Europa League: Swansea face St Gallen in first Group A home fixture

Swansea City will take in their first Europa League fixture at the Liberty Stadium on Thursday when they entertain St Gallen.

The Swans are embarking on their first continental quest since 1991/92 - when they crashed out of the Cup Winners' Cup at the first round stage.

Ambition and expectation has risen considerably since then, and Michael Laudrup will be looking to make significant inroads in this season's competition.

Swansea made the best possible start to their Group A campaign on Matchday One, as they stunned La Liga giants Valencia at the Mestalla.

A 3-0 win on Spanish soil proves that Laudrup's men can hold their own against the best in the business, and they will be looking more of the same against Swiss opposition in midweek.

St Gallen have overcome British opponents once before, with a 2-1 aggregate success secured against Chelsea in the UEFA Cup some 12 years ago.

They will be hoping to replicate that success in South Wales, and should be in buoyant mood heading into the tie.

They are currently on a 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions and opened their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Kuban Krasnodar.

Team news

Swansea will be without captain Ashley Williams, Pablo Hernandez and Garry Monk as they look to take another positive step towards the knockout stage.

Williams is still struggling with an ankle ligament injury, while hamstring and knee complaints will sideline winger Hernandez and centre-half Monk respectively.

Angel Rangel is a doubt with an ankle knock, while Roland Lamah has a toe problem.

St Gallen have no fresh injury concerns to contend with, but may look to freshen up their starting XI.

Alhassae Keita is expected to be drafted into the side by coach Jeff Saibene at the expense of Ermir Lenjani.

Keita is a player who will be well known to Laudrup, as he worked with the Guinean striker during his time in charge of Mallorca.

Click to enlarge

Shakhtar v Manchester UTD: (October 2, 2013) : MATCH PREVIEW, PROBABLE LINEUPS ,TEAM FORM

Manchester UTD travel to Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk desperate to address their horrible form. This article contains a complete Shakhtar v Man UTD betting preview with the latest team news, probable lineups, and team form.

SHAKHTAR DONETSK v MANCHESTER UNITED: MATCH PREVIEW 

 

Shakhtar Donetsk head into this game on wednesday night having secured 3pts from their opening game from the group when beating Real Sociedad 2-0 away from home. Anyway, after winning their domestic title by 13 points last season, they currently lie third in the Ukrainian league -  - a division they have won for the last four consecutive seasons - six points off the pace being set by Metalist and three behind Dnipro.

Summer signing Wellington Nem has had surgery on a knee injury and been left out of Shaktar's Champions League squad. No other reported injuries or suspensions for the hosts, so expect Mircea Lucescu’s side to lineup in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Facundo Ferreyra, Luiz Adriano and Eduardo Da Silva all looking to be involved in the attack up front.

Winner Sports free bet Man Utd have taken just seven points from their first six Premier League games - their worst start to a season since the 1989-90 campaign. Specifically, they have recorded three defeats so far, and certainly the most painful was the one at Old Trafford last weekend, where they lost with 2-1 from West Brom.

Robin van Persie could start for the Reds after the Dutchman returned from injury as a substitute at the weekend. Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra may also feature, having been rested completely against the Baggies. Moyes will have Nani available for the trip to Donetsk after the Portuguese winger missed the opening game through suspension. Tom Cleverley could also return from a knee problem.

Shakhtar have a 100% record at home to English opposition in the Champions League. They beat Chelsea last season as they crashed out in the group stages, and United, playing the way they have been recently, will need to improve if they are to avoid a similar fate

SHAKHTAR DONETSK v MANCHESTER UNITED: PROBABLE LINEUPS

 

Shakhtar Donetsk (4-2-3-1): Pyatov – Srna, Kucher, Rakitskiy, Shevchuk – Hubschman, Fernando – Douglas Costa, Alex Teixeira, Taison – Luiz Adriano
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): de Gea – Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra – Carrick, Fellaini – Valencia, Rooney, Welbeck – van Persie


SHAKHTAR DONETSK v MANCHESTER UNITED: TEAM FORM

 

Shakhtar Donetsk
17 Sep 2013    Real Sociedad 0 - Shakhtar Donetsk 2    UCL
5 Mar 2013    Borussia Dortmund 3 - Shakhtar Donetsk 0    UCL
13 Feb 2013    Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - Borussia Dortmund 2    UCL
5 Dec 2012    Shakhtar Donetsk 0 - Juventus 1    UCL
20 Nov 2012    FC Nordsjælland 2 - Shakhtar Donetsk 5    UCL

Manchester United
28 Sep 2013    Manchester United 1 - West Bromwich Albion 2    EPL
25 Sep 2013    Manchester United 1 - Liverpool 0    CCUP
22 Sep 2013    Manchester City 4 - Manchester United 1    EPL
17 Sep 2013    Manchester United 4 - Bayer Leverkusen 2    UCL
14 Sep 2013    Manchester United 2 - Crystal Palace 0    EPL

Everton v Newcastle: Predicted line-ups

Everton welcome Newcastle to Goodison Park with the upper hand, well statistically that is. The Toffees are yet to concede a goal on home turf, subsequently they are yet to lose a game.

Ironically it is only Wigan, under current Everton boss Roberto Martinez, to win at Goodison Park this calendar year. That was in the FA Cup, in the league they remain undefeated.

So it doesn't take a genius to realise it is going to take a lot to beat Everton, and after the Magpies embarrassing loss to Hull last week, a win is needed. It could be a close game.

Newcastle will hope that striker Loic Remy can be on top form once again, with the French maestro scoring two goals last week, although they went on to lose 3-2.

As for Everton, they have their secret weapon Leighton Baines, who like Remy, managed two goals as the Toffees won 3-2 against a resilient West Ham. Both of Baines' goals came from free-kicks. New signing Romelu Lukaku also marked his first start with a goal.

In Newcastle's last 10 trips to Goodison Park, they have managed just one win, yet last season managed an enthralling 2-2 draw.

Pardew conceded in "we can't defend like we did against Hull or we'll lose", although said that his side will travel in "good shape".

The statistics go against Newcastle, although in football anything is possible. Both clubs have something to prove in the game and the result will mainly come to whoever fights for it the most.

Check out the predicted line-ups for Everton's vital clash against Newcastle at Goodison Park.

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

Newcastle: Krul, Debuchy, Taylor, Coloccini, Santon, Sissoko, Cabaye, Tiote, Rémy, Ben Arfa, Cisse

EPL Preview: Tottenham Hotspur v. Chelsea

Andre Villas-Boas and Jose Mourinho will face each other for the first time in the English Premier League this weekend, with Tottenham Hotspur scheduled to host Chelsea at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

Villas-Boas, who served under Mourinho at Porto, Chelsea and Internazionale, has led Spurs to eight wins in nine matches in all competitions this season.

Spurs have kept a clean sheet in each of their eight wins, with their only defeat of the current campaign coming in the North London derby against Arsenal at the Emirates.

On the other side of the touchline, Mourinho has started his second-stint at Chelsea with a disappointing 4-2-2 record, but back-to-back 2-0 wins over Fulham and Swindon Town have boosted the Blues’ confidence ahead of Saturday’s crucial clash

Team News

Holland international midfielder Marco van Ginkel, 20, tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Swindon Town, and has subsequently been ruled out for at least six months.

With the 20-year-old sidelined for the long term, new signing Willian — a summer transfer target of Tottenham — will surely get more opportunities to impress the coaching staff.

