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Euro 2020: Switzerland v Spain, Team News, Betting, Prediction

Switzerland face Spain in the quarterfinals of Euro 2020 and here is all you need to know about it

This be the first Euro 2020 quarter-final and RTE 2 will be televising the match at 17:00, today, Friday 2nd July and also on RTE Player.

Both sides have to travel a long distance to St Petersburg Stadium in Russia for this game.

Switzerland comes into the match with a mixed bag of form but with great confidence after coming back to beat the World champions France on penalties. They also have Steven Zuber on the wing who has the most assist so far in the Euros.

One major worry for the Swiss is that they will be without their captain Granit Xhaka for the game. The Arsenal man will most likely be replaced by young Bundesliga player Denis Zakaria or Newcastle defender Fabian Schar.

Although being involved in one of the games of the tournament so far, the 5-3 win over Croatia, Spain have only won one match comfortably in their last six games.

Spain has no injury concerns, but they hope that striker Alvaro Morata has his confidence in front of goal back. He scored his second goal of the competition in the last game to make up for his penalty miss in the group stage.

These teams faced each other twice in last year’s UEFA Nations League with their latest match ending in a 1-1 draw in Basel.

This game could be full of surprises with both teams being very unpredictable at the Euros so far.

Predicted Line-ups

Switzerland

Formation

3-4-1-2

Predicted Starting 11

Sommer (GK), Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez, Widmer, Feuler, Zakaria, Zuber, Shaqiri, Embolo, Seferovic

Injuries/Suspensions

Xhaka

Spain

Formation

4-3-3

Predicted Starting 11

Simon (GK), Alba, Azpilicueta, Laporte, Garcia, Pedri, Busquets, Koke, Torres, Sarabia

Injuries

None

 

Betting

Spain is the bookies’ heavy favorite for this tie with odds of 8/13.

A draw after 90 mins seems very possible with the bookmakers’ odds of 27/20.

Switzerland are given a very slim chance of progressing with odds of 9/2 to win.

 

Score Prediction

Spain is hoping to replicate their 5-0 win over Slovakia, but it will not be so easy with the Swiss.

Switzerland showed that they can have a strong, rigid defensive structure and that they can come back from certain defeat.

This is not a strong Spain side so expect that this game will go to extra time. Spain will only overcome the Swiss with their greater squad depth to bring on talented substitutes. It will be a tight and stubborn affair with a final scoreline of 2-1 to the Spanish.

Hurling – Limerick v Cork – Starting News, Live Scores, Betting & TV Coverage

Limerick will play against Cork in the Munster Senior Hurling semi-final in Semple Stadium at 19:00 on Saturday 3rd July

The All-Ireland champions against a willing side wanting to recreate old glory, this tie will be passionate and entertaining.

There will also be nearly 2,500 fans allowed into Semple Stadium to watch the match. It will also be shown on Sky Sports for those who couldn’t find tickets.

Limerick has started the year with unimpressive league performances, only collecting two wins in five games. Their confidence was at least boosting with a final day thrashing of Westmeath.

Cork had the same form in the league this year only picking up two wins and finishing level on points with Limerick. This is a very high-scoring team, but they seem to also leak scores in their defence.

The two counties already met each other in the league earlier this year. In a high scoring match, Limerick walked away winners with a score-line of  Limerick 0-33 Cork 2-19.

Full-Forward Aaron Gillane is a name on everyone’s tongue at the moment, still only 25 years old, he will have a big impact on this match.

In the opposing full-forward line Jack O’Connor scored 1-2 in their last match, a defeat against Galway but could be a spark again in this match.

Predicted teams

Limerick

B Hennessy (GK); R English, S Finn, B Nash; D Byrnes, D Hannon, C Coughlan; W O’Donoghue, C Lynch; T Morrissey, K Hayes, G Hegarty; P Ryan, A Gillane, P Casey.

Cork

P Collins (GK); S O’Donoghue, E Cadogan, G Millerick; T O’Mahony, M Coleman, R Downey; B Hennessy, D Fitzgibbon; C Cahalane, S Kingston, S Harnedy; A Cadogan, P Horgan, J O’Connor.

 

Betting

Limerick are the close favorites in this game with odds of 4/9.

