Tag Archives: Real Madrid

Football Transfer round up for January 4th 2016

The Return of the January Transfer window also means Our man Paul is back on the football transfer beat, tracking down the latest stories for you, here are the latest football transfer stories for the 4th of January 2016.

you can follow Paul on twitter @El_Pauletta and also follow @NewFanzone for an instant follow back, lets keep the conversation going.

Done deals:

– Derby County have signed Abdoul Camara from Angers for a fee of £1.25million.

– Leicester City have completed the signing of Demarai Gray from Birmingham City for £3.75million.

– Artem Kravets has joined VfB Stuttgart on a six-month loan deal from Dinamo Kiev.

– Hellas Verona have completed the signing of former AC Milan midfielder Urby Emanuelson on a free transfer.

– Hannover have completed the signing of Adam Szalai from Hoffenheim on a six-month loan deal with an option to buy.

– AC Milan have completed the signing of former Schalke 04 midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng.

– Charlton have confirmed the loan signing of Diego Poyet from West Ham until the end of the season.

– Sampdoria have completed the signing of former Inter Milan midfielder Ricky Alvarez on a free transfer.

– Charlton Athletic have confirmed the signing of Roger Johnson on a 18-month contract.

– Former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones has joined Dutch club NEC Nijmegen on a short-term deal.

Kevin Prince-Boateng  photo credit: goatling http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
Kevin Prince-Boateng
photo credit: goatling
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

Today’s reports and rumours:

– According to reports, Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce is keen on signing QPR midfielder Sandro.

– According to reports, Lorient have reached an agreement with Lyon in principle for the loan of French defender Lindsay Rose.

– According to reports, Chelsea are close to signing Alex Teixeira from Shakthar Donetsk.

– According to reports in Turkey, Michael Essen is on the verge of joining Antalyaspor from Greek side Panathinakos.

– Crystal Palace are reportedly preparing a £7.5million bid for QPR forward Charlie Austin.

– French goalkeeper Steve Mandanda’s transfer to Besiktas from Marseille is “90% done”, according to Turkish media.

– Everton and West Bromwich Albion are keen on signing Hull City’s Almed Elmohamady, according to reports in Egypt.

– Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has ruled out a move for Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, claiming he’s happy with current No.1 Simon Mignolet.

– Manchester United will let Nick Powell go out on loan for the rest of the season, according to reports.

– According to reports in Italy, Manchester United have rejected AC Milan’s loan request for Marouanne Fellaini.

Emmanuel Adebayor photo credit: Rory https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Emmanuel Adebayor
photo credit: Rory
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

– Watford are reportedly interested in former Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

– Leicester are to hold talks with Sampdoria over a deal for 18-year-old right-back Pedro Pereira, according to Skysports Italia.

– Chelsea and Manchester United are reportedly keen on signing Locomotiv Moscow striker Oumar Niasse.

– Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has played down rumours that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is on his way to Arsenal. He said: “He’s under contract until 2020. But those situations are not new for us. It’s just normal that our players attract attention.”

– West Brom are being linked with a move for Angers defender Romain Thomas, according to reports.

– Lazio are close to signing Lyon defender Milan Bisevac, according to L’Equipe.

– RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff says attacker Emil Forsberg, who has been linked with Liverpool “is not on sale”

– Bayern Munich fringe player Jan Kirchhoff is set to join Sunderland, according to reports in Germany.

– Schalke are reportedly keen on signing Leicester City midfielder Gokhan Inler.

– Tottenham target Ezequiel Lavezzi would prefer a move back to Italy. According to his agent, Alejandro Mazzoni.

– Manchester City are preparing a €55million bid for Schalke’s attacking midfielder Leroy Sane, according to reports in Germany.

– Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has “put the block” on Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama being sold this month.

– Boca Juniors President Daniel Angelici confirms Jonathan Calleri’s move to Inter will be finalised “later this week”.

– Crystal Palace are set to offer Jonjo Shelvey a way out of Swansea, according to reports.

– Sevilla President Jose Castro confirms “many offers from Italy” for Ciro Immobile but “we have no plans to let him leave”.

– Norwich City have made a £7m bid for Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia, according to Sky Sports Italy.

– Sampdoria President Massimo Ferrero insists Napoli “don’t want” Roberto Soriano, or they would have signed him in the summer.

– Mark Hughes says talk of a £10m clause in Bojan Krkic’s Stoke City contract is “mischief making, there is no such clause, and he won’t be sold.”

– Norberto Neto is reportedly set to leave Juventus before June, with Lazio’s Federico Marchetti a possible replacement.

– Bournemouth will find out this week whether their loan deal for Roma forward Juan Iturbe will receive international clearance.

