Belgrade 1-2 Liverpool 7/1 Bookmaker odds correct as of 05/11/2018 and subject to change. After a satisfying showing […]

When Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus in the summer, it sparked a knock-on effect that would have repercussions for the race to finish top scorer by the end of the 2018/19 campaign. His arrival in Turin allowed Gonzalo Higuain to join AC Milan, a move that would never have happened if it wasn’t for the desire […]

Never before has a flight from Egypt to Madrid take so long. It was widely reported that Antonio Conte would make that trip on Sunday evening in anticipation of Julen Lopetegui’s sacking as Real Madrid manager the next morning. Of course, that materialised, with Lopetegui dismissed after just 139 days and 14 games in charge, […]

Gary Neville is owed a debt of gratitude from nearly every sports news outlet in the country. Following his spiel on Monday Night Football, in which he made several close-to-the-bone remarks about Tottenham’s footballing culture over the years, Neville drew plenty of anger. The froth and counter-froth seems to have sustained an entire industry for […]

Saturday evening, and a real test of Liverpool’s credentials. There’s a sense that nobody quite knows how good Arsenal are, but they’re still unbeaten since August and Unai Emery has certainly altered the mood around the Emirates. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette will certainly provide a challenge to Jurgen Klopp’s defence and in Mesut Ozil, […]