Soccer Buzz

• Not the optimal start for Manchester United this past weekend. Not only do they only manage one point from Reading, but they lose Wayne Rooney for two months with a broken left foot. I wondered how Man U would respond to an injury to Rooney or Ronaldo, and I suppose we will find out. The Red Devils travel to Portsmouth Wednesday, and Carlos Tevez will have to start since Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have only just started training with the club after recovering from injuries.
• Arsenal may have a new look this year, but they followed the same pattern they showed last season: give up an early goal at home and come back to get a victory. Jens Lehmann pulled off one of the strangest mistakes I’ve ever seen from an experienced international goalkeeper to give Fulham the lead only 52 seconds in, but Arsenal stormed back with a Robin Van Persie penalty and a late winner from Alexander Hleb.
• Premiership newcomers experienced success in their opening matches. Derby grabbed a point from Portsmouth with Andy Todd scoring a late goal only one minute after John Utaka thought he scored the game-winner for Portsmouth. Roy Keane and Sunderland pulled off a 1-0 win over Tottenham with Michael Chopra scoring the game-winner in stoppage time.
• Speaking of Tottenham, it wasn’t a good start to the season for Spurs. After the loss to Sunderland, they fell to Everton 3-1 Tuesday at White Hart Lane. It is still quite early to make any definitive statements about any club, but Tottenham’s start has to be disheartening for a club that spent so much money stockpiling offensive threats.

• In MLS, I have to wonder what has happened to Houston the past two weeks. This team was the hottest club in the league, but they have lost two straight games to two of the league’s worst teams: Real Salt Lake and Colorado. Perhaps they have been looking forward to their Superliga match against Pachuca, a rematch of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final earlier this year.
• August is always a difficult time of year in MLS. Temperatures almost everywhere are oppressive and often affect the speed and quality of play. However, we saw some excitement in Dallas’ 3-2 win over Columbus. Initially, Dallas looked lost without their midfield engine Juan Toja, but they somehow came from behind in the last ten minutes to grab all three points after defender Clarence Goodson headed home a corner kick deep into stoppage time.

It’s that time of the year again.   Here are a few things I will look forward to for the 2007/2008 season.

• Obviously, can Manchester United repeat?  Carlos Tevez gives them a real consistent attacking threat outside of Wayne Rooney and Christiano Ronaldo, but of course what happens should Rooney or Ronaldo succumb to injury?  Also, how much longer can Sir Alex rely on Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes?  Anderson and Nani are talened young players, but I don’t know if we’ll see too much from them in their first season in England.
• I really wonder what will happen at Chelsea this year.  There’s no question that the  Roman Abramovich/Jose Mourinho is strained to say the least, and it is difficult to imagine this relationship lasting too much longer without at least another Premiership title.  Unfortunately for Chelsea, they face injury problems, most notably captain John Terry.  I don’t think Chelsea can afford an early season slump and expect to reclaim the title, especially with Didier Drogba and Michael Essien likely to miss several weeks after the new year for the African Nations Cup.
• Can Liverpool jump into the top two?  Signing Fernando Torres could be a dynamite signing for the club, and it could be a sign that Rafa Benitez is looking to succeed in thePremiership this season as opposed to just the Champions League .  Ryan Babel and Andriy Voronin are also great additions to the club.
• Even without Henry, Arsenal should be fun to watch this season as they always are, but there are so many questions about the club.  After missing much of the second half of the 2006/2007 campaign, Robin Van Persie could be on the verge of becoming a star, and new signing Eduardo Da Silva could provide the cold blooded goal scoring that Arsenal so desperately needed last season.  Still, while the talent is there, Arsenal is still a young team and will likely be in transition mode once again.
• Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham, however, could be ready to jump into a Champion’s League slot.  Keeping Dimitar Berbatov was a major accomplishment for Spurs, and Darren Bent gives them more firepower up top.  However, we’ve heard this story from White Hart Lane for the past two years, and if Martin Jol doesn’t deliver Champions League soccer for next season, he may be looking for a new job.
• As for the bottom of the table, I have some serious questions about Reading.  They were a tremendous surprise last season, but now they won’t be sneaking up on anybody.  Plus, their midfield engine Steve Sidwell has moved on to Chelsea.
  Sunderland will be interesting to watch with Roy Keane at the helm, and if there is one newly promoted team that seems ready to make some noise in the Premiership, Sunderland seems like a good choice.  Brian McBride being named Fulham’s captain is a wonderful story for American soccer fans, but Fulham will have to find a way to turn things around after a late season slump put them in relegation peril.  Finally, can we all agree that Derby will be this season’s Watford?

