Sport
Preview: Romania vs. Switzerland – prediction, team news, lineups
Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Euro Champ Qualifying clash between Romania and Switzerland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
The top two in Group I will face off on Tuesday evening, with already-qualified duo Romania and Switzerland going head-to-head for first position in their Euro 2024 qualification section.
Romania are currently at the summit on 19 points, two points ahead of second-placed Switzerland, and which Pots the two teams are placed in for the finals draw will be impacted by their final positions....Click Here To Continue Reading>>
Match preview
© Reuters
Romania have won five and drawn four of their nine matches in Group I to collect 19 points, which has left them at the summit, two clear of second-placed Switzerland and crucially seven ahead of third-placed Israel.
The Tricolours have already secured their spot in the finals of Euro 2024, and a draw on Tuesday would be enough to secure first position in the section and a place in Pot 2 for the finals draw.
If the contest is level, Romania will be in Pot 2 and Switzerland in Pot 4, which would also be the same if Romania win here, but if Switzerland were to secure all three points, they would take first position and be included in Pot 2, with Romania falling into Pot 3 or 4.
Edward Iordanescu’s side will enter this contrast off the back of successive wins over Andorra and Israel, but the points were shared in a 2-2 draw when they locked horns with Switzerland in the reverse match.
Romania did not qualify for Euro 2020 despite being a host nation, but they were present in the 2016 edition of the tournament, failing to make it past the group stage of the tournament in France.
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Switzerland, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 1-1 draw with Kosovo on Saturday, which proved to be their third straight stalemate in this section.
Murat Yakin’s side have won four and drawn five of their nine matches in Group I to collect 17 points, which has left them in second position in the table.
As mentioned, Switzerland must win this match to secure first spot and a position in Pot 2, but they have found it difficult to secure three points in recent games, winning just one of their last five fixtures in Group I.
A-Team failed to qualify for the finals of the European Championship in 2012, but they have been present in the last two editions of the tournament, reaching the round of 16 in 2016 and quarter-finals in 2020.
Switzerland were also involved in the World Cup finals in Qatar last year, with the team reaching the last-16 stage of the competition, which has now been the case in each of their last three World Cups.
Romania Euro Champ Qualifying form:
Switzerland Euro Champ Qualifying form:
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Team News
© Reuters
Romania will be without the services of Valentin Mihaila after the Parma midfielder was sent off during the clash with Israel on Saturday evening.
The home side are otherwise in strong shape, though, and with no injuries reported, it might be a case of same again in terms of the starting XI for this match.
George Puscas has now netted 11 times for his country, making him the second-highest goalscorer in the squad, and he should again feature as the centre-forward, while Nicolae Stanciu, who has 14 international goals to his name, is set to start in his role as captain.
As for Switzerland, head coach Yakin could also decide to keep faith with the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Kosovo last time out.
AC Milan’s Noah Okafor played through the middle on Saturday, and that is again likely to be the case here, with Ruben Vargas, who scored in the team’s last match, also featuring in a forward area.
Xherdan Shaqiri is also set to keep his spot, while there will again be familiar names in the XI in the shape of Manuel Akanji, Granit Xhaka and Denis Zakaria.
Romania possible starting lineup:Moldovan; Ratiu, Dragusin, Burca, Bancu; Marin, Screciu; Hagi, Stanciu, Dragus; Puscas
Switzerland possible starting lineup:Sommer; Comert, Akanji, Elvedi, U Garcia; Zakaria, Xhaka, Freuler; Shaqiri, Okafor, Vargas
We say: Romania 1-1 Switzerland
Switzerland are drawing games for fun at the moment, and we can see this one also ending in a low-scoring stalemate, which would see Romania top the section and secure a position in Pot 2 for the finals draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was back to his best during the 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Gunners made it three league wins on the bounce after beating Wolves at the Emirates Stadium. Bukayo Saka opened the scoring in the sixth minute.
A wonderful bit of team play contributed to Odegaard doubling the lead in the 13th minute.
Arsenal should have been out of sight with the chances in the final third, but they had a nervy finish in the end after Matheus Cunha scored, four minutes from time.