– Liverpool are interested in signing Schalke centre-back Joel Matip in the January transfer window, according to Sky Sports sources.

– Marquinhos is flattered by Manchester United’s reported interest, and the defender has suggested he could leave PSG in the summer.

– Derby County are readying a club-record bid to sign Wolves forward Benik Afobe this month.

– Cardiff City have put a £10m asking price on goalkeeper David Marshall following links to Premier League side Everton, according to reports in Wales.

– Ronaldinho’s brother claims the former Barcelona star has had “more than one” offer from England.

– According to reports in France, Nantes are interested in acquiring the services of Newcastle’s winger Gabriel Obertan.

Football tit bits:

Rafa Benitez  photo credit: Caricato da Serg Stallone http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode
Rafa Benitez
photo credit: Caricato da Serg Stallone
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

– Rafa Benitez has been sacked as manager of Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane has been appointed as his successor.

– Guus Hiddink has revealed that John Obi Mikel is the “ideal player” to bring balance to Chelsea’s midfield after
the Nigeria international shone in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

– According to French media outlet RMC, the judge in the Mathieu Valbuena blackmail sextape case has blocked Real
Madrid striker Karim Benzema request to see Lyon midfielder Valbuena.

– Genoa are set to appoint Sean Sogliano as their new sporting director, after receiving clearance from the Lega Serie A.

– Jamie Vardy is set to undergo minor groin surgery but the Leicester City striker is expected to miss just one match
rather than endure a two-week lay-off that had previously been feared.

– Geoff Cameron is free to face Liverpool in Stoke’s Capital One Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday after the club were successful in their appeal against the red card the midfielder received in the defeat by West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Paul Ayorinde

Real Madrid Sack Rafa Benitez

Real Madrid have parted ways with Coach Rafa Benitez following yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Valencia. Rafa Benitez becomes the second high profile manager to loose his job this season following Jose Mourinho’s sack by Chelsea a few weeks ago.

Rafa Benitez had recently pleaded for more time to turn the fortunes of the Madrid club around.

Real Madrid are currently placed third on the Primera Liga table with 37 point, 2 points behind rivals Barcelona with 39 points in second place but with a game in hand. Local rivals Athletico Madrid currently top the Liga with 41 points.

Benitez’s plea for more time seems to have fallen on deaf ears as Club President Florentino Perez has wielded the big stick seven months after becoming the Coach of Real Madrid. His defensive style of play and his alleged fallout with some of the top players in the Los Blancos are believed to be mainly responsible for his Sack.

Rafa Benitez  photo credit: Caricato da Serg Stallone http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode
Rafa Benitez
photo credit: Caricato da Serg Stallone
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

While Rumour has it that former coach Jose Mourinho might make a return to the Bernabeu its Former Madrid legendary player Zinedine Zidane who currently coaches Madrid’s B Team Castilla is expected to replace the sacked Spaniard.

Jose Mourinho and The 3 Year Curse!

This Writer has observed that Jose Mourinho has never exceeded The 3 year Barrier throughout his managerial Career: below is a list of clubs previously managed by the Portuguese Gaffer and this supports the line of reasoning that Jose Mourinho has got a 3 year “Shelf Life” as manager.

2000 Benfica
2001–2002 União de Leiria
2002–2004 Porto
2004–2007 Chelsea
2008–2010 Inter Milan
2010–2013 Real Madrid
2013–2015 Chelsea

Mourinho’s second coming to Stamford Bridge was supposed to be for a very long time according to Jose Mourinho himself when he penned an initial four-year deal, he was quoted as saying he would like to be at Chelsea for a very long time.

But unlike other Illustrious Coaches who have achieved the same kind of success like Mourinho, the “Special one” just can’t exceed the “3 year Curse” no matter what he does.

This Writer Also Believes that Jose’s Style of Management is largely to blame for this “three-year Curse”. Mourinho is not afraid to take on anyone from fellow managers to the media and in some cases administrators, and yes some of his utterances might come across as brash sometimes but Jose Mourinho was a delight to the media who would latch-on to every word he spoke.

He would at times adopt a “take no prisoners” approach during his Post match comments and even pre match interviews would sometimes come across as controversial.

Jose Mourinho photo credit: In Mou We Trust https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode
Jose Mourinho
photo credit: In Mou We Trust
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode

Mourinho would also take on his players publicly in what some would consider as bizarre, yes Mourinho was truly outspoken

This as also put him on the wrong side of the FA a couple of times, but love him or hate him, Jose Mourinho his a coached that has achieved so much success in a very short time, and he still has so much to offer.

Ironically the longest-serving coach in the history of the English Premier League Sir Alex Ferguson only last week advised that the Chelsea Management allow Mourinho to turn things around.

