West Brom and Leeds United benefited from late winners as they took full advantage of a defeat for Preston North End in the Championship.

Leaders West Brom defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at home on Saturday, while Marcelo Bielsa s men won by the same scoreline away to Luton Town.

Preston fell to a 1-0 defeat away to Derby County, meaning Leeds moved above them into second place, two points behind the Baggies, who have only suffered one defeat in 17 league games.

Blackburn Rovers, Brentford, Stoke City and Millwall were the other winners in Saturday s action.
 

BAGGIES AND LEEDS LAND LATE BLOWS

West Brom and Leeds looked like they were heading for draws that would have stalled their promotion bids before late interventions.

Charlie Aust…

Prediction: Clube Atletico Mineiro to win 2-0

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

Clube Atletico Mineiro and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista will lock horns with each other in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A this weekend. The match between Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side and Vanderlei Luxemburgo’s team will be held at Arena MRV in Belo Horizonte and is scheduled to kick off at 10:30pm UK time on Saturday.

Clube Atletico Mineiro

Clube Atletico Mineiro are one of the biggest and most well-known clubs in Brazil. Atletico MG finished seventh in Campeonato Brasileiro Série A last season and won the 2022 Campeonato Mineiro. Things are not going particularly well for the Rooster in Serie A at the moment, and there is a chance that they may not even end up in the top half o…

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi put poor Montpellier to the sword in a 4-0 Paris Saint-Germain win, their first since being confirmed as Ligue 1 champions.

Champions League failure this season had dampened PSG s title celebrations even before three consecutive draws – the first of which secured top spot against Lens.

Mauricio Pochettino s men lost the lead in all three matches, but there was never any danger of a repeat on Saturday.

Mbappe, whose future is perhaps of more interest than PSG s results right now, was typically influential, scoring the fourth after having a hand in two goals for Messi and one for Angel Di Maria.

That front three quickly had Montpellier on the back foot, with just six minutes played when Mbappe s square pass was dummied by Di…

Verdict: Spain win and over 2.5 goals

Best Odds: 

Bookmaker: 

Enjoying an impressive run of form under their new boss Luis Enrique, Spain will travel to the Principality Stadium on Thursday night as they meet Ryan Giggs Wales side.

Wales

Starting with Wales, while former captain Ryan Giggs will be content with his start to life in the dugout, the Reds quickly came crashing back down to earth last month. Picking up a 4-1 win over Ireland in their UEFA Nations League opener, Giggs saw his side put in a lackluster showing in their 2-0 defeat away to Denmark last month. Despite putting four past Ireland, Giggs knows that they must be more consistent in the final third. Now failing to find the net in three of his last four matches in charge, Thursday s tas…

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos labelled Gareth Bale a great player and backed his team-mate after a difficult off-season.

Bale was tipped to leave Madrid with a shock move to the Chinese Super League on the cards, however, the Wales star remained at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Unwanted by head coach Zinedine Zidane, Bale – who has won four Champions League titles and LaLiga among other honours since arriving from Tottenham in 2013 – has featured in all three LaLiga matches this season, scoring a brace in Madrid s 2-2 draw with Villarreal last time out.

Amid criticism of Bale and his reported disconnect from the Madrid squad, Ramos told the Daily Mail: I think Bale s a great player and he s been really important for the club in the years he s been with us.

<…

Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin has put several Europe’s top clubs on alarm with Spanish media outlets claiming the 32-year-old is eager to leave Spain in January.

The experienced shot-stopper is in the final year of his contract with Los Colchoneros and it has already been suggested Manchester United will be looking to bring him to Old Trafford on a discount price once the transfer window re-opens.

Red Devils already tried to sign Godin last summer but he chose to remain in La Liga and Manchester United are hoping to seal the deal this time around.

However, the latest reports claim that Inter Milan are ready to join the chase for his signature in an effort to thwart United’s attempt to secure a deal for the highly-rated Uruguay international.

G…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 4/5 @

Looking to extend on their recent purple patch on Wednesday night, Bournemouth will travel to Selhurst Park when they meet Crystal Palace.

Starting with the hosts, while Crystal Palace might have mounted a second-half comeback away at West Ham over the weekend as they eventually snatched a 1-1 stalemate, the Eagles do find themselves in the midst of a recent rut. Heading into November’s international break with a worrying performance as they slumped to an action-packed 3-2 loss against Everton, Roy Hodgson’s men have claimed just a single victory from any of their previous seven Premier League appearances a run that stems back to September 30th. Almost sat in top-flight limbo, the former England boss does find some mou…

Australia coach Graham Arnold described Mathew Leckie s return from injury as like signing a new player as he confirmed the Hertha Berlin winger s place among his substitutes for the last-16 clash with Uzbekistan at the Asian Cup.

Leckie is ready for his first involvement at this year s tournament following his recovery from a hamstring problem that ruled him out of all three of Australia s Group B matches.

Arnold s side finished second in the group after defeat to Jordan preceded victories over Palestine and Syria, and Leckie is joined in the squad for the clash with Uzbekistan by fit-again defender Josh Risdon and by Trent Sainsbury, who was suspended for the Socceroos final group game.

Arnold paid tribute to the Australia medical team for ensuring Leckie s a…

Diego Simeone pledged his hard work will continue after agreeing to extend his Atletico Madrid contract.

Simeone was reportedly ready to commit his future to the club last year and the news of his fresh deal to 2022 was confirmed on Thursday.

The Argentine has been in charge at Atletico since 2011 and indicated he is not seeking to go anywhere else, despite being regularly linked with former club Inter.

We are looking forward to a future with great enthusiasm and many challenges, Simeone told the club s website. 

I see work, I see people involved to continue growing, I see hope, I see youth that can make us progress and I know that the four legs of the table remain firm as we have been.

We will continue on the same line, fans, players, lead…

Juventus beat newly promoted Como 3-0 in their Serie A opener at the Allianz Stadium on Monday as new coach Thiago Motta enjoyed a dream competitive debut with the club.

Forward Samuel Mbangula put Juve in front in the 23rd minute with a fine solo effort, driving infield before firing the ball into the bottom corner.

The Bianconeri then extended their lead in first-half stoppage time through winger Timothy Weah, who lashed home from a Kenan Yildiz cutback as the ball bounced in off the inside of the bar.

Youngster Andrea Cambiaso then added a third from distance just before full-time after Dusan Vlahovic had gone close on several occasions.

Juve, who finished third behind champions Inter and Milan last season to secure their return to the Champions League…