Champions League 2009 Barcelona's team news

This is Guardiola's first XI for tonight's massive Champions League final:

Valdes
Sylvinho
Pique
Toure
Puyol
Iniesta
Busquets
Xavi
Messi
Eto'o
Henry

Manchester United starting line up Champions League Final 2009

Man Utd's starting eleven:

Van Der Sar
Evra
Vidic
Ferdinand
O'Shea
Anderson
Carrick
Giggs
Park
Ronaldo
Rooney

Wolverhampton Wanderers back in the big time

The 2008/9 season resulted in a mixed bag of fortunes for the teams promoted from the Championship. West Brom, the previous year's winners, were sent straight back down, play off qualifiers Hull just scraped a stay of execution on the last day of the season and the 2007/08 championship runners up Stoke finishing in a respectable 12th position. This season Wolves, Birmingham and Burnley are the 3 clubs with the Premiership mountain to climb; all no doubt are full of ambition and optimism but will require a great deal of spend and probably luck if they have a hope of staying in this league next year. Starting with Wolves, what chance do they realistically have?

Wolves have a fine pedigree in the game and were particularly successful in the 1950s, winning 3 league titles. Their chief executive Jez Moxey has stated that the club's aim is to emulate the achievements of this era rather than "just" staying up in next season's Premiership. Although this ambition is admirable, Wolves fans will remember that their last experience of the Premiership was short lived (relegated in 2004 after a single season and without winning a single away game) and will doubt be hoping that the Wolves hierarchy do focus first and foremost on surviving. The 2003-04 season was however not without it's highlights as the Molineux failthful saw their team defeat Manchester United 1-0 and it is these sort of performances that the fans will hope can be repeated next season.

Survival will of course depend on how much the club is prepared to invest in new players. Thankfully the financial difficulties of the 1980s, which saw Wolves almost bankrupted and bailed out by the local council, are behing the club. Millionaire owner Steve Morgan is keen to "transform the city centre ground into a venue fit for Premiership football", with the first stage being to re-introduce 900 temporary seats, previously introduced during Wolves' last Premiership experience, into the ground.

The revenue from the 900 seats will however not be enough to raise the extra investment that Wolves legend Steve Bull believes will be necessary to keep the club in the Premier League. Bull believes that £50 million will be required and that this sum will only be enough to pay for five players in terms of fees and wages. Bull believes that Wolves need two centre-halves, two midfielders and a front man. To date Wolves have been coy about how much they plan to invest, but have gone on record to say they are willing to spend the rght amount on the right players.

Many Wolves fans however have doubts about Mick McCarthy's ability to invest in the right players, pointing to his time at Sunderland, during which they claim he bought lots of lower league players rather than a smaller number of high quality players, which they believe the club needs. These fans will however be comforted by the fact that the popular Karl Henry has agreed improved terms on a new four-year deal with the Championship winners. Chris Iwelumo, another fans favourite, has also confirmed that he and the whole squad are hungry to succeeed in the Premier league and will put the work in to maximise their chances.The Scottish international netted 16 goals last term as Wolves clinched the Championship title but he missed the end of season through injury.

So will Wolves spend the right money on the right players and succeed where their Midlands neighbours West Brom failed? Current odds for staying up are about the 4/5 mark. In my opinion Birmingham have the better chance, but more on that another time ....

Barcelona vs Manchester United Champions League Final Preview

Barcelona vs Manchester United Champions League Final Wednesday 27th May. Live on ITV1 at 7.45pm.

Set up to be the classic Champions League Final, Manchester United will be aiming to make history as no other team has managed to defend their UEFA Champions League title. The match up with ‘galacticos’ Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is perfect for this stage. Sir Alex Ferguson doesn’t seem to let up on his ambition to annihilate all clubs in all competitions; he flexed his squad muscles on the last game of the Premier League season with a 0-1 victory against Hull City with a team that some football fans could scarcely recognise. This depth has meant that they’ve achieved the retaining of the Barclays Premier League and by doing that in their penultimate match against Arsenal the first team managed to bag a rest in preparation for the big final tomorrow evening at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Rio Ferdinand is fighting for full fitness and certainly will have benefited from this rest. His had 3 weeks out with a calf injury...you’d imagine that he will start in this huge European match.

For Barcelona, Guardiola will be taking Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta who have recently picked up knocks in La Liga games. Dani Alves, Rafa Marquez, Eric Abidal and Gaby Milito are unavailable. All eyes will be on Messi when Barca have possession, the 22 year old has been sensational this season and his left boot can unlock the best defences in the world on his day. Emerging young talent Bojan will be hoping Barca do it, he has come through the Barcelona youth team system and would become the youngest player to have ever won the Champions League.

Historically, it is the Red Devils that have the edge – Manchester United have knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League on three occasions and then there was the 1991 Cup Winners final where Mark Hughes scored twice in their 2-1 history. This was Sir Alex’s first piece of European silverware in the 1st season that English clubs were reinstated into European silverware after the 6 year UEFA ban.

As so much rides on a game like this, it will inevitably be a tense and close affair. This makes it perfect for some small stake spread betting. Although I am definitely not a professional gambler, if you are a neutral spectator in a football match like this then online sports spread betting is a way of making this nail bitingly exciting. The thing with spread betting is that most people are apprehensive of it because they are scared of the losses getting out of control. However with online football betting in general it pays to do a bit of odds comparison and reading the exact details of each bet that is offered to you. For example, with Sporting Index you can set a ‘stop loss’ which potentially caps your loss or profit. I like doing something silly like the number of corners in a match, for example Corners 10-Ups where 10 points are awarded for corners once there have been ten in the game (90 mins only). Of course be careful on your unit stake and think about the stop loss if you’re going to get aggressive. Be lucky...but be careful football gamblers!!

After being crowned World footballer of the year and winning the Prem/Champs League duble last season, some people predicted that Ronaldo would move to Madrid...either that or produce some more casual form for Man Utd. To match Fergie's desire he was proved that he is a big time player with goals when the Red Devils most needed them. He displays that winning streak that makes him perfect for his club.

"I know I've won a lot but I'm the one who set the bar that high," Ronaldo said, when interviewed recently by uefa.com. "I'm a player with a lot of ambition and a strong character. I think that at a personal level, what's most important is me. No matter what others might think, I'll keep thinking like that. I'll continue doing the things I did in 2003, 2004, 2005, right up until now. So nothing will change in me – probably the opposite. My ambition will grow, to win at club level as well as at a personal level. Because the feeling from winning is good, I'm really a winner and therefore I'm going to want more."

My prediction for the match is 1-0 to Manchester United, I think that Barca won’t quite have the fire power to beat Edwin Van der Sar and that quality Man U defence which will lead to the Red Devils 3rd Champions League title.

Newcastle and Boro join West Brom in relegation

Newcastle United down and out

No real surprise that Boro went down, after losing 2-1 at Upton Park to West Ham. No after match interview for Gareth Southgate, relegation just hurts so much that different professionals handle it in different ways.

However, after an emotional 8 matches, local hero Alan Shearer watched his beloved Newcastle United get relegated after being in the top division for 16 years. It was a terribly unfortunate exit in one way, as their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa was down to a freakish own goal by Damien Duff. Were they bad enough to go down? Yes, but then so were Sunderland and Hull City in my opinion as both teams lost today and knew they needed to get some points today to salvage Premier League safety.

But its all done now. The question is : Should Alan Shearer now stay at Newcastle United in the Championship with Mike Ashley as his boss?