This advise must have fallen on “deaf ears” though, has the Club today put out a statement on its website stating that “Chelsea Football Club and Jose Mourinho have today parted company by mutual consent”

The Club Thanked him for his contribution to the Club ” All at Chelsea thank Jose for his immense contribution since he returned as manager in the summer of 2013.

The statement also listed as his achievement with the club “His three league titles, FA Cup, Community Shield and three League Cup wins over two spells make him the most successful manager in our 110-year history”

The Blues have had a torrid time in the league this season which as seen them loose 9 games from 16 games played with 4 of those defeats coming at home.

The English Champions have gone from Top to bottom in an almost inexplicable manner which had led the self-styled “Special One” to confess that he was astonished at the teams current situation.

Mourinho had even gone as far as condemning his players on more than one occasion, and this did not in any way improve the fortunes of the team.

Back to back loses against teams that Chelsea would have crushed on the pitch normally i.e Bournemouth and Leicester definitely proved that this were not normal times, the last defeat by Table Toppers Leicester changed the question from if Mourinho will get the sack to when he would be sacked.

While the Sword had been dangling over Jose Mourinho’s head for months now, its however some sort of poetic justice that his chelsea team lost to the man who Mourinho Replaced after he got sacked by Chelsea that’s talking about current Leicester coach Claudio Ranieri in 2004.

José Mourinho photo credit: Aleksandr Osipov https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
José Mourinho
photo credit: Aleksandr Osipov
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

Mourinho’s Bust up and eventual falling out with Club Physio Eva Canero had many tongues wagging and His failure to beef up his team are some of the factors that may have played a part in how Chelsea Season turned out.

But while the Champions Of England Struggled in the domestic league the reverse was the case on the continent as they made it into the round of sixteen.

In Conclusion Jose Mourinho is yet to exceed 3 years as the manager of any club, but that has not in any way taken away the fact that he has won so many laurels in his seeming short spells at some of the biggest clubs in some of the top leagues in Europe this however falls short of his own target of staying long at a club.

Newfanzone Bookies Corner (Game Week 16)

This is Game week 16 of our Bookies corner where we help Punters forecast on the best matches to put their money on.

Paul Ayorinde’s (@el_pauleta) predictions:

Italian Serie A

Udinese V Inter Milan- Double chance on Inter Milan:

inter milan

After winning three matches on a trot, Udinese lost last weekend against high-flying Fiorentina while Inter Milan got a slim victory against Genoa. I expect this match to be tough for Mancini’s men,so i tip Inter Milan to get at least a point away from home on Saturday night.

Juventus V Fiorentina- Both teams to score (BTTS):

Juventus continued their resurgence defeating Lazio at Stadio Olympico in Game week 15 while Fiorentina thrashed Udinese 3-0 last weekend. This match promises to be a cracker and I expect it to be entertaining and full of goals. I am tipping both teams to score at the Juventus stadium on Sunday night.

English Premier League

Norwich V Everton- Double Chance on Everton:

Norwich lost against Watford in Game week 15 while Everton got a draw at home against Crystal Palace. I tip Everton to get at least a point at Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon.

Manchester_City.svg

Manchester City V Swansea- Man City win:

Manchester City were outplayed in their 2-0 loss to Stoke City in Game week 15 while Swansea’s defeat to Leicester last weekend cost Garry Monk his job. Manchester City will be looking to get back to winning ways when they play Swansea who has just one win in their last 11 matches. I tip Manchester City to win at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.

Aston Villa V Arsenal- Arsenal win:

Aston Villa got a morale boosting draw at St Mary’s in Game week 15 while Arsenal defeated Sunderland 3-1 at the Emirates. Aston Villa manager Remi Garde will face his former manager Arsene Wenger in a match that promises to be entertaining. I expect Arsenal’s attack to be too strong for a week Aston Villa defence. I tip Arsenal to win convincingly at Villa park.

Spanish Liga BBVA

Eibar V Valencia- Double chance on Valencia:

Eibar lost 1-2 against Real Sociedad in Game week 14 while Valencia got a draw against defending champions Barcelona at the Mestalla. This will be Gary Neville’s first La Liga game as Valencia’s coach and i expect his side to put up a good peformance. I tip Valencia to get at least a draw at Estadio Municipal de Ipurúa on Sunday afternoon.

Villarreal

Villarreal V Real Madrid- Both teams to score (BTTS): Villarreal got a 2-1 win against Rayo Vallecano last weekend while Real Madrid defeated Getafe 4-1 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Both sides play attacking football,so am expecting an entertaining match with lots of goals. I tip Both teams to score at Estadio El Madrigal on Sunday night.

