FOOTBALL ROUND UPS

MILAN VS MANCHESTER UNITED, San Siro - Milan

2007-05-02T15:20:00.000+07:00

First Leg Man U VS Milan 3:2.
Milan only needs to win 1-0 or 2-1 to go to the final, but the word only seems to undermine Man United capacity to pull a surprise in Milan tonight.
Milan will miss the service of Paolo Maldini for the second leg.
Genaro Gatusso will be joining the team in the mid field along with Seedorf, Ambrossini, Kaka. and Pirlo. Super Pippo will likely play as the lone striker, while the back four consists of Oddo, Khaladze, and Jankulovski.
The brilliance of the managers is much needed tonight to concoct the correct formula of a winning team. Ancelloti has described reaching to Final in Athens as Utopian Dream.
quote"
Back in the autumn, Milan were languishing at the wrong end of Serie A. A league points deduction and a shortened pre-season had affected form and confidence; Athens looked a long way off. Now, though, the resurgent Rossoneri stand third in the table and one match away from booking their third final in five years. "At the start of the season I said that getting to Athens was a Utopian dream," said Ancelotti. "But now this dream is becoming a reality. This side showed great unity through the tough times. That has brought them this far and now we're confident because we're playing well and we're close to our objective."
unquote"
Milan has indeed shown great unity through tough times.They started the Serie A campaign with 8 points deduction over the Calciopoli Scandal, but have shown great Champion mentality to reach the Semifinal (they are the only Italian Club left amongst the EPL Clubs). Their home form in Serie A read 12:2:3 28:14. The 3 losts have been to Palermo, Inter and Roma.

Manchester United needed to defend their 1st leg advantage, but position isn't safe yet for the Red Devil. Ironically, both teams have the same nicknames of being the Red Devil. Which shall be the true Red Devil in this competition shall be proven tonight......or should I say the lesser of the 2 evils? ha..ha..puns very much intended, guys...
Man U shares the same away record in EPL of 12:2:3 36:15. The 3 lost was to Arsenal, Westham and Portsmouth.
Vidic and Ferdinand might join the team for this game but Evra is suspended. Heinze might resume his post at the left back, with Wes Brown/ O'Shea on the right flank should Vidic and Ferdinand both play. Center-field would have Fletcher, Giggs, Scholes, Ronaldo, and Carrick.
Leaving Striker Rooney solo. It is almost similar with Milan.

I was much impressed with Man U bounce back over the weekend from a deficit of 2 goals in the first half against Everton, and winning it back by scoring 4 goals in the second half to end the game 2-4 at Goodison Park. This is sort of Mentality that Man U has shown that make them a true fighter. Man U can hold out Milan and forced them to a draw 1-1 or 2-2.

Should Man U strikes the goal first, that will force Milan to launch attack and opens up their defense. If this scenario happens then, there will be lots of goals to watch and this would be a great game to watch. Fearing the worst would be if Milan scored first and they would clam up to hold to that 1 goal then this would be the other scenario. Hope the first would turn into reality, for the sake of the people who actually stayed up for the game in Asia. : )

Football Round Ups

2007-05-02T14:51:00.000+07:00

English Premier League:

FT	Chelsea	2 - 2	Bolton W.

FT	Everton	2 - 4	Manchester U.

FT	Blackburn R.	4 - 1	Charlton Athletic

FT	Manchester C.	0 - 2	Aston Villa

FT	Middlesbrough	2 - 3	Tottenham H.

FT	Portsmouth	2 - 1	Liverpool

FT	Sheffield U.	1 - 0	Watford

FT	Wigan Athletic	0 - 3	West Ham U.

ITALIAN SERIE A

FT	Torino	0 - 1	AC Milan

FT	Fiorentina	1 - 0	Chievo

FT	AS Roma	0 - 0	Lazio

FT	Ascoli	2 - 3	Reggina

FT	Livorno	1 - 2	Palermo

FT	Messina	0 - 0	Atalanta

FT	Parma	2 - 1	Cagliari

FT	Siena	0 - 2	Sampdoria

FT	Udinese	0 - 1	Catania

FT	Inter Milan	3 - 1	Empoli

SPANISH LA LIGA

FT	Atletico Madrid	0 - 0	Real Betis

FT	Valencia	2 - 0	Recreativo Huelva

FT	Celta de Vigo	0 - 3	Mallorca

FT	Getafe	1 - 0	Real Sociedad

FT	Gimnastic	0 - 3	Villarreal

FT	Osasuna	2 - 2	Zaragoza

FT	Racing Santander	0 - 0	Deportivo La Coruna

FT	Sevilla	3 - 1	Espanyol

FT	Barcelona	1 - 0	Levante

FT	Athletic Bilbao	1 - 4	Real Madrid

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

Bochum

2 - 1

Schalke

FT	Alemannia Aachen	0 - 4	Hertha BSC

FT	Bayern Munich	1 - 2	Hamburger SV

FT	Borussia Dortmund	2 - 0	Eintracht Frankfurt

FT	Mainz	1 - 2	Hannover

FT	Monchengladbach	0 - 1	Stuttgart

FT	Nurnberg	1 - 1	Wolfsburg

FT	Arminia Bielefeld	3 - 2	Werder Bremen

FT	Energie Cottbus	2 - 1	Bayer Leverkusen

It has been a thrilling week, Serie A title has been decided to be Inter's. Man United drift further to top the league with 5 points cushion from Chelsea. Title chase is getting hotter in La-liga as the 3 contenders (Barca, Sevilla & Madrid) obtain the full 3 points last weekend.
In Bundesliga the title race is even hotter as only Stuttgart obtain a full 3 points, whilst Schalke, Bremen and Muenchen failed to pull thru on the weekend.

Champions League

Liverpool goes Athens. FT score Liverpool VS Chelsea 1-0.
The Reds won penalty shootout 4-1, thanks to brilliant keeping of Jose Pepe Reyna.
Great mentality shown by Liverpool. Could history repeat itself and give us another thrilling episode of Milan VS Liverpool again for the final in Athens. They had done it once in Istanbul in the Champions League final of 2004/05, and there's a good chance this could occur again.
I am reviewing the Milan VS Man U game on a separate post.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIFINAL

2007-04-25T16:47:00.000+07:00

CHELSEA VS LIVERPOOL - Stamford Bridge, London

A very intriguing match to predict, this one. Yesterday, I wrote a bit on the four managers of the semifinalists. I wish to dwell further into the blues manager, Jose Mourinho a.k.a the special one.
Mourinho is probably one of the most controversial manager of the modern football. Whatever speeches or commentaries he made would surely shrouds with controversies. I.e this morning edition of the mirrors:
quote"

Bitter Jose slurs Rafa’s Kop record

Jose Mourinho last night taunted managerial rival Rafa Benitez: if I had your record, I would have been sacked by now. The Chelsea boss reopened hostilities with Liverpool ahead of tonight's Champions League semi-final with a bitter blast against Benitez. In an amazing whinge, Mourinho blasted the Kop gaffer's failure to win the Premiership title since he took over at Anfield three years ago. (John Cross, Mirror)

Unquote"

Last Sunday was the remarks on conspiracy on Chelsea, as his team was robbed over the penalty over the handball that Carr made in the box.
Last year was the comment on voyeuristic Wenger having only the ability of watching and fantasizing about the premiership title.
He does lots of pre-games Psych war, which off course exactly what the media is looking for. Sensation and Controversies, SELL. Truth, who's buying? : )
I am not saying he's a bad manager, in fact he's an excellent manager. He knows exactly how to handle his players (that include boss Kenyon & Roman...tee hee). he knows what tactics to apply on the field and he's a great motivator (apart from Roman's money off course).
One of his most used tactics is to tire the opponent out and spank them as their tired legs failed them. Chelsea has a team filled with players who are prime in stamina and moreover, they have more than enough to talented players to make the opponents run the extra mile during the game, implementing the accurate long passes throughout the games, using techniques and speed of his strikers to drain the stamina out of his opponent, last step was to punish them at any blunders they make. Solid defence, formidable midfield and lethal strikers is what Chelsea had reincarnated into since he took over from Ranieri. Goals are coming from every line and there's so much variant to the formation that he could use. Chelsea's target in every match was to win and not concede. The play style is anything but flamboyant. "Wham Bam, thank you fans" is another way to put it. BUT they do deliver results and that's what matters.

Previous meetings in of the 2 Clubs :
2004/2005 Champions League
Chelsea VS Liverpool 1:0
Liverpool VS Chelsea 0:0 ( Liverpool had gone to lift the trophy against Milan in the final)

2005/2006 Champions League
Chelsea VS Liverpool 0:0
Liverpool VS Chelsea 0:0 (Group qualifying round)

The question in this match is not "who can outscore each other but rather who can defend better?"
Based on the above analysis, we should then look into their record this seasons in the Champions League:

Chelsea 6-3-1 16:8 Liverpool 7-1-2 17:7

HOME : 4-1-0 8:2 AWAY: 3-1-1 8:4
AWAY : 2-2-1 8:6 HOME: 4-0-1 9:3

CHELSEA HOME FIXTURES : Liverpool Away Fixtures:
BREMEN 2:0 W Eindhoven 0:0 D
BARCA 1:0 W Bordeoux 0:1 W
LEVSKY 2:0 W Galatasaray 3:2 L
PORTO 2:1 W Barca 1:2 W
VALENCIA 1:1 D Eindhoven 0:3 W

Chelsea will be without Essien (sanction). Carvalho & Ballack doubtful . Robenn long absentee
Liverpool - clean bills of health.