Premier League News Sunday 24 May 2009

Premiership 2009 final weekend

These are the matches on the last day of the Premier League season 2009:

Arsenal v Stoke
Aston Villa v Newcastle
Blackburn v West Brom
Fulham v Everton
Hull v Man Utd
Liverpool v Tottenham
Man City v Bolton
Sunderland v Chelsea
West Ham v Middlesbrough
Wigan v Portsmouth

The last day of the Premier League season 2008/2009 concludes on Sunday 24th May this weekend. This year, I don't there could be many people that would think that Manchester United weren't the deserved champions, who were crowned Barclays Premier League winners last weekend at Old Trafford after drawing 0-0 with Arsenal. Liverpool's game against West Brom last week and the match against Spurs this week will have been difficult for them to prepare for, although the have a chance to make history down to the fact that the Reds have had a trully superb season. If they manage to avoid defeat against Tottenham at Anfield, they will become the only team in league history to have lost only 2 games and not to have won the Premiership. A bitter pill to swallow for the Rafa's men but in another way it proves that they have the potential next season to push on and perhaps move on to 19 league titles moving ahead of rivals Man Utd. Spurs are going for the Europa League spot so this could prove to be an entertaining game of football.

However, on Sunday we'll all be watching the drop zone, you've got to feel for the amount of nail biting that will be done for the supporters of the teams involved. Hull City will have to really scrap and fight to get any points against Manchester United who will rest some players but have one of the best squads in Premier League history. Newcastle tragically dropped back into the bottom 3 after losing 2-1 and will have to work really hard to get anything at Villa Park. Sunderland have Chelsea - also tough and Boro are away at Upton Park but in my mind were relegated (not mathematically) last week.

So who's going down? I'm going for Hull City and Middlesbrough to join West Bromwich Albion.

Good luck to the poor fans going to the matches on Sunday!

Sunderland Slide Closer to Trap door

Portsmouth 3 Sunderland 1 Guest blogger Josh Allen

Sunderland threw away another opportunity to guarantee Premier League survival last night, after letting a 1-0 lead slip at Fratton Park.

The result puts the Black Cats in serious danger of Premier League relegation. They are now just two points clear of the drop zone and face a daunting trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

If Sunderland are to go down it will be due to an awful run of form that has seen them pick up just 5 points from a possible 36. They have won just once in the last 3 months and that came against a Hull side in a similar state of free fall.

Momentum and confidence are two of the most crucial aspects of football. Sunderland currently possess neither and last night's game merely demonstrated how difficult it is to turn the tide. Despite Kenwyne Jones getting the opener early in the second half, the visitors were unable to build on their advantage. Their lead lasted barely a minute and shortly afterwards Portsmouth were ahead, following a calamity of errors culminating in a Phil Bardsley own goal.

To Sunderland's credit they didn't give in to the football odds and completely give up but it was simply not to be their day. Given the path that the game had taken, its ending was almost inevitable - Jones missed a great opportunity to equalise and moments later the ball was in the net at the other end courtesy of Armand Traore.

After the game, manager Ricky Sbragia was keen to put a positive spin on proceedings, telling BBC Sport: “it has always been in our hands and we know what is required on Sunday.” The fact is, he also knew what was required last night – a win would have secured their safety with a game to spare. Unfortunately for Sunderland, knowing and doing are two very different things.

West Brom relegated 17th May 2009

West Brom 0 Liverpool 2

Today, Tony Mowbray's men could not hide from the threat of relegation that has put a cloud above the Hawthorns since the latter part of 2008. Faced with a match against Liverpool who were snubbed yesterday in the title race by Manchester United, West Brom would still have been expecting a extremely difficult match against a Liverpool team that could have won the League with a bit more risk and reward style football throughout this season.

West Brom really took the game to Liverpool in the first half, unfortunately their effors on the pitch and die hard Baggies support were frozen by one moment of defensive madness that Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard jumped on to get Liverpool 1 nil up. Shelton Martis miscontrolled the ball putting it within Gerrard's reach - he snapped the football up with interest, dribbled directly at goal and lofted the ball over veteran Dean Kiely to get his 24th goal of the season.

In the second half West Brom struggled to get round the back of the Liverpool defence and couldn't really penetrate in the central areas. Then there was a counter attack that Dirk Kuyt professionally struck in from just outside the penalty box to make it 2-0 to the visitors.

This was a sad day for the Baggies but their fans were an example to any Premier League club who take their status in the division for granted - they really got behind the players which will mean everything to them and undoubtedly will be remembered when they start their new campaign in August in the Championship.

So are West Brom better than just a 'yo-yo' club?

Championship Playoff Final 25th May 2009

Championship Play-off Focus

Although the Premiership title race is over and promotion for Wolves and Birmingham City confirmed, the 2008-9 season still has a lot to offer fans of the beautiful game. The struggle to avoid relegation will not be played out fully until the final weekend of the season, with Newcastle, Boro, Sunderland and Hull all possibilities to go down. The FA Cup final between Everton and Chelsea will be an interesting clash and the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona promises to be an exciting showcase between arguably the best teams in the world. Plus the transfer gossip will keep fans intrigued for weeks. Last, but not least, is the play off final on 25th May, in which Burnley will take on Sheffield United at Wembley for a place in England's top flight.

The two championship teams will not only be playing for prestige, but for the millions of pounds in TV revenue that will come their way if they are successful. The last few years have seen a number of teams struggle or go under financially, and blecause this often result in points being docked making financial recovery even harder, the lucrative rewards of top flight football are increasingly important.

So, who exactly are the two clubs with everything to play for on 25th May?

Burnley FC
Burnley FC play their football at Turf Moor, where on average 13,000 fans turn up to see them play. After finishing the season lying 5th in the table with 76 points, Burnley FC, also known as the Clarets, won 2-0 at Reading to triumph 3-0 on aggregate and seal a place at Wembley. This season has been an exciting one for the Clarets, who as well as reaching the play off final, also reached the semi-finals of the Carling Cup, impressivelt claiming Chelsea and Arsenal as scalps en route only to be knocked out only after extra time to Spurs. The play off final will be the team's 61st game of the season.

Burnley have a long and varied football pedigree; they are only the second team to win all four divisional titles in domestic soccer (Wolves being the first). They also held the record for the longest unbeaten run of league matches for over 80 years, which stood at 30 after the 1920-21 season and was only beaten by Arsenal in the 2003/04 season. A true sleeping giant.

Burnley's most successful era in the top flight English league was the 1950's and early 1960's. Burnley won the First Division title in the 1959-1960 season and continued to challenge for the next few seasons. 1961-2 saw a particularly bittersweet finish to the season as the Turf Moor achieved the runners-up double (to Ipswich in the League and Tottenham Hotspur in the cup) .

In recent years the club has invested heavily in its ground and has further ambitious plans to redevelop Turf Moor further, the future under the manager Owen Coyle looks prosperous as he leads his side into the 2008/09 campaign with Premiership ambitions. Sheffield United will however be doing everything possible on the 25th to thwart these ambitions ....

Sheffield United
On average 26,000 faithful turn up to Bramall Lane to watch Sheffield United, aka the Blades, play every week. Even the younger members of this fanbase are not strangers to the Premiership, as Sheffield United flirted with the top league for a single season in 2006-07. However it is unlikely that any of these fans will remember Sheffield United's most successful era, which was at the turn of the 20th century. The Blades finished as champions in the 1897-98 season, runners up in the 1896-97 and 1899-1900 seasons and were also winners of the FA Cup in 1899, 1901, 1915 and 1925.

