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Manchester United vs Liverpool Preview
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Team News
Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson will be unable to count with the services of a host of players, including Anders Lindegaard and Phil Jones, both with ankle injuries, and Michael Owen, with a thigh problem. Other players who have been discarded for the clash are Tom Cleverley and Portuguese midfielder Nani.
Ferguson will likely provide Javier Hernandez with a starting role, after the Mexican international made a real impact when he entered the field against Chelsea last week, and ended up scoring United's late equaliser. Veteran midfielder Paul Scholes also played a key role in United's revival at Stamford Bridge and could start the game from the kick-off.
Chelsea vs Manchester United: Five tips the Red Devils should follow to win at Stamford Bridge
The Red Devils may have had the upper hand over their rivals at Stamford Bridge over the years, but this has changed dramatically over the last decade as since the 2002-03 Premier League season Sir Alex Ferguson's side haven't won a single game at the venue after nine attempts.Chelsea have been dominant at the Bridge, after having obtained six wins and three draws over United during this period in official Premier League games.
However, with three defeats in eleven home games this season, beating Chelsea at the Bridge may not be impossible any more. United have barely lost a single away game this season, and if they manage to find gaps in the leaky Chelsea defence they are more than capable of returning to Old Trafford with the three points.
Chelsea vs Manchester United Live on Fox Network in USA
FOX is expecting big returns on broadcasting a major EPL clash on the FOX Network which is widely available throughout the US on Terrestrial, Satellite and Cable Television. This is the second match in as many weeks that FOX airs a live Barclays Premier League match. The first was on January 22nd which drew record television audiences in the US with apx 1.3 million US viewers as American soccer fans watched Arsenal lose to Manchester United 1-2 at home.The live coverage of Chelsea-Man United will be presented by Rob Stone, former U.S. Men’s National Team player Eric Wynalda and CNN's Piers Morgan. Repeat airings of this match will be available at 7:00PM and 11:00PM (EST) on Fox Soccer Channel.
Manchester City vs Fulham Preview
Manchester City must recover from their crucial defeat to Everton. The Citizens got punished by a former Manchester United boy, Darron Gibson. His goal proved to be the difference at Goodison Park on Tuesday night.Roberto Mancini and his men are leveled on points with Man United at the top of the English Premier League standings. Both teams have 54 points after 23 games. The Red Devils might stumble away to Chelsea this weekend so Manchester City can look forward to seizing their opportunities this weekend.
Meanwhile, Fulham will need to overcome the psychological blow of losing key player Sidwell to a long-term injury. Martin Jol confirmed the news on Thursday by stating the following according to ESPN:
Manchester United vs Stoke City Preview
The Red Devils are aiming to evaporate the 3-point gap that puts them behind league leaders Manchester City. However, expect eighth-placed Stoke City to apply pressure on Ferguson’s outfit at Old Trafford tonight. Stoke City encountered defeat in their latest English Premier League fixture but they should find hope and confidence through a few things ahead of Tuesday night’s battle at Old Trafford. Firstly, the Potters are going into the game fresh from their convincing 2-0 win over Derby in the FA Cup Fourth Round. Manchester United, meanwhile, are carrying the wound of their 2-1 loss to Liverpool.
Everton vs Manchester City Preview
Everton have 26 points like thirteenth-placed Swansea City and twelfth-placed Fulham. The Toffees are not yet into a relegation battle situation as they are 8 points above the bottom zone. Pushing into the top half of the English Premier League table, however, seems very demanding for Everton. They've drawn their last 2 games in the league and they are not the favorites to triumph at Goodison Park on Tuesday night.
The good news for Manchester City is that Vincent Kompany is back from suspension. The Belgium defender received a lengthy ban for his challenge during City’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United earlier in January.
Swansea City vs Chelsea Preview
Andre Villas-Boas definitely needs to inspire his men in the absence of Ivorian stars Drogba and Kalou. The away record of the London-based club is quite inconsistent this season. Out of 11 away matches, Chelsea have won 5, drawn 4 and lost 2. Chelsea are unbeaten domestically since the year commenced but they are eager to bounce back from their disappointing goalless draw away to Norwich City.
Fourth-placed Chelsea are 5 points behind Tottenham Hotspur. Although the title seems far from their reach, the Blues maintain the ambition of gaining as much points as possible.
