Author: Soccerhuz
No team arguably has given Miami more angst and agony over the past two months than the Bulls, who have twice beaten the Heat with big comebacks and surpassed Miami in the standings despite attrition from trades and injuries. And now the Bulls stand in the way of Miami’s bid to secure a home game in the play-in tournament. The Heat enter Wednesday night’s road game against No. 9 Chicago needing a win to essentially keep alive hopes of surpassing Chicago should those teams finish 9th and 10th in the conference. It has become the most important game of the…
Something was amiss. Devin Booker could sense it when the Phoenix Suns’ team plane, en route to a nationally televised game last month in Dallas, was just making contact with the runway. “You can feel it,” Booker told me. “You can feel it when you land.” It is the atmospheric change in Mavsland ever since what many around the league — all the way up to NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s office — refer to simply as The Trade. Booker’s Suns had numerous battles with the Luka Dončić-led Mavericks … some of them in the playoffs, few that were friendly and…
José Mourinho’s Roma tenure ended in January 2024, but many Giallorossi fans still remember the Special One’s best moments on and off the pitch, including some classic interviews. Mourinho signed a three-year contract with Roma in 2021, but was sacked six months before the end of his deal in January 2024 and replaced by Daniele De Rossi. The Portuguese tactician won the Conference League in his first season at the Stadio Olimpico and reached the Europa League Final in the following campaign, but could not manage to bring the Giallorossi to the Champions League, finishing 6th with 63 points in…
Simone Inzaghi has reportedly decided, definitively, that Federico Dimarco will not start in the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, but the Italy international should be available to appear off the bench if required. Inzaghi mentioned during his pre-match press conference that four Nerazzurri players were substituted off during the 2-2 Serie A draw with Parma due to fitness concerns, with Alessandro Bastoni and Federico Dimarco among them. Bastoni is expected to start, however, Dimarco was considered the team’s only doubt heading into the Champions League quarter-final at the Allianz Arena. According to updates from…
Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi knows that playing at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich in the Champions League will be a special atmosphere — and a tough task. “It’s definitely great to be here in this stadium. It will be a difficult game, against a very strong team in a beautiful stadium. But we know how much effort we’ve put in to get here and we’ll give it our chances. Bayern have an experienced team in the Champions League. They always reach the latter stages. They’re the favourites for the title alongside Real Madrid. But we want to play…
Nearly 15 years on from locking horns in the 2009-10 Champions League final, Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and Serie A champions Inter Milan square off for a place in this year’s semi-finals, starting with Tuesday’s quarter-final first leg at the Allianz Arena. Vincent Kompany’s men triumphed in an all-German battle with Bayer Leverkusen to advance to the final eight, while the Nerazzurri ended Feyenoord’s European journey in the last 16. Match preview Fifty percent of Bayern’s revenge mission over Leverkusen is now complete; as well as holding an unassailable lead over Xabi Alonso’s 2023-24 Invincibles at the top of the…
There is a widespread view at Arsenal, which was articulated by Bukayo Saka on Monday, that the winger’s three months on the sidelines could prove a blessing in disguise long-term. Saka’s hamstring injury was surely the biggest single factor in the collapse of Arsenal’s chances in three competitions since the turn of the year, but he has returned to action feeling mentally “refreshed”, while his body has also had a chance to recover from the rigours of playing so many high-intensity matches over the previous five seasons. Mikel Arteta believes Saka has the rare durability of the kind of top…
One of the main storylines for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, other than the arrival of Luka Doncic, has been the rise of Austin Reaves. He was already a good player during the previous two seasons, but this season, he has taken things to an even higher level. He’s averaging 20.2 points a game this season, compared to 15.9 points a game last season. While he reached the 30-point mark just once during the 2023-24 campaign, he has gotten there 10 times so far this season, which included a career-best 45-point effort versus the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 8.…
Bukayo Saka is primed for his first start in more than three months when Arsenal host Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at Emirates Stadium. Saka returned from his hamstring injury with two substitute appearances against Fulham and Everton last week. And asked if he’s ready to start against Real Madrid, Saka said: “Yeah, but there is only one way to find out!” Arsenal have no fresh injury concerns from their 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday, with Mikel Merino fine after cutting his head. Ben White was able to get through 60 minutes at Goodison Park,…
The Los Angeles Lakers have legitimately turned their season around and they only needed a generational superstar handed to them midseason to make it possible! The Luka Doncic trade has ensured that the LA Lakers can build another dynasty and while that is sorted, win in the present as well because LeBron James continues to defy Father Time. A late surge has propelled Lakers as one of the top contenders for the No. 3 seed in the West which is quite a coup in a brutal conference. The Lakers have become better quicker than anyone foresaw and a meeting with…