Tag Archives: Test

Chelsea face tough Cottage test

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Current Premier League champions Chelsea head to Craven Cottage on Monday evening to face a Fulham (to beat Chelsea – 19/5) side who have experienced a good run of form of late.

Fulham, who have seven points from their last three league games, welcome the Blues to the Cottage where they haven’t lost in any competition since December 26.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have picked up six points from their previous three league games which gives Fulham the slight advantage with regards to recent form.

New boy David Luiz is set to make his full debut for the Stamford Bridge side, having signed for £21.3million and Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that he fits into a Chelsea backline who have struggled since the injury to Alex this season.

Jose Boswinga is a doubt with an injury, while Yuri Zhirkov is still sidelined with a calf injury so Ancelotti’s defensive options are currently bleak.

The Blues have conceded four goals in their last three games across all competitions and it has proven to be a big problem for the side who have faltered in their title defence.

The west London club are now 13 points behind Manchester United in the Premier League, albeit with a game in hand. Ancelotti admitted recently that the title is now beyond them and that Champions League football the priority for Chelsea this season.

Fulham will be licking their lips at the prospect of a derby game against a Chelsea side low on confidence.  The league game at Stamford Bridge finished in a 1-0 win to Chelsea back in November, an Essien strike separating the sides, but Fulham have made a fortress at the Cottage recently and will fancy their chances.

The Cottagers have kept a clean sheet in their previous three home games and Chelsea appear to be suffering from the old ‘too-many-chiefs-and-not-enough-Indians’ dilemma with their attacking options.

£50million man Fernando Torres has had a poor season by his standards, Didier Drogba is not the player he was and Nicolas Anelka has only recently started to regain his form.  But truth be told, regardless of the class of these three, getting them to gel as a three-pronged attack in what will be only their second game as a unit will be a big ask.

Problems in defence for Chelsea, and issues to sort out in attack, means that Fulham, although seven league places behind their London neighbours, are worth a bet and stand a great chance of claiming all three points (Fulham to win 1-0 – 9/1).

Fulham will want star midfielder Clint Dempsey to be on form, as Bobby Zamora will not play despite making a return for the reserves recently.  The American Dempsey (to score anytime against Chelsea – 5/2 fav) has scored nine league goals this season and is well worth a punt to ruin Chelsea’s season even further.

No player at the Stamford Bridge club is yet to reach ten league goals for the season.  Drogba and Florent Malouda have both scored nine league goals this season.

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Wenger focused for Shakhtar test

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Arsenal (4/6 favourites in the match betting) boss Arsene Wenger believes Tuesday night’s Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk (4/1 to win, 14/5 the draw) will decide which side will top the group.

Both sides have won their opening two fixtures in Group H (Arsenal 1/4 to win the group, Shakhtar Donetsk 5/2) but the Gunners currently sit at the top of the standings as they have a superior goal difference.

However, Shakhtar have taken their six points without conceding a goal and have also won 15 of their 17 games domestically to give the players confidence going into the match.

Wenger is fully aware of the threat posed by the Ukrainians and insists that only a ‘great’ performance will earn his side the key win.

“In this group until now you had 12 points at stake – six went to Shakhtar, six went to Arsenal. That means what is at stake is the qualifying and also the top of the group, which is why it is a very important game,” he said.

“It is a key game because it gives us an opportunity to basically think we have qualified.

“Shakhtar are on a good winning run, they are dominating their league, they have just won 3-0 at Braga.

“We are on our toes. We know that only a great performance will win us the game.”

Laurent Koscielny, Robin van Persie, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen and Aaron Ramsey are all absent for the Gunners but captain Cesc Fabregas has recovered from his hamstring problem and may make his return to the line-up.

Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott have also recovered from their respective groin and ankle problems, while Manuel Almunia and Kieran Gibbs are close to full fitness.

Meanwhile, Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu insists that his side will be able to cause plenty of problems at the Emirates and will not just be making up the numbers.

