Sheffield United kickstarted their quest for an immediate return to the Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win over Preston North End at Deepdale.

Oliver Arblaster would net the Championship s first goal of the season with 12 minutes on the clock as his deflected effort wrong-footed Freddie Woodman.

In a half that only saw seven attempts from either side, a moment of magic from Gustavo Hamer after the interval would secure Chris Wilder s men the win.

Hamer, who scored nine goals in his last campaign in the second tier with Coventry, intercepted Woodman s throw out from the back, taking a touch before lobbing the North End goalkeeper.

The Blades will be looking for an improved display when they face QPR next weekend, recording an expected goals (xG)…

Manchester City have confirmed Raheem Sterling has signed a three-year contract extension, committing him to the Premier League champions until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Sterling played a vital part last in last season s Premier League title success, scoring 18 goals and setting up another 11.

He has started the new campaign impressively as well, playing a role in 11 goals in just nine league outings as City sit top of the table ahead of Sunday s Manchester derby.

Sterling s previous deal was set to expire in 2020 and talks over a renewal were reported to have been started many months ago.

The 23-year-old attacker has come on leaps and bounds at City since joining from Liverpool in 2015, a deal which may eventually cost the club nearly £50million.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been announced as the winner of the 2016 Ballon d Or, taking out the most prestigious individual prize in world football for the fourth time.

Respected publication France Football named the 31-year-old forward as its player of the year on Monday, Ronaldo claiming the accolade ahead of arch-rival Lionel Messi of Barcelona.

Ronaldo enjoyed a glittering 2015-16 season with club and country, lifting the Champions League with Real Madrid and finally ending his wait for international honours, as Portugal triumphed at Euro 2016.

The former Sporting CP player won his first Ballon d Or at Manchester United in 2008, before collecting the prize again at Madrid in 2013 and 2014.

Ballon d or France Football 2016 winner : CRISTIANO RONALDO

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Chelsea F.C. midfielder Thorgan Hazard is content with his decision to join Borussia Monchengladbach on loan for the 2014/15 campaign.

The Belgium international, 21, has spent the past two seasons on loan at Jupiler Pro League side Zulte Waregem, impressing to the tune of 14 goals in 39 league appearances last term.

Hazard, the younger brother of Belgian star Eden, will much to his delight be playing UEFA Europa League football with Glabach next season.

I didn t talk personally to Jose Mourinho this summer, but I was honoured that he came to Zulte Waragem to watch me, Hazard said.

My dad, who is my new agent, talked to Mourinho. He repeated what he said to me last year, that I have to play for a good team.

Then we started talking t…

Dani Olmo has said he has several options ahead of a potential move from RB Leipzig after playing a starring role in Spain s Euro 2024 triumph.

Olmo scooped the Golden Boot at the European Championships while also helping La Roja triumph a record fourth time in the competition.

His goal against France in their 2-1 semi-final victory saw him become the first Spanish player to score in three successive games at the Euros finals.

Olmo s five goal involvements at Euro 2024 (three goals, two assists) is the most by a Spaniard at a major tournament since David Silva at Euro 2012 (two goals, three assists).

The 26-year-old s form at the European Championships have seen him touted for a move in the transfer window, with Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern M…

Leonardo Bonucci claimed Juventus 3-0 win at Barcelona was even more beautiful than the Camp Nou stalemate that booked their place in the 2016-17 Champions League final.

Juventus seized top spot in Group G on Tuesday with a deserved victory in Catalonia, where they had to better Barca s 2-0 triumph in the reverse fixture.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a pair of penalties either side of Weston McKennie s volley as Juve were again able to celebrate on the Camp Nou pitch.

Serie A champions Juve had visited Barca in the 2017 semi-finals and drew 0-0 to successfully defend a 3-0 aggregate advantage.

But despite the relative weakness of opponents Barca this time, the win was of particular note as the first time the Blaugrana had lost at home in the Champions League …

The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs played each other twice last season, including an offensive battle in the AFC Championship. Sunday night will give us the third meeting between the two betting favorites to win the AFC in the last 12 months. With a game total sitting at 57, plenty of points are expected, meaning there are a plethora of player props to take advantage of.

We bring you our favorite free prop picks and predictions for Sunday night’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills.

Bills vs Chiefs prop picks

• Dawson Knox Over 3.5 receptions (-125 Caesar’s Sportsbook)
• Travis Kelce Over 87.5 receiving yards (at FanDuel -114)
• Jody Fortson anytime TD (+2000 at BET365)

Click on …

The National Football League kicked off on Thursday night with the Hall of Fame Game, and that means one thing in the betting world: After 172 days, we can officially wager on NFL games again.

And it’s not just bettors rejoicing for NFL preseason betting — sportsbooks are thrilled to get NFL action back as well.

“Last night’s Hall of Fame Game drew 21.8% more turnover than the previous year’s game between Dallas and Pittsburgh,” said Wyatt Yearout, media analytics manager of PointsBet. 

DraftKings noted that the total amount of bets doubled when compared to 2021 and that the Hall of Fame Game drew more total handle than any MLB game on Thursday. 

Sports Interaction (SIA) in Canada reported a similar handle t…

There are a ton of big-name skill position players in this year’s Big Game. But none are bigger than Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. 

The charismatic superstar is obviously going to draw a lot of attention in Super Bowl player prop market. Unfortunately, the fact that Kelce is such a public darling means a lot of the value in his Super Bowl player props can dry up. 

But that just means we have to dig a little deeper into his Super Bowl odds. Do we put our faith in arguably the GOAT tight end in the biggest game of the season? Find out the best Travis Kelce Super Bowl picks below.

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It will be a windy, rainy, hot and sticky, and possibly snowy Halloween Weekend across the NFL… with several matchups on the Week 8 odds board impacted by the elements.

While it’s just Tuesday, I get ahead of the extended forecast and highlight how the potential gameday weather will alter the results and how to bet the NFL odds accordingly before making any NFL picks.

We look to the skies of the NFL Week 8 Weather Report.

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