49ers vs Rams NFC Championship Picks and Predictions: Surefooted as a Mountain Goat

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool cannot hope to retain their Premier League crown after a late collapse condemned them to a 3-1 defeat at Leicester City.  

Mohamed Salah opened the scoring at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, but the Reds conceded three times in the space of seven crazy minutes. 

The result means Liverpool have lost three in a row in the league for the first time since November 2014 – when current Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was in charge –and face a real fight to finish in the top four.  

Klopp was not happy with the VAR decision to award the home side’s equaliser, with the direct free-kick from James Maddison initially ruled out for offside, as he acknowledged any title challenge is now over. 

I don t think…

Prediction: Both Teams to Score and Dortmund to Win

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A monumental battle in the fight for the Bundesliga crown is in the offing on Tuesday evening as Der Klassiker takes place at the Signal Iduna Park.

Dortmund host their great rivals Bayern Munich in what looks like a key clash in the title race following the resumption of the league.

Borussia Dortmund

Despite the coronavirus pandemic pausing German football for a few months, Lucien Favre s Dortmund have picked up exactly where they left off in their last two matches. They at first secured a big 4-0 victory against rivals Schalke 04 before following that up with a 2-0 success against Wolfsburg. That means that they have won their last six matches in the league, securing clean …

Best Odds: 5/4

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Looking to open the New Year with another Serie A statement, Fiorentina will travel to the Mapei Stadium when they meet Sassuolo on Saturday night.

Sassuolo

Starting with the hosts, crashing out of the Coppa Italia earlier in the week thanks to a routine 3-1 loss at the hands of Atalanta, it is no secret that Sassuolo find themselves at the heart of a major domestic struggle. Although Alessio Dionisi’s men might have eventually cruised their way to Serie A safety last season, the Neroverdi are looking over their shoulder at a looming relegation scarp and they have continued to come under some mounting scrutiny. Signing off 2023 with a toothless performance as they suffered a 1-0 loss away at AC Milan, Sassuolo have collected just a s…

Alvaro Morata may not have been prolific in terms of goals at Euro 2020 but his selfless work for the team is vital for Spain, according to Gaizka Mendieta.

Striker Morata has scored twice to help Luis Enrique s side reach the semi-finals of the tournament, though his failure to capitalise on the opportunities that have come his way has led to criticism.

Indeed, the 28-year-old has been booed by his own fans both before and during the European Championship, while his family have been targeted for abuse too.

Yet former Spain international Mendieta feels Morata s team-mates appreciate all he does for the cause, even if his finishing has let him down at times. From 15 attempts, he has a shot conversion rate of 13.33 per cent.

An expected goals total of 3…

Danny Rose would love the opportunity to play in front of Tottenham s fans one more time and would happily see out the remainder of his contract in north London.

England left-back Rose spent the second half of the 2019-20 Premier League season on loan at Newcastle United after falling out of favour when Jose Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino as head coach last November.

The 30-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live he felt he wasn t given as much of a chance as everybody else in the backline by Mourinho.

Rose is contracted to Spurs until June 2021 and he told The Second Captains podcast he has not entirely given up hope of resurrecting his career at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

I m very happy to stay at Tottenham and see my last 10, 11 months out. I d love…

Missing out on the chance to widen their buffer at the top of the Serie A table, Juventus were forced to settle for a disappointing 1-1 stalemate at home against Empoli on Saturday evening.

Although the Old Lady might have been in complete control throughout the early stages, Massimiliano Allegri s men were handed a real blow as Arkadiusz Milik was handed a straight red card following a dangerous tackle after 18 minutes.

Nevertheless, not unsettled by their one-man disadvantage, the red-hot Dusan Vlahovic notched his 12th Serie A strike of the season just five minutes after returning from the interval as Juventus appeared firmly on course for a valuable three points.

However, although Saturday’s hosts might have extended their unbeaten run to 19 appearances on…

Cristiano Ronaldo lauded Manchester United s never-say-die attitude after netting a late winner in a come-from-behind 3-2 Champions League win over Atalanta on Wednesday.

United trailed 2-0 at half-time after strikes from Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral in their Group F clash at Old Trafford before a stirring second-half comeback was capped by Ronaldo s 81st-minute winner.

It was the third time the Red Devils had won a Champions League game from two or more goals down, the equal most of any club in competition history alongside Arsenal.

Yes! The Theatre Of Dreams is on fire! We are alive!, Ronaldo wrote via his social media channels. We are Man. United and we never give up! This is Old Trafford!

Ronaldo s winner, which came after goals from Marcus Rashf…

Jordan Henderson has questioned the harsh penalty call that went against Liverpool in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City and says his side have to be happy with a point.

City were awarded a penalty after Kevin De Bruyne s cross hit Joe Gomez on the arm, with referee Craig Pawson pointing to the spot after a lengthy wait that involved him checking the pitchside monitor.

However, De Bruyne was unable to convert from 12 yards the first time a player has missed the target entirely from the spot in a Premier League game since City s Riyad Mahrez against Liverpool in October 2018.

It was the second controversial penalty call of the day after Max Kilman was penalised for handling Dennis Praet s cross in Leicester City s 1-0 win over Wolves.

And while Henderson …

Hansi Flick heaped praise on Barcelona s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal after he scored a double to help the LaLiga leaders earn a 4-1 victory at Girona on Sunday.

Yamal, who grabbed the spotlight as he helped Spain win their fourth European Championship title in July, scored twice in seven first-half minutes to put them in control.

Dani Olmo and Pedri then secured the win before Cristhian Stuani s consolation and Ferran Torres late sending-off for a reckless challenge.

Barcelona maintained their unbeaten start to the season, getting their fifth consecutive win at the start of Flick s tenure.

I m very happy about Lamine s two goals, he s very young, but he s really incredible, a difference maker at such a young age, Flick told Movistar Plus.

Hav…

Unai Emery has blamed bad decisions made by the club for his Arsenal exit and confirmed he favoured a move for Wilfried Zaha over Nicolas Pepe in his final season.

The 49-year-old spent 18 months in charge at Emirates Stadium before being sacked in November 2019 and subsequently replaced by Mikel Arteta.

He guided Arsenal to the Europa League final and a fifth-place finish in the Premier League in what proved to be his only full season in charge.

Arsenal spent a club-record £72million to bring in Pepe from Lille ahead of 2019-20, but Emery felt the Gunners should have instead moved for fellow Ivory Coast international Zaha.

I usually want to sign first the players I know, he told Football.London. When we played against Crystal Palace, Zaha showed he was…