The bookies do not expect a draw with odds of 10/1 to end in a stalemate.

Cork have been given a chance by the bookmakers with odds of 2/1 to win.

 

Prediction

Limerick comes into this game with almost the same team as the one that won the All-Ireland final. No matter the guile and threat that Cork pose, the Treaty County will best it.

Expect a comfortable victory for Limerick with more than a four-point deficit.

Leinster Hurling : How To Buy Tickets – Dublin v Galway & Wexford v Kilkenny

The 2021 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals on Saturday, Dublin v Galway and Kilkenny v Wexford, will have 8,000 fans in attendance.

The announcement was made after it was confirmed that the games were moved to Croke Park.

It follows a successful run of pilot events that have taken place in recent weeks.

If all tickets are sold, the semi-finals will have the largest crowd at a sporting event in the Republic of Ireland since

Dublin and Galway will open proceedings at 2 pm with Kilkenny and Wexford to follow them at 4:30 pm.

But how can fans get tickets to become one of the 8,000 to watch these two games on Saturday afternoon?

Dublin GAA will be allocating their share of tickets to members of their Senior Hurling panel and backroom team and to Dublin GAA clubs only.

They will not take any requests for tickets for the day.

CLICK here to buy tickets for Leinster Hurling

Leinster Hurling Preview: Kilkenny v Wexford- Live scores, Team News, Betting

Wexford will face Kilkenny in the Leinster Senior Hurling semi-final in Croke Park at 16:30 on Saturday 3rd July

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES KILKENNY V WEXFORD
This tie could be full of surprises with both teams seeming unpredictable in recent seasons, only one can reach the Leinster final.

Kilkenny had a decent season in the league, winning four games and only losing to Clare on the last day. They always seemed to be part of exciting high-scoring matches with their forwards always in full force.

Wexford also had a very nice league campaign, finishing second behind the Cats. They finished strong with a comfortable victory against Dublin.

They last faced each other in the league at the end of May, Kilkenny came out victors on that day with a scoreline of Kilkenny 2-27 Wexford 0-23.

It is no secret that this Kilkenny team relies heavily on scoring frees, but they do have the countries best free-taker in TJ Reid. The 33-year-old always the difference if the Cats can win or lose a game and expect no different on Saturday

In corner-forward, Wexford has a strong contender for All-Star again this year. Lee Chin is the main man for them and is normally involved in most of the team’s important scores.

Predicted teams

Kilkenny

E Murphy (GK); T Walsh, H Lawlor, P Deegan, D Corcoran, P Walsh, C Browne, R Reid, R Leahy, A Mullen, W Walsh, B Ryan, J Bergin, TJ Reid, E Cody.

Wexford

Mark Fanning (GK); S Reck, L Ryan, C Flood; J O’Connor, G Bailey, S Murphy; D O’Keefe, L McGovern; R O’Connor, C McDonald, P Morris; L Chin, J O’Connor, K Foley.

 

Betting

Bookies expect a close game with Kilkenny having odds to win at 4/9.

A draw in this fixture would give a big payout with odds of 10/1.

Wexford are not favorites but are close with odds of 2/1 to win.

 

Prediction

No matter what side wins this match, it will be close until the end. Kilkenny’s main problem is that they rely too heavily on TJ Reid.

Wexford can target him and try nullifying his threat. If they can succeed, then Wexford will have the advantage in this game.

Ulster Football Preview: Monaghan v Fermanagh, – Live Scores, Team News, Betting

Fermanagh clash against Monaghan in the Ulster Senior Football quarter-final in Clones at 15:30 on Saturday 3rd July

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES ON FERMANAGH V MONAGHAN

This is expected to be an entertaining and passionate contest to start off the Ulster Football Championship.

Only 500 fans will be in attendance at this match, but BBC NI will also be showing the game for those of us at home.

Monaghan had a dower football league with the finishing last in the Division 1 North with two draws and no wins. This was at least boosted by not being relegated after narrowly beating Galway in June.

Fermanagh on the other hand had an average league in the Division 3 North finishing second behind Derry. They eventually lost in the semi-finals to Offaly not leaving them in the best place for this Championship.

Monaghan have won four of the last five meetings, with their last game in 2019 the Farney County winning with 1-10 to 1-6.

