StevieDay1983

They must have known something. I've got to admit, given the chances Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez missed, plus their performances at the World Cup, I thought Napoli were good for the win. Alas, a 1-0 win was enough. Big missed opportunity for Napoli.

I don't understand why the bookies have Inter Milan as the favorites to win against Napoli. Napoli have been fantastic this season winning 13 and drawing 2 of the opening 15 matches. They did lose against Lille and Villarreal in mid season Friendly matches conceding seven goals in total but this being a league game I can't see them losing considering the form they were in before the world cup break. 
Draw @ 3.44
BTTS @ 1.53
 

Chelsea vs Manchester City
The Premier League matches continue to come thick and fast in the new year. It’s Chelsea versus Manchester City in this epic encounter that is set to kick-off at 8pm GMT on Thursday evening from Stamford Bridge.



Chelsea look a shadow of the team they had become under Thomas Tuchel and despite a positive start to Graham Potter’s tenure with the club it’s quickly gone horribly wrong. The Blues are now down in 10th position and 10 points adrift of the Champions League qualification places. That hasn’t been helped due to a run of just 1 win from their last 7 league games and that was a 2-0 win over an out-of-form and relegation-threatened Bournemouth at home.

The pressure will be on Potter to turn this form around after his side were held to a 1-1 draw against another relegation-battling side in Nottingham Forest away in their last league outing. The fact Chelsea have only scored 5 goals in their last 7 league games shows where a big issue lies. It is also alarming that the team have failed to even score in their last three meetings with Manchester City across all competitions.


Manchester City will be smelling blood after title rivals and league leaders Arsenal dropped 2 points in their 1-1 draw with Champions League-chasing Newcastle this week. Pep Guardiola’s side sit 2nd place in the top flight and are now 8 points behind the Gunners with a game in hand. The Citizens have only managed to pick up 1 win in their last 3 league games so their form is far from imperious.

It is just 1 loss from their 7 away league games so far this season including picking up back-to-back victories on their last two road trips in the league. City do also come into this game having seen off Chelsea by a 2-0 score-line in their EFL Cup clash back in November so they have the psychological edge. Striker Erling Haaland remains a solid pick for the scoring markets too having scored 4 goals in his last 3 appearances for the club.


Almost every season in the Premier League this is one of those fixtures that has either seen one of the two teams involved leading the league table or both in contention for a title battle. This season, it’s a bit of a more low-key affair as a team milling around the mid-table region host a club who are a number of wins off catching the league leaders. It’s a strange feeling.

You have to feel that Chelsea are not a confident bet right now under Potter and something needs to change. Will it be the manager? City can never be ruled out and even though their results have lacked consistency they still feel like the firm favourites here. The big question is whether they can win without conceding or if both teams will score. I have a feeling that City have shown they struggle to keep clean sheets against teams with attacking quality and Chelsea certainly boast that threat despite firing blanks recently.

Manchester City to Win & BTTS @ 12/5 with Bet365

First Goalscorer: Erling Haaland @ 13/5 with Unibet

Chelsea vs Manchester City
The Premier League matches continue to come thick and fast in the new year. It’s Chelsea versus Manchester City in this epic encounter that is set to kick-off at 8pm GMT on Thursday evening from Stamford Bridge.



Chelsea look a shadow of the team they had become under Thomas Tuchel and despite a positive start to Graham Potter’s tenure with the club it’s quickly gone horribly wrong. The Blues are now down in 10th position and 10 points adrift of the Champions League qualification places. That hasn’t been helped due to a run of just 1 win from their last 7 league games and that was a 2-0 win over an out-of-form and relegation-threatened Bournemouth at home.

The pressure will be on Potter to turn this form around after his side were held to a 1-1 draw against another relegation-battling side in Nottingham Forest away in their last league outing. The fact Chelsea have only scored 5 goals in their last 7 league games shows where a big issue lies. It is also alarming that the team have failed to even score in their last three meetings with Manchester City across all competitions.


Manchester City will be smelling blood after title rivals and league leaders Arsenal dropped 2 points in their 1-1 draw with Champions League-chasing Newcastle this week. Pep Guardiola’s side sit 2nd place in the top flight and are now 8 points behind the Gunners with a game in hand. The Citizens have only managed to pick up 1 win in their last 3 league games so their form is far from imperious.