I had watched the game where Liverpool slayed PSV 3-0 on their turf. They are simply good. They had beaten Chelsea before, and they have Benitez as manager. Despite what Mourinho says in the paper, I am sure he wouldn't undermine Benitez capability of analyzing Chelsea's strength and weakness.

Very tough call, but decided that I am opposing the goalless draw that often appear in the past and go for a 2-1 win for Chelsea. If Barca can snug in 1 goal, and Galatasaray can put 3 at the back of their net, then Chelsea has the capabilities to do the same.

Cheers

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - SEMIFINAL

2007-04-24T15:29:00.000+07:00

Prologue: The C.L semifinals leaves us with the cream of the crops of the tournament. I personally think these are the best 4 teams and managers in Europe of the moment.
Sir Alex Ferguson & Man U has forged a formidable team that demands respect and awe at the same time. Starting with his class of 1991 that consists of young players with abundant talents: Giggs, Scholes, Neville brothers & Beckham. Achieving series of success in the 90's that was only appropriate to call it their decade (as 80's was to Liverpool). His resume is filled with flying colors (remember the unforgettable treble of '99), need I say more?
Carlo Ancelloti with Milan had lifted the trophy in the all Italian Final against Juventus, where they won the over penalty shootout back in 2003. Lots of scoffs and cynicism had been said about Milan after the Caciopolli Scandal, but Ancelloti had turned the tide around and show the kind of mentality that this team has. Coming from a 2-2 draw and goes to win 2-0 win away at Muenchen was absolutely awesome. It beckons recognition to his tactics and managerial skill.
Jose Mourinho had lifted the trophy earlier with Porto in 2002, in the final against St.Monaco. He had combined it with the UEFA Cup in 2003 with the same club against Celtic. He might be the youngest among the four managers, but his shrewd tactical abilities is in my opinion one of the best in Europe. He hasn't won any European Tournaments with Chelsea but for a newcomer, Chelsea had advanced further than Real Madrid did over the past 3 years and Real had 9 throphies in their Cabinet.
Rafa Benitez had also lifted the trophy in 2005, when Liverpool won their penalty shootout against Milan after the thrilling 3-3 draw in the 90 min + extra time in the final that I would brand to be the best Final ever.
Liverpool under Benitez management is more versatile than ever. Don't let their achievement in the premiership fool you because in the European Tournament, they are just superb.

MANCHESTER UNITED VS AC. MILAN, Old Trafford - Manchester

I had impressions that a lot of C.L faithfuls are commenting that because Man U had spanked Roma 7-1 in Old Trafford, therefore it should be easy to follow the same pattern for tonight's game against Milan.
I decided to dig up and borrow a few videos of Milan recent games from a friend who is a die hard fan of the club since Paris Hilton was still a virgin : )
I haven't followed Serie A too closely this year because I was sickened by the calciopolli scandal that really kill my animo over this league. : (
I watched a few games: Roma Vs Milan (1:1), Messina Vs Milan (1:3), and last weekend Milan Vs Cagliari (3:1).
I sum up that Milan style of play is not quite the same compared to Roma. I found them to be more pragmatic rather than beautiful football. One thing, I noticed was that they are able to control the tempo of the game. When they regain possesion of the ball, they regain the tempo of the game to suit their liking and this could not be good news for Man U. Their teams is a mixed of both aged and young players that are lethal in the counter attacks. The four backs consist of experienced players (Oddo, Maldini, Nesta, Jankulovski) and their midfield exceeds in techniques and stamina (Seedorf, Pirlo, Ambrossini, Gatusso & Kaka).
I decided not to write off them just yet because thay had proven to be ressilient and dangerous in the counter attack and they have all the experience in this tournament. Here are my other reasons not to assume Milan will be like Roma:
1) U cannot compare Ancelloti to Spalleti of Rome in terms of experience in this tournament. It is a first time for Spalleti to bring Rome up to the quarter final.
2) Milan Players are of experienced and more matured compared to Roma who has 70% young players. No offense to the Roma fans out there, but it is true that it takes experience for players in order to obtain the highest trophy in the European Football, you need grooming for maturity to takes its course.
3) Man U is going to this match with patchy back 4 (Fletcher, Wes Brown, Heinze, O'shea) Evra is doubtful, but would be glad if anyone can tell me if he's playing tonight. Man U would be relying heavily in the mid-field for possession and this could mean that they are going to take caution on attacking too deep.

If Man U decided to play attacking football then this game would turn out to be one entertaining game with many goals to watch but with the patchy back four, this is a risky decision if game ended in high scoring draws then Milan could hold them to a goaless draw in San Siro, Milan. This would end the dream of all English Final for me.
I can't decide really what Sir Alex approach would be, but my guess is a cautious one as this is afterall the semifinal, so forget about playing beautifully, the object is to win and not concede goal.
0-0 or 1-1 draw is my guess for tonite.

I welcome any comment if you have thoughts about this game.
"Critics are our friends, because they highlight us our faults"
Benjamin Franklin.
Cheers n enjoy the game , y'all.

SUNDAY EPL

2007-04-22T12:10:00.000+07:00

NEWCASTLE VS CHELSEA, ST James Park.

Chelsea has the chance to disminish the cushion to 1 point tonight should they win as Man U was held to a 1-1 draw from Boro Last Night (the boogey team at its best again). : (
The battle of the relegation zone has also become hotter than ever as Westham wins 1-0 vs everton, Fulham held draw 1-1 vs Blackburn, Charlton was held to a 1-1 draws against Sheffield United, Watford puts Man City to a stop from putting a nail in the coffin as they held them to a good 1-1 draw and keep the off the relegation dream prolonged.
So many "1-1" results last night, another night of bizzare spell of scores including Reading classy performance away to beat Bolton at Reebok Stadium 3-1.

Here are the Head to Head between Newcastle against Chelsea at St James Park in the premership for the past 3 years:

Premier 2005/06 Newcastle 1 - 0 Chelsea

Premier 2004/05 Newcastle 1 - 1 Chelsea

Premier 2003/04 Newcastle 2 - 1 Chelsea

Is that Spooky or what??? Chelsea has never beaten Newcastle on their turf for the past 3 years. Another boogey night, you think?
Let's not sum up that fast. I am sure Mourinho realized this record as much as I do, and Mourinho has lots up his sleeve to prepare his teams for a win tonight. He will not take any chances and undermine Newcastle ability to defend and attack in front of their home fans.

Let's see the recent performance of both teams:

NEWCASTLE
H: 7 6 4 23 : 18
A: 4 2 11 14 : 25
31.01 H: Aston Villa 3:1 (2:1) W
03.02 A: Fulham 1:2 (0:0) L
10.02 H: Liverpool 2:1 (1:1) W
25.02 A: Wigan 0:1 (0:1) L
03.03 H: Middlesbroug 0:0 (0:0) D
18.03 A: Charlton 0:2 (0:0) L
31.03 H: Man. City 0:1 (0:0) L
07.04 A: Sheffield U. 2:1 (1:0) W
09.04 H: Arsenal 0:0 (0:0) D
14.04 A: Portsmouth 1:2 (0:1) L

CHELSEA
A: 12 2 3 26 : 1
H: 12 4 0 34 : 8
20.01 A: Liverpool 0:2 (0:2) L
31.01 H: Blackburn 3:0 (1:0) W
03.02 A: Charlton 1:0 (1:0) W
10.02 H: Middlesbroug 3:0 (1:0) W
03.03 A: Portsmouth 2:0 (1:0) W
14.03 A: Man. City 1:0 (1:0) W
17.03 H: Sheffield U. 3:0 (2:0) W
31.03 A: Watford 1:0 (0:0) W
07.04 H: Tottenham 1:0 (0:0) W
18.04 A: West Ham 4:1 (2:1) W

Last 10 games for Newcastle reads WLWLDLLWDL 3-2-5, Scoring 8 Conceding 12
Last 5 home games 2-2-1 5:3

Chelsea has great record, be it away or home as you can see above last 10 games 9-0-1, 19:3
Last 5 away games 5-0-0 9:1.

You can see that Chelsea can defend well while playing away and still manage to score about 2 goals average per game.

Go for Chelsea to have that Champion Mentality and do what it takes to win this game.
2-0 for Chelsea to Win.

I am gonna have a busy night tonight, so don't have time to write for the other games but picks are as follow:

Siena - Inter 1-2 (Trust Inter to revive and win this away to secure the title)

Empoli - Torino 2-0 or 3-0 (Empoli is good at home, while Torino is on a losing streak)

Reginna - Udinese 2-1 (Reginna has been playing godd football of late, Udinese has bad away record)

CHEERS

MORE SATURDAY EPL

2007-04-21T16:47:00.000+07:00

MAN U VS MIDDLESBROUGH, Old trafford - Manchester

Man U comes with flying morales having 3 straight wins: 7-1 win over Roma in the Champions league semifinal, 4-1 over Blackburn in the F.A Cup, 2-0 win over sheffield United last Tuesday.
The 2 have met in the quarter final of FA cup, where Man U wins narrowly by 1-0 last March 19th on the second leg, where the first leg ends in 2-2 at Boro.