In recent years, apart from the honours associated with promotion from lower leagues, Sheffiled United has not won a trophy since 1925. The 2002-03 season was particularly frustrating for Blades fans, who saw their team reach the semi-finals of both domestic cups and the first division play off final but unfortunately lost all three matches. The season of 2005/6 was brighter as Sheffield United earned promotion to the Premiership by finishing 2nd with 90 points; however this foray in the top flight was short-lived as the following season Sheffield United finished 18th with 38 points and were promptly relegated back to the Championship.

Sheffield United have reached the play-off final this year through finishing 3rd in the Championship with 80 points (winning 22, drawing 14 and losing 10 matches win a positive goal difference of 25) and then by beating Preston 2:1 on aggregate in the play-off semi final.

The bookies' favourite to win this match is currently Sheffield United but only by a whisker. With so much at stake, anything could happen. Given their sterling Carling Cup performance I'm going to go out on a limb and go for Burnley to win this match 2:0.

Bit of Harry business

Spurs fans will be looking forward to the next transfer window pre-season to the 2009/2010 season. They have the ENIC spending power, in my opinion misused and wasted on many acquisitions but now this is coupled with Harry Redknapp. Harry is a mover and a shaker in the football world, with a real talent to revitalise players that are Premier League quality but have been tempted to either retire or drop a division.

His old club Portsmouth are well publicised for having financial worries, his move did go towards some of the debts but they could offload players like Peter Crouch, Glenn Johnson and Nico Kranjcar...watch this space.

Then there is the Almeria winger Albert Crusat, rated at £5m that Spurs apparently are keen on.

Get signing with Levy's pennies, Harry.

Hull 1 Bolton 1

Premier League relgation battle continues with Hull City getting a point towards their cause.

Phil Brown's Hull managed to get an invaluable point at the Reebok Stadium to pull the Tigers out of the Premier League relegation zone, putting Newcastle United back in.

Gary Megson would have been pleased with a decent performance against a fired up Hull City and ultimately a point that consolidates their Premier League status for next season.

It was the home team Bolton took the lead with a good counter attack ending with full back Gretar Steinsson scoring after 26 minutes, his long distance drive from 20 yards appeared to have a slight deflection.

Hull eaqualised with Craig Fagan after a defensive mistake by Danny Shittu. Hull City kept pushing and pushing for a winner, they came very close. A great performance by Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen kept the Tigers out but Phil Brown has to be happy to get out of the relegation tonight after a nightmare second half of the season.

Premier League results 16th May

Premiership results for today - 16th May 2009.

Bolton 1 Hull City 1
Everton 3 West Ham 1
Manchester United 0 Arsenal 0
Boro 1 Aston Villa 1
Newcastle 0 Fulham 1
Stoke 2 Wigan 0
Tottenham 2 Manchester City 1

Spurs gunning for the Europa League sport

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Manchester City 1

Harry Redknapp's Spurs continue their strong finish to the season with a 2-1 home win against Manchester City.

With both teams locking horns over the Europa League spot (7th in the Premier League), it was Tottenham Hotspur who had the better of the first half, with Modric and Defoe starting brightly pushing Man City on to the back foot.

It was Defoe who clinched the opener to get the White Hart Lane faithful going. Luca Modric passed the ball out to Tommy Huddlestone who crossed in to Jermain Defoe who skillfully flicked the ball into the net with his back heel.

Man City turned everything on it's head in the second half when they took the game to Tottenham with good performances from Benjani and Ireland but it was subsitute Bojinov who picked up on a loose ball clearance from Corluka who neatly volleyed the equaliser in the 65th minute.

Harry would have been scratching his head a little bit in the second half, the lily whites just couldn't get going. Jermaine Jenas felt ill during the match so Zokora replaced him and then the teams started to really have a go at each other, real end to end stuff.

Then Spurs were awarded a slightly dubious penalty in the 85th minute. Defoe put a cross into on-loan striker Fraizer Campbell who appeared to have Micah Richards climbing on the back of him. There was an awkward pause when the penalty was awarded and the Man City players expressed their distaste to the decision. Captain Robbie Keane made no mistake for Spurs, coolly slotting home his spot kick.

Great win for Spurs, they're now on 51 points which just demonstrates that Levy's decision to cut his losses and get a traditional English management structure in at Tottenham i.e. the Harry factor was a correct one. Fulham and Everton both won also so the race will go to the fnal day.

Manchester United champions of the Barclays Premier League

Manchester United 0 Arsenal 0
A nil-nil draw today at Old Trafford meant that Manchester United retained the Premier League title. This is Man Utd's 18th league title, meaning that they have equaled Liverpool's 18 sharing the 'most league titles won' record.

Arsene Wenger really fired his players up to put in a strong, professional performance to not make it easy for Man U and they did that. Sir Alex's boys reacted in their typical gritty, determined way to get the result they needed to get In the first half, Fabianski had a quiet afternoon in goal for the Gunners. In fact Dutch striker Robin van Persie could have scored for the visitors but headed over the bar from an Andre Arshavin.

In the second half, Man Utd had to work hard, with spirited performances from Tevez and Giggs. Carlos Tevez will have felt vindicated with my 'Sign him up' chants and there were jeers from the home crowd when he was subbed by Ji-Sung Park. Park got a goal that was judged to be offside but overall this was a work like performance that displayed the home team as true champions of the Barclays Premier League.

Manchester United v Arsenal team news

Here is the latest football news ahead of the lunchtime Premier League clash between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford, kick off 12.45pm.

Arsenal team news
Arsenal have been without Rosicky for a long time now, the good news is that he is back in training but will not feature in any action until next season. It has been well documented that Arsenal's problems all season has been defending - teenager Gibbs will remain as the understudy to Clichy at left-back and William Gallas is still out with a knee injury. That said, Gibbs has done well against Cristiano Ronaldo in previous games and the real defensive issue if cover in the Arsenal midfield area. Eduardo is also sidelined with a groin problem.

Manchester United team news
The champions are at full fitness other than England international defender Rio Ferdinany who has a calf injury. Rio will hope to be back for their trip to te KC stadium v Hull City. Darren Fletcher might get a start because he will not take part in the Champions League final due to suspension.

Premiership fixtures 16th May

Premier League matches for this Saturday 16 May 2009

On the penultimate day of the season there are probably more football eyes on the relegation battle. Boro and Newcastle both have home advantage after Monday's thrilling encounter, whereas free-falling Hull City have a tough away fixture at Bolton Atheletic. I have a feeling that Newcastle will get something out of their game against Fulham, perhaps that elusive Michael Owen goal will come tomorrow. Man Utd v Arsenal is the televised match at 12.45pm on Sky Sports, Arsenal fans will be hoping that Wenger's boys can keep things tight and respectable defensively. I think the league will be decided tomorrow, you can rarely see any team taking any points when visiting Old Trafford.

Bolton v Hull 3pm Reebok Stadium
Everton v West Ham 3pm Goodison Park
Man Utd v Arsenal 12.45pm Old Trafford
Middlesbrough v Aston Villa 3pm Riverside Stadium
Newcastle v Fulham 3pm St James' Park
Stoke v Wigan 3pm Britannia Stadium
Tottenham v Man City 3pm White Hart Lane

Who will Mark Hughes go for next? Ronaldinho? Drogba? Santa cruz

Mark Hughes has the cheque book. Now he needs 2-3 players to create the core of a new Manchester City, a Manchester City that will break into the top 6 clubs and push on eventually to the Champions League.

Hughes made a bid last season for Ronaldinho. However he moved to AC Milan and the fans adore him out there in Italy. However his brother stated that he wouldn't rule out another move to a European club: Roberto de Assis Moreira said: "There is no chance of Ronaldinho going back to Brazil at the end of the season.

