Everton v Liverpool predictions (November 23, 2013 - Premier League)

The Merseyside derby is one of England’s best rivalries so we can expect fireworks when Liverpool visit Everton on Saturday.

EVERTON v LIVERPOOL: MATCH PREVIEW
The Toffees enter the weekend just three points behind second placed Liverpool so there are massive points up for grabs for them. The Toffees have only been on the losing side once in the league so far this season, with Manchester City beating them 3-1

The hosts are unbeaten in their last four league matches, but their last two have ended in scoreless draws. Goodison Park is a very tough place for opponents to play and Everton already have a win over Chelsea this season on their home pitch. Martinez’s men have kept a clean sheet in their past three encounters.

Everton's boss could name an unchanged line-up but Ross Barkley will hope that he can return to the starting line-up having missed out to Leon Osman in recent weeks. Antolin Alcaraz is now fully fit but the same can't be said for former Wigan teammate Arouna Kone

Liverpool head into Saturday's derby on the back of a 4-0 win over Fulham which took them up to second in the Barclays Premier League table. Anyway, from the six away matches they've played this season, Liverpool have managed only two wins, with Arsenal convincingly beating them 2-0 on their last away day.

With no fresh injury concerns Brendan Rodgers has no reason to change the XI that thrashed Fulham 4-0 before the international break. Liverpool's manager has only revealed that Daniel Sturridge will be assessed - the forward has been playing with a dead leg for a number of weeks. Jose Enrique is set to miss out for the Reds while COutinho should retains his role on the left flank.

Suarez has been scoring for fun recently and has eight in his past six Liverpool games. He has been offered the use of John W Henry’s private jet ahead of the derby, with the Uruguayan striker having been involved in a World Cup play-off against Jordan this week.

Of the 9 Merseyside derbies that Liverpool have lost in the Premier League, 7 of them have been at Goodison Park. The Reds however, have only lost 1 of their last 13 Merseyside derbies in in the Premier League (W7 D5 L1).

EVERTON v LIVERPOOL: PROBABLE LINEUPS
Everton (4-2-3-1): Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; Mirallas, Osman, Pienaar; Lukaku

Liverpool (4-4-2): Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Cissokho; Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho; Suarez, Sturridge


EVERTON v LIVERPOOL: TEAM FORM
Everton
9 Nov 2013    Crystal Palace 0 - Everton 0    EPL
3 Nov 2013    Everton 0 - Tottenham 0    EPL
26 Oct 2013    Aston Villa 0 - Everton 2    EPL
19 Oct 2013    Everton 2 - Hull City 1    EPL
5 Oct 2013    Manchester City 3 - Everton 1    EPL

Liverpool
9 Nov 2013    Liverpool 4 - Fulham 0    EPL
2 Nov 2013    Arsenal FC 2 - Liverpool 0    EPL
26 Oct 2013    Liverpool 4 - West Bromwich Albion 1    EPL
19 Oct 2013    Newcastle United 2 - Liverpool 2    EPL
5 Oct 2013    Liverpool 3 - Crystal Palace 1    EPL

England vs. Germany: Date, Time, and Preview

In a week when France went down 2-0 on aggregate against Ukraine and Portugal squeaked by Sweden, 1-0, heading into the second leg of the European World Cup playoffs, one of the most intriguing matches of the international break remains a friendly between Germany and England.

While neither team is at full strength, there is enough star power and history between these two European powers to make a mid-week friendly a premier matchup. Let's break down this contest.

When: Tuesday, November 19 at 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. GMT)

Where: Wembley Stadium, London, England



Key Storylines

Germany won't have all of their regulars available and will put out a more "experimental" side, as Mesut Ozil, Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer won't play in this match according to manager Joachim Loew (via ESPN).

Sami Khedira will also be missing in action for Germany—and won't appear for Real Madrid for the rest of the season—after tearing his ACL in a friendly against Italy.

Of course, this is a German side that still features Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels, among others, so they'll roll out a competitive, talented starting 11.

Meanwhile, there might be a bit of bad blood in this contest despite the game simply being a friendly.

Germany's Andre Schurrle appeared to imply that England's best player, Wayne Rooney, wouldn't even crack Germany's starting lineup, noting (via ESPN) that "Rooney is a great player, but we have good quality, too, in every position, and maybe twice, so I don't know if he would play."

He later backtracked from those comments and said his meaning was not to suggest that Rooney wasn't good enough for Germany, but those shots may have already been fired.

And England will be getting a boost ahead of this contest, as in-form striker Daniel Sturridge appears to be fit. He'll add some extra firepower for this English team, potentially pairing with Rooney at forward.

England is also dealing with some injuries, namely on the wings where Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain unavailable. Thus, Sturridge could even potentially feature out wide in an effort to add his offensive threat to the lineup.

Prediction

Neither one of these teams come into this game at full strength, but both are still rolling out talented enough squads to make this a must-watch friendly. England will obviously have an advantage playing in front of their home crowd, but this German side is insanely deep and will be a handful.

In the end, expect an equal and entertaining match that doesn't disappoint but also doesn't provide any bragging rights.

This one will end in a draw, 1-1.

Portugal vs Sweden Match Preview & Prediction (16 Nov ~ 03:45)

Portugal vs Sweden
Football : World Cup Playoff
Friday 16th November 2013 – Kickoff time 03:45

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Match Preview :

The build up to this match has been dominated by two players - Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Sweden, who will be playing in the World Cup Finals in Brazil next year?

Portugal are in this playoff after they suffered the defeat in Russia and the draw in Israel which was their own doing. Also if you take into account the two home draws against Israel and Northern Ireland and if they had just won one of those they would have come out tops of the group instead of Russia.

Even though Portugal start this match as favourites there are still very unpredictable. One player whom they will hope will score for the home side will be Cristiano Ronaldo. In the qualifiers they came through scoring at least two per game.

Sweden finished second in the group behind Germany and are goon on their travels. They have had a W3 D1 L1 record.

Sweden managed a draw against Germany where despite being four goals down, they fought back to make it 4-4! They will hope that Ibrahimovic will score for them in this match.

When these two sides come up against each other in the past, Sweden currently have a 6-3 lead. Sweden have netted 24 goals compared to the 14 managed by Portugal, in their fifteen previous meetings.

The last time these two sides met was back in World Cup 2010 qualifying, when they played out two 0-0 draws

Form:
Portugal - W D W L D W
Sweden - - W W W W W L

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Portugal 1-1 Sweden

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take Sweden and accept the 3/4 ball here.

Crystal Palace v Arsenal Preview (26 October 2013 - 7:45pm)

Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 26 October 2013 - Kick Off 19:45pm
This game is live on TV

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Crystal Palace

Ian Holloway decided that it was the best decision to walk away as manager of Crystal Palace in the wake of a heavy 1-4 home loss to Fulham on Monday night. I think there is a lot more to the story considering how early Crystal Palace have made the decision, but I guess all will be revealed in time and for now the Eagles have to concentrate on taking on the League leaders in front of their own fans.