Willian, who joined Chelsea from Russian Premier League side FC Anzhi Makhachkala for a reported fee of £32 million this summer, made his club debut in the Blues’ 2-0 win over Swindon in Round 3 of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.

However, the highly-rated Brazilian was virtually non-existent for 90 minutes against the Robins, and thus will probably not feature against Spurs at the weekend.

As for Tottenham, expect AVB to select a ‘hard-to-beat’ side, including the in-form back four of Kyle Walker, Michael Dawson, Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Naughton.

Manager Quotes

“I think the team is playing very well, we have great strength in the squad, but I think, above all, great team spirit and ambition to do well,” said Villas-Boas following Spurs’ comprehensive 4-0 win over Aston Villa in midweek.

Chelsea assistant coach Steve Holland on Juan Mata’s performance against Swindon: “If you look at his performance tonight, he made Fernando’s [Torres] chance early in the game, he was involved in the goal…then in injury time he conceded the final corner of the game supporting Ryan Bertrand in the left-back spot.

“We were pleased with Juan`s contribution, with and without the ball.”

Match Prediction

A draw seems more than plausible, with not much separating the two sides thus far this term.

Tottenham 1 – Chelsea 1

Aston Villa vs Tottenham Preview: Live Streaming Information of Capital One Cup Third Round Game

Fatigue will be the main factor that both sides - Aston Villa and Tottenham - will look to overcome when the two sides meet in the third round of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.

Villa have faced a gruelling start to the season and with the relatively small squad at Paul Lambert's disposal, it is starting to take its toll.

Tottenham, on the other hand, will be playing their third match in six days and Andre Villas-Boas is clearly not happy with the scheduling with the North London side only given a day's rest after their English Premier League match on Sunday.

"This is an impossible game for us to play, but hopefully our team spirit and motivation can get us through," he said.

"It could be possible for the players who played against Cardiff to play this game, but I am not sure I want to risk the players who played getting a hamstring injury which could take them six weeks to recover from when the Premier League is more important.

"This team has not experienced having to play again after just two days and we have not been given the same chance as the other teams. So we will have to rotate our squad as the players who played in Cardiff will not be involved.

"We are struggling a little bit with injuries but we have great strength in depth, although it is not going to be easy."

Lambert also has plenty of worries and is expected to make a few changes to the side that beat Norwich City 1-0 on Saturday, with the manager more concerned about the Premier League game next Saturday against Manchester City rather than this third round tie.

"We've played really hard teams in this opening spell -- three teams you think will be round about there in Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, and now we've got two more tough ones," the Scot told the club's official website.

"The main one is Saturday but we'll do our best to get through the Tottenham tie."

Team News: Villa are not likely to risk their star man Christian Benteke, after the striker had to be taken off against Norwich with a shoulder problem. That means Libor Kozak is expected to start in place of the Belgium international. Lambert is also expected to rest Gabriel Agbonlahor and Antonio Luna, both of whom made comebacks from injury against Norwich.

"Gabby only trained for the latter part of (last) week, as did Antonio Luna," Lambert said. "These are two big players for us, and they wanted to give it a go (against Norwich)."

Villas-Boas is also likely to make a few changes, with the likes of Roberto Soldado and Paulinho expected to be rested.

Expected lineups: Aston Villa: Steer; Lowton, Baker, Clark, Bennett; El Ahmady, Sylla, Delph; Albrighton, Kozak, Helenius.

Tottenham: Friedel; Naughton, Dawson, Chiriches, Sandro, Holtby; Townsend, Lamela, Sigurdsson; Defoe.

Prediction: 2-1 to Tottenham

Liverpool Vs Southampton Match Preview | Stats & Team News

Top of the table Liverpool welcome Southampton to Anfield this Saturday in a game that is sure to be a highly competitive encounter. Both teams head into the game by drawing their last match, with Liverpool drawing against Swansea and Southampton drawing with West Ham. Liverpool’s best start to a Premier League season sees them in top spot, one point clear of Arsenal and Tottenham. A win for the Reds will guarantee that they remain at the top of the league, and with the confidence that Brendan Rodgers’ team is showing, they will expect to get a favourable result. Southampton have had a decent start to the season and currently lie in 11th position. Pochettino’s men will hope they can cause an upset at Anfield and come away with a point or better.

Team News

Liverpool have had a few injuries this season, and the latest is Phillipe Coutinho, who is out with a shoulder injury until the end of October. He joins Glen Johnson, Aly Sissoko and Sebastian Coates, who are all out for the Reds. Daniel Agger faces a late fitness test to challenge Martin Skrtel, Kolo Toure and new signing Mamadou Sakho for a center-back spot. The match is the final game of Luis Suarez’s suspension. Southampton have two injury concerns, as left backs Luke Shaw and Danny Fox both face late fitness tests. Both players are out with foot injuries and Pochettino will hope that Shaw, in particular, will be fit to continue the good form he has shown this season.

Interestingly, Southampton have won four of their last six against Liverpool in the Premier League. At the same time, however, they’ve only won one in their last eight at Anfield. Liverpool are unbeaten in their last nine at Anfield, which makes Southampton’s task even more difficult. Both teams have only had two goal scorers this season: Daniel Sturridge and Victor Moses for Liverpool and Rickie Lambert and Jose Fonté for Southampton. Until Monday night’s game against Swansea, Liverpool had won all their games by a solitary goal from Daniel Sturridge. Southampton have only managed two goals in their four games, but one goal could be enough to get a result.

Reliance on Sturridge?

Liverpool have been reliant on Daniel Sturridge to score goals in the absence of Luis Suarez, and the England international has fulfilled the task excellently. The striker has scored in each of Liverpool’s league games this season, which is a club record. Sturridge has been in outstanding form since he arrived in January, scoring fourteen goals in eighteen league games for Liverpool. The striker’s clear cut chance conversion rate of 50% shows how deadly he has been in front of goal this season. In two games, he has had a shot accuracy of 100%, showing the quality that Sturridge has added to his game.

In order to keep Sturridge quiet, Southampton’s new signing Dejan Lovren will have to have a good game. The Croatian joined from Lyon in the summer, and has settled well into the heart of the Saint’s defence. He has had a busy start to his Southampton career, making thirty-four clearances in his first four games. Despite this, all of these clearances have been successful, showing how dependable he has been so far. He has also won 100% of his tackles in three of Southampton’s four games this season. He will have to be at his very best to prevent Sturridge and co. from continuing the start Liverpool have had to the season.

Prediction

With Southampton struggling for goals and Liverpool in a confident mood, a Liverpool win seems the most likely result in this game. However, Pochettino’s men have set up well against the bigger teams in the league, and if they are able to get it right this weekend they could come away with a result. Liverpool had some trouble in their home fixtures last season, but, their two home wins this season have shown that they are looking for that to change. Based on the two teams’ form, I’m going for a 1-0 win to Liverpool.

Sunderland Vs Arsenal Match Preview | Key Men, Stats & Odds

This weekend will see struggling Sunderland face Arsenal at the Stadium Of Light in a match where the focus will be more on one player than the other 21 on the pitch, and perhaps more than either of the clubs as a whole.

Mesut Ozil is the name on every Gooners lips, as well as every other fan around the country. The German’s playmaking services were acquired in an uncharacteristic swoop by Arsene Wenger, to make him the club’s outstanding record signing at £42.5 million. The move has eclipsed most other recent news in the Premier League and you can be sure that TV cameras will be pointing at him on Saturday.