Well, as I finish this entry, we’re about 7 hours from the start of the new season.  Enjoy!

Last week, I reported that Eddie Johnson personally rejected a move to Derby County, and I wondered why we had heard nothing about this. Some people thought that it wasn’t in the best interest for the Wizards to say anything, and others simply thought that I got the story all wrong in the first place.

Well, now Johnson and Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes have both confirmed that the player, not the team/league, killed the move. Props to Bob Luder, the Wizards beat writer for the Kansas City Star for investigating this even further, especially after Sky Sports ran an article late last week that noted Derby’s interest in buying Johnson.

I suppose there is always a chance another team could come in with a huge deal for Johnson, but I think it is even safer to assume that Johnson is happy in KC and wants to finish this season with the Wizards.

Okay, an overly busy weekend combined with little to no Internet access kind of threw me off.  Well, let’s look at what’s been happening.

• A nice 2-0 win for the MLS All-Stars over Celtic in the All-Star Game Thursday night.  Yes, I know it was a friendly, but I enjoyed it anyway.

• Beckham made his “debut” for the LA Galaxy in a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute.  There were questions as to if he would play at all, but I suppose the ankle was good enough to play for twelve minutes.  However, I think we all got our fix of Becks with the Beckham cam following his every move on the bench as well as warming up for his cameo appearance.  If this type of coverage annoys you, I suppose we will just need to get used to it because I doubt it will change for the rest of this season regardless of his fitness.

• Cuauhtemoc Blanco made his debut for the Chicago Fire in a 1-1 draw against Celtic, scoring a goal and helping Chicago actually look like a talented team for the first time this season.  Blanco will probably look even better when/if Chris Rolfe returns from injury.  The question still remains as to which Blanco will show up every game (the brilliant one, or the lazy one).

• An interesting Sunday of MLS fixtures.  Houston and New England put on an entertaining 3-3 draw with a couple of fantastic goals from Pat Noonan and Dwayne De Rosario.  Guillermo Barros Schelotto continued his fine play with the Crew with both goals in a 2-0 win over Toronto.  New York managed to scrape by DC United with a 1-0 win at home despite the absence of a suspended Juan Pablo Angel.  Finally, KC could only get a draw from Colorado in a 2-2 game marred by Colorado’s incessant, hacking tactics, the Wizards overreacting to these tactics, and putrid officiating by Tim Weyland, who allowed Colorado to get away with these tactics despite 8 yellow cards and 1 red card.  Eddie Johnson continued his tremendous season with his 11th and 12th goals of the year (in only 11 games played).  And Mehdi Ballouchy should be expecting a fine and a suspension for elbowing Sasha Victorine before the half (Weyland only booked Ballouchy for the incident).

• Can the Carlos Tevez transfer saga get any stranger?  FIFA was called in to settle the dispute between West Ham and Manchester United, but FIFA has now decided to send the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.  For those of you that have lost track of what exactly is going on, West Ham won’t allow Tevez to move to West Ham because of confusion over who owns the player’s economic rights.  Tevez’s agent Kia Joorabchian claims that he would be entitled to any transfer fee, but West Ham and the Premier League claim that any fee must go to the club.  I’m sure Tevez will end up at Manchester United, but this can’t be good news for the Red Devils as they will have to wait even longer to incorporate him into the team.

• Superliga, the new competition between American and Mexican clubs, begins this evening with FC Dallas hosting Chivas de Guadalajara and the Galaxy hosting Pachuca.  The big story (not surprisingly) is that Beckham is listed as doubtful for this evening’s game as the left ankle is still acting up.  Personally, I hope they give him the night off and try to get him ready for Saturday’s game against Chivas de Guadalajara.

