Raiders vs Colts Week 17 Picks and Predictions: Wild Card Watch in Indy

Frank Lampard is adamant he can handle the pressure that has come with Chelsea s slump in form, which continued with a 2-0 defeat to Leicester City on Tuesday.

Goals from Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison sent Leicester top of the Premier League, nine points clear of a Chelsea side that has now won just two of their last eight league games.

Lampard s team are five points adrift of the top four, with their 29 points the fewest Chelsea have had at the midway point of the season since 2015-16, when Leicester won the league and the Blues finished 10th.

Asked about his future at a post-match media conference, head coach Lampard said: I can t control it. I ve been asked before, I understand it, it s the expectations of this club.

It s a developing team but I c…

According to a recent report from Tuttosport, Dries Mertens looks set to turn down a move to Premier League side Chelsea. 

The Blues are believed to have put forward a bid of around €7 million, but instead of making the jump over to English football, the Napoli veteran instead wants to stay in Italy and break Marek Hamsik’s record as the club’s all-time top goalscorer. 

He only needs four goals in order to accomplish that goal, so once we get around to the summer transfer window, this could wind up being a different story altogether. 

Chelsea seemed to be putting all of their eggs into the Mertens basket following a disappointing January transfer window, so if they can’t get this deal over the finish line, they need to be swift in turning their atte…

Ander Herrera found his exit from Manchester United an emotionally taxing departure, calling it painful to leave the Premier League club.

The Spaniard, who spent five years at Old Trafford before moving on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2019, is currently on a season-long loan with Athletic Club.

During his time with United, Herrera helped the club to FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League honours, and was named their Player of the Year for the 2016-17 season.

Having departed at the close of his contract, it was assumed the Red Devils had been happy to let him go, and Herrera has now revealed the lack of a suitable offer throughout his final few seasons was tough to take.

To leave, it was difficult because six months before, I was expecting that of…

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed Liverpool target Thiago Alcantara will leave the Bundesliga champions.

Thiago is out of contract at Bayern next year and the 29-year-old Spanish star is reportedly ready to depart Bavaria after opting against a renewal.

Jurgen Klopp is believed to be keen on bringing Thiago to Anfield, where Liverpool won their first league title since 1990 this season.

Amid growing speculation over Thiago s future, Rummenigge said the former Barcelona midfielder is ready for a new challenge.

Just Lewy things

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN)

Actually, the conversations [sporting director] Hasan [Salihamidzic] had with him were always very productive. And at some point it actually see…

Franck Kessie will not stay in Serie A, but instead will be forming part of Xavi s rebuild at Barcelona.

After a long contract saga at Milan, the Ivorian midfielder will reportedly leave the Serie A title contenders at the end of the season on a free transfer.

The 25-year-old will be the last player to leave from Milan s notorious splurge of 2017, which saw the club nearly break the €200million mark on over 10 players.

TOP STORY – KESSIE SET FOR BARCELONA MOVE 

Those who have followed Franck Kessie s contract situation with Milan will be aware a €6.5million salary was his reported benchmark. Milan have been reticent to pay that figure gross, but Barcelona are said to be willing to pay it net.

Protracted contract renegotiations between …

Best odds: 13/20

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The Carabao Cup is well underway in England, and in the third round, Norwich City will welcome Liverpool to Carrow Road on Tuesday evening.

These two teams have already met at the same venue in the opening round of the Premier League campaign. The Merseysiders won that day by 0-3, courtesy of goals from Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

Norwich City

Following that defeat to Liverpool, Norwich were thrashed 5-0 away to Manchester City, before achieving their only win of the season so far a 6-0 win over Bournemouth in the second round of the Carabao Cup. Their Premier League woes quickly continued afterwards as they suffered defeats at home against Leicester City 1-2, 1-0 away to Arsenal, and 1-3 at home against Wa…

Few would be surprised if Manchester City and Liverpool, the Premier League s two dominant teams, each won their five remaining matches this season.

Liverpool have 12 victories in 13 games, with their sole aberration a 2-2 draw against City.

Yet that run will not be enough to take the title should City themselves continue to win, maintaining a tiny one-point gap that represents a chasm in this rivalry.

Perhaps the distraction of huge Champions League tasks could instead encourage one side or the other to take their eyes off the prize – or maybe a Premier League rival can provide an upset.

Liverpool must still tackle two of the other three opponents to have taken points off City this term (Tottenham and Southampton) but first face a team transformed sinc…

Mesut Ozil s agent has revealed the exiled midfielder will not leave Arsenal in January and insists his client has every intention of seeing out the remainder of his contract. 

Ozil was omitted from Mikel Arteta s Premier League and Europa League squads in October and cannot be selected again for first-team action until at least January when changes to the player lists can be made. 

The former Real Madrid midfielder, a club-record signing when he joined for a reported £42million in 2013, has not made an appearance since March 7.

Ozil s influence has waned since providing 19 assists and creating 28 big chances in 35 Premier League outings during the 2015-16 season, setting up nine, eight, two and two goals in the following four campaigns respectively. 

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Best Odds: 19/20

Bookmaker:

Desperate to make a crucial return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, Manchester United will welcome Wolves to Old Trafford.

Manchester United

Starting with the hosts, while Manchester United might still find themselves sat in pole position to book a Champions League return this season, they are enduring what has been a recent blip. Last seen putting in another downbeat display as they suffered a 1-0 loss away at West Ham, Erik ten Hag’s side have suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats and there is some growing pressure on the former Ajax boss. Mustering just a single victory from any of their last four top-flight appearances and opening May with another 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brighton, United will know that they are …

Tyrell Malacia has signed for Manchester United from Feyenoord in a deal that is reportedly worth up to £15million.

The Netherlands international becomes the long-awaited first signing of the Erik ten Hag era at Old Trafford, following a slew of exits under the Dutchman.

Malacia will now join up with his countryman at United and is expected to offer competition to England defender Luke Shaw and Brazil s Alex Telles in the left-back role going forward, having signed a four-year contract with an option for a further season.

The 22-year-old was reported to be moving for a £13m (€15.1m) fee, with just shy of £2m in add-ons. Reports in the Netherlands claim Feyenoord will receive a percentage of any future sale, too.

It s an incredible feeling to ha…