German Bundesliga

Mainz V Stuttgart-Double Chance on Mainz:

Mainz defeated Hamburg 3-1 away from home last weekend while Stuttgart got a 1-1 draw against Werder Bremen. I tip Mainz to get at least a point at home on Friday night.

Borussia Dortmund V Eintracht Frankfurt- Dortmund win:

Dortmund got a massive result last weekend when they defeated Wolfsburg 2-1 away from home while Eintracht Frankfurt lost at home against Darmstadt.
I expect Thomas Tuchel’s men to be too strong for Frankfurt,so i tip Borussia Dortmund to win at home on Sunday.

French Ligue 1

Angers V Bordeaux- Double chance on Angers:

Angers continued their fairy tale season when they defeated Olympique Lyon away from home 2-0 last weekend while Bordeaux defeated Guingamp 1-0. I tip Angers to get at least a point at home on Sunday afternoon.

Ademola Adejuwon’s (@demydemo) predictions:

French Ligue 1

PSG vs Lyon- Over 1.5 goals:

Lyon has been disappointing so far in the league as they see themselves lying in 5th position behind the likes of Caen & Angers. Top scorer last season, Alexander Lacazette has been struggling to get goals this season as they also bowed out of the UCL during the week. PSG have been in fantastic form in the league this season and are yet to lose a game in the league. With the firepower of Zlatan,Cavani & Di Maria the Parisians have it in them to score goals when Lyon come visiting.

German Bundesliga

German Bundesliga

Bayern Munich vs Ingolstadt- Bayern win:

Bayern will look to bounce back from their defeat to Borussia Moenchengladbach last week with a win over newcomers Ingolstadt. Ingolstadt have won more games away from home this season than when playing at home and they might hope to shock the Bavarians at the Allianz Arena. Bayern are at their imperious best and they’ve also welcomed back Frank Ribery to the squad which will further boost their attacking prowess. The only surprise I see in this game is Bayern Munich not scoring more than 4 goals past Ingolstadt.

Bayern Leverkusen vs Borrusia Moenchengladbach- Over 1.5 goals:

In form Moenchengladbach travel to face Bayern Leverkusen this weekend on the back of their famous win against defending champions Bayern Munich last weekend. Bayern Leverkusen have been relatively poor this season with 6 wins out of 15 games. The two sides got eliminated from the UCL this week and will now look to divert all their attention to the Bundesliga to see if they can also get back to the UCL next season. This game would be a very tricky one but both sides would definitely get goals.

GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 27:  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Dortmund celebrates his team's first goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund at Veltins Arena on September 27, 2014 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.  (Photo by Sascha Steinbach/Bongarts/Getty Images)
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 27: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Dortmund celebrates his team’s first goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund at Veltins Arena on September 27, 2014 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Sascha Steinbach/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Borussia Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt- Dortmund Double Chance:

Dortmund seem to be closing the gap on league leaders Bayern Munich and they know that they need to be consistently racking up the 3 Points if they want to challenge for the Bundesliga title this season. Frankfurt have conceded 10 goals away from home this season,and also the form of Meier and Seferovic have dwindled a bit which have left them in 13th place on the log. Dortmund can be very erratic,but playing at the home,the least they would get is a draw.

Italian Serie A

AC Milan vs Verona- Milan Win:

AC Milan logo

Milan welcome bottom place Hellas Verona to the San Siro. Verona have not won any game this season as their form continue to dwindle. Milan haven’t been too convincing also this season even though they bought the likes of Bacca and Luiz Adriano. They drew last time out away to 19th place Carpi, but this time I think Milan knows all the three points is essential if they have to compete with the big boys in the league, knowing most of them have tricky fixtures this weekend.

Napoli vs Roma- Over 2.5 goals:

Two free scoring sides go head to head this weekend. Napoli are 3rd in the league and they surprisingly lost last time out against Bologna. The two teams are through to the next round of the various competitions they are in Europe this season. Roma and Napoli are two free scoring sides that hardly play the typical Italian way. We would expect to see goals in this mouth watering fixture come this weekend.

Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez

Spanish LA Liga

Barcelona vs Deportivo- Barcelona Win:

It’s a surprise knowing Barcelona have not won in their last two games. The Catalan giants would like to get back to winning ways this weekend as Deportivo comes to the Camp Nou . The MSN will once again bail Barcelona out even if Deportivo tries to be dogged as possible.

Villarreal vs Real Madrid- Madrid Double Chance:

The yellow submarines were once on the top of the LA Liga table but they now find themselves in 5th position after they had a couple of bad results. Villarreal won’t want to meet Madrid at this moment because of the form of Ronaldo and Benzema,but Madrid can also become a very conservative side in a tricky game like this, so Real Madrid might settle for a point.