It has been a busy month for Man U for the past 1 month, competing in 3 different tournaments: EPL, FA Cup and Champions league. Hope for this year treble is much alive as the lead the table with a 3 points cushion, reaching the final of FA Cup facing Chelsea at the new Wembley in May, reaching the semifinal of the Champions League against Milan. Things are just wonderful being the Red Devil's old faithful.

Boro is a kind of boogey team for Man U over the years, always pulling out surprises whenever the 2 meets. Boro does this to both Chelsea and Man U, but always putting up under-performance against mediocre teams. This is really a bizzare fact.
Let's see their head to head over the past 4 years:

Mutual matches Manchester United - Middlesbrough

19.03.2007Cup QuarterfinalMan United vs Middlesbrough 1-0
10.03.2007Cup QuarterfinalMiddlesbrough vs Man United 2-2
02.12.2006PR Premier LeagueMiddlesbrough vs Man United 1-2
01.05.2006PR Premier LeagueMan United vs Middlesbrough 0-0
29.10.2005PR Premier LeagueMiddlesbrough vs Man United 4-1
01.01.2005PR Premier LeagueMiddlesbrough vs Man United 0-2
03.10.2004PR Premier LeagueMan United vs Middlesbrough 1-1
11.02.2004PR Premier LeagueMan United vs Middlesbrough 2-3
28.12.2003PR Premier LeagueMiddlesbrough vs Man United 0-1

9 meetings with 4 wins, 3 draws, 2 losts 12:11.

However, Man U has great record at Old Trafford this season 15-1-1 45:10
while Boro is just awful playing away with only 1 win 1-6-10 11:24
their last 5 games reads 1 win (over bottom table Watford at home) and 4 losts.

Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Brown, Heinze, Evra, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Richardson, Rooney, Smith, Solskjaer, Cathcart.
Middlesbrough (from): Schwarzer, Davies, Taylor, Woodgate, Pogatetz, Boateng, Rochemback, Cattermole, Downing, Viduka, Yakubu, Morrison, Jones, Parnaby, Riggott, Huth, Lee, Johnson, Christie

Man U to win 1-0 or 2-0. Boro has problems putting the ball at the back of the net on their last 3 away fixtures.

SATURDAY EPL MATCHES

2007-04-21T01:18:00.000+07:00

CHARLTON VS SHEFFIELD UNITED, The Valley

Who is the best of the worsts? Two of relegation candidates meets this Saturday. Whichever team that wins will likely bury the other to the championship division next year. A crucial match this is for both teams.

Charlton's home form 7-4-6 18:16.
4 out of that 7 wins have come from their last 8 matches at home (4 wins 2 draws and 2 losts 12:7)

27.12 H: Fulham 2:2 (2:1) D
30.12 H: Aston Villa 2:1 (0:1) W
13.01 H: Middlesbroug 1:3 (1:1) L
03.02 H: Chelsea 0:1 (0:1) L
24.02 H: West Ham 4:0 (3:0) W
18.03 H: Newcastle 2:0 (0:0) W
31.03 H: Wigan 1:0 (0:0) W
09.04 H: Reading 0:0 (0:0) D

Last Tuesday lost 2-1 away to Everton was very dissapointing as they had managed to hold Everton to a goalless draw until 80 minutes to lose a goal by a deflected ball by the keeper. Darren Bent had equalized minutes later and they trailed again by a last minute goal to Everton.

Sheffield United has the worst away record in the premiership other than Charlton, Watford and Westham: 3-1-13 7:30.

Their last away games reads 8-0-0 4:21

23.12 A: Portsmouth 1:3 (1:0) L
01.01 A: Middlesbroug 1:3 (1:1) L
20.01 A: Reading 1:3 (0:1) L
03.02 A: Blackburn 1:2 (1:1) L
24.02 A: Liverpool 0:4 (0:2) L
17.03 A: Chelsea 0:3 (0:2) L
31.03 A: Bolton 0:1 (0:0) L
17.04 A: Man. Utd. 0:2 (0:1) L

It's true they had faced a lot of strong oppositions on their last 8 way games (Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea, Blackburn)

I expect a gruelling fight from both sides to win this important game, but Charlton has the slight advantage of playing of their fans where they normally perform well. If Charlton win this game, result would elevate them 1 notch off the relegation and stop Sheffield from gaining a 5 points cushion.

Here are the squads for both teams:
Charlton (from): Carson, Young, Diawara, El Karkouri, Bougherra, Thatcher, Hreidarsson, Thomas, Song, Holland, Zheng, Ambrose, M Bent, D Bent, Hasselbaink, Rommedahl, Randolph, Lisbie.
Sheffield United (from): Kenny, Bromby, Morgan, Jagielka, Shelton, Stead, Webber, A Quinn, Kozluk, Kilgallon, Montgomery, Tonge, Gillespie, Armstrong, Leigertwood, Lucketti, Fathi, Geary, Nade, S Quinn, Kazim-Richards, Bennett.

2-1 win for the home team is my pick.

TOTTENHAM VS ARSENAL, White hart lane - London

Another London derby. Back in season 2004/2005, the two had produced 9 goals in a very memorable match that ended 4-5 for Arsenal. Will this game be a high scoring match? or will it end up in draws as often do?
Here is the interesting trivia. The 2 teams have met at White Heart Lane 7 times since 2000 in all competitions and the last time Hotspur did win goes a long way back to 1999, where they beat Arsenal 2-1. The last 7 meetings ends in 6 draws (4 x 1:1, 2 x 2:2 and of course 4:5 in 2005).

There are no fresh injuries on both teams except for Robbie Keane who sustained a knee injury and doubtful to play for this match.
The squads are as follow:

Tottenham (from): Robinson, Cerny, Chimbonda, Stalteri, Ifil, Rocha, King, Dawson, Huddlestone, Zokora, Jenas, Tainio, Murphy, Malbranque, Lennon, Ghaly, C Lee, Taarabt, Berbatov, Mido, Defoe.

Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Hleb, Fabregas, Gilberto, Rosicky, Diaby, Adebayor, Almunia, Ljungberg, Baptista, Senderos, Aliadiere, Denilson, Djourou.

Ledley King will returned after being sidelined for the Wigan Game that ended in a thrilling 3:3.
Here are the last 6 games in the premiership for Hotspur:

30.12 H: Liverpool 0:1 (0:1) L
14.01 H: Newcastle 2:3 (1:1) L
04.02 H: Man. Utd. 0:4 (0:1) L
25.02 H: Bolton 4:1 (3:1) W
17.03 H: Watford 3:1 (1:0) W
01.04 H: Reading 1:0 (1:0) W

Arsenal's last 6 away games:
30.12 A: Sheffield U. 0:1 (0:1) L
13.01 A: Blackburn 2:0 (1:0) W
03.02 A: Middlesbroug 1:1 (0:0) D
14.03 A: Aston Villa 1:0 (1:0) W
18.03 A: Everton 0:1 (0:0) L
31.03 A: Liverpool 1:4 (0:2) L
09.04 A: Newcastle 0:0 (0:0) D

Although Arsenal had picked up their form on their last 2 games played at Emirates Stadium, their away record is not that good 7-3-7 18:17

It's going to be an entertaining game as both Hotspur can score and concede at the same time. I think this is a draw game, so 1:1 or 2:2 is my pick.

LIVERPOOL VS WIGAN, Anfield

Liverpool welcomes back Xabi Alonso and Craig Bellamy having been absent for 2 weeks nursuring their injuries. This is a morale boost for the team with the Champions league match coming in the mid-week against Chelsea.
They are impressive in anfield with 13-3-1, scoring a massive 35 and conceding 5.

Wigan put out the fine performance at home against Hotspur in mid week ending 3:3, but they are just not quite the same team when playing away.

LIVERPOOL LAST 6 AT HOME
20.01 H: Chelsea 2:0 (2:0) W
03.02 H: Everton 0:0 (0:0) D
24.02 H: Sheffield U. 4:0 (2:0) W
03.03 H: Man. Utd. 0:1 (0:0) L
31.03 H: Arsenal 4:1 (2:0) W
18.04 H: Middlesbroug 2:0 (0:0) W

WIGAN LAST 6 AWAY (OVERALL 4-4-9 17:26)

30.01 A: Reading 2:3 (1:1) L
11.02 A: Arsenal 1:2 (1:0) L
21.02 A: Watford 1:1 (1:1) D
03.03 A: Man. City 1:0 (1:0) W
31.03 A: Charlton 0:1 (0:0) L
09.04 A: Aston Villa 1:1 (1:0) D

Wigan will fight hard to obtain at least a point here to escape the relegation, but they will miss lee mc cullough, chris kirkland, david insworth, and fitz hall.

Liverpool (from): Reina, Finnan, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Riise, Pennant, Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko, Mascherano, Zenden, Bellamy, Crouch, Fowler, Kuyt, Dudek, Gonzalez.

Wigan (from): Filan, Granqvist, Jackson, De Zeeuw, Camara, Kilbane, Heskey, McCulloch, Johansson, Landzaat, Aghahowa, Scharner, Skoko, Taylor, Folan, Cywka, Cotterill, Baines, Boyce, Unsworth, Pollitt.

I would back Liverpool to continue their good form in Anfield and go for a 3-0 win.

