{"id":26501,"date":"2019-11-22T15:26:34","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T15:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/?p=26501"},"modified":"2019-11-22T15:26:34","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T15:26:34","slug":"football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/","title":{"rendered":"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size"},"content":{"rendered":"

Football writer Chris Bland<\/a> has been in great form recently and returns to tackle this weekend’s final two Premier League<\/a> fixtures in addition to a big clash in Serie A. Read on for his weekend football tips.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Sheffield United vs. Manchester United<\/h3>\n

Surprise package Sheffield United host Manchester United in the first meeting between the two since an FA Cup tie in 2016, when Sheffield United were a League One side.<\/p>\n

Much has changed since then and Sheffield United are now two places above their Premier League rivals. They look well suited to frustrate United once again.<\/p>\n

Manchester United head into the game on the back of an impressive win against Brighton. However, the tactics employed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw his side only muster 42% possession. They relied on utilising counter-attacks to break down Graham Potter\u2019s side. This worked effectively, however. United’s problem this season has been creating chances when the opposition don\u2019t take the game to them.<\/p>\n

Whether Sheffield United will allow the space in behind to be exploited awaits to be seen. An xG of 0.64 (Bournemouth), 0.97 (Newcastle) and 1.26 (West Ham) highlights the issues they’ve had against compact defences and they could potentially struggle once again.<\/p>\n

The Red Devils midfield looks short on numbers. Replacing Scott McTominay may be a bigger task than was once thought. Without Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic, the Scottish midfielder has stepped up. His defensive and offensive contributions haven’t been overlooked in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

With three goals, and impressive defensive statistics, to his name, finding an all round replacement from the United squad could spell trouble. It should play into the hands of the Blades. Sheffield United look to control the midfield with a narrow three, as well as over-lapping centre backs stepping up. So they could easily see themselves over-running the Red Devils midfield. Particularly with United’s lengthened injury list seeing Fred, Pereira and Mata as options.<\/p>\n

Although not always a direct side, Wilder is happy to revert to a direct approach if the game suits it. Up against a United midfield which can easily be overrun, as well as defender Victor Lindelof who has at times shown his vulnerability to direct play, the Blades are well suited to causing United problems.<\/p>\n

McGoldrick will be well suited to causing Lindelof problems, and as a result it could see a scrappy, direct approach from Sheffield United, as they also look to guard against the front three\u2019s lightening quick speed on the break.<\/p>\n

A tight game is expected, and with both sides struggling from open play to both take chances and create at times, a cagey draw would be no surprise.<\/p>\n

Verdict: Draw<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lecce vs. Cagliari<\/h3>\n

Sunday\u2019s Serie A offering sees high-flying Cagliari travel to struggling Lecce, and its hard to see past Rolando Maran\u2019s men.<\/p>\n

Three wins on the bounce have seen Cagliari move up to fourth in the league. Their last two victories have been mightily impressive. A fantastic counter-attacking performance saw Atalanta defeated 2-0 away from home. Then they blew away an improving Fiorentina side 5-2, racing<\/a> to a five goal lead after just 65 minutes.<\/p>\n

Joao Pedro has been the in-form striker with six goals so far this season, whilst Giovanni Simeone is regaining the form which saw him move to Fiorentina in 2017 with four to his name. Radja Nainggolan is the driving force of creativity, with four assists, and the high-scoring Cagliari attack will be confident heading into Sunday\u2019s clash.<\/p>\n

The signs are ominous for Lecce, and their form is particularly worrying. Since beating SPAL in September, three defeats and four draws have seen them slide down the table to 16th<\/sup> and, although there were credible draws against Milan and Juventus in this run, a deeper delve into the statistics suggests that the barren run for Lecce doesn\u2019t look like improving.<\/p>\n

Lecce have conceded 25 goals this season but also have the highest xGa of any side in Serie A. At 29.72, they are expected to concede over two goals a game, and they are coming up against a Cagliari side both full of confidence, and in rampant attacking form. The attacking numbers don\u2019t make for much better reading. An xG of just 7.32 to go with the seven goals scored from open play for Fabio Liverani\u2019s side means breaking through Cagliari\u2019s defence will be a tough ask.<\/p>\n

However, there is a flip side to this. Cagliari themselves are massively over-performing offensively and defensively this season and. when the league table is adjusted for expected points, they see themselves lying in 13th<\/sup>. Despite this, Lecce\u2019s struggling defence and attack is hard to overlook, and they themselves lie 20th<\/sup> when expected points are taken into account. Whether the run ends this week is certainly questionable but Cagliari\u2019s form is certainly one to keep a close eye on over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Verdict: Cagliari<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United<\/h3>\n

Monday night\u2019s offering comes from Villa Park as Steve Bruce travels to one of his many former sides in search of a third straight victory in charge of the Magpies.<\/p>\n

After an alarming start to the season, the return of Allan Saint-Maximin has buoyed the Magpies and seen them win three of their last five, jumping up to 13th<\/sup> in the table. Aston Villa on the other hand have lost their last three, all be it two of which were against Liverpool and Manchester City, seeing themselves drop to 17th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Averaging the lowest possession of any side in the top five European leagues, Newcastle\u2019s tendency to sit and counter will mean that the returning Jack Grealish will offer a huge boost to the creativity of Aston Villa, who will need to be on top form to break down a compact defensive unit. Jamaal Lascelles will be a miss through injury, however Fabian Schar\u2019s return will be timely for Newcastle, and offer them an extra attacking force with the Swiss defender\u2019s willingness to bring the ball out from defence.<\/p>\n