Then there's the larger than life Drogba. Potentially facing a 5-10 match ban with Chelsea in the Champions League after his ridiculous antics after their exit to Barcelona. I could see this one coming off if the price was right.

Santa Cruz - although Man City are richer than rich, Allardyce reportedly wants £20m. Even though there is history between Hughes and Santa Cruz from their days at Blackburn, Spurs are linked with the Paraguaystriker so it could be that Big Sam gets his price.

I have a feeling that next season will be a big breakthrough for Man City with some of these big signings coming off for Hughesy.

Michael Owen rumours

Where will Owen go?

Michael Owen's career is reaching a critical point, with his form and confidence taking a big nose dive at a time when Alan Shearer needs him the most.

There have been rumours linking Owen with Aston Villa and Everton but apparently David Moyes is not interested in signing the former England favourite. He has also been linked with a pay-as-you-play deal with Celtic that could net the 29 year old £50k per week.

The latest rumour that Michael Owen is considering retirement has been rubbished by Shearer, who used to play alongside Owen for both Newcastle United and England. Although there are high expectations that Michael Owen will leave St James' Park at the end of the season when he is out of contract, surely if Alan Shearer sticks around he would be better playing under Shearer as he is a big believer in the striker.

Owen is undoubtedly a goalscorer, what better a way to end his goal drought

Adebayor linked with Chelsea Drogba linked with Manchester City

Adebayor rumoured to move to Chelsea - Wenger may sell
Rumours are rife that Emmanuel Adebayor will be making the short but significant journey from the Emirates to Stamford Bridge this summer. Arsene Wenger, although insisting he does not want to sell the player, has done nothing to quell the rumours. Wenger claims that a combination of events last summer (a failed move to AC Milan) and a season blighted by injury has damaged Adebayor's relationship with the fans and left the Togo international feeling unsettled. Last season Adebayor scored 24 goals and finished second to Ronaldo in the league of premiership top scorers but this year he is way off this pace, having only netted 10 and lying in 12th place.

To add fuel to the fire Wenger also points out that he would not rule out selling a player to one of the other "big 4" and points to the sale of Ashley Cole and purchase of William Gallas between the 2 top London clubs.

Clearly a move to Chelsea would work well for Adebayor from a personal point of view as he would not need to relocate to a new city. It is also rumoured that Chelsea are looking at Adebayor because Didier Drogba will be leaving in the summer, potentially heading for Manchester City.

Gunners fans will be hoping that if Wenger does decide to sell, he drives a hard bargain and gets enough cash to fill the gaps in Arsenal's midfield and defence!!

Wigan 1 Manchester United 2 Premiership Result

Wigan 1 Manchester United 2 Premier League Result
For me, Manchester United’s 2-1 away victory last night at Wigan typified their professional approach to the Premier League this season, now only 1 point away from retaining the Premiership title. After winning both the Champions League / Premier League double in the 2008/2009, you could have imagined some teams to have taken their foot off of the gas in the subsequent season. However we are talking about the ultra competitive Sir Alex Ferguson, who has the motivation for winning pulsating through his veins.

Wigan’s Antonio Valencia could have put the home team ahead in the first minute of the match where he broke through with Vidic chasing him from behind in no position to tackle. Although when Valencia pulled the trigger, he went for a delicate chip and Vidic managed to do just enough to put him off balance. Fergie will have been watching the Ecuador international closely as there has been a reported link between Man U and the player. Real Madrid are also rumoured to be making a £15m bid, it’s not going to be long until Steve Bruce has to let go of this extremely quick and talented midfielder.

In the 10th minute Berbatov tricked Titus Bramble and then delivered a great cross on to Rooney’s head; the England striker uncharacteristically headed wide. Shortly after this, Berbatov again played the right wing role to deliver a great pass along the deck to Michael Carrick who narrowly missed sending the ball wide of the far post.
However it was the Latics that surprisingly took the lead. In the 28th minute, Columbian striker Hugo Rodallega scored a slightly scrappy goal which could have been avoided with some more assertive defending from the Red Devils.
Manchester United could have equalised with Ronaldo going through with a 1-on-1 with the Latics goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

In the second half Man Utd remained in a frustrated state as Steve Bruce’s side battled more in the way that has guaranteed them their Premier League survival. Past the hour mark however, the visiting team managed to get a goal, another scrappy one where Tevez awkwardly connected with a miss hit shot from Michael Carrick to find the back of the net. They all count, as they say.

Man U kept pushing and pushing. The inevitable was in sight and it came with a great left footed drive from England international Michael Carrick. Carrick deservedly got Sky Sports man of the match award and demonstrated the class that he can bring to the England set up with the World Cup 2010 just around the corner.

Overall a great result for Steve Bruce’s old boss but Brucey will be frustrated that he cannot get a result against Manchester United. However, the Wigan players reacted to the frustration shown from their boss on the weekend after the West Brom defeat with a solid performance worthy of any Premier League side. Quoted on the Latics website: “I've been trying for ten years to get a result against them, and I thought tonight would be the night I got it, but it wasn't to be. Overall I couldn't wish for anymore, we did everything we possibly could to get the result.”

Wigan v Man Utd odds

Latest odds from SkyBet:

Wigan to win 9/2
Man Utd to win 2/7
Wigan - Man Utd draw 9/2

Use the link on the right to register an account with SkyBet to get your bet on prior to 8pm!

Wigan v Manchester United Premier League 13th May 2009 8pm

Wigan V Man Utd 8pm JJB Stadium, 13th May
With Manchester United only needing 4 points from matches against Wigan (tonight at the JJB Stadium), Arsenal (Old Trafford) and Hull City (KC stadium) it feels like the Premier League title race is over when you take into account Man Utd's current explosive form. They convincingly brushed aside local rivals Man City 2-0 with goals from Ronaldo and unsettled Carlos Tevez. Liverpool play West Brom and Tottenham in their 2 last games where they could hope for 6 points but I think it will all be over before the last day of the Premier season on Sunday 24th May.

Sir Alex Ferguson will have Scholes, Carrick and Rooney back but may have to go without Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans. Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov is aware that although Wigan are stuck in mid table oblivion with no threat of relegation or prospect of a Europa League place, Steve Bruce's men will be up for a big game tonight:

"I know it will be difficult," Berbatov told MUTV. "But last year United won the league there, so hopefully history repeats itself, because winning is very important to us getting the title."

Steve Bruce seemed quite restless and agitated by his team's ability to finish this season with a bang, when they were beaten by bottom of the Premiership West Bromwich Albion. Wigan haven't won a game in their last 6 and Bruce is clearly looking for more commitment and spirit from his squad. Even without the bulldog like Zaki and goalkeeper Chris Kirkland out, he will want to show his old club that he captained for so many years that he can motivated his troops and be competitive at the highest level. Egyptian striker Mido is available for this match and is likely to start for the Latics.

2-0 away win to Manchester United is my bet, Man Utd to be only 1 point away from retaining the Premiership title.

Redknapp with Ledley King quandry

Should Premier League footballers drink?

Premier League footballers get paid more than alot of rock stars...an average footballing career (on the pitch) might last 12 years - Harry Redknapp's statement about banning his players form alcohol consumption during the football season seems totally fair enough to me. Surely players that have got into scrapes in the past ended up regreting all of the propaganda and scandal associate with the incident enough to just not drink during the playing period?

It's all change in comparison to the 60's and 70's where footballers openly smoked and drank before/after a match or indeed at half time!

British Cup versus Carling Cup poll results

Firstly thanks to all of the football bloggers that gave their opinion on whether a English-Scottish 'British Cup' would be an entertaining replacement for the dour Carling Cup.