WEDNESDAY EPL

2007-04-18T13:33:00.000+07:00

Blackburn VS Watford, kick off 20h00 LT

Blackburn rovers faces Watford tonight, having 4 straight losts in Premier and FA Cup:
1:2 at home against Westham, 4:1 away to Man U, 1:2 at home against Villa and 1:2 against Chelsea on neutral ground for the FA cup Semifinal.
I would fancy them to revive and obtain their first win in five games, afterall Watford away record is far from impressive.
Blackburn home : H: 7 2 7 21 : 20
Watford away : A: 1 4 11 7 : 30

Injury News:
Blackburn - possibly Tugay, but Jason Roberts & Warnock will retain their place.
Rovers (from): Friedel, Emerton, Nelsen, Samba, Warnock, Bentley, Dunn, Mokoena, Pedersen, Roberts, McCarthy, Enckelman, Tugay, Henchoz, Derbyshire, Peter, Khizanishvili, Gallagher, Berner, Todd.

Watford - Marlon King, Darius Henderson, Gareth William .

Watford (from): Foster, Lee, Loach, Chamberlain, Mariappa, Carlisle, DeMerit, Stewart, Shittu, Chambers, Doyley, Powell, Smith, Mahon, Francis, Bouazza, Bangura, Rinaldi, Cavalli, Priskin, Kabba, King, Williamson, Hoskins.

Blackburn to revive and win this game on their turf as they eye for eight spot for a ticket to the intertoto. 2:1 or 3:1

WESTHAM VS CHELSEA, LONDON DERBY

This would be a good match to watch. Westham did well the past 4 weeks to beat Blackburn away 2:1, Boro 2:0 at home and Arsenal 1:0 away. But last weekend they put up a dismall performace away against Sheffield United losing 3 goals to nil. That match was crucial as 2 relegated contenders pit against each other.
It is interesting to note that Westham had beaten 2 of the big 4 at home, both by 1-0 scoreline (Arsenal & Man U).
Injury News :
Calum Davenport (foot), Mathew Upson (Calf), Danny Gabbidon (groin)
West Ham (from): Green, Neill, Collins, Ferdinand, McCartney, Bowyer, Reo-Coker, Noble, Etherington, Harewood, Tevez, Carroll, Walker, Benayoun, Konchesky, Dailly, Cole, Spector, Mullins, Zamora, Boa Morte, Sheringham.

The gap between Man U and Chelesea had widened again by 6 points as of last night. This is must win for the Blues in order to keep the title contention alive.
One thing about Chelsea away form is that they can keep cleansheets as you can see from their 4 last away games in the premiership:
03.02 A: Charlton 1:0 (1:0) W
03.03 A: Portsmouth 2:0 (1:0) W
14.03 A: Man. City 1:0 (1:0) W
31.03 A: Watford 1:0 (0:0) W
They are not scoring freely but they do defend well, playing pragmatic football of scoring just enough for a win and secure that win thruout the 90 min.
There is no fresh injury list for Chelsea apart from Robben, who will be expected to play again in two weeks.
Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Geremi, Diarra, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole, Boulahrouz, J Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Essien, Makelele, Kalou, Obi, Shevchenko, Drogba, Wright-Phillips.

I am not sure if the pattern would appear again on this game 1:0, 2:0 but I am sure that Chelsea will battle it out to obtain the 3 points they badly needed and in terms of technic, stamina and speed they have all the right player to do the job. Chelsea to win away 2-1, or 3-1.

LIVERPOOL VS BORO, ANFIELD

A recurring 2-0 scoreline often shows, whenever the 2 meets at Anfield. From Year to Year Boro has always been a yo-yo team that is so unpredictable. 2 games showing real class then followed 3 straight losts for no apparent reasons like injury crisis, etc. It takes an emotionally stable person to be their hard dying fan, if you know what i mean.

Liverpool did show a very poor performance against Man City, where they drew 0-0. However, you can count on their home performance at Anfield, where they thumped Arsenal 4-1 and Chelsea 2-0
H: 12 3 1 33 : 5
09.12 H: Fulham 4:0 (0:0) W
23.12 H: Watford 2:0 (0:0) W
01.01 H: Bolton 3:0 (0:0) W
20.01 H: Chelsea 2:0 (2:0) W
03.02 H: Everton 0:0 (0:0) D
24.02 H: Sheffield U. 4:0 (2:0) W
03.03 H: Man. Utd. 0:1 (0:0) L
31.03 H: Arsenal 4:1 (2:0) W

Boro has a poor away record: A: 1 6 9 11 : 22

18.12 A: Fulham 1:2 (0:2) L

26.12 A: Everton 0:0 (0:0) D

30.12 A: Blackburn 1:2 (0:1) L

13.01 A: Charlton 3:1 (1:1) W

30.01 A: Portsmouth 0:0 (0:0) D

10.02 A: Chelsea 0:3 (0:1) L

03.03 A: Newcastle 0:0 (0:0) D

31.03 A: West Ham 0:2 (0:2) L

Liverpool to win by 2-0

Cheers

MID - WEEK EPL

2007-04-16T22:20:00.000+07:00

Man U VS Sheffield United, Old Trafford - Manchester Tuesday

Rio Ferdinand might be sidelined for this game to groin injury sustained from the FA Cup semfinal against Watford. He joins the rest of Man U injury list: Vidic, Gary Neville, Saha, Silvestre, ji Sung Park, O'Shea. Last weekend FA cup game shows us a rather odd partnership between Heinze and Wes Brown in the cente back, whilst Darren Fletcher plays the unusual left back role last Saturday that sent off watford from the FA cup competition being beated 4-1 at Villa Park.
Nothing is confirmed yet if Ferdinand will play, although there's been statement that his injury is not as bad as it looks when he limped put during the game.

Sheffield pull a surprise win last Saturday beating West Ham 3-0. Didn't expect them to beat Westham by 3 goals and not conceding a goal. Never underestimate the fight for survival, really. There have been games for teams that sits at relegation zones that pulls out a bizzare spell of scores that we haven't seen thruout the season. Watford winning portsmouth by 4-2. Ascoli stops Lazio 8 straight wins holding them for a 2-2 draw. Racing beats Madrid 2-1 (just kidding! Racing sits 7th in La liga and they put on hell of a performance coming from a 1 goal down against lost galaxies, whatever....their nickname is nowadays?)

This is Man U home record 14 wins 1 draw 1 lost scoring 43 goals and conceding 10.

20.08 H: Fulham 5:1 (4:1) W
09.09 H: Tottenham 1:0 (1:0) W
17.09 H: Arsenal 0:1 (0:0) L
01.10 H: Newcastle 2:0 (1:0) W
22.10 H: Liverpool 2:0 (1:0) W
14.11 H: Portsmouth 3:0 (2:0) W
25.11 H: Chelsea 1:1 (1:0) D
29.11 H: Everton 3:0 (1:0) W
09.12 H: Man. City 3:1 (2:0) W
26.12 H: Wigan 3:1 (0:0) W
30.12 H: Reading 3:2 (1:1) W
13.01 H: Aston Villa 3:1 (3:0) W
31.01 H: Watford 4:0 (1:0) W
10.02 H: Charlton 2:0 (1:0) W
17.03 H: Bolton 4:1 (3:0) W
31.03 H: Blackburn 4:1 (0:1) W

Claude Davis, Sheffield's centre back will miss this game along with their striker Jon Stead who scored a goal against Westham last Saturday. Quoting Neil Warnock interviews
"It's a game nobody will give us a chance of getting anything out of. I think the bookies' odds will be just on how many goals we concede. A win would be a miracle and the result of the decade, not just the season, with the way they are playing at the moment"
I am not sure if he is just being realistic or it's a pre game psych war, for he also did say that his team will play for pride for he didn't want to be humiliated.
Sheffield away form is 3 wins 1 draw 12 losts scoring 7 and conceding 28.

22.08 A:Tottenham 0:2 (0:2)L
26.08 A:Fulham 0:1 (0:1) L
23.09 A: Arsenal 0:3 (0:0) L
14.10 A: Man. City 0:0 (0:0) D
21.10 A: Everton 0:2 (0:2) L
04.11 A: Newcastle 1:0 (0:0) W
25.11 A: West Ham 0:1 (0:1) L
28.11 A: Watford 1:0 (0:0) W
16.12 A: Wigan 1:0 (1:0) W
23.12 A: Portsmouth 1:3 (1:0) L
01.01 A: Middlesbroug 1:3 (1:1) L
20.01 A: Reading 1:3 (0:1) L
03.02 A: Blackburn 1:2 (1:1) L
24.02 A: Liverpool 0:4 (0:2) L
17.03 A: Chelsea 0:3 (0:2) L
31.03 A: Bolton 0:1 (0:0) L

If I have to choose between the mentality of a champion and the spirit of survival, I would choose the mentality of a champion, but doubt Man U will be able to keep a clean sheet with the patchy back four. Going for a high scoring game here 3-1 or 3-2

Arsenal VS Man City, Emirates Stadium - London Tuesday

Expect a tight game on this one. Arsenal welcomes Rosicky who plays last Saturday against Bolton along with Adebayor. Their play becomes more fluid with the return of these two important players as they are still missing Henry, Persie and Walcott up front.
Arsenal has a good home record of 9 wins 5 draws and 1 lost, scoring 34 and conceding 12.