The loss to Fulham certainly has fans questioning where Crystal Palace will get the necessary points to survive in the Premier League and they are already 5 points off safety. Palace can't even turn to their form at Selhurst Park as a possible way to bridge that gap as they bring in a 1-0-3 record, scoring 4 goals and conceding 8.

Crystal Palace did beat Sunderland 3-1 here, but they have lost all 5 games they have played since then which ended Holloway's time as manager. Palace have lost back to back home games while they have now won just 2 of their last 9 at Selhurst Park in all competitions and that is a hard mentality to change.

Jonathan Williams is the main absentee from the squad.

Arsenal

A good run of form will see a lot of teams being over-rated by the layers and fans and one of those in the early part of the season is Arsenal. After a strong start beating a lot of poor teams, the Gunners were surprisingly being backed everywhere to beat Dortmund on Tuesday night, but a 1-2 loss puts them in a pretty awkward position in the Champions League Group.

Arsene Wenger described the team as being naive in that loss to Dortmund, but will be looking for Arsenal to put three more points on the board in the Premier League ahead of two big games against Liverpool and Manchester United. Arsenal are currently leading the way by 2 points and the bring in a 3-1-0 away record where they have scored 9 goals and conceded 4.

Arsenal saw their 12 game unbeaten run come to an end on Tuesday night, but the Gunners will be expecting to extend their 13 game unbeaten run away from home in all competitions. Of those 13 games, Arsenal have won 11, although they did only manage a 1-1 draw at West Brom in their most recent away game.

Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski are all expected to miss this game with Walcott being the player expected to return to the squad the soonest.

Head to Head

Arsenal did beat Crystal Palace 5-1 at home in their last game against one another back in the 2005 season.

On that occasion, Crystal Palace earned a 1-1 home draw against the Gunners and they have only lost 1 of their last 3 home games against Arsenal since losing 4 in a row here.

Prediction

You can only beat what is in front of you and Arsenal have certainly done that so far, but there has still be an over-reaction to their start to the season, although that is unlikely to be shown up this weekend.

Crystal Palace are a team with a lot of uncertainty around them after losing their manager and coming off a heavy home loss to Fulham. They don't really stop teams playing and that doesn't bode well for them against an Arsenal team that have attacking players that have created chances.

A negative feeling may not be improved much if Arsenal score early in this one and it could be very tough for Crystal Palace to even keep the scoreline looking respectable if that happens. Arsenal will keep coming forward and they have won comfortably at Fulham and Sunderland, two teams that are about what Palace bring to the table.

I am expecting Arsenal to bounce back from their own loss during the week and heap more problems on Palace and I like the away side to win this by a couple of goals.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Crystal Palace 0-3 Arsenal

Premier League Week 8 Predictions: Teams That Should Change Their Fortunes

With Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all changing managers over the summer, it has been an unpredictable Premier League season so far.

Manchester United got off to their worst start since 1989, losing three of their first six games. City have failed to find any kind of consistency, demolishing United 4-1 in the derby but losing games at Cardiff and Aston Villa. Chelsea lost at Everton and have yet to find top gear with Jose Mourinho back at the helm.

When the crucial international break is over, the Premier League returns with a compelling fixture list. Here are the teams that should change their fortunes.

Everton

Everton were the only unbeaten team in the top flight going into Saturday's game with City. Unfortunately for the Toffees, Roberto Martinez saw his side slump to a 3-1 defeat at the Etihad.

Fortunately for Everton, their next game looks like the ideal opportunity to get back to winning ways as they take on Hull at Goodison Park. For a start, they should have Gareth Barry back in the side, a player unavailable against City since he is on loan from the Citizens.

At times Everton's midfield was totally overrun against Manuel Pellegrini's side, and one has to think the reintroduction of the defensive midfielder could be crucial. Further still, they have won every home game since drawing with West Brom in August and Hull will hold no great fears.

Manchester United

Although United managed to score from open play for the first time since the opening weekend of the season, their victory over Sunderland was far from convincing, and the pressure on David Moyes shows no sign of relenting.

Having won away from home for the first time since that trip to Swansea on the opening day, United could do with a good performance in front of their own fans. Old Trafford, usually a fortress under Sir Alex Ferguson, has not been a happy hunting ground for the champions of late.

So far this term, United have played out a disappointing stalemate with Chelsea, laboured to a 2-0 win over a Crystal Palace side reduced to 10 men (neither goal coming from open play) before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Brom.

Southampton have started the season extremely well, with wins against Liverpool and West Brom on their travels. Despite this, United should have too much for the Saints, particularly if Moyes opts for a positive, attacking lineup and spends the international break determining his best side.

Swansea

After a magnificent 2012-13 campaign, this season has not started well for Michael Laudrup's side.

The Swans suffered that 4-1 defeat against United on the first day and are still yet to manage a victory at home in the league. The visit of Sunderland ought to change all that.

Sunderland are without a manager and rooted to the bottom of the table. They have conceded 16 goals in their seven Premier League games. Although there are definitely signs of improvement since the dismissal of Paolo Di Canio, Swansea must surely have enough to secure their first win at the Liberty Stadium this term.

Preview: Liverpool v Crystal Palace: Will Suarez & Sturridge Destroy Holloway’s Men?

Liverpool – Crystal Palace

Date: Saturday 5th October

KO: 22.00 GMT+8

Venue: Anfield

Liverpool will hope to continue their good start to the season as they play host to a Crystal Palace team who have won just once this season.

Team News: Liverpool

There is an early suspension for Brendan Rodgers to deal with; Lucas Leiva picked up his fifth yellow card of this season against Sunderland and, with Joe Allen still injured, it may be down to Jordan Henderson to fill in this gap next to Steven Gerrard.

Elsewhere, Daniel Agger has returned to fitness and is available for selection against the London side, whilst Phillipe Coutinho, Sebastian Coates, Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho remain on the injury list.

Team News: Crystal Palace

After being substituted last week, Dwight Gayle may be in line to start up-front rather than Marouane Chamakh following Ian Holloway’s comments regarding the Moroccan striker’s dive against Southampton.

Yannick Bolasie remains a doubt whilst Glenn Murray, Jack Hunt and Damien Delaney should also miss out, although the recently returned Jonathan Parr may be preferred ahead of Dean Moxey at left-back.

Recent Form:

Both sides' last loss came against Mauricio Pochettino's Southampton team; Liverpool bounced back from this with a ruthless 3-1 victory over Sunderland which saw Luis Suarez mark his Premier League return with a brace. The combination of Suarez and Daniel Sturridge looked deadly and the victory could re-ignite Liverpool's campaign following two games without a win.

On the other hand, Crystal Palace's loss against Southampton was their fifth of the season; a win against Sunderland (coincidentally also 3-1) gave Holloway's team their only points of the season, a result which is sandwiched between the groans of the Eagles' fans as they witness another ball slide past Julian Speroni.

