Champions League preview 30th Sept.

Arsenal:

Arsene Wenger has made a vow to ring in the changes for the midweek clash after the Emirates horror show against Hull. He hinted that Johan Djourou may be drafted in to add some defensive height, while Samir Nasri is back in contention.

Alex Song, Abou, Diaby, Eduardo and Tomas Rosicky are all ruled out.

FC Porto:

Lucho Gonzalez, who sat out the league win on Friday, is part of the travelling panel meaning that Ferreira has a full squad from which to choose.


1/3 goals.

Aalborg BK

Lasse Nielsen could move in to the Aalborg defence to replace the suspended Michael Jakobsen for the visit of Manchester United. Australian centre-back Michael Beauchamp is available for selection after the red card he picked up against Celtic was correctly transferred to his team-mate. Danish international right-back Kasper Bøgelund (hamstring) is a serious doubt for this game after being forced to come off at half-time during AaB’s match at the weekend.

Manchester United

midfielder Owen Hargreaves (knee) as well as his England team-mate Michael Carrick (ankle) are ruled out. Edwin Van der Sar should be between the posts once again for the European champions after his successful recovery from the knee injury he picked up against Chelsea a week ago.


+1.5

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BPL results for 27th Sept.

MAN UNITED v BOLTON
2-0
Ronaldo converted wat was a hotly disputed penalty. well, im not surprise the Devils is lucky... after their opponents justify enough to hold e defending champions.

ARSENAL v HULL
1-2
shocker of the day!!! lolx...

EVERTON v LIVERPOOL
0-2
except for Cahill who nearly scored after 13 minutes. e rest is e REDS show as they comfortably win courtesy of Torres brace on 59th & 62nd mins. Cahill himself was sent off after referee Riley deemed his challenge on Alonso too rash. hahaa!!!... he deserve it!

STOKE v CHELSEA
0-2
the BLUES sitting comfortably on top, Lampard n Anelka provide e initiative.

ASTON VILLA v SUNDERLAND
2-1

FULHAM v WEST HAM
1-2

MIDDLESBROUGH v WEST BROM
0-1

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BPL BERN's prediction, 27th Sept.

attended New Paper ABU-NBU telecast of game between Chelsea n Man United on Sunday. i can say Chelsea at times is vunerable and fair to say... the game is pretty even.

for tonite games... Liverpool would least leave Goodison Park wif a point. as any passionate derby game. past games results will count for nothing. as the REDS prepare for their Champions League in midweek. a draw is more likely...

elsewhere, Man United, Chelsea n Arsenal have easier ties... breaking e 1/2 goal handicap posed no problem.


Man United 2
Bolton 0

Stoke 1
Chelsea 3

Arsenal 5
Hull 0

Everton 1
Liverpool 1

Fulham n Aston Villa would pick up points in their respective games as well.

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Chelsea vs Man United preview

results from last nite games;

SUNDERLAND v MIDDLESBROUGH
2-0

LIVERPOOL v STOKE
0-0

WEST HAM v NEWCASTLE
3-1

BLACKBURN v FULHAM
1-0

BOLTON v ARSENAL
1-3




BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW
Chelsea vs Manchester United

The Blues' CL side was unchanged from the team which had put Manchester City to the sword so potently. Scolari, therefore, will be loathe to tinker. Continuity is possible after John Terry's Eastlands red card being successfully overturned.

Anelka, having bagged two in a week, is expected to start despite Didier Drogba slowly snaking his way towards full fitness. Michael Ballack is also pushing for a place, but may be held back from the starting line-up for another week. Michael Essien is still out.

Dimitar Berbatov has recovered in time from his recent knee injury to make the squad, while Cristiano Ronaldo is eligible for selection. Key centre-back Nemanja Vidic is suspended so either Wes Brown or Johnny Evans is available to partner Rio Ferdinand.


TAK GIU BERN's predict:
It is difficult to envisage a Chelsea defeat on their own ground, but perhaps United will treat this as their wake-up call for the season and emerge with a point... perhaps.

Chelsea 1-0.

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TGIW

Barcelona 3 - 1 Sporting Lisbon (1 - 0) *1.22 + 1.87
Basel 1 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk (0 - 2) *2.70 + 1.14 + 4.00 + 5.00 + 9.50
Marseille 1 - 2 Liverpool (1 - 2) *1.88 + 1.22 + 3.40 + 7.00
Panathinaikos 0 - 2 Inter Milan (0 - 1)
Roma 1 - 2 CFR Cluj (1 - 1)
Chelsea FC 4 - 0 Bordeaux (2 - 0) *1.15 + 1.70 + 5.20 + 1.62 + 12.00
PSV Eindhoven 0 - 3 Atletico de Madrid (0 - 2)
Werder Bremen 0 - 0 Anorthosis F. (0 - 0)


JP quite a number of predictions, shall carry on tonight's games.