It is just 1 loss from their 7 away league games so far this season including picking up back-to-back victories on their last two road trips in the league. City do also come into this game having seen off Chelsea by a 2-0 score-line in their EFL Cup clash back in November so they have the psychological edge. Striker Erling Haaland remains a solid pick for the scoring markets too having scored 4 goals in his last 3 appearances for the club.


Almost every season in the Premier League this is one of those fixtures that has either seen one of the two teams involved leading the league table or both in contention for a title battle. This season, it’s a bit of a more low-key affair as a team milling around the mid-table region host a club who are a number of wins off catching the league leaders. It’s a strange feeling.

You have to feel that Chelsea are not a confident bet right now under Potter and something needs to change. Will it be the manager? City can never be ruled out and even though their results have lacked consistency they still feel like the firm favourites here. The big question is whether they can win without conceding or if both teams will score. I have a feeling that City have shown they struggle to keep clean sheets against teams with attacking quality and Chelsea certainly boast that threat despite firing blanks recently.

Manchester City to Win & BTTS @ 12/5 with Bet365

First Goalscorer: Erling Haaland @ 13/5 with Unibet

Well, this is a new revelation! Just thought he was being polite. As the old chant from Grimsby fans goes... "You put the c*nt in Sc*nthorpe!". We'll look into it.

You've got to be kidding me! The forum auto "corrects" it! Oi @StevieDay1983 who's responsible for that piece of programming, Mary forking Whitehouse? 
Surely it's possible to block the intended word but put "Sc unthorpe" on some sort of whitelist?

The first week of Fantasy Premier League action after the 2022 World Cup threw up a points bonanza. The Punters Lounge league has a new team at the top with Ryan Momanyi's Liloo storming to the summit after an epic 107 point haul. It's tight at the top though with Ryan just 1 point ahead of 2nd and 3rd place which are currently occupied by Nick Wilkinson's ecko chambers and @DanPUP's Ninja Skrtel's respectively.
It is perhaps astonishing that the 107 points earned by the new league leader wasn't even enough to win the Manager of the Week award. That accolade went to Raph Lombard's Lompard Premier side. Their 116 points total is the highest weekly score of the season so far I believe which is an impressive achievement. The decision to captain Marcus Rashford whilst also earning double figure point tallies for Kieran Trippier, Kai Havertz, Erling Haaland, and Aleksandar Mitrovic contributed to the mammoth score.
The Name of Shame label for this week goes to @Soi Bongkot's Whelan Wonders team who could only muster 25 points this week. Only Thiago Silva and Christian Eriksen got more than 2 points for their team in a disappointing round. It is also a score that leaves Whelan Wonders second from bottom in the league table.
It's a fast turn around this week with the next deadline coming up on Friday at 6:15pm GMT! Get your teams sorted by then! 

Round 17 EPL Predictions
Monday 26th December 2022
Odds @ bet365
Brentford – Tottenham  Odds: (1) 4.00 (x) 3.40  (2) 1.91       
1-1 FT Draw 3.40
Everton – Wolverhampton  Odds: (1) 2.25 (x) 3.30 (2) 3.20             
1-1 FT Draw 3.30
Southampton – Brighton  Odds: (1) 3.50  (x) 3.50  (2) 2.05         
 1-1 FT Draw 3.50
 Leicester – Newcastle  Odds: (1) 3.30 (x) 3.30 (2) 2.20             
1-1 FT Draw 3.30
 Crystal Palace – Fulham  Odds: (1) 2.00 (x) 3.75 (2) 3.40               
2-1FT  Home 2.00
Aston Villa – Liverpool  Odds: (1) 4.50 (x) 3.75 (2) 1.73               
1-2 FT Away 1.73
 Arsenal – West Ham  Odds: (1) 1.50 (x) 4.33  (2) 6.00             
2-0 FT Home 1.50
Tuesday 27th December 2022
 Chelsea – Bournemouth  Odds: (1)1.33 (x) 5.00 (2)9.00                 
2-1 FT Home 1.33
Manchester Utd – Nottingham  Odds: (1) 1.30 (x) 5.50 (2) 8.80                
3-0 FT Home 1.30
Wednesday 28th December 2022
Leeds – Manchester City  Odds: (1) 7.50 (x) 6.50 (2)1.28               
1-2 FT Away 1.28