English Premier League

Aston Villa vs Arsenal- Arsenal Double Chance:

Aaron Ramsey Arsenal Vs Liverpool photo credit: joshjdss  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Aaron Ramsey
Arsenal Vs Liverpool
photo credit: joshjdss
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

Arsenal travel to the Villa park to take on Aston Villa who are still struggling to get out of the relegation waters this season.

Arsenal got a victory on their last visit to Villa Park and have won their last 3 meetings against Aston Villa in all competitions. The EPL is very unpredictable this season as even the big boys falter almost every weekend. Arsenal shouldn’t have problem getting past Aston Villa and with the form of Giroud and Ozil in attack for the Gunners,a draw should be the least expectation.

Leicester vs Chelsea- over 1.5 goals:

Table Toppers Leicester City host Chelsea this weekend. It’s been contrasting fortunes for both teams this season. Leicester City have found it easy to score goals in the league unlike their visitors. In Jamie Vardy and Algerian Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City are guaranteed of getting a goal against Chelsea this weekend. Leicester run of fixtures this month are tough and a win against the defending champions will give them more confidence to prosecute their remaining fixtures. Chelsea on the other hand,also need a victory against Leicester at the Kingpower Stadium knowing a victory might as well put their season right back on track. So,goals are guaranteed in this pulsating fixture come Monday night.

Copa Del Rey: Real Madrid Might Be Banned…

Real Madrid might be kicked out of the Copa Del Rey after they featured Denis Cheryshev last night, The Russian was ineligible to play following his accumulation of yellow cards during his time with Villareal, Cherysev was amongst the goals last night when Real Madrid defeated Cadiz on the road by three goals to one.

Osasuna Had suffered a similar fate a few months ago when they a fielded a player in the same situation.

Reports however have it that Cadiz will be filling an official complaint to the Spanish Football Federation before 2pm today.

An Official report from Cadiz might just be enough to see Madrid eliminated

Spanish La Liga Gets 2.6 Billion Euro Deal

Happy Days are here again for Liga BBVA Clubs as the League announced a new domestic Tv deal worth 2.65 billion euros for 3 seasons.

The English Premiership still remains the league with the biggest Tv deal in the world with a deal worth approximately 6.9 Billion Euros. But this new Spanish League deal is a welcome development, following a law that was passed earlier on in the year that makes it mandatory for all the clubs to collectively bargain for this type of deals.

The two top teams in the Liga BBVA used to get the largest chunk of such deals before leaving whatever was left to the other clubs, but this new arrangement will see more money get to the other clubs in the top flight of the Liga, while performance in the last five season will also influence how much each club will eventually get.

FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid, Dani Alves vs Cristiano Ronaldo photo credit: Marc Puig i Perez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode
FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid, Dani Alves vs Cristiano Ronaldo
photo credit: Marc Puig i Perez
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode

The Segunda Division will also get ten percent of the Tv deal money a development that will see many more spanish clubs empowered to do more in the transfer market and this can only augur well for the Spanish game.

Benzema’s lawyer blasts French PM Valls over Les Bleus comment

Karim Benzema’s lawyer says it was “surprising” to hear French Prime Minister Manuel Valls suggest that his client should not play for the national team again in the wake of the Mathieu Valbuena blackmail case.

Karim Benzema of France Photo Credit: FIFA
Karim Benzema of France
Photo Credit: FIFA

Valls said on Tuesday said that a player whose conduct was not “exemplary” should no longer be considered for Les Bleus selection.

Benzema is set to talk about his situation for the first time on French television on this evening.

Benzema’s lawyer Alain Jakubowicz questioned Valls, who is known to be a big fan of Barcelona.

“Is it the supporter of Barca or the prime minister who’s spoken about a leading player of Real Madrid?” Jakubowicz told Le Parisien.

Karim Benzema photo credit Action Lovers https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode
Karim Benzema
photo credit Action Lovers
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode

He added: “More seriously, I’m surprised, in the dramatic context in France (after the November terror attacks) that the prime minister of the republic might give an opinion in a very peremptory manner on a matter that he knows absolutely nothing about. I think he has other things to deal with.”

Jakubowicz also revealed that Valbuena’s evidence before a judge was not as damning as the Lyon midfielder’s interview with Le Monde would lead people to believe.

Florentino Pérez Backs Benitez Despite Fans Prostest…

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has given under-pressure Manager Rafa Benitez a vote of confidence after the 1-4 humiliation at the Santiago Bernabéu by bitter rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid Fans protested the loss with some fans calling on Pérez to resign, some critics have called for early elections but the Real Madrid president as rejected such calls claiming that the protest was spearheaded by the Club’s Ultras whom he believes should be kept out of the stadium due to their “violent nature”.

