Football
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Quite simply, it’s the world’s most popular and universal sport.

The biggest celebration of football in the world is the FIFA World Cup, which is held every four years in a different host country. 32 international teams compete to win the title of World Champions over a month-long tournament. There has been an international football tournament at every Olympics since 1900, excepting 1932. Since 1984, professional players were allowed to compete albeit countries had to abide by certain conditions.

Different continents also have their own international competitions. The European Championships are held every four years, as is the Copa América in South America. 4 billion people from 185 countries watch the latter tournament. The Africa Cup of Nations, which is held every two years, is increasing in popularity and highlights the pool of talent the continent has to offer. The Asia Cup is held every four years whilst the CONCACAF Gold Cup involves the sides from North and Central America. The OFC Nations Cup deals with the Oceania region. The winners of all these competitions face each other in the Confederations Cup.

Domestically, most countries have a league structure, with the English Premier League , Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A being the three biggest. Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1 are also highly regarded. The strongest teams in these leagues – as well as cup winners – face each other in European action, with the Champions League being one of the world’s most watched domestic competitions. The Europa League , which is Europe’s secondary competition, is also highly sought.

There are many markets available – both ante-post and individual matches – for most leagues throughout the world. In play betting is becoming increasingly popular, as are the Asian Handicap markets. Bookmakers often encourage punters to bet on football by offering money-back specials or special offers on particular matches.

Double appeal for Anfield FA Cup calm

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson have joined forces to appeal for calm ahead of Saturday’s potentially explosive FA Cup clash at Anfield (Manchester United 11/2 – FA Cup Outright with bet365).

The two old rivals meet for the first time since Reds striker Luis Suarez was suspended for eight games following a spat with Red Devils left-back Patrice Evra in a Premier League game earlier in the season.

Suarez will miss the game as a result and both Gerrard and Ferguson both say they want the game to be remembered for the right reasons.

The England star said: “Liverpool and Man United is a massive rivalry and, of course, there is going to be stuff in the papers and banter between fans.

“But it would be fantastic if, after the weekend, it is remembered for being a top game and obviously, from our point of view, a Liverpool win.

“We don’t want any front-page stories from this game or any stories besides a football match between two top sides.”

Ferguson has so far failed to confirm if Evra will be selected to run the gauntlet as he also says he wants football to do the talking afterwards.

The Scot said: “We want to make sure we are talking about the game, nothing else.”

“It is a massive game for both clubs. There is a tremendous profile on it.

“I am confident. We want to talk about the game of football. It is something you want to look forward to. That is what I intend to do.”

Liverpool are 7/5 to win the game with the draw a 9/4 shot and a United win is priced at 2/1 by bet365.

Walcott out to ease Wenger pressure

Arsenal (7/1 FA Cup outright with bet365) winger Theo Walcott has insisted it’s up to himself and his team-mates to ease the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger by getting results for the French tactician.

There have been questions regarding Wenger’s position at the Emirates, with the experienced manager’s decisions being the subject of debate for the first time since he joined the north London outfit.

Arsenal are currently preparing for their FA Cup fourth round clash with Aston Villa on Sunday and Walcott is determined to start getting results of the Frenchman (Arsenal 4/7, draw 3/1, Aston Villa 9/2 with bet365).

The England international told the Daily Telegraph: “The manager will take all the stick.

“As players we need to look at ourselves. We need to take responsibility. The last few games haven’t been good enough.

“The worst thing is we have a lot of regrets. There are games we could have won. When you go to Swansea and score two goals you should win.”

Richards backs City strength

Following recent exits from the FA Cup and Carling Cup and the loss of key players to suspension and the African Cup of Nations, it has been a difficult spell for Manchester City (2/5 Premier League outright with bet365) but defender Micah Richards has backed the club to stay strong.

City’s have seen key midfielder Yaya Toure and brother Kolo leave for the major African tournament and have since had striker Mario Balotelli suspended for an incident during his side’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

Despite their setbacks against rivals Manchester United and Liverpool in the FA Cup and Carling Cup respectively, City will be looking to bounce back in their Premier League clash with Everton on Tuesday (Everton 7/2, draw 5/2, Man City 5/6 with bet365).

Richards has admitted it’s been a tough spell for the league leaders but he believes the squad have the strength to come through this tough period.

He said: “We have other stuff going on as well but we will keep strong and we will look forward to our next game, which is Everton.

“We will go there and try to get a win.”