Everton vs Wolves
Odds: (1) 2.25 (x) 3.30 (2) 3.20
Games on Boxing Day (December 26) They have not played at Goodison Park on Boxing Day. However, in four Boxing Day matches, all of which were held at Molineux Stadium, Wolves won 3 while Everton won 1. 1974: Wolves 2-0 Everton 1970: Wolves 2-0 Everton 1904: Wolves 0-3 Everton 1901: Wolves 2-1 Everton H2H: Games on Monday On  Monday, Everton has not lost at Goodison Park to Wolves, they have met twice, with Everton winning on both occasions . However, in two matches played at Molineux Stadium on Monday, the Wolves have won one and drawn one. EPL: Home vs Away Form 2022-23 season At Goodison Park, Everton has played 7 EPL games with 2 (29%) victories, 2 (29%) ties, and 3 (42%) losses. Wolves has participated in 7 away EPL contests, recording 0 wins, 2 (29%) draws, and 5 (71%) losses. Frank Lampard vs Julen Lopetegui In two encounters, Lampard has never lost to Lopetegui. Both times they met at UCL, Lampard was in charge of Chelsea and Lopetegui was in charge of Sevilla. Chelsea never lost in either encounter, drawing 0-0 at Stamford and winning 0-4 at Sevilla. Lampard has coached Everton since January 31, 2022. In his 18 games at Goodison Park, he has won 9 (50%), tied 3 (17%), and lost 6 (33%), with one defeat coming at the hands of wolves. Progress after the World Cup break For any team, the break is a disguised blessing because it gives them time to reinvent themselves and fix their mistakes. Everton had a rough stretch before the FIFA world cup, and Lampard was under pressure. Additionally, the Wolves were in poor form and fired Bruno Lage as their coach before the World Cup. After being fired from Sevilla, this will be Lopetegui's first game in the EPL. Julian as a coach made his debuts at Rayo Vallecano (lost 0-2), Real Madrid B (won 0-2), Porto (won 2-0), Real Madrid (lost 2-4), and Sevilla (won 0-3) in his previous five matches.  Lopetegui's won his first game for the Wolves after beating (2-0) Gillingham in Carabao Cup encounter. However, Gillingham plays in English League two, is last in the table, poor stretch of form, and has played 20 games so far and won only 2 of them. The win gives them confidence to approach Everton's match, which is on a higher level not comparable to Gillingham. Both teams have already competed in two friendlies with the majority of their starting lineup. Results for Everton (0-0 vs Celtic, 5-1 win vs  Western Sydney Wanderers.) and Wolves (3-4 win vs Cadiz,  1-1 vs   Empoli  ) In Summary On Boxing Day, the Wolves has a 75% chance of winning. On Monday at Goodison Park, Everton has a 100% chance of winning. Lampard has never lost to Lopetegui.  At Goodison Park, Lampard has a winning rate of 50%. In Lopetegui's debuts history, he has a 60% chance of winning. At Goodison Park, Everton has won 29% EPL games this season. The wolves has recorded 0 wins in EPL away this season. My Prediction Everton vs Wolves 2-1 or 1-1 FT

Well, that couldn't have gone much better for my bets!  Congratulations to Argentina on becoming world champions and here's to Lionel Messi who must now surely have his status as the greatest player of all-time sealed! 

Well, that couldn't have gone much better for my bets!  Congratulations to Argentina on becoming world champions and here's to Lionel Messi who must now surely have his status as the greatest player of all-time sealed! 

Well, that couldn't have gone much better for my bets!  Congratulations to Argentina on becoming world champions and here's to Lionel Messi who must now surely have his status as the greatest player of all-time sealed! 

Another where anything can happen. Gut says France lift the prize and I rarely call an outcome wrong when I don't put money on it! 
Draw a default pick for me but could've got better than the 3.15 I took early. Backing Alvarez to score (4/1 with Uni or bit shorter on the exchange) and Mac Allister for a SoT (5/2 365 and similar on exchange). A couple of Glory Hunt section bets; 1.01 for at least one shot on target in the game (be a first for me if that line fails to oblige) and 1/8 for Mbappe to be fouled at least once. (Not a "certainty" but just can't see it not happening and odds are big enough to risk it in the context of a "fun" thread.)