Last week, there were several stories about newly promoted Premiership side Derby County looking to buy American striker Eddie Johnson from the Kansas City Wizards. However, Derby announced that the deal fell through, and that they would be looking elsewhere for a forward. Some thought these stories were unfounded rumors, and many believed that the league’s transfer fee demands were too high.

I’ve learned from reliable sources that the deal was actually set as the league and the Wizards’ owners agreed to sell him for around £2.5-£3 million. However, Johnson himself nixed the deal.

It bears repeating to critics of the league that feel that the players are constantly held hostage by clubs and the league office; Eddie Johnson put the kibosh on this one, not the league.

Why would Johnson not approve a move abroad? First, he was not going to receive the standard cut from the transfer fee that players normally receive. The player normally gets 10% of the transfer fee, but Johnson would have received something substantially less.

Also, Johnson wants to finish the season with Kansas City and then re-evaluate his status. He feels that he is on the uptick as he is having a fantastic season with the Wizards thus far, and he feels that he could have even better opportunities abroad should he continue to keep banging goals.

If I can speculate further, Johnson also appears to be enjoying himself in Kansas City at this season. He has a good relationship with his teammates, and above all, he seems to love playing for new manager Curt Onalfo as his tactics and personality are perfectly suited for a player like Johnson.

My only question is why the league and the club have been reluctant to publicize this. It seems to me that the league would want let people know that the league’s top scorer (and an American international) wanted to stay with the league rather than make a move to the Premiership. I think this would be great propaganda against the detractors of the league, especially with millions of people who have just started paying attention to the league because of Beckham. Perhaps playing in MLS is not as horrid as some people would like to believe.

From the Wizards’ perspective, I can’t believe they aren’t making a big deal of this. After a poor season on and off the field last season, Johnson has won over the fans at Arrowhead this year, and there’s no better way to cement one’s status as a fan favorite than rejecting a big move like this. With owners OnGoal LLC trying to rebuild the team’s fanbase after the previous owners, Hunt Sports Group, seemed content to let the club wither on the vine, this story seems to be great (and cheap) advertising and marketing for the club.

There has been some big transfer news in the English Premiership this week involving the league’s top teams.

The week started with Croatian Eduardo Da Silva (he was born in Brazil, but moved to Croatia at age 15) signing with Arsenal on a £7.5million transfer from Dinamo Zagreb. While nobody can truly call him Henry’s replacement, he could be the type of forward Arsenal need: a true goal poacher. Da Silva has showed that he can score in European club competitions as well as at the international level, but the question is how quickly can he adapt to the English game.

There have been questions surrounding Arsenal’s reaction to Henry’s transfer, namely what it could hold for the future of Arsene Wenger. Certainly, the move for Da Silva isn’t a huge splash, but it seems like the type of signing that Wenger has always made at his time at Arsenal, a relatively cheap player that is ready to make the move to a major club. The Wenger saga is not over for Arsenal, but this signing seems to be business as usual for the French manager.

Liverpool then made their big signing of Atletico Madrid’s Fernando Torres for a club record £20 million. This signing makes it even clearer that Craig Bellamy and Djibril Cisse are on their way out. Manager Rafa Benitez obviously wants to make his team a true Premiership contender after the club has more than proven its capabilities in the Champions League the past three seasons, however while Torres adds even greater firepower up top to Liverpool, they still need to fill holes elsewhere, especially on the wings.

Not to be outdone, Manchester United could be close to signing West Ham’s Carlos Tevez. West Ham could even allow him to move for free because of legal problems with Tevez’s agent as well as the seemingly never ending trial involving their punishment over his transfer (Sheffield United are now trying to take their case to the British High Court).

It goes without saying that regardless of all of his baggage, a Tevez/Wayne Rooney partnership is an absolutely scary proposition for Premiership clubs next season.

Arsenal, Eduardo Da Silva, Arsene Wenger, Liverpool FC, Fernando Torres, Rafa Benitez, Carlos Tevez, Manchester United

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, Paraguay.

There are no two ways about it; the United States gift-wrapped this game to Paraguay. The Americans looked much better than they did against Argentina as they often carried the play against Paraguay, but when Sacha Kljestan’s missed an open header in the first ten minutes of the game, it was a sign that this was going to be a frustrating one.

