Author: Cody Aceveda

Premier League Matchday 7 features a full slate of matches, including Aston Villa vs. Manchester United, Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest, and Brighton vs. Tottenham. To help you get ready for all the action, here are our EPL predictions for these big matches. Aston Villa vs. Manchester United  After beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, Aston Villa are flying. Unai Emery has brought the club to a level many Villa fans probably thought they would never see again.  Things couldn’t be more different at Manchester United. The Red Devils were embarrassed by Tottenham last week. They are in 13th place and have won just one of their last five Premier League matches.  Despite this poor run, Erik ten Hag told Sky Sports that there’s nothing to worry about at Man Utd. I c...

After qualifying for the Europa League in the 2022/23 season, Brighton took a massive step back last season, finishing 11th in the league. The Seagulls have their eyes on qualifying for Europe again this season with new manager Fabian Hürzeler.  People have talked enough about Brighton’s 31-year-old manager; it’s time to look at the players who could take the club back to Europe this season. Here are the five Brighton players you need to know: RW Yankuba Minteh In typical Brighton fashion, the Seagulls may have pulled off the best signing of summer with their purchase of Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle for £30m.  The 20-year-old winger spent all of last season on loan with Arne Slot’s Feyenoord, where he had 10 goals and 5 assists in 27 league matches. He averaged 0.93 goal contribut...

Spain capped off the Euro 2024 tournament with a 2-1 win over England on Sunday. La Roja became the first team to ever win four Euros, while England became the first team to lose back-to-back European Championships.  Now that it’s all over, let’s look at the best players from Euro 2024. Here is our Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament. Defense GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia) As much as Georgia dazzled fans with their swashbuckling attacking play, their defense is why they made it to the Round of 16. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had an unbelievable 30 saves in just four matches. This was almost twice as many as the next-best player, Jordan Pickford.  Mamardashvili also allowed more goals than any keeper at the tournament, but it could have been much, much worse for Georgia withou...

England may be the favorites according to the Euro 2024 betting odds, but we all know France are the real main contenders. Les Bleus are two deep at almost every position.  That kind of depth plus genuine world class talent up front and a winning pedigree make France a team no one wants to play.  Here are the five best France national team players you should be watching at Euro 2024. 5. William Saliba Arsenal’s William Saliba was probably the best defender in Europe this season. The 23-year-old played every single minute for the Gunners in the Premier League this season.  He finished fifth in the league for touches and in the top ten for dribbler tackle percentage and pass completion percentage. Only three center backs in the Premier League completed more passes into the opposit...

England come into the 2024 UEFA European Championship as huge favorites to win it all. When you look at the talent available for the Three Lions, it’s no question why this is the case.  Here are the five best England national team players who will make the difference for England at Euro 2024. If England do finally get the job done and win a major international tournament, it will be because of these players.  5. Bukayo Saka Arsenal’s ‘Star Boy’ has gone from strength to strength since missing a key penalty in England’s loss in the Euro 2020 Final to Italy on penalties.  Saka has been instrumental to Arsenal’s improvement under Mikel Arteta. Without the tricky winger, the Gunners would not have finished second in the Premier League in the last two seasons.  The 22-year-old scored...

Spain are one of the biggest favorites heading into Euro 2024. Under manager Luis de la Fuente, La Roja have maintained the dominant possession style they used so well when Luis Enrique was still in charge.  However, this Spain team can play direct, attacking football when they need to. This makes them a much more versatile and dangerous side than the Spain we saw get knocked out by Morocco at the 2022 World Cup.  None of this matters if the players don’t perform well. Here are the best Spain players we’ll be watching at Euro 2024.  5. Álvaro Morata (FW, Atlético Madrid) Álvaro Morata has not had the best of seasons for Atlético Madrid this year. He scored 21 goals, but never truly looked like he deserved being the Colchoneros’ number one option up front. As a result he played jus...

Very few teams at Euro 2024 have more individual talent than Portugal. A Seleção famously lifted the 2016 European Championship trophy. Since then, they have made it to the Round of 16 or better of every tournament they’ve played in.  Here are the star players Portugal will be relying on this time around.  5. Cristiano Ronaldo (FW, Al Nassr) Love him or hate him, Ronaldo is still one of Portugal’s best players. Whether he’s the best fit for Roberto Martínez’s system is another question.  Ronaldo started just one of Portugal’s three pre-tournament friendlies. He scored two goals in his lone start against Ireland, playing as a part of a front two with AC Milan’s Rafael Leao.  The legendary striker also won the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot, scoring 35 goals in 31 matches.  He mi...

Brighton are known for having one of the best transfer strategies in the world. They’ve somehow managed to not just survive but thrive after selling their best players every summer. As we’ve seen this season though, it can't go on forever. The cracks started to show this season, and now, without Roberto De Zerbi, the Seagulls need to retool this summer.  Here are five players Brighton should sign in the 2024 summer transfer window.  Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, MF (Leicester City) Brighton transfer rumors are usually just that; rumors. In the case of Brighton’s interest in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, it was more than a rumor.  All of the club’s top reporters claim the Seagulls bid £30 million on the midfielder in January. Because Leicester City were in the middle of a promotion push, the ...

After months of speculation about his departure, it finally seemed like Roberto De Zerbi was going to stay at Brighton for another season. That all changed this weekend. “De Zerbi to leave Albion after Manchester United match,” the club said in a shocking statement on Saturday.  Now that we know that De Zerbi is leaving Brighton, all we can do is look forward. Here are three burning questions the club and Brighton fans should be asking right now.  Who will be the next Brighton manager? We’re not going to beat around the bush. The most important question for Brighton right now is who will be their manager next season.  Most reports say it will be current Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna. The former Manchester United assistant has guided the Tractor Boys to back-to-back promot...

Brighton announced ahead of their final match of the 2023/24 Premier League season against Manchester United that De Zerbi will be leaving the club this summer. While no one really knows why the Italian left the club, we do know that Brighton need a new manager.  Here are the top three options to replace Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton next season.  Francesco Farioli, Nice Nice manager Francesco Farioli looked set to take over at Ajax. Now, he could be going to Brighton. Reports from the South Coast claim Roberto De Zerbi hand-picked Farioli to take over for him at Brighton.  Farioli worked under De Zerbi at Benevento and Sassuolo between 2017 and 2020. His playing style at Nice is remarkably similar to De Zerbi’s, committed to building from the back and quick transitions.  If Brig...