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The four year wait is finally over, and on Thursday afternoon we can look forward to the 2018 World Cup kicking off in Moscow. To be honest, it’s not the most eye catching of opening fixtures, but it looks like it could be a very closely contested affair.

Russia come into their home World Cup as the lowest ranked side in the FIFA World Rankings after their recent 1-1 draw with Turkey, placing them 70th in the list and three positions lower than the next lowest ranked side, who happen to be Saudi Arabia.

To be honest, Russia’s preparations for the World Cup haven’t gone particularly well. They lost 1-0 to Austria at the end of May and their draw with Turkey last week was a rather dull affair. They come into the opening match without a win since October, losing four and drawing three of their seven games since then.

In fact, Russia have won just six of their matches since they were knocked out of Euro 2016, and they have only beaten one team who are present in this World Cup since November 2015. They have lost eight of their last 14 matches against teams who have qualified for the 2018 World Cup, winning once against South Korea.

Saudi Arabia may be officially the second worst nation at the tournament, but they actually performed quite well in their most recent warm up friendly, limiting a full strength Germany side to a 2-1 win. This was a much better showing than their 3-0 hammering against Peru at the start of June, and before that they only lost 2-1 to Italy as well.

With that said , Our experts suggests a Russia Win or Draw Double Chance alongside a 1-1 correct score predictions

PREDICTIONS;Russia win /draw and over 1.5 goals

For more expert tips and analysis,CLICK HERE

2nd leg between Barcelona and Chelsea at Camp Nou.

My pick is very simple- just Suarez to score. Well, Barca is the clear favourite to continue to the QFs and they need goals, because 1:1 after the 1st leg doesn't suit any of the teams. Barca can also continue with a goalless draw, but that's not their style for sure. I expect Chelsea to keep an eye mostly on Messi and he will be their main priority. I know he is the most expected goalscorer tonight and maybe he will do it- he takes the penalties, free-kicks.. but I think Barca are intelligent team and they will concentrate on creating chances exactly for Suarez who is like a predator in the penalty zone. He is the most expected goal scorer for me and I feel he will even score the first goal in the match tonight.

P.S: He knows how to score against Chelsea and proved it with the Liverpool shirt.

For more saucy sure pics,CLICK HERE

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Juventus have to maintain their current pace of scoring in order to keep up tabs with the Napoli, Inter, Lazio and themselves sitting in the top 4 spots in the Serie A table separated by just 3 points. Whoever blinks first, might see them have an opportunity to give someone else the advantage; and that is something you know that the teams will not want to do. Juventus have been playing well in Serie A; with just the loss to Lazio and draw with Atalanta their only black marks on their report card so far. But when you look at the scoring charts; they are leading the league with 33 goals in 11 games so far with Dybala hitting 11 goals and Higuain with 6. If neither of those 2 get you; the midfield supporting cast of Khedira, Cuadrado, Bernadeschi and even Manduzkic playing in the wide left midfield will be on hand to put the ball in the back of the net. Juventus have shown weaknesses at the back conceding goals in 6 out of their last 7 games; and while their opponents are the worst offensive team in the league; they might fancy their chances to attack their opponents.



Benevento just got promoted this season but the way things are going; it looks like they are headed straight back where they came from. Benevento have shipped as massive 29 goals in 11 games while only being able to score 4 goals. They have lost every single game they have played and some massive losses at that which include; 5-1 to Lazio, 3-0 to Fiorentina, 4-0 to Roma and 6-0 to Napoli; which won't bode them with any confidence with the Italian Champions coming to town.



I expect Juventus to run riot and put up a goal fest before the international break; and I am backing there to be over 3.5 goals in this encounter between Juventus and Benevento.

http://winningslips.com/juventus-vs-benevento-prediction

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It doesn't take a footballing expert to understand that Cristiano Ronaldo is on the decline. The four-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest football players of this generation.

He has scored 616 goals for club and country with 4 UEFA Champions League winners medal. He has won every possible honour in club football and led Portugal to the UEFA Euro title in 2016.

After 15 full seasons with Sporting CP, Manchester United and Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be slowing down a bit. For the first time in more than 10 years, he is going through a goal drought and his struggles are clearly visible. It is quite natural for any player who played 15 successful seasons at the top-flight to slow down.

