Football News
Blackburn And Everton Still Searching For First Points Of The Season
Published on 25/08/2011 15:47
Neither of these two sides are yet registered a point this season in Premiership despite neither facing the better teams in the division so far, Everton at least have the excuse that they have only played one match following the postponement of their opening day fixture against Spurs. Blackburn have been well touted for relegation so far this season and on the evidence of the opening games they will be right down there whilst Everton are traditionally slow starters each season…
Low Scoring Encounter Expected As Wigan And QPR Meet
Published on 25/08/2011 15:01
Roberto Martinez's Wigan take on their third newly promoted side in a row on Saturday when they face QPR. Roberto Martinez claimed his side have had a start to the season but surely Roy Hodgson would disagree, his West Brom took on Man Utd at home and then Chelsea away. Wigan have so far failed to beat Norwich and Swansea and these are exactly the sort of games they need to be winning if they are to stay up so three points really is imperative here. QPR have so far surprised …
Very Close Match Expected Between Aston Villa And Wolves
Published on 25/08/2011 14:23
Both of these teams have made a good start to the season, especially considering their performances last season, Aston Villa drew on the opening day of the season at Fulham before beating Blackburn last week and Wolves are the only team outside of Manchester to pick up maximum points so far, they too have only played Blackburn and Fulham this season. There will be added spice to this encounter with it being a Midlands derby and we should be in for a competitive and closely…
Tottenham v Hearts - Both Teams Set To Experiment After First Leg Drubbing
Published on 25/08/2011 12:01
The gulf between next best teams in the Premiership and the next best teams in the SPL was exposed last week when Spurs were good value for their 5-0 first leg win and the second leg could be a bit of an anti climax with both managers likely to rest key players for the game with Spurs all but through to the next round.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has always said that he would use this competition to blood the youngsters so it may have surprised many when he fielded a…
Nigel Clough looking at Derby County to maintain 100% record against Winless Burnley.
Published on 24/08/2011 21:48
Derby County have few problems at the back so far this season, but news that Jamie Buxton could return can only be a further boost for Nigel Clough who is pushing his side all the way in a perfect start with four consecutive wins. Two lavish home victories have complimented a brace of solid, professional away performances to leave the Rams with 12 out of 12 points.
They have every chance of making it a perfect five as Burnley come to Pride Park on Saturday. Manager Eddie Howe…
Middlesbrough play host to Struggling Coventry on Saturday
Published on 24/08/2011 21:47
Regardless of what happened on Tuesday night in the Carling Cup against Peterborough, Middlesbrough fans should be more than happy with the start of the season. Tony Mowbray has coached his side to three wins and an opening day draw against Portsmouth to gain a haul of ten points and a position at present just behind leaders Southampton and Derby County who boast 100% records.
In complete contrast to the start of last season when they were expected to well, they remain…
Craig Mikael-Smith looking to score against his former club as Brighton host Peterborough.
Published on 24/08/2011 21:45
Brighton and Hove Albion have already had some payback for the fee paid to Peterborough for the services of last seasons League One top striker Craig Mikael-Smith. The seagulls broke the bank in the summer and questions were asked as to how much Peterborough would miss their star striker. Not a lot! Might be the emphatic answer after Saturday 7-1 demolition of Ipswich Town.
That was one of those freak results, or at least Ipswich will be hoping it was. Posh have started…
Newcastle's Lack Of Goals A Concern Against Scunthorpe
Published on 24/08/2011 15:53
Newcastle are deemed the 12th most likely Carling Cup winners this season according to the bookies whilst Scunthorpe are around 35th on most lists so there is going to be a clear gulf in class, although the team fielded by Newcastle should see the playing field levelled a little, Four Premiership teams were eliminated from the competition on Tuesday night and more will have probably followed on Wednesday so these games aren't forgone conclusions and Scunthorpe may fancy…
Spain the obvious choice to win World Cup Group I
Published on 24/08/2011 15:40
Current World Cup holders Spain have been installed as warm favourites to land Group I with Paddy Power's quote of 1.33 currently the best on offer, while the enigmatic French team are a best priced 3.50 with several bookmakers to cause an upset.
Let's start with France whose performance at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was nothing short of disgraceful. Competing in a group that consisted of Uruguay, Mexico and South Africa the French were hot favourites to…
Arsenal On The Verge Of Champions League Elimination Against Udinese
Published on 24/08/2011 11:17
Arsenal's season could be as good as ever before it really gets underway unless they get the right result tonight against Udinese, failure to qualify for the Champions League group stage would end up costing the club what they got for either Cesc Fabregas or Samir Nasri and would also hinder their chances of bringing in top quality players before the transfer window closes. Judging by the first leg it could be a very close encounter and Arsenal will be very pleased that they …
Bayern Munich to secure place in Champions League proper against Zurich this evening
Published on 23/08/2011 18:40
With a 2-0 cushion following the first-leg of their Champions League qualifier against Zurich, Bayern Munich are poised to progress to the group stages of Europe’s premier tournament, needing nothing more than a scoreless draw in the away leg in Switzerland this evening.