“We have two games, one here and another in two weeks. We know they’re very powerful at home but can have difficulties away,” Lucescu said.

“Shakhtar are also a very good team and we are here to get a result.

“They will control the game for sure, it’s normal because they’re at home and they have many creative players. We have to be organised and cause them difficulties on the counter-attack.

“It’s difficult to say we’re here to play an attacking game because it depends on Arsenal, what with them being at home, but we can create big problems for them.”

Shakhtar will definitely be without Brazilian playmaker Fernandinho, who is out long-term after suffering a broken leg.

However, Ukraine defenders Dmytro Chygrynskiy (hamstring) and Yaroslav Rakytskiy (knee) returned for Friday’s 2-0 win at Metalurh Donetsk, while attacking midfielder Douglas Costa has also been included in the squad.

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Black Cats face another stern test

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Bet on Blackburn v SunderlandSunderland defender Michael Turner is expecting a really tough challenge at Blackburn Rovers (23/20 to win the game) on Monday night as the Black Cats prepare for another big month ahead.

In the last four weeks, Turner and co have faced Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United and come through those games unbeaten.

Steve Bruce takes his side to Ewood Park on Monday night to face a Blackburn side level on points with them as the sides sit just two points above the relegation places (Sunderland 12/5 to win the game, draw 23/10).

What will be a huge blow to Sunderland could be the loss of leading scorer Darren Bent. The former Tottenham man sustained a groin injury on England duty and is rated as doubtful for the clash. Their £13million Ghanaian signing Asamoah Gyan (15/2 to be first goalscorer) is set to take his place should Bent fail to make it.

Bruce is also buoyed by the return of Kieran Richardson, Anton Ferdinand and John Mensah, while Danny Wellbeck is available after being ineligible to play against parent club Manchester United in the last game.

Turner knows many Sunderland fans are looking for the side to step up and improve on their results from last season and finish in the Premier League top ten, but the defender is taking nothing for granted with more tough games against Aston Villa and local rivals Newcastle looming on the horizon.

“We have had a good start this year and we just want it to carry on,” said the former Hull defender.

“But we have got a tough game on Monday night and that is what we are concentrating on.

“We know it is going to be a huge contrast to Manchester United and Liverpool in the way Blackburn play, so we know we are going to have to be prepared and roll our sleeves up and be ready for what they throw at us.

“Every team in the league plays with a different style and it is about dealing with whatever is thrown at you.

“We will try to stamp our play on the game and concentrate on that, but we know we are going to have to deal with balls into the box and throw our bodies on the line to keep a clean sheet.”

Blackburn (6/1 to win the game 1-0) manager Sam Allardyce has injury concerns over captain Ryan Nelsen, who is struggling with a thigh problem, while David Dunn is likely to play some part after recovering from a hamstring sprain.

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Bhoys braced for Braga test

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Neil Lennon’s first competitive game in charge of Celtic since his appointment as the club’s permanent manager will be in Portugal against Braga in the third qualifying round of the Champions League (Celtic 4/5 – SPL 2010/11 Outright).

The Bhoys travel to the Iberian peninsula on either Tuesday July 27 or Wednesday July 28 for the first leg, ahead of the return clash at Parkhead a week later.

Last season, Celtic failed to make the group stage of the Champions League after coming up against Arsenal in the play-off round so Lennon will be hoping to get over his first big hurdle.

Should the Bhoys beat Braga, who were runners up to Benfica in the Portuguese Liga last season, then they will go into the play-off round again this time around where they could meet the likes of Tottenham, Sampdoria and Sevilla.

Celtic kick off their SPL campaign with a trip to Inverness on August 8 and they will hope to still be in with a shout of the Champions League proper by that time.

Braga have never been in the Champions League before in their 89-year history.

The Champions League final will take place on the much-maligned Wembley pitch on May 28, 2011.

Celtic continue their pre-season with a friendly against Manchester United in Toronto this weekend (Bhoys 4/1 to win).