Let's see the 5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo is past his prime:

#5 His runs are slowing down and is no more a threat from outside the box

Nowadays, we rarely see the Cristiano Ronaldo of old who gets the ball anywhere on the field and just starts racing & dribbling his way past opponents towards goal. With age and injuries catching up with him, he is more selective about his runs. He is still one of the fastest in the world but a tad slower than he was a couple of years ago.

He plays more centrally these days or as a false 9. He is more of a striker than a left winger. He plays closer to the goal than he was before and let his midfielders do the job of moving the ball. He does not offer much outside the box and runs less.

 
His goals from outside the box reduced drastically over the last couple of seasons and he is not the threat he once used to be. He does not contribute a lot to the build-up play and the stats below clearly shows where he was once and where he is now.

Shots from outside the penalty area (La Liga & UCL)

2014/15 (Total, per game)- 126, 2.9

2015/16 (Total, per game)- 114, 2.7

2016/17 (Total, per game)- 74, 1.8

2017/18 (Total, per game)- 12, 1.2

#4 Decline as a set-piece specialist

For a man who scored more than 50 free kick goals (for both club and country) in his illustrious career, his return has been poor in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 La Liga seasons where he just scored only once in each season.

Gone are the days when opposition teams don't want to foul a player anywhere near the goal when Cristiano Ronaldo is on the pitch. His set-piece expertise is part of what made him a great player at Manchester United and that's what prompted Real Madrid to pay a world record fee for him.

His knee injury (tendinitis) late in the 2013/14 season had a major impact on his free-kick technique. He modified it a bit to put less pressure on his knee which affected his ability to shoot from distance. Just to relieve him of the pressure, Garth Bale and Isco are beginning to see more of the set-piece duty these days.

Set-piece Goals (La Liga & UCL):

2015/16 - 9

2016/17 - 4

2017/18 - 0

# 3 Goal conversion ratio reduced drastically

Those days when Cristiano Ronaldo single-handedly rescued Manchester United and Real Madrid are over. With just one goal from 40 efforts on goal, Cristiano Ronaldo has the worst conversion rate (2.5 percent) of all goalscorers in Europe's top five leagues.

Cristiano Ronaldo is going through a goal drought and Real Madrid is struggling domestically and in Europe. Real Madrid created 151 goalscoring chances in total in La Liga this season and have taken only 8% of them. They have a shot accuracy of 48% and are wasteful in-front of the goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored only once in 540 minutes from six La Liga this season. He has missed some easiest of chances in La Liga this term and has a shot accuracy of 39%. Last week against Girona, Ronaldo attempted 7 shots on goal without success, misplaced 6 passes and was dispossessed once which was uncharacteristic of him.

Goal Conversion Stats(La Liga):

2014/15 - 21.33 %

2015/16 - 15.42 %

2016/17 - 10 %

2017/18 - 2.5

#2 We don't get to see his Dribbles/Take-ons a lot these days

Cristiano Rolando took the Premier League by storm after he made his Manchester United debut in 2003/04 season. Primarily a left winger, Ronaldo became noted for his dribbling and flair, often displaying an array of tricks and feints such as the stepovers that became his trademark during his days in England.

But recent stats reveal that Cristiano Ronaldo has lost his dribbling ability. It is being a little harsh on the player who plays more centrally these days and not as a winger. But his ability to take on the players has diminished over the last 2 to 3 seasons. He averaged over 100 dribbles a season in his first few years at Madrid but over the last few years, it had gone down to 50.

He is no more the deadly Cristiano Ronaldo, who was direct and dashed past opponents as if there weren't there. 5 years back, it will be hard to name a player who can mark Ronaldo out of the game but against Girona last week, 20-year-old Pablo Maffeo did the job to perfection which goes on to say Ronaldo has lost his invincibility.

Ronaldo and Messi successful dribbles (La Liga & UCL)

2014/15: Ronaldo 79 - 166 Messi

2015/16 - Ronaldo 58 - 151 Messi

2016/17 - Ronaldo 40 - 154 Messi

2017/18 - Ronaldo 12 - 77 Messi

#1 He does not create or score goals often as he used to

Ronaldo started his Manchester United career on the left wing and whenever he touches the ball, one can expect him to blast forward, weaving past the opponents with pace and trickery. He influenced the game from midfield, breaking down attacks and creating goals. After his move to Real Madrid, Manuel Pellegrini preferred to play him in a more central role. He became more of a goal scoring threat but often comes deep to influence the game.