On Benitez Pérez said: “Rafa Benítez is the solution, the manager has my full support”

The Real Madrid president accompanied by the members of the club’s board of directors said: “Rafa has just started his job here, let him keep working, and he will achieve his objectives.”

Football pundits and analyst were expecting Benitez to get the sack after a recent slump in form which as seen the Madrid team loose two games on the bounce to Sevilla and Barcelona.

Pérez also denied plans to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to PSG stating that he had no such plans as Ronaldo is an integral part of the Los Blancos.

Rafa Benitez, photo credit: Caricato da Serg Stallone http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode
Rafa Benitez,
photo credit: Caricato da Serg Stallone
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

Benitez took over from Carlo Ancelloti who was fired in the off season and he definitely got his job cut out for him with Barcelona Currently on top of the Liga with 30 points from 12 games while Real Madrid are currently 3rd with 24 points the same number of games Rafa Benitez Might get the same treatment as Ancelloti.

Real Madrid will next play Eibar away on Sunday, Nov 29 2015.

Lionel Messi Back In Full Training With Barcelona

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi returned to full training on Monday five days before the first Clasico of the season, the club said.

Messi has not played since tearing a ligament in his left knee back in September.

“The session included Leo Messi, who is continuing his recovery from the left knee injury he picked up on Sept. 26,” Barcelona revealed.

Also back in training is Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic who has been injured since November 4th.

Lionel Messi credit: hy.wikipedia.org
Lionel Messi
credit: hy.wikipedia.org

Barcelona go into this weekend’s El Clasico leading Real Madrid by three points, with Atletico Madrid a further point behind in third.

Forwards Luis Suarez and Neymar have held fort for the Catalan giants in the absence of the Argentine and his return will definitely be a welcome development, some doubts still surround his availability for El-Classico.

Karim Benzema Admits Speaking To Valbuena About Sex Tape

According to reports from various French News sources, Karim Benzema has admitted in court to his part in the alleged blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena.

Benzema appears to have mentioned the sex tape to Valbuena on the 5th of October whilst the two players were on international duty with France in Clairefontaine.

Investigators want to determine whether the conversation with Valbuena was a case of friendly advice or blackmail.

Benzema taken into custody yesterday i believed to have allegedly admitted his role in the alleged attempt to blackmail fellow-France international Mathieu Valbuena.

The French Striker’s Lawyer has however told the media that his client is innocent of all charges in any attempted blackmail charge.

Karim Benzema photo credit Action Lovers https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode
Karim Benzema
photo credit Action Lovers
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode

This is a fall-out of the investigation that was instituted in July which as also seen former Liverpool Player Djibril Cisse questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.

The Real Madrid Striker has been recuperating from injury in France for a few weeks in which he has missed some crucial games in the Spanish Liga and UEFA Champions League.

Newfanzone Bookies Corner (Game Week 11)

This is Game week 11 of our Bookies corner where we help Punters forecast on the best matches to put their money on. And coming from a 100% success last week here are the games our Man Paul has picked for this week.

Paul Ayorinde’s (@el_pauleta) predictions:

Italian Serie A

Inter Milan V Roma- Double chance on Roma:

Inter got back to winning ways as they defeated Bologna away from home on Tuesday while Roma continue their winning form as they defeated Udinese 3-1. I expect a tough match at the San Siro on Saturday, so i tip Roma to get at least a point away from home.

Italian Serie A

Genoa V Napoli- Double chance on Napoli:

Napoli maintained their superb run of form as they comfortably defeated
Palermo at home. Genoa got a draw away from home against Torino. I tip Napoli to continue their good form and get at least a draw at Comunale Luigi Ferraris on Sunday.

English Premier League

Manchester City V Norwich City- Man City win and over 2.5 goals:

Man City claimed a decent point at Old Trafford on Sunday while Norwich continued their bad run as they lost at home to West Bromwich Albion. I am tipping Manchester City to win convincingly at home on Saturday.

Barclays-Premier-League-Twitter-Accounts

West Bromwich Albion V Leicester – Double chance on Leicester:

West Brom got a good win at Norwich in Game Week 10 while Claudio Ranieri’s men won at home against Crystal Palace. West Bromwich has won their last two games in the league but i expect Leicester to stop them from getting their third win in a row. I tip Leicester to get at least a point at the Hawthorns on Saturday.

Arsenal's Alexis Sánchez in action photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez in action
photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

Swansea V Arsenal – Both teams to score (BTTS):

Swansea got a win against Aston Villa in Game Week 10 while Arsenal continued their winning form against Everton. I expect the game at the Liberty stadium to be exciting with lots of goals. I tip both teams to score in a highly attacking match on Saturday.