63% of respondents would replace the Carling Cup with the British Cup....I guess 37% either object to losing the League Cup which began in 1960 OR they just do not care!

Premier League relegation remaining matches 2009

What a memorable match last night. Newcastle triumphing 3-1 The drama of Newcastle's own goal almost summarising the Magpies' terrible season, Alan Shearer's aggressive double substitution and Obafemi Martens slippery action before watching his shot get the Geordies to 2-1. Nerve racking for the fans and players involved but amazing for any neutral football lover.

Anyway, take a look at this lot to see how tight it is. Newcastle moved out of the relegation zone last night pushing Phil Brown's demotivated Hull City into the 3rd from bottom drop position. Despite the gritty fight displayed by the Baggies, I can't see them getting any points at Anfield this weekend. Boro will go down purely due to their lack of scoring ability; Alves will not participate in either of their 2 last games this season which worsens the picture for Gareth Southgate. Hull City's only chance is that Man Utd win the league early and field a weak squad on the last day of season at the KC stadium. Alan Shearer's Newcastle United are galvanised now - I can see them getting 1-4 points from their games against Fulham and Villa. It will go right to the wire this one, incredible stuff.

Relegation battle games 2009

West Brom
Home against Liverpool 1pm Sunday 17th May
Away at Blackburn Rovers 4pm Sunday 24th May

Middlesbrough
Home against Aston Villa 3pm Saturday 16th May
Away at West Ham 4pm Sunday 24th May

Hull City
Away at Bolton 3pm Saturday 16th May
Home against Man Utd 4pm Sunday 24th May

Newcastle United
Home against Fulham 3pm Saturday 16th May
Away at Aston Villa 4pm Sunday 24th May

Spurs linked with Cisse and Tevez

As a loyal Spurs fan, I would love Tevez but I don't think that we'll have nor the bidding power or attraction to get him. Man City will bid stupid amounts of cash and it doesn't sound like Man U will look to spend similar money to their other signing Dmitri Stroppatov.

I've always thought Cisse is a great Premier League striker and would think that Harry Redknapp might fancy a bit of a bargain signing with him.

Newcastle 3 Middlesbrough 1 Premier League 11th May 2009

Alan Shearer's Newcastle United won arguably one of the biggest games in thier history, beating fellow North East strugglers Middlesborough 3-1.

Scorers: Newcastle: Taylor, S 9, Martins 71, Lovenkrands 86
Middlesbrough: Beye (og) 3

FULL MATCH REPORT TO FOLLOW

Newcastle v Middlesborough Premier League 11th May 2009 8pm

Newcastle v Middlesbrough - the ultimate Premiership relegation scrap

With Premier League teams that possess the talent of a top ten team but the form of a team looking Championship bound, you really could not predict what this Monday night relegation battle will bring. This is the 114th league meeting between the 2 teams from the North East and could be considered as one of the most important in both of their club histories.

Neither team should be where they are considering the club resources that they have. Especially Newcastle who have one of the best season ticket fan bases in the country as well as money in the bank to get the right players. Mike Ashley has done made some terrible management and PR mistakes, in my opinion the worst one was sacking Sam Allardyce. Big Sam was on a 3 year deal and the Geordies kept him for only 9 months. I think its quite simple: if you give Sam Allardyce 5 seasons he will get you consistently in the top 8 of the Premier League, pushing on for European football action. He’s arguably the best English manager around and I can remember as a Spurs fan feeling apprehensive about meeting the Newcastle because they were the new Bolton (!).

For Boro, Emanuel Pogatetz (knee) and Chris Riggott (ankle) will miss the game. With the level of importance that this match holds, the visitors won't be reading too much into the fact that Middlesbrough haven't lost at St James' Park since 2004.

For the Magpies, defender Steven Taylor could make the match after recovering from an ankle injury and training with the Newcastle United squad. Then of course there's no Joey Barton who was suspended for a straight red card in the latter stages of their defeat by Liverpool at Anfield. Although Shearer has insisted that he is looking forward after that incident he will surely be seething inside that Barton has made his job even harder by sidelining himself unnecessarily.

Caretaker boss Alan Shearer was quoted on the BBC football website as saying: "I am as surprised as anyone at the situation we are in. But we are in it, so we have got to face it head on and we have got to get out of it, and that's what we are trying to do. I believe we have still got enough time. I still believe we have got enough in the dressing room to get us out of this and I have got confidence in my squad."

You have to feel for any club in this position but there are other teams I believe that Boro and Newcastle are better than in the Premier League but they’ve both failed to deliver that form – it could be too little too late for them.

I reckon a draw, under 2.5 goals so football betting will be tough.

Manchester United v Manchester City 1pm 10th May 2009

Manchester United vs Manchester City 13.30pm Premier League match 10th May
Anyone who watched the Red Devils demolish Arsenal on Tuesday night would be unlikely to bet against them doing the same against their local rivals. As well as all the emotions associated with the derby, this fixture is viewed as a bit of a grudge match by the United team due to losing to Manchester City both home and away last season. After beating City at Eastlands earlier this season, United undoubtedly want to do the same this year.

The spectacular Champions’ League result aside, Manchester United are in excellent form. Since losing two games in a row in March, they've won eight and drawn one in all competitions. In their last 5 games, all of which resulted in victory, Manchester United have have netted 13 goals.

Manchester City fans will point to the fact that they are also in form at the moment, having won three on the bounce. Victories over West Ham, Everton and Blackburn have left City in contention for possible entry into the Europa League. These fans will also be hoping that Robinho will demonstrate at Old Trafford the excellent form he is capable of. However as Tuesday showed, an in-form Manchester United has the ability to wipe the floor with even the best of teams. Mark Hughes’ best hope therefore is that with three big games in less than a week and with the Champions League final beckoning, Ferguson may want to rest some of his bigger names to minimise chances of injury. It is also worth noting, that although this would be anathema to the United fans, the Red Devils could look to play for a draw as they only need seven points from twelve to retain the Premiership title.

In terms of squad, Gary Neville has recovered from the foot injury that has kept him out for a month. Wes Brown (foot) is however out for the season, while Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes are available and hoping to start. For City, midfielder Shaun-Wright Phillips could miss out (ankle) although Pablo Zabaleta looks to have recoved from his hamstring injury.

It is difficult to see Man United not winning this with a thumping of City. Whilst considering the pace and skill of United’s squad, Mark Hughes’ words are correct but seem particularly understated "You have to work very hard if you want to beat United and your goalkeeper usually has to play very well.” This is however the Premiership and anything could happen!

Arsenal v Chelsea Premier League fixture 4pm 10th May 2009

Arsenal v Chelsea Premiership 4pm match

Although this match is a clash of 2 of the strongest teams in Europe, managed by 2 of the most respected managers in the modern game, there is a strong sense of anti-climax and disappointment surrounding the fixture. As all fans of football will be aware, both sides exited the Champions League earlier this week. Arsenal’s defence simply wasn’t good enough from the outset and they conceded 3 goals to Manchester United, Chelsea’s road to ruin was a lot more contentious involving questionable refereeing decision. However the end result for both teams was the same: disappointment, recriminations and no final in Rome. Prior to this week’s events both teams had also acknowledged they were also effectively out of the Premiership title race.

Both Hiddink and Wenger have however been quick to state that their teams have the strength of character to bounce back from the week’s disappointment and they will be keen to get a result as evidence of this. Arsenal also has the added incentive of potentially catching Chelsea in third place; currently 6 points separate the teams. Wenger has the home advantage over his Dutch rival, which Chelsea has never managed to overturn at the Emirates. The Gooners also have superior Premiership form within the elite 4 clique; they are to date unbeaten by the other 3 teams, including a victory at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, and could along with Liverpool do the double over the Blues. In contrast the only point Chelsea has won against top four opposition is courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on 21 September. Hiddink’s team will however take comfort from the fact that during their most recent encounter, Chelsea were victorious and knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup.

