England Championship-Sheffield Wednesday VS Southampton

 

 

Team News

Sheffield Wednesday

Xisco Munoz is expected to line his Sheffield Wednesday side up in a 4-3-3 system this season.

New signings Pol Valentin, Di-Shon Bernard, Juan Delgado and Ashley Fletcher could all make their debuts on the opening day.

Liam Palmer and Mallik Wilks are both doubtful for the home side as they continue to build up their fitness levels, while youngster Ciaran Brennan is a confirmed absentee.

 

Southampton

Russell Martin has an immensely talented squad at his disposal this season, although it remains to be seen who will stay and who will leave the club.

Duje Caleta-Car and Mo Salisu have both already departed, while club captain James Ward-Prowse is being heavily linked with a move away.

The latter is still a Southampton player as things stand and could feature on Friday night.

 

Prediction

Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday are a squad in the midst of a major transition phase and new manager Xisco Munoz has a tricky task on his hands to keep the Owls in the division. The Yorkshire side won promotion in fairytale fashion at Wembley earlier this summer, but Darren Moore has since left and the squad remains extremely thin.

 

Southampton

Southampton head into their first season back at Championship level with plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The Saints have a perfect blend of proven Championship talent and young prospects coming through the ranks, and in Russell Martin, they have one of the most highly-rated managers in the division.

 

FIFA Women-Morocco (W) VS Colombia (W)

 

 

Team Analysis

 

Morocco is 3rd in Group H with 3 points, while Colombia is top of Group H with 6 points.

 

Odds Analysis

 

Handicap +1

Over Under 2.25

 

Conclusion

 

Morocco is ambitious to qualify although it is a little difficult due to poor goal difference, while Colombia has almost 95% qualification provided they do not lose 0-4 to Morocco, both teams will defend a lot and there will not be many goals scored.

 

Choose Under Goal 2.25

FIFA Women-Jamaica (W) Vs Brazil (W)

 

Team Analysis

 

As regards recent matches, the home team will be going in this match with a win in their last 5 games while the away team have won 3 of their last 5 games.Jamaica women files out against Brazil women in this tie. Favourite to win it is non other than Brazil women. They have the pedigree and character to do so but it is left to be seen how Jamaica women will approach this game. I back the Jamaicans to pick a point hence this line.

 

Conclusion

 

Jamaica W +1.75

FIFA Women-China (W) VS England (W)

 

 

There have been five meetings between China and England. The Steel Roses have won three of those games while the Lionesses have won once. There has been one draw between the two teams.

 

The two sides last faced off in a friendly clash back in October 2015 which China won 2-1.

 

China have featured in all but one of every edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup since its inception in 1991 and have never been knocked out of the group stages.

 

England have kept clean sheets in their last three games on the bounce after managing just one in their previous six outings.

 

The Lionesses were ranked fourth in the latest FIFA rankings and now sit 10 places above their midweek opponents.

 

Pick:England to win.

Swedish Allsvenskan-IK Sirius FK VS AIK Solna

 

Team analysis

Sirius entered the contest after a number of subpar performances. They sit 12th in the table after losing 3-2 to Mjallby in their previous league game.

 

Their opponents, AIK, entered the match with a mixed set of results. They remain 13th in the standings following a 0-0 draw with Malmo last time out.

 

Odds analysis

AIK has a good away record going into the game. Their last three away fixtures have all ended in wins. They also have an excellent record against Sirius.

 

conclusion

A win for AIK at 2.35 odds will be the bet option.

FIFA Women-Sweden (W) VS Italy (W)

 

Sweden have been one of the most consistent teams in Women's World Cup history despite the fact they have never lifted a trophy. FIFA's third-ranked team in the world has progressed past the group stage in seven of the tournament's eight total iterations. Their semifinal appearance in 2019 was the fourth time they have made it to the last four.

 

Italy will be riding high after their eventual winner over Argentina on matchday one. The result is the latest in a series of impressive looks for Italian women. They have now extended their unbeaten streak to five matches, four of which have ended in wins.

 

Italy is in strong form but has not played top level competition during that time. Despite the mixed results, Sweden is still one of the best teams in the world and will provide Italy with a serious test.

 

This is also a very good price as the bookmakers seem to overvalue Italy a little.

International Club Friendly-Juventus VS AC Milan

 

 

The Bianconeri have had a dismal year both on and off the pitch, head coach Max Allegri is eager to get his preparations for the new season well and truly underway at Santa Clara.

 

Following up a 2-0 success at San Siro with a 1-0 win in May in Turin, Milan not only scored two goals over Juventus in 2022-23 but they also outplayed their Italian counterparts on the European stage.

 

Meanwhile Juve were knocked out in the Champions League group stage following a series of embarrassing defeats - to Benfica.

 

Two of Calcio's heavyweights are a bit undercooked ahead of their summer contest in California, and with new signings still settling in, the outcome is hard to say. As Milan have made more impressive signings and have improved the balance of their squad, they can narrowly beat Juventus once again, having doubled their league lead last season.