Defending Champion, Manchester Utd will start their season at home hosting Villarreal. Midfielder Michael Carrick has been ruled out for four to six weeks after breaking a bone in his foot. Paul Scholes is suspended.

MANCHESTER UTD vs VILLARREAL
Match No. 0509
Home 1.45
MANCHESTER UTD (-1.5) 2.35
TG 3 3.60
H-H 2.20
3-0 11.00
LS: 4-1 27.00

Juventus back in CL after missing out for the past 2 season for match-fixing.

JTUS vs ST PETERSBURG
Match No. 0510
Draw 3.35
ST PETERSBURG (1.5) 1.35
TG 2 3.30
D-D 5.20
1-1 6.50
LS: D-A 10.00

STEAUA vs MUNICH
Match No. 0511
Home 4.30
STEAUA (1.5) 1.30
TG 3 3.70
D-H 9.00
2-1 18.00
LS: 2-2 13.00

LYON vs FIORENTINA
Match No. 0512
Home 1.73
LYON (-1.5) 3.05
TG 4 5.80
H-H 2.80
3-1 10.00
LS: TG 5 8.90

PORTO vs FENERBAHCE
Match No. 0513
Home 1.62
FENERBAHCE (1.5) 1.37
TG 3 3.90
D-H 4.30
2-1 7.50
LS: 3-0 12.00

REAL MADRID vs BATE BORISOV
Match No. 0514
Home 1.07
REAL MADRID (-2.5) 1.70
TG 3 3.60
H-H 1.32
3-0 6.80
LS: 5-0 12.00

DYNAMO KIEV vs ARSENAL
Match No. 0515
Away 1.65
DYNAMO KIEV (1.5) 1.33
TG 1 4.50
D-A 4.40
0-1 6.50
LS: 1-2 7.50

GLASGOW CELT vs AALBORG
Match No. 0516
Home 1.43
AALBORG (1.5) 1.55
TG 5 8.70
A-H 22.00
3-2 22.00
LS: 2-2 17.00

UEFA Champions League 08/09

The new season of Champions League kickoff tonight and we have 8 ties for 2 nights respectively. Spanish giant Barcelona will entertain Sporting Lisbon. 5 time champion Liverpool will travel to Marseille and Chelsea plays Bordeaux at home.

BARCELONA vs SPORTING
Match No. 0501
Home 1.22
BARCELONA (-1.5) 1.87
TG 2 3.60
D-H 18.00
2-0 5.80
LS: 3-0 7.50

BASEL vs SHAKHTAR
Match No. 0502
Away 2.70
SHAKHTAR (1.5) 1.14
TG 3 4.00
A-A 5.00
1-2 9.50
LS: 0-1 7.00

MARSEILLE vs LIVERPOOL
Match No. 0503
Away 1.88
MARSEILLE (1.5) 1.22
TG 1 3.60
A-A 3.40
0-1 5.80
LS: 1-2 7.00

PANATHINAIKOS vs INTER
Match No. 0504
Home 4.25
PANATHINAIKOS (1.5) 1.25
TG 1 3.50
D-H 8.00
1-0 8.80
LS: H-H 6.60

ROMA vs CFR CLUJ
Match No. 0505
Home 1.22
ROMA (-1.5) 1.67
TG 4 4.80
H-H 1.60
3-1 9.00
LS: A-H 21.00

CHELSEA vs BORDEAUX
Match No. 0506
Home 1.15
CHELSEA (-1.5) 1.70
TG 4 5.20
H-H 1.62
4-0 12.00
LS: 2-2 34.00

PSV vs ATLETICO MADRID
Match No. 0507
Home 2.30
PSV (-1.5) 4.55
TG 4 5.80
H-H 4.20
3-1 18.00
LS: 4-2 55.00

W BREMEN vs ANORTHOSIS
Match No. 0508
Home 1.19
W BREMEN (-1.5) 1.50
TG 3 3.70
H-H 1.50
3-0 7.00
LS: AOS 10.00

Surep saturday

Rafael Benitez has finally break the duck by recording his first and only win after his team beat Manchester United 2-1. Carlos Tevez put United ahead after Berbatov crossed the ball from the bye line in the 3rd min.

