Mark Andrews Odds and AFC Championship Props: Missing the Mark

Prediction: Juventus to win 2-1

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Juventus and Empoli will face each other in Serie A this week. The match between La Vecchia Signora and Gli Azzurri will be held at Juventus Stadium and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Friday.

Juventus

Juventus struggled last season and almost did not finish in the top four of the Serie A table. In the end, Massimiliano Allegri’s side finished fourth in the standings with 70 points from 38 matches, nine points behind third-placed Napoli and six points ahead of Lazio, who ended up fifth.

Many would have expected Juventus to fare better this season, but things appear to have got worse. The former Italian champions are eighth in the Serie A table at the moment with 16 points …

Tyson Fury is considering becoming the new owner of Morecambe to throw millions at the League One club.

The WBC world heavyweight champion already has his ‘Gypsy King’ brand embroidered on the Shrimps shorts.

After it was announced Fury will face Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a trilogy fight on December 3, the unbeaten 34-year-old revealed he is mulling over a takeover of the club in the seaside town where he lives.

He told talkSPORT on Thursday: Quick question, I m thinking about buying Morecambe Football Club, they re in League One at the moment.

So I was thinking I invest X amount of millions in them.

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan replied: By invest you mean throw it at them, invest is the wrong term.

F…

Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas said winning the UEFA Champions League tops any World Cup success with Spain.

Casillas, who won the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, was very nearly Real s villain in Lisbon, as he conceded the game s first goal to Diego Godin in the first half of the European final.

The 33-year-old came to collect a loose ball, however he was lobbed by Godin s header and despite his desperate attempts to keep the ball out, Diego Simeone s side led.

However, the shot-stopper s blushes were spared, when Sergio Ramos equalised in stoppage time, before goals to Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed Real s 10th European cup.

Casillas, Real s captain, claimed their success was more important than achieving success with Spain in Brazil…

The Football Association has denied making any media comments about Queens Park Rangers possible point deduction.

The Sun reported on Thursday that QPR, the Championship leaders, will face a 15-point deduction over the 2009 signing of Argentine Alejandro Faurlin a penalty that will put them in the thick of a play-off race.

The Faurlin case has been under investigation since September, when it came to light QPR had asked for permission to buy out a third party that owned the midfielder.

The Football League introduced measures to prevent third-part ownership of players after the Carlos Tevez saga, which took two years to resolve after he helped West Ham avoid relegation in 2006-07 while owned by a third party.

The Sun article quoted an FA source as saying:…

Speculation over the future of Mario Gotze is set to intensify after the agent of the Bayern Munich forward announced they had ended their agreement.

The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from the Allianz Arena after failing to establish himself in Pep Guardiola s regular first-team plans since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2013.

Reports in England have claimed that Gotze would be keen to reunite with former boss Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, while a return to Dortmund has also been mooted.

And talk of the World Cup-winner s next move is likely to increase following the news that he has left agent Volker Struth, whose company SportsTotal represent a number of Germany and Bundesliga stars, including Real Madrid s Toni Kroos and Dortmund forwar…

Barcelona have agreed a contract extension with Javier Mascherano to keep the Argentinian at Camp Nou until at least 2018.

The former Liverpool man moved to the club in 2010 and has been linked with a move to Napoli in recent months.

However, the 29-year-old, who forms part of Argentina s FIFA World Cup squad, has committed his next four years to Barca with an option to extend that for a further season.

The agreement also includes a €100 million buyout clause and follows on from team-mates Gerard Pique and Lionel Messi in signings fresh terms.

Being able to tie down the experienced trio will likely serve Luis Enrique well as he approaches his first season in charge at the club.

Mascherano has been used regularly by a number of Luis Enrique s predecess…

Patrick Vieira is New York City manager

Toronto FC welcome New York City to the BMO Field in the MLS on Sunday evening, and are big favourites to pick up all three points.

Victory for the hosts could see them extend their lead over second-placed Chicago Fire to five points, but defeat would hand City the chance to leapfrog them and reach the summit.

Toronto are strong at home and have the best defence

Greg Vanney’s Toronto FC side are currently top of the Eastern Conference table with 40 points from 21 games this season, coming off the back of three wins and two draws from their last half a dozen outings. Toronto have the best defence in the division (22) and are one of two sides unbeaten on home soil.

Ahead of Sunday evening’s clash, Toronto…

Arsenal made the biggest move of the transfer window on Wednesday by spending a reported club-record £52million fee on striker Alexandre Lacazette.

The France international had been linked with Atletico Madrid, but their FIFA-imposed transfer ban ultimately proved too big an obstacle, allowing Gunners boss Arsene Wenger to pounce.

Lacazette has been a consistent menace in Ligue 1 with Lyon and was named the division s player of the year for 2014-15 after finishing as top goalscorer on 27.

But how does the 26-year-old measure up to Arsenal s other attacking options? Can he provide more than just goals? With the help of Opta, we assess his efforts in the league last year compared to the rest of his new club s forward line.

OUT-GUNNING THE GUNNER…

Best odds: 10/11

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Liverpool are playing host to Southampton at Anfield on Saturday afternoon in a game that could turn out to be one of the more interesting features in the 25th round of this season s Premier League roller coaster; at least from some points of view.

Liverpool

There s really no need to discuss or assess the way Liverpool s season has been going, especially when it comes to the Premier League. Often enough their supporters have been taunted for never winning it with the taunters referring to the period since its reorganization in 1992, though in truth they have 18 league titles under their belt, second only to Manchester United s 20. And it seems number 19 is well on the way.

The Champions League holders played the game in hand …

Arsenal head of recruitment Sven Mislintat will leave his position on February 8, the Premier League club have confirmed.

Mislintat rose to prominence as highly regarded talent spotter at Borussia Dortmund and was appointed by Arsenal midway through last season.

He appeared set to be a key pillar of Arsenal s behind-the-scenes operation in the post-Arsene Wenger era but has been heavily linked with a role at Bayern Munich over recent weeks.

A statement released by the Gunners read: Sven has been with us since December 1, 2017 and has done a truly outstanding job in helping us recruit players who are making a big impact now and will do so even more in the future.

We wish him every success for the future and thank him for his extremely hard work on behalf…