Coyle delight at Ream capture

Bolton boss Owen Coyle believes he has found the ideal replacement for Gary Cahill in Tim Ream after the US star agreed a move to the Reebok Stadium for an undisclosed fee (Bolton 4/5 to be relegated with bet365).

The 24-year-old, who has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Trotters, has been drafted in by Coyle and will be seen as a direct replacement for Cahill following his move to Chelsea last week.

Ream arrives in the Premier League with a decent reputation, after starring for New York Red Bulls over the past few years, and Coyle believes the defender will only improve playing in a higher standard.

He said: “First and foremost we are absolutely delighted to secure Tim’s services. He is a US international, a player that year on year has progressed and got better, and he will continue to do that.”

The US international, who has seven caps, was watched by several Premier League sides and Coyle revealed Arsenal were close to signing him in the summer, but he is delighted he has opted for Bolton and hopes Ream will provide defensive stability as his side look to move away from the relegation zone in the second half of the season.

“He was trailed by a number of clubs, including West Brom and also Arsenal, who tried to sign him in the summer, so it is great that he sees his future here,” Coyle added.

“Tim is everything that we want in the players we are bringing to the club when we spend in the transfer market. He is young, has a tremendous attitude and a winning mentality. I know he will fit in well with the rest of the squad here at Bolton.”

Ream may have to wait at least a week to make his Trotters debut as the club have yet to get international clearance for him, so he is set to watch from the stands when his new side host Swansea in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday (Bolton 6/4, Swansea 7/4, draw 23/10 – match prices with bet365).

Bring it on, Rooney roars

Wayne Rooney has warned Manchester United are ready to embark on their traditional charge for end-of-season honours – starting in the FA Cup on Saturday (Liverpool 6/4 draw 23/10 Manchester United 7/4 – bet365 match prices).

Sir Alex Ferguson’s sides have usually hit their straps at this time of year and Rooney views a trip to his native Merseyside to take on bitter rivals Liverpool as the perfect fixture to hit the ground running.

The domestic champions trail local rivals Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title and can look ahead to the Europa League which starts again next month. They also now face a Premier League programme against Stoke, Chelsea and Liverpool in a crucial run of games (Manchester United 9/4 – Premier League outright bet365).

“We relish this part of the season,” Rooney told the Manchester Evening News.

“Once we get into the new year we can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Every game is massive and we don’t want to be dropping points.

“But I always feel we are at our best around now because we can see the end of the season and that there are trophies there to be won. That’s why we stay focused and, more often than not, we’re always there at the end.”

Rio Ferdinand, Anderson, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young, Michael Owen and long-term absentees Darren Fletcher and Nemanja Vidic will miss the trip to Anfield, while Nani and Michael Carrick are carrying knocks.

Rooney backing United surge

Wayne Rooney is adamant that Manchester United will soon hit their best form now it is the new year and ‘we can see the end of the season’ in the Premier League title race (United 9/4 To Win Outright with bet365).

The England international striker (11/2 Leading Premier League Goalscorer with bet365) has spoken out after the Red Devils started a daunting run of fixtures with a vital 2-1 win at Arsenal on Sunday which keeps Sir Alex Ferguson’s men just three points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Rooney will be in the side on Saturday lunchtime aiming to help fire United past Liverpool (Liverpool 6/4, Man United 7/4, Draw 23/10 Full Time Result with bet365) in their FA Cup fourth round tie at Anfield, while the Reds then await in the Premier League with trips to Chelsea and Tottenham pencilled in either side.

It could make or break United’s bid for silverware on two fronts, but Rooney has been part of the side long enough to know that the players usually respond well to the pressure big games bring.

“We relish this part of the season,” he said. “Once we get into the new year we can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Every game is massive and we don’t want to be dropping points.

“But I always feel we are at our best around now because we can see the end of the season and that there are trophies there to be won. That’s why we stay focused and, more often than not, we’re always there at the end.”

Jelavic happy with Hammers talk

Rangers striker Nikica Jelavic claims it ‘would be nice’ to sign for Championship leaders West Ham who he has backed to make an immediate return to the Premier League this season (1/4 To be Promoted with bet365).

The Hammers appear to be leading the race to sign the highly-rated Croatian striker, despite the likes of Premier League side QPR and Liverpool also being credited with an interest since the summer.

West Ham chief Sam Allardyce has openly confirmed that he would like to take Jelavic to Upton Park to help cement their place at the Championship summit (10/11 To Win Outright with bet365).