Emile Mpenza might be sidelined for this game due to a hip injury he picked up during the game last Saturday against Liverpool that ended a goalless draw at City of Manchester. Man City has won against Arsenal when they meet earlier this season last August 1-0 playing at home. Can they repeat that performance at Emirates Stadium to obtain their first league double in thirty years? Man City had performed splendidly to wiggle their way out of the relegation zone in the past six weeks. They are now 12th place 9 points apart of the relegation zone.
Man City away record has improved sice mid march. Winning 3 of their last away games 2-0 against Boro, 1-0 against Newcastle, 3-1 against Fulham. They have played 16 away games: 6 wins 2 draws and 8 losts scoring 16 and conceding 22. Finding it hard to score goals on away games during the first half of the season, but have been much more constructive the last 2 months.

With Adebayor and Rosicky back in the team, Arsenal would probably play 4-5-1 formations with Adebayor up in front and Hleb, Cesc, Rosicky, Gilberto and Ljungberg in the Mid Field.
Rosicky may serve as the shadow striker with his accurate longshot from the 20 yards.
Ths formation was set last Saturday against Bolton, which they revived to win 2-1 coming from a 1 goal deficit in the first half, contribution of Anelka.

Overall, it will be a tight game but have to go for Arsenal to go back on their winning way with a 1 goal margin. 1-0.

That's it for Tuesday Games, will do more write ups for Wednesday EPL games tomorrow.

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Sunday Pick Combos

2007-04-15T15:27:00.000+07:00

Ascoli - Lazio (Serie A)
Lazio has 8 straight wins from the serie A. Last 10 games reads 9 wins and 1 draw scoring 22 and conceding 6. They are just the best team in Serie A at the moment. They have no expensive to maintain stars in the team so their performance is based on 100 % collective play, teamwork above anything. Here are the last 6 away games for Lazio:

23.12	A:	Parma	3:1	(3:1)	W
27.01	A:	Palermo	3:0	(1:0)	W
11.02	A:	Atalanta	0:0	(0:0)	D
25.02	A:	Cagliari	2:0	(2:0)	W
11.03	A:	Reggina	3:2	(2:1)	W
01.04	A:	Udinese	4:2	(1:0)	W

Ascoli sits at the bottom table, with only 8 games to go before the season completes, hope of escaping the relegation becomes dimmer each week. Waiting to face them in the coming weeks are Milan, Reginna, Palermo and Cagliari (home games).
Their home records reads 1win -7 draws -6 losses, scoring 13 coneceding 19 leaves nothing much to brag about.

23.12	H:	Chievo	3:0	(3:0)	W
20.01	H:	Atalanta	1:3	(0:0)	L
18.02	H:	Udinese	2:2	(0:2)	D
28.02	H:	Parma	0:0	(0:0)	D
03.03	H:	Roma	1:1	(1:0)	D
18.03	H:	Inter	1:2	(0:0)	L

Lazio to win this away game and continue their unbeaten run 3-1.

Wigan Vs Tottenham (EPL)

With Sheffield United winning 3-0 against Westham Last Night, Wigan now sits 2 spot above the relegation zone, collecting 34 points same as Sheffield United. The only advantage they have is only over tonight game, but it's no easy task either against well performing Hotspur.
Hotspur is out of the UEFA cup episodes as the held Sevilla to a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane (aggregate 3-4). They are now 3 points away from Everton 6th for a ticket to play in the UEFA cup next year.
Both teams have everything to play for. Wigan home statistic is not fantastic and neither is Hotspur away games. Wigan 5-3-8 15:23 vs TTH 3-5-8 15:27.
I think 1-1 would be the likely outcome of the game as Hotspur had just battle out all they've got last Thursday in the UEFA Cup and players weary legs should take their toll for a relentless games they play between March and April (F.A Cup, EPL and UEFA Cup).

Blacburn Vs Chelsea (FA Cup Semifinals, Old Trafford)

I have posted my thoughts on this match last Friday, please scroll down to find it.

Have a great Sunday, all of you and enjoy the games.

FA Cup Semifinals (14-15 Apr)

2007-04-14T00:18:00.000+07:00

Blackburn Vs Chelsea ( Old Trafford - 15 Apr)

Wanna see the dream final of the 2 best teams in the EPL?
I don't see any other way than to back Chelsea, not just because of that animo to see them faced Man U in Wembley to decide who holds the F.A Cup this year, but more to the fact that Chelsea had been very reliable in all competitions. 15 wins out of 18 games in all competitions are just impressive record. They had won away on the second leg of the Champions League away to Valencia 2-1, which means they are in the Semifinals to face Liverpool.
Chelsea may have a shot for a quadruple this season, since they already have the Carling cup.
A chance to win the F.A cup if they beat Blackburn and then Man U.
A chance to Win the Premier League title if they beat Man U at Stamford Bridge and keep winning the rest of the season and Man U slips on one of the remaining games. 3 points is the gap between the two at the moment.
A chance to win the Champions League if they could pass the hard test (Liverpool) and then face either Man U or Milan.
3 possible meetings with Man U for the remaining seasons, what exciting matches. Yummie.

Blackburn had won this cup 5 times, but don't see the relevancy to this game if you know that the last time they add this cup to their collection was in 1891. The other 4 had been 1884, 1885, 1886, 1890).
Blackburn had faced Chelsea 3 times this year twice at home ground losing both 2 goals to nil (one at Carling Cup and the other EPL match). They had met at Stamford Bridge for EPL match and lose 3 goals to nil.
The meetings of the 2 teams resulted in 3 wins for Chelsea, 7 goals scored and 0 goal conceded.
We could see the same scoreline appear again for this match.
Best to guess Chelsea to keep a clean sheet and win the game by 1-0 or 2-0 scoreline.

Weekend FA Cup Semifinals 14-15 Apr

2007-04-13T22:35:00.000+07:00

Watford Vs Man U (Villa Park, Birmingham - Saturday)

Here's the hypothesis:
If A is bigger than B and B is Bigger than C, Therefore A must be greater than C. Correct?
Take the above equation and apply to last 2 EPL games of Watford (A) and Man U (C) involving Portsmouth (B)
Watford beats Portsmouth 4-2 last Monday and Portsmouth beats Man U 2-1, does that mean Watford will beat Man U?????? ha..ha I wish it would be that simple.
But the answer is "not necessarily". The equation is only correct if it involve quantity or a static number, but football is anything static or quantifiable for that matter.
Too many variables in the human emotions and in the sport itself to actually define the outcome.

Anyway, I will continue with a different hypothesis...yes about this game.
Watford reached the semifinals of the F.A cup beating Westham 1:0 away, ipswich 1:0 at home and away to Plymouth 1:0. All win have been by a 1:0 scoreline.
On the other side, Man U has to go the hardway to get to the semifinals as they have to play 2nd leg to pass thru each stage. Reading (1:1, 3:2), Boro (2:2, 1:0).
However, Reading and Boro are coming from the premier leagues, apart from Villa and Portsmouth whom they beat 2-1 each.
Watford has faced only 1 challenge from the premier league team (westham) for this tournament.

Watford is facing relegation, sitting at the bottom of EPL table but they sure aren't giving up that hope. I was wrong to judge they had given up on the hope of staying on the EPL. They sure give one hell of a fight last Monday against Portsmouth.

Man U finally clinched the deal with Christian Ronaldo for another five years until 2012 in old trafford. It's a real good news for all Man U fans and I think Ronaldo is pretty pleased with the decision.
Man U cruised to the next stage of the Champions League having beaten Roma 7-1 on the second leg of the quarter final at Old Trafford.

Both teams are well spirited following good results on the weekdays. I believe this is going to be a high scoring game and verdict man U to win 3:1 or 3:2.

MONDAY EPL NIGHT FOOTBALL

2007-04-09T16:57:00.000+07:00

NEWCASTLE VS ARSENAL

At first, i thought I would pass to write this game, but I changed my mind. I always like the gunners style of playing and I have a few opinions to share on this game.
Captain Scott Parker is doubtful as he suffered ankle injury, last Saturday against Sheffield United. Antoine Sibiesky will also missed this game sustaining injury from the same game.
Newcastle (from): Given, Harper, Solano, Carr, Babayaro, Edgar, Taylor, Bramble, Onyewu, Moore, Ramage, Huntington, Butt, Parker (doubtful), Milner, Duff, Emre, N'Zogbia, Pattison, Troisi, Martins, Dyer, Luque, Carroll.

25.02	A:	Wigan	0:1	(0:1)	L
03.03	H:	Middlesbroug	0:0	(0:0)	D
18.03	A:	Charlton	0:2	(0:0)	L
31.03	H:	Man. City	0:1	(0:0)	L
07.04	A:	Sheffield U.	2:1	(0:1)	W

The 2-1 win against Sheffield United was their first win in 5 games, bagging 4 points from possible 15. Newcastle performance have been somewhat patchy since end Feb, having exited the FA cup in Jan against Birmingham (5-1) in Jan and UEFA Cup in Mid March when they lost to AZ 2-0 on the second leg.

Arsenal have lost 3 straight EPL games in a row. 1:0 to Everton, goal scored by Andrew Johnson at Injury time. 4:1 to Liverpool at Anfield, 1:0 at Emirates (their first lost this season at Emirates) against West Ham.