Jack McCarron is best known for striking the winner against Galway in the play-off semi-final. With this pedestal, he may now have a chance to shine for Monaghan.

Conor Corrigan is a strong midfield presence for Fermanagh. The young teacher caught many viewers’ eyes last year picking up some crucial winning points for his county.

Predicted teams

Monaghan

R Beggan (GK); D Ward, K McMenamin, R Wylie; K Duffy, C Boyle, K O’Connell; N Kearns, K Lavelle; M Bannigan, C McCarthy, R McAnespie; S O’Hanlon, J McCarron, C McManus.

Fermanagh

S McNally (GK); L Flanagan, K Connor, J Cassidy; K McDonnell, T Bogue, A Breen; S McGullion, E Donnelly; C Corrigan, J McMahon, J Largo Ellis; D Leonard, D McGurn (0-03), S Quigley

Betting

Monaghan, as expected, are the bookies’ heavy favorites with odds of 1/10.

A draw would be most unlikely with odds of 14/1.

The outside bet is Fermanagh with odds of 13/2 to win.

Prediction

Do not expect any great surprises in this tie. Monaghan is set as one of the heavy hitters in the Ulster Championship and this will be their warmup for bigger games.

Fermanagh will not give up and will continue to fight till the end but expect a final score-line with Monaghan winning by at least seven points.

Leinster Hurling Galway v Dublin – Live Scores, Starting Team News & Betting

Galway will face Dublin in the Leinster Senior Hurling semi-final in Croke Park at 14:00 on Saturday 3rd of July

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES ON DUBLIN V GALWAY HURLING
This match is set up to be the game of the weekend as two of Leinster’s best teams challenge to see who will make it to the final.

The government has allowed 8,000 spectators in Croke Park to watch the game. Sky Sports will also televise the match for those not sitting in the stands.

A late flurry in their last game in the league against Cork saw Galway win by a handy margin. The Tribesmen finished top of the league with four wins against teams like Waterford and Limerick.

Dublin was not so handy in their league only getting two wins in a group with Kilkenny, Clare, and Wexford.

The two teams have not faced each other in over a year with Dublin winning the u20s Leinster hurling final last year against Galway.

Other than the talismanic figure of Joe Canning, full-forward Evan Niland could prove to be a big threat in front of goal.

Donal Burke will try to be Dublin’s main man, he scored 1-10, mainly from frees and penalties, for them in their loss to Wexford.

Predicted teams

Galway

É Murphy (GK); D Morrissey, G McInerney, TJ Brennan; P Mannion, D Burke, F Burke; S Loftus, C Mannion; C Whelan, J Canning, Joseph Cooney; Brian Concannon, Evan Niland, Conor Cooney.

Dublin

S Brennan (GK); J Madden, E O’Donnell, C O’Callaghan; D Gray, L Rushe, C Burke; R McBride, D Burke; D Sutcliffe, C Crummey, M Schutte; C Boland, R Hayes, D Keogh.

Betting

Galway is firm favorites in this game with odds of 1/5.

Bookies are not expecting this tie to end in a stalemate with odds of 11/1 for a draw.

Lastly, Dublin is the outside bet with odds of 4/1 to win.

Prediction

The early rounds of the provincial championships are known for their surprises, but this will not be one of those games.

This is a physically strong and demanding Galway side and expect them to dominate against a county that only focuses on their Gaelic football these days.

This game will finish with a few goals score but ultimately Galway winning by at least five points.

Australian Lucas Herbert leads Dubai Duty Free Irish Open

A round of 64 at Mount Juliet Estate on Thursday gave Australian Lucas Herbert the opening round lead in the €3m Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in Co Kilkenny, the 21st of the European Tour’s 42 Race to Dubai events.

The 25-year-old, a winner of the 2020 Omega Dubai Desert Classic, holds a one shot advantage over American Johannes Veerman. Scotland’s Grant Forrest is a single shot further back.

“It was a bit of a slow start, admitted Herbert. “Even sort of the first eight holes, I birdied 15, made a nice putt and then 17, hit it in there pretty tight for eagle and missed it. Even the first eight holes felt a little bit slow out there. (I was) only hitting the two-ball with Laurie. We just both felt like we are hitting it quite nice and couldn’t make any putts.

