Raheem Sterling appears set to miss Champions League duty against Real Madrid after Pep Guardiola predicted the Manchester City attacker would miss “weeks” with a hamstring injury.
The 25-year-old limped out of his side’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and could miss a crucial part of the season as City chase silverware in Europe, the FA Cup, and the League Cup.
“It takes weeks, but I don’t know how long right now,” Guardiola said, as reported by BBC Sport.
The City manager continued: “It is a problem being without him but we were without Gundo (Ilkay Gundogan) in the first season and (Aymeric) Laporte this season. It is what it is.”
City’s upcoming cup matches:
Date
Opponent
Event
Feb. 26
Real Madrid
Champions League round of 16
March 1
Aston Villa
League Cup final
March 4
Sheffield Wednesday
FA Cup fifth round
March 17
Real Madrid
Champions League round of 16
Sterling has featured in 23 of City’s 25 league outings this season but his form has suffered in recent weeks. Following an explosive start to the season, the English international has failed to score in his last seven appearances across all competitions.
Frontline help may soon arrive in the shape of Leroy Sane, though. The German winger was sidelined in early August with a serious knee injury but returned to training with the first-team squad this week. “It needs time. He needs weeks,” Guardiola warned.
The XFL launches Saturday and will showcase a heavy emphasis on sports betting. In fact, some of the new rules were built with the engagement of the sports betting fan in mind, and wagering will be front and center during the games.
“For a lot of our fans, free-to-play gaming, fantasy and legal sports betting have become [as] essential to the football experience as the helmet, ball and jersey,” XFL president Jeffrey Pollack said.
Let’s take a deeper look at the role of sports betting in the upcoming XFL season.
Where can you bet the XFL?
2 Related
All major sportsbooks, including Caesars Sportsbook, will have lines up for every game during the XFL season. Week 1 lines have been posted since last week and feature the DC Defenders (-8 vs. Seattle Dragons), Houston Roughnecks (-6 vs. Los Angeles Wildcats), Tampa Bay Vipers (-2.5 at New York Guardians) and Dallas Renegades (-9.5 vs. St. Louis BattleHawks) as favorites.
The following states have authorized XFL betting markets ahead of the inaugural season: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Rhode Island, Iowa and Nevada. More states may allow it as the season gets underway. Notably, many states and sportsbooks did not begin offering lines on last spring’s Alliance of American Football (AAF) season until after Week 1.
What can you bet on?
Point spreads, odds to win the championship and season win totals, just like in the NFL, are up at most sportsbooks. In addition, totals on individual games will be offered on a weekly basis, and the plan is to offer player props once the season gets underway.
How will betting on the XFL differ from NFL betting?
Betting limits will vary from book to book but will be lower than the limits for a typical NFL game. Bettors should expect lines to move quickly and significantly as oddsmakers look to gauge the new rules and the betting patterns.
Glad you asked. In the XFL, you can elect to go for one point (a play run from the 2-yard line), two points (from the 5) or three points (from the 10) after each touchdown. This will make the standard key betting numbers of 3 and 7 likely irrelevant and open up a whole new angle to betting.
In addition, overtime will consist of each team getting five one-play possessions to attempt to score from the 5-yard line and will continue until a team is mathematically eliminated. This means that if a game has a point spread of 6 or less, it will always be in play in the OT.
Is the XFL on top of things bettors want and need, like injury reports?
Yes, this is where things will differ from the AAF, which supplied very limited information. Through surveys, the XFL identified what fans wanted to be more engaged in games. According to league officials, the XFL’s injury reporting will closely replicate the NFL’s, using similar nomenclature in practice reports like “limited participation,” and will be updated throughout the week.
What else do I need to know about how the XFL will embrace sports betting?
ESPN and ABC plan to incorporate betting lines into their on-screen scoreboards and more freely discuss those lines during broadcasts. This is vastly different from the NFL, which does not allow on-screen graphics regarding sports betting or in-game mentions of it. Every XFL game in 2020 will be televised by ABC, ESPN, Fox or FS1. The full schedule can be found
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — His first experience in the AFC Championship Game last year taught Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes a few truths about football this deep into the season. The main lesson: to be ready for anything the opponent might throw his way.