Argentina vs France
The 2022 World Cup final is here and it will see the reigning Copa America champions Argentina play the reigning World Cup winners France in a 3pm GMT kick-off on Sunday afternoon at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail. It's a worthy final despite both teams suffering blips on their journey here and the billing of it being Lionel Messi versus Kylian Mbappe only scratches the surface of this compelling match-up.
Argentina could not have had a worse start to their World Cup campaign when they suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening group game. Strangely, it was probably the best thing that could've happened to Lionel Scaloni's side. It was a massive wake-up call and made the squad realise they could not be at anything less than 100% against any opponent otherwise they'd suffer. A 2-0 win over Mexico was followed up by a 2-0 victory over Poland to help the Albiceleste through to the last 16 as group winners. The 2-1 win over Australia in the last 16 was a little nervy towards the end but it was generally a solid display. Argentina then required a bit of luck in the 4-3 win on penalties against Netherlands in the quarter-finals after a 2-2 draw. The 3-0 win over Croatia in the semi-finals was comfortable and suggested that momentum is now with the South American side. This will be the 6th time that Argentina have played in a World Cup final with only Brazil and Germany having more appearances in the final. They could also become just the second team, after Spain in 2010, to lose their opening game in the tournament and go on to win the competition.
France are aiming to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to win retain the World Cup after their success in 2018. Didier Deschamps has played a cautious style with mixed performances but there's no denying that it's got them to another World Cup final. Les Bleus started the tournament with an easy 4-1 win over Australia before a dogged 2-1 victory against an out-of-sorts Denmark. Key players were rested in the 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in the last group game but progress to the last 16 as group winners was secured. A 3-1 win over Poland in the last 16 was one of their most convincing displays and the 2-1 win over England in the quarter-finals saw them make the most of limited possession once again. Their 2-0 victory over Morocco in the semi-finals was far from convincing with the tournament's surprise package arguably having the better of the play for large spells but just not being able to capitalise on their possession and chances. Interestingly, France will be making their 4th appearance in a World Cup final since Argentina last won the tournament in 1986. There may well be a lot of attention on Mbappe's performances but the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, and Aurelien Tchouameni have been key in their victories and utilising the limited chances they have created by surrendering possession to their opposition in most games and relying on the counter-attacking pace in the team.
There is a lot of attention on Messi finally winning the World Cup trophy that has evaded him all these years. The sub-plot is that Messi and Mbappe are tied for the golden boot on 5 goals so far. This will be the third time these teams have met in World Cup action. Argentina won both of the group encounters back in 1930 and 1978 but France prevailed victorious in the only knockout meeting which came in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup. I think we all want Messi to win this trophy and for that reason alone I will back Argentina to win but it might go all the way to penalties. Although, I have had a cheeky bet on Messi winning Player of the Tournament and Mbappe to win Golden Boot so we'll see how that goes!
Argentina to Lift the Trophy @ 9/10 with Betfair
First Goalscorer: Lionel Messi @ 4/1 with BetUK

