A guide to RCD Espanyol football club by Jeremy Hickey

RCD Espanyol or the Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona is a Catalan football club, which was formed in 1900; it boasts an incredible record in the Spanish La Liga over the past few decades. RCD. Espanyol's strengths have been in the youth academy and the club is extremely popular for spotting and nurturing young Spanish talent. The team is based in Barcelona and their home ground is Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, which has a capacity of seating 40,000. The team has won the Spanish league three times and was considered a force to reckon with in the late 80's. Today, the RCD Espanyol football team is still popular among the locals and boasts a large number of fans from Europe and America. Tourists visiting Spain who are fans of football should include watching a football match at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat as a must-do on their travel itinerary list. Matches between this team and FC Barcelona, the team's rivals are particularly exciting and the enthusiasm expressed by football fans in Spain is something that every traveller to the country must see for themselves. Some of Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona's signings include the Japanese playmaker, Nakamura from Glasgow Celtic, whose range of passing is expected to be an asset to the Catalan club. Other popular players in the Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona club include Ben Sahar, forwarder Jose Maria, Raul Tamudo and Luis Garcia. Their defence is also quite solid with Nicholas Pareja and David Garcia One of the most popular players in the team's history was the late captain Dani Jarque, who died in 2009. After Jarque's demise, Ivan de la Pena, a veteran midfielder took over this position. Espanyol are currently ranked 9th in the La Liga and are only 13 points behind their league leaders and rivals, Barcelona.

FIFA World Cup 2010: A Brief Overview by Adam Singleton

The FIFA World Cup Finals tournament will take place in South Africa in June and July 2010, and will attract a TV audience of billions; all following their favourite team's progress in the world's biggest football tournament.

Taking place every four years, the FIFA World Cup Finals tournament starts with a group stage involving 32 countries split into eight groups, each consisting of four teams. The first and second placed teams from each group progress to the second round knock-out stage, after which follows the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

As South Africa is host for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals, their football team receive automatic qualification into the tournament. They are the only team to earn free entry to the tournament as even existing world champions Italy - who lifted the trophy in Germany in 2006 - had to qualify. The remaining 30 countries have also all undergone a two-year qualification process; competing against other teams from the same continent to earn their place in the final tournament.

During the 2010 tournament the majority of people in England will have their attention will be on Group C, which as well as containing the Three Lions also contains Algeria, Solvenia and the USA. That draw has led to many believing that England has a better chance of progressing to the knock-out stage than ever before. Indeed, the chance of England going all the way has prompted many who would have been quite happy in previous years to be armchair fans to investigate whether they can attend the tournament in person.

Although many FIFA World Cup 2010 packages have already been snapped up, if you have a few thousand pounds to spare it is still possible to attend the tournament and follow England. Arranging travel, accommodation and match tickets independently is out of the question and indeed FIFA and the English FA recommend that you only buy tickets and travel from official sources.

However, if you are tempted to travel to South Africa, remember that even though the tournament is taking place in June and July, that is the middle of winter in the Southern hemisphere. So, pack raincoats and warm clothes rather than safari shorts! Because of the distances between venues you will also need to be ready to undertake a fair degree of travel, and although it is possible by road air travel would be far more preferable.

Whether you watch the tournament from the comfort of your armchair or are lucky enough to be there in person, England expects!

A guide to Real Madrid football club by Jeremy Hickey

Tourists to Spain must not fail to watch a Real Madrid football match while in the country. Real Madrid was first formed in 1902 and since then, it has spent all its time playing in the Spanish La Liga. This club is based in the capital of Spain, Madrid and the team's home ground is Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The Real Madrid Football Club is well known for their collection of trophies, which is much larger than any other team in club football. In fact, the club was voted by the International Football Federation, FIFA, to be the most successful club in the 20th Century, with thirty one Spanish La Liga titles, 17 Spanish Cup wins and two UEFA Cups. In addition to this, this team has been European champions for a record of nine times. Los Blancos, as they are called by fans and locals, have boasted some of the best players in world football playing for them, starting from the period of the legendary strike pair, Puskas and Alfredo di Stefano in the 50's and 60's. The turn of the new millennium saw the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Brazil's Ronaldo being brought into the club for record-breaking transfer fees. In the summer of 2009, Florentiono Perez, who was instrumental in bringing the biggest footballers across the globe during the turn of the century was re-elected as club president and immediately spent around 250 million dollars to rope in new players to the club. These players, as expected, were among the world's best and they comprised of the 07' and 08's best players Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo where the latter was bought for a record US$94 million. Reinforcements were made in the midfield and at the back with Xabi Alonzo and Raul Albiol as well as Karim Benzema being signed on. Despite the large number of new signings, there are still some players like their captain Raul, who have been playing for the club since a young age.