Sunderland come into this game with one point from three games, and sit one spot from the bottom of the league as a result, ahead of West Brom, only alphabetically. Their results have included a home loss to Fulham, an away draw to Southampton and an away loss to Crystal Palace. Indeed, Sunderland have not looked convincing at all so far and Paolo Di Canio has been publicly vocal in his criticism of the team.

After losing to Crystal Palace, Di Canio lamented the “poor and pathetic” goals that were conceded by the team early on and towards the end. He accused the team of playing without fire and without desire, through long periods of the game, and criticised them for not taking advantage of the momentum that they had gained by equalising from 1-0 down. There was one quote in particular that was telling about his feeling towards the team – “What do you have to do? I cannot change the heart of my players.”

Extreme public criticism of the heart of the players, as well as their actual quality is a daring tactic. There are some that will take it as a personal challenge and rise to prove him wrong, but often such a display will do nothing but reduce morale in the camp. This is how he worked at Swindon during their resurgence however, so only time will tell whether it was this form of management (or money) that led him to do so well with his former club. At least one positive that can be taken from the Crystal Palace game was the return of Steven Fletcher. He equalised with a well taken header, getting his season off the mark nice and early, and having him back may make a big difference in Sunderland’s upcoming games.

Arsenal may have started the season with a shock 3 – 1 defeat to Aston Villa at home, but they’ve gone nowhere but up ever since. They bounced back from defeat to win 3 – 1 at Fulham, qualify for the Champions League group stage and downed Tottenham at the Emirates. Whilst qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League was a task that was expected of Arsenal, victory against Tottenham was a moment of pure euphoria, that was only heightened by the signing of Ozil soon after. Indeed there is high contrast to the states in which each team shall be entering this match.

As I have said, Ozil will be the focus of the game and his presence will undoubtedly improve Arsenal. That said, since his signature many have poured water on the fire, by saying that the Gunners have done nothing but strengthen what was already the strongest part of the team. With cover required in defence, and a striker needed to convert the many chances that Arsenal create (although Giroud is doing a better job of that so far this season), in some ways the transfer has been perceived as buying an expensive sofa to fix a leaky roof. Indeed, such individuals have a point, but it shouldn’t dampen the spirit of Arsenal fans who now know, as does everybody else, that their club will once again compete in the transfer market. The message has been sent to the world.

Interesting Stats

Sunderland have won just 8 points from their last 17 Premier League games against Arsenal and the last 6 league matches staged at the Stadium Of Light have produced only 9 goals, with Fletcher scoring nine of his away from home.

Olivier Giroud has scored in three matches in a row, although has never scored any of his 14 Premier League goals away from London. Can he match Jose Antonio Reyes’ record of scoring in each of the first 5 games of the season, as the latter did in 2004/05?

 Key Players

The return of Steven Fletcher was a significant moment for Sunderland fans, and they will be hoping that it will show equally significant returns on the pitch. The ankle injury that had kept him out since March now looks to be a thing of the past, and the team now has its 2012/13 top scorer back.

Steven Fletcher managed to score 11 goals last season in 28 appearances, meaning that he scored a goal on average every 216 minutes. He had a shooting accuracy of 65% and a clear-cut chance conversion of 46%, and while his actual goals tally isn’t outstanding for a striker, those figures are very good. Essentially what Sunderland need to do his provide him with more service, because last season he only managed a shot every 55 minutes, whereas the top strikers will average a shot something closer to every 20 minutes. Feed the man and he will score, and so if Sunderland can get Fletcher into the game he will certainly prove to be their key player.

Everyone can see it coming – Mesut Ozil is my pick for Arsenal’s key player this Saturday, not only because he is their best player, but also because now I get to talk about him again! So basically he’s really good at football. With 25 starts, and 9 more from the bench, he scored 9 goals and managed 13 assists for Madrid last season. It is his playmaking ability for which he is known, and with a pass accuracy of 84.1% helping him to make an impressive 3 key passes per game, he will certainly be the one pulling the strings against Sunderland. In fact, nobody has bettered his 47 assists in the top 5 leagues of Europe since his arrival at Madrid (although Messi has equaled that number), and in his last 5 seasons he has provided 72 assists in total. Evidence of what he is, the best number 10 in the world, and even if he wasn’t what Arsenal were most desperate for, there is no doubting the impact that he will have.

Team News

Both teams have an extensive injury list: Bardsley, Cattermole, Brown, Gardner and Wickham are all currently injured, although Wes Brown may face a late fitness test, O’Shea is out through both injury and suspension.

It might be easier to list which of Arsenal’s players aren’t injured. Diaby, Vermaelen, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Sanogo and Rosicky are all definite absentees, and many of them will be for a long time. Walcott sustained an ankle injury against Ukraine and is likely to be 50/50 for this one.

Prediction

Sunderland are heavy underdogs for this, with the odds of a Black Cats win at 5.7. Arsenal, on the other hand, are 1.7 to win, and so it’s clear who the bookies fancy. I too fancy the Gunners, and so I’m going for a heavy Arsenal win.

Arsenal: 4 – 1

The impact of Defensive Midfielders | Lucas, Carrick, Ramires & McCarthy

The modern footballing world likes to follow the labelling trend of the “defensive midfielder”. The importance of those who sit in front of the defence as a protection is becoming increasingly apparent. I take a look at some of the top examples who prove that midfielders are just as important to a team’s defence as the back four (note this is not a comparison – more of a look at how they contribute to their teams).

Michael Carrick has had an important role in the Manchester United team for a number of years. His tackling and strive to get back and defend forcefully can be seen as a fundamental part of United’s success, where he cements this role as a defensive midfielder essential. Taking examples from last season, Carrick started 34 games, only being second to their star man Van Persie, starting 35. Winning 28 of these 35 is impressive in itself, and Carrick’s contribution in terms of defending is a highlighted factor: 13 of the 35 games he played, he won all of his attempted tackles. Although United have a more than safe defence including Evans (last season), Vidic and Ferdinand, Carrick was involved in making a total of 55 clearances throughout the 2012/13 season- an all important clearance from a shot on the edge of the penalty area, may be the difference between them one-nil wins that win you the League, and the one all draws that make you second.

Lucas Leiva has had a tough time trying to get the Liverpool fans onside since his arrival in 2007, although he is now a firm favourite. He again has worked hard to determine that defensive midfielder role in the centre of Liverpool’s defence. Scoring only 6 goals in 217 appearances for the Reds, it has become obvious that his outstanding talent is not further up the field. However, defensively, he has come into his own in the last couple of seasons. Although being absent for some months of the season through injury, Lucas won 90 out of his 123 attempted tackles in the 2012/13 season alone. In terms of getting involved in ground duels, he was successful on average every 13 minutes in games, suggesting that, in most cases, the protection being provided by these defensive midfielders are bringing opposition attacks to a stop, before even reaching the back four.

Being known as a midfielder with so much energy, you could be forgiven for seeing Ramires as an attacking midfielder, especially with so many important goals he has provided. However, his defensive play is impressive to say the least. Being involved in 11 of Chelsea’s 14 clean sheets in the 2012/13 season is an indication of how important he is in terms of defending. Like Lucas, being in this position meant that goals scored did come at a minimum, however, winning a total of 76% of his tackles for that season and winning more than half of his attempted 335 ground duels, Chelsea’s defence did have an added defensive dimension when Ramires was involved.