Argentina vs France
The 2022 World Cup final is here and it will see the reigning Copa America champions Argentina play the reigning World Cup winners France in a 3pm GMT kick-off on Sunday afternoon at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail. It's a worthy final despite both teams suffering blips on their journey here and the billing of it being Lionel Messi versus Kylian Mbappe only scratches the surface of this compelling match-up.
Argentina could not have had a worse start to their World Cup campaign when they suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening group game. Strangely, it was probably the best thing that could've happened to Lionel Scaloni's side. It was a massive wake-up call and made the squad realise they could not be at anything less than 100% against any opponent otherwise they'd suffer. A 2-0 win over Mexico was followed up by a 2-0 victory over Poland to help the Albiceleste through to the last 16 as group winners. The 2-1 win over Australia in the last 16 was a little nervy towards the end but it was generally a solid display. Argentina then required a bit of luck in the 4-3 win on penalties against Netherlands in the quarter-finals after a 2-2 draw. The 3-0 win over Croatia in the semi-finals was comfortable and suggested that momentum is now with the South American side. This will be the 6th time that Argentina have played in a World Cup final with only Brazil and Germany having more appearances in the final. They could also become just the second team, after Spain in 2010, to lose their opening game in the tournament and go on to win the competition.
France are aiming to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to win retain the World Cup after their success in 2018. Didier Deschamps has played a cautious style with mixed performances but there's no denying that it's got them to another World Cup final. Les Bleus started the tournament with an easy 4-1 win over Australia before a dogged 2-1 victory against an out-of-sorts Denmark. Key players were rested in the 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in the last group game but progress to the last 16 as group winners was secured. A 3-1 win over Poland in the last 16 was one of their most convincing displays and the 2-1 win over England in the quarter-finals saw them make the most of limited possession once again. Their 2-0 victory over Morocco in the semi-finals was far from convincing with the tournament's surprise package arguably having the better of the play for large spells but just not being able to capitalise on their possession and chances. Interestingly, France will be making their 4th appearance in a World Cup final since Argentina last won the tournament in 1986. There may well be a lot of attention on Mbappe's performances but the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, and Aurelien Tchouameni have been key in their victories and utilising the limited chances they have created by surrendering possession to their opposition in most games and relying on the counter-attacking pace in the team.
There is a lot of attention on Messi finally winning the World Cup trophy that has evaded him all these years. The sub-plot is that Messi and Mbappe are tied for the golden boot on 5 goals so far. This will be the third time these teams have met in World Cup action. Argentina won both of the group encounters back in 1930 and 1978 but France prevailed victorious in the only knockout meeting which came in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup. I think we all want Messi to win this trophy and for that reason alone I will back Argentina to win but it might go all the way to penalties. Although, I have had a cheeky bet on Messi winning Player of the Tournament and Mbappe to win Golden Boot so we'll see how that goes!
Argentina to Lift the Trophy @ 9/10 with Betfair
First Goalscorer: Lionel Messi @ 4/1 with BetUK

Croatia vs Morocco
The penultimate game of the 2022 World Cup is here as Croatia play Morocco in the 3rd Place Play-Off in a 3pm GMT kick-off on Saturday evening from the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan. These two sides have exceeded their pre-tournament expectations but there is that feeling, as @george44 rightly points out, that this game means a little bit more to the African side than their European opposition.
Croatia are a team that have long done well on the international stage ever since their first appearance at a major tournament back in 1996. Zlatko Dalic's team weren't fancied as contenders to win the tournament before it all started so they have done incredibly well to reach this stage but there is still a feeling that after reaching the final in 2018 that this is a step backwards. A number of their squad are coming to the end of their careers such as Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Ivan Perisic, and, of course, Luka Modric. It is perhaps a testament to Modric's quality that at 37 years old he's still running the show in the middle of the park and has been instrumental in the nation's success over the last decade. This is not a Croatia side that is littered with world class stars like it was back in their 1998 World Cup journey when the likes of Davor Suker, Robert Prosinecki, and Zvonimir Boban were involved but their progress can be attributed to the team cohesion and attitude. The team have faced more shots than any other nation at this tournament which sums up exactly how they've approached each game with a reliance on their defensive stability and an emphasis on the counter attack.
Morocco have been the fairytale story of this World Cup. Head coach Walid Regragui has led his team to become the first African and Arabic nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. The team have won fans all over the globe due to their work ethic and never-say-die mentality. It was a massive disappointment to narrowly fall short against France in their last game but they will be coming into this match with an unrelenting desire to win this game and create even more history. Interestingly, Morocco conceded more goals in their 2-0 loss to France than they did in all of their previous World Cup games this year before that match. There is a chance that they could become just the 8th team in World Cup history to keep five clean sheets at a World Cup tournament. Four of the previous seven teams to have accomplished that won the tournament when they achieved that feat. Sevilla forward Youssef En-Nesyri has already bagged two match-winning goals in this tournament so far. He looks a decent price to be the match winner again here in a game that could well see goals with both teams playing with nothing to lose.
It's funny that these two teams will end their 2022 World Cup tournament in the same way they started it by playing each other. I am anticipating a different outcome to the nervy 0-0 draw we witnessed back in November. There have been 19 3rd Place Play-Off matches played in the history of the World Cup and none of them have gone all the way to penalties. Only one of them went into extra-time and that was France versus Belgium back in 1986. It's now been 10 World Cups in a row where the 3rd place side has come from the European continent. My head says Croatia will get the job done here but, as a hopeless football romantic, I'm going to back Morocco to win here. I do feel they will have more motivation and I think their team just has more energy. Morocco to win and maybe both teams to score.
Morocco to Win @ 21/10 with Betfred
BTTS @ 7/10 with Bet365