Players to Watch

Liverpool - Luis Suarez

Suarez's return from suspension has made Liverpool an even deadlier force than they already appeared to be this season; whatever you may think of him as a person, his abilities as a footballer cannot be denied. He possesses the ability to drag points out of the iron grip of defeat and this was proved by the ease in which the Uruguayan tore Sunderland apart on Sunday - scoring twice, Suarez racked up a Performance Score of 42; and this is when he's not fully match fit yet.

Crystal Palace - Mile Jedinak

The Australian has proved to be a rare shining light for Crystal Palace in a season which they have looked out of their depth most of the time. He has won 19 of 23 attempted tackles, a success of 83%, and this could be crucial in breaking up the attacks of Liverpool on Saturday. Moreover, Jedinak is the Eagles' second most creative player - he has created six chances, and Holloway's men are likely to look to their captain to lead them through this tough away game this weekend.

Prediction

Crystal Palace have had a hard time  this season and their worries show no signs of being alleviated against a Liverpool team who look dangerous this season. With Suarez back, Rodgers' side will only become even more deadly, and there could be a big scoreline on Merseyside this weekend.

Liverpool 3-0 Crystal Palace

EPL Preview: Manchester City v. Everton

Roberto Martinez will lead unbeaten Everton (3-3-0) to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City (3-1-2) on Saturday.

City will be looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, while Everton — fresh off a 3-2 win over Newcastle — are hoping their tremendous early-season form continues.

Both David Silva (ankle) and Sergio Agüero (knock) should be available for selection after returning to the starting XI against Bayern.

For Everton, Arouna Koné (knee) and Steven Pienaar (hamstring) could return, while Antolin Alcaraz (hernia) has been ruled out for another three to four weeks. In addition, Gareth Barry is unavailable to play against his parent club.

Possible Starting Lineups

Manchester City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy; Fernandinho, Yaya Touré; Navas, Silva, Agüero; Negredo.

Everton: Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; McCarthy, Osman; Naismith, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku.

Manager Quotes

Martinez on the Toffees’ position in the league table: “It was a great target before the [Newcastle] game and now it’s a great target to maintain for as long as we can.

“But obviously we are in October and now is not the time to be looking at the table.

“Now is the time to keep those standards, to keep growing and keep all the players fit so we have that competition that is going to drive us until the end of the season.”

Pellegrini on City’s 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday: “We played really bad today – it’s not the team we’ve seen every week in the Premier League and I think that was the worst thing.

“We didn’t have possession and we didn’t do enough to have more. Of course Bayern always have a lot of the ball but today wasn’t a good day for us.”

Match Facts

The hosts, who have scored in 53 consecutive league fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, have lost nine of their last 12 meetings with Everton.

Everton midfielder Ross Barkley has taken the Premier League by storm this season, having bagged two goals in six league appearances for the Toffees.

The England international, 19, and on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku were absolutely brilliant against Newcastle United on Monday, with the latter earning man-of-the-match honours after a spectacular two goal performance.

Lukaku, who has netted six goals in his last five league appearances, is 11/4 to score anytime against City on Saturday.

Match Prediction

Manchester City 2 – Everton 1

Man City v Bayern Munich – Team News, Tactics, Line-ups And Prediction | UEFA Champions League

Manchester City welcome the champions of Europe Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday as they look to build on their victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League group stage. The biggest teams of Group D clash on the back of contrasting performances in their domestic leagues at the weekend with City having lost their game to Aston Villa at Villa Park and Bayern Munich having won theirs against Wolfsburg. In fact Bayern have won all of their last five matches. The last time they travelled to City was in the Champions League in 2011 when they lost 0-2 in a game of little consequence, having qualified already for the knockout stages. City would like a repeat of that scoreline which would help them grab the advantage in Group D.

Team News and Tactical Brief
Manchester City

Manuel Pellegrini will be renewing hostilities with Pep Guardiola, who he has never beaten as manager of Villarreal, Malaga or Real Madrid during Guardiola’s time as manager of Barcelona. The two certainly know each other well and Pellegrini will be hoping his players have the quality to make that elusive win over Guardiola possible. The Citizens would be hoping for a strong performance from their team in Europe after two seasons of failure and a victory against the defending champions would certainly get belief back in the dressing room.

If City are to win however, they would have to perform miles better than their abject defensive display against Aston Villa over the weekend, when they threw a first half lead away to lose 2-3, despite dominating the match for long periods. City’s defensive frailties have been exposed in the past and Bayern’s attack would look to puncture a hole in City’s defensive wall again. City would look to welcome back David Silva from injury. The Spaniard has the ability to unlock the tightest of defenses and if available, Pellegrini would look to turn to him at some point during the game to help break Bayern’s stubborn defence. City would also hope Sergio Aguero will make himself available for the big encounter on Wednesday. Having been sidelined against Villa, it looks like Aguero will be available for Bayern. Undoubtedly City’s best forward at the moment, Aguero has the ability to score goals from half chances and Pellegrini would want his main man in City’s biggest game in Europe so far.

Expected starting Line up: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Kolarov, Jesus Navas, David Silva, Yaya Youre, Nasri, Aguero, Dzeko

Bayern Munich

Bayern have fond memories of their last visit to England when they beat Borussia Dortmund to claim the Champions League trophy at the Wembley in May. Even their last game against English opposition in England ended in a 3-1 win over Arsenal. Bayern must be fairly confident after winning all but one of their Bundesliga games this season, which sees them level on points to Dortmund in the Bundesliga table, second only on goal difference.

Pep Guardiola has enjoyed good results against his counterpart Manuel Pellegrini, having defeated him on several occasions from their time as La Liga managers. Guardiola can hope changing of leagues doesn’t change his luck as he travels to the Etihad stadium on the back of a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg. Bayern, like City, also had a good start to their Champions League group stage having beaten CSKA Moscow.

The German giants now travel to England without Spaniards Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez, whose defensive abilities will be missed. They are also without defender Holger Badstuber, though summer signing Mario Gotze should be fit to travel to Manchester. Bayern Munich would look to grab the upper hand in Group D, where City and Bayern look favourites to qualify. It is the top spot in the group that is up for grabs. The Germans would not want to break their winning habit and would use their strong counter attacking style to break City’s defense which has been seen to be less than impregnable in the Premier League in the recent past. Manuel Pellegrini has not found defensive solidity forthcoming from his team and Guardiola’s men would look to exploit this weakness with Ribery and Robben looking for a ‘Robb-ery’ on the break as City look to be the first team since AC Milan in 1990 to successfully defend their Champions League crown.

Expected starting Line up: Neuer; Alaba, Dante, Boateng, Rafinha; Lahm; Ribery, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Robben; Mandzukic

Player to watch out for

Vincent Kompany - His Injury Has Shaken Man City's DefenceThe key man for City would be skipper Vincent Kompany. City look a different team when their captain is available. The defence is more organized and more difficult to penetrate. Kompany takes onus on himself to guard the City goal with all his might as was evident in his performance against Manchester United in the derby a couple of weeks ago. Kompany was the standout performer in City’s defence, hooking balls away, outmuscling opposing forwards and making crucial interceptions. There was even an instance when he won the ball in his own box, made a pass and darted the entire length of the pitch to United’s goal in the build-up to Samir Nasri’s goal. If Kompany is in inspired form against Bayern, City can hope for a shutout against the Bavarians on Wednesday.