03.03	H:	Reading	2:1	(0:0)	W
14.03	A:	Aston Villa	1:0	(1:0)	W
18.03	A:	Everton	0:1	(0:0)	L
31.03	A:	Liverpool	1:4	(0:2)	L
07.04	H:	West Ham	0:1	(0:1)	L

I had watched all 3 games, but felt they actually deserved more than the score-lines say (except for the game at Anfield. Liverpool was just superbly superior than they are that day).
Will Arsenal take another beating from Newcastle tonight???
It's true that Arsenal have too many long term injury list, especially upfront with Henry, Persie and now Walcott. However, I doubt Newcastle could beat Arsenal easily. I believe that the gunners would snatch points from this fixtures playing collective and speed passing like they always do. Their midfields are amongst the strongest in the Premiership with Rosicky, Hleb, Denilson, Gilberto and Ljungberg and they all have the ability to penetrate and shootfrom distance too, should Baptista & Aliadiere create enough room from distractions upfront.

Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Eboue, Gallas, Toure, Clichy, Hleb, Fabregas, Gilberto, Rosicky, Ljungberg, Adebayor, Almunia, Denilson, Diaby, Aliadiere, Baptista, Senderos, Randall.

Arsenal to win away 0-1.

CHARLTON VS READING

2007-04-09T16:20:00.000+07:00

Charlton sits 18 at the bottom of the table, but this teams fights spartan battling off the relegation. In their last 5 games, they have obtained 11 points from possible 15. Winning 3 at home and 2 draws away.

24.02	H:	West Ham	4:0	(3:0)	W
03.03	A:	Watford	2:2	(0:2)	D
18.03	H:	Newcastle	2:0	(0:0)	W
31.03	H:	Wigan	1:0	(0:0)	W
06.04	A:	Man. City	0:0	(0:0) D

I have faith that this team would eventually escape the relegation.
Team news: Matt Holland returns, so does Ben Thatcher and Bryan Hughes.

Charlton (from): Carson, Randolph, Young, El Karkouri, Diawara, Thatcher, Hreidarsson, Zheng, Song, Faye, Holland, Hughes, Ambrose, Thomas, Rommedahl, Marcus Bent, Darren Bent, Lisbie, Bougherra.

For Reading, Michael Dubbery would be missed out, while Glen Little is out with an Achilles injury and joins Ibrahima Sonko and Bobby Convey on the sidelines.

Reading (from): Hahnemann, Federici, Halford, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Shorey, Oster, Seol, Sidwell, Harper, Hunt, Kitson, Lita, Doyle, Long, de la Cruz, Gunnarsson, Bennett, Murty.

24.02	A:	Middlesbroug	1:2	(0:1)	L
03.03	A:	Arsenal	1:2	(0:0)	L
17.03	H:	Portsmouth	0:0	(0:0)	D
01.04	A:	Tottenham	0:1	(0:1)	L
07.04	H:	Liverpool	1:2	(0:1)	L

Reading had obtained only 1 point from their 5 games, and trends seems to continue heading downhill.
Charlton would have more spirit to win the game as the last 6 games would mean do or die. They are in better form and they are playing at home, so Charlton win tonight 2-1.

MONDAY EPL NIGHT FOOTBALL

2007-04-09T15:03:00.000+07:00

WATFORD VS PORTSMOUTH

Watford lost playing to Middlesbrough 4-1, whilst Pompey beat top of the table 2-1 last Saturday. The 2 teams with contrasting result will meet tonight. Watford fighting the relegating which seems inevitable with only 6 games left to play. They sit at the bottom and are 11 points away from Sheffield United with 31 points sitting 17th in the table. It would take more than a miracle for them to avoid relegation. They have only obtained 8 points out of possible 30 in their last 10 games, scoring 8 goals and conceding 20:

23.01	H:	Blackburn	2:1	(1:1)	W
31.01	A:	Man. Utd.	0:4	(0:1)	L
03.02	H:	Bolton	0:1	(0:0)	L
10.02	A:	West Ham	1:0	(1:0)	W
21.02	H:	Wigan	1:1	(1:1)	D
24.02	H:	Everton	0:3	(0:2)	L
03.03	H:	Charlton	2:2	(2:0)	D
17.03	A:	Tottenham	1:3	(0:1)	L
31.03	H:	Chelsea	0:1	(0:0)	L

7.04 A: Boro 1:4 (1:2) L

It is true that they are generally a tough nut to crack at home, but winning 2, drawing 7 games, and losing 7. Records shows that they have problems facing teams that can defend well and counter attack when they win the ball i.e Liverpool (3:0), Everton (3:0), Chelsea (1:0), Arsenal (2:1), Man U (2:1).
In my opinion, there's a lot of similiarity of Portsmouth play with the above teams as I had watched them played the past 3 games. 0:0 and 1:1 draw to Reading and Fulham playing away. Winning 2:1 at home to MU.
There is however a little glitch, latest news states that Sol Campbell (Achilles), Glen Johnson (knee) and Lauren (thigh) all look certain to miss Portsmouth's trip to bottom-of-the-table Watford. Those are 3 out of 4 back players missing for Pompeys.
Redknapp will start with either Svetoslav Todorov or Lomana Lualua up front in place of Mwaruwari Benjani to freshen up the conquerors of Manchester United for a lunch-time kick-off.Noe Pamarot is a likely starter at right-back and Niko Kranjcar could also come into the midfield. Sol Campbell and Glen Johnson did not participate in their victorious win against MU, so only Lauren that would be missed, but Pompey have enough squad to replace Lauren for the right back position.

Lineups for both squads are as follow:

Watford (from): Foster, Lee, Mariappa, DeMerit, Shittu, Powell, Stewart, Mackay, Doyley, Chambers, Williams, Mahon, Smith, Francis, Bangura, Williamson, Cavalli, Priskin, Bouazza, Henderson, Kabba, Hoskins.

Portsmouth (from): James; Pamarot, Primus, Stefanovic, Traore, O'Neil, Davis, Hughes, Kranjcar, Taylor, Kanu, Lualua, Todorov, Lauren, Benjani, O'Brien, Mvuemba, Douala, Ashdown.

Portsmouth 6 games:

10.02	H:	Man. City	2:1	(1:0)	W
25.02	A:	Blackburn	0:3	(0:2)	L
03.03	H:	Chelsea	0:2	(0:1)	L
17.03	A:	Reading	0:0	(0:0)	D
31.03	A:	Fulham	1:1	(1:0)	D
07.04	H:	Man. Utd.	2:1	(1:0)	W

I think Portsmouth would be able to play their normal style of fast attacking football and win this fixtures to improve their away record, 3-6-7.
3-1 win for Portsmouth just based on their recent performance.

Reading Vs Liverpool, Madejski -

2007-04-07T16:54:00.000+07:00

Reading is plagued with many injury worries and winger Glenn Little has joined this list due to Achilees problem. On their long term injury list are Sonko and Bobby Covey (knees).
This has been a wonderful season for Coppel and his boys. The team plays collective football and surprised many premiership opponents.
They ranked 8 after 31 games with 44 points.
Home records 9 wins 2 draws 4 losts scoring 26 goals and coceding 16.

Last 7 EPL games are:

30.01 H: Wigan 3:2 (1:1) W
03.02 A: Man. City 2:0 (0:0) W
10.02 H: Aston Villa 2:0 (1:0) W
24.02 A: Middlesbroug 1:2 (0:1) L
03.03 A:Arsenal 1:2 (0:0) L
17.03 H:Portsmouth 0:0 (0:0) D
01.04 A:Tottenham 0:1 (0:1) L

They had only lost to Chelsea (0:1), Arsenal (0:4), Blackburn (1:2), Everton (0:2) and they held MU to a 1:1 draw, and last week a goalless draw with Portsmouth.

Rafa Benitez did excellently against PSV last Wednesday winning away 3:0 in the champions league. Ronald Koeman tactics just failed to convert any goal although they have the advantages of playing in front of the home crowds.
It has been a tremendously successful week for Liverpool. Thumping Arsenal 4-1 at Anfield, then winning PSV away by 3-0.

30.01 A: West Ham 2:1 (0:0) W
03.02 H: Everton 0:0 (0:0) D
10.02 A: Newcastle 1:2 (1:1) L
24.02 H: Sheffield U. 4:0 (2:0) W
03.03 H: Man. Utd. 0:1 (0:0) L
18.03 A: Aston Villa 0:0 (0:0) D
31.03 H: Arsenal 4:1 (2:0) W

I would have backed reading under normal circumstances as I have a lot of respect for this team for their collective plays and spirit, but they have lacklustres for the past 4 games and just not scoring goals as they used to. Maybe it's the injuries toll, or maybe players have felt that they have reached their target of staying in the premiership, which is what they set out to do at the beginning of the season. I don't know really, but what I know is that they have been going downhill since end Feb and throughout March.
I beckon Liverpool will win this game but with a narrow margin: 2-1/ 2-0 win.

Chelsea Vs Tottenham Hotspur, Stamford Bridge - London

2007-04-07T13:49:00.000+07:00

The blues are struggling to keep the chase to the EPL title alive. 7 EPL games to play and they are still trailing by 6 points from leader Man U. They had added the Carling Cup to their silverwares this season and they are still in the FA Cup, and Champions League. Their participation in 4 competitions are wearing them down. Another factor is the international players that makes team had to partcipate in the EURO qlfy + Friendlies, except for Boulahrouz. Injury list is however minimized to Robben and Essien, which is good.
They have a tough fixtures weekday Champions league going to Mestalla, Valencia. But Morinho being Mourinho won't allow that fixtures to get in the way of tonight's game, but so does Hotspur having to host Sevilla to regain the 2-1 lost on the first leg.