Spanish League- Real Madrid Dramatically Wins against Sevilla and Takes Top Spot from Barcelona by Ally White

Real Madrid took a dramatic win against Sevilla this Saturday. It was the 25th round of La Liga, and the team managed to fight back from being under 2-0 to defeating Sevilla in the end, 3-2. With the victory, the Whites took the top spot from Barcelona; the Azulgranas had tied against Almeria 2-2 - both goals scored by superstar Lionel Messi. (Messi is the top scorer of the tournament, with 19 goals.)

The victory marked the Meringues' seventh consecutive victory; the team has scored 14 goals in three games and has gained 62 points. The Blaugrana also have 62 points, but they lost the top spot through goal difference.

Both Sevilla and Real Madrid entered the game with great tactical game plans. But Sevilla was able to take advantage when Jesus Navas pushed forward before shifting the ball to Diego Capel, who centered the ball to Alvaro Negredo. Xabi Alonso, trying desperately to clear the ball, scored in a disappointing own-goal, putting the score 1-0 in favor of Sevilla at minute 10.

Real Madrid responded quickly; the Whites began to control the action, something they should have done from the beginning. However, aware of Sevilla's dangerous counterattacks, both Real's defense and midfielder were stuck in position.

At minute 20, Sevilla suffered a first setback, with an injury to Abdoulay Konko that led to his replacement by Adriano.

Pellegrini's team was able to control more and more of the game while Sevilla had no choice but to shut itself in its own area. The Whites began pushing forward into the FIlligranas' area. Kaka, Higuain, and Cristiano Ronaldo had opportunities to equalize the scoring, but an inspired Andres Palop was able to control the Meringues' attempts, ending the first half 1-0 in Sevilla's favor.

After halftime, the Rojiblancos seemed to realize that they had to change their plan of attack. But just seven minutes into the game, after a foul over Dragutinovic - a serious mistake shared between Alonso and Iker Casillas - Real Madrid went down by two goals.

The second goal was a new blow for the Meringues. Needing a change, Pellegrini tried to add more creativity in midfield, removing a defender and replacing Van der Vaart and Guti for Arbeloa and Lass.

With the changes, Real Madrid was able to return to an offensive strategy. The new tactics bore fruit just ten minutes after Sevilla's second goal, at minute 60. Ronaldo made the first point, and then, just four minutes later, Sergio Ramos headed in the second, putting the scoreboard at 2-2.

Madrid players had victory at their feet, if only they could keep pressuring Sevilla. Two more shots headed towards Sevilla's net only to ricochet off the post; the Whites had to wait until Van der Vaart was able to score in a rejected shot in the last play of the game at minute 92. The Meringues won at the last second, taking the game 3-2.

At the end of the game, Negredo acknowledged that Sevilla's loss came from Madrid's strong offensive push.

"The problem was that we were pushed back. The team was sat back and they created a lot of chances. They kept on pushing and pushing us further back and in the end that cost us the game," said Negredo.

Real Madrid's next match will be against Valladolid on March 14th, while Sevilla FC will be facing Deportivo La Coruña on March 13th.

Is Kelly Optimal For All Betting Tips? by Les Kane

Money management strategies help the punter to choose an optimal stake, and even thought Kelly is known to be the best strategy of them all, it is not necessarily true for all types of betting tips.

This article summarizes possible ways to improve Kelly's strategy for different types of betting tips.