And he will be encouraged by Jelavic’s admission that, while he would happily stay at Ibrox, he would have no qualms about dropping into the second tier of English football as he believes the Hammers are heading back to the big time.

He told the Daily Record: “West Ham are a great club and not a Second Division outfit.

“They are a famous English Premier League club who happened to be relegated last season and will return to the top division next season.

“It would be nice to play there, but I am playing at a big club so it wouldn’t bother me if I had to stay and anyway I don’t even call my agent about a transfer these days.

“I know Rangers are in a tough financial situation and if they need to sell me I will go, but I would also be happy to stay.”

Bolton are back on track – Steinsson

Bolton defender Gretar Steinsson is confident that the struggling side will finally start to climb the Premier League table (4/5 To be Relegated with bet365) as he feels they are starting to rediscover their good form from last season.

The Icelandic full-back has spoken out on the prospect of Owen Coyle‘s men reversing the dismal form which has left them in or around the Premier League’s relegation zone for the first half of the campaign.

And, Steinsson believes the impressive 3-1 win over Liverpool at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday highlights their vast improvement in recent weeks which has seen them collect a valuable 10 points from six matches to pull them one place and one point above the drop zone.

He is now hoping they can maintain the good form and gradually pull clear of danger between now and the end of the season.

“I am pleased for the team because we haven’t performed this season,” Steinsson said.

“But since Christmas we have put in extra tempo and got points (in a way that) previously we weren’t doing earlier in the season.

“We’re looking more like the Bolton side we were last year.”

Steinsson and his Trotters team-mates will have a welcome break from the rigours of a relegation battle this weekend when they play host to Premier League rivals Swansea in the FA Cup fourth round at the Reebok Stadium (Bolton 7/5, Swansea 9/5, Draw 12/5 Full Time Result with bet365).

Gerrard urges Reds to attack

Steven Gerrard insists that Liverpool will be going all out to beat Manchester City in Wednesday’s Carling Cup semi-final second-leg clash and will not just sit on their one-goal lead (Liverpool 8/5, City 13/8, draw 12/5 Match Prices with bet365).

Gerrard’s 13th-minute penalty separated the sides at the Etihad Stadium and they head into the midweek encounter at Anfield knowing that a clean sheet will see them into the Wembley showpiece to face Cardiff City.

Reds boss Kenny Dalglish set his side up with defence in mind for the Eastlands clash and, following the goal, it was all hands to the pump to prevent City from scoring and hanging on to their precious lead.

Liverpool have not enjoyed much success in their home matches in the Premier League this term and, while they remain unbeaten on Merseyside, they have won only four times on their own patch.

It would be easy for Dalglish to adopt similar tactics this time around to try and sneak into the final, but Gerrard feels it would be folly to go into the match looking for a 0-0 and has urged his team-mates to set out to win the game (0-0 Scoreline 9/1 with bet365).

“We need very player to turn up and play well to qualify,” he told the club’s official website. “We need to ignore the scoreline and need to go into the game trying to win it.

“I think if we’re too negative and try to just protect the lead it could be very dangerous.”

Sessegnon revelling in Black Cats revival

Stephane Sessegnon says Martin O’Neill has reinvigorated the Sunderland squad since he took over and confidence levels are soaring at the Stadium of Light as they chase a top-six Premier League finish this season (18/1 with bet365).

The Black Cats are now up to 10th in the table – nine points adrift of local rivals Newcastle in sixth – following Saturday’s 2-0 win over Swansea.

O’Neill has transformed the club’s fortunes since he replaced Steve Bruce last month and Sessegnon, who grabbed his fifth goal of the season with a brilliant strike at the weekend, believes their performances reflect the change of mood at the club.

The Benin international told the Sunderland Echo: “There is a lot of confidence in the team at the moment, which is why we are trying shots like that.”

Sunderland’s second goal was arguably a better effort than the first, with Craig Gardner unleashing an unstoppable drive from around 25 yards to seal the win.

Sessegnon added: “It was a super strike from Craig because it made sure that we won the game.

“I can’t shout about my goal too much because both goals were really good. There have been some really good goals recently. Seb Larsson has scored a few and Craig’s against Swansea, so I don’t know where mine ranks.

“I just hope to continue helping us find the net and winning games.”

Sunderland are in FA Cup action this weekend when they host north east rivals Middlesbrough on Sunday (Sunderland 8/11, draw 5/2, Middlesbrough 4/1 – match prices with bet365).