Archive for September, 2009

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Stoke City v Chelsea

September 10th, 2009

Chelsea travel to resilient Stoke and the Britannia Stadium on Saturday looking to continue their very impressive start to this current Premier League season. With four wins from four games so far, Carlo Ancellotti’s team are brimming with confidence and head the table on goal difference from fellow London side Tottenham.

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Stoke City have also started the season well, currently occupying fifth spot in the league table with seven points; points that have come from two wins (both at home) one draw away to Birmingham, and a rather comprehensive 4-0 defeat at Anfield by Liverpool.

With both teams coming into the game after the two week international break, Stoke will feel they will have the “fresher” options as most of Chelsea’s squad will be flying in from around the world just a day or two before the clash. Nevertheless, Ancellotti knows the strength of his current squad and will be confident that whatever team he puts out on Saturday afternoon will be well equipped to deal with the pressures at hand.

Stoke manager Tony Pullis this week welcomed former Thailand boss Peter Reid to the Britannia Stadium as the teams new assistant manager, and he will be hoping that Reid’s vast experience in the game can benefit the club further. With two wins out of two so far this season at home, Stoke look well equipped to see out the current campaign without any major relegation hitches hanging over their heads.

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Posted in Chelsea FC, Football Pre Match Review, General, Premier League, Stoke City

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Portsmouth v Bolton Wanderers

September 10th, 2009

One thing is definite about Saturday’s encounter between Portsmouth and Bolton as the Premier League resumes after the international break – one, or both, of the teams will break their duck. The pair are stuck at the bottom of the league table as the only two teams that are pointless, but whereas hapless Portsmouth have played four games, Bolton have only played three.

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The way things have started for Portsmouth this season, both on and off the pitch, suggest that the team are going to struggle badly this term and will be facing a battle for their Premier League lives. All the off-field shenanigans over the ownership of the club, and the exodus of players during the wrangle, have seen the side decimated with manager’s Paul Hart’s hands well and truly tied.

With players of the calibre of Glenn Johnson, Peter Crouch, Sean Davis and Sylvan Distin all being allowed to leave over the summer, and the loss of Jermaine Defoe in last January’s transfer window, Portsmouth have had to make up the numbers with a rash of free signings and loans which have not gone down too well with the Pompey faithful.

Bolton have also started the season poorly and manager Gary Megson is already under early pressure. After losing the first two games of the current campaign 1-0 (to Sunderland at home and then Hull away), the team faced a Liverpool side at the Reebok last time out that was rumoured to be in turmoil, and these rumours looked well founded when Bolton took a 2-1 lead in the game. Nevertheless, Liverpool are renowned for their comebacks and eventually won the game 3-2, sending the Bolton fans home in despair.

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Posted in Bolton, Football Pre Match Review, General, Portsmouth, Premier League

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Manchester City v Arsenal

September 10th, 2009

With the resumption of the English Premier League after the international break, Manchester City face their first major test of their new-found status as genuine top four challengers when Arsenal come to town on Saturday afternoon. City have started the season positively and have recorded three victories from their first three games so far.

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Arsenal on the other hand had started the season in rampant style, knocking in ten goals in their first two games, but the reversal at City’s bitter rivals United last time out, albeit rather unluckily, may have taken the wind out of their sails. Nevertheless, the game is eagerly anticipated by not only the fans of the two teams involved, but also fans from the rest of the country so they can gauge for themselves just how high City’s credentials are this season under Mark Hughes.

Manchester City and their team of superstars in the making couldn’t have asked for a better start to the new campaign. They have played three games so far and won each of them – one at home and two away, all without conceding a single goal. Saturday’s game though will be the sternest test they have faced so far, with all due respect to Portsmouth, Wolves and Blackburn who have all tried to match City and failed this season.

For their part, Arsenal were flying until they played at Old Trafford last time out. Despite playing well enough, they ended up losing the game to Manchester United by 2-1 and it remains to be seen what affect this will have on team spirit ahead of this Saturday’s game at Eastland’s.

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Liverpool v Burnley

September 10th, 2009

Rafa Benitez’ Liverpool side face Burnley at Anfield on Saturday afternoon as the English Premier League resumes after the enforced international break. Although Liverpool have made a stuttering start to the new season by their standards, the win away to Bolton last time out showed the character and determination of the current squad, and with a victory on Saturday the whole “bad start” thing will be well and truly put to bed.

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A lot has been made of the fact that Liverpool have lost as many games in the first four encounters of this season’s campaign as they did in the whole of last season, and as such will not win the league because they have already shown weakness. This assumption by many pundits is actually quite laughable and you only have to look at the fact that Manchester United won the league last season while still losing four games during the campaign.