It only got worse in the second half. Benny Feilhaber played a great through ball to substitute Justin Mapp, but Mapp decided to unsuccessfully chip the ‘keeper rather than pass it to a wide open Eddie Johnson who had a wide open goal in front of him. Taylor Twellman weakly hit a volley on a great chance, and then in the most maddening moment of all, Drew Moor, standing all alone less than 10 yards away from goal, headed the ball straight to the goalkeeper.

To be fair, Paraguay got some solid goalkeeping last night. Justo Villar made a good save on Jonathan Bornstein after a great build up from Feilhaber and Johnson. Villar left the game in the second half, but his backup, Aldo Bobadilla, made two great saves in the second half on Johnson and Ricardo Clark.

The United States, however, did not get any big saves, and this showed on the biggest blunder of the game for the Americans. Bornstein deserves plenty of scorn for that awful back pass to Kasey Keller, but Keller probably played it as poorly as he could by coming out halfway and stopping. It seems that Keller could have come out and dispossessed Oscar Cardozo (or at least force him to round Keller to give the American defenders time to retreat into position), but he gave Cardozo time to control the ball and pick out the far corner. Keller has been great for the US throughout his career, but I really hope to see Brad Guzan against Colombia.

I did like the play of Benny Feilhaber and Ricardo Clark in midfield. Feilhaber continues to show his skill and vision, and Clark displayed not only his ability to disrupt opposition attacks, but also his offensive skills as he took his goal well. Also, despite what some of the crazies on Big Soccer believe, I thought Eddie Johnson played well by holding possession, and making good runs.

In English news, Sheffield United have seemingly lost their challenge to remain in the Premiership. An arbitrary panel upheld that the Premier League’s decision to merely fine West Ham over the Carlos Tevez/Javier Mascherano transfer as opposed to docking them points, which would have put West Ham in the relegation zone.

West Ham were fined £5.5million over the transfer. They would have lost almost ten times that amount had they been relegated, and there is little doubt that Tevez was perhaps the biggest reason they survived the drop. Therefore, the fine is hardly a punishment to West Ham considering the alternative. In my opinion, justice was not served in this matter

I understand the argument that players and fans shouldn’t be punished over the actions of the front office. Yes, it was unfair to all of the well-behaved English fans and clubs that all English teams were banned from European competition after the 1985 Heysel incident. It would have been harsh to the fans of Juventus and AC Milan had the original punishments for match fixing been carried out last year. However, sometimes, such drastic actions are the only way to get the offenders to realize that their actions are unacceptable.

Illegal transfers may not be an epidemic like English hooliganism was in the 80s or match fixing in Italy, but if clubs see that shenanigans in the transfer market will only result in a relatively small fine, I fear we could see more of more cases like Tevez and West Ham.

US Soccer, Copa America, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark, Kasey Keller, Eddie Johnson, West Ham, Sheffield United

It just doesn’t seem real.

Thierry Henry has passed a physical yesterday, thus completing his move to Barcelona. He has appeared in front of fans and the media in a Barca shirt, pledging that he will give everything to the club.

But it still doesn’t seem real.

Henry had stated on many occasions how much he loved being at Arsenal, even going as far as to say that he would have signed a lifetime contract with them if offered. It’s not hard to see why. Arsenal offered him a new lease on life after struggling as a youngster at Juventus, he had a long standing relationship with manager Arsene Wenger, and he was adored by the fans. Henry even turned down a chance to join Barca last year after the Catalan club defeated Arsenal in the Champions League final, seemingly solidifying the belief that he would retire a Gunner.

Some things have changed since last year, however. The ouster of David Dein as vice chairman and Director of Football unsettled nearly everyone at the club, especially Wenger. Also, Henry may have simply realized that most of the players from the title winning sides of 2002 and 2004 have left the team, and many of these players were never truly replaced. Finally, from the club’s standpoint, Henry struggled with injuries last season, only appearing in seventeen games. Henry’s greatness cannot be questioned, but the club may fear that he is beginning to wear down. In the end, this is not a story of a player lying to his fans and stabbing them in the back. Henry truly did love Arsenal, but he could not foresee all of the changes that would occur in the future.