Having just made his transfer from Wigan to Everton, James McCarthy is known for breaking up play and lifting the pressure off of the back four. For Wigan last season, McCarthy made a total of 19 blocks and 61 clearances, with tackling stats just as impressive, winning 75% off the 99 attempted. After Everton conceded
a total of 40 goals last season, the Blues’ fans will be looking forward to McCarthy as an added defence, but also with an eye for a long pass, he does definitely look like one to watch for the new season.

There will be different opinions, however, on how the excitement of the game is sapped, with the defensive overload being a contributing factor to the recent Man United- Chelsea “bore draw”. Although, my personal opinion favours the use and positioning of these defensive midfielders; as the stats prove, they have a positive impact in being the first line of defence in their teams.

Deadline day: Madrid presents 100M-euro Bale as Ozil departs for Arsenal in 50M-euro move

In Spain, gripped by economic recession for years, fans marked football’s transfer deadline day by turning out in the thousands to greet the game’s first 100 million-euro player.

Gareth Bale was paraded Monday inside the Santiago Bernabeu stadium a day after completing his world-record $132-million move to Real Madrid from Premier League club Tottenham.

 “I would have come here for a penny,” the Wales winger said. “I just wanted to be here and in a white shirt.”

The 24-year-old Bale will earn a reported $461,000 a week in Spain, which is plagued by an unemployment rate exceeding 26 percent, highlighting how the country’s leading football teams — Madrid and Barcelona — thrive in an economic bubble.

University of Barcelona finance professor Jose Maria Gay said Bale’s transfer was “an act of arrogance when normal people are having a hard time.”

Madrid did recoup half of the Bale fee by selling Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, becoming the Premier League’s most expensive signing in 2013 as the English league’s clubs spent over a record $932 million in the summer window.

By breaking Arsenal’s transfer record to sign the 24-year-old Germany playmaker for $66 million, owner Stan Kroenke showed frustrated fans that he is willing to invest to produce the team’s first trophy since 2005.

The Gunners had failed with bids for several stars over the summer, including Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. The only arrivals came via the free signings of striker Yaya Sanogo and returning midfielder Mathieu Flamini.

It was even more frustrating at Manchester United.

The champions executed a smooth managerial transition in May when Alex Ferguson retired after almost 27 years and David Moyes took over.

But the change in the boardroom, with chief executive David Gill exiting and vice chairman Ed Woodward assuming his responsibilities, appears to have been more significant, given the transfer woes.

It took until the final hours of the summer window to push a deal of note through, with Moyes turning to former club Everton to land Marouane Fellaini for $43 million.

The Belgium midfielder wasn’t the marquee signing Moyes had hoped for to open the new era at United.

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas was pursued for several weeks and the 20-time English champions failed in high-profile attempts Monday to bring Real Madrid defender Fabio Coentrao and Athletic Bilbao midfielder to Old Trafford.

The biggest Premier League spenders of the summer were Tottenham, with splurged more than $170 million — largely from the Bale deal — on seven players in its bid to break back into the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

Even after the winning start to the season ended with a derby loss to Arsenal on Sunday, Tottenham resisted making any further additions to the squad before January.

The surprise performer so far is Liverpool, which is on top after three victories — the latest against United on Sunday — in its best start to the season since 1993 as it chases a 19th English title.

Liverpool’s defensive options were enhanced Monday with France international Mamadou Sakho signed from Paris Saint-Germain, and Tiago Ilori, who has represented Portugal in youth age groups, arriving from Sporting Lisbon.

Winger Victor Moses switched to Anfield on a season-long from Chelsea, which failed to hire primary summer target United striker Wayne Rooney.

While United vowed not to sell Rooney, perhaps it would have been more willing to sell the England international to a foreign club if there had been any interest.

Once linked with Paris Saint-Germain, the French champions completed around $150 million of transfer business long before the window closed.

One of the few significant deals in France on Monday was winger Florian Thauvin joining Marseille for $20 million after refusing to play for Lille. That is five times the fee Lille paid Bastia in January.

The World Cup at the end of the season has been on many players’ minds as they considered their options.

Brazil playmaker Kaka on Monday agreed to a two-year deal with AC Milan following a free transfer from Real Madrid.

Kaka accepted a reported salary of $5.3 million per season plus bonuses — a significant drop from the $13.2 million Kaka earned in the Spanish capital.

The 31-year-old Kaka wants to play for Brazil on home soil at the 2014 World Cup and should feature more at Milan.

“Kaka made a big (sacrifice) to return here, showing a lot of affection for our shirt,” Milan Vice President Adriano Galliani said.

German clubs largely resisted any last-minute splurges on a day of loan deals and departures.

Bucking the trend, Japan captain Makoto Hasebe joined Nuremberg from Bundesliga rival Wolfsburg and Tunisian defender Karim Haggui switched from Hannover to Stuttgart.

West Ham United v Stoke City Preview | Odds, Stats & Team News

West Ham United welcome Stoke City to Upton Park this weekend, as both teams look for their second win of the season.

The Hammers defeated newcomers Cardiff City on the opening day of the season but could only manage a draw against Newcastle United last week. Home form has always been a strong point for Sam Allardyce’s side and they will be hoping to benefit from that on Saturday.

Stoke are heading to London on the back of a win over Crystal Palace at the Britannia stadium last weekend, and will be looking for that second win that will ease the pressure on new manager Mark Hughes. The Potters will be hoping for a better showing against West Ham this time round, as they failed to beat them in both fixtures last season.

If you are looking to put some money on the match then you can look at odds provided by Pinnacle Sports where West Ham are favourites to win at 2.010 on a 1×2 bet.

Team News

West Ham is still without summer signing Andy Carroll up front, but otherwise have a healthy squad available for this game.

Stoke City have added Liverpool’s Oussama Assaidi to their ranks on a season long loan, and the winger could be available to make his debut against West Ham on Saturday.

Interesting Statistics

Eurosport have some interesting statistics for this match:

West Ham have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four Premier League games at home.

Stoke have only won one of their last 12 away games in the Premier League.

There have been just nine goals in the last five league games between the two sides.

West Ham have won two and drawn two in their last four league games against Stoke.

Key Players

West Ham – Kevin Nolan

Kevin Nolan has been hugely influential for the Hammers since his move from Newcastle and will be one of the main players that Stoke will have to stop on Saturday. The captain has scored one goal from five shots in two games so far this season, and against Newcastle he completed 20 passes from 26, giving him a 77% accuracy rating. Of these passes, 35% went forward with only 19% going back, showing his ability to get West Ham’s attack moving. If Stoke can keep Nolan’s presence limited, then West Ham could find it hard to get going.

Stoke – Jon Walters

Jon Walters is undoubtedly one of, if not Stoke’s best hope in attack. The Irishman did well in the final third for the club last season, and has been making his presence felt in the two games against Liverpool and Crystal Palace this season. He’s taken five shots in total so far with only one going off target. Two of those shots were actually blocked by the keeper in the game against Crystal Palace, and he had a 100% shooting accuracy against Liverpool at Anfield. He has created one chance for his team-mates in each game, resulting in an assist in the game last weekend against Palace. While Walters is not Stoke’s only attacking threat, he’s a big part of how they play and West Ham will have to pay particular attention to him.

Prediction

Neither team is known for exciting football but West Ham have a bit more about them going forward. As stated before, they have a good record at home and I think this will continue in their match against Stoke. Ultimately, it will be a fairly tight game in my opinion and end 1-0 to West Ham.