A defensive mishap from Oleksandr Zinchenko paved the way for the goal, but the Gunners managed to hang on for a well-deserved victory over Gary O’Neil’s side.
In our view, Odegaard was clearly the man of the match with one of his best performances of the season.
The Norwegian was inconsistent with his form earlier this campaign, but he appears to be finding his feet at the right time for the Gunners in their title pursuit.
Against Wolves, he had 97 touches with 77 passes at an accuracy of 89 per cent. He had no defensive work to do, but was brilliant with his attacking display.
Odegaard managed six key passes and created three big chances for Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah respectively, but they failed to extend the lead.
The Gunners should have been out of sight with at least a five-goal margin, but they were made to work hard for the victory after a late consolation strike from Cunha.
The win over Wolves has seen the club extend their lead at the top of the table to four points.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
Twenty-year-old Serbian sixth seed Hamad Medjedovic is crowned the Next Gen ATP Finals champion with a captivating victory over Arthur Fils in Sunday’s final.
Twenty-year-old Serbian sixth seed Hamad Medjedovic was crowned the Next Gen ATP Finals champion with a captivating victory over Arthur Fils in Sunday’s final.
Emulating the feats of his compatriot Novak Djokovic in November’s ATP Finals, Medjedovic brought home another trophy to Serbia with a 3–4[6], 4–1, 4–2, 3–4 [9], 4–1 victory in just after two hours.
Medjedovic’s success caps off a stellar breakthrough year for the 2003-born protege, who reached the first round of Wimbledon and the French Open for the first time in 2023 and came close to breaking into the top 100, getting as high as world number 102 in October....Click Here To Continue Reading>>
“I can’t believe I have won this title, but it’s going to give me a lot of confidence for 2024. Arthur is an amazing player; he’s Top 40 for a reason, so I’m really happy,” Medjedovic said on the court.
“It was tough after the first set. I changed my clothes and recovered and started to play good again. I didn’t play good when I had match points in the fourth set. I wasn’t relaxed, I was very stiff. Thank God I recovered and I was just trying to stay relaxed as much as I could and I managed to do it in the end.”
2023 ATP Finals Champion: Novak Djokovic 🇷🇸2023 Next Gen ATP Finals Champion: Hamad Medjedovic 🇷🇸Learning from the best 👀 pic.twitter.com/ie284rcZ3M— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) December 2, 2023
Making a name for himself throughout the tournament with his blistering serves, the Serbian fired 19 aces past Fils throughout the contest and won 88% of points behind his first serve in total.
Medjedovic also kept his mistakes to a minimum, only producing nine unforced errors and 32 winners, as well as saving all four break points he faced against his French foe.
The 20-year-old recovered from a couple of early unforced errors in the fourth-set tie-breaker to bring up two match points, although he failed to take either of them as Fils took the contest to the distance.
However, an inopportune unforced error from Fils on break point allowed Medjedovic to establish an early two-game lead in the fifth set, and the Serbian quintessentially confirmed his champion status with an ace on match point.
Alongside his Next Gen supremacy, Medjedovic also took home three Challenger level titles in the 2023 season, as well as getting to the semi-finals of the Astana Open and Swiss Open on the ATP Tour.
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Sports Mole rounds up all of the latest injury and suspension news ahead of Sunday’s La Liga clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona will be aiming to return to winning ways in La Liga when they host Atletico Madrid on Sunday night.
Xavi’s side are currently fourth in the table, level on points (31) with third-placed Atletico ahead of this weekend’s huge fixture, and here Sports Mole rounds up the team news....Click Here To Continue Reading>>
© Reuters
BARCELONA
Out: Gavi (knee), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back)
Doubtful: None
Sports Mole’s predicted XI: Pena; Araujo, Kounde, I Martinez, Cancelo; Pedri, Gundogan, De Jong; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix
ATLETICO MADRID
Out: Pablo Barrios (knee), Thomas Lemar (Achilles), Vitolo (knee)
Doubtful: None
Sports Mole’s predicted XI: Oblak; Gimenez, Witsel, Hermoso; Molina, De Paul, Saul, Koke, Riquelme; Morata, Griezmann
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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