Now the question is if/who will Arsenal lineup as a replacement. Carlos Tevez could be available as he wouldn’t have to move far, and his form in the second half of the season for West Ham shows that he can succeed in the Premiership. Ajax striker Ryan Babel has said that he could see himself with Arsenal in the future, but he committed to staying in Amsterdam for at least one more season. Bobby McMahon with Fox Soccer Channel has noted that Fernando Torres of Atletico Madrid is a possible target, especially since Arsenal can offer Jose Antonio Reyes as a part exchange.

Finally, the juiciest rumor is that of Nicolas Anelka. Anelka left Arsenal on probably the worst possible terms. With his sulking and his brothers trying to tear up his Arsenal contract, Anelka drew the ire of essentially everyone associated with the club. He has resurrected his career somewhat, but I just can’t see him being brought back. The scenario seems so far fetched that if he were to return, Arsenal fans, after seeing their hero leave them, would have to believe that Armageddon is upon us. But as we’ve all learned, never say never…

Thierry Henry, Arsenal, FC Barcelona, Arsene Wenger, David Bein, Carlos Tevez, Ryan Babel, Fernando Torres, Nicolas Anelka

The US faces El Salvador tonight in the Gold Cup. The Americans have already qualified for the quarterfinals, and a draw guarantees that they will win their group. I’d expect Bob Bradley to let some first team guys sit this game out, especially Carlos Bocanegra and Frankie Hejduk who are sitting on yellow cards from the game against Guatemala.

Another player that may sit this one out is DaMarcus Beasley. The Scottish paper Daily Record is reporting that Glasgow Rangers have agreed to a transfer fee with PSV Eindhoven for the left winger, and Beasley would like time off to discuss personal terms. While Beasley wanted to catch on with Manchester City, this wouldn’t be a bad move for him. He would get to play in Europe, and if there’s a league that will force you to become accustomed to physical play, Scotland is it.

Despite Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon shooting his mouth off (again), David Beckham says he fully plans to head to Los Angeles to play for the Galaxy at the end of the month. No real shocker there, in my opinion. Beckham was seemingly never appreciated by the front office, multiple coaching staffs, and the fans at the Bernabeu until he has become one of the driving forces in Real’s resurgence this season. He knows that if he leaves now, he would be departing as a hero in Madrid. Why stick around long enough for public opinion to turn on him again?

In other transfer news, Thierry Henry and his agent have denied that the Arsenal captain has agreed to personal terms with Barcelona. I doubt this saga is over, but at least this is good news for Arsenal for the time being. Some might argue that Arsenal should sell Henry while he can still fetch a hefty transfer fee. I’m not so sure I agree with that logic. Henry may be getting older, but after watching Arsenal’s form drop significantly after his injury early in 2007, one can’t deny the impact he still has on the club. I’d hope that if Henry does leave, Arsenal will look to find an immediate replacement for him, unlike the inability to replace Patrick Viera’s presence in midfield when he was sold to Juventus.

Gold Cup, US Soccer, DaMarcus Beasley, Rangers, David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Madrid, Thierry Henry, Arsenal, FC Barcelona

What an exciting couple of days it has been for the ’soccer’ fans this weekend. We’ve seen a total of 25 goals, 35 bookings and 1 sending off! There have been some truly amazing games along the way too, here’s my run through of this weekends events and we’ll have a luck how my predictions went shall we?

Arsenal V Reading
As predicted a win for the Gunners. A penalty from stand-in skipper Gilberto Silva and a Julio Baptista drive in the 62nd minute were enough to make sure Arsenal sealed the win despite a late comeback attempt from Reading after Cesc Fabregas turned the ball into his own net three mintues from time.
My Prediction: 2 - 0
Actual Result: 2 - 1

Fulham V Aston Villa
Woo, I’m good! I didn’t expect anything else from the league’s draw specialists here. The visitors took the lead through new signing John Carew, however their lead was short lived when Fulham’s Bocanegra was on hand to poke the ball home two minutes later.
My Prediction: 1 - 1
Actual Result: 1 - 1 (WooHoo!)