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Simao upbeat despite Spain test

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Atletico Madrid winger Simao believes Portugal have nothing to fear despite being paired with pre-tournament favourites Spain (4/1 outright World Cup winners) in the second round.

The current European champions were the favourites coming into the World Cup but have so far failed to shine in their first three matches.

Switzerland caused a huge upset when they beat Spain 1-0 in the first match and, while Vincente del Bosque’s men went on to win their next two, they look a pale shadow of the side that romped to European Championship victory two years ago.

Portugal will be hopeful of taking full advantage of Spain’s recent downturn in form when the two sides meet in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Carlos Queiroz’s side squeaked through the group stages thanks in part to an emphatic win over North Korea.

While the 7-0 victory helped boost their goal difference it was in fact two solid defensive displays that made the difference as they drew 0-0 with the Ivory Coast and Brazil.

Portugal are now unbeaten in their last 16 matches and will prove a tough nut for Spain to crack on Tuesday.

The Spanish struggled against Switzerland, who were resolute at the back as they ground out a 1-0.

Portugal (10/3 to beat Spain) might offer a similar challenge and having seen their neighbours already lose once at this World Cup Simao is confident they can inflict a second defeat on the Euro 2008 winners.

“They’re one of the best teams in the world,” said Simao.

“They have a style of play like Barcelona, with lots of players from Barca, who play with two or three touches of the ball.

“But it’s 50-50. Without showing them a lack of respect, we’re not scared at all. We’ve got a great team too. And to become better, we have to beat Spain. They’re champions of Europe, but we have our own qualities.”

Simao claims that Portugal’s performances in the ‘group of death’ have given them a lot of confidence after they just made it to South Africa.

“We’re strong as well and I think we’ll give them at least as many problems. Instead of talking about Spain all the time, we need to focus on ourselves,” he added.

Portugal’s qualifying campaign left a lot to the imagination as they were forced to come through a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

While they look to be a long way off the Portugal side who reached the semi-finals of the last World Cup their defensive displays will have given them hope of progressing.

The winner in Cape Town will face either Japan or Paraguay (11/10 to beat Japan) in the quarter-finals and whoever they face either Portugal or Spain will certainly fancy their chances of getting through to the semi-finals.

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Roma face tough Sampdoria Serie A Title Test

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Roma De Rossi 226x300 Roma face tough Sampdoria Serie A Title TestIn what is turning out to be an exciting race for this season’s Scudetto, Roma currently leads Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan by just one point at the top of Serie A.

After coming from a goal down at half-time to defeat their fierce city rivals Lazio 2-1 in the ‘Eternal City Derby’ last Sunday Roma (1.45) once again will be playing with the pressure on them against another tough opponent. Sampdoria (7.00) are expected to provide a hard test for their title hopes this weekend as the fourth-placed Doriani are in the thick of the battle for the final Champions League place.

Sampdoria are currently in great form and looking good for a fourth place finish, they are certainly good value at 7.00 to win this match. They have a tremendous talent and former Roma player in their ranks in Antonio Cassano. The hitman has been on target in the last three matches and will pose a real threat on Sunday.

Roma skipper Francesco Totti knows the threat Cassano poses when he told press: “He is a player who can make the difference whenever he wants to. He can do incredible tricks. But let’s hope he leaves them at home on Sunday.”
Antonio Cassano is 10.00 to score the first goal which looks too good value to turn down.

Roma have a good record against Sampdoria though and are unbeaten in their last nine league meetings against the Blucerchiati (5W 4D).

At the Olimpico, Roma are unbeaten against Sampdoria in their last eight games (6W 2D), with the hosts having the better in the last three fixtures without conceding a single goal.

Last Sunday’s win in the derby against Lazio extended Roma’s unbeaten run to 24 league games (18W 6D).

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Related posts:

  1. Serie A Predictions: Roma Won’t Handle The AC Milan Onslaught
  2. Eternal City Derby Too Close To Call
  3. Serie A Predictions: Europa League Sides Face Tricky Return


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