The lead was back to square one when Van der Sar palmed a harmless crossed onto Wes Brown and the ball was back in the net. Another communication error, when will they learn??? So Liverpool's players didnt score and its another OWN goal after John 0'Shea "scored" for them few season back!!

United took their foot of the pedal in the 2nd half. No decent atack and passing, play worst then school boys. Liverpool's confident grew, Mascherano battled his way down the right and to the line, beat Ryan Giggs and crossed for the unmarked Babel to slam home.

A confident win for the Merseyside.

Liverpool 2 - 1 Manchester United (1 - 1) *3.80
Blackburn Rovers 0 - 4 Arsenal (0 - 2) *1.65 + 2.90 + 5.20 + 2.65
West Brom 3 - 2 West Ham (2 - 2) *1.14
Wigan 1 - 1 Sunderland (0 - 1)
Fulham 2 - 1 Bolton Wanderers (2 - 0) *2.10 $4.00
Newcastle United 1 - 2 Hull City (0 - 1)
Portsmouth 2 - 1 Middlesbrough (0 - 1) *1.90 + 1.23
*Manchester City 1 - 1 Chelsea FC (1 - 1)

Game underway..
New Manchester City boy, Robinho open his account against Chelsea in the 12th min thru a freekick. Ricardo Carvalho equalised for Chelsea 3 mins later.

BPL BERN's selected picks for 13th Sept

WEST BROM vs WEST HAM
1-1 (6.50)
LS: home win (2.40)

WIGAN vs SUNDERLAND
D-D (5.00)

NEWCASTLE vs HULL
D-H (4.70)

BLACKBURN vs ARSENAL
0-1 (6.50)

MAN CITY vs CHELSEA
1 or 2 goals (4.20/3.30)

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Latest news

LIVERPOOL stars Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have been given the green light to take on arch rivals Manchester United. Both missed their respective country World Cup qualifiers games earlier this week and are named in the Liverpool squad.

Cristiano Ronaldo is back and likely to be on the bench.

But how really fit are they? Can ex Spurs strikers Robbie Keane and Berbatov score?

Yawn....

BPL news, 12th Sept

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola insisted his lack of managerial experience would not hamper him in his new job when he was unveiled at Upton Park on Thursday.

The 42-year-old Italian has not managed a club side before and has still to obtain the Uefa Pro Licence.

West Ham have agreed with the Premier League that Zola, who already has Uefa's B licence, can work as a manager as long as he gains the Uefa Pro Licence by 2010.

There have been reports that Zola wants Chelsea assistant Steve Clarke, who coached him at Stamford Bridge, to be his number two at Upton Park.

Zola, who is West Ham's fifth manager in seven years and their first foreign boss, was an instinctive and lavishly gifted forward.

He promised to also have an attacking philosophy now he is a manager.

"My philosophy is to play offensive football if I can," he said. "I have always done that, because I trust it.

The Italian paid tribute to his predecessor. "I believe Curbishley has done a great job here and I respect him very much," he said.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes football is in danger of becoming destabilised by the amount of outside investment coming into the game.

Wenger said: "What is worrying for me is that a player signs somewhere and then the next day he does not even know where he has signed. You cannot say that is a good trend.

"Football is not a supermarket, we have to all understand that."


Blackburn have agreed to sign Robbie Fowler on a three-month pay-as-you-play deal, with the striker in line to face Arsenal at Ewood Park this weekend.

The former Liverpool frontman, 33, has been training with Rovers since Paul Ince took over as manager in June.

Manager Paul Ince said last month that he hoped a deal could be done with the former England international.

"I've always said he needs to get his fitness and sharpness and now we are seeing signs of that," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"He's a world-class striker. If he can get himself fit he'll always score goals at any level."

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher admits Manchester United have been better than the Reds in recent derbies ahead of their home clash on Saturday.

The Reds have not beaten United in the Premier League since 2004.

Carragher, 30, told BBC Radio Merseyside: "I'm not a great believer in being lucky or unlucky. I'm a big believer in 'you get what you deserve'.

"United over the last few years have probably edged it with us and small details in football make a difference."

TAK GIU BERN's thought:
Hopefully they can get the three points and that will give them a bit of confidence for the season ahead.

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Super SATURDAY

Didnt follow TNP's pick, so its back to own's prediction.

Its only 3 games old (2 for MU) and we have the clashes of old rivals between Liverpool and Manchester United. Its a game come too early, but who cares? Its the advantage that counts. Manchester United will have tough away league games, visiting Liverpool and Chelsea with a Champions league tie with Villarreal in between.

The Red Devils had done the double by beating Liverpool home and away for the past 2 season and Anfield had been a favourite hunting ground.