The most of the tis we see a lot of goals in the match for the 3rd place. I think this time we will have 1 to 3 goals. Morocco will try to win the match. I don't think that croatians will be so interested in it. 

Croatia vs Morocco
Asian Handicap opened on Croatia at -0.25, clearly overpriced to me since Croatia ranks 12th against Morocco ranks 22nd in FIFA World ranking given the qualities of Croatia against a massive underdog.
Morocco's odds on Asian Handicap (+0.25) clearly dropping since their cool display against France. And back in the Group stage, Morocco already managed to draw 0-0 against Croatia and prevented a goal. This game clearly going to be for Morocco in my opinion.
For higher returns, take a bet on Morocco to Qualify (or finish 3rd place). This market is a lot better than full-time 90 mins as it is included extra time and penalties!
Morocco - AH (+0.5) or X2

2022 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL
ARGENTINA vs FRANCE 
Odds: (1) 2.80  (x) 3.00  (2) 2.80
Facts about France In 90 minutes, France has never lost a FIFA World Cup final. It has competed in three finals, winning two and losing one on penalties to Italy. 2018: France 4-2 Croatia 2006: Italy 1-1 France (France lost in penalties) 1998: France 3-0 Brazil Facts about Argentina Argentina has competed in five FIFA World Cup finals, winning two and losing three. 2014: Germany 1-0 Argentina 1990: West Germany 1-0 Argentina 1986: Argentina 3-2 West Germany 1978: Argentina 3-1 Netherlands 1930: Uruguay 4-2 Argentina FIFA World Cup (H2H)  Argentina vs France  They have met thrice in FIFA World Cup, with Argentina winning two while France won one. 2018: France 4-3 Argentina (France eliminated Argentina in the Last 16 and France became champions) 1978: Argentina 2-1 France (Argentina eliminated France in Round 2 and Argentina became champions) 1930: Argentina 1-0 France(Argentina beat France in Group Stages, Argentina reached the Finals but lost) Facts about the FIFA World Cup Finals There have been 21 finals played, and two have gone to penalties. Out of 21 finals, 15 have produced Over 2.5 but only 6 of them produced under 2.5 . The two games that reached penalties both involved Italy in finals; 2006: Italy 1-1 France (France lost in penalties) 1994: Brazil 0-0 Italy (Italy lost in penalties) 2022 Finals: Argentina vs France  Argentina started with one shocking defeat against Saudi Arabia in the group stages. However, since then they have shown improvement with Lionel Messi being their focal point, and have won all five on the road, conceding one goal against Australia in the last 16, and conceding 2 goals against the Netherlands in the quarters which was decided on penalties. They  also beat Croatia (2018 finalists) 3-0 to reach the finals. France has shown consistency and ability to score against any  opponents. Antoine Griezmann has been the focal point, created many chances and provided crucial assists. They have played 6 games so far, one defeat to Tunisia but after booking qualifications for the Round of 16. They have conceded in most of their games except semi-finals which they beat Morocco 2-0 to reach the finals. PREDICTION Argentina 3-2 France  