Prediction
Man City 1-1 Bayern Munich

Everton vs Newcastle Preview | Probable Lineup, Missing Players, Team News, & Prediction

Probable Lineups

Missing Players

Team News

Everton

• Darron Gibson returned to action in the cup defeat to Fulham but is likely to be replaced by Gareth Barry, who is set to make his 500th Premier League appearance.
• Pienaar, Alcaraz and Kone are all nearing full fitness but could continue to miss out while Leon Osman is also a doubt after picking up a groin injury at West Ham.
• Romelu Lukaku is in competition to start with Nikica Jelavic but played in a weakened side in midweek so he could be rested.

Newcastle United

• Yohan Cabaye should be fit having overcome a minor groin injury but Gutierrez and Ameobi remain doubtful having missed the cup action in midweek.
• Steven Taylor is still sidelined, leaving the centre-back pairing of Coloccini and Yanga-Mbiwa intact.
• Cheick Tiote lost his place in the side against Hull but after that defeat he will hope to return in place of Vurnon Anita.

Prediction

• Everton are now the only unbeaten Premier League team and they'll want to keep that record having only lost once at home all season last time around.
• Although they won last time out on the road at Villa, Newcastle have only picked up the three points in 3 away matches since the beginning of last season so there appears to be little hope of them doing so at such a fortress.
• However, both teams have scored in the last 5 meetings between these two sides so this should be an open and entertaining Monday night fixture.

Inter v Fiorentina Preview (Thu, 26-Sep-13) : Probable Lineup, Missing Players, Team News, & Prediction

Probable Lineups

Missing Players

Team News
 Inter

• Walter Mazzarri oversaw an impressive 7-0 win at Sassuolo at the weekend, with the manager able to bring on a number of returning players in the second half, most notably Diego Milito.
• With that in mind, an unchanged starting XI is expected to be named against Fiorentina.
• Mateo Kovacic and Mauro Icardi are both options from the bench and are likely to make a cameo appearance in the second half.

 Fiorentina

• David Pizarro will miss the encounter with Inter after having his appeal over his suspension rejected.
• With that in mind, head coach Vincenzo Montella is expected to name an unchanged midfield from the 2-0 win over Atalanta.
• Rafal Wolski failed to impress in the encounter and may be dropped in favour of Joaquín to partner Giuseppe Rossi up front.

Prediction

• Inter swept Sassuolo to one side in their 7-0 win on Sunday, but Walter Mazzarri's side will need to retain their focus for the welcome of Fiorentina.
• Vincenzo Montella has a mounting injury list, but secured an impressive win at Atalanta at the weekend with Giuseppe Rossi more than making up for Mario Gomez's unavailability.
• The visitors will look to control proceedings, but the dynamic Inter will look to disrupt their play and allow Rodrigo Palacio and Ricky Álvarez to get in behind the Viola defence. However, Fiorentina have enough about them, even with their injury problems, to pick up a point at the San Siro.

Capital One Cup: Swindon v Chelsea team news

All eyes will be on Juan Mata and David Luiz when Chelsea travel to face Swindon in the Capital One Cup third round on Tuesday.

Spain midfielder Mata and Brazil centre-back Luiz were both omitted from the Blues squad that beat Fulham 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.

Mata, who has made two starts and one substitute appearance so far this season, has been told he needs to adapt to Jose Mourinho's new style in order to hold down a place in the side.

Luiz has made three starts in the campaign thus far, all ending in defeats for Mourinho's side - the penalty shootout loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup, the 1-0 Premier League defeat at Everton and the 2-1 UEFA Champions League reverse to Basel last week.

The League Cup was the first trophy won by Mourinho in his first spell at Stamford Bridge, and he repeated the achievement two seasons later.

With a vital Premier League derby encounter at Tottenham at lunchtime on Saturday, the Portuguese manager will be looking to make use of his full squad against Mark Cooper's Robins.

The West Country outfit lie 11th in League One following their 3-2 derby win over Bristol City at the weekend.

They reached the last 16 of the Capital One Cup last season, losing 3-2 at home to Aston Villa in the fourth round, and have knocked out Chelsea's west London rivals QPR and also Torquay United in the first two rounds of this season's competition.

Although Swindon are missing their top scorer Ryan Mason due to injury, they are unbeaten at the County Ground for almost seven months.

Swindon will be without on-loan Tottenham midfielder Ryan Mason and also Ryan Harley.

In-form Mason has a thigh problem that looks set to rule him out for up to two weeks while former Exeter midfielder Harley has a medial knee ligament problem, leaving manager Mark Cooper rather light on numbers with Aaron Oakley (foot) and Tijane Reis (knee) also out.

His options are boosted however by the return of another Spurs loanee, Alex Pritchard, having missed the 3-2 win over Bristol City on Saturday through suspension, but right-back Nathan Byrne will sit out the third game of his three-match ban and Alex Smith's knee injury has ruled him out.

Nile Ranger netted his first league goal for the club with just three minutes remaining of their derby victory and the former Newcastle striker looks set to start once more against Jose Mourinho's men.

Juan Mata and David Luiz are both set to feature for Chelsea.

Blues manager Jose Mourinho has told Mata, who has made two starts this term after being near ever-present in his first two seasons at Chelsea, to prove his worth at the County Ground.

Right-back Cesar Azpilicueta, left-back Ryan Bertrand and midfielder Michael Essien are also in line to start for a Chelsea side with no fitness concerns.

Fernando Torres and Willian could also be involved as Mourinho looks to make full use of his squad.

PREVIEW: Liverpool v Southampton Tips & Prediction (21st September)

Liverpool v Southampton
Football : England : Premiership
Saturday 21st September - Kickoff 3:00pm

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Liverpool

Liverpool are top of the league after their draw last Monday night at Swansea. 10 points from 12 available is a fantastic start and on Saturday the Reds host Southampton a side that they are big favourites to defeat.

Rodgers has see his side defeat Stoke City, Aston Villa and Manchester United all 1-0. Monday's scoreline wasn't 1-0 for a change but a 2-2 draw with Liverpool failing to win from 1-2 up.

Anfield is a very tough place to visit and Liverpool's record here is excellent of late. 8 games undefeated going back to February with a current run of 3 straight wins, again all by a 1-0 scoreline.

Defensively the side is rock solid, at home Liverpool have shut sides out in 4 straight league games and in 6 of the last 8. With Sturridge on fire at the other end it's a perfect combo and once again 3 points look likely at the weekend.

Southampton

Southampton are hoping that second season syndrome doesn't strike for them as they look to finish midtable following their Premiership survival last year. The Saints occupy 11th place and have 5 points from their 4 games and so far Pochettino will be relatively happy with the start.

Last weekend Southampton played out a 0-0 scoreline with West Ham and had it not been for the Hammers goalkeeper, Southampton would have won the game. The form is ok, on one side they have lost just once in 4 league games but on the other, no win since opening day isn't ideal either.