Unfortunately for the Gooners, Andrey Arshavin has not been able to train due to a virus and is therefore unavailable. Clichy (back), Eduardo (groin) and former Chelsea defender Gallas (knee) are also out for the rest of the season. Wenger will however almost certainly be demonstrating his confidence in Gibb, whose mid-week slip led to conceding the first goal against the Red Devils and effectively ended the contest, "The best thing to do in that situation sometimes is to give them straight away the chance again to play."

Chelsea are likely to be without Drogba after he picked up an ankle injury in the Champions League defeat and Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira are out with knee ligament injuries.

Predicting the result for this afternoon’s clash is a difficult one; in the words of Wenger "[It] will be down to the team who deals best with the disappointment, who wants it more and who has more strength of character.” Let’s go with 2:2 for now then!!

West Ham 0 Liverpool 3 Premier League result

West Ham 0 Liverpool 3

Liverpool kept their heads down in the Premier League today to continue the pressure on Manchester United as best as they can.

Captain Steven Gerrard was put in by a great through ball from striker sensation Torres, Gerrard’s diagonal run was intelligent but West Ham’s attempt at an offside trap wasn’t. Gerrard didn’t make any mistake, scoring within only 2 minutes. 36 minutes later Liverpool had a penalty, Gerrard’s spot kick was saved by Robert Green but it rebounded back to Gerard to net his second.

It was one way traffic at Upton Park with the visitors looking to dominate the possession. In the second half, Torres missed narrowly with freak header (looked like it just accidentally bounced off if his head!) just going wide and Dirk Kuyt was foiled by Green in a one on one scenario. Zola’s boys have had a good transitional season but Liverpool bossed the midfield.
Babel was picked out towards the end by Kuyt, only for his header to be saved by Green but then the ricochet was picked up for Babel to make certain of 3 points for the Reds.
Liverpool remain unbeaten in the Premier League – Benitez should be proud of their efforts this season but they will probably come up short against the mighty Man Utd.
Attendance: 34,951

Barclays Premier League Football fixtures 9 May 2009

Premiership Fixtures 9th May 2009

This week's Premiership fixtures for today's action as below:

Blackburn v Portsmouth 3pm kick off

Bolton v Sunderland 3pm kick off

Everton v Tottenham 3pm kick off

Fulham v Aston Villa, 3pm kick off

Hull v Stoke, 3pm kick off

West Brom v Wigan 3pm kick off

West Ham v Liverpool 5.30pm kick off

Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona Champions League Semi Final (aggregate score 1-1)

Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (agg 1-1) Barcelona win on away goals rule

Last night Chelsea had one of the most dramatic Champions League semi-final exits ever witnessed. With both teams starting brightly it was the home team that scored first in explosive fashion with Michael Essien hitting a left foot volley so sweetly which clocked in speed wise at 64mph. What a start for Hiddink’s men.

Barcelona played super one touch passing movements, maintaining possession in classic continental style. However it was Chelsea that looked more threatening every time they counter attacked Barca.

Then came a big penalty shout from Chelsea, with Drogba going down in the penalty area with a spot of shirt tugging and physical gamesmanship from defender Abidal but referee Ovrebo was not interested. Looked like a blatant pen on the replay to me.

In the second half, the Ivory Coast international striker was put in another great scoring position by Anelka but Barcelona goalkeeper Valdes stood up to Drogba and saved with an out stretched leg.

Abidal was dismissed with a straight red card in the 65th minute when Anelka made a run in on the Barca goal. Seemed harsh and Abidal’s team mates certainly thought so.

With Chelsea being mindful of their slender lead, they pushed for a second but it didn’t come. The nauseating prospect of a late knockout blow from the visitors loomed. It came tragically for them in the 92nd minute when Iniesta gained possession from Essien’s clearance and cracked a 20 yard shot past Cech to cement the favourites into the Champions League final against Manchester United.

In the dying moments, more scandal. German midfield general Micahel Ballack hit a superb volley goal wards which definitely struck Samuel Eto on the arm. Eto had both arms up which for me in that situation is a penalty; that said it is cruel on the man in the defensive position. Ballack reacted in an unsporting manner towards the ref, appealing aggressively by shouting and running after Ovrebo like a man possessed.

The final whistle blew. Drogba who loves to be the centre of attention violently appealed to the referee next. With adequate security he was ushered away from the referee but then went up to the Sky Sports camera and said “This is a disgrace, a disgrace...this is a f**king disgrace.” There will surely be UEFA punishment for this disgraceful behaviour. Yes, Chelsea were robbed last night but yet again it demonstrated at the highest level to families and kids tuning in to Sky Sports TV that within football there is no genuine respect for officials. A shame that Chelsea went out in this way but it has paved the way for a classic Blockbuster – Barcelona versus Manchester United in the Chamipions League final could well be a classic encounter.

Arsenal 1 Manchester United 3 Champions League Semi Final Result (agg 1-4)

Champs League 2009 Semi Result Arsenal 1 Manchester United 3 (aggregate 1-4)

Any team in the world looking to beat Man Utd at the moment, good luck. Yet again, Fergie's latest crop proved that they want to keep dominating and beating the best in Europe. Having Park upfront certainly raised eyebrows, including the benched ex-Spurs striker Dimitri Berbatov. In typical Man Utd fashion, they proved anyone even thinking of criticising Sir Alex's decisions with a very early goal from South Korean international Ji-Sung Park, shortly followed by another Ronaldo special leaving the Emirates party a tad flat to say the least. United held Arsenal in midfield and stayed firm in defence. Ronaldo kept the pressure on and tested Almunia several times. In the second half the Portuguese star made it three to rub salt in the wounds for Wenger.

Manchester United's determination was evident for all to see and I think they would beat either Barcelona or Chelsea in the final. However they may have to do so without Darren Fletcher who was straight red carded for a challenge where he actually touched the ball before the Arsenal player. Fletcher, who believes he is showing the form of his life this season will be beside himself with dissapointment tonight and would imaginably be pushing for an appeal on this refereeing decision.

I would bet on Man Utd to win this competition on the basis of that performance alone.

Arsenal v Manchester United Champions League Semi Final 2nd leg

Champions League Semi Final 2nd Leg Preview Arsenal v Manchester United (agg. 0-1)

Manchester United have been boosted by the news that both Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra are available for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final clash with Arsenal. Scans have shown that the rib injury picked up Ferdinand was neither a crack nor a break and he was able to complete training on Monday. Evra was substituted at The Riverside after a slight ankle knock, but Ferguson has confirmed that he should be fit to face the Gunners. Should Evra fail a fitness test tomorrow, Ferguson has the option of moving first-leg goalscorer John O'Shea to left-back, with Rafael or Gary Neville taking his place at right-back. Jonny Evans, who replaced Ferdinand late on against Arsenal, would be another alternative.

The red devils of course make the trip to the Emirates with a one goal advantage but it seems unlikely that they intend to just sit back and preserve this lead. The experienced Ryan Giggs has confirmed that the club intends to play an attacking game. “We have to go down to London and play like we did in the first game [last Wednesday],” he said. “We’ll have no problems then.” Obviously because Arsenal failed to score at Old Trafford, if United get an away goal in London, Arsenal would have to score three times to progress.

