Competition: La Liga
Market: Atletico Madrid to beat Getafe
Odds:
Spain’s top league continues this weekend with yet more games that will be full of excitement and intrigue. The league table has seen a lot of movement in recent weeks, but Barcelona remain at the top as they continue to tighten their hold on the La Liga trophy. Every side in the top half is desperate to chase them down, and Atletico Madrid are no different, and they host Getafe on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid have been in very good form this season and they are Barcelona’s biggest challengers. After 17 games they have won 10 times, drawn six and lost just once, while they have scored 25 goals and conceded just eight times. All of this has resulted in the side picking up an impr…
Jurgen Klopp was a relieved man after watching Borussia Dortmund defeat Hoffenheim 1-0 in the Bundesliga on Friday.
Dortmund came into the game at Signal Iduna Park sitting at the foot of the table, following a run of just one win in their past 10 league outings.
But last season s runners-up secured a much-needed victory, Ilkay Gundogan s first goal for the club since July 2013 lifting Dortmund out of the relegation zone and up to 14th place.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang was unfortunate to see two goals ruled out for offside in the second half one a clear mistake from the officials and the other a very tight call.
There was one late scare when Dortmund survived vociferous appeals for a penalty after Neven Subotic tangled with Tarik Elyounoussi in the are…
Spain suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to a stoic Georgia in their final pre-Euro 2016 friendly at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Tuesday.
Confidence would have been high following comfortable wins over Bosnia-Herzegovina and South Korea in Spain s two prior warm-up fixtures, but Tornike Okriashvili consigned them to an unlikely defeat.
Aritz Aduriz failed to stake his claim for a starting spot in France, turning in a disappointing display in response to Alvaro Morata s double against Korea.
Thiago Alcantara rattled the post shortly before the half-hour mark, but Spain found themselves behind when Okriashvili punished some slack defending to tap beyond David de Gea, picked ahead of Iker Casillas with Vicente del Bosque s first-choice goalkeeper still unclear.
Barcelona on Wednesday dismissed a FIFA statement calling on clubs to release players under 23 for the Olympics, saying it will not reverse its decision to prevent Argentine striker Lionel Messi from competing in the Games.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter earlier on Wednesday sent a letter to member associations reminding them they must release players aged under 23 for the Olympic tournament, a statement by football s governing body said.
This statement changes nothing and Barca will retain the 21-year-old Messi in the squad for the preliminary round of the Champions League next month, a club spokesman told AFP.
He said Barca is still waiting for a decision by FIFA on the specific case of Messi.
Messi has repeatedly expressed his desire to help Argentin…