When you see the above stats, chances created per 90 mins and goals per 90 mins are on the decline during 2015/16 and 2016/17. The goal scoring threat of Ronaldo has diminished over the last 2 seasons.

Apart from few moments of brilliance, he plays more of a waiting role in the box, expecting his midfielders to create opportunities. As shown below, his numbers on the assists and key passes are clearly on the decline, proving that he is no more the driving force he once was.

Total Assists, Key passes per game (La Liga & UCL)

2014/15 - 19, 2

2015/16 - 15, 1.5

2016/17 - 11, 1.3

2017/18 - 1, 1.3

Stoke City have been struggling really badly off late, and majorly a defensive crisis where they have leaked goals in 8 straight games in all competitions; before they kept a clean sheet last time around in their last encounter against Watford; despite tremendous pressure from the hOrnets. In total, they have conceded 20 goals this Premier League season, which is the 2nd highest in the Premier League this season; but the goals they are scoring to steal results has helped this game survive out of the relegation zone for now. Both teams have scored in nearly 70% of Stoke's matches this season. Stoke City have been good in finding the back of the net however, netting in 4 straight games including scoring 2 against Manchester City. They haven't been scared of any big teams and this season have netted against Arsenal and Manchester United as well; which shows Hughes style of defending and then attacking on the counter with quick players like Chupo-Moting; Shaqiri, Allen and Diouf have definitely helped out. 

Leicester City have been in some good form losing just 1 out of their last 8 encounters which was against Liverpool by a narrow 2-3 scoreline; showcasing how tough this team is that they go at it against all opponents. Leicester City offensively, have been doing well with the likes of Mahrez, Vardy, Okazaki and Albrighton being their standard front 4 with rotation with players like Slimani and Gray adding to their strong attacking force. In fact, Leicester have scored in 11 out of 13 matches that they have played in all competitions, which has helped them move to 11th spot; with victory today probably pushing them in the top 10. Leicester defensively, have been average; conceding in 4 out of 5 away from home with Both teams scoring landing in nearly 70% of their matches. 

Both teams have been in good scoring form, while their defenses have been pretty average; so one should definitely expect both teams to score in this encounter; which landed in the last 2 away encounters to Stoke City between these 2 sides.

http://winningslips.com/stoke-city-vs-leicester-prediction

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Liverpool have promised and delivered one thing in almost every Premier League encounter; that is goals. The Merseyside outfit have been pure entertainment in every encounter that they have played in with 33 goals being scored in their 10 encounters played till date; and what makes up a terrible showing for them sitting in 6th spot is the 16 goals that they have conceded this season so far. However, that has improved with 4 clean sheets in their last 5 matches. But as an insurance for Klopp he knows his team has to go out in the pitch every week and keep scoring goals in order to have that 1 extra goal than his opponents. The last 4 games have seen them 14 goals; although it was 10 against Maribor and 1 against Tottenham; the performance against Huddersfield where they won 3-0; surely brought some confidence back to the Anfield faithful. Liverpool should look to start a attacking 6 including Firmino, Coutinho, Salah, Sane, Henderson and Can which could surely counter attack against any an all opponents.


West Ham will be fearful of their right wing in this encounter especially with Antonio struggling to recover from injury and Zabaleta suspended leaving the likes of Coutinho, Sane and Moreno to attack at will on that end of the pitch. West Ham manager Bilic knows that his job could go at any time, but a victory against Tottenham in the Cup and a draw against Palace last time around could give him a stay of execution even if he drops this game. West Ham will be confident that their attacking strength is slowly showing netting 5 goals in their last 2 games, while scoring in 6 of their last 7 games including netting 4 against Tottenham in 2 games. The injury list at West Ham is something that twill not help them out in this encounter with the likes of Fonte and Creswell as major doubts, while Antonio, Reid and Collins likely to be out and Zabaleta suspended. West Ham have conceded 19 goals in 10 games so far this Premier League season.


Liverpool know that West Ham are ripe for the taking; and with all their major contenders playing on Sunday, this could give them the opportunity, especially to overtake Arsenal to 5th spot. With Liverpools' great attacking and West Ham struggling defensively, I am backing Liverpool to net over 1.5 goals in this encounter. 

http://winningslips.com/west-ham-vs-liverpool-predictions

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