This would of course not be impossible for the Gunners, who are more than capable of creating strong scoring chances. In Arsenal’s recent outing at Anfield, they scored 4 goals; however Arshavin, the player responsible for hitting the net on each occasion, will not be on the pitch on Tuesday as he is cup tied. Van Persie is however likely to start, which is real boost for Arsenal, and Fabregas, Adebayor and Walcott are also available.

It is however in defence that Arsenal is likely to have the most problems. The 4 goals from Arshavin at Anfield were effectively cancelled out by conceding 4 goals. Gael Clichy and William Gallas are both injured and the Gooners will miss their experience, although Manuel Almunia and Kieran Gibb played excellently last week at Old Trafford. Wenger will also be relying heavily on the experienced Kolo Toure.

The Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas, refuses to let the absences from Arsenal’s back line spoil his optimism. “It’s 1-0, we are not talking about 4-0 here. In the Champions League, anything can happen. At home we know we are very strong. We will have our fans behind us - they will be amazing I am sure of that. We just have to play our game, be confident we can do it because I know we can do it. Let's focus on our game, be positive and go for it.” Fabregas is also determined to repay the belief shown in him when Arsene Wenger brought him to London at 16 and has called on all his team-mates, many of whom have also been nurtured by the club since a young age, to re-pay Arsenal’s investment by taking the club to the final in Rome.

Arsenal fans and players will also be lifted by the fact that Wenger has confirmed his future will be at Arsenal and not Real Madrid as some have suggested, despite his obvious frustration that Arsenal have not won a trophy for 3 seasons. "I believe Arsenal is my club because it is my club, it is the only club," said the Frenchman this week.

My personal belief is that although Arsenal have shown real improvements in the latter half of the season and that the squad they currently have available is full of exciting new talent which will challenge more strongly for the Premiership next season, their defensive frailties will leave them just too exposed when faced with a team of the calibre of Manchester United. However Arsenal at their attacking best will give the red devils a real contest, so tomorrow’s semi is looking like a real little beauty!!

Aston Villa v Hull 4th May 2009 Premier League

Aston Villa v Hull 8pm Premiership Preview

Phil Brown will be looking for the commitment and desire shown at home last week against Liverpool but unfortunately will be without Caleb Folan after he picked up a red card in that match. It is well documented that Hull came out of the blocks really quickly and then have only won once in the last 18 matches. Tigers favourite Andy Dawson maybe be missing at left back and Jimmy Bullard is out for the rest of the season with a knee problem that will be massively dissappointing for all at Hull City.

Martin O'Neil's team will be equally motivated tonight to show Everton that they are still fighting for a Champions League place. The Toffees went a point ahead of Aston Villa after comfortably beating Sunderland 0-2. Former Spurs and Charlton defender Luke Young has been superb this season for the Villa but could be missing due to a recurring foot injury. Agbonlahor and Reo-Coker could also be doubts for Villa's starting line-up.

After accusing Cesc Fabregas of spitting at assistant manager Brian Horton and Wenger of not shaking his hand, Phil Brown is certainly a unique football manager. He is impressive in interviews in terms of his coaching expertise but will be acutely aware of the danger that the Tigers are in currently. He will also expect some heavy pressure from Villa with the home crowd looking to raise the roof this Bank Holiday to push on with their European aspirations.

I fancy Carew to score one for the Villa tonight, a fantastic old fashioned style striker with great physical prominence who will look to aggressively attack the Hull back line.

Could be a close one, I would bet on a draw I think or even under 2.5 goals.

Aston Villa v Hull Betting 4th May Monday night (20:00)

Football Betting match odds from SkyBet for tonight's game:

Villa to win 1/2
Draw 3/1
Hull City 6/1

I'm tempted for the draw....Hull will be fighting and Aston Villa have been inconsistent in this second half. For all Aston Villa v Hull betting odds on SkyBet - click here.

Liverpool v Newcastle Football Betting - Premier League 3rd May

Two tricky games to call today. You've got Liverpool v Newcastle at 1.30pm, I think the only thing that could be predicted is lots of goals with Newcastle's cagey defence and Liverpool's attacking potency with Gerard returning alongside the irresistible Torres. Therefore for this one I’d be tempted to go for an over 2.5 goals bet (4/7 with Skybet) - visit Skybet now for this bet and other betting options

Sunderland v Everton Premier League 4pm May 3rd

Sunderland v Everton, May 3rd Sunday 16:00

Ricky Sbragia will be keen for Sunderland to stop licking their wounds after last week’s 3-0 defeat to West Brom and for his team to concentrate on getting some points off Everton and putting some distance between themselves and the relegation zone. Relying on their North East neighbours to continue to drop points is not an appropriate approach, particularly if it all goes down to the last match of the season (Sunderland face Chelsea). Sbragia will also be keen to put to bed the memory of the reverse fixture earlier this season, which was his first match in charge and was another 3:0 defeat for the Black Cats.

The Sunderland squad us however missing some key players. They are without goalkeeper Craig Gordon (knee), defender Nyron Nosworthy (hamstring) and George McCartney (calf). Sbragia will however be hopeful that Captain Dean Whitehead is ready to return after coming on as a substitute last week. French star Steed Malbranque is also available.

Although Toffee historians will be encouraged by the fact that Sunderland have not beaten Everton for 8 years, most fans will be more concerned by their more recent form. Everton have not won on their travels since December (beating Middlesbrough on Boxing Day) and this cause will not be helped by the absence of Phil Jagielka, sadly be missing for the rest of the season due to the knee ligament injury he picked up last week. It is likely that Joseph Yobo will cover for Jagielka and partner Joleon Lescott for the rest of the season in central defence. James Vaughan, Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling could also all feature and Tim Cahill may return after starting on the bench last week.

Some commentators suggest that David Moyes may be resting his strongest players for the FA Cup final; however with fifth place in sight and the FA Cup several weeks way, this sounds more like wishful thinking from the Stadium of Light. This tie is however hard to call, I’ll go for a 2:1 win for Everton.

Liverpool v Newcastle Premiership 3rd May 2009

Liverpool v Newcastle, Sunday 3rd May 13:30

Thirteen years ago these two teams played each other in what has since been billed as the best Premiership game ever. In this fixture in April 1996 Stan Collymore scored a last minute winner to beat the Geordies 4:3 and to dent their premiership title bid. Tomorrow however both sets of fans would be overjoyed with a boring 1:0 victory over the other. Shearer’s Toon Army are of course desperate for 3 points, which could be the lifeline they need to scrabble out of the relegation zone (if Hull also lose tomorrow). As the Scousers are going into this fixture 6 points behind Manchester United, they also need to win if they are to retain any hope of topping the Premiership this season.

Newcastle’s form this season has been particularly poor. They are without are without a win in nine matches and have gained just two points from a possible 12 under Shearer. They have drawn the most fixtures in the Premiership this season (thirteen) and have won the fewest (six). Jose Enrique’s hamstring injury from the Portsmouth match means that Shearer has no recognised left-back available in his squad and may have to use Damien Duff in this role instead. Steven Taylor is also injured leaving Fabricio Coloccini and Sebastien Bassong to shore up the defence. Shearer’s three pronged attack of Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka are all still available, but it remains to be seen whether he will risk such an attacking formation.

Liverpool will however be welcoming back their inspirational captain Steven Gerrard after an absence of 4 matches. Rafa has stated that “the team were doing well without Stevie, but everyone knows we are stronger with him on the pitch. He is a player who can changes games and is very important for us.” With or without Gerrard, Liverpool’s form this season has been impressive. They are only club with an unbeaten home Premier League record this season (10 wins, seven draws) and have only lost two games this season (the best record in the Premiership). Gerrard and Fernando Torres are joint top scorers in the league this season, with 13 goals apiece. Given the quality of this attack coupled with the injuries to Newcastle’s defence and adding in need to win to keep up the heat on Manchester United, it seems unlikely that the Geordies will be returning home with anything but disappointment.

