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Barcelona s stars have stopped being surprised by Lionel Messi s continued brilliance, according to midfielder Sergio Busquets.

The Argentinian superstar has once again been in imperious form this season, scoring 43 goals in 40 games across all competitions.

Busquets has played alongside the 31-year-old for more than a decade and says there is nothing Barca s players have not seen the unique Messi do.

We have the good fortune to train with him every day, he told the Daily Mail.

I ve spent the last 11 years with him, so you get that greater concentration of him doing these things.

We re not quite as surprised by it all. There isn t a goal he s scored on the pitch that we haven t seen in training and he s also repeating goals he has scored in pr…

South Africa survived a late penalty scare to knock pre-tournament favourites Morocco out of the Africa Cup of Nations and reach the quarter-finals.

Bafana Bafana were the better side and eventually ran out 2-0 winners over the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists – who had Sofyan Amrabat sent off in the closing stages after Achraf Hakimi had missed from the spot.

South Africa won just one group game to reach the knockout stages while Morocco had dominated Group F as they went in search of just a second AFCON title.

Just a bunch of winners standing on Business !!!!

Bring on the Quarter Finals!

— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana)

It was Hugo Broos’ side, however, who would hit the front as Evidence Makgopa finished off a flowing move with a…

Champions League holders Liverpool need at least a point against Salzburg to secure their progression from Group E, though they will come up against an Erling Haaland in sensational form.

Salzburg s youngster has found the net in all of their group games so far this season and will become the first player to convert in his first six Champions League appearances should he score for Salzburg against the Reds.

Barcelona have top spot in Group F secured but Inter still have it all to play for on Tuesday as they look to edge out Borussia Dortmund, and Antonio Conte s side have no Lionel Messi to worry about, with Ernesto Valverde resting Barca s talisman.

Chelsea will look to end a five-match winless run at home in the Champions League to ensure their place in the las…

Fran Kirby says England will lean on the experience of head coach Sarina Wiegman in their Women s Euros semi-final showdown with Sweden.

Wiegman s side are seeking a third appearance in the final of this competition when they clash with the 1984 champions at Bramall Lane on Tuesday and first since 2009.

Following their dramatic quarter-final victory over Spain, the Lionesses are now unbeaten in 18 matches, while Sweden have not lost since a 2-1 defeat by Denmark in March 2020.

The tournament hosts will also be aiming to avoid a fourth successive semi-final defeat in major competitions, having fallen at this stage of the 2017 European Championship as well as the World Cup in 2015 and 2019.

Meanwhile, Wiegman is looking to lift this trophy for the second t…

Massimiliano Allegri says Juventus are a different beast to the one who stumbled in the Champions League final two years ago and he will accept nothing but victory against Real Madrid on Saturday.

As they will be in Cardiff, Juve sought a treble when they faced Barcelona in Berlin, but they were left dented by a 3-1 defeat.

Allegri freely admits that his side then had not reached the final out of expectation, but he says with a sixth straight Serie A title and the Coppa Italia in the bag that this year feels much different.

He told a news conference: In 2015 we got to the final but at the same time we were not strongly motivated, we were not confident enough because we had lots of years of struggle in the Champions League.

We certainly didn t end up in …

If your NFL survivor pool were a video game, Week 12 would be that one crazy-difficult level that you just keep dying on. 

Think World 8-3 from the 8-bit Mario Bros. with the god damn turtles that throw the hammers. How many times did you Gronk spike that Nintendo controller into your living room floor out of frustration? 

You may be swapping out the video game buttons for the remote control when it comes to your NFL Week 12 survivor pool picks. There are no layups on the board, with only one team favored by a touchdown (and that’s Dallas on Thanksgiving). 

And, depending on how your pool is shaped, the three-game holiday slate may be a week of its own (like in the Circa Survivor Pool in Las Vegas). That format limits your Thanksgiv…

data-mm-id=”_edpv7h1u8″>Bruce Dreckman didn't make our list of the 10 worst umpires in Major League Baseball, and he must have been upset because he's quickly trying to catch up to those other guys. On Tuesday he unleashed what might be the worst ball-strike call of the 2023 MLB season. The Boston Red Sox were up on the Washington Nationals 5-4 in the top of the fourth inning. Justin Turner was at the plate facing reliever Robert Garcia and readied himself for the 10th pitch of an at bat with a 3-2 count and two outs. Garcia threw an 83 mph slider that appeared to miss the plate by a foot. Dreckman run Turner up and no one in the stadium could believe it. Check this out:WHAT THE FUCK MLB pic.twitter.com/eMEayasv7R— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) August 16, 2023Even the Nation…

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Tauro vs Leon Prediction

The first of three Wednesday matches see Panamanian side Tauro, currently leads the East division of the LPF with a record of 4-3-1, scoring 11 times and conceding five. This is their 13th trip to the tournament.

Leon was midtable in the Liga MX Apertura, or so, (10/18 teams) at 6-4-7. Right now in the Clausura, they ve performed slightly better after ten rounds, ranking seventh at 4-3-2.

Pick: You d have to lean to Leon as the side playing against stiffer competition in Liga MX. They won t offer much value at -195 odds and also haven t been in great form. A bet on the Under 2.5 (-106) at FanDu…

The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars play Game 1 of their Western Conference Semi-Finals matchup on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. Puck drop is at 9:30 pm ET, with ESPN carrying the broadcast.

The Stars, who eliminated the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in the first round, are slight -125 favorites at home. The Avalanche, who knocked off the Winnipeg Jets in five games, come in as +106 underdogs. The over/under for the game is set at 6.5 goals.

Here s our Avs vs Stars prediction for Tuesday night, along with betting odds and player prop picks.

Avalanche vs Stars Prediction

Both teams are coming off impressive first-round victories, but in very different ways. The Avalanche dominated the Jets, outscoring them 28-14 over the five-game series. C…