However, despite Newcastle\u2019s upturn in form, the xG statistics still point in the way of struggles creating chances and letting up a hatful (20.23 xGa), especially from open play. Coming on top in tight games against West Ham (a 3-2 win at 1.93 to 1.54) and Bournemouth (a 2-1 win at 2.33 to 1.92), the defensive concerns are still there, and the lack of goals up front is rather worrying. In Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron, they possess two of the Top 10 players in the Premier League this season\u2019s xG charts without a goal to their name, whilst Joelinton\u2019s return of 0.18 xG per 90 shows he is struggling to find the chances. A season long xG of 10.11 for the whole side is of further concern, and doesn\u2019t bode well with Villa\u2019s backline welcoming back Bjorn Engels from injury.<\/p>\n

Aston Villa themselves do let up a hatful of chances, with 20 goals conceded at an xG of 22.45, and have shown themselves to be susceptible to the counter attack, whilst the full backs were given the run around by Adama Traore and Jota in defeat at Wolves, a similar threat to Newcastle\u2019s attackers.<\/p>\n

The statistics make this for an intriguing encounter, as do the tactical edges both sides possess. Villa\u2019s susceptibility to the counter attack will cause problems, however the space Newcastle could allow the creative talents of the returning Grealish, John McGinn and Anwar El-Ghazi should see them have enough to break down the compact backline.<\/p>\n

Verdict: Aston Villa<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Football writer Chris Bland has been in great form recently and returns to tackle this weekend’s final two Premier League fixtures in addition to a big clash in Serie A. Read on for his weekend football tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272,76,346],"class_list":["post-26501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome","tag-premier-league","tag-serie-a"],"yoast_head":"\nFootball tips: Blades might cut United down to size - Colossus Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chris Bland has been in superb form recently and returns to give us his best tips this weekend in the Premier League and Serie A\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chris Bland has been in superb form recently and returns to give us his best tips this weekend in the Premier League and Serie A\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colossus Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SportsBigger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-22T15:26:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/GettyImages-822925854.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"775\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Bland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/blandc_1996\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ColossusBets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Bland\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Bland\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b961ef3842ba896d04b6a2ad4dfdb8b4\"},\"headline\":\"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-22T15:26:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1255,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"FeatureHome\",\"Premier League\",\"Serie A\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2019\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\\\/\",\"name\":\"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size - Colossus Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-22T15:26:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"Chris Bland has been in superb form recently and returns to give us his best tips this weekend in the Premier League and Serie A\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colossus Blog\",\"description\":\"Colossus Blog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Colossus Bets\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/rYeFCrFc_400x400.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/rYeFCrFc_400x400.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Colossus Bets\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SportsBigger\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ColossusBets\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/colossusbets_\\\/?hl=en\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/colossus-bets\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/ColossusBets\\\/featured\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b961ef3842ba896d04b6a2ad4dfdb8b4\",\"name\":\"Chris Bland\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c8853a747cbbf3b819da47adb38d235811e3e562f42a7de0c216493ad2fb0d54?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c8853a747cbbf3b819da47adb38d235811e3e562f42a7de0c216493ad2fb0d54?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c8853a747cbbf3b819da47adb38d235811e3e562f42a7de0c216493ad2fb0d54?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Bland\"},\"description\":\"Chris Bland is an aspiring football writer who has written for WeLoveBetting, The Punters Page and My Bet Buddy as well as appearing on the Weekly Wager Podcast. Specialising in tactical analysis, Chris writes in-depth tipping previews with a particular focus on the Premier League and Serie A. A massive Sunderland fan, Chris regularly heads to the Stadium of Light to cheer the Mackems on.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/twitter.com\\\/blandc_1996\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/chris-bland\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size - Colossus Blog","description":"Chris Bland has been in superb form recently and returns to give us his best tips this weekend in the Premier League and Serie A","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size","og_description":"Chris Bland has been in superb form recently and returns to give us his best tips this weekend in the Premier League and Serie A","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/","og_site_name":"Colossus Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SportsBigger\/","article_published_time":"2019-11-22T15:26:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":775,"url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/GettyImages-822925854.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chris Bland","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/blandc_1996","twitter_site":"@ColossusBets","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Bland","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Bland","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b961ef3842ba896d04b6a2ad4dfdb8b4"},"headline":"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size","datePublished":"2019-11-22T15:26:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/"},"wordCount":1255,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["FeatureHome","Premier League","Serie A"],"articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2019","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/","name":"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size - Colossus Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-11-22T15:26:34+00:00","description":"Chris Bland has been in superb form recently and returns to give us his best tips this weekend in the Premier League and Serie A","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/football-tips-blades-might-cut-united-down-to-size\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Football tips: Blades might cut United down to size"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/","name":"Colossus Blog","description":"Colossus Blog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Colossus Bets","url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rYeFCrFc_400x400.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rYeFCrFc_400x400.png","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Colossus Bets"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SportsBigger\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ColossusBets","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/colossusbets_\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/colossus-bets\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/ColossusBets\/featured"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b961ef3842ba896d04b6a2ad4dfdb8b4","name":"Chris Bland","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8853a747cbbf3b819da47adb38d235811e3e562f42a7de0c216493ad2fb0d54?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8853a747cbbf3b819da47adb38d235811e3e562f42a7de0c216493ad2fb0d54?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c8853a747cbbf3b819da47adb38d235811e3e562f42a7de0c216493ad2fb0d54?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chris Bland"},"description":"Chris Bland is an aspiring football writer who has written for WeLoveBetting, The Punters Page and My Bet Buddy as well as appearing on the Weekly Wager Podcast. Specialising in tactical analysis, Chris writes in-depth tipping previews with a particular focus on the Premier League and Serie A. A massive Sunderland fan, Chris regularly heads to the Stadium of Light to cheer the Mackems on.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/blandc_1996"],"url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/author\/chris-bland\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46299,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26501\/revisions\/46299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}