Teams
Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Geremi, Carvalho, Terry, Bridge, A Cole, J Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Makelele, Obi, Diarra, Drogba, Wright-Phillips, Boulahrouz, Shevchenko, Kalou.

Here are Chelsea's 7 EPL Games
31.01 H: Blackburn 3:0 (1:0) W
03.02 A: Charlton 1:0 (1:0) W
10.02 H: Middlesbroug 3:0 (1:0) W
03.03 A: Portsmouthn 2:0 (1:0) W
14.03 A: Man. City 1:0 (1:0) W
17.03 H: Sheffield U. 3:0 (2:0) W
31.03 A: Watford 1:0 (0:0) W

Results of other Games:
H: Valencia 1:1 (0:1) D 04.04 Champions QF
H: TTH 3:3 (0:2) D 11.03 FA Cup
A: TTH 1:2 W 19:03 FA CUP
Chelsea EPL home record is 11 wins 4 draws and 0 lost. Scoring 33 and conceding 8.

Hotspur has been performing very well since February after thumped by MU 4-0 at the White Hart Lane. That game was like their turning point and they had been scoring freely in all competitions, FA and UEFA cups.

04.02 H: Man. Utd. 0:4 (0:1) L
10.02 A: Sheffield U. 1:2 (1:1) L
21.02 A: Everton 2:1 (1:1) W
25.02 H: Bolton 4:1 (3:1) W
04.03 A: West Ham 4:3 (0:2) W
17.03 H: Watford 3:1 (1:0) W
01.04 H: Reading 1:0 (1:0) W

Other games:
19.03 H: Chelsea 1-2 L FA
14.03 H: Braga 3-2 W UEFA
11.03 A: Chelsea 3-3 D FA
04.03 A: Braga 3-2 W UEFA

Tottenham (from): Robinson, Stalteri, Chimbonda, Dawson, Young-Pyo Lee, Rocha, Lennon, Malbranque, Zokora, Jenas, Tainio, Ghaly, Keane, Berbatov, Cerny, Mido, Defoe, Taarabt, Ifil, C Lee.

Rocha will return to take his centre back role after his injury, but Ledley King would still be sidelined as Martin Jol would not risk his fitness after nursuring his feet problems.

It's hard for Chelsea to keep a clean sheet in this London Derby against Hotspur, although their last 3 EPL games at Stamford Bridge had always been by a 3-0 scoreline.
2-1 is my verdict. O 21/2. Drogba to score at anytime (he vows to break his drought of scoring to Hotspur side, with his scoring ability, he might certainly could)

Chamions LEagu Quarter Final Wednesday 4 April 2007

2007-04-04T15:58:00.000+07:00

CHELSEA VS VALENCIA, STAMFORD BRIDGE - LONDON

Liverpool did well last night beating PSV 3 goals to nil. Ronald Koeman has raised the white flag on his statement, saying that he has to come from another planet if he could convince his players that they could win this back at Anfield in the second leg. We are 1 step closer to an all English Final.

Chelsea is almost indomitable in Stamford Bridge as they have since Jose Mourinho took charge. This season their home statistic is 78% win 14% draw and 8% lost against Valencia's away statistic of 32% win 36 draw and 32% lost.
Chelsea last 8 games at Stamford Bridge reads 7 wins and 1 draw scoring 23 goals, conceding 5 goals. That's 2.87 goals per game average. The only draw was the exciting 3-3 draw against Hotspur and their Fullback and Captain John Terry was sidelined due to injury.
Valencia last 8 games read 2 wins, 4 draws and 2 lost scoring 8 and conceding 10.
Something is brewing inside the club and media has been blowing news of internal turmoil. The brawl that Valencia's players had with Inter after they held them to a goalless draw at Mestalla took their toil with Carlos Marchena and David Navarro will both miss the first leg as they serve suspensions.
Chelsea's record in Champion's league

Chelsea	Porto FC	2:1	06.03.2007
Porto FC	Chelsea	1:1	21.02.2007
Chelsea	Levski Sofia	2:0	05.12.2006
Bremen	Chelsea	1:0	22.11.2006
Barcelona FC	Chelsea	2:2	31.10.2006
Chelsea	Barcelona FC	1:0	18.10.2006
Levski Sofia	Chelsea	1:3	27.09.2006
Chelsea	Bremen	2:0	12.09.2006

Mourinho has turned Chelsea into this mean machine with insatiable lust for wins. Sure, Abramovich's money has all to with it but I must admit that he is an excellent manager.
The tire producer's Michelin has a slogan "Power without control is nothing". This would fit perfectly to describe the state of Real Madrid. They have all the money and the stars to become the best in Spain if not Europe, but that isn't happening , is it? The blues has always been conducive, because Mourinho can deal every situation including the rift between him and tycoon Abramovich.

Valencia FC	Inter Milan	0:0	06.03.2007
Inter Milan	Valencia FC	2:2	21.02.2007
Roma AS	Valencia FC	1:0	05.12.2006
Valencia FC	Olympiakos Piraeus	2:0	22.11.2006
Donetsk Shakhtar	Valencia FC	2:2	31.10.2006
Valencia FC	Donetsk Shakhtar	2:0	18.10.2006
Valencia FC	Roma AS	2:1	27.09.2006
Olympiakos Piraeus	Valencia FC	2:4	12.09.2006

Valencia has a very good record in the Champion's league. They were twice finalists, but never really pulled the job. The only problem with Valencia is their recent record in La liga is not impressive at all.
Valencia is also struggling with injuries and suspensions Morientes, Baraja, Edu, Reguiero, Gavilan, Marchena and Navarro (he is banned for 7 months after breaking Inter's player Burdisso's nose)

Verdict Chelsea to win 2-0.

2007-04-03T15:16:00.000+07:00

Let's welcome the Champions League Quarter Finals Tuesday April 2nd & Wed April 3rd.
8 Gigantic teams will have the battle of wits for only one shall be the Champion. Let's list out the fixtures:
Tues 2nd April
Milan VS Bayern Munich
PSV VS Liverpool
Wed 3rd April
Roma VS Man U
Chelsea VS Valencia

Last year's Finalists (Barca & Arsenal) are already out of the competition. Barca Losing to an away goal by Liverpool (home 1:2 and away 1:0), whilst Arsenal lost by 1 goal aggregate (home 1:1 and away 0:1) to PSV.

PSV VS Liverpool
Both teams have beaten last year's finalists. Let's trace back their performance so far in the Champions League:

Arsenal	Eindhoven PSV	1:1
Eindhoven PSV	Arsenal	1:0
Eindhoven PSV	Bordeaux	1:3
Liverpool	Eindhoven PSV	2:0
Eindhoven PSV	Galatasaray	2:0
Galatasaray	Eindhoven PSV	1:2
Bordeaux	Eindhoven PSV	0:1
Eindhoven PSV	Liverpool	0:0

PSV playing at home plays a very tight game, see the one in green color. Don't let the scoreline 1:3 lost to Bordeaux fool you. They have qualified, so they sidelined their better players.

Liverpool	Barcelona FC	0:1
Barcelona FC	Liverpool	1:2
Galatasaray	Liverpool	3:2
Liverpool	Eindhoven PSV	2:0
Liverpool	Bordeaux	3:0
Bordeaux	Liverpool	0:1
Liverpool	Galatasaray	3:2
Eindhoven PSV	Liverpool	0:0

Liverpool just trashed Arsenal 4-1, thanks to hat-trick from Crouch. In Anfield, the reds are almost indomitable , but their away form is not too impressive.
I believe Benitez would play a careful game away to PSV and hope to win the game back in Anfield.
Ronald Koeman and Benitez had faced each other this season during the qualifying round, resulting 0:0 at PSV and winning 2:0 at Anfield.
I can see the same scoreline happening again tonight. A goalless draw or 1:1. Draw and under 21/2 is my pick .

MILAN VS Bayern Munich, Giusseppe Meazza - Milan.

Another low scoring match? Champions Quarter Finals games have mostly low scoring games from year to year. Last Year Milan plays 0:0 away to Lyon and beat them 3:1 at Giusseppe Meazza, but situations are a bit different as they have the advantage of playing secong leg at home. Ancellotti would take this game more cautiously as they have to play at Allianz in MUnich for the second Leg. Last year in the semifinals, Milan faced Barca at home losing 0:1 and they weren't able to catch up with the aggregate, being held to a goalless draw in Barcelona and Barca went on to win the trophy.

Milan AC	Celtic Glasgow	1:0AET
Celtic Glasgow	Milan AC	0:0
Milan AC	Lille	0:2
Athens AEK	Milan AC	1:0
Milan AC	Anderlecht	4:1
Anderlecht	Milan AC	0:1
Lille	Milan AC	0:0
Milan AC	Athens AEK	3:0

This year has not been kind to Milan, with the calciopolli scandal that almost deny them a place in the Champions League, points deductions at the start of the Serie A, the strikers are not scoring goals like they used to when Sheva was still around (Shevchenko was transferred to Chelsea June Last Year). Milan and Bayern Munich had sold Sheva nad Ballack respectively to Chelsea and they still have not found the suitable replacements for both players. Felix Magath was fired after the holidays and taking his place is their previous coach Ottmar Hitzfield, who had presented many trophies for this club at the turn of the century.
The irony was that Ballack & Sheva had a horrid time at the beginning of the season with Chelsea trying to adapt to the EPL style, but it took a better turn at the second part of the season after much toils from both players.
If we look at the teams that Milan had faced during qualifications, honestly Milan has yet to face the real test. Bayern is much more solid than the rest and Bayern had beaten both Inter and Real Madrid on their quest to the quarter finals.

