HeadtoHeadFootball -

EDITOR PICKS

Soccer

De Bruyne to miss 5-6 weeks with knee injury

Kevin De Bruyne will miss the Manchester derby and a number of other key fixtures in the coming weeks after suffering a knee injury during Manchester City’s League Cup win Thursday.

The midfielder, making his first domestic start since returning from a lengthy injury absence, limped off the pitch in the 86th minute after Fulham defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah fell on his left leg.

The knock overshadowed the 2-0 triumph, as scans Friday revealed that De Bruyne suffered knee ligament damage and will be out of action for five-to-six weeks, the team confirmed Friday.

Despite the serious nature of the injury, Manchester City said that the 27-year-old won’t have to undergo surgery.

Confirmation of the ailment represents a massive setback for De Bruyne, who returned from a right knee injury in August after a two-month layoff.

Manchester City face Southampton on Sunday and Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday before the derby against Manchester United on Nov. 11.

De Bruyne could also miss key fixtures after the international break against Lyon and Chelsea, as well as a handful of other matches.

City faired well domestically during his absence, going unbeaten in nine matches between the Premier League and League Cup. The only blemish came in the Champions League when Lyon recorded a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

NFL

Raiders to release veteran DE, captain Irvin

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders have told defensive end Bruce Irvin that they will release him, ending a star-crossed 2½-year tenure with the team.

Irvin was not on Saturday’s NFL transaction wire, meaning he cannot be released until 4 p.m. ET Monday. When he is released, he will then go on waivers.

Irvin thanked the Raiders organization in a tweet Saturday afternoon:

“We would like to thank Bruce Irvin for his years of service to the Oakland Raiders and we wish him the best,” general manager Reggie McKenzie said.

Irvin was named a defensive captain before the start of the season but saw his playing time diminish greatly, and he registered only nine defensive snaps in Thursday night’s 34-3 loss at the San Francisco 49ers.

He made the switch from outside linebacker this offseason and was a bookend pass-rusher to Khalil Mack, before Mack was traded to the Chicago Bears on Sept. 1.

Irvin, who had career-high-tying eight sacks opposite Mack last season, struggled as the primary pass-rusher, recording three sacks in eight games, which leads the team. Oakland has a league-low seven sacks on the season.

Irvin rankled some in the organization when he told reporters after the Raiders’ 27-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in London, “We lost, but I’ve got a beautiful wife I get to go home to, boy. I’m going to try to make some babies, man.”

Under returning coach Jon Gruden, the Raiders have torn down a roster that was thought to have foundation pieces in place to replicate the 12-4 season of 2016, in Mack and Irvin on defense and quarterback Derek Carr and receiver Amari Cooper on offense. Only Carr remains, as Cooper was traded to the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 22. Plus, veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie retired last week.

Gruden was asked Friday about Irvin’s diminished role.

“Well, last night, we weren’t in our nickel defense very much,” Gruden said. “Remember, we’re a 4-3 team, we’re not a 3-4. So in the base defense, sometimes he doesn’t fit the role that we need done. No disrespect to Bruce. He’s an edge rusher. We haven’t had a lead. We haven’t had the opposition behind in the chains a lot. So his role has been reduced. I know he’s frustrated. I’m frustrated. We’ll try to solve that as soon as possible. He’s a good player. He’s a good player.”

Just not with the Raiders, who are 1-7.

Irvin, who turned 31 on Thursday, had six tackles on the season, with one for a loss, and one forced fumble.

He had a base salary of $8 million this season, with a salary-cap number of $8.25 million, and was scheduled to make $9 million in 2019, with a cap number of $9.25 million. Next year’s salary was not guaranteed, though.

Coming into the season, Irvin took issue with Gruden saying it was rookie defensive end Arden Key’s “time” and that Irvin “has to step up” in 2018.

“I just said, ‘I think you got it backwards,'” Irvin told ESPN at the time. “‘It’s Bruce Irvin’s time, and Arden Key’s got to step up.’

“I mean, at the end of the day, we’ve both got to step up,” Irvin added, “so it is what it is.”