“I made a really long one on 18 for birdie and that kind of sparked things and got things going. Was able to play really nice that last nine holes. Felt like I was trying to get to 5- or 6-under and I didn’t really want to try and just attack really, really hard.”

Herbert, who achieved a 14th place finish in last season’s Race to Dubai Rankings, carded an eight under par opening round at the sun-baked Kilkenny venue. Veerman in second achieved a bogey-free seven under 65 late in the day while Scot Grant Forrest signed for a six under par round of 66.

Ryder Cup starts high on the leaderboard

2012 European Ryder Cup players Martin Kaymer and Nicolas Colsaerts are next on the leaderboard, alongside fellow former Ryder Cup players Tommy Fleetwood, Thorbjørn Olesen and Andy Sullivan.They share fourth spot, on five under par, with a further nine players.

German Martin Kaymer was happy with his solid opening round, stating:

“I had a really solid start with five-under after ten holes and missed my tee shot on two. Still a bogey, which was fine. Then I struggled a little bit on the back nine, so the front nine of the golf course. Had a couple good chances coming in. Unfortunately missed a four-footer on the last for six-under would have been a really good score today. Five-under is fine, and I’m playing good golf.”

Colm Moriarty, a former Challenge Tour winner back in 2007, was the best of the Irish players on the opening day as he carded a four under par round. Reigning Open Champion Shane Lowry carded a two under par 70 and four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy opened his account with a 72.

Round One Scores:

64 L HERBERT (AUS),
65 J VEERMAN (USA),
66 G FORREST (SCO),
67 J SCRIVENER (AUS), C BEZUIDENHOUT (RSA), T FLEETWOOD (ENG), D WHITNELL (ENG), S GARCIA RODRIGUEZ (ESP), A JOHNSTON (ENG), R RAMSAY (SCO), M KAYMER (GER), T DETRY (BEL), A SULLIVAN (ENG), N COLSAERTS (BEL), T OLESEN (DEN), A ARNAUS (ESP), G HAVRET (FRA), S CROCKER (USA),
68 V NORRMAN (SWE), A COCKERILL (CAN), M ARMITAGE (ENG), M LEE (AUS), S BROWN (ENG), J GUERRIER (FRA), C PAISLEY (ENG), R ROCK (ENG), K SAMOOJA (FIN), C MORIARTY (IRL), K APHIBARNRAT (THA), S JAMIESON (SCO), M KINHULT (SWE), A LEVY (FRA), A ROZNER (FRA), M KAWAMURA (JPN), F ZANOTTI (PAR), F LAPORTA (ITA),
69 J CATLIN (USA), R BLAND (ENG), P LARRAZABAL (ESP), J WALTERS (RSA), E MOLINARI (ITA), J DONALDSON (WAL), K KITAYAMA (USA), Z LOMBARD (RSA), M ANTCLIFF (AUS), A RAI (ENG), J HARDING (RSA), J HANSEN (DEN), A OTAEGUI (ESP), J SMITH (ENG), W BESSELING (NED), R MCEVOY (ENG), M JORDAN (ENG), C SYME (SCO), M KORHONEN (FIN), T PULKKANEN (FIN).

Irish Scores

70 S LOWRY
71 N KEARNEY
72 R MCILROY, P DUNNE
73 R LESTER, M POWER (AM), C SHARVIN
74 G MCDOWELL
75 G MOYNIHAN
76 J CALDWELL, P HARRINGTON
77 S THORNTON
78 C RAFFERTY (AM), N O’BRIAIN
82 R DAWSON

GAA hoping to have 40,000 fans at the All-Ireland finals

The GAA has planned pilot matches to test for the suitable amount of spectators that should be at matches at the end of the summer

The pilot matches over this weekend will be Leinster and Munster hurling the semi-finals. Croke Park will have an attendance of 8,000, while there will be 2,400 at Semple Stadium.

They have also granted an attendance of 1,050 to go to the Roscommon v Galway match this Sunday at Dr. Hyde Park.

All other GAA matches have an attendance of around 500 spectators due to Covid19 guidelines.