Bayern München	Real Madrid	2:1
Real Madrid	Bayern München	3:2
Bayern München	Inter Milan	1:1
Spartak Moscow	Bayern München	2:2
Bayern München	Sporting Lisbon	0:0
Sporting Lisbon	Bayern München	0:1
Inter Milan	Bayern München	0:2
Bayern München	Spartak Moscow	4:0

Milan's goals have been coming from a midfield player, Kaka (6 out vof 9 goals). He is the one player that could make a change if there's a deadlock, true but this is getting too predictable.
Ancelloti would have to solve problems on the goal scorer options or this is not going to work.
Historically, German teams would find it hard to beat the Italian Teams on their ground due to the Italian's style of double walls defending.
The World Cup Semifinals between Germany and Italy shows it all.
However, I would want to put aside history this time and vote for Bayern , simply because they are more ready mentally and technically to go to the next phase. Verdict 0:1 or 0:2 (like they did to Inter)

Enjoy the games.

Cheers,
Dude

Weekend EPL

2007-03-30T15:11:00.000+07:00

Welcome to more reviews on the upcoming EPL matches.
The episodes on Euro 2008 have been a freakish spell of scores. Some very good performance by the underdog teams, showed that teamwork and determination works best against star studded nation. My heartiest congratulations to Nothern Ireland who showed a very good example of the above statement having won 2-1 against Sweden, both scored by "King" David Healy.

Now, let's take a look at some of the EPL matches this weekend. Tricky ones, noting that there will be some tired or injured International Players after the Euro 2008 qualifications and Champions League games 3 days later.

Man United vs Blackburn - Saturday at Old Trafford, Manchester

If there's any team in the premiership that is like the boogey team for Man U is Blackburn Rovers. Just like Boro is to Chelsea.
Last premiership meetings between the 2 teams read:
TournamentSeason 90'
Premier2006/07Blackburn 0 - 1 Man. Utd.
Premier2005/06Blackburn 4 - 3 Man. Utd.
Premier2005/06Man. Utd. 1 - 2 Blackburn
Premier2004/05Man. Utd. 0 - 0 Blackburn
Premier2004/05Blackburn 1 - 1 Man. Utd.
Premier2003/04Blackburn 1 - 0 Man. Utd.
Premier2003/04Man. Utd. 2 - 1 Blackburn
The records is not that great for Man U whenever they faced Blackburn Rovers.

However, this season may differ from the previous 4 years as Man U is just on fire. Scoring freely 39 goals and conceding only 9 at old trafford
from 14 games played. 13 wins, 1 draw (1-1 to Chelsea back in November) and 1 lost (0-1 to Arsenal back in September 2006). They had beaten Liverpool 2-0, Tottenham 1-0, Newcastle 2-0. Christian Ronaldo and Giggsy are just superb. After the lost to playing away at Emirate Stadium, Arsenal 2-1 (Arsenal is the only team so far that has stolen 6 points playing to Man U this season)
David Bentley will miss this game for a match ban, but Aaron Moekona will return after serving his own match ban. Blacburn's lineups:
Blackburn (from): Friedel, Emerton, Henchoz, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Samba, Warnock, Berner, Mokoena, Tugay, Dunn, Pedersen, McCarthy, Roberts, Nonda, Brown, Derbyshire, Gallagher.
Man U will field their strong lineups, despite the champions league game to Rome next Wednesday. However, they would be cautious not to enforced too much with their valued players, so my verdict is 1-0 or 2-0 win for Man U.

Watford vs Chelsea, Saturday at Vicarage Road - Watford

Watford sits at the bottom of the table, fighting the relegation which seemingly set for them. Their last 5 games reads:
10.02 A: West Ham 1:0 (1:0) W
21.02 H: Wigan 1:1 (1:1) D
24.02 H: Everton 0:3 (0:2) L
03.03 H: Charlton 2:2 (2:0) D
17.03 A: Tottenham 1:3 (0:1) L
compared to Chelsea's impeccable performances:
03.02 A: Charlton 1:0 (1:0) W
10.02 H: Middlesbroug 3:0 (1:0) W
03.03 A: Portsmouth 2:0 (1:0) W 14.03
A: Man. City 1:0 (1:0) W
17.03 H: Sheffield U. 3:0 (2:0) W

Teams:

Watford (from): Foster, Lee, Mariappa, DeMerit, Shittu, Powell, Stewart, Mackay, Doyley, Chambers, Williams, Mahon, Smith, Francis, Bangura, Williamson, Cavalli, Priskin, Bouazza, Henderson, Kabba, Hoskins.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Geremi, Ferreira, Diarra, Terry, Carvalho, A Cole, Boulahrouz, Lampard, Ballack, Makelele, Obi, Wright-Phillips, Shevchenko, Drogba, Kalou, Robben.

Mourinho will have no problem substituting Joe Cole, Essien and Wayne Bridge who are still nursuring their injuries. Watford have not been able to hold off any of the big teams:
1:2 to Man U
1:2 to Arsenal
0:3 to Liverpool
I doubt they can hold off Chelsea either. Verdict: 1:2 (same scoreline with Man U & Arsenal). Chelsea hardly goes for scoring frenzy while playing away anyway.

Charlton vs Wigan, Saturday - The Valley, Charlton

This is the battle of the relegation zone. Charlton had been playing beautiful and fluid football of late, fighting to gain 4 points from Sheffield who is above them. With their recent performance, they surely deserved it. Just hope the Euro 2008 break hasn't disrupt their momentum.

Wigan had also been playing well of late. Their last 5 games read:

11.02 A: Arsenal 1:2 (1:0) L
21.02 A: Watford 1:1 (1:1) D
25.02 H: Newcastle 1:0 (1:0)W
03.03 A: Man. City 1:0 (1:0)W
17.03 H: Fulham 0:0 (0:0) D

while Charlton:

03.02 H: Chelsea 0:1 (0:1) L

10.02 A: Man. Utd. 0:2 (0:1) L

24.02 H: West Ham 4:0 (3:0) W

03.03 A: Watford 2:2 (0:2) D

18.03 H: Newcastle 2:0 (0:0) W

You see the addicks have only lost to Man U & Chelsea and held watford to a exciting 2-2 away draw.

Charlton will have the edge playing over their home fans, so verdict 2-1. Home win, draw no bet.

Good Luck and Cheers

Faroe Island VS Ukraine Toftir, 24th March 2008

2007-03-24T02:42:00.000+07:00

Faroe island sits nicely at the bottom table, having lost four games, scoring 0 goal and conceding 18.
France - Faroe Island 5-0
Faroe I - Lithuania 0-1
Scotland - Faroe I 6-0
Faroe I - Georgia 0-6

Ukraine would certainly takes the advantage of this game and score freely as they would be facing tougher matches in the days to come. Ukraine has played 3 games 2 wins and 1 lost:
Ukraine - Scotland 2-0
Italy - Ukraine 2-0
Ukraine - Georgia 3-2

Asian Handicap is set at 21/4 or 21/2 for Faroe Island. With Shevchenko on form, Ukraine should be able to beat the handicap. 0-4 would be my predictions.

Cheers

Netherland VS Romania Euro 2008 qualifying round

2007-03-24T02:14:00.000+07:00

De kuip Stadium, Rotterdam 24th March 2008

This is the battle of rank 1 vs rank 3 in group 3, whose captains would be missed for both teams. That's right Edwin Van De Sar and Chivu would not be playing due to calf injury and a broken nose.

Holland leads group G with 10 points after 4 games:
Lux - Holland 0-1
Holl - Belarus 3-0
Holl - Albania 2-1
Bulg - Holland 1-1

Van De sar (MU) would likely be replaced by Ajax kipper Marteen S. Apart from Van De Sar, Van Persie (Arsenal) would also be sidelined for this game due to foot injury. Although Van Persie has contributed much in the past games and greatly missed, Holland still have lots of attacking power in Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Arjen Robben (Chelsea), Jan K Huntelaar + Ryan Babel (Ajax), Danny K (AZ). The above results really haven't shown the best of Holland yet, noting the number of talents in their squads.

Romania would missed Chivu (Roma) who broke his nose in the champions league against Lyon. Another important midfield figure Petre, would also be missed due to a back injury.
Missing the 2 players would be a big blow for Romania who sits in position 3 with 7 points just below Bulgaria, but has the advantage of 1 game unplayed, having played 3 games:
Romania – Belaruz 3-1
Albania - Romania 0-2
Romania – Bulgary 2-2

Holland would certainly push for 3 points in this game, playing in font of their fans of 49,000 in Rotterdam. The past records when the 2 side meets would also suggest the same 5 wins and 2 draws for Holland. 2-1 or 3-1 would be my predictions. Over 21/2 ball would be a good option to cover the -1 in the asian handicap.

Good luck to all of you.