Mahomes will take those lessons into this year’s AFC title game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium (3:05 p.m. ET, CBS).
“Last year they caught us a little off guard with the coverages they played at the beginning of the game,” Mahomes said of the Chiefs’ overtime loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. “We made adjustments and were able to score points later in the game, but you want to make sure that you’re just preparing for everything. You know that [the Titans have] a good defense. They do a lot of different things, play a lot of man, play a lot of zone and so you know they’re going to throw different coverages out there against you.”
The Chiefs were the NFL’s highest-scoring team in the 2018 regular season but were shut out in the first half of the championship game when the Patriots blanketed Mahomes’ receivers with man-to-man coverage. The Chiefs eventually adjusted and came back to take the lead on the Patriots before losing in overtime.
Falling behind 14-0 at halftime again is something Mahomes and the Chiefs are trying to avoid.
Succeeding against man coverage is an area where Mahomes and the Chiefs have improved since early this season. In the first seven games, Mahomes threw against man coverage 69% of the time, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and had a QBR of 65, a completion rate of 58% and a touchdown rate of 3.6% on those throws.
Since he returned from his knee injury in Week 10, Mahomes has a QBR of 77 against man coverage, a completion rate of 62% and a TD rate of 8.3%. Mahomes threw four touchdown passes in last week’s divisional round win over the Houston Texans.
Last season in the AFC Championship Game, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs fell behind 14-0 at the half to the Patriots before eventually losing in overtime. This season Mahomes has figured out “how to win when things aren’t perfect.” Patrick Smith/Getty Images
“They played quite a bit of man, almost every snap,” coach Andy Reid said of the Texans. “Our guys have battled through it. I think we’ve gotten better at releases. … I think we’ve done a better job coaching it. I’ll take responsibility for that. We’ve spent a lot of time at that. The faults were my problem. … Changed some things up and got it straightened out.”
The Chiefs are now confident against any coverage.
“I feel like nobody in the NFL can guard any of us,” wide receiver
“The second year in the NFL is a tough year for quarterbacks, a tough, tough year,” Reid said. “There are some great minds in the National Football League that are coaching the defensive side of the ball. They have a whole year, offseason, to study, and they’re going to come back with their absolute best against you and he answered it and he did it through some adversity with injuries or players that weren’t playing, whatever it might be.
“He didn’t flinch. He kept the same attitude, the same work ethic, and he went after it. He had a major injury that he pushed through where the coaches and the trainers and the doctors all had to back him off.”
Mahomes played through three significant injuries this season, though only the dislocated kneecap prevented him from playing in a game. He missed 2½ games in the middle of the season.
The Chiefs had a rash of other offensive injuries as well. Hill missed four games early in the season and the Chiefs were forced to start five different offensive line combinations.
The Chiefs scored 114 fewer points than in 2018 but had their highest-scoring game of the season last week when they tallied 51.
“He’s learning how to win when things aren’t perfect,” offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said of Mahomes. “Now he’s making plays with his feet in the pocket. He’s making a call at the line of scrimmage and giving us an opportunity to pick up pressure from a late-rotating safety.
“Don’t get me wrong: You always want to see those games where we can have 400, 500 yards passing and a lot of points. But you have to know how to win when things aren’t perfect.”
Mahomes in 2018 threw 50 touchdown passes and for more than 5,000 yards during the regular season, becoming only the second player in NFL history to accomplish the feat. This season, his touchdowns were down to 26 and his yards down to 4,031.
But his interceptions also were down, from 12 last season to five.
“Understanding Coach Reid’s game plan and knowing the big plays are going to come,” Mahomes said in explanation. “He’s going to dial up the plays where you can take the shots. Having the experience of more and more games, I really understand that more now. I obviously want to go for the big shot with all the speed and playmakers we have on the field but just let it come to you and not force it.
“In general I’m more prepared just [because of] the experience I’ve had this year. I still feel there are times where the defense gets me. But that happens. … Whenever I get an unscouted look, I’m able to fall back on stuff I’ve done in my short career and hopefully I’ll keep building that memory as I go.”
