Prediction EURO2016 Qualifiers 8 October

Georgia-Gibraltar: Gibraltar are probably the weakest team in these qualifications, it will be difficult to see them making even a single point. My prediction: HOME WIN

Ireland-Germany: Ireland are a decent squad, it will not be an easy game for the World champions. But still, at the end Germany will probably win this match. My prediction: AWAY WIN

Scotland-Poland: Scotland have dropped many points when they were likely to win and now the road to EURO2016 is really tough. My prediction: DRAW

Hungary-Faroe Islands: this is apparently an easy game for Hungary but I think they will struggle more than expected. My prediction: HOME WIN

N. Ireland-Greece: Greece were absolutely disappointing and now the qualification is impossible for them. My prediction: HOME WIN

Romania-Finland: in this group the race for EURO2016 qualification is massively heated and Romania will keep taking part in it. My prediction: HOME WIN

Albania-Serbia: this game's atmosphere will be intense. Everyone hopes not to see what happened in Serbia when these two national teams faced each other. Serbia's hopes of qualification are gone but they will fight tooth and nail against Albania. My prediction: AWAY WIN

Portugal-Denmark: this match is worth the first place of group I. It will not be easy but I think Portugal will eventually win. My prediction: HOME WIN

Why Fiorentina might be a tremendous outsider

After seven games Fiorentina are top of the table, after six wins and one defeat. The most substantial victory was at San Siro, when they trashed Inter 4-1.

Paulo Sousa's team turned out to be a better side than expected, thanks to a perfect integration of the new players.

Furthermore,some old ones, like Marcos Alonso, have found their best form ever. The Spaniard, in particular, has shown a terrific improvement also in striking free kicks.

If you add a goalkeeper that has surprised everyone with a series of sensational saves, like Tatarusanu has done, you will understand why Fiorentina has been successful so far this season.

Appointing a young manager like Paulo Sousa, despite the supporters' scepticism for his Juventus past, turned out to be a good choice.

Nobody would expect Fiorentina to play an important role in the title race but this is football and it is often unpredictable.

Cristiano Ronaldo is an outstanding player but...

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players of all time. He is fast, technical and extremely cold blooded in front of the goal.

His body is built to compete in sports and in football it gives the best performance. He has made the difference both in Spain and England, something that even Messi has not done.

So what? Does Cristiano Ronaldo have some weaknesses? Yes, like everyone else. He is not good at shooting free kicks.

It may seem nonsense. If you google "Cristiano Ronaldo" and click images you will certainly find pictures of him before striking a free kick. And if you look for images of free kicks you will find the Portuguese.

But still, stats are against him. In the last 85 free kicks he scored only twice. He was unlucky only once, when he hit the post.

Astonishingly he hit the wall 34 times, whereas his shot was stopped by the goalkeeper in 25 occasions.

The percentage of free kicks scored considering the last 85 is 2.35%. Is he really good at shooting free kicks?

Rodgers sacked

Liverpool have sacked Brendan Rodgers and on Twitter there have been thousands of comments.

Should big clubs sack managers like small ones do? Or Liverpool are not a big club anymore?

And why has he been sacked after a draw at Goodison Park?

Prediction Premier League 03/10

Crystal Palace-WBA: HOME WIN

Bournemouth-Watford: HOME WIN

Aston Villa-Stoke City: DRAW

Manchester City-Newcastle United: HOME WIN

Norwich City-Leicester City: DRAW

Sunderland-West Ham United: AWAY WIN

Chelsea-Southampton: HOME WIN

Why market's new rules are destroying many players

In the last years it has become more and more difficult for a football club to buy a player who has international caps without splashing out a fortune.

This happens for the new rules of the football market, which has been changed by clubs like Manchester City and PSG, but also by Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Therefore, when Milan, a club that notoriously loan players rather than buy them, tried to sign new men, they found that every target was overpriced.

And it is the same for all the managers. So, when Brendan Rodgers decided that he needed new players, Hoffenheim and Aston Villa were craving to put their hands on the money that Liverpool had after Sterling's departure.

And what happens to overpriced players? They comprehensibly feel under pressure and they eventually underperform. Liverpool's Firmino is a good example.

This leads to make managers feel under pressure as well. They feel the money spent as an obligation to include the new players in the starting line-up, even if they are underperforming.

Why Napoli can win the Europa League

Last year Napoli had a gigantic occasion to win the second most important European competition but they naively fell in the semi-final against Dnipro.

This season has not started according to plans for Sarri's Napoli but the last match against Juventus gave some hopes to Neapolitans.

And now they must face the reality: Napoli are one of the most equipped teams to win the Europa League once again.

As I said in a previous post, Sarri is the man for this club. He can give them pace and he can work on their attitude.

The main reason for last year semi-final defeat was the wrong attitude, maybe Napoli underevaluated their opponents, maybe they were surprised by Dnipro fans' support or maybe both.

But this year they must improve, even if it is the Sarri's first season. They managed to keep Higuain, they have Insigne and Hamsik in the best form so far. They just cannot fail.