Zurich coach Urs Fischer has spoken in optimistic terms regarding this match, but they will need something akin to a minor miracle if they’re to overturn the lead established by Jupp…
Liverpool Able To Field Strong Side Against Exeter In Carling Cup
Published on 23/08/2011 16:52
Liverpool face a trip to Exeter in their first Carling Cup second round match in years and with just three competitions to play in for Kenny Dalglish's side this season you can be sure that Liverpool will be taking this competition more seriously than many of the other teams in the Premiership. Exeter may see this as the highlight of their season but that won't stop them from going all out for victory although they are clearly up against it, an Exeter win would be one of …
Greece can edge a tight looking 2014 World Cup Group G
Published on 23/08/2011 15:28
Bookmakers have found it hard to separate the chances of Greece, Bosnia and Slovakia in what looks a tricky looking Group G, but we feel that Greece have enough talent at their disposal to come out on top and suggest taking the 3.00 currently on offer with Blue Square.
Greece's performance at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa got off to a bad start with a 2-0 defeat to South Korea and although they salvaged some pride with a victory over Nigeria and a plucky display in…
Portugal look outstanding value to top 2014 Group F
Published on 22/08/2011 14:18
Although Portugal look unlikely winners of the 2014 World Cup they do seem rather generous odds with Coral bookmakers to top their qualifying group with Russia appearing their only realistic opposition in a group that also includes Israel, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg.
Many people were disappointed with the performance of the Portuguese during the 2010 World Cup, yet they still managed draws against the Ivory Coast and Brazil before losing by a single goal to…
Man Utd v Tottenham Team News - Ferdinand, Vidic, Rafael And Modric All Unavailable
Published on 22/08/2011 12:09
Tottenham make a belated start to the Premiership season being the only side in the league who are yet to play a game and they couldn't have started anywhere harder than Old Trafford. Man Utd will be looking to keep up the pressure on Man City after they went top following a win at Bolton but things won't be easy for United aqainst a talented Tottenham side, even if they do have a great record at home to Spurs.
Man Utd have defensive problems with Rio Ferdinand,…
Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez to start for Bayern Munich against Hamburg
Published on 19/08/2011 18:20
Despite suffering with knocks during their midweek victory over Zurich in a Champions League qualifier, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez are all expected to be in the starting XI when Bayern Munich entertain Hamburg at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Hamburg beat the Bavarians 2-0 during pre-season, but it’s unlikely that they will enjoy similar success this weekend. Indeed, die Roten haven’t conceded a league goal against Michael Oenning’s charges…
Swansea Can Gain Big Win At Expense Of Wigan
Published on 19/08/2011 16:39
Two teams tipped for relegation meet here and if Swansea are going to avoid relegation this season they will need to be very strong at home, they had the best home record in the Championship last season. It will be interesting to see what sort of reception Wigan boss Roberto Martinez gets on his return to the Liberty Stadium, he is searching for his first win of the season after being held last week by another newly promoted side in the form of Norwich.
Swansea are once again…
Bolton Could Win Battle To Go Top With Man City
Published on 19/08/2011 15:23
These two teams go into this weekend as the top two sides in the Premiership after week one having both beaten a promoted side 4-0 and it seems pundits might have got carried away with Man City's performance on Monday, after all they were at home to Swansea, whilst no one is tipping Bolton to win the league despite winning 4-0 at Loftus Road against QPR. This goes to show the fickle nature of football and whilst there is no doubt that Man City will be finishing above Bolton…
Wolves Set To Be Unchanged For Visit From Fulham
Published on 19/08/2011 14:46
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy will have been delighted to see his side win at Blackburn last week, not only did it start the season with three points but it showed a huge improvement on last season where his team struggled away from home and struggled to beat the bottom teams. Fulham manager Martin Jol got off to a decent start when drawing with Aston Villa and Fulham followed that up with a midweek win against Dnipro in the Europa League.
Mick McCarthy looks set to implement…
Norwich And Stoke Look Set For Second Draw In A Row
Published on 19/08/2011 14:23
Stoke return to Premiership duty having got a good win against FC Thun in Switzerland on Thursday night and this will be a real test for Tony Pulis' side who are not used to playing Thursday/Sunday, this is something they will have to get used to if they qualify for the group stage of the Europa League as expected. Norwich will have been pretty happy to avoid defeat last season against one of their potential relegation rivals last week and they will be hoping to take…
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