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.