On their travels Southampton's last 6 results read; (oldest first) W-D-L-D-W-L so it's tough to get a real read on their ability. The Saints keep the ball well and with a young side they have pace on the counter to cause Liverpool problems. Whether they can keep them out at the other end is a concern given how dangerous Liverpool look at the moment.

Betting Verdict

Early team news is that Liverpool are missing Coutinho, Agger, Johnson, Cissokho and Coates with the Brazilian's injury the biggest loss as Suarez remains out because of suspension. The visitors have a fit squad with Shaw and Fox the only doubts but I expect both to make the trip.

In last year's game Liverpool edged home by their favourite winning scoreline at the moment 1-0! Southampton won the return fixture so we should see a decent game of football at Anfield this weekend.

Liverpool have had 4 straight Premier League games go under when at home and in 5 of the last 6. The Saints go even better with 7 straight away games with less than 3 goals scored.

With Coutinho now missing and Sturridge despite his goal at the weekend carrying a knock I suspect another close game tight game with not a great deal of goals. At odds against Unders is the bet here as too many trends and statistics back this up. Like with most under bets an early goal in particular for Southampton kills this bet but I envisage 1-0, 2-0 or best case for the visitors 1-1. Either way there won't be 3 goals given the numbers and at the price it's the best bet for me.

Good Luck

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Liverpool 1-0 Southamtpon

Preview: Stoke – Man City: Tough Away Game For City, As Hughes’ Men Look To Make It 3 Wins On The Bounce

Stoke City vs Manchester City

Date: Saturday 14th September

Venue: Britannia Stadium

Kickoff: 3pm

Manchester City will look to correct their woes away from home when they travel to the Britannia to take on Mark Hughes’ Potters in a deceptively tough Premier League match. 

Team News: Stoke City

Stoke will be without a couple of key players this weekend with Charlie Adam (back) and Glenn Whelan (hamstring) both likely to miss this one. Striker Kenwyne Jones—who ranked as the club’s second-best forward last season—is also unavailable here with an ankle injury.

Team News: Manchester City

For City, the biggest problem still remains surrounding their defence, with the likes of Vincent Kompany (groin injury), Micah Richards (hamstring) and Martin Demichelis (knee) all doubtful of being included. David Silva (hip) is also questionable for this one.
Recent Form:

Stoke suffered their first defeat of the Premier League season last week in a close 1-0 loss to Liverpool. Prior to that, they had won both of their previous matches against West Ham and Crystal Palace respectively. For the Citizens, they too come into this one with two wins and a loss after a shock defeat to Cardiff in their only away game so far this season. Other than that, they won both games against Hull City and Newcastle United by a combined score of 6-0.

Players To Watch:

Stoke: Asmir Begovic

Even with David Silva questionable, Manchester City still come into this one with plenty of attacking firepower and are likely to create a high number of goalscoring chances. For the Potters to stand any chance, goalkeeper Asmir Begovic (who ranks joint third in the league for total saves so far this season) will likely need another big performance.

Player To Watch: Alvaro Negredo

One of City’s summer recruits, Alvaro Negredo has already adjusted to the Premier League very well—scoring two goals from just five shots so far this year. The striker showed he’s capable of finding the back of the net regularly and he could be one to watch in this fixture, both of his Premier League goals this season have been scored with his head.

Prediction:

Manchester City will be heavily favoured to win this weekend, but given their defensive woes at the moment, this one won’t be as open as some suggest. The Britannia is a very difficult place to win as has been proven over the last few seasons in the Premier League. As such, I think this one will remain very close, with perhaps only a late goal for the away team getting them the three points on the day.

0-1 Man City

Why The Premier League Will Continue To Be The Best

As Real Madrid huffed and puffed past 10-man Manchester United, the realisation that there would no longer be any English teams left in the Champions League crept upon us. That was not even considering Arsenal’s ultimately futile 2nd leg tie against Bayern Munich. Twitter wasted little time in attacking the “declining” Premier League and its once dominant teams. Gary Linekar and Gerard Pique’s recent Twitter spat managed heated up huge debate on the competitiveness of Europe’s top leagues; only a day before Barcelona led Levante 6-0 at half-time in their La Liga opener.

It’s way too early to talk up struggles of Premier League clubs. This was the first time in 17 years that an English team has failed to make the quarter finals of the Champions League – in fact 5 of the last 10 finalists are English clubs. A European blip should not avoid that fact that the Premier League still is – and will continue to be – the strongest League in the world. And why will it continue to be so?

Because the Premier League possesses a huge advantage over its peers, a financial advantage. Only Germany can lay claim to be in better/ more stable condition. La Liga is sowed in debt and inequality while Serie A is still in resurgence. The new huge TV deal signed last year will shower the Premier League with untold riches, approximately worth a whopping £3bn, an increase of 71% from the last deal. Rupert Murdoch’s American NBC channel is said to have paid the Premier League $83m per year for next year’s matches, an amount that would quadruple the $23m Fox currently pays. It’s no surprise to learn that next year’s relegated teams will earn more prize money than Bayern Munich earnt for winning the Champions League.

While the Premier League booms harmoniously, La Liga teams feed on each other. Despite bearing, arguably, the best two teams on the planet, La Liga does so at the expense of other Spanish teams. Many clubs are facing or are already in administration, selling off vital assets in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Real Zaragoza, Deportivo and Rayo Vallecano are all clubs in serious trouble while Real Madrid and Barcelona continue to leech TV money, worth about £511m – more than 50% of the total TV revenue and some 10 times more than clubs like Rayo Vallecano. The feudal-like distributional system of TV revenue is hitting the smaller clubs hard and can only prove to be detrimental to the well being of La Liga. Even the strongest teams in the league after the big two are in bleak situations. Atletico Madrid finished 3rd in the league but bear monstrous debt at approximately €200m; and the reality is that stars, like Radamel Falcao, are sold regularly to satisfy the taxman until the upcoming year. Many clubs, like Valencia, are in danger of collapsing all together. The southern-eastern club rely solely on player sales and European football to pay off long-standing debts estimated at a preposterous €380m. David Villa, Raul Albiol, Juan Mata, David Silva and Roberto Soldado are prime examples of fine players sacrificed like rams in order to keep the club afloat after years of horrible mismanagement.

Many hoped it would be Malaga who would break the Spanish duopoly after witnessing the millions spent when Sheikh Abdullah  Al-Thani acquired the club back in 2010. But after realising there was no solace (money) to be found in La Liga, he pulled the plug and plunged Malaga into debt, forcing the club to sell recent marquee signings such as Santi Cazorla and Salomon Rondon in a frantic  attempt to avoid sanctions. Nevertheless, their cut-backs proved futile as UEFA fined them and banned Malaga from any participation in Europe – despite this year’s miraculous run to the quarter finals. Their problems have only just begun after their debt figures rose to €90m – which effectively ensured the departure of current stars like Isco and well-respected coach Manuel Pellegrini who couldn’t be paid on time. Consequently, mismanaged finances, combined with unfair deals have proved pernicious to La Liga and ultimately dashed all hopes of a Spanish renaissance.