2022 FIFA WORLD CUP 3RD PLACE PLAY-OFF
CROATIA vs MOROCCO 
Odds: (1) 2.35  (x) 3.40  (2) 3.00
Facts about Croatia Croatia is the 2018 finalist, having lost to France then. They were hoping to reach the 2022 finals to try to rectify their 2018 mistakes, but unfortunately, they were hammered seriously by Argentina in the semi-finals. Luka Modric is playing his last world cup game and was hoping to win the cup, but unfortunately, he will have to settle for this third-place play-off. 2018 Finals: France 4-2 Croatia (Croatia lost to France) Facts about Morocco They made history by being the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, their dreams of reaching the finals and even winning the cup were haltered by the defending champions France.   Facts about FIFA World Cup 3rd Place Play-Off The winner of the third-place play-off receives the bronze medal and $27  million in prize money. The loser gets $2 million less (about $25) with no medals. European Teams have won the last 5 third-place play-off games, all of which were played without penalties. 2022:  Croatia vs Morocco? 2018: Belgium 2-0 England 2014: Netherlands 3-0 Brazil 2010: Germany 3-2 Uruguay 2006: Germany 3-1 Portugal 2002: Turkey 3-2 South Korea FIFA World Cup (H2H)  Croatia vs Morocco  They have met once in the FIFA World Cup group stages with a draw of under 2.5. 2022: Croatia 0-0 Morocco PREDICTION Croatia 2-0 Morocco

Yes, apologies. Got my information mixed up! I have edited now for clarity. Not that it matters! 

France vs Morocco
The second semi-final in the 2022 World Cup is coming up at 7pm on Wednesday night with France taking on Morocco. The winners will play Argentina in the final. It may well be the French who come into this game as the firm favourites but we've seen enough shocks in this tournament to not want to rule anything out.
France continue to surprise me with how effective they have been with a weakened midfield and head coach who has his tactical flaws. Les Blues were far from impressive in their group with a 4-1 win over an under-cooked Australia followed by a narrow 2-1 win over an under-performing Denmark, and then a surprising 1-0 loss against Tunisia after resting key players. Kylian Mbappe has been doing the business in front of goal with Olivier Giroud also breaking records up front. The 3-1 victory over Poland in the last 16 was probably Didier Deschamps' side's best display and the 2-1 win over England in the Quarter-Finals could've gone a different way on another day. Deschamps has set his team up to manage without possession. It's a dangerous game and it'll be interesting to see how they fare here against a team that also seem happy to sit back.
Morocco have been the darlings of this World Cup by stunning the football community with their performances. It's not been pretty. It's not been glorious. It's been damn effective though. Head coach Walid Regragui boasts this phenomenal defensive record with the team that saw them progress as group winners ahead of Croatia, Belgium, and Canada without suffering a loss in those matches and only conceding 1 goal. The 0-0 draw with Spain before a 3-0 win on penalties in the last 16 shook the world and the 1-0 win against all the odds over Portugal in the Quarter-Finals suggested maybe the impossible could happen.
I said before the semi-final yesterday that it felt like Croatia's luck was going to run out and it did. I have a feeling that maybe this is one step too far for Morocco. They have been a credit to the tournament so far and they have done the continent of Africa proud. It would be wonderful to see them reach the final but I feel they will come up short. I think the attacking power France possess will breach the Moroccan back-line and if France score one then I think they could get 2 or 3. France have conceded a goal in every game so far this tournament but I think it'll be a case of Morocco holding on for a large percentage of this game but not quite lasting the distance.
France to Win to Nil @ 13/10 with BetVictor
First Goalscorer: Kylian Mbappe @ 18/5 with SpreadEx

No worries at all Stevie lad. I've been busy myself so had to put the NHL bets on the back burner. The cream is definitely rising to the top in the respective conferences. 
Just briefly looking at the fivefold you mentioned I would say The Bruins look the strongest of that offer and the weakest of the five would be the Florida Panthers. Be interesting to see how it all plays out. Best of luck mate.

Apologies @MinellaWorksop, I've had a heavy workload so not been able to get on the NHL betting recently but I'm going to have a dip into it all again. I'm buzzing with the Boston Bruins still topping the Eastern Conference but gutted to see that 100% home win record go with that over-time loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. It rubbed salt into the wound with former Bruins man Bruce Cassidy now with the Knights.
I'm not overly keen on backing us tonight at such short odds against New York Islanders at home as a one-off but tempted to throw a £10 five-fold on Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, and Tampa Bay Lightning. 5/1 with BetVictor so not great odds but all teams except Devils seem heavy favourites on home ice.

Exactly that !!!! If welook at the past competiotion, we 'll see that there was never any surprise in the final. We had surprices at Euro cup (Greece, Denmark ) but never during a world cup. I strongly believe that the opponents in the final, will be Argentina and  France. Its better for football if Argentina wins.