Sports

Juan Pablo Aravena

A freelance writer and sports analyst with almost five years of experience in the industry before joining SoccerNews, Juan Pablo Aravena is based in Chile and currently contributes to several publications and websites including SoccerNews, 12up, and Sports From The Basement, while also working as a fantasy beat writer for RotoWire, as a database editor for EA Sports, and as a football analyst for SmartOdds and InsideFutbol. His areas of focus are Serie A, Bundesliga, Premier League, LaLiga, and Ligue 1, but he has also written about MLS and South American football in the past.

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Once a headache for the local organising committee, the 10 South African stadiums for the 2010 World Cup are now pride and joy as they are set to be ready on time for the football extravaganza.

Stadium construction faced many challenges, including strikes in July when more than 70,000 workers asked for salary hikes, countrywide blackouts in January 2008 that crippled the economy, budget deficits and sometimes unpredictable weather.

It has been a roller-coaster ride. Sometimes we were happy and most times saddened by the criticism and the pessimism but we always knew we would be ready on time, local organising committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo told AFP.

Mkhondo said five new and five renovated stadiums were now more than 95 percent complete and the final touches …

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has said he is honoured to have written his name in football history after being awarded the Yachine Trophy at the 2019 Ballon d Or ceremony in Paris.

The Brazil international capped a memorable year for club and country by becoming the first person to win the accolade, given to the best keeper in the world over the past 12 months.

He won the Champions League with Liverpool in June and the Copa America with Brazil the following month, while also claiming the Golden Glove in the Premier League last season with 21 clean sheets.

Having seen off competition from Barcelona s Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ederson of Manchester City to come out on top, Alisson was quick to thank his team-mates for their help.

It was a year to remember fo…

The Transfer Deadline Day is finally upon us. Some teams were able to strengthen their squads yesterday and some were not. For the latter, there is only one more day to add players before the January transfer window opens. Let s take a took at the latest rumours and speculation.

Manchester City

In a shock move, Manchester City are reportedly set to sign former Manchester United and Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves. Hargreaves reportedly had a medical on Tuesday. This is a rather peculiar signing, especially because City are already loaded with a good number of midfield players. But then again, Hargreaves may just be an upgrade from Gareth Barry. Is he not?

Stoke City

According to Sky Sports, Stoke City have agreed to terms…

The Tennessee Titans are 8-4 on the season and sit atop the AFC South. But the Titans sure don’t look like a first-place team at the moment. They are battered, are having trouble scoring, and have lost two in a row.

So, you could certainly say the Titans are in desperate need of a “get-right” game — Jacksonville Jaguars come on down! If there is a team that is more of a mess right now than the Titans, it’s the Jags.

But which shaky team will cover the 8.5-point spread? Find out in our free NFL picks and predictions for Jaguars vs. Titans on Sunday, December 12.

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While Week 7 doesn’t have the heavyweight fight like last week at Arrowhead, there are still plenty of juicy player props to comb through and find good NFL betting value.

Ahead of kickoff, I’m taking a look at a tight end in an excellent matchup (and a little revenge spot) plus a middling tailback set to benefit from Washington’s outright incompetence.

Check out my favorite NFL prop picks for Week 7 from around the league. 

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Joe Burrow’s wrist injury seemed like the end of the road for Cincinnati Bengals player props this year, but some dynamic offensive performances in December have put Ja’Marr Chase & Co. back on the NFL props radar.

With Jake Browning growing into the starting role and the Cincinnati playmakers stepping up, the Bengals enter Saturday’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in the thick of the AFC playoff picture, even if the latest NFL odds still view them as a longer shot.

Whether or not they reach the postseason may come down to what Chase does over the next four games. While the hosts have scored 34 points in back-to-back games in part because of a well-balanced passing game, he’s the man who can take this offense to another level…

The Atlanta Falcons have made a few splashy moves in recent days, but can they overcome a Baltimore Ravens team that’s been historically impressive during exhibition matchups?

Even without Lamar Jackson, our Falcons vs. Ravens predictions see the home side being too strong for the Falcons. Don’t miss our NFL picks for today’s preseason action.

Falcons vs Ravens prediction

My best betRavens -1 (-110 at bet365)

My analysisThe Baltimore Ravens have been inexplicably good during the preseason under John Harbaugh. Since he took over as head coach in 2008, Baltimore has won 74.6% of its preseason games.

However, they’ve dropped three straight preseason games dating back to last season and while they aren’t…

Throughout her long and occasionally controversial career with the United States women s soccer team, Hope Solo has developed a reputation for not holding back with her opinions.

Whether discussing coaching decisions or Zika, sharing her forthright views has often put Solo in the crosshairs of public opinion, and she added another talking point for her detractors on Friday after the USA suffered a shock loss to Sweden at Rio 2016.

In the aftermath of the defending champions quarter-final penalty shootout loss, Solo said she believed the best team had failed to win and that Sweden played like cowards .

We came back from a goal down. I m very proud of this team, she said. But I also think we played a bunch of cowards. The best team did not win today. I strongly…

The Uefa European Championships are underway at last and the first two games have been and gone. All in all it wasn’t a bad start to a tournament and the quality on show pointed towards the likelihood of Euro 2008 being an exciting and entertaining competition.

After a particularly dull but mercifully short opening ceremony the host nation Switzerland opened the tournament with a tough test against those perennial ‘outside bets’ the Czech Republic.

The first half wasn’t great as neither side took control of the game but the best chances fell to the Swiss. Chelsea keeper Petr Cech needed to be alert on more than one occasion to foil the Swiss captain Alexander Frei, who was looking lively.

However,…