And there’s no hope for teams like Valencia and Malaga when your own La Liga president, Javier Thebes, believes that Real Madrid “signing players such as Bale can help maintain the quality of competition”. Yes Javier, Bale moving to Spain will definitely help maintain the quality of competition that has seen Barcelona and Real Madrid finish in the top two in eight of the last nine seasons. Such naivety from Spanish football’s top man is embarrassingly laughable, his comments clearly highlighting the oblivious and ignorant attitudes towards the bleak situation in La Liga. With Spain’s economy taking turn after turn for the worse, La Liga looks to follow suit.

While the economic advantage is clear, the entertainment factor is even more so. No other league in the world attracts as much interest as the Barclay’s Premier League. It’s notoriously fast-paced, end to end games gather huge world-wide audiences, inevitably resulting in stiff competition for TV rights. The passion and commitment from fans is peerless, producing high-intensity matches and vibrant football. The Premier League ultimately boasts high average attendance records, 35,931, some 10,000 more than Serie A and La Liga – only bettered by Germany’s cheaply priced tickets and effective use of safe-standing zones.

The sheer competitiveness of the league should also be applauded, where the battle for a place in the Champions League usually draws around 7 different teams for only 4 spots and the Premier League title could go absolutely anywhere this year. While Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are equally matched, teams like Bayern Munich, Juventus and the Spanish duo steamroll over every other club in their respective league, both financially and squad-wise. The Premier League’s closest rival, Bundesliga, is home to a club that is financially dominant over every other club and cherry-pick’s rival’s best players so that they can’t compete with them. Dante, Mandzukic and Mario Götze are prime examples of players Bayern Munich have regularly taken from rivals to weaken them, moves that would rarely happen in the Premier League.

Ricky Van Wolfswinkel (£10m), Pablo Osvaldo (£15m), Victor Wanyama (£12m), Wilfried Bony (£12m) and Andy Carroll (£16m). The Premier League has seen a fine host of expensive talent arrive to play for mid-table teams because of the new TV deal. While Premier league clubs spend and strengthen left, right and center, your La Liga teams scrap around for whatsever left – free transfers, loans and misfits – all while Barca and Madrid break their respective transfers records. After losing their 3 best players in Negredo, Navas and Medel, Sevilla, brought in Kevin Gameiro and Marko Marin on loan from Chelsea; spending £20m of the £65m they couped from player sales. While Levante are certain for relegation after spending a whopping £200,000 this summer. A stark contrast to what’s happening back on British shores

To even suggest La Liga or Bundesliga is anywhere near the Premier League competitive-wise is simply ludicrous. While Serie A and La Liga face uncertain futures, the Premier League boasts the resources to expand even further, allowing it to cement it’s position as the best league in the world. Ultimately, it’s silly to argue that the Barclay’s Premier League isn’t here to stay.

Transfer deadline day wrap: English Premier League

Arsenal broke its transfer record to sign Mesut Ozil on Monday from Real Madrid after leaving its spending until the last day of the summer transfer window.

The 24-year-old Germany playmaker joined for 50 million euros ($66 million) as American owner Stan Kroenke produced an emphatic response to the demands of fans.

"Mesut is a top quality footballer who will be a fantastic addition to our talented squad," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.

Arsenal has benefited from the ripple effect of Madrid spending 100 million euros to sign Gareth Bale from Tottenham.

Ozil's signing easily outstrips Arsenal's previous largest transfer – 15 million pounds (then $21.3 million) for Andrey Arshavin in 2009 - and the club hopes he will help to produce its first trophy since 2005.

Fans had watched in frustration throughout the summer as north London rival Tottenham spent more than $150 million on seven players, while

Arsenal's only permanent recruits were the free signings of Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini.

But after missing out on Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez and Yohan Cabaye, the Gunners have pulled off the big-name signing promised in June when they said there would be an "escalation in our financial firepower."

"Mr. Kroenke ... has always fully supported Arsene and the club in making significant investments to strengthen our squad and to bring in talented players who fit our style and ambitions," chief executive Ivan Gazidis said.

Ozil's signing pushed spending by Premier League clubs in the summer transfer window over 550 million pounds ($850 million).

Liverpool, the early unbeaten league leader, was the early mover on deadline-day. Chelsea forward Victor Moses also arrived on loan and young defenders Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori were recruited late to increase their number of summer signings to eight.

Moses will spend the season at Anfield after seeing his chances of first-team action at Chelsea plummet following the arrival of forwards Willian and Andre Schuerrle.

Sakho, who can play at center back or left back and has 14 caps for France, joined from Paris Saint-Germain on a long-term contract and the 20-year-old Ilori, who has represented Portugal at youth age groups, moved from Sporting Lisbon. Financial details weren't disclosed but sections of the British media reported that Sakho and Ilori cost a combined 25 million pounds ($39 million).

The trio of signings adds strength in depth to a squad that has won its first three league games for the first time since the 1993-94 season to go top of the standings. Sakho and Moses are likely to challenge for first-team places immediately, with the London-born Ilora set to be one for the future.

Liverpool sent striker Fabio Borini on a season-long loan to Sunderland, while another Italian, former Anfield left back Andrea Dossena, joined the northeast club from Napoli.

Stoke signed Austria forward Marko Arnautovic from Werder Bremen on a four-year deal, while Marseille loaned out France midfielder Morgan Amalfitano to West Bromwich Albion.

Manchester United was expected to be busy in the transfer market, but the champions had made no significant signings in the summer window as the deadline loomed.

English Premier League Matchweek 3 Betting Odds and Predictions

Saturday, August 31, 2013 

Manchester City vs. Hull City (NBCSN, 7:55 a.m. ET/4:55 a.m. PT): We all know what happened last Sunday in Wales when mighty Manchester City was shocked by The Little Engine That Could, Cardiff City, 3-1 in the Bluebirds first game in England’s top flight of football in over 50 years. So no doubt the Sky Blues will be on their best behavior and in a very foul mood here heading into this mismatch at the Etihad. Surprisingly, the Tigers have as many wins and points as City but no doubt this is a sentence that will only have a shelf life of about six days my friend so best digest before the mold grows. Hull edged Norwich City, 1-0 at the KC Stadium in its home opener—despite being down a man—thanks to a Robbie Brady penalty kick in the first half but now reality returns with a date in Manchester with a mad team that looked extremely flat and unmotivated at Cardiff City. The moneyline odds here are way too steep (-600) for a straight bet so a small bet on City -2 goals (-110) is probably the way to go as the Sky Blues defense is usually pretty solid despite often suspect goalkeeper Joe Hart. Manager Manuel Pellegrini and his team won’t want to fall too far behind rivals Manchester United and Chelsea so overdue goals from Sergio Agüero and Edin Džeko and maybe one from one of the new summer signings should stem the tide of the home team’s paranoia for a least a week. 