With most of the squad away on international duty, Benitez will only have one day to train with his team and formulate the tactics for the Burnley game. He will, though, be quietly confident that Liverpool can continue where they left off from the great 3-2 win at Bolton last time.
For their part, Burnley are showing two sides to this current campaign – the Burnley that play great at home (played two, won two, including against Man Utd), and the Burnley that plays away (played two, lost two, scored none, conceded five). Everything points to the fact, then, that Owen Coyle’s boys may find life a little too hot for their liking at Anfield on Saturday.

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Posted in Burnley, Football Pre Match Review, General, Liverpool, Premier League, Premiership

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Blackburn v Wolves

September 10th, 2009

Blackburn Rovers host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Ewood Park on Saturday looking for their first win of the new Premier League season. Rover’s manager Sam Allardyce has not been too impressed by the start his team have made this season and will be looking at Saturday’s game to hopefully grab the three points on offer and kick-start their season.

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Mick McCarthy’s Wolves team, on the other hand, have managed to win one game out of their four played so far this season, and with a draw and two defeats from the other three games, McCarthy knows that every single point his team can muster this season could prove to be vital come next May.
Blackburn have played one fewer game than their opponents on Saturday, with two defeats and one draw the total sum of their efforts.

They have only managed to score one goal as well and that was in the second game of the season in a 2-1 away defeat to Sunderland. Allardyce’s boys faced Manchester City at home on the opening day of the season, losing 2-0, while playing West ham at home last time out, only managing a tame 0-0 draw. They currently occupy 18th position in the league table with their one point; only Bolton and Portsmouth are below them, both pointless.

Wolves have played relatively well since their opening day 2-0 home defeat to West Ham. They followed that with a trip to Wigan, winning 2-0, then an unlucky narrow 1-0 defeat at Manchester City and last time out drew 1-1 at home with Hull. They are thirteenth in the table with four points to their name.

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Posted in Blackburn Rovers, Football Pre Match Review, General, Premier League, Premiership, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wolves

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FIFA Qualifying Matches – African & South American Zone

September 7th, 2009

The African zone saw Ghana become the first team to qualify for the final showdown from the continent. Ghana defeated bottom placed Sudan in Group 4 by 2-0. Goals from Muntari and Chelsea player Essien in the 14th and 53rd minute respectively saw the home team through to South Africa for the 2010 finals.

Group 1 saw Cameroon defeating Gabon by 2-0 and Togo drawing 1-1 at home against Morocco. Group 2 had Mozambique defeating Kenya by 1-0. Another game from the group saw Tunisia scoring a late goal to draw 2-2 against Nigeria.

A goal by Ahmed Hassan for Egypt gave his team a 1-0 victory over bottom placed Rwanda in Group 3. Algeria vs. Zambia saw Algeria win the game with a 1-0 score line. Another match in group 4 saw Benin drew 1-1, away to Mali.
Group 5 had Ivory Coast defeating Burkina Faso 5-0. A goal from Toure and two goals each from Keita and Drogba saw Ivory Coast winning their 4th consecutive game in the group. Ivory Coast is just one point away from the finals in South Africa. Malawi defeated Guinea 2-1 in the other match from the group.

In the South American Zone, Peru defeated Uruguay 1-0, Colombia defeats Ecuador 2-0, Argentina loses 1-3 to Brazil, Chile drew 2-2 at home against Venezuela and Paraguay defeats Bolivia 1-0. The results saw Brazil qualifying for 2010 finals and kept their record of qualifying in all the FIFA World Cups till date. Chile and Paraguay are on second and third place respectively with 27 points. Argentina remains 4th in the group with 22 points.

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FIFA Qualifying Matches – Argentina Vs Brazil

September 7th, 2009

All the 10 teams from the South American continent played their qualifying matches today. The big match of the day was between the two super powers of football, Argentina and Brazil. Five times world champion, Brazil humiliated Argentina by defeating them 3-1 in front of the Argentinean crowd in Rosario.

This time it was Argentina, 4th placed team in the group who was playing at home and had a chance to score a win in front of their home fans. Argentina showed promised at the start of the game, and almost scored in the 1st minute itself, but probably lost their touch through the course of the game.

Brazil didn’t take long to take the lead. Luisao scored in the 23rd minute. Seven minutes later Luis Fabiano scored another for Brazil, much to the disbelief of the Argentineans. Brazil kept pushing Argentina even after leading the game 2-0 at half time.