Middlesborough 0 Manchester United 2 Premier League Result 2nd May

Manchester United took went a full 3 points closer to winning the Barclays Premier League today with a 0-2 away win at the Riverside Stadium.
Gareth Southgate couldn’t have been relishing the prospect of playing a Man Utd side getting back into form and getting something towards their Premier League survival. Players like Alves and Tuncay have really struggled to find the net this season for Boro which ultimately could cost them their Premier League status. It is well documented that Stuart Downing has a cultured left boot but can suffer from low confidence. All of these factors meant that the home team conceded most possession to the champions which is too dangerous with the likes of Berbatov and Rooney on the pitch.

Captain Ryan Giggs opened the scoring mid way the first half (25 mins) when the ball ricocheted off of a challenge between the boro defence and Macheda outside of the box. The ball made its way the Welshman who had space to pick his spot with that sweet left foot to get an important early goal.

Wayne Rooney was superb in his less favourite position of left midfield, driving at the Boro defence and cutting inside to open up attacking options. It was Rooney’s cunning through ball that but in South Korean international Ji-Sung Park who emphatically finished past Jones who really had no chance on either of the two goals.

I thought the home team were disappointing today at the Riverside Stadium, there was no massive push to get a goal and the severe lack of confidence dictated the pace of the match because Manchester United kept the ball so much. I also thought that Huth and Wheater battled really well but perhaps would have hoped for more industry and cover in the defensive midfield area. That said, Manchester United are in top form and will now be thinking that they have one hand on the Premier League title 2008/2009.

Premier League Man City v Blackburn, 2nd May 3pm

Man City v Blackburn, 15:00 2nd May

After being knocked out of the UEFA cup by Hamburg 2 weeks ago, Manchester City need a strong finish to have a chance of being back in Europe next year. Blackburn will also be wanting a lot rom the game, although they have six points of daylight between themselves and the relegation zone, none of the teams in the bottom half of the table can afford to take their feet off the gas. Recent meetings between the 2 teams have been overwhelmingly in Blackburn’s favour with City failing to win in the last 11 meetings

Morale is however high in both teams– Rovers were victorious in he local derby against Wigan last week and since being knocked out of Europe City have responded in the best way possible by beating both West Brom and Everton.

I predict a respectable but non exciting 1:1 draw.

Chelsea vs Fulham Premier League Sat 2nd May 15:00

Saturday 2nd May Chelsea v Fulham, 15:00

Chelsea must be flying high after keeping a clean sheet this week against Barca, but equally Hiddink must be wary of avoiding injury / fatigue prior to the return leg on Wednesday. Hiddink has also ruled out winning the Premier League this season so is likely to rest many of the big names

Fulham on the other hand have a lot to play for. They are currently on course for the highest finish in their 130-year history (best to date was ninth place 2003-04) and a potential place in the third qualifying round for next season's Europa League.

Both teams are solid defensively – this season to date Fulham have only conceded 28 goals (fourth best Premier League record) and Chelsea only 20 (best record). Therefore unlikely to be a showpiece, but a lot for Fulham fans to be interested in.

Premier League Middlesbrough vs Man United Sat 2nd May 12.45

Middlesbrough vs Man United 12.45

Boro fans will be cheered by the knowledge that they beat Liverpool at the Riverside last month and drew with Arsenal before Christmas. Boro will also be relieved that 2 stalwarts of the Manchester United defence – Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville - are almost certain to be out. Gareth Southgate has also called on the fans to get behind the team and help them maintain the Riverside’s status as an unpenetrable fortress in 2009.

However despite the news about Ferdinand and Neville and lthough it is true that the Red Devils have played about 1000 matches this season and will almost certainly look to rest some of the big names ready for Tuesday’s Champions’ League semi final against Arsenal, even a second tier Manchester United is unbelievably formidable and will probably be too much for Boro.

Wigan v Bolton Premiership news Sat 2nd May 15:00

This weekend sees another local Derby for the Latics, who are entertaining Bolton at home. Steve Bruce will be hoping that Wigan can overturn their recent poor form of three consecutive defeats, which have effectively ended their hopes of playing in Europe next season, and finish strongly for the fans. If on-loan strike Mido is fit to play, this will substantially help Wigan’s chances.

The Trotters' results this season against their North West neighbours have also been disappointing, with only five points won from 10 meetings. However as victory this weekend will take Bolton to 41 points and could secure their Premier League status for another year (if other results go their way), Megson should have no problems motivating his men. Megson will also be expecting to have Ricardo Gardner, Danny Shittu and Andy O'Brien available again, which will help his cause enormously.

Tottenham v West Brom Premier League Review Sat 2nd May 15:00

As one of the Tottenham faithful who watched Spurs in freezing temperatures capitulate to West Brom 2:0 in the reverse fixture just after Christmas, I am hopeful that as well as the weather looking much more favourable, Spurs’ impressive run of form at home will continue this weekend (and that conceding 5 goals in the second half against Man U last weekend will be just a distant memory).

West Brom have not managed to score, let alone win, in London this season, but will be optimistic that they can bring their form in the North East to the capital after defeating Sunderland 3:0 last weekend. West Brom, lying in last place in the Premiership, of course have everything to play for this weekend, particularly as the 2 teams above them are playing top 4 opposition and are unlikely to collect full points. However despite the importance of the match and the spirit of the squad and fans, their chances of victory at White Hart Lane are reduced by the fact that Tony Mowbray is without two of his key performers - James Morrison and Abdoulaye Meite are both injured.

Spurs’ leading scorer Darren Bent is also out, but with Keane, Pavlyuchenko and Defoe all fit and available, Redknapp will be able to field a strong attack. Fingers crossed this will be enough to beat West Brom and earn Spurs a sixth successive home victory.

Stoke v West Ham Premiership 2nd May 15:00

If Stoke win this fixture and Newcastle and Boro both lose, Stoke’s premiership future next season is assured. Stoke therefore have a lot to play for and their record at the Britannia Stadium is excellent (currently unbeaten in last 7 home games). The Potters will be hoping that James Beattie will pass a last minute fitness test to maximise their chances of passing the magical 40 point threshold.

The Hammers too will be looking for full points this weekend as they are one of the teams chasing hard for European football next year. They will be hoping that Fulham will drop points against Chelsea and therefore a victory over the Potters will put them back in seventh place. Scott Parker is still out although Kieran Dyer is available to start.

Premier League Portsmouth v Arsenal 2nd May 15:00

Portsmouth have never beaten Arsenal in the Premiership; however this will not prevent Paul Hart from wishing to capitalise on their current run of form and claim the 3 points to make top flight football next season even more secure. Although the influential Kranjcar is out for the rest of the season with a bad ankle, Kaboul is just returning to fitness and is a strong candidate to start for Portsmouth. Formal Arsenal player Pennant is also likely to play. Looking at the names on Arsenal’s squad list, Hart will however be hoping that Arsenal will be resting some of their top names ready for Tuesday’s big European match.

However Andrey Arshavin, who is cup-tied and ineligible for the Champions’ League semi final, will almost certainly start and after scoring 4 times against Liverpool 2 weeks ago his ability can not be under rated. By winning 3 points at Fratton Park Wenger’s men well guarantee a fourth place finish so Wenger will be looking to win this match convincingly.

Groin strain is however sweeping through the Emirates and Arsenal will be without leading scorer Robin van Persie, striker Eduardo and defender Mikael Silvestre for the match.