First, let's emphasize Kelly's strengths and weaknesses:

According to Kelly's, the wager for each outcome is calculated in the following way: w * (p-(1-p)/(odds-1)), where w represents the wealth of the punter and p is the probability of a win. For example, if your wealth = 1000$, p = 50% and odds = 2.5, then the wager your have to place is equal to 1000$*(0.5 - 0.5/(2.5-1))=166$.

If the probability of a win (p) is estimated correctly, then the calculated wager will be optimal in a long run. If, however, it is wrongly estimated, then using Kelly's won't do the trick.

What are the possible ways to improve Kelly's strategy when the probability of a win is incorrect or unknown?

When one's betting tips include a probability of a win, it is necessary to determine how accurate this probability is for home/draw/away wins. It can be done by ratio of several successive tips to the total number of tips provided. This ratio can be used as a correction factor for a wager estimated according to Kelly's. To use this correction factor it is enough to multiply the wager by the corresponding ratio. For example, if the accuracy ratio of the betting tips for a home win is 0.55, then when one bets on a home win, he should multiply his wager by 0.55 to lower the risk.

If one's betting tips don't include a probability of a win, he should start with estimating this probability. One simple way to do that is by calculating the ratio of home wins, draws and away wins to the total number of games in the season. These proportions can be used as probabilities of a win and no other correction factor will be necessary. This method is less accurate then the previous one, since it uses average statistics to estimate the probability of a win.

The methods described above help punters to calculate their optimal wager. However, these methods won't help you choose the outcome to bet on. For example, when you distribute your wager between two of three possible outcomes, the long run profit will be maximal. The only way to calculate the optimal wager for each outcome is by using data-driven algorithms. In this case, the wager should be distributed between matches whose outcomes can be estimated automatically given historical data only. The output of this algorithm is the value of the wager for each outcome. The optimization criterion for those algorithms is, of course, a maximal profit when betting odds are known.

Workload on for Ronaldo and co. by Ben Carso

As the Champions League hits the business side end of the competition, few would have believed that Real Madrid would be struggling at this point. Lyon are by no means a poor side and if trophies could be given out for effort the Lyon would have won the last three champions league trophies without a glitch.

Although the scoreline is gainable, especially with the second leg being played in Madrid, the team with Ronaldo in their pocket will have to work very hard to get any type of result against the well drilled team from France that look to be taking the Champions League for seriously that their own domestic title this season. More organised than ever Madrid will have to play a totally different game to squeeze past their tightly controlled midfield and defense.

Lyon are also now not scared to attack if they need to and they will know one goal in Madrid will surely mean goodnight to the galacticos and send themselves into the next round. Real Madrid may publicly state that want the La Liga title but they all know that the Champions League is the big one that everyone wants, especially ex Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo who lost out to Barcelona 2-0 in last years final.

Real Madrid will know they have a chance and an early goal will possibly lead them to win 2-0. The best online bookmakers do have them as favourites to qualify however at 4/7 and you can back the French side Lyon at 5/4 to qualify for the next stage.

Beware the Bayern beast in waiting. by Ben Carso

Remember when Bayern Munich were good, really good in fact with Effenberg always so instrumental in midfield? A few years a go wasn't it but there is nothing better than a German side who are made as poor underdogs and Munich will love the fact that no one is really counting on them to do anything spectacular in the Champions League this season.

They play Fiorentina in the second leg away in the second leg knowing they only have to play as they usually do to get a name tag placed into the next draw. Munich started the season off quite poorly with manager Van Gaal trying to get to grips with which players he felt could play a big part in the success of his time at the South German club.

With Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, the former Chelsea player now beginning to hit some great form, Bayern Munich could be the one team to really upset the odds, they certainly have the tools to do the job and the only question remains whether their players have the mentality to take their footballing genre to the next level, a level perhaps, that many of their players are yet to reach having played a big part in last seasons last UEFA Cup, now called the Europa League.

With the best online bookmakers currently making Bayern Munich 4/11 favourites to qualify for the next round one can be sure that should they qualify, Van Gaal will have them jumping through more training hoops than ever to get their inner strength ready for what could be one of the most unlikely stories in footballing history.