Liverpool V Manchester United
A classic smash ‘n’ grab job from the Mancunians on Saturday saw United take all three points, when in fairness, they didn’t deserve it. In true championship-winning form United scored in the 90th minute for the second week running after the opposing team had outplayed them for most of the match. Liverpool missed a shed loads of chances and saw a goal chalked off for offside. United should have had a penalty in the second half when Louis Saha was felled in the Liverpool box while at the other end a fine save from dutchman Edwin Van der Sar thwarted Peter Crouch’s chance of breaking the deadlock. With one minute left United were awarded a free kick, Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina palmed Ronaldo’s shot cum cross into the path of John O’Shea where the Irishman was on hand to smash the ball home from 4 yards. Did that goal win United the title? Maybe..
My Prediction: 1 - 2
Actual Result: 0 - 1

Manchester City V Wigan Athletic
Another poor home performance by my team Manchester City saw Wigan Athletic take maximum points from this game. Sloppy defending allowed Wigan’s new signing Folan to nod the ball passed the flailing Nicky Weaver. City looked the better side in the second half as they introduced new signing Emile Mpenza but he couldn’t do anything on his debut to help the home team slump to yet another defeat at Eastlands!
My Prediction: 1 - 0
Actual Result: 0 - 1 (How wrong I was!)

Newcastle United V Middlesbrough
Nothing much to report here guys. A nil-nil stalement. Both sides were too scared to lose the bragging rights in their local towns, I guess!
My Prediction: 2 - 2
Actual Result: 0 - 0

Portsmouth V Chelsea
Another Chelsea win away at Portsmouth. The Londoners won by the same scoreline last season at Fratton Park and they were just as comfortable this time around. Two Andy Cole header’s were as near as Pompey got to the Chelsea goal, while up the other end Didier Drogba grabbed his 29th goal of the season with an expert volley passed the outstretched David James. Kalou’s 82nd minute strike ensured the Champions maintained the pressure on the current leaders, Manchester United.
My prediction: 0 - 2
Actual Result: 0 - 2 (WooHoo!)

Sheffield United V Everton
Both sides shared the points in this game as they drew 1 - 1. Both goals came in the second half with Rob Hulse scoring from close range to put the Blades in front. Goalkeeper Paddy Kenny brought Everton striker Andy Johnson down in the penalty area to conceed his 3rd penalty in 2 weeks. Mikel Arteta made no mistake from the spot, 18 mintues from time.
My Prediction: 0 - 1
Actual Result: 1 - 1

Watford V Charlton
Niether side could afford to lose this game and as it turns out, neither did! Watford stormed in to a two goal lead thanks to goals from Bouazza and Francis in the 15th and 21st minute, respectively. Watford manager Aidy Bothroyd must have thought his side had done enough at half time as it seemed the game was out of Charlton’s reach. A rousing second half performance by Alan Pardew’s Addicks (and in particular loanee Song) made sure the visitors were’t going home empty handed. They left it late but goals from Young and Ambrose ensured that Watford let another result slip away!
My Prediction: 1 - 1
Actual Result: 2 - 2

Bolton Wanderers V Blackburn Rovers
The first of Sunday’s fixtures. The game only came into life in the second half when Bolton conceeded TWO penalties within 10 minutes of each other! In-form striker Benni McCarthy duly obliged, converting both spot kicks. A late Nicolas Anelka strike was not enough to spare the home side’s blushes. The blagging rights lie in Blackburn, for now anyway.
My Prediction: 2 - 2
Actual Result: 1 - 2

West Ham United V Tottenham Hotspur
Sunday’s second game and tie of the weekend! Fans at Upton Park were treated to a 7 goal thriller. Here is a run through of the game’s happenings:-
16th Min: Noble scores for West Ham (1 - 0)
41st Min: Tevez makes it two nil to the home side (2 - 0)
51st Min: Defoe pulls one back for Spurs via the penalty spot (2 - 1)
63rd Min: Tainio equalises for Tottenham (2 - 2)
85th Min: Zamora comes off the bench and scores to restore West Ham’s lead (3 - 2)
89th Min: Tottenham equalise again! This time through Berbatov (3 - 3)
90th Min: Heartbreak at Upton Park as Stalteri scores the winner for Spurs (3-4)
Exciting, hey? Poor old West Ham, it’s going from bad to worse for them and in my humble opinion I can’t see them being a Premiership outfit next season

Check out my predictions! I got 7 CORRECT RESULTS and 3 PERFECT SCORES!