Soccer

United's Lukaku in fitness race ahead of Juventus clash

Manchester United are in danger of being without Romelu Lukaku for their midweek encounter with Juventus in the Champions League.

The Belgian forward was excluded from Saturday’s tilt against Bournemouth because of an injury, with manager Jose Mourinho telling reporters that Lukaku picked up an unspecified knock during training on Friday.

“Lukaku yesterday in training, after the press conference – so I was not lying – he felt something that needs to be studied in the next couple of days,” Mourinho said, according to Rob Dawson of ESPN FC.

News of the injury comes just days before United’s crucial Champions League group stage match against Italian giants Juventus on Wednesday. The Premier League side sits five points adrift of top spot in Group H, having fallen 1-0 to the Bianconeri last month.

Lukaku, who was replaced by Alexis Sanchez in United’s starting XI on Saturday, was relegated to the bench ahead of last week’s 3-2 win over his former club Everton.

After scoring four goals in his opening five games, Lukaku has failed to find the back of the net in his last eight appearances across all competitions.

NFL

Week 9 NFL betting nuggets to know for every game

Last week’s top trends didn’t come through after the Chiefs allowed a backdoor field goal to the Broncos and the Packers-Rams over came up a point short.

1 Related

This week, the top trends point the Jets toward success in Miami and the Patriots to flip the calendar to November in fashion. Here are the rest of the trends that should help you in betting the NFL this weekend.

All lines are courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (-5, 49) — 1 p.m. ET

Kansas City Chiefs (-8.5, 52) at Cleveland Browns — 1 p.m. ET

  • The Browns are 3-13 ATS in their past 16 games as an underdog of at least seven points.

  • Patrick Mahomes is 5-0 ATS in five career road starts. The over is 4-1 in those five games.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-3, 47) — 1 p.m. ET

  • The Ravens are 7-1 ATS in the past eight meetings between these division rivals.

  • The under is 19-5-1 in the Steelers’ past 25 road games.

  • The under is 4-0 in the past four meetings in Baltimore between these division rivals.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (-2.5, 43.5) — 1 p.m. ET

  • The Jets are 15-3-2 ATS in their past 20 road games against the Dolphins.

  • The Dolphins are 1-4 ATS since starting the season 3-0 ATS and 3-0 SU.

  • The over is 13-3 in the Dolphins’ past 16 home games played in Miami. This includes a 2-0 over record at home against the Jets during this span.

Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins (-1.5, 48) — 1 p.m. ET

Chicago Bears (-10, 37) at Buffalo Bills — 1 p.m. ET

  • The Bills are 0-3 ATS as a home underdog of at least seven points under head coach Sean McDermott.

  • The under is 6-0 in the Bills’ past six games.

  • The Bears haven’t been favored by this many points on the road since Week 6 of the 2006 season at Arizona. Chicago won 24-23 over the Cardinals as 11-point favorites in that memorable game (Dennis Green: “The Bears are who we thought they were!”).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers (-6, 55) — 1 p.m. ET

Houston Texans at Denver Broncos (-1, 46) — 4:05 p.m. ET

  • The Broncos are 3-0 ATS in their last three games after going 2-14-1 ATS in their previous 17 games.

  • The under is 7-2 in the Texans’ past nine games.

Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks (PK, 47.5) — 4:25 p.m. ET

Los Angeles Rams (-1.5, 58.5) at New Orleans Saints — 4:25 p.m. ET

Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots (-5, 56.5) — 8:20 p.m. ET

  • The Patriots are 12-1 ATS in their past 13 regular-season games played in November or later.

  • The over is 23-7 in the Packers’ past 30 games. That includes a 13-2 over record in 15 road games during this span.

Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys (-5, 40.5) — 8:15 p.m. ET (Monday)

  • The Titans are 4-1 with three outright wins in their past five games as an underdog.

  • The Titans are 6-0 ATS in their past six games played on Monday Night Football.

  • The under is 13-3 in the Cowboys’ past 16 games.

Page 528 of 879« First...102030527528529530540550560...Last »

Soccer