Barcelona the European Champions elect. by Ben Carso

It is not very often that you can look at a team a think, amazing, they are even better than last season and look what they won then. For Barcelona this can be presently said with ease and a satisfaction that they are truly one of the best footballing teams of our time.

The fact that Manager Pep Guardiola has kept them as a team and not a group of individuals pay testament to his skills as a young football coach. Their style of play and ability to keep the ball for a very long time makes them not only a hard team to beat but even place any pressure on them. Manchester United managed to heap pressure on them for about ten minutes in last seasons Champions League final and it is difficult to remember any other team doing it for longer than that.

With success does come great pressure and they will realise this. They face Stuttgart of the German Budesliga in the second leg at home and will probably go through them like a knife through butter, after that, depending on the draw and any major injuries to some of their more fancied players it could become a little darker as summer draws on the Barcelona arena.

A little may depend on what they really want to win this season, the treble is no longer on and there remains a close knit battle at the top of La Liga between themselves and Real Madrid. They won both and more last season and the team remains the same, why not win both again.

The teams in the Champions League likely to beat them could be Manchester United who will have learned from their mistakes in the final last season and whilst the best online bookmakers have them as outright favourites at 11/4 it may well only be the Red half of Manchester that will stop them.

Make or break for Chelsea FC. by Ben Carso

There comes a time in each season where one game can make or break a season. For Liverpool it was losing away to Portsmouth 2-0 before Christmas last year. For Chelsea it will be this game against Inter Milan, a game in which they have to win to go through to the next round.

Chelsea have had more off field problems than on it and although Ancelotti is one of the great managers of all time, it would be fair to say that the former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will have taken all the pressure off John Terry and piled it on himself. That was what he was good at, taking pressure off the team and allowing himself to make the headlines whether it was good or bad. Ancelotti is different in that respect and will steer clear of any controversy that heads his, or his players way.

Ray Wilkins, the Chelsea assistant coach has said that he wants the booing to now stop but how would he have felt had he been on the receiving end? The fact that Ancelotti has yet to win anything with Chelsea this season may not bode well at the end of the season and with Gus Hiddink re-available, Chelsea owner Ambramovich may seek his services once more.

Losing the tie against Inter Milan may free up their fixture list to concentrate on the Premiership but they still have at least one more clash in the FA Cup, possibly two with both also going into extra time to contend with. Manchester United on the other hand look to be getting to their peak and are out of the FA Cup saving them a few fixtures on the way.

Losing in any competition does have major after effects for any team and losing in the first knockout stage of the Champions League may be one knock too many for the West London club who seem to be having defensive problems at the wrong time during the season.

The best online bookmakers currently have Inter Milan to go through to the next round as favourites as a win or a draw for the Italian side will be enough to see them through.

Arsenal versus Porto a mis-match made in heaven. by Ben Carso

Both teams know each other very well. They have played each other almost as many times in the last few seasons that it could almost be classified as a Premiership fixture.

Whilst Wenger has stated the away goal will be crucial it could be time for the North London Club to start to bully their way through to the business end of the Champions League and not make things so difficult for themselves. Arsenal, who are without their midfielder and Captain Cesc Fabregas will be looking to thwart any attempts that Porto may have in getting an away goal meaning Arsenal will have to score at least three in the home leg.

Arsenal are always a different beast at the Emirates and will know they capable of scoring at least two goals against the relatively poor Portuguese side. Sides from the continent do however have this knack of spoiling parties, particularly well in the first or last few minutes of the game. Porto will certainly look to just leave one striker up front and bulk up the midfield in the hope they can stop Arsenal from creating anything.

They always do create something though, and this clash will result in whether Arsenal can take these chances when they come as there may not be too many of them. The shocking injury to Aaron Ramsay is now a big talking point as with Fabregas, Ramsay will have filled the spot beautifully and on home soil would have quite easily orchestrated some beautiful moves to give Arsenal the cutting edge.

The best online bookmakers have made Arsenal 4/7 to win the match and 4/6 to qualify for the next round. This game will be like a game of chess and there is no one better at chess than Professor Arsene Wenger.