English Premiership, Premiership, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Reading, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Everton, Alan Curbishley, West Ham United, United, Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Watford, Charlton Athletic, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic, Fulham

This weekend’s English Premiership ties (3rd/4th March) see two very interesting match-ups as the two Premier League giants Manchester United and Liverpool go head to head in the early kick-off whilst relegation strugglers Watford play host to Charlton Athletic! I aim to provide my readers with a Premiership preview every Friday with my own personal prediction of the outcome. Here goes…..

First up we have Arsenal V Reading. Both teams have competed in the FA Cup during mid-week so I can see both sides looking a tad lethargic to say the least! Arsenal are an amazingly talented team on their day and I can’t see Reading stopping the Gunners from playing.
My prediction: 2 - 0

Fulham V Aston Villa, this is an interesting match that sees both teams sitting 13th and 14th in the league table with both teams on the same amount of points (32pts)! Fulham could leap-frog Villa with a win here but I am going to have to go for a draw, with both teams sharing the spoils.
My prediction: 1 - 1

The big one! Liverpool V Manchester United, easily one of the most awaited fixtures of the English soccer season. The big guns of the Premier League, two North-West English clubs go head to head in this almost top-of-the-table clash. Liverpool have been outstanding at home this season, winning 11 of their 14 hosted at Anfield. Manchester United will travel to Liverpool hoping to be the first side to win there this campaign. It is a must win game for the Red Devils and even though they are my teams arch-rivals I still have to predict a Manchester United win.
My prediction: 1 - 2

My team! Manchester City V Wigan. I’ll try to be unbiased here lol, We (Manchester City) have had a pretty poor season so far in some respects and are languishing 15th in the Premiership table. Wigan are two places below us and a win for them would see them leap-frog us and take our position. They have been poor on the road and will be up for this game with it being a local derby. I think our decent-ish home record will see us come out on top.
My Prediction: 1 - 0

Newcastle United V Middlesbrough. The north-east derby! Another big game frrm this weekend’s set of matches that sees the home side only one point and one place above their local rivals. This tie could go either way but I’m going to play it safe and go for a draw!
My prediction: 2 - 2

Portsmouth V Chelsea. Portsmouth had a really good start to the season but have slumped of late. Chelsea really need to win to keep up the pressure on Manchester United. Another Chelsea win is an easy prediction for me this weekend!
My prediction: 0 - 2

Sheffield United V Everton. Sheffield United have had a great start to the season as far as expectance goes but they still find themselves hovering above the relegation zone. Everton have gone from strength to strength in recent weeks, climbing up to 7th in the league table. A close game but Everton may just edge it.
My prediction: 0 - 1

The relegation six pointer! Watford V Charlton. One of the games I have highlighted as a key fixture this weekend. Both teams need to win and if Watford take all three points they will cut the difference between themselves and their opponents from 4 points to 1 point. If Charlton win they will make clear daylight between themselves and the other bottom two clubs (providing results go thier way elsewhere of course!).
My prediction: 1 - 1

Another derby! This time it is Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers who are Sundays early kick-off. Bolton have been impressive at home this season, only losing three at the Reebok Stadium. Blackburn have a good record against their Lancashire rivals but with both teams being attack minded, I fear they could cancel each other out.
My prediction: 2 - 2

West Ham United V Tottenham Hotspur. These two London clubs meet at Upton Park where West Ham will be desperate for a win to ease the pressure on manager Alan Curbishley. I just feel Tottenham have too much upfront and will continue to heap the misery on the struggling Hammers.
My prediction: 1 - 2

Tune in on Monday to see how right/wrong I was!

English Premiership, Premiership, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Reading, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Everton, Alan Curbishley, West Ham United, United, Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Watford, Charlton Athletic, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic, Fulham