Dimitar Berbatov will make his debut and will don the no. 9 jersey. Spainish striker, Fernando Torres has made good progress from a hamstring tear sustained against Aston Villa on August 31 and is more likely to feature than Steven Gerrard, who will likely to feature against Marseille.

Pete's pick

LIVERPOOL vs MANCHESTER UTD
Match No. 0301
Away 2.35
MANCHESTER UTD (-1.5) 5.00
TG 3 3.80
A-A 4.60
1-2 7.50
Longshot: 1-3 17.00

WEST BROMWICH vs WEST HAM
Match No. 0302
Draw 3.15
WEST HAM (1.5) 1.14
TG 2 3.50
H-D 13.00
1-1 6.50
LS: H-A 25.00

Ex Chelsea star, Gianfranco Zola first taste of EPL as a manager for the hammers.

WIGAN vs SUNDERLAND
Match No. 0303
Home 1.95
WIGAN (-1.5) 3.75
TG 4 5.50
H-H 3.30
3-1 12.00
LS: 4-2 45.00

PORTSMOUTH vs MIDDLESBROUGH
Match No. 0304
Home 1.90
MIDDLESBROUGH (1.5) 1.23
TG 1 4.50
D-H 4.40
1-0 6.50
LS: 0-0 8.50

NEWCASTLE vs HULL CITY
Match No. 0305
Draw 3.40
HULL CITY (1.5) 1.37
TG 2 3.50
D-D 5.00
1-1 6.50
LS: A-D 16.00

FULHAM vs BOLTON
Match No. 0306
Home 2.10
FULHAM (-1.5) 4.00
TG 2 3.50
H-H 3.30
2-0 7.80
LS: 2-2 13.00

BLACKBURN vs ARSENAL
Match No. 0307
Away 1.65
ARSENAL (-1.5) 2.90
TG 4 5.20
A-A 2.65
1-3 10.00
LS: 2-3 22.00

Clash of the CA$$$H

Robinho wearing blue jersey for Manchester City instead of Chelsea.

MANCHESTER CITY vs CHELSEA
Match No. 0308
Draw 3.25
MANCHESTER CITY (1.5) 1.30
TG 2 3.30
H-D 14.00
1-1 6.50
LS: 2-2 14.00

STOKE CITY vs EVERTON
Match No. 0309
Home 3.10
STOKE CITY (1.5) 1.20
TG 4 5.40
H-H 6.00
3-1 38.00
LS: TG 5 8.70

TOTTENHAM vs ASTON VILLA
Match No. 0310
Draw 3.15
ASTON VILLA (1.5) 1.20
TG 4 5.50
A-D 14.00
2-2 13.00
LS: D-D 4.80

Walcott stunner slienced Zagreb

Croatia needs only four minutes to test David James in the England goal. After a decent spell of possession, Pranjic tried his luck from range but the Portsmouth goalkeeper saved comfortably after a slight fumble.

However, Croatia grew into the game quickly and caused England early problems. Luka Modric was being given far too much space in midfield and the visitors looked vulnerable whenever anyone ran directly at the defence.

Yet despite the home side’s brighter start, it was the visitors who took the lead. Rio Ferdinand brought the ball out of defence and found Rooney who attempted to play in Joe Cole.

Rooney’s attempted through ball instead fell to Pranjic, whose rushed clearance hit Kovac and the ball rebounded to Walcott in the area. The Arsenal teenager, full of composure, struck a fine finish, slipping the ball past the goalkeeper and into the bottom left hand corner to hand Capello’s side the lead.

Within minutes of the second-half matters got even worse for the home side. An aerial challenge between Joe Cole and Robert Kovac left the Chelsea midfielder with a bloodied head and the Croatian with a red card, the referee adjudging Kovac to have led with his elbow.

Less than ten minutes later and the visitors inflicted even more damage on the home side. Heskey laid the ball off to Rooney on the edge of the area and the Manchester United man slipped a cute ball through to Walcott inside the area.

The Arsenal youngster, in an identical position to his first goal, found another superb finish, firing the ball across the goalkeeper and low into the bottom corner to double England’s lead.

Minutes later and England’s joy was unconfined. Ashley Cole and Jermaine Jenas combined well on the left and the Tottenham midfielder’s cross found Rooney in the centre of the area, who finished confidently to give the visitors a three goal cushion and finish the match as a contest.

Yet Croatia did manage to pull one goal back. A high challenge on Terry on the half way line was waved away by the referee allowing Srna to run free and cross the ball to Mandzukic who eased the ball past James to grab a consolation for the home side.