There were a few streaks of genius from Messi but the hero was Dátolo whose screamer in the 64th minute got a goal back for Argentina and the 45000 fans in the stadium were frenzied as they believed they can still win this game.
2 minutes later Luis Fabiano scored his second goal for the night, the 3rd for Brazil. The goal made the score line 3-1 giving Brazilians a boost cushion, and keeping the Argentineans out of reach. The match ended at 3-1 to Brazil. The win made Brazil the first team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa and the loss looks damaging for the Argentineans to qualify for the finals.

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FIFA Qualifying Matches – European Leg 5th September Part 2

September 6th, 2009

Group 5 saw Spain defeating Belgium in the qualifier tonight and making it 7 wins out of 7 in the qualifiers. David Silva opened the scoring for Spain in the 41st minute. Two goals in two minutes from Villa and Pique in the 48th and 50th minute took the match away from Belgium. Silva and Villa again scored one goal each in the 67th and 84th minute making the score 5-0 at final whistle. Other matches in the group saw Turkey defeating Estonia by 4-2 and Bosnia defeating Armenia by 2-0.

In Group 6, Ukraine defeated Andorra 5-0 at home with goals being scored at regular interval. Croatia defeated Belarus 1-0 at home and looked better. England play Croatia at Wembley on the 9th September in another qualifier and if England manages to win, it will become the second team from Europe to book a berth at the main event in South Africa.

World Cup 2006 runners up, France failed to score 3 points as they drew 1-1 at home against Romania in Group 7. In another game, Austria defeated Faroe by 3-1. Group toppers Serbia play France on the 9th September in Serbia. France needs to score 3 points in that match, if they want a direct entry to the 2010 finals.

World Champions Italy, look well on course for the 2010 finals as they defeated Georgia by 2-0 and remained on top in Group 8. In another match, Ireland defeated Cyprus 2-1 which allowed them to close the gap between them and Italy to a mere 1 point.

Scotland defeated Macedonia by 2-0 goals and took the second place in the group after Netherlands. If they remain second they will qualify for play off’s. Another match between Iceland and Norway ended in a 1-1 draw.

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FIFA Qualifying Matches – European Leg 5th September Part 1

September 6th, 2009

Today 42 European teams played their Qualifying games and tried to get closer to the 2010 fWorld Cup finals in South Africa. So far only the only country from Europe zone to qualify is Netherlands.

Group 1 saw Denmark playing Portugal in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. To the despair of Portugal, the match was ended in a draw and it saw Portugal drifting away from a place in the 2010 finals. Arsenal’s Bendtner scored a goal in the 42nd minute which saw Denmark leading by 1 goal at half time. Second half saw Portugal not able to score which made them frustrated as a loss would make sure that they will not qualify for the 2010 finals. In the 86th minute Liedson scored the equaliser which gave Portugal a chance to still remain in the completion. Another match in the group saw Sweden defeating Hungary by 2-1.

Group 2 had Moldova playing Luxemberg at home. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. Israel was defeated 0-1 by Latvia at home. Switzerland maintained the top spot in the group with a 2-1 win over Greece.

Group 3 saw two matches being played which both resulted in a draw. Slovakia drew 2-2 at home against Czech Republic and Poland drew 1-1 at home against Northern Ireland. Slovakia maintained the top spot in the group.

In Group 4, Russia were playing at home against Liechtenstein. Two goals from Pavlyuchenko and a goal from Berezutskiy made sure that Russia were on course to South Africa. Azerbaijan was defeated 1-2 at home by a more experienced Finland side.

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Will Manchester City enter top four in England

September 3rd, 2009

After spending £118 million this summer, Manchester City has kind of announced that they are serious contenders for this year’s title. But spending money is different than building a team. Though they have got the some of the best players available in the game, it will be interesting to see if City can even break the Premier League top 4 dead lock.

So far City has won all the three games they have played. But the next two matches will probably decide whether Manchester City is an actual contender. Their next two matches will be against Arsenal and Champions Manchester United back to back.

The start of the season saw Liverpool losing two games of the four they played. Pundits have already written off Liverpool’s chances of winning the title this year. Arsenal’s perfect start to the season was ruined by Manchester United when the latter defeated the former by 2-1 at Old Trafford. This left Arsenal with 6 points from three games.

Chelsea look good to go and win trophies this season but they have been banned by FIFA according to which they will not be able to sign any new player for the entire 2010 calendar year.

The only team that lack depth in the squad this season is Liverpool. After losing their star midfielder Xabi Alonso, the reds have found themselves pondering over the field without any game plan. So according to most it will be Benitez’s red army that will be toppled by Hughes’s blue army of Manchester.

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Posted in Arsenal, Chelsea FC, Football Transfer Market, General, Liverpool, Man U, Premier League, Premiership

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