German Bundesliga

Hertha Berlin V Borussia Monchengladbach – Double chance on Monchengladbach:

Hertha Berlin won against newcomer Inglostadt last weekend while Monchengladbach defeated Schalke 04. I tip Monchengladbach to get at least a point at the Olympiastadion on Saturday.

German Bundesliga

Wolfsburg V Bayer Leverkusen – Both teams to score (BTTS):

Wolfsburg defeated Darmstadt at the weekend while Leverkusen got a dramatic 4-3 victory against Stuttgart. This is definitely the match of the week in the Bundesliga and I expect a lot of goals. In the last six meeting between this sides, both teams have never failed to score. So i am tipping both teams to score at the Volkswagen Arena.

French Ligue 1

Nice V Lille – Double chance on Nice:

Nice will be looking to bounce back from their shocking loss to Ajaccio last weekend while Lille will be trying to avoid a defeat after losing at home to Marseille at the weekend. Nice has not lost to Lille in their last six league matches and i don’t expect that streak to stop this weekend. I am tipping Nice to get at least a point at home.

Spanish Liga BBVA

Real Madrid V Las Palmas – Real Madrid win and over 2.5 goals:

Real Madrid had a good win at Celta Vigo last weekend while Las Palmas got a morale boosting draw against Villarreal. I am tipping Real Madrid to win convincingly at home on Saturday.

La Liga

Villarreal V Sevilla – Both teams to score(BTTS):

Villarreal had to settle for a draw at bottom side Las Palmas last weekend while Sevilla trounced Getafe 5-0 in an exciting match last Saturday. I expect the match between this two attacking sides to be full of goals, so i am tipping both teams to score.

Newfanzone Bookies Corner (Game Week 10)

This is Game week 10 of our Bookies corner where we help Punters forecast on the best matches to put their money on.

Ademola Adejuwon’s (@demydemo) predictions:

Arsenal vs Everton- Arsenal Win:

The Gunners have been in fine form of late and have not conceded a goal in their last 3 games. Alexis,Walcott and Ozil have been fantastic for the Gunners this season as they unlock any defence with their trickery,pace and Intelligence. The Toffees lost at home last time out scandalously to Manchester united and they will look to at least get a point away to Arsenal to show that they can compete for a place in Europe this season. The Gunners might be too good for Everton as I see them taking all three points in this encounter.

Manchester United vs Manchester City-Both teams to score (BTTS):

Manchester United's Old Trafford a.k.a The Theatre of Dreams, photo credit www.guts.com/en https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Manchester United’s Old Trafford a.k.a The Theatre of Dreams, photo credit http://www.guts.com/en https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

The Manchester derby would be fierce this weekend as all three points is important for both teams in the title race. The two teams have a mixture of youth and experience; Sterling, De Bruyne, Yaya Toure & Wilfred Bony for City while Martial, Schweinstieger, Mata & Rooney for the Red Devils. Manchester City have scored 11 goals in their last two EPL Fixtures which shows how deadly they are offensively and with Mata and Martial Manchester too will definitely get a goal or two in this game.

Spanish La Liga

Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid- Both teams to score(BTTS):

Celta Vigo are giant killers and they’ve been doing excellently in the league. The last big side they hosted (Barcelona) were walloped 4-1. Rafael Benitez’s side have been shrewd at the back with good and dogged defending. Nolito have been a handful this season but the firepower of Ronaldo & co might be too for the Celta Vigo side. A safe pick is that Both teams will surely get Goals.

Barcelona vs Eibar- Barcelona win:

Barcelona welcome Eibar to the camp Nou. The Catalans have struggled to get goals after the injury to their talismanic forward Messi. The defending Champions now look to Suarez and Neymar for goals. Neymar was immense last time out in the league and the Brazilian alongside Rakitc and Suarez would definitely ensure Barcelona get all three points against Eibar at the Camp Nou.

Atletico Madrid vs Valencia: Atletico Madrid double chance:

This is the biggest game in the LaLiga this weekend as Champions league campaigners Atletico Madrid and Valencia face each other at the Vincente Calderon. Atletico have not been doing too bad in the league though with the kind of squad they have they ought to be ontop of the league with the dwindling form of rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid. Diego Simeone knows how to prepare his team for big games like this and expect them to at least get a draw against a good Valencia side.

Bayern Munich

German Bundesliga

Bayern Munich vs Cologne- Bayern Win and over 2.5:

Bayern Unbeaten run finally came to a halt on Tuesday when they were humbled at the Emirates against Arsenal. In the league, Bayern have been invincible and with 7 points above second place Borussia Dortmund they looked to have wrapped up the league title. Pep will want to get back to winning ways after that blip against Arsenal so we might expect a mauling of Cologne at the Allianz Arena.