BET: Manchester City -2 -110 

PREDICTION: Manchester City 3 Hull City 0

Cardiff City vs. Everton (NBC Sports Network Extra, 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT): So, so, so tempted to take a shot on the big home underdog Cardiff City on the three-way line (+240) or even the pick ‘em line (+140) in this one after seeing how much the raucous crowd helped their boys upset City on Sunday but will resist out of simple respect to Marouane Fellaini’s growing mane which has to be the place they hid Jimmy Hoffa’s body in. With Everton in town on Saturday, the Bluebirds have a chance to further impress the football world but no doubt the Toffees won’t underestimate the Welsh side here. But after a 0-0 draw against West Bromwich Albion and goalkeeper Ben Foster, hard to back Everton here knowing how much Cardiff City’s first win meant to them. Instead, prefer to recommend the under here as goals will probably be hard to come by with both sides doing everything possible to avoid a loss in this situation. Also, the draw (+240) may be worth a look for the more savvy gamblers, or punters if you’re feeling sexy Sammy. 

BET: Under -2½ -125 

PREDICTION: Cardiff City 1 Everton 1

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Liverpool vs. Manchester United (NBCSN, 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT): It’s September already Susie? Wow. It was just August a paragraph ago so better start your Christmas shopping soon as Santa Claus will be stuck in your chimney before you know it Bubba. But back to the business at hand: trying to win a dollar or two for swiss cheese, cat food and sensible shoes. If there is a must-watch game in the English Premier League this weekend, this showdown at Anfield would be the one. Liverpool is off to a nice start courtesy of two 1-0 wins via Daniel Sturridge goals and the Reds are just one of three teams—along with Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United—to have yet to allow a goal this season, thanks in great part to new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet who sounds like he would be better suited being a sous-chef. Liverpool may be the surprise team in the Premier League this season but wins over Stoke City and Aston Villa, although impressive, aren’t enough to get too cocky about just yet. Now a win against the defending champion Red Devils? That would certainly be worth chirping about in Merseyside. United comes in off an extremely boring 0-0 draw against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Monday and, at press time, still had Wayne Rooney wearing the shield. Despite both sides coming off clean sheets, lean toward the over here as seven of the last 10 in the series have gone over (31 total goals) and the Red Devils will be motivated after a very likely City win over Hull on Saturday and their tie with the Blues. David Moyes’ team is 6-1-3 in the last 10 against Liverpool and won 2-1 at Anfield in this fixture last season, a scoreline which has actually happened the last three league meetings, all Red Devils victories. Let’s not go out on a limb and say that happens a fourth straight time sister. 

BETS: Manchester United +185 (Three-way), Manchester United Pick, Even, Over -2½ -115 

PREDICTION: Manchester United 2 Liverpool 1

Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur (NBCSN 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT): The second-best game of the weekend follows with this North London derby from the Emirates—a rivalry which has existed since the Gunners 1913 move to the Highbury area according to the good folks over at Wikipedia. Good enough for me. But we have some not-so serious handicapping to do here Jimmy and despite Spurs not having allowed a goal as of yet, gonna go with the recent series trends and back the over which has gone over nine of the last 10 times and eight straight (45 total goals). And there have been 17 goals in the last three meetings so banking on a total of three here doesn’t seem too greedy. Despite Arsenal being much-maligned by almost everyone, everywhere all of the time, siding with the homeboys here despite Tottenham’s slight 4-3-3 edge over the last 10 showdowns. The beat-up Gunners looked decent in their UEFA Champions League qualifier at Fenerbahçe last Tuesday as well as in their 3-1 win at Fulham over the weekend. Arsenal hosted Fenerbahçe in the return CL leg mid-week, but despite the possible wear-and-tear and injuries, this gritty team seems to just win when it has to. The pick ’em line (-180) seems the route to go as André Villas-Boas and his boys will definitely put up a good fight and may even earn the draw but knowing that Arsenal has trounced Spurs, 5-2 in the last two meetings at the Emirates in league play, feel better about taking Arsene Wenger’s club here in the last game on the board this weekend. 

BETS: Arsenal Pick -180, Over -2½ -140 

PREDICTION: Arsenal 2 Tottenham 1

EPL Preview & Prediction: Manchester City v Hull City (31st August)

Manchester City v Hull City
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday 31st August - Kickoff 12:45pm

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Manchester City

Manchester City were brought down to earth last weekend as they were humbled 3-2 at newly promoted Cardiff. The defeat is a real kick in the teeth for Pellegrini given he spent close to £60m on transfers this summer.

Fortunately City return to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday where they dominate most sides. In their opening game here Pellegrini's side beat Newcastle 4-0 but the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the first half. Going back into last season Manchester City have won 11 of their last 13 league games but Norwich (2-3) shocked them at the end of the season so they can't take Hull lightly.

This side is a more attacking one than under Mancini and so far in 2 games they lead the possession stats averaging 67%. Another impressive statistic is that they are conceding just 8 shots a game against which is the second best in the league. They have suffered I think due to the loss of Kompany and at Cardiff they made a lot of mistakes defensively.

Hull City

Hull City must be congratulated for last week's win over Norwich, their first of the season and they were the first promoted side to win this season. On Saturday they make probably the hardest away trip of the season to the Etihad but with confidence high they have nothing to lose.

Bruce's side lost 2-0 at Chelsea on opening weekend but didn't disgrace themselves. It could be argued Chelsea sat back after a 2 goal lead but still they didn't collapse when others before them have. As mentioned above they then won against Norwich (1-0) despite getting a player sent off so there is a grit about this side.

Unfortunately the stats don't look great for Hull. The average of 7 shots per game is the league's worst whilst they give up 18 shots a game (3rd worst). We know City will have all the ball and I wonder if after 70 odd minutes of chasing whether this side will start to really fall away and concede some late goals.

Betting Verdict

Manchester City are in my opinion the best "home side" in the league, their record of 2 defeats in 38 league games is a frightening figure. This team is built to score goals with City netting 2 or more in 8 of their last 10 here.

Although we saw them defend poorly last week, at home City have kept clean sheets in 5 of their last 7 home league games. Kompany is still out but Nastasic should return to partner Lescott and as a result City should be much stronger at the back.

I'm going to back Manchester City to win this game to nil. It sounds a little risky given the way Zabaleta and Hart specifically played last week but if they keep the ball as they usually do at home Hull shouldn't get a sniff at their goal.

We know the home stats are extraordinary and whilst the -2AH line was tempting I can see a 2-0 or 3-0 result here. Of which when weighing up the 2 bets I will stick with the clean sheet win as Manchester City return to winning ways in comfortable fashion.

Good Luck

The Statistics :

The Pick :
Manchester City 3-0 Hull City

Champions League predictions: Arsenal v Fenerbahce 2nd leg match preview (August 27, 2013)

Arsenal are seeking to extend their participation in the group phase of the Champions League to 16 consecutive years against Fenerbahce on Tuesday. The Gunners beat 3:0 the Turkish side last week and are big favourites to go advance. Check out here our unmissable Arsenal v Fenerbahce 2nd leg match preview with the latest team news and probable line-ups.