The Association hopes that with the reopening of the country and success at the pilot matches that there will be 40,000 fans at both All-Ireland finals in August. That number would still only be half capacity for Croke Park to make sure that social distancing still happens.

The GAA has made these plans in partnership with the FAI and IRFU as they also plan to have fans at the Aviva Stadium.

Croke Park stadium director, Peter McKenna said:

“It will still look pretty cavernous, but the whole point of pilots is really to see are there any issues that we hadn’t anticipated and on the other side, concerns from the Department of Health concerning the virulence of the delta variant.”

The GAA also plan to start increasing the attendance to 12,000 and 20,000 in the coming weeks with social distancing and other guidelines still being enforced.

Matches in Ulster will still only have an attendance of 500 spectators including the Ulster football quarterfinals due to their guidelines.

This will be a very hectic weekend in both hurling and Gaelic football, and it is nice to know that there will be a few fans cheering on in the stadiums.

“What we’re hoping for is a graduated escalation in numbers. I would hope that by the time we get to All-Ireland finals you’d be looking at 40,000. That’s a real aspiration even if we have a long way to go to get to that,” added McKenna.

Ireland U20 Winger Ben Moxham Ready For England Test

Ireland under-20s winger Ben Moxham is ready for his side’s match against England U20s on Thursday night in Cardiff.

The winger has started both of Ireland’s games prior to their Triple Crown match against the English is an admirer of their game.

Moxham noted that England U20s are a very physical side that like to kick – similar to Eddie Jones’ England of late in that sense.

“They’re definitely a good side – probably the best side we’re going to face yet,” said the Larne native.

He complimented the performances of their back three in their first two games and understands they will be a challenge.

However, the 20-year-old relishes the challenge facing him.

Moxham has come a long way since getting into rugby five years ago after not making it in football.

After deciding on rugby because it was “the only other sport” in Larne and putting a lot of hard work behind the scenes, he was recruited by Ulster.

Moxham has been working with the seniors at Ravenhill for a year and says that training with them has improved his game greatly.

“Training with the [Ulster] seniors has helped me massively…You’ve got [Jacob] Stockdale, [Ian] Madigan, James Hume and others that are eager to help you as a young player.”

Moxham cited his coaches and full-back, Jamie Osborne, as figures that have helped him throughout the U20 Six Nations Championship so far.

The Ulster winger said that Head Coach Richie Murphy has been a huge help to him.

His defensive game is his strong point in his own opinion and the connection he has with Osborne on the pitch has helped him to do his job well.

“Jamie’s [a] really good [communicator], it makes my job a lot easier.”

The Ireland U20s match against England U20s kicks off at 8 pm on Thursday night and will be available to watch on RTÉ News Now and the RTÉ Player.

Click here to see the starting lineup.

Ireland U20 Forward Alex Soroka Focused On Task Ahead

Ireland under-20s forward Alex Soroka has said that the side’s sole focus is the match against England on Thursday night and not any silverware that comes along with it.

The two sides will face off at 8 pm on Thursday in Cardiff, having both won their first two games ahead of their match.

Soroka is not worried about the silverware that will come with a win or the implications that a loss will have.

“We’re just treating it as another rugby game,” said Soroka.

The Leinster prospect has been a huge figure for Ireland at set-pieces and sees the clash with England as a very tough matchup, but an exciting one.

He’s gathered from the video footage studied throughout the week that England are a multi-faceted side.

They can play through teams or play around teams and have some impressive kickers.

“I think it’s pretty exciting for us as a team to play against a team that has that much quality.”

However, the utility forward is confident of his side’s abilities in a head-to-head clash with the England u20s.

The 20-year-old enjoyed his team’s two wins and believes they can play well against their biggest opposition to date on Thursday night.

Their game-by-game approach has helped the side, according to the man starting at lock on Thursday.

“We are just focusing on ourselves, not thinking about other rugby stuff.”

He believes that their set-piece will be able to challenge England’s, even if Ireland does not have the height advantage.

Soroka has studied their lineout and believes that skill and technique will be enough to counter the height advantage.

His time studying and calling the lineouts during the tournaments has proved successful with the side boasting an 88% success rate in their two games.

He believes Ireland can impose their will upon this English side, in one way or another.

“We want to show what we can do.”

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