Manchester City walks alone, Liverpool hopes to join

The biggest story in the football world today is that Real Madrid is now enjoying a strong 6pts lead at the top of La Liga in Spain. This after defending champions and currently second place Barcelona lost in the late game last night at Getafe.  Today we see the noisy neighbors Manchester City hoping to better that statistic in the English Premier League (EPL).

The opponents come in the form of Liverpool FC and the lead they will enjoy if they were to win is 7pts over defending champions Man utd. Both United and Arsenal dropped points yesterday as Chelsea turned their fortunes around.  What will today bring for the noisy neighbors of Manchester?

Top Game, EPL (Week 13).

Day one of this weekend's fixtures see at least three (3) mouthwatering clashes with the most anticipated being the Sir. Alex Ferguson led, Manchester United versus their northern rivals, Newcastle United.  This Newcastle club has a rich history dating back to as far as 1881, although they officially joined the league in 1893 winning three league titles and an FA Cup by 1914.

Maybe the most significant dealing between the two clubs was the sale of Andy Cole to Manchester United for the then English record transfer fee of £7million in the 1994/95 season.  We know all too well how significant that sale was for Man Utd.
Newcastle was to lose FA Cup final 2-0 to Manchester United in 1998/99.  Newcastle has however seen a lot of prestigious coach and players in its time and with the like of Bobby Robson, Allan Shearer,  Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keagan, Andy Cole you have to say they were richly blessed.  This season though they are coming off a 12th place finish in the league and this was a year after returning to the top flight.

They have demonstrated a real classic display this season hovering at the top of the table with their only defeat coming to the leaders and undefeated Manchester City.  They should give the Red Devils a good fight at Old Trafford as they have shown an inclination to battle out matches.  We however tip Man Utd to win that fixture although a draw would not be surprising.

In the other games we predict a continuation of the Arsenal fire-power with Robin Van Persie at the trigger.  Chelsea should take care of business at home to wolves meanwhile Tottenham is tipped to get maximum points at West Brom.

Champions League Matchups (Week 5)

Roberto Mancini

   Despite the hint of winter, Europe is heating up today as the UEFA Champions league takes center stage.  In this the fifth week of the group stage, sixteen (16) teams in action.  The top matchup of the day will see Manchester City (EPL leaders) traveling to Naples known for their exuberant fans.  Roberto Mancini the Italian manager of Manchester City has reportedly advised the City fans to take extra caution when they travel to the Italian city.  The BBC has sited incidents of violence in recent months against Bayern Munich supporters.

Other matches to keep an eye on are Manchester United Vs Benfica at Old Trafford, where both teams could qualify for the knock out stage.  Real Madrid host Dynamo Zagreb while Inter travels to Turkey to face Trabzonspor and Villareal visits the German giants Bayern Munich.  The full schedule for today and tomorrow is shown below.  The most interesting game tomorrow will be AC Milan v Barcelona in Milan.  Meanwhile Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen v Chelsea should provide some interesting insight into the depth of the two English sides.  Have a great show folks and stay tuned for our recommended links to watch the Champions league knockout rounds

Week 5 Schedule (Source BBC) 

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

CSKA Moscow v Lille, GpB, 17:00

Bayern Munich v Villarreal, GpA, 19:45

Lyon v Ajax, GpD, 19:45

Man Utd v Benfica, GpC, 19:45

Napoli v Man City, GpA, 19:45

Otelul Galati v FC Basel, GpC, 19:45

Real Madrid v Dinamo Zagreb, GpD, 19:45

Trabzonspor v Inter Milan, GpB, 19:45

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Wednesday, 23 November 2011

Zenit St Petersburg v Apoel Nicosia, GpG, 17:00

BATE Borisov v Plzen, GpH, 18:00

AC Milan v Barcelona, GpH, 19:45

Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund, GpF, 19:45

Bayer Leverkusen v Chelsea, GpE, 19:45

Marseille v Olympiakos, GpF, 19:45

Shakhtar Donetsk v FC Porto, GpG, 19:45

Valencia v Genk, GpE, 19:45

 

Chelsea walks alone; Liverpool joins the chasing pack

What was built up as a showdown between Andy Carrol and Fernando Torres started off with neither of those men on the pitch.  It has to be said though that this match up is much bigger than those two players combined.  Not only because of the poor form Torres is in but the history of this match-up, and the quality of the other players on display.  We recall that Liverpool got the better of Chelsea in both meetings last year.

With Didier Drogba getting the start over Daniel Sturridge and Suarez up against the likes of John Terry what more could we ask for?  The Brazilians were well represented in the form of David Luis, Lucas, and Ramirez. Argentinian Maxi Rodriqez was also on show facing the English lads Terry, Lampard and Cole for Chelsea with Johnson, Hnderson and Downing for Liverpool. It promised to be a fluid affair and the supporters at Stamford bridge were upbeat.

The pace started off briskly and with Andy Carrol warming up after only half an hour speculations were abound. It was maxi who took the highlight of the half however striking in the 34th minute after a terrible mistake from John Obi Mickel.  Meanwhile David Luis shows how much of a "hot head" he is, having multiple encounters with the Liverpool players.  One wonders how effective he is in that position, and the wisdom behind his utilization at the back.  He loves to go forward and he has great attacking instincts but he is a little exposed at the back. The half eventually ended with Chelsea down by a goal with little to show, besides a close free kick from Drogba which went inches wide.  Andy Carrol failed to take the pitch and Torres remained unused

The second period started off much the better for Chelsea, inspired by the injection of Daniel Sturridge who replaced the culpable Mickel.  Meanwhile the anticipation was heightened as the crowd started to get a bit more involved in the game. The anticipation peaked when the attacking prowess of Sturridge paid off with a useful tuck in for a goal in the 55th minute.  It was the result of some nice build up play on the back of a few sustained attacks.  With an hour gone Torres was sighted on the touchline getting warmed up, while Jordan Henderson prepared himself for an appearance, replacing Bellamy in the 66th minute.


The game eventually went flat for a while splashed with the occasional spark - most notably an overhead attempt by Malouda in the box.  With 6 minutes remaining and the scores tied, Andre Villas Boas played his final cards.  Two former Liverpool players were brought on, Torres and Mereiles.  This was to have no effect however, because Glen Johnson had other ideas.  In the 87th minute he made a great run from the middle of the Chelsea half to beat his fellow English man Cole and slot it into the left corner for the lead.  The fat lady was already singing ("We never walk alone") when Andy Carrol made a staged appearance replacing the hard working Suarez.

The final score had Liverpool winning 2 - 1 moving up to 6th in the table, joining Chelsea and three other chasers on 22pts.  Chelsea remains 12pts off the pace with their 3rd loss in four games.  Not an exhilarating performance by the EPL standards but a great win for king Kenny as he is affectionately called in England.  Andre Villas Boas on the other hand will have to recede to some chicken soup for his troubles and hope for a turn in fortunes as they travel to Germany mid-week for UEFA Champions league fixture.

Our man of the match is Glen Johnson while the better strategist was Kenny Dalglish. See you next week when we cover the game of the week(13) Liverpool Vs Manchester City