ESPN free to view for fans over a great weekend of sport
ESPN’s Free Weekend, sponsored by Nokia Lumia, begins at 6am on Friday 3rd February and will make ESPN and ESPN HD available to all Sky, TopUp TV and BT Vision subscribers in the UK and Ireland. Additionally, the channel will be available for free to the 10million UK households who have the subscription-free digital TV service Freeview, meaning that in total, some 20 million UK households will have free access to the channel.Jeroen Oerlemans, ESPN Vice President, TV Channels Europe, Middle East & Africa, said: “Millions of UK fans have already discovered the great range of great sport ESPN offers – from the Barclays Premier League to Serie A, to cricket, darts, motorsports and UFC. This is a great opportunity for us to introduce that to millions more and let them sample the programming ESPN has on offer.”
Chelsea’s Juan Mata backs Villas-Boas and Torres as Blues maintain hopes for glory
The 23-year-old Spanish midfielder can look down at this individual performance at Chelsea with pride. The former Valencia play maker has already provided 9 assists and scored 5 goals in 23 appearances for the Blues. However, his good form has been overshadowed by the entire team’s flaws from a general point of view. “It's true we've had a little crisis of results,” Juan Mata admitted before reiterating his belief in Chelsea’s criticized manager.
“But Villas-Boas is doing things very well and both the players and the club have a lot of confidence in him. He won everything with Porto last year.”
Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in fight to win their last game of the year 2011
Remarkably, Liverpool have never lost at Anfield in the league but they haven’t managed to pick up enough points on home soil either. From a possible 27 points, the Merseyside Reds have won just 15. This is the result of their 3 victories and 6 draws at Anfield.
“If you want to be really positive you could say we are undefeated at home but we've said before we don't want to set our standards that low,” Kenny Dalglish miserably told reporters on Thursday.
“We want to be winning our home games as often as we possibly can and we've certainly given ourselves opportunities to have won every home game. We haven't done that but we will keep going and we believe we will do.”
Manchester United poised to end 2011 as EPL leaders above Manchester City
Former Blackburn boy Phil Jones is publicly a fan of his ex-club. However, the Manchester United defender will be left with no other option than wishing defeat for the visitors on Saturday.
Rock-bottomed Blackburn Rovers are yet to win away from home but they’ve managed to secure draws at 5 separate occasions.
“We won’t find it easy, though. It’s going to be tough,” Phil Jones reminded ahead of the game according to Manutd.com.
“I know what sort of squad Blackburn have and there are some cracking players there. We can’t take them lightly.”
It is interesting to observe that Manchester’s two foes, City and United, are joint leaders at such a point in the campaign. They share the same record in terms of wins, draws and losses.
Rivalry debate: Are United finished and are City the new kings of Manchester?
Anti-Red Devils are wishing and even declaring that the time has finally come for the city of Manchester to be painted all blue. “It is about riding the wave,” James Milner believes. According to the English man, “the confidence is there and it's about keeping this momentum, putting in good performances and getting the results.”Numerical facts tell that Manchester City have a 5-point advantage over second-placed Manchester United in the English Premier League standings ahead of Matchday 10. They also have a (+26) goal difference whereas United’s is of (+14).
The Citizens hold a 33-7 record compared to Manchester United’s 26-12. Ironically, half of the Red Devils’ allowed goals came in that humiliating 6-1 loss at home to City last Sunday! Away from home, Mancini’s men have scored an average of 4 goals per match.
Everton vs Liverpool kicks-off Saturday’s great English Premier League show
Fortunately for the Reds, they’ve returned to normal form in time for Saturday’s Merseyside derby. Kenny Dalglish’s revolution suffered a big blow in September when Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur forced Liverpool to accept two defeats on the trot.
But last weekend, wicked goals from Charlie Adam and Luis Suarez against Wolverhampton Wanderers brought Liverpool back in business. Just as match-day 7 is about to unfold in the English Premier League, the Merseyside Reds can look upon themselves with quite enough confidence.
They have 10 points and they seat 6 places above local rivals Everton. Note, however, that the latter have a game in hand.