It was to prove a mere consolation though and almost immediately afterwards Walcott had his hat trick. A superb through ball from Rooney again found Walcott running through on the flank and an exquisite finish gave the Arsenal man his third goal and the perfect way to top off an excellent evening for Capello’s men.

simply stunning!!!

Croatia 1
England 4
(0-1)

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FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFIER: CROATIA vs ENGLAND

TEAM NEWS

Croatia

Portsmouth winger Niko Kranjcar has undergone surgery following the rupturing of his ankle ligaments while on international duty against Slovenia.

Eduardo Da Silva is still recovering from his horrific leg-break.

Mladen Petric, recently signed by Hamburg, managed a goal coming off the bench against Kazakhstan, and could be set to start.

Two names who wont be though are Igor Budan and Mario Galinovic.

England

Steven Gerrard has ruled out of both international games: Andorra and Croatia, after undergoing a double groin operation.

Rio Ferdinand is back to full fitness following a problematic back complaint.

Joe Cole, fresh from his bench role on Saturday and scorer of both England goals will displace Stewart Downing.

Theo Walcott likely be used as a super-substitute while David Beckham's experience will be seen as pivotal in the opening stages of the game.


TAK GIU BERN's predict: 0-0 (HT)

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Joe Cole double wins for Three Lions

Manager Fabio Capello surprised many people with his starting lineup before the game. Out went David Beckham, Wes Brown and Joe Cole and in came Glen Johnson, Theo Walcott and Stewart Downing with Joleon Lescott taking the injured Rio Ferdinand’s place at the back.

England certainly started brightly and in particular Theo Walcott in his first start for the senior side. Within two minutes he had already carved out a couple of opportunities, his pace and trickery causing the home side all sorts of problems.

Capello replaced Downing and Defoe with Joe Cole and Emile Heskey and within three minutes Cole had volleyed England ahead. A Lampard free kick was touched on by Lescott and Cole finished sweetly to finally give the visitors the lead.

Ten minutes later and Cole had his, and England’s second of the match. A slide rule pass from Rooney on the edge of the box sent the Chelsea man through and he comfortably slotted the ball underneath the advancing Koldo.

While Capello will point to a victory and three points comfortably gained, the trip to Zagreb on Wednesday will provide a far sterner challenge and England will need to improve considerably if they are to return home with any kind of result.

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FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFIER: ANDORRA vs ENGLAND

TEAM NEWS

Andorra

Andorra lost their opening World Cup qualifying game against Kazakhstan three-nil. The eleven that started that game left the pitch unscathed, and manager David Rodrigo will likely field the same line-up.

England

Michael Owen has been omitted from Fabio Capello's first competitive squad. The man who may capitalise on Owen's absence is Jermain Defoe who will be given the responsiblity/burden of heading England's forward line. Steven Gerrard has been ruled due to Liverpool deeming the international break as the perfect chance to operate on their captain's troublesome groin. In a surprising move Jimmy Bullard, 29, has been called up to the international fold for the first time in his career. Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out due to injury.


TAK GIU BERN's predict: 0-2

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Surprise Suprise

Manchester City

Final day of the transfer market, big names in, others out. The biggest shocker came from Manchester, not the red side but the blue one. Troubled owner Thaksin Shinawatra sold the club to Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment for £200m. Next they they tried to hijack Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov from rival Manchester United with a £30million British record. They also attempted to get Valencia’s David Villa and Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez.

Knowing that none of the 3 targets were heading to the Eastlands, they contacted Real Madrid and put forward a British record £32.5m bid for Robinho, a longtime target for Chelsea. Now the same Robinho who will now be pulling on the famous sky blue shirt with Manchester City and not Chelsea..

Best of all, Manchester City vs Chelsea on 13 September!!

Manchester United

Manchester United had finally captured Dimitar Berbatov for £30.75 million, with Fraizer Campbell going to Spurs for a season loan. As part of the settlement the Club has agreed not to pursue its official complaint to the Premier League.


Its comfirmed, star striker Fernando Torres WILL NOT be available when Manchester United visit Anfield. Steven Gerrard is also doubtful.

Louis Saha has finally left Manchester United for Everton for a 2 year contract.

Tottenham Hotspur

Big spender Tottenham Hotspur had also signed Roman Pavlyuchenko from Spartak Moscow and Vedran Corluka Manchester City.

Liverpool

Liverpool had signed another Spanish player, Albert Riera from Espanyol and Steve Finnan moving the other way. Striker Voronin has joined German side Hertha Berlin on a one-year loan.

All latest news here at soccersiao888 even before u get to read it on TNP, which will carry the reports on tomorrow's edition.