Domestic cup competitions always bring about fascinatingly unique matchups. We'll see another one of these once-in-a-great-while novelty clashes on Wednesday night, when Real Madrid, arguably the world's richest and most powerful club, visits CF Talavera, who were founded in 2011. They are back promoted to Tercera Division, the third tier of the Spanish football pyramid, for … [Read more...] about Real Madrid Predicted Starting XI at CF Talavera
Real Madrid Team News at Talavera: Endrick, Fran Garcia, Alvaro Carreras
Real Madrid, victorious 2-1 in La Liga at Alaves yesterday, now shift their focus to the Copa del Rey in midweek. They'll meet Talavera, a third tier side, in the competition on Wednesday night. Expect under fire manager Xabi Alonso to make several changes from that lineup for his team sheet for this one, as Endrick, Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras are now all available for … [Read more...] about Real Madrid Team News at Talavera: Endrick, Fran Garcia, Alvaro Carreras
Newcastle United vs Fulham FC Predicted Starting XIs
Up next for the holders, Newcastle United, in their League Cup title defense is the quarterfinal round (yes, we're already there). Awaiting Eddie Howe and his men is a visit from southwest London club Fulham FC. This is a massive match, for both sides. Newcastle are 12th in both the Premier League and the Champions League tables. Fulham are 14th in the league and not … [Read more...] about Newcastle United vs Fulham FC Predicted Starting XIs
Newcastle vs Fulham Team News: Dan Burn, Ryan Sessegnon, Jonah Kusi-Asare
Newcastle United have a fresh injury concern in defender Dan Burn, who suffered a problem/issue with his ribs over the weekend. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said the following yesterday: "Dan has gone to hospital for a check of his ribs, so hopefully he will be OK." We'll keep an eye on that, but for now, you can rule Dan Burn out of the EFL Cup quarterfinal against Fulham on … [Read more...] about Newcastle vs Fulham Team News: Dan Burn, Ryan Sessegnon, Jonah Kusi-Asare
Manchester City Predicted Starting XI vs Brentford FC
Tijjani Reijnders came in for Jeremy Doku after he suffered a lower leg injury last week. With that in mind, we think he'll keep his spot in the first team for the League Cup quarterfinal vs Brentford FC. Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri will soon leave for AFCON, but before they do, they're both supposed to be available in midweek here. It remains to be seen if manager Pep … [Read more...] about Manchester City Predicted Starting XI vs Brentford FC
Man City Team News vs Brentford: Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rodri
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has a slew of unavailability concerns heading into his side's Wednesday night EFL Cup quarterfinal versus Brentford. Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri will soon depart for the Africa Cup of Nations, and after this game, will not be back until mid-January, at the earliest. Given that situation, and their lack of playing time recently, … [Read more...] about Man City Team News vs Brentford: Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rodri
Why the Illini Will Stay Overly Reliant on Three-Point Shooting
The cliche "live and die by the three" is just as apt this season as it was last year for the Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team. Win or lose, the Illini will be chucking up threes with regularity. When the three-pointers are dropping, Illinois fans are happy. When they're missing, the fans will inevitably ask "what are you doing?" And "why do you take so many threes?" … [Read more...] about Why the Illini Will Stay Overly Reliant on Three-Point Shooting
RG3 Calls Out CFP for SEC Bias with Alabama Selection
Kudos to Robert Griffin III, RG III, or RG3, for saying what we're all thinking. The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, who played eight seasons in the NFL with three different teams, is now with FOX Sports, where he is one astute announcer. While calling a game, RG3 even referred to the execution of a fake punt as "a dimepiece." Griffin also called out the College Football Playoff … [Read more...] about RG3 Calls Out CFP for SEC Bias with Alabama Selection
50 Egregious National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Plot Holes
The tradition continues! Today we take on the yuletide cinema classic from 1991, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." It's a film set in Chicagoland over the course of about two weeks in December. At previous Christmas times we vivisected the Christmas Eve bowl game being played by USC and Notre Dame in "Die Hard." and looked at how the movie's "Christmas movie" … [Read more...] about 50 Egregious National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Plot Holes
Barcelona Team News at Guadalajara: Robert Lewandowski, Wojciech Szczesny
The Copa Del Rey continues on this week, with resumption of action in the round of 32. When it comes to FC Barcelona, they head to Guadalajara to take on a lower division side, in what should be not exactly the most difficult match on the schedule. Barcelona have two breaking team news items for this match, pertaining to Polish internationals Robert Lewandowski and Wojciech … [Read more...] about Barcelona Team News at Guadalajara: Robert Lewandowski, Wojciech Szczesny