Liverpool summer signing Coates determined to become a key figure at Anfield
In an interview with LFC Magazine, the youngster recalled his decision to move away from his motherland. Coates, who was voted as the best young player at the 2011 Copa America, was quoted as saying:“The biggest attraction was the challenge: to come to an unfamiliar place, a huge club, and make a name for myself. So far in my career, I have been very lucky to play for Nacional, to play in the Copa Libertadores, to win the Copa America.
“There has been a lot of success in a short period of time but I have achieved that in a place where I am most comfortable. Now, I am here, in a different country, in a different league, with different team-mates.”
Liverpool players under pressure to perform after Stoke and Spurs blunders
Last weekend, the Merseyside Reds were expected to achieve a much better result after losing 1-0 to Stoke City on match-day 4 of the English Premier League. But the way they fell to London rivals Spurs was too alarming to be true. An early Luka Modric goal set the tone for the hosts. Jermaine Defoe eventually doubled Tottenham’s lead in the second period before Adebayor scored a brace. Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel’s dismissals had visibly spoiled the game for Liverpool.
Kenny Dalglish had preached about sticking together ahead of the game but what he witnessed at White Hart Lane was nothing like what he wanted. In a post-match interview, the Liverpool coach singled out his flops as the reason behind the horrifying defeat.
Premier League Sharp-shooters: Wayne Rooney’s On Fire!
Rooney’s treble also took him onto 125 PL career goals, leapfrogging over Nicolas Anelka and Robbie Keane, two of only four current players who prior to Saturday, had been above him in the list. Frank Lampard (140) and club-mate Michael Owen (149) are now firmly in his sights.
The Croxteth-born striker is now #10 in the all-time PL top-scorers list, but has still got some way to go to match the 260 PL goals scored by former England captain Alan Shearer for Blackburn Rovers & Newcastle United. At 25 though, time is on his side.
With Rooney’s already burgeoning reputation growing apace with his new hair, United have set the standard for the rest to follow this term.
Arsenal, Liverpool & co after the transfer window: what will match-day 4 produce?
The matches that will draw more attention are those involving Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur—all for different reasons. At the very top of the English Premier League table, the Mancunian rivalry is boiling. Only goal difference puts the Red Devils above the Sky Blues; both can boast about possessing a perfect record thus far.
Liverpool and Chelsea—locked on 7 points—follow closely behind whereas Wolverhampton Wanderers are the early surprise package. Newcastle United are also doing well enough to earn the 6th spot in the table. The Magpies’ goalless draw against Arsenal on the first match-day apparently contributed in Newcastle United’s remarkable start.
Setanta Sports presents coverage of the English Premier League this weekend
There will be 3 live matches on Setanta Sports this weekend. It will all begin with Swansea City vs Sunderland. Kick-off time for the newcomers’ encounter against the Black Cats is at 7:00am PST, 10:00am EST and 14:00 GMT on Saturday, August 27.In addition, Setanta Sports will showcase Sunday’s 2 biggest encounters. Watch out for Tottenham vs Manchester City at 4:30am PST, 7:30am EST and 11:30am GMT. Tottenham Hotspurs will be playing their first match at White Hart Lane since the start of the 2011/12 English Premier League campaign.
August 12 to September 13 free preview continues on Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports’ August 12 to September 13 free preview continues as Manchester United vs Arsenal will be aired on Sunday, August 28.
Arsenal’s undecided tie against Udinese will also be the highlight of the UEFA Champions League playoffs on August 24. A day later, LA Galaxy vs LD Alajuelense will keep American soccer fans on the edge of their seats.
English Premier League:
Sunderland v Newcastle United: Saturday, August 20 @7am EST
Everton v Queens Park Rangers: Saturday, August 20 @10am EST
Free network preview for FOX Soccer Plus, DirecTV, AT&T U-verse & co customers
FOX Soccer Plus, Verizon FiOS, DirecTV, Blue Ridge, AT&T U-verse, Cox Arizona, BendBroadband, Full Channel, Surewest California, Frontier, Surewest Kansas and RCN. Note that schedules below are subject to change.
UEFA Champions League:
Tuesday, August 23, 2011: Malmo FF v GNK Dinamo Zagreb, live @2:00pm EST and 11:00am PST in HD
Tuesday, August 23, 2011: FC Zurich v Bayern Munchen, delayed @5:00pm EST and 2:00pm PST in HD
Wednesday, August 24, 2011: Villarreal CF v Odense BK, delayed @12:00am EST and 9:00pm PST in HD