Month: February 2015

Aston Villa vs Chelsea – Preview – 7/2/2015

Where they are in the table 1st – Chelsea – 23 games – 52 points – Goal Difference (+32) 16th – Aston Villa – 23 games – 22 points – Goal Difference (-19) Chelsea The most interesting bit of stat coming into this game is the fact that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has never won game at Villa Park in the Premier League in his five attempts (3 draws and 2 losses). For a team that was on course earlier in the season to be the new Invincibles, Chelsea has been in pretty pedestrian form off-late. They drew at Anfield in the first leg of the League Cup Semi-finals after being the second best team throughout the match. Then they lost against Bradford City at Stamford Bridge 4-2 in the 4th round the FA Cup. They did win against Liverpool in the second leg of League Semi-final against Liverpool but were the second best team overall. In the last week Chelsea were held to 1-1 draw by fellow title contenders Manchester City. Chelsea does have a 5 point lead over City in the title race but can’t allow there form to fade away. Fabregas will still be missing for Chelsea as he has not yet fully recovered from the injury he picked up vs Liverpool in the league cup semi-final. This may well mean that Chelsea’s latest signing Juan...

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West Ham United vs Manchester United – Preview – 8/2/2015

Where are they now 4th– Manchester United – 23 games – 43 games – Goal Difference (+17) 8th – West Ham – 23 games – 36 points – Goal Difference (+8) Manchester United United come into this match after beating Leicester City 3-1 last week. They were in control for most of the match but Leicester came back strongly in the final 10 minutes even scoring one in the process. They have lost just once in their last 16 cup and league matches but to be honest they haven’t played like a top side in quite a while. United are very much in transition mode as Louis Van Gaal is struggling to select his best 11. Despite being poor they have managed to put results together and find themselves in the top 4 with a chance to move within 2 points of defending champions Manchester City on Sunday who are 2nd on the table with a win against the Hammers. If United were to slip-up this week then the chasing pack will get closer to them and they may well find themselves struggling keep hold of a top 4 spot come the end of the season. A trip to Upton Park will be a difficult visit game for United but they have beaten West Ham in the last 11 out of 12 premier league meetings. United will still be...

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Newcastle United vs Stoke City – Preview – 8/2/2015

Where are they now 11th – Newcastle – 23 games – 30 points – Goal Difference (-6) 10th – Stoke City – 23 games – 32 points – Goal Difference (-2) Newcastle Newcastle currently has their feet stuck in midtable land. It doesn’t look like they will fall into the relegation battle but neither do they look like a side that can challenge for Europe. Newcastle did beat Hull last week and that too by a comfortable score line of 3-0. It was also the first game Newcastle played since the permanent appointment of John Carver as manager. Carver will be hoping for more of the same from last week and if they can string together a run of good results they might find themselves within a few points from the Euro Spots with 2 or 3 games in hand. Whatever might happen from now Carver must ensure Newcastle season doesn’t fall away like it did last season. Newcastle latest addition to the team Siem de Jong will not be available as he has not fully recovered from his thigh injury. Cheick Tiote will still be missing after his team went on through to the AFCON finals. Newcastle can find some sort of relief by the fact that Paul Dummett is set to return after recovering from his injury. Newcastle will be looking towards Pappis Cisse who has scored...

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Burnley vs West Brom – Preview – 8/2/2015

Where are they now 18th – Burnley – 23 games – 20 points – Goal Difference (-17) 15th – West Brom – 23 games – 22 points – Goal Difference (-12) This is the first time that Burnley will be hosting West Brom in English football’s top flight after 1970.Both the teams come into this match after being a part of some transfer deadline drama. Rumours persisted of Danny Ings’s departure from Burnley throughout the transfer window and funny enough they still do remain even after the transfer window is closed. The player, the manager as well as the management were clear that Ings wouldn’t leave atleast till end of the season but rumours linking him to big clubs like Liverpool and Real Sociedad were strong and might have even tempted the player at some point. It’s all over now and Ings can play out the remainder of the season with Burnley.       The transfer saga that West Brom were part off was a different story it was about a young player who thinks too much of himself. Saido Berahino has been one of the finds of this season and has been stunning for West Brom till now scoring 9 goals so far. His blistering form has had big clubs taking notice of him but this has seemingly gone too much inside his head. He appeared in...

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AFCON Semi-Final DR Congo vs Ivory Coast prediction

AFCON Semi-Final DR Congo vs Ivory Coast prediction

DR Congo Congo qualified for this years Africa Cup of Nations as the best 3rd placed team in qualifying. DR Congo’s first and only win in AFCON 2015 till now has been their 4-2 win against Congo in the quarter-finals.   DR Congo was initially two goals down in the match but showed great courage to come back and score four goals in reply. Dieumerci Mbokani scored 2 while Jeremy Bokila and Joel Kimwaki scored one each.     In the group stages DR Congo drew all there 3 matches versus Tunisia, Zambia and Cape Verde. At the end of...

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