The knockout rounds of Euro 2024 got underway on Saturday, with the first two teams booking their places in the quarter-finals.

Switzerland stunned the defending champions, sending Italy home after a 2-0 victory in Berlin.

Later, Germany also prevailed by the same scoreline to take a step closer to potential success on home soil, beating Denmark.

Here, we round up the best Opta statistics from the first set of Euro 2024 round-of-16 ties.

Switzerland 2-0 Italy: Vargas ends Azzurri defence

The teams on Switzerland s side of the draw will be looking over their shoulders after they dumped Italy out, largely thanks to Ruben Vargas standout performance.

He set up Remo Freuler s opener before curling in a stunning effort himself, becoming the fir…

Germany tested the crossbar three times during the first-half initially when Julian Brandt s sweetly struck shot cannoned to safety with Weverton beaten.

The hosts much-vaunted frontline of Luan, Gabriel Barbosa, Gabriel Jesus and Neymar began to link pleasingly and, after Renato Augusto spurned an unmarked 23rd-minute chance at the back post, it was Brazil s captain who sent a capacity crowd into raptures.

Neymar s 25-yard free-kick was simply sumptuous, leaving Timo Horn grasping helplessly as it found the net via the underside of his bar.

Germany refused to be daunted by the scoreline or a now ramped-up party atmosphere and a Meyer free-kick caused havoc his delivery from the left deflecting and skimming to top of the crossbar.

From the resulting corne…

Jesus Navas confirmed he will retire from international duty following Spain s Euro 2024 final showdown with England on Sunday.

The 38-year-old, who will bring the curtain down on an international career spanning 15 years, is the last remaining member of La Roja s 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship-winning sides.

Navas has appeared three times for Spain during this tournament, captaining the side in their final Group B game against Albania, while deputising for the suspended Dani Carvajal at right-back in the semi-final win over France.

The Sevilla wing-back, who will call time on his professional career later this year, admitted he has played through the pain barrier in recent years.

Speaking ahead of Sunday s final, Navas highlighted similari…

Juventus have wrapped up a seventh consecutive Serie A title, holding off a strong challenge from Napoli to defend the Scudetto again.

Massimiliano Allegri has led the club to a fourth straight domestic double during his time at the club, with the Juve coach being linked with succeeding Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

If Allegri does depart, he will go out on a high, Juve adding the Serie A crown to the Coppa Italia title they won against AC Milan on Wednesday thanks to a 4-0 victory at the same Stadio Olimpico venue where the league title was clinched.

Here, we assess the key Opta numbers in yet another successful season for the Bianconeri.

7 Juventus have now won the Serie A title for the seventh time in a row – a new record in the Serie A history. Queen.

On this day in 2011, Obafemi Martins scored a late winner for Birmingham to beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Carling Cup final.

Nikola Zigic headed the Blues in front in the 28th minute before Robin van Persie found the equaliser with a volley.

The game looked destined for extra time when a mix-up at the back from Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny proved costly.

Szczesny spilled Zigic’s header after Koscielny mis-kicked the ball and the loose ball rolled into the path of an unmarked Martins.

Happy Obafemi Martins Day!

10 years to the day since that unbelievable afternoon at Wembley.

— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC)

The substitute then tucked the ball home into an empty net to seal victory and he describe…

After being left for dead, the Cleveland Browns roared back to life with an emphatic win over Cincinnati last week. They’ll try to keep the momentum going in Week 10 but will face a stiff challenge in visiting Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots, who have won four of their last five games.

The Patriots are coming off consecutive impressive road victories and NFL betting odds have them as slim home favorites against Cleveland, which is again dealing with some major injury concerns.

Here are our best free NFL picks and predictions for Browns vs. Patriots on Sunday, November 14. 

…

The New England Patriots defense allowed the fifth-highest completion percentage last week and now faces a Pittsburgh Steelers offense with a banged-up Najee Harris. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky didn’t take a lot of chances (3.3 air yards/ attempt) but focused his attention on two targets in Week 1.

With a nearly 60% target share between Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth, will the two pass catchers have big days on Sunday? Find out in my free NFL picks and predictions for Patriots vs. Steelers. 

…

Week 1 of the NFL season had its fair share of storylines, and we can only hope that Week 2 will be just as intriguing. 

Hopefully you made a profit in the opening week of the year, and if not, there are plenty of opportunities to make this week a winning one.

My weekly NFL parlay pick column starts with two run-heavy teams that I believe are not getting enough respect in the NFL odds. Then I’ll focus on a game that involves perhaps the most run-happy team in the league, the Baltimore Ravens, in a three-leg Same-Game Parlay.

Be sure to check out all our free NFL picks for Week 2.

…

At this point in the NFL season, every club has played at least 10 games, giving handicappers a solid baseline to assess. Yet, there can still be some statistical anomalies courtesy of a relatively small sample size.

Case in point: the globetrotting Tennessee Titans, who will play only their fourth true home game of 2023-24. 

Overarching trends are the theme of this week’s free NFL parlay picks as I rely on the Eagles’ rock-solid play at home, the Ravens’ scoring proclivity, and the rise of C.J. Stroud, who doesn’t seem to be getting enough credit against a Jaguars team that bettors might be backing based on preseason expectations.

I’ve parsed through the Week 12 odds so you don’t have to. Join me as I outline my favorite NFL odds selections this S…

Super Bowl Sunday is finally here and sportsbooks have responded by offering hundreds of enticing new markets for the Sin City clash between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Super Bowl odds available are an essential piece of information that can help bettors make Super Bowl predictions on a variety of different outcomes ahead of the big game.

Be sure to bookmark this page and visit it regularly to see the latest Super Bowl props, Super Bowl player props, derivative lines, novelty props, and NFL odds as the world gets ready to beat a path to Las Vegas for the biggest spectacle in all of sports.

Super Bowl 58 predictions

Covers’ roster of Super Bowl betting experts are delivering a ful…