Borussia Dortmund vs AugsburgDortmund win:

Dortmund have been on a relatively poor run after their explosive start to the season. Tuchel’s side welcome Augsburg to the Signa Iguna park and they know that a win against Augsburg will still give them a chance to go at the league title. Aubameyang will once again lead their forward line and the Gabonese have hardly disappointed so far this season.

Moenchengladbach vs Schalke- Both teams to score (BTTS):

Moenchengladbach form in the league have been poor compared to last season when they qualified for the Champions league. They host Schalke this weekend in what might probe to be the game of the week this season. Both sides are inconsistent and very unpredictable. A safe pick would be Both team to score as they would both come out to attack each other from start to finish.

Italian Serie A

Juventus vs Atlanta- Juventus Double Chance:

Juventus have not scored a goal in their last two games which will come has a worry to coach Massimilliano Allegri. The Italian Champions are in the lower end of the table and need to start winning games if they want to defend their title or qualify for the UCL. Atlanta are a bogey side for the big teams but with Dybala,Morata and Zaza Juventus should at least get a draw at home to Atlanta.

Fiorentina vs Roma- Fiorentina Double Chance:

In form Fiorentina hosts Roma in the Serie A this weekend. Montella’s team would want to bounce back from their defeat to rivals Napoli in the league by defeating another title contender Roma who have been inconsistent this season . Fiorentina are good as a unit and it would be difficult for Roma to break them down especially away from home.

Paul Ayorinde’s (@el_pauleta) predictions:

Italian Serie A

Italian Serie A

Fiorentina V Roma- Both teams to score(BTTS):

This match promises to be a cracker and the game of the week in Serie A. Fiorentina lost 2-1 in Naples last weekend while Roma thrashed Empoli 3-1 in Rome. I am tipping both teams to score in an entertaining match at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday.

Palermo V Inter Milan- Double chance on Inter:

Palermo recorded their third win of the season last weekend while the Nerazzurri played out a 0-0 draw with rivals Juventus. Inter Milan has been in top form this season and i expect Mancini’s men to get at least a point at Renzo Barbera on Saturday night.

Spanish Liga BBVA

Barcelona V Eibar- Barcelona win and over 2.5 goals:

Eibar played a 1-1 draw against Sevilla last weekend while Barcelona defeated Rayo Vallecano 5-2 at the Camp Nou. Barcelona are getting their “groove” back and I expect them to get an high-scoring victory against Eibar on Sunday.

Atletico Madrid V Valencia- Double chance on Atletico Madrid:

Atletico Madrid got a vital win against Real Sociedad away from home last weekend while Valencia thrashed Malaga 3-0 at the Mestalla. Atletico Madrid are very strong at home and i expect them to get a least a point at home when they play Valencia on Sunday.

German Bundesliga

German Bundesliga

Bayer Leverkusen V StuttgartBayer Leverkusen win:

Bayer Leverkusen’s last two games have ended in draws and expect them to step it up this weekend and get a win against struggling Stuttgart. I tip Bayer Leverkusen to get a win at the BayArena on Saturday afternoon.

Borussia Dortmund V Augsburg- Dortmund win:

Borussia Dortmund got back to winning way last weekend, Augsburg are struggling this season and have won just one match in the last 5 matches. I am tipping Borussia Dortmund to win at home on Sunday.

French Ligue 1

Reims V MonacoDouble chance on Monaco:

Reims have lost their last two matches and it will be difficult game for them when they host Monaco at home on Sunday. I tip Monaco to get at least a point at Stade Auguste Delaune II

English Premier League

Leicester City V Crystal PalaceDouble chance on Leicester:

Leicester City fought back from 2-0 down to rescue a point against Southampton in Gameweek 9 while Crystal Palace lost 3-1 at home against West Ham. I expect Leicester City to continue their good form this weekend. I tip the home team to get at least a point on Saturday.

Chelsea's Eden Hazard takes on Norwich City's Jonny Howson photo credit: Ben Sutherland https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard takes on Norwich City’s Jonny Howson
photo credit: Ben Sutherland
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

West Ham V Chelsea- Both teams to score(BTTS):

West Ham picked up an impressive win at Crystal Palace last weekend while Chelsea won at home against Aston Villa. This match promises to be an exciting one with lot of goals. I predict both teams to score at Upton park on Saturday.

Bournemouth V TottenhamTottenham win:

The Cherries lost 5-1 away from home last weekend while Tottenham played a 0-0 draw at home against Liverpool. Bournemouth have been struggling in the past weeks, so i expect Tottenham’s attack of Kane, Njie and Eriksen to be too strong for the BPL newcomers. I predict Tottenham to get a slim win away from home on Sunday.