Lazio rather unexpectedly beat Bayern Munich in the first leg of their encounter in the Champions League round of 16 at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, and will have a minimal advantage to take to the rematch at the Allianz Arena on March 5th. The only goal of the game was a penalty converted by Ciro Immobile in the 69th minute, after Dayot Upamecano committed a foul on Gustav Isaksen that resulted in a straight red card for the Bayern defender as well.

The game

Bayern were considered as the favourites to win this game, with their superior quality and track record at this stage of the Champions League. Therefore, it s not surprising that they dominated most of the contest, ending up with 61% of possession and a total of 17 shots, while Lazio had 11. However, not one of those…

Best odds: 23/10

Bookmaker:

Real Sociedad will host Atletico Madrid at Estadio Anoeta on Saturday afternoon for a final-day La Liga match with no stakes involved.

With neither side able to change their league position, La Real aim to avenge their 2-1 loss to Los Colchoneros in the reverse fixture at the Wanda Metropolitano back in October last year, while Atletico seek merely to maintain a their fine record away to Sociedad.

Real Sociedad

After securing a top-four finish and qualifying for the Champions League last season for the first time in a decade, Real Sociedad will have to come to terms with finishing in sixth place in La Liga this term and will subsequently play Europa League football in 2024/25.

The San Sebastian-based outfit have won 1…

Luuk de Jong will play no further part in Euro 2020 after the Netherlands striker was ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a knee injury.

The Sevilla forward was hurt in training earlier this week following a challenge with Cody Gakpo and Oranje boss Frank de Boer will no longer be able to call on his services.

A statement from the Dutch FA read: Luuk de Jong is forced to leave the training camp of the Dutch national team. 

The Sevilla striker injured the inner tube of the knee during training on Tuesday. As a result, the 38-time international can no longer play for the Orange this European Championship.

De Jong had only played a bit part thus far for the Dutch, playing 10 minutes as a substitute over the course of the opening two matches again…

(GSM) Andres Iniesta has extended his contract with Barcelona until 2015. If any other club wants to take him away before that date, they will have to pay a € 200 million clause.

Iniesta is a product of Barca s youth academy and has never played for another club. The 25-year-old Spain international has already played 190 matches for the Catalans, in which he scored sixteen goals.

Iniesta s contract extension comes after many other players including Victor Valdés, Carles Puyol, Xavi and recently Eric Abidal have seen their contracts revised. Barcelona is expected to open talks over a contract extension with Gerard Pique and Rafael Marquez in the near future.

…

Nathan Ake says the Netherlands are very close to achieveing their dream ahead of their Euro 2024 semi-final with England.

The Netherlands had to come from behind to beat Turkiye 2-1 on Saturday night thanks to a header from Stefan de Vrij and Mert Muldur s own goal in Berlin.

That triumph set up a semi-final clash with England in Dortmund next Wednesday.

And Ake is relishing the opportunity of facing several of his Manchester City team-mates, saying the Oranje are within touching distance of securing a first major international honour since 1988.

I’m looking forward to it. There’s a lot of players I know from the Premier League, said Ake.

We know their individual qualities and it’s a semi-final so it will be tough. We’re building mom…

Abby Wambach, the most prolific player in women s international football history, has announced she will retire at the end of 2015. 

The 35-year-old striker will bring the curtain down on her extraordinary career in December, having scored a record 184 goals in 252 appearances for United States.

Wambach, part of the side that won the 2015 World Cup, confirmed in a statement on Tuesday: After much deliberation and talking with my friends, family, team-mates and our coaching staff, I ve decided to finally bring my soccer career to an end. 

While we still have more work to do for women s soccer, after bringing the World Cup back to the United States this summer, I m feeling extremely optimistic about the future of our sport. It s been an amazing, wonderful ride a…

Brazil have won the Futsal World Cup for the fourth time in history, beating defending champions Spain on penalties.

No goals were scored in the first half at Rio de Janeiro s Maracanazinho stadium, located right next to the world famous Maracaná.

But the hosts took the lead in the fifth minute of the second half through Marquinho, although Spain soon equalised through Torras.

A powerful strike from Vinicius restored Brazil s advantage in the 37th minute but Alvaro took advantage of some defensive chaos and netted for 2-2 with 92 seconds to go.

Extra time went by without goals and penalties had to decide which side was to win this year s trophy. Both teams scored their first two penalties but Torras had Spain s third saved by goalkeeper …

Both the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears will be on short weeks when the 4-10 Bears, fresh off a Monday night loss to the Vikings, make the trip to face the 5-9 Seahawks, who head home after dropping a crucial game in L.A. on Tuesday. 

Chicago is eliminated from playoff contention and headed toward another offseason of change, while a similar situation appears to be on the horizon for Sunday’s hosts. 

Here are our free NFL picks and predictions for Bears vs. Seahawks, with kickoff on December 26. 

…

The Thanksgiving hangover is done, and it’s time to get serious with Sunday’s NFL player props.

The props are trickling in, but I’ve found a couple I’m more than happy to add to the card for Week 12. I’m hitting the Over on the most efficient quarterback facing the least efficient defense and betting on a high reception total that checks all the boxes.

…

Sunday’s meeting between the Washington Commanders and New York Jets at the Meadowlands will pit the league’s worst offense, the Jets — who sit as a 3-point favorite in NFL odds — vs. the league’s worst defense in the Commanders. 

With Sam Howell getting the nod to start, should bettors be looking to fade his passing total in a game where that the QB doesn’t play four quarters after Jacoby Brissett’s performance in Week 15?

I break down the Week 16 odds and offer my free NFL picks for Commanders vs. Jets on Sunday, December 24. 

Commanders vs Jets odds

Commanders vs Jets predictions

Following Washington Commanders QB Sam Howell’s 11-for-26 pe…