West Ham, as favourites, on odds of 2.010. Stoke are less favourable at 4.290, with a draw being more likely than a Stoke win at odds of 3.450.

FEATURE: The making of Everton and England's new star Ross Barkley

ROSS BARKLEY made the Premier League sit up and take notice of his blossoming talent on the opening weekend of the season with a stunning goal for Everton, and continued his rise by being named in Roy Hodgson’s England squad this week.

First earmarked by the Daily Express in September 2010 as one to watch, his ascent has not been straightforward. Here Paul Joyce talks to those who have seen his development at first hand to give an insight into the precocious 19-year-old.

Alby Heywood, president of Barkley’s first club Ash Celtic, of the Belle Vale Junior League

Ross was with one of his mates in a place called Mystery Park in Wavertree just kicking a ball around when I first noticed him. I watched him for a minute or two and he looked a natural. Nice on the ball, strong, good control and passing.

He was eight when he joined in training with us and he has never looked back. He’d play for two different age groups (Under-10s and Under-11s) on a Sunday because he was so enthusiastic and that good a player. It wasn’t long before Sid Benson, the Everton scout, took him in to them.

I always thought his best position would be centre-half back then, but I had no doubts he would make it. My wife will tell you I used to bore her to death going on about Ross all the time.

What is good is that he is still in touch now. I saw him about a month ago at one of Ash Celtic’s games. He’ll do a presentation for the club if we need one.

Ricky Heywod, son of Alby and secretary of Ash Celtic

My dad used to say, ‘See that lad, he’ll captain England one day’. We went on a couple of tours to Europe and were in Belgium for a tournament once when word spread about Ross. All the parents there came over to watch Ross play. You knew he was going to be a player.

Alan Stubbs, Everton Under-21s manager

We’re lucky at Everton to have had the best this country has produced in recent times in Wayne Rooney, and that gave us a guideline on Ross.

I’m not saying for one minute he is the same player as Wayne, but his enthusiasm for football is equal to Wayne. He just wants to be out on the pitch.

When he was 17, he had 18 months of injuries that really knocked him; a double hernia, a double leg fracture and a broken metatarsal. There were times I felt like crying for the lad because you could see the disappointment in his face. You’d see his shoulders sink and he’d be like, ‘Not again. Why me?’

But Ross showed incredible courage and mental strength to come back from that because a lot of kids could have gone under.

He is probably at the point now we thought he would be last season, but when you are pushing for the top six or the Champions League it can be difficult to give youngsters a game.

There’s a lot more to come from him, but he deserves everything he is getting.

Andy Holden, former senior development coach at Everton

One of the things we worked on with Ross was him giving the ball away too easily and receiving a pass with his back to his opponent.

When you do that you need a trick to get away from your marker. It was a case of sitting through some videos with him and trying to make sure he got the ball in the right position. You never saw Paul Scholes get tackled when he received the ball.

Due to the injuries he had, he probably missed 50 to 60 games of his apprenticeship when you learn how to play the game and what positions to take up.

We sent him to two of the hardest clubs to learn at: Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds. If you give the ball away at Hillsborough, the crowd will let you know. If you give the ball away at Leeds, the same. It tests you as a player.

Chris Kirkland, Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper

I didn’t know too much about him when he came to us on loan last season. I’d heard rumours about how he was someone to watch out for, but he came on in a game against Brighton and the more games he played, the better he got.

It can be hard for a young lad to leave home and come into a dressing room he doesn’t know, but it didn’t faze Ross.

What struck me was he was always the first out at training and he would listen to things. There are a lot of young kids who you speak to and it goes in one ear, out the other and they don’t take it on board, but Ross wants to listen. He wants to get better.

Peter Taylor, England Under-20s coach

It doesn’t surprise me that he scored for the U21s against Scotland and then for Everton because he is capable of scoring from anywhere. The only thing I tried to do with him for the Under-20s in the summer was keep him away from our goal and as high up the pitch as possible.

The No10, floating forward, role is his best. You don’t want him picking the ball up off the back four because the distance is too great to the other goal. Get him 30 to 40 yards out and he has the pace and strength to beat people.

There was a lot of flak flying about England’s junior teams during the summer, but playing for the Under-20s has helped Ross become even sharper ahead of the new season.

Champions League: Arsenal vs Fenerbahce Preview & Prediction (27th August)

Arsenal vs Fenerbahce
Football : Champions League : Qualifying
Tuesday 27th August - Kickoff 7:45pm

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Arsenal

The Gunners have bounced back incredibly well from 10 days ago. Having lost their opening game of the season, they won in Istanbul (0-3) as well as beating Fulham at Craven Cottage a few days later.

On Tuesday night they have an almost unassailable lead. 3 away goals to their name and now at home it's no shock to see bookies quoting odds of 1.01 for Arsenal to make the Group Stages once again.

Team news ahead of this one is that Wilshere should start whilst Koscielny should start after his head injury in last week's first leg. Vermaelen, Diaby, Arteta and Oxlade-Chamberlain are missing but they missed last week's first leg too.

At the Emirates in the Champions League, Arsenal are very strong. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games both to German opposition (Schalke 0-2 and last year's winners Bayern 1-3) but they are the only losses in 19 games going back to 2009, of which 14 ended in home wins.

Fenerbahce

Fenerbahce have it all to do in London on Tuesday night and Yanal's side will be attacking from the off. A 0-3 away win only takes it to extra time and if Arsenal score they need 4 and so forth so it looks incredibly bleak for the Istanbul based side.

At the weekend Fenerbahce responded to the loss agaisnt Arsenal by beating Eskişehirspor 1-0. The win is their first this season having lost the Turkish Super Cup to Galatasaray and then 3-2 to Konyaspor despite leading 0-2 at half time.

The Turks were the cause of their own downfall at times in the first leg with the left back Kadlec guilty of a clumsy barge on Walcott for the penalty. Whilst the keeper Demirel fumbled a tame Ramsey shot for the second into his net. All in all it's hard to see how this side has the confidence or form to come to London and not only win but win by a huge margin as the Europa League lurks for this side.

Betting Verdict

Arsenal drew with Fenerbahce 0-0 at home back in 2008 but as we saw last week, Arsenal won't be afraid of their opponents. In Turkey Arsenal had 16 shots to the Turks 9, 56% possession as well as more corners so a thoroughly dominating performance.

Looking at the weekend results it's again advantage Arsenal, playing in the early kick off in a London Derby after playing in Turkey and scoring 3 goals was excellent. Meanwhile Fenerbahce were labouring to a win at home against lowly opposition.

I like Arsenal to win this leg and ultimately the tie so I will take them via the AH line. Arsenal have won by 2 goals or more in their last 3 Champions League home wins and you can't help but feel as the visitors attack Arsenal will simply pick them off on the break. Arsenal by a couple is the play for me.

Good Luck

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Arsenal 3-1 Fenerbahce

Preview & Prediction: Manchester United v Chelsea (Monday 26th August)

Manchester United v Chelsea
Football : English : Premier League
Monday 26th August - Kickoff 8:00pm

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Manchester United

Manchester United were given a tough opening day fixture at Swansea at the weekend but they thumped last season's surprise package 1-4. On Monday they host Chelsea and this could be a huge game come the end of the season.

Moyes has to decide whether we wants to play Rooney in this one. I suspect that the doesn't play him given Chelsea's interest and the state of his player. Other doubts remain over Evans, Young, Rafael, Hernandez and Nani and it wouldn't surprise me if we saw the same lineup that started at Swansea for Monday's game.

Against Swansea United had just 46% possession and also gave up 17 shots to their 14. Yet the result was never in doubt as Van Persie was excellent netting a brace as did Wellbeck. Rooney came on in that game and set up 2 goals so going forward United as ever look a strong force.

Chelsea

It has been a good week for Chelsea and returning coach Mourinho. 2 wins from 2 and the Blues are top of the tree ahead of this huge game at Old Trafford.

Chelsea raced to a 2-0 lead over Hull at the weekend and then went into cruise control. Against Villa they once again started excellently taking an early lead only to concede and then labour to a 2-1. Still 6 points from 6 is what the doctor ordered and Chelsea will be confident ahead of their trip up North.

In 2 games so far Chelsea have had 60% ball possession on average which matches up well to United's sub 50% figure at the weekend. They are also averaging 19 shots a game which is a huge figure, Swansea peppered the goal at the Liberty but still lost 1-4 so Chelsea definitely needs a better end product to win this game.

Luiz has missed the first 2 games whilst Mata has been used sparingly himself. Both are in contention to start this game but with plenty of options I expect a very strong looking Chelsea side to take the field.

Betting Verdict

Chelsea have a good record at Old Trafford winning 2 of the last 4 here. Manchester United despite their impressive win at the weekend may be vulnerable in this one. It's Moyes's first home game and up against Mourinho the pressure will be on.

The stats as ever look great for the hosts 14 wins from their last 16 at home in the league but Chelsea won here last season 0-1. Another sign of their strength at home is that in 8 of the last 10 league games United have led at half time and full time.

Chelsea have some nice stats of their own, scoring at least 2 goals in 9 of their last 10 league games overall. It's no shock to then see overs land in 8 of the last 10 away games and I expect an open game on Monday.

I don't like betting on my team in these big games but Chelsea +1/4 ball is my pick. I feel Mourinho has the edge over Moyes, his squad and starting 11 looks stronger plus the Chelsea side is united, we can't say the same for the hosts with the Rooney saga looming. Given the odds I'm happy to take the Blues to avoid defeat first and foremost and hopefully push on to take all 3 points.

Good Luck

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea

Preview & Prediction: FULHAM v ARSENAL (24th August 2013)

FULHAM v ARSENAL
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday, 24th August 2013 - Kickoff 12:45pm GMT

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BETTING PREVIEW

It's become clear after the Fenerbahce match that people just love to slag off, bitch and moan about Arsenal. When good stuff happens, it actually annoys them because it means their bitching doesn't seem all that justified. F*ck 'em.

Yes, there are a boatload of injuries but this Arsenal side bounced back in style in midweek, thumping Fenerbahce 3-0 in their own yard. A clean sheet there is not to be sniffed at, because this Arsenal defence is missing a whole bunch of first choices through injuries and suspensions. Still, they did the job, with the keeper especially good following his poor outing against Villa. Expect him to play his heart out again in West London.

Fulham managed a shock win at Sunderland, edging it 1-0, but they return home to play a side that have beaten them 16 times, just 1 less than Manchester United, who have beaten them the most. Last year, Arsenal won 19 points from London derbies, more than anyone else. And still we see the oddsmaker giving us high prices on Arsenal to get a win here.

I know I have a biased opinion with Arsenal, being a fan and all, but if you're looking for value, then look no further. The best time to take Arsenal is when they're taking sh*t in the media for "crises", because that's when they get overpriced as everyone expects disaster and then what? They win. It happened last season in Munich, and in the last 10 games of the season, and it happened in midweek, when I got high prices on the away win along with my correct goalscorer bet.

And speaking of goalscorer, Giroud is on a serious tear, netting in both games this season, giving us winners. It carries on from a preseason full of goals for the Frenchie playing his 2nd season, where he is proving much improved. He's bursting with confidence, and it really helps that he is getting fantastic support from the likes of Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere and especially Walcott. Have you seen the prices on him to score at any time? Silly.

THE BETTING VERDICT

No need to get off the gravy train. Giroud to score, again.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Fulham 1-2 Arsenal

Neymar rescues Barcelona as injured Lionel Messi limps off against Atletico

In Messi's absence, Neymar was the man to rescue the Spanish champions as he came off the bench to head home Dani Alves' cross 25 minutes from time.

Neymar scored his first goal for Barcelona as the Catalans were held 1-1 by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, but there was another injury worry for Lionel Messi as he was forced off at half-time.

David Villa had given the hosts the perfect start when he netted against his old side in spectacular fashion after just 12 minutes.

Barca then struggled to find their rhythm against a dogged Atletico side and were dealt a huge blow when Messi failed to reappear for the second-half due to a hamstring injury.

However, in his absence, Neymar was the man to rescue the Spanish champions as he came off the bench to head home Dani Alves' cross 25 minutes from time.

"He had a knock and then a muscle problem so we will do the required examinations to see how serious it is," Barca boss Gerardo Martino said of Messi's injury afterwards.

"It didn't make sense to keep him on the field if he couldn't move comfortably."

Having thrashed Levante 7-0 Martino's first competitive match in charge on Sunday, Barca started confidently and had the first clear opening of the game when Pedro's scuffed effort was palmed away by Thibaut Courtois on 11 minutes.

Within 60 seconds though Atleti were ahead though thanks to a fantastic piece of counter-attacking play as Villa fed Arda Turan on the left then burst into the box to meet the Turk's cross flush on the volley to power the ball past Victor Valdes.

Moments later the Spanish international nearly punished his former teammates again as he and Diego Costa combined perfectly but this time Gerard Pique recovered just in time to block Villa's effort.

The game then settled down with Barca patiently probing without ever opening up a well-organised Atleti side before the break.

And Martino was quick to praise Atletico's energetic first-half performance that restricted the visitors to very few opportunities.

"It was very difficult for us to find space to receive the ball. We couldn't find space between the lines, they were very compact and it was difficult to break through.

"To fix this we need to have more movement and precision. It is not easy, but we were better in the second-half."

Despite losing Messi at half-time, Barca improved after the break as they twice went close through Alexis Sanchez and Messi's replacement Cesc Fabregas.

Neymar was next to be introduced by Martino and it didn't take the Brazilian long to net his first Barca goal as he charged in at the back post to nod home Dani Alves' hanging cross.

Valdes had to be alert to deny Villa restoring Atleti's lead moments later before Xavi fired a free-kick just over for Barca as the game became increasingly stretched.

Courtois was forced to come to Atleti's rescue once more to deny Sanchez with a brave block from point-blank range 16 minutes from time.

However, there was to be no winner on the night, meaning the tie is still very much alive heading to the Camp Nou for the second leg on Wednesday.

Chelsea v Aston Villa preview and prediction (Wed, August 21)

Chelsea v Aston Villa
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 21 August 2013 - Kick Off 7:45pm

Chelsea

The Jose Mourinho second era at Stamford Bridge started off very brightly as Chelsea scored a couple of early goals and were creating chances at will against Hull City on Sunday. The game kind of settled down in the second half, but that could have been down to that being the first game of the season for the Blues and they play this game early as Chelsea are in European Super Cup action the week after next.

It was a strong start for Chelsea who could also afford to miss a penalty in their win over Hull and they will be expected to make it maximum points ahead of the game at Old Trafford next Monday. Chelsea were strong at Stamford Bridge last season and Mourinho isn't used to losing in this stadium which could bode well to their chances of winning the Premier League this season.

Chelsea have now won 10 of their last 12 home games in all competitions going back to last season and the fans were fully behind the team and the manager, a big contrast to the atmosphere at the Bridge under Rafa Benitez.

Juan Mata didn't play on Sunday as he had been away with Spain in Ecuador, but he could be restored to the first team in this one. David Luiz is another that could be involved having missed the first game of the season and there are other options for Mourinho if he feels he wants to rotate his squad.

Aston Villa

The biggest surprise result from the first weekend in the Premier League was Aston Villa's impressive 1-3 win at Arsenal. Paul Lambert helped Villa escape relegation last season with a late run and he will be hoping his methods are recognised to get the best out of his team in the coming season. David Moyes may have been complaining about Manchester United's start to the new season, but Aston Villa would also feel disappointed as they play at Arsenal, at Chelsea and host Liverpool within seven days.

Aston Villa ended a strong pre-season with that win at Arsenal and that should give them plenty of confidence ahead of this trip back to Stamford Bridge where they were hit 8-0 last season. Last season, Villa struggled against the sides that finished in the top six, losing 10 of 12 games and failing to win any game, but they have snapped that in impressive style and the fans will be hoping a big season is in the offing.

Keeping Christian Benteke proved to be a masterstroke for Paul Lambert as he responded with two goals on the opening day. Aston Villa have only lost 1 of their last 6 away games in the Premier League and the side have won 4 of those games.

Yacouba Sylla and Charles N'Zogbia are expected to miss out for the away side, but there are no new injury worries from the team that started on Saturday.

Head to Head

Chelsea did the double over Aston Villa last season, including that 8-0 win at Stamford Bridge, and the Blues have won 3 in a row against Villa.

Chelsea have only won 4 of their last 8 home games in the Premier League against Aston Villa and they had failed to win their previous 2 at the Bridge against them before last season.

Prediction

Chelsea looked very strong on Sunday as they created chance after chance in the first half against Hull City, but Jose Mourinho wanted more from his side in the second half which was much more slowed down.

The expectation will be that Chelsea will roll through Aston Villa, but the away side will want to show a much more resilient side to themselves after their heavy, embarrassing loss here last season.

Aston Villa will also have some space to exploit on the counter-attack and they do have a team with plenty of pace that could expose Chelsea in those positions. Hull City created a couple of half chances in the second half against Chelsea on Sunday and Villa could certainly trouble the scoreboard in this one.

Villa did fail to score at 4 of the top 5 last season, but they look a stronger side this time around and will have chances to grab something here. Both teams to score is an even money shot and I will back that on Wednesday night.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa

Is Cristiano Ronaldo v Lionel Messi a popularity or talent contest?

European journalists will choose from Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Ribery for the best European club player of 2012/13.

The winner will be announced on August 29, and despite Ronaldo's astonishing performances with Real Madrid, scoring 12 goals in their Uefa Champions League run to the semi-finals and winning the Golden Boot, he is not expected to win and neither is Frank Ribery.

For the past four years, Ronaldo was on the podium for the Fifa Ballon d'Or and Uefa Best European Player awards.

Despite performing at a very high level in all his four seasons with Madrid, he surprisingly or, rather, suspiciously lost to Messi on all four occasions.

The results bring into focus a pressing question: are voters honouring the best player or the most popular?

If it is indeed the measure of an individual season, then perhaps the teams' overall performance and winning major trophies should hold less weight, and Ronaldo should have won the Ballon d'Or twice in the past four years.

The fact that neither Wesley Sneijder nor Didier Drogba won it during their run to Champions League glory with Inter Milan and Chelsea, in 2010 and 2012, respectively, suggests voters are more interested in popularity than the ultimate trophy.

Captains and coaches of the world's national teams vote, alongside a selection of journalists from across the planet.

They chose their top three, and just like the former Fifa award that preceded it, now merged with France Football's Ballon d'Or, the vote is public. We know exactly who everyone voted for. What you don't know is why. And the why matters, or seems to.

If you examine the votes of the past two years, the German manager voted for a German, the Italian for an Italian, the Spanish for Spaniards. Messi could not vote for himself and he did not vote for Ronaldo, choosing Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Aguero, instead. Tactical voting, perhaps?

Some media members suggest Ronaldo is "arrogant". As a result, some of the journalists who represent the voting panel said they voted for Messi because they "like" him. Not the football, but the image.

If being serious on the pitch, and showing passion to win every game, even a friendly, or being honest and direct is arrogant, then something is wrong in the world of football. This begs the question: is Cristiano Ronaldo losing votes, for major awards, for non-football reasons?

In 2010/11, when Ronaldo lost to Messi, Ronaldo's critics said his team failed to win a major trophy, making Messi a worthy winner. In 2011/12, Ronaldo out-performed Messi throughout the season. He took Portugal to the last four of Euro 2012, where they lost on penalties. Real Madrid won the league with a record 100 points.

But, again, the Ballon d'Or was awarded to Messi. It is fair to wonder, as Ronaldo certainly must have, what must he do to win for the first time since 2008?

Messi grew up in Barca's youth set-up and plays with the teammates who grew up together, with arguably the best midfield in the world, in Xavi and Iniesta.

On the other hand, Ronaldo had a comparatively rougher ride coming from England to a Madrid team, in 2009, that was under construction and not even seeded in the Champions League, a Madrid team that at the time was regularly beaten by Barcelona.

Messi plays as a centre forward, with less defensive work, and Ronaldo is a winger. It is an incredible feat that a winger can score nearly as many goals as a centre forward, and Ronaldo nearly has, over the past three seasons - 114 in the Primera Liga, 168 in all competitions, to Messi's 127 and 186.

Ronaldo also is tasked with defensive work in dead-ball situations in his defensive area; if Messi assumes a defensive role, it is by accident.

Messi is pampered at Barcelona, but at Madrid, Ronaldo was promised a new contract in January; it is yet to become a reality. Ronaldo is arguably the greatest player in Madrid's history, but treated with such indifference and shown no love and little respect from the fans, media and the directors of Madrid.

It is much harder to be Ronaldo than it is to be Messi. On the pitch and at elections.

Fifa needs to ensure, and make the message clear to the voting panel's members, that an objective evaluation of a player's season takes priority, including the circumstances in which players performed, and how important they were in big or decisive games and how important they were during key moments of the season.

For two seasons, Ronaldo has been better than Messi, or for that matter, any player in the world, when it comes to performing in big matches and being a decisive presence for his team.

Roberto Martinez & Everton (vs. Norwich) | Tactical Analysis

Roberto Martinez’s Everton debut in the Premier League saw Marouane Fellaini take centre stage as he was often the trigger for Everton’s change of tempo, either through Fellaini himself dictating the tempo by keeping in line with the play with his lung-bursting running around the pitch or through the Belgian giant’s advanced positioning that would lead to a “fast-transitional” pass (not seen by Martinez as a long ball) being played into Fellaini that would come under his control regardless of how the ball was played into him – Fellaini made the joint second most number of passes this weekend with 88 passes (joint with Steven Gerrard, behind only Aaron Ramsey) and had a staggering 106 touches during the course of the game (a touch of the ball every 51 seconds).

With the help of one of Martinez’s former colleagues at Wigan, a whole chapter has been written in my upcoming book about the of possession philosophy of Martinez and an article was written on EPLindex about his philosophy over the summer. As a result we can confirm that the former-Wigan tactician is a man of two elements of play when in possession: creating overloads and isolating the opponent’s full-backs into one vs. one scenarios, regardless of formation. Martinez’s view on football is essentially one that views the spaces on a field through a very specific and clear pair of lenses.

Martinez’s perception of space on a football field is certainly relevant to the English Premier League and the following diagram details the rationale for this simplistic view of the spaces on a football field

Everton's Formation With The Ball

Everton's Formation Without The Ball

So when Norwich lined up to defend in a 4-4-1-1 deep defensive block regardless of where the ball was positioned, Norwich were doing so to protect key spaces – those that 63% of all goals are assisted from (remembering that 25% of all goals are either unassisted or assisted from set pieces).

Therefore by setting up as Norwich did so, defending set pieces well and riding their luck, they would have a fair chance at cancelling out 88% of all the assisting locations on a football field in the Premier League. Even with all this protection of space, Ross Barkley’s goal was able to get through a season of nine bodies – the deep defensive block simply won’t hold all the time.

The Canaries would also cancel out any consistent overloads through the system with their attacking midfielder dropping back to mark the spaces centrally and through their disciplined defensive method of doubling up on the Wigan wingers – resulting in Everton throwing two or three men onto the wings and lacking in numbers to meet the cross inside the box. Thus, Martinez’s debut was always going to be a difficult one.

While Everton were allowed to build up from the back as Norwich would quickly fall back into their defensive set up (with Van Wolfswinkel pressurising momentarily to delay the ball coming forward), they struggled to achieve any central overload or the ability to isolate Norwich’s full backs consistently (as Callum McManaman had done so well against Clichy in the FA Cup Final 2012).

You may conclude from this game that Norwich had set up perfectly to counter any threats that Everton would provide and that Hughton and his back-room staff had done their work, however for Norwich to win with this method it would require a lot of luck given the shortage of chances that the Canaries would be able to create using this method (Norwich had just two shots on target for the whole game and 23.75 minutes per shot; inferior to Everton’s 6.3 minutes per shot and 13.57 minutes per shot on target). By no means am I bringing this 2-2 draw down to Norwich’s luck, but you only have to look at both the goals scored to make a considered case for Whittaker’s lucky cards.

Having said that, Martinez and his back-room staff will be pleased with the quick implementation of the Spaniard’s philosophy and required style of play (with 67.5% possession) and it would be dangerous for you to conclude that Martinez has shown all that he has to offer in terms of how he can achieve his central overloads and one vs. one moments. On countless occasions while at Wigan he surprised the pundits by playing with lop-sided systems, liberos and two men at top without possession – all of that however is still to come.

Juego de posición (Positional Play) is Martinez’s game and I have no doubt he will over the course of the season have time to implement a plan b and a plan c for such problems faced at Norwich.

What is Different His Time for Martinez?

• Fellaini’s power and ability to player from his triggered movement
• Barkley to consistently hit shots through those who set up as Norwich did so
• Pressing to win the ball as well as to delay (sparingly used with Fellaini vs. Norwich)
• Quality of players in key areas to implement the overloads and one vs. one’s
• Discuss…

Arsenal Vs Aston Villa Preview | Stats, Odds & Key Players: Cazorla & Benteke

On Saturday August 17th, Aston Villa will head to the Emirates to kick off the 2013-2014 season vs Arsenal.  Arsenal will be opening their season at home for the second season in a row after opening last season versus Sunderland.  Arsenal have not won any of their last three season openers with draws against Sunderland in 2012, Newcastle in 2011, and Liverpool in 2010.  Villa have one win one draw and one loss in their last three openers with a loss to West Ham last year, a draw against Fulham in 2011, and a win against Newcastle in 2010.

Team News

At this point in the year, most team news is about transfers.  These two teams have gone at the transfer window in two totally opposite ways.  Arsenal have only signed one player so far, that player being 19 year old Yaya Sanogo, and are still waiting to make their moves in the transfer market.  Villa on the other hand, made all four of their signings on July 1st, the first day the window was open, are mostly settled and got their new players a full pre season to gel.  On the injury front, Arsenal will definitely be missing Captain Thomas Vermaelen and left back Nacho Monreal, who are both out with long term injuries.  Aaron Ramsey has been ruled out for the Wales Republic of Ireland game on the 14th but some are wondering if this is an actual injury or if it is a way to get the player out of a poorly timed friendly between the two nations.  Theo Walcott has picked up an ankle injury in training with the England squad and he may have to miss the game because of that.  Walcott could be a big blow, as he was Arsenal’s leading goal scorer last season,while Ramsey will hope to play and continue his fantastic pre-season form.

Aston Villa have both Charles N’Zogbia and Chris Herd on the injury list with neither having a set date to return, according to physioroom.com.  Herd is recovering from a foot injury he picked up last season and N’Zogbia is recovering from an achilles injury, that required surgery. N’Zogbia hurt himself while on vacation in Miami, has had his number 10 shirt taken and been switched to 36, and last year started only 11 Premier League games last year, despite making a big money move of 9.5m two summers ago from Wigan, and could worry for his future at Aston Villa.  Herd was a bit part player for Lambert last year making only nine Premier League appearances.

Interesting Statistics

In the last 10 meetings between the two sides, Arsenal have won five and, had three draws and Villa have won the other two meetings.  In the last five meetings at the Emirates, Arsenal have won three and Villa have won two.  Arsenal beat Villa in the game at the Emirates 2-1 between the two this year on the strength of two  Santi Cazorla goals, the last time Villa won at the Emirates was in May of 2011 in a 2-1 win on the back of a Darren Bent brace, but Arsenal did finish 32 points higher than Villa last year.  Olivier Giroud will hope to carry his preseason form, where he has scored eight goals, the most preseason goals by an Arsenal player since Dennis Bergkamp in 1995, into the new season and improve in his second season in the league.

Key Players

Some of the more important players in this game will be Andres Weimann, Christian Benteke, Aaron Ramsey, if fit, and Santi Cazorla.  Cazorla, Ramsey and Weimann all created the five chances in the games against each over last season, more than anyone else.  Cazorla was Arsenal’s best player last season created the third most chances in the Premier League making him key in every Arsenal game and a thorn in the side of every defence he faces.  Benteke scored 40% of Aston Villa’s goals last year and a 26% conversion rate many would argue he is the reason they were able to stay up.  Villa signing Benteke to a new contract after he handed in a transfer request, rumoured to be trying to force a move to either Arsenal or Tottenham, was a huge coup this off season for Villa.

Odds

Arsenal will need a good start to keep their fans at bay, they booed them off after a poor first half in a pre-season game, who are deeply frustrated after a lack of signings this off season and Villa will need a strong season to keep Christian Benteke happy to try to retain him after this season.  Arsenal are definitely the favourites at 1.417 to win as opposed to Villa who are 8.3 to win but Villa would probably be happy to come out of the Emirates with a point, which they are 5.15 to do.  The Premier league will be back so let’s all take a moment to appreciate and enjoy that and enjoy the football.  I will try to stay unbiased with my prediction, even though I am an Arsenal fan, I think the final score will be 3-1 to Arsenal.

Final Wrap

Injuries: Chris Herd (out), Charles N’Zogbia (out), Thomas Vermaelen (out), Nacho Monreal (out), Aaron Ramsey (Game Time Decision), Theo Walcott( Game Time decision).

Prediction: 3-1 to Arsenal

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