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Friday, 6 June 2014

World Cup 2014: guide to groups, fixtures and dates

Host nation Brazil will open the Fifa World Cup 2014 tournament against Croatia in Sao Paulo on June 12. The final will take place at Estadio Maracana on July 13. Below is your guide to all the fixtures, dates and kick-off times. Times are BST.



Thursday, 3 October 2013

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

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

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

Monday, 30 September 2013

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

Thursday, 26 September 2013

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

Tuesday, 24 September 2013

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

Friday, 20 September 2013

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.

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