Pep Guardiola took off Erling Haaland against Slovan Bratislava to take care of Manchester City s superstar striker.

Haaland scored in the 58th minute to make it 3-0 to City in Slovakia on Tuesday.

He was taken off two minutes later, to be replaced by James McAtee, who went on to score his first City goal and round off a 4-0 Champions League rout.

With focus now switching back to the Premier League, and Saturday s clash with Fulham, Guardiola explained the substitution was made to protect the striker, who has already netted 10 goals in England s top flight this season.

Asked if Haaland had been frustrated to be taken off, Guardiola told City s media channels: Erling is never disappointed with his manager.

As a manager I am more secure and more ha…

Bayern Munich unsurprisingly picked up a number of awards at the UEFA Champions League draw on Thursday.

Here s Thomas Muller, announcing the best goalkeeper, the best defender, the best forward and the best coach.

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One of the NFL’s best rivalries in recent memory will play out in the Bay Area, as the struggling Seattle Seahawks fly south to take on the San Francisco 49ers.

Seattle, fresh off one of the flattest losses of the Pete Carroll-Russell Wilson era, won’t be looking at an easy get-right spot with a San Fran team eager to get over its Sunday Night Football heartbreaker playing host.

Read on for our free NFL betting picks and predictions for Seahawks vs. 49ers, with kickoff set for October 3.

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Trilogies have a history of falling short of expectations by the third go-around. But with a ticket to the Super Bowl on the line, the third meeting between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams promises to be an instant classic — especially if their Week 18 war is any indication.

The Rams, who blew a 17-0 lead and eventually lost in overtime to the 49ers in a thrilling season finale (allowing San Francisco into the playoffs), are 3.5-point NFL betting favorites in the NFC Championship Game.

Here are our free NFL picks and predictions for 49ers vs. Rams on Sunday, January 30.

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After nine seasons, a handful of playoff trips, and even some franchise records, Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders will officially part ways in the near future.  

The divorce between quarterback and team comes after Josh McDaniels and Vegas brass made the decision to move on before the end of the regular season, sitting him in favor of Jarrett Stidham.

A long-anticipated breakup meant potential suitors were quickly identified, and NFL odds for Carr’s next spot quickly followed. We’ve got the odds and the spotlight on some favorites below.

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The Buffalo Bills are back from across the pond following a disappointing loss to Jacksonville. Now they get a primetime matchup in the SNF odds when they face off against the struggling New York Giants. 

The Bills are massive favorites in the Week 6 odds and set up nicely for a big Josh Allen performance. He will be looking for a big bounce-back game to get himself back into the MVP conversation and for his team to remain Super Bowl contenders.

We take a closer look at the Josh Allen odds and give our best free NFL picks for Giants vs. Bills on October 15. 

Also, be sure to check out our full Giants vs. Bills predictions and SNF prop picks!

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The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals wrap up their regular season on Sunday at Paycor Stadium. With the Browns locked into the fifth seed in the AFC and the Bengals eliminated from the playoffs, the Week 18 odds will likely showcase a boring affair in this one.

With nothing to gain from a victory, the Browns are expected to rest multiple starters, which has led to the NFL odds for this contest growing from Bengals -4 to -7. Here are my best free NFL picks for Browns vs. Bengals on January 7.

Browns vs Bengals odds

Browns vs Bengals predictions

Considering how many injuries the Cleveland Browns have dealt with, it makes sense to rest as many key starters as possible in this spot. This offense had bee…

Monday Night Football “goes to the birds” when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons in the Week 2 finale.

The leaders of those two flocks are under the prime-time lights, with Jalen Hurts at the wheel of a dynamic Philadelphia attack and Kirk Cousins questioned about his health after a dud debut for Atlanta.

I look at the quarterback props for Monday Night Football and give my best Falcons vs. Eagles predictions and NFL picks for this September 16 tilt.

Kirk Cousins odds and props

My best bet: Kirk Cousins Over 1.5 passing touchdowns (+148 at FanDuel)

My analysis:I’ll say this is a “best lean” rather than a best bet. 

The state of Kirk Co…

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Following the Premier League’s unanimous decision to embark on Phase Two of Project Restart, Troy Deeney has agreed to return to Watford training having opted to sit out his team’s first tentative steps back on to the pitch because he didn’t want to risk bringing home a virus that might endanger his infant son’s life. 

The Fiver presumed curiosity had got the better of Troy, who wished to see how his teammates would pull off the impressive feat of gathering in small groups and tackling one other while simultaneously “minimising unnecessary close contact”. Sort of like a government advisor simultaneously breaking the law while not actually breaking the law, such cont…

Something of the ridiculousness of modern elite football could be found on the streets of central Vienna on Monday night as hundreds of the game’s power brokers were escorted across the city to make sure they didn’t miss their dinner. Oliver Kahn was hugger-mugger with Michael Ballack, the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, was being pursued by the Leeds owner, Andrea Radrizzani, and Ajax’s Edwin van der Sar was trying to find out whether Roman Abramovich had been poisoned. They were part of a cohort that resembled a bunch of exchange students as they followed a big sign saying “ECA” to a grand restaurant where the food was later described as disappointing.

The European Club Association is, depending on who you listen to, the secr…