ARSENAL v FENERBAHCE: MATCH PREVIEW

Arsene Wenger has come in for criticism this season after making just one summer signing so far and losing 3-1 to Aston Villa on the opening day. They have since followed up their easy win at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium with a 3-1 away victory over Fulham on Saturday

Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs, Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey and Nacho Monreal all travelled following injury scares but Wenger confirmed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would be out for at least six weeks with a strain to his posterior cruciate ligament. With Mikel Arteta out injured and no defensive midfielder signed, Wenger could again have to rely on the partnership of Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. Laurent Koscielny, who suffered a horrific cut in Turkey, trained fully while Wenger may choose to use rookie striker Yaya Sanogo.

Yet, even if Fenerbahce pull off a miraculous comeback to seal progression, their place in the Champions League would be by no means assured. They were banned for two years from European competition in June over match-fixing allegations but were reinstated while an appeal is heard, the result of which will be declared the day after the match.

On the pitch, too, the season has not started well. More than £25 million has been spent during the summer in strengthening the squad on the likes of Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emmenike, Portugal center-back Bruno Alves and Turkey midfielder Alper Potuk. But, after losing the Super Cup to bitter rivals Galatasaray, their league campaign got off to a woeful start as Ersun Yanal’s side surrendered a 2-0 lead to newly promoted Konyaspor and went down 3-2. Anyway, they side enjoyed a return to form in the Super Lig over the weekend, as they defeated Eskisehirspor 1-0 at home courtesy of a second-half Dirk Kuyt strike.

Raul Meireles and Mehmet Topal remain doubts for Wednesday while right-back Gokhan Gonul is still on the sidelines.

Fenerbahce have also won just 1 of their last 8 away games in the Champions League, although they only lost 1 of their 7 away games in the Europa League last season. The Turkish side won 4 of those 7 games, but to say they are behind the black ball in this one is a slight under-statement

ARSENAL v FENERBAHCE: PROBABLE LINEUPS 

Arsenal (4-3-3): Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky; Walcott, Giroud, Cazorla

Fenerbahce (4-3-3): Demirel – Topuz, Alves, Yobo, Kaldirim – Meireles, Topal, Emre – Kuyt, Emenike, Sow.

ARSENAL v FENERBAHCE: TEAM FORM

Arsenal 

24 Aug 2013 Fulham 1 - Arsenal FC 3 EPL

21 Aug 2013 Fenerbahçe 0 - Arsenal FC 3 UCL

17 Aug 2013 Arsenal FC 1 - Aston Villa 3 EPL

10 Aug 2013 Arsenal FC 3 - Manchester City 1 FRC

4 Aug 2013 Arsenal FC 1 - Galatasaray 2 FRC

Fenerbahçe

24 Aug 2013 Fenerbahçe 1 - Eskişehirspor 0 TUR1

21 Aug 2013 Fenerbahçe 0 - Arsenal FC 3 UCL

17 Aug 2013 Konyaspor 3 - Fenerbahçe 2 TUR1

11 Aug 2013 Galatasaray 1 - Fenerbahçe 0 TURS

6 Aug 2013 Fenerbahçe 3 - Salzburg 1 UCL

ARSENAL v FENERBAHCE: MATCH PREDICTIONS

Arsenal to win by one

Manchester United vs Chelsea Tips, Preview, & Prediction (26th August 2013)

Manchester United vs Chelsea
Football : English Premier League
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
26th August 2013 – Kickoff time 21:00

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Match Preview :

Monday Night Football comes from the Theatre of Dreams as Manchester United play host to Chelsea in what will be a clash of the "Premiership Contenders" match. This will be the match where the reigning Champions comes head to head against the side that is expected to win the Premiership this season!

Chelsea have been busy in the transfer market but United managed to go top of the Premiership for a while after beating Swansea 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium last weekend, Chelsea overcame Aston Villa 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in a midweek clash to go top of the table.

For the record, the last time these two sides faced each other in the Premiership, Chelsea came out victorious winning by 1-0.

But United managed to win at Stamford Bridge prior to that defeat. It must be remembered that United had a good home form last season, whereby they managed 16 wins from 19 home matches. Meanwhile, Chelsea had managed ten wins and five defeats on their travels last season. The previous five meetings between these two sides have seen both teams managed two wins each with one match drawn, making Monday’s game a very difficult one to predict how it will go.

Chelsea will have some very difficult matches to comes still with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City to come next. And despite all the talk about United failing to bring in players during the transfer window, it must still be remembered that the Red Devils still have the Premier League’s most lethal finisher as Van Persie’s brace against Swansea simply demonstrates that the striker has now replaced Rooney as the top striker at the club, even though it is Rooney who is dominating the newspaper headlines of late.

But Chelsea has been given a new lease of life with the return of "The Special One" to London and are now desperate to relive Jose Mourinho’s return by winning the Premiership. This Chelsea is different from the one of 2004-06, so combining the creative prowess of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar to a more attacking force is Mourinho's priority now. And having played Fernando Torres in his opening game, Demba Ba against Aston Villa and with Romelu Lukaku, back from his excellent loan spell at West Brom last season, Mounrinho will need to decide who will he field upfront in this match against Manchester United.

Then don't forget there is also the small talk about Wayne Rooney as Chelsea are still hoping to land him before the transfer market shuts. Mourinho has insisted he will wait until after Monday’s match before making a third bid for the England striker as United maintain that Rooney is not for sale. And the latest news that has emerged is that there could be a swap deal for Mata in place of Rooney also. And the very latest is the unconfirmed reports suggest Chelsea have all but completed a £32 million signing of Anzhi Makhachala star Willian from under Tottenham’s noses as well as Samuel Eto'o.

Team News :

Manchester United Team News :
Rooney could force his way back into the line-up tonight but the other option Moyes could consider is the combination of Welbeck and Van Persie upfront after they scored a brace apiece last weekend.
Ryan Giggs could, however, make way for Rooney in the wings. Ferdinand and Vidic are expected to be in the starting lineup, hile Phil Jones could be given a holding role to mark Mata out.

Chelsea Team News :
David Luiz is still a doubt with a hamstring problem, whereas up front, Mourinho has started with Fernando Torres and Demba Ba as the lone striker against Hull and Villa however, Romelu Lukaku is expected to lead the line at Old Trafford after coming on from the subs bench in each of the last two games.

De Bruyne played well against Hull City nd may be expected to start alongside Mata and Hazard. Mata, Hazard and De Bruyne are likely to play behind a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Possible lineups

Manchester United : De Gea; Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Carrick,Cleverley, Rooney; Welbeck; van Persie.

Chelsea : P. Cech;B. Ivanovic, G. Cahill, J. Terry, A. Cole; Ramires, F. Lampard; De Bruyne, J.Mata, E. Hazard; R. Lukaku

Prediction:

Go for Manchester United and give the 1/4 ball in this match. If it does end in a draw, be prepared to lose half the stakes.

The Pick :
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea