Archive for February 2010

Nigeria turns to Lagerback

Saturday, 27th February 2010 10:59pm
Nigeria has now opted for former Swedish coach Lars Lagerback as their coach at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Nigeria dismissed local coach Shaibu Amodu after he finished third at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in favour of a foreign coach.

This is a short term contract as Lagerback will be with Nigeria until the end of the World Cup.

Lagerback was at the last World Cup in Germany as coach of Sweden.

Lagerback has never coached an African team before and this will also be his first time to coach outside Sweden.

He was the coach of Sweden from 1998 to 2009. He took sole responsibility of the team in 2004 and he resigned in 2009 when Sweden failed to reach the World Cup finals.


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Category: World Cup | Comments : 0


Round 24 : Sevilla vs Bilbao

Saturday, 27th February 2010 10:50pm
In La Liga's round 24, Sevilla will host Athletic Bilbao as the teams fight for places in Europe next season.

Sevilla is currently in fourth place on the table, four points behind Valencia in third place.

Athletic is six points behind Sevilla and a win here will mean the gap will just be three points.

Looking at recent form, Sevilla has lost two matches in the last six league matches it has played whilst their rivals this weekend have lost three.

The two teams have both drawn just thrice so far this season but none in the last six matches.

At home Sevilla has won seven matches out of 12 and losing just two for a total of 24 points.

On the road Athletic has won four but lost six matches and drawn the other two.

Here is a stats summary for the two teams:


SevillaAthletic Bilbao
FormLWWLWWWLLWLW
Played2323
Points4236
Drawn33
Won1311
Lost79
Goal difference112
Clean sheets87
Failed to score46
Goals scored3630
Goals conceded2528
Ave. goals scored1.61.3
Ave. goals conceded1.11.2
Biggest winAthletic Bilbao 0 - 4 Sevilla
Almeria 1 - 4 Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao 4 - 1 Tenerife
Biggest lossBarcelona 4 - 0 Sevilla
Athletic Bilbao 0 - 4 Sevilla
Score 3 or more44
Concede 3 or more12
Home matches
Played1211
Points2422
Drawn31
Won77
Lost23
Goal difference84
Goals scored2018
Goals conceded1214
Ave. goals scored1.71.6
Ave. goals conceded1.01.3
Away matches
Played1112
Points1814
Drawn02
Won64
Lost56
Goal difference3-2
Goals scored1612
Goals conceded1314
Ave. goals scored1.51.0
Ave. goals conceded1.21.2

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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Pompey enters administration

Saturday, 27th February 2010 1:24am
The news just got worse for Portsmouth with the news that the team has entered administration.

Facing a winding up order on the 1st of March, the team has entered administration so that it can continue to run.

Pompey becomes the first Premiership team to enter administration and relegation is now more of a reality.

Pompey has accumulated a paltry 16 points so far this season and with the nine points to be deducted due to administration, they will be left with just seven points.

At the moment Burnley who is second from the bottom has 23 points and already Pompey is seven points adrift.

In order to stay in the league with just 12 matches(36 points available) left, Pompey will need to win most of the matches in order to have a chance.


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Relegation fight : Bolton vs Wolves

Saturday, 27th February 2010 1:13am
In round 28 of the English Premiership, one fixture of note is the fixture between Bolton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Bolton are currently in the relegation zone with 23 points and Wolves are two places up.

The two teams are separated by just one point and so a win here is crucial for both teams.

A win for Bolton will certainly take them out of the relegation zone whatever happens elsewhere whilst a loss could see them slip to second from bottom place.

A win for Wolves will take them further away from the relegation and its crucial given that their next match is a home tie against Manchester United.

Bolton has won just three matches at the Reebok Stadium and lost five and hence its not surprising they are in the relegation zone.

Wolves don't have a great away record either having only won twice away from home and so they can fancy their chances here against a team with a poor home record.

Here are some of the stats for the two teams so far this season:


BoltonWolves
Rank1816
Played2626
Points2324
Drawn86
Won56
Lost1314
Goal difference-20-23
Clean sheets35
Failed to score1011
Goals scored2921
Goals conceded4944
Ave. goals scored1.10.8
Ave. goals conceded1.91.7
Biggest winBolton 3 - 1 West Ham
Wolves 2 - 0 Burnley
Biggest lossBolton 0 - 4 Chelsea
Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton
Chelsea 4 - 0 Wolves
Score 3 or more40
Concede 3 or more66
Home matches
Played1314
Points1415
Drawn53
Won34
Lost57
Goal difference-6-9
Goals scored1710
Goals conceded2319
Ave. goals scored1.30.7
Ave. goals conceded1.81.4
Away matches
Played1312
Points99
Drawn33
Won22
Lost87
Goal difference-14-14
Goals scored1211
Goals conceded2625
Ave. goals scored0.90.9
Ave. goals conceded2.02.1


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Stalemate at Eastlands as Spurs leap into fourth

Tuesday, 23rd February 2010 12:44am
Manchester City and Liverpool played a goalless draw at Eastlands as both teams lost ground on fourth with both Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspurs winning.

In the first match at Anfield the teams drew 2-all but this time there were no goals and both teams moved one spot down the ladder.

Spurs leaped to fourth place after beating Wigan 3-nil and Villa stayed in seventh after a 5-2 win over Burnley.

The team that comes after the fourth place chasing teams is Everton who beat Manchester United 3-1 at Goodison Park.

In consecutive league matches at home, Everton has beaten both Chelsea and Manchester United and now looks so different from a team that conceded six goals in its first home match of the season against Arsenal.

In relegation matters, Portsmouth lost to Stoke despite taking the leading in the first half. That loss leaves them seven points adrift of Burnley who are second from the bottom.

Bolton also lost 3-nil to Blackburn and their situation doesn't seem to be getting any better even with a new manager in place.

Still on matters relegation, here is how the table looks with the relegation teams on top:


TeamPlayedWonDrawLostForAgainstGDPts
Portsmouth 26 4 418 2144 -2316
Burnley 26 6 515 2755 -2823
Bolton 26 5 813 2949 -2023
Hull 27 5 913 2554 -2924
Wolves 26 6 614 2144 -2324
Wigan 26 6 713 2652 -2625
Sunderland 26 6 812 3244 -1226
West Ham 26 6 911 3540 -527
Blackburn 27 9 711 2943 -1434
Stoke 26 8 108 2629 -334
Bham City 26 10 79 2528 -337
Fulham 27 10 710 3229 337
Everton 26 10 88 3837 138
Aston Villa 26 12 95 3721 1645
Liverpool 27 13 68 4327 1645
Man City 26 12 104 4833 1546
Tottenham 27 13 77 4826 2246
Arsenal 27 17 46 6330 3355
Man United 27 18 36 6324 3957
Chelsea 27 19 44 6322 4161


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Penalties decide A-League finals

Tuesday, 23rd February 2010 12:43am
Wellington Phoenix and Newcastle Jets needed penalties to advance to the next stage of the A-League finals after their matches were drawn after extra time.

Gold Coast finished ten points ahead of the Jets and had home advantage and they couldn't use that to reach the next stage of the finals were they were going to host the match.

The Gold Coast/Jets match finished goalless but the first five penalties were all converted.

The Gold Coast then missed then missed the next two whilst the Jets missed just one to earn the right to play the Phoenix.

The Phoenix/Glory match finished one-all but the Glory managed to score just two penalties with the Phoenix not missing any and they will therefore host the next match against the Jets.

The Sydney/Melbourne and Phoenix/Jets matches will be played on the same day. The loser in the Sydney/Melbourne match will meet the winner of the Phoenix/Jets match.

Lets take a look at the goal margins for the 2009/10 A-League season up to the weekend matches. The zero goal margin matches were the draws and here is the table:


Goal MarginFrequency
0 34
1 53
2 31
3 11
4 7
5 1
6 1

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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Valencia faces Getafe test

Saturday, 20th February 2010 9:11pm
The last fixture of La Liga's round 23 will see Valencia face Getafe as Valencia tries to cement its position in the top three.

In the last round Valencia could only manage a one-all draw against Sporting Gijon but this time the match is being played at home.

Getafe also had a draw in its last match against Almeria and a win will be crucial at the Mestalla in order to keep in contention of the Europa League places.

So far Valencia has lost just once at home but the team has also drawn four times at the Mestalla.

Out of eleven matches away, Getafe has won just three and lost the other eight and so its away record is not as impressive.

Looking at the last six matches Valencia has won three, drawn two and lost one whilst Getafa has won just won once, drawn twice and lost three.

Its interesting to note that in their previous encounter this season, Getafe won 3-1 but their season has not been consistent since then.

So here is a quick look at the stats for the two teams so far this season:


ValenciaGetafe
Played2222
Points4332
Drawn72
Won1210
Lost310
Goal difference182
Clean sheets95
Failed to score38
Goals scored3930
Goals conceded2128
Ave. goals scored1.81.4
Ave. goals conceded1.01.3
Biggest winAlmeria 0 - 3 Valencia
Valencia 4 - 1 Villarreal
Getafe 5 - 1 Xerez
Biggest lossGetafe 3 - 1 Valencia
Zaragoza 3 - 0 Getafe
Score 3 or more63
Concede 3 or more23
Home matches
Played1011
Points1923
Drawn42
Won57
Lost12
Goal difference98
Goals scored1918
Goals conceded1010
Ave. goals scored1.91.6
Ave. goals conceded1.00.9
Away matches
Played1211
Points249
Drawn30
Won73
Lost28
Goal difference9-6
Goals scored2012
Goals conceded1118
Ave. goals scored1.71.1
Ave. goals conceded0.91.6

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Category: La Liga | Comments : 1


Man City, Liverpool battle for fourth

Friday, 19th February 2010 9:01pm
The match between Manchester City and Liverpool in round 27 of the English Premiership is a direct fight for fourth place.

Man City are currently in fourth place and have a game in hand and a win here could help cement fourth place against their direct rivals.

Man City is one of just two teams not have lost at home so far this season and that form will them confidence going into this match.

Of its 12 games at home, Man City has won nine and drawn three.

Liverpool on the other hand lost its last match and that was away to Arsenal. That match is the only match the team has lost in its last six matches.

In the last six matches, Man City has won three, lost two and drawn one and will need to improve on that going to the end of the season.

The match played at Anfield between the two teams ended in a two-all draw and this time a draw may not be a good enough result for either team with matches starting to run out.

Here is some of the stats for the two teams so far this season:


LiverpoolMan City
Rank54
Played2625
Points4445
Drawn59
Won1312
Lost84
Goal difference1615
Clean sheets118
Failed to score63
Goals scored4348
Goals conceded2733
Ave. goals scored1.71.9
Ave. goals conceded1.01.3
Biggest winLiverpool 6 - 1 Hull
Wolves 0 - 3 Man City
Man City 4 - 1 Blackburn
Biggest lossLiverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa
Chelsea 2 - 0 Liverpool
Fulham 3 - 1 Liverpool
Portsmouth 2 - 0 Liverpool
Tottenham 3 - 0 Man City
Score 3 or more58
Concede 3 or more25
Home matches
Played1312
Points2930
Drawn23
Won99
Lost20
Goal difference2016
Goals scored3130
Goals conceded1114
Ave. goals scored2.42.5
Ave. goals conceded0.81.2
Away matches
Played1313
Points1515
Drawn36
Won43
Lost64
Goal difference-4-1
Goals scored1218
Goals conceded1619
Ave. goals scored0.91.4
Ave. goals conceded1.21.5

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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


4th vs 5th: Phoenix vs Perth Glory

Friday, 19th February 2010 8:26pm
The Wellington Phoenix finished on the final A-League ladder to get the right to host the the finals knockout match against Perth Glory who finished fifth.

The two teams have got contrasting home and away forms.

The Phoenix lost just one match at home and in the process accumulated 26 points.

The Glory have an even better home record also losing just one match and getting 28 points but unfortunately they are not playing at home in this match.

The Glory's away record was the second worst in the league winning just three matches away and they will need a huge improvement on that to beat the Phoenix.

Here is head-to-head comparison for the two teams:



Perth GloryWellington Phoenix
Played2727
Points3940
Drawn610
Won1110
Lost107
Goal difference68
Clean sheets910
Failed to score56
Goals scored4037
Goals conceded3429
Ave. goals scored1.51.4
Ave. goals conceded1.31.1
Biggest winPerth Glory 4 - 0 Newcastle Jets
Wellington Phoenix 6 - 0 Gold Coast
Biggest lossMelbourne Victory 6 - 2 Perth Glory
Melbourne Victory 4 - 0 Wellington Phoenix
Score 3 or more45
Concede 3 or more24
Home matches
Played1313
Points2826
Drawn45
Won87
Lost11
Goal difference1518
Goals scored2325
Goals conceded87
Ave. goals scored1.81.9
Ave. goals conceded0.60.5
Away matches
Played1414
Points1114
Drawn25
Won33
Lost96
Goal difference-9-10
Goals scored1712
Goals conceded2622
Ave. goals scored1.20.9
Ave. goals conceded1.91.6

Previous Matches

SeasonRoundTeamGoalsTeamGoals
2007/8 6Wellington Phoenix4Perth Glory1
2007/8 11Perth Glory0Wellington Phoenix1
2007/8 16Wellington Phoenix3Perth Glory0
2008/9 5Perth Glory1Wellington Phoenix0
2008/9 10Perth Glory2Wellington Phoenix0
2008/9 15Wellington Phoenix1Perth Glory1
2009/10 2Wellington Phoenix2Perth Glory1
2009/10 14Wellington Phoenix1Perth Glory1
2009/10 24Perth Glory2Wellington Phoenix0


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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


3rd vs 6th : Gold Coast vs Newcastle Jets

Friday, 19th February 2010 8:19pm
The second match of the A-League finals series will feature Gold Coast United who finished third against the Newcastle Jets who finished sixth.

The two teams have had very different seasons with the Gold Coast staying at the top for most of the season and the Jets only coming into contention towards the end the season after a series of five consecutive wins.

The wins took the Jets from near the bottom to as high as fourth but another loss of form meant they drifted down to sixth.

There was a ten point difference between the two teams but between a finals match anything is possible:


Here are some of the stats for the two teams for the season:


Newcastle JetsGold Coast
Played2727
Points3444
Drawn45
Won1013
Lost139
Goal difference-124
Clean sheets49
Failed to score87
Goals scored3339
Goals conceded4535
Ave. goals scored1.21.4
Ave. goals conceded1.71.3
Biggest winNewcastle Jets 2 - 0 NQ Fury
Sydney 1 - 3 Newcastle Jets
Adelaide Utd 0 - 2 Newcastle Jets
Brisbane Roar 0 - 2 Newcastle Jets
Gold Coast 5 - 0 NQ Fury
Biggest lossPerth Glory 4 - 0 Newcastle Jets
Wellington Phoenix 6 - 0 Gold Coast
Score 3 or more53
Concede 3 or more65
Home matches
Played1314
Points2129
Drawn02
Won79
Lost63
Goal difference-214
Goals scored2025
Goals conceded2211
Ave. goals scored1.51.8
Ave. goals conceded1.70.8
Away matches
Played1413
Points1315
Drawn43
Won34
Lost76
Goal difference-10-10
Goals scored1314
Goals conceded2324
Ave. goals scored0.91.1
Ave. goals conceded1.61.8

Previous Matches

SeasonRoundTeamGoalsTeamGoals
2009/10 4Newcastle Jets1Gold Coast United0
2009/10 18Newcastle Jets3Gold Coast United2
2009/10 19Gold Coast United2Newcastle Jets0

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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Barca suffer first loss

Monday, 15th February 2010 11:57pm
Barcelona suffered their first loss in the league this season when Atletico Madrid won 2-1 in round 22 of the Spanish Primera Division.

Barcelona had gone 21 matches unbeaten in the league but the two first half goals were enough for Atletico to register a shock win.

The loss means that Barca's lead at the top is reduced to just two points after Real Madrid won its away match against bottom side Xerez 3-nil with all goals scored in the second half.

Sporting Gijon held Valencia to a one-all draw which means that Valencia now trail Real by 10 points.

Valencia now has a four point lead over Sevilla in fourth place. Sevilla had a narrow 1-nil win over Osasuna.

In a key match insofar as relegation is concerned, Valladolid managed to hold Real Zaragoza to a one-all draw a result which suited Zaragoza more as they keep out of the relegation zone.

There is still one more match to be played between Tenerife and Mallorca.

Below are the different scorelines so far in La Liga after 219 matches:


ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 15
0 - 1 10
0 - 2 12
0 - 3 6
0 - 4 3
0 - 5 1
1 - 0 31
1 - 1 28
1 - 2 12
1 - 3 5
1 - 4 3
2 - 0 17
2 - 1 22
2 - 2 10
2 - 3 3
2 - 4 1
3 - 0 7
3 - 1 7
3 - 2 7
3 - 3 1
4 - 0 4
4 - 1 4
4 - 2 4
5 - 0 2
5 - 1 1
5 - 2 1
6 - 0 1
6 - 1 1


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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Sydney crowned premiers

Monday, 15th February 2010 1:57pm
Sydney FC won the minor premiership after beating Melbourne Victory 2-nil at the Sydney Football Stadium to finish top of the A-League table.

Sydney went into the match needing to win to leap their opponents and the home side was 1 up by half-time.

Sydney has now scored five goals against the defending champions with the defending champions failing to score a single goal.

In third place was Gold Coast who lost 2-1 to the North Queensland Fury. Gold Coast needed to win and Sydney to lose to get second place.

The Fury needed to win in order to avoid the wooden spoon in their first season.

Fourth place went to the Wellington Phoenix who beat the Central Coast Mariners 3-nil in what was Lawrie McKinna's last match as coach of the Mariners.

Perth Glory who have reached their maiden finals this season finished fifth when they beat Brisbane Roar 2-nil. The Roar finished second from the bottom to finish last of the three Queensland sides.

Adelaide's win over Newcastle Jets was not enough to avoid the wooden spoon. Once again like last season the side finishing bottom is going into the Asian Champions League.

So here is the final table:

TeamPlayedWonDrawLostForAgainstGDPts
Sydney 27 15 39 3523 1248
Melbourne Victory 27 14 58 4732 1547
Gold Coast 27 13 59 3935 444
Wellington Phoenix 27 10 107 3729 840
Perth Glory 27 11 610 4034 639
Newcastle Jets 27 10 413 3345 -1234
NQ Fury 27 8 811 2946 -1732
Central Coast Mariners 27 7 911 3229 330
Brisbane Roar 27 8 613 3242 -1030
Adelaide Utd 27 7 812 2433 -929


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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Sydney, Melbourne fight for premiership

Friday, 12th February 2010 5:47am
In the last match of the A-League season, Sydney FC will play Melbourne Victory to decide the winners of this season's minor premiership.

This will be the first time in the history of the A-League for teams to actually play for minor premiership in the last round of the season.

Sydney will need to win this match whilst a draw will do for the Victorians.

In their other two matches this season, Sydney won one of them 3-nil and the other one finished in a goalless draw.

Its important to note that the Victory failed to score against their rivals and that both matches were at the Etihad Stadium.

Victory are currently the form team having accumulated 12 points from their last six matches whilst Sydney have amassed 10.

Because of the significance of this match I will this week also give all the A-League results between the two teams from season one up to today below:



Melbourne VictorySydney
FormLWWWLWWDLWLW
Played2626
Points4745
Drawn53
Won1414
Lost79
Goal difference1710
Clean sheets910
Failed to score69
Goals scored4733
Goals conceded3023
Ave. goals scored1.81.3
Ave. goals conceded1.20.9
Biggest winMelbourne Victory 4 - 0 Gold Coast
Melbourne Victory 4 - 0 Wellington Phoenix
Melbourne Victory 6 - 2 Perth Glory
Melbourne Victory 0 - 3 Sydney
Sydney 4 - 1 NQ Fury
Biggest lossMelbourne Victory 0 - 4 Central Coast Mariners
Perth Glory 2 - 0 Sydney
Sydney 1 - 3 Newcastle Jets
Score 3 or more86
Concede 3 or more41
Home matches
Played1413
Points2530
Drawn40
Won710
Lost33
Goal difference1010
Goals scored2821
Goals conceded1811
Ave. goals scored2.01.6
Ave. goals conceded1.30.8
Away matches
Played1213
Points2215
Drawn13
Won74
Lost46
Goal difference70
Goals scored1912
Goals conceded1212
Ave. goals scored1.60.9
Ave. goals conceded1.00.9

Previous Matches

SeasonRoundTeamGoalsTeamGoals
2006/7 2Melbourne Victory3Sydney FC2
2006/7 9Sydney FC1Melbourne Victory2
2006/7 16Melbourne Victory0Sydney FC0
2005/6 1Sydney FC1Melbourne Victory1
2005/6 8Melbourne Victory5Sydney FC0
2005/6 15Sydney FC2Melbourne Victory1
2007/8 7Sydney FC0Melbourne Victory1
2007/8 12Melbourne Victory0Sydney FC0
2007/8 21Sydney FC2Melbourne Victory2
2008/9 1Sydney FC0Melbourne Victory0
2008/9 9Melbourne Victory0Sydney FC2
2008/9 17Melbourne Victory3Sydney FC2
2009/10 10Melbourne Victory0Sydney FC3
2009/10 20Melbourne Victory0Sydney FC0

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Wolves push Spurs aside

Friday, 12th February 2010 5:42am
Relegation threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers pushed Tottenham Hotspurs aside for the second time this season after winning 1-nil at Molyneaux in round 26 of the English Premiership.

Wolves won by a similar scoreline earlier in the season and once again they defeated their more fancied rivals who are fighting for the Champions League places.

Arsenal are now back on track for the title after beating Liverpool 1-nil and seeing Manchester United draw at Villa Park and Chelsea lose at Goodison.

After losing their last two matches, the Gunners win extended the gap with their rivals to 8 points and from here should finish third or better.

In other results, West Ham eased their relegation worries by beating Birmingham City with goals in each half at Upton Park. The result saw the Hammers leave the relegation zone.

Dropping into the relegation zone this time are Hull and Burnley who both lost their fixtures to Blackburn and Fulham respectively.

I think its to once again have a look at the form table and see which team has performed well in the last six matches:


TeamPWDLForAGDPtsStreak
Man United 6 4 20 173 1414DWWWWD
Chelsea 6 4 11 166 1013WWWDWL
Everton 6 4 11 94 513DWWWLW
Man City 6 4 02 125 712WWLWLW
Liverpool 6 3 21 62 411DWDWWL
Arsenal 6 3 12 87 110WWDLLW
Blackburn 6 3 12 68 -210LWWDLW
Stoke 6 2 31 85 39LWDDWD
Bham City 6 2 22 58 -38WDLDWL
Aston Villa 6 1 41 32 17LDDWDD
Fulham 6 2 13 46 -27LLLWDW
West Ham 6 1 32 45 -16LDDDLW
Tottenham 6 1 32 34 -16DLWDDL
Hull 6 1 32 59 -46DLDDWL
Wigan 6 1 23 510 -55LWLLDD
Wolves 6 1 23 49 -55LLDDLW
Sunderland 6 0 42 613 -74DLLDDD
Bolton 6 1 14 310 -74LLWLDL
Burnley 6 1 05 312 -93LLLLWL
Portsmouth 6 0 24 314 -112LDLLLD

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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


3rd vs 4th : Arsenal vs Liverpool

Tuesday, 9th February 2010 10:59pm
Third placed Arsenal will meet fourth placed Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in the midweek round 26 of the English Premiership.

Liverpool are enjoying a good run of form at the moment having drawn two and four of their last six matches. In those six matches the team has scored seven goals and conceded just once.

On the other hand Arsenal has just lost its last two matches against Manchester United and Chelsea conceding five goals in the process.

In the last six matches the Gunners have drawn two, lost two and won two and scored nine goals. Interesting the team has also conceded nine goals.

A win for the Gunners will keep them in third place but more importantly it will make sure that its rival on the day is further behind.

A win for Liverpool will close the gap between them and the Gunners to just two points making third place a realistic possibility.

In their earlier meeting this season ten rounds ago the Gunners triumphed 2-1 at Anfield and will there attempt to complete a double against their rivals for the Champions League places.

Here is a quick summary for the two teams so far this season:


LiverpoolArsenal
FormWDWDWWDWWDLL
Played2525
Points4449
Drawn54
Won1315
Lost76
Goal difference1730
Clean sheets118
Failed to score54
Goals scored4360
Goals conceded2630
Ave. goals scored1.72.4
Ave. goals conceded1.01.2
Biggest winLiverpool 6 - 1 Hull
Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal
Biggest lossLiverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa
Chelsea 2 - 0 Liverpool
Fulham 3 - 1 Liverpool
Portsmouth 2 - 0 Liverpool
Arsenal 0 - 3 Chelsea
Score 3 or more511
Concede 3 or more23
Home matches
Played1312
Points2928
Drawn21
Won99
Lost22
Goal difference2021
Goals scored3135
Goals conceded1114
Ave. goals scored2.42.9
Ave. goals conceded0.81.2
Away matches
Played1213
Points1521
Drawn33
Won46
Lost54
Goal difference-39
Goals scored1225
Goals conceded1516
Ave. goals scored1.01.9
Ave. goals conceded1.31.2


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


McKinna to step aside for Arnold

Tuesday, 9th February 2010 10:46pm
Central Coast Mariners coach Lawrie will step aside at the end of the season and pave way for former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold.

McKinna has been coach of the Mariners from the beginning and he will now take the role of football operations manager.

His departure means that only Melbourne Victory's Ernie Merrick will remain the only surviving foundation coach from season 1.

McKinna's Mariners have had an interesting season nearing the top of the ladder at one stage and then plummeting down but after winning against the Newcastle Jets the team will no longer finish bottom of the table.

Here is a quick overview of the Mariners season with just one game to go:


CategoryMcKinna's Mariners
Played26
Points30
Won7
Drawn9
Lost10
Goal difference6
Clean sheets9
Failed to score10
Goals scored32
Goals conceded26
Ave. goals scored1.2
Ave. goals conceded1.0
Biggest winMelbourne Victory 0 - 4 Central Coast Mariners
NQ Fury 1 - 5 Central Coast Mariners
Biggest lossCentral Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Melbourne Victory
Scored 3 or more5
Conceded 3 or more3
Home matches
Played13
Points16
Won3
Drawn7
Lost3
Goal difference1
Goals scored14
Goals conceded13
Ave. goals scored1.1
Ave. goals conceded1.0
Away matches
Played13
Points14
Won4
Drawn2
Lost7
Goal difference5
Goals scored18
Goals conceded13
Ave. goals scored1.4
Ave. goals conceded1.0

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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Zaragoza too good for Sevilla

Tuesday, 9th February 2010 1:13pm
After beating Valencia in round 20 of La Liga, Sevilla lost 2-1 to relegation threatened Real Zaragoza in round 21.

With Real Mallorca winning against Villareal the loss meant that Sevilla slipped back to fifth on the ladder in what was the most surprising result of the weekend.

Valencia had a 2-nil over Valladolid and therefore cemented their third place on the ladder where they trail Real Madrid in second place by 8 points and Barcelona in first by 13 points.

Real Madrid scored its half-century of goals in this round as well in the 3-nil against Espanyol to maintain the the 5 point gap behind Barcelona.

Xerex were leading at half-time against Athletic Bilbao but conceded two goals in the second half to lose 3-2 and so the team still anchors the table.

Zaragoza's win meant they went out of the relegation zone to be replaced by Valladolid.

51 matches out of 210 have finished in draws so far in La Liga and so below I will show the drawing trend:


TrendFrequencyPercentage
Draw at half time, draw at full time 3670.6
Home team leading at half time, draw at full time 917.6
Away team leading at half time, draw at full time 611.8
Drawn matches 5124.3

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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Sydney beats Perth to stay on track

Monday, 8th February 2010 10:01pm
A goal scored towards the end of the match was enough to keep Sydney FC on track in the battle for the minor premiership.

Round 26 started with three teams with a chance to land the minor premiership but now only two teams, Sydney and Melbourne Victory are left in the running.

Sydney had to win in order to still have a chance of overhauling Melbourne whom they meet in the final round of the season.

Gold Coast United who started the round in contention lost to their bogey team Wellington Phoenix and now the best they can get in their debut A-League season is second place.

Brisbane Roar's chances of reaching the finals ended with a loss to Adelaide United who were already out of the finals.

Brisbane joins the Central Coast Mariners and North Queensland Fury who are also out of the finals.

In the postponed match between the Mariners and the Newcastle Jets, the Mariners won 3-nil which means they can no longer bottom of the ladder.

The Mariners now have 30 points and Adelaide can only get to 29 points if they also beat Newcastle Jets in the last round.

With no draws in the last two rounds lets take a look at the number of draws each team has had after 26 rounds of A-League football:


TeamPlayedGoals ForPoints
Wellington Phoenix 26 810
Central Coast Mariners 26 59
Adelaide United FC 26 98
North Queensland Fury FC 26 108
Brisbane Roar 26 86
Perth Glory 26 56
Gold Coast United 26 55
Melbourne Victory 26 65
Newcastle Jets 26 44
Sydney FC 26 03

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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Chelsea completes double over Arsenal

Monday, 8th February 2010 1:53pm
Chelsea completed the double over Arsenal after beating their London rivals 2-nil at Stamford Bridge in round 25 of the English Premiership.

The West London club had earlier in the season beaten their rivals from North London 3-nil.

Also completing a double was Liverpool with their 1-nil win against Everton with 10 men.

Everton had gone 12 matches unbeaten but they met a Liverpool which is beginning to find its form and even with ten men, Liverpool managed to secure all three points.

Manchester United had the biggest win of the round winning 5-nil against bottom club Portsmouth. That loss means that Pompey are now six points from the team in second from bottom position, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

There was some movements in the relegation zone with Bolton and Burnley moving and they were replaced by Wolves and West Ham.

In the relegation dog-fight, Burnley beat West Ham to get out of the drop zone and Wolves lost in the West Midlands derby to Birmingham City despite scoring first.

The 5-nil drubbing of Portsmouth by Man Utd was the eighth time a team has won by a goal margin of five goals and here is a table showing the rest of the goal margins for all matches so far this season:

Goal MarginFrequency
0 63
1 80
2 55
3 24
4 11
5 8
8 1

The standout 8 goal margin was Spur's 9-1 win over Wigan.


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


In-form Everton face Liverpool

Friday, 5th February 2010 1:35pm
In-form Everton will this weekend visit Anfield to play Liverpool in round 25 of the English Premiership.

Everton last lost in the league in a match against against Liverpool at the November, 2009. Since then Everton has played the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal away and avoided defeated.

The nine match unbeaten run has enabled Everton to climb the ladder from near the relegation zone to ninth at the moment.

A win for Liverpool who are currently fifth could see them rise to fourth depending on other results but a loss could see them drop to seventh.

A win for Everton will see them possibly gain one place whilst a loss at worst will see them drop just one place.

Here are some of the stats for the two teams so far this season:


LiverpoolEverton
Rank59
FormWWDWDWDWDWWW
Played2423
Points4132
Drawn58
Won128
Lost77
Goal difference16-1
Clean sheets106
Failed to score53
Goals scored4233
Goals conceded2634
Ave. goals scored1.81.4
Ave. goals conceded1.11.5
Biggest winLiverpool 6 - 1 Hull
Everton 3 - 0 Blackburn
Biggest lossLiverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa
Chelsea 2 - 0 Liverpool
Fulham 3 - 1 Liverpool
Portsmouth 2 - 0 Liverpool
Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal
Score 3 or more52
Concede 3 or more25
Home matches
Played1212
Points2620
Drawn25
Won85
Lost22
Goal difference193
Goals scored3018
Goals conceded1115
Ave. goals scored2.51.5
Ave. goals conceded0.91.3
Away matches
Played1211
Points1512
Drawn33
Won43
Lost55
Goal difference-3-4
Goals scored1215
Goals conceded1519
Ave. goals scored1.01.4
Ave. goals conceded1.31.7

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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Sydney in crunch match against Glory

Thursday, 4th February 2010 10:22pm
Sydney FC will play Perth Glory in round 26 of the A-League knowing that a win will help them in their pursuit of the minor premiership.

A minor premiership means the team will represent Australia in the Asian Champions League and so its pretty important to Sydney as it also to Gold Coast United and Melbourne Victory the other two teams who can win it.

However, if Perth Glory wins their last two matches and Sydney loses both theirs then the Glory side will secure third place on the ladder which will be handy going into the finals.

Glory are currently fourth on the ladder and to be guaranteed of that fourth place the Glory needs at least four points from their last two matches and so a draw may not a very bad result in this encounter for them.

Sydney has the second best home form having collected 27 points at home this season whilst Glory's away form is the second worst and in order for Glory to get a result that will have to be changed.

Both their previous two matches this season were played at ME Bank Stadium and the home team came out with four points. In those two matches Sydney failed to find the net.

So here is some of the stats for the two teams so far this season:


Perth GlorySydney
Rank43
Played2525
Points3642
Drawn63
Won1013
Lost99
Goal difference59
Clean sheets810
Failed to score59
Goals scored3630
Goals conceded3121
Ave. goals scored1.41.2
Ave. goals conceded1.20.8
Biggest winPerth Glory 4 - 0 Newcastle Jets
Melbourne Victory 0 - 3 Sydney
Sydney 4 - 1 NQ Fury
Biggest lossMelbourne Victory 6 - 2 Perth Glory
Perth Glory 2 - 0 Sydney
Sydney 1 - 3 Newcastle Jets
Score 3 or more45
Concede 3 or more11
Home matches
Played1212
Points2527
Drawn40
Won79
Lost13
Goal difference139
Goals scored2118
Goals conceded89
Ave. goals scored1.81.5
Ave. goals conceded0.70.8
Away matches
Played1313
Points1115
Drawn23
Won34
Lost86
Goal difference-80
Goals scored1512
Goals conceded2312
Ave. goals scored1.20.9
Ave. goals conceded1.80.9

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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Round 25: Home teams take advantage

Wednesday, 3rd February 2010 1:54pm
Round 25 of the A-League was only the second round this season when all the matches were won by home teams.

Most of the victories in this round were also very significant as they meant reaching the finals for the first time for Perth Glory, for example.

The Glory scored the highest number of goals when three first half goals were enough to dispatch once table toppers Central Coast Mariners.

Mariners are now in real danger of finishing bottom of the ladder after dropping to second from bottom place.

Wellington Phoenix also won against Adelaide to set themselves on course for the finals as well whilst Gold Coast United needed just one goal to claim second place on the ladder on goal difference behind Melbourne Victory.

The Phoenix needs at least two points to be sure of a maiden finals place.

Brisbane Roar kept themselves in finals contention with a crucial win over Sydney FC.

In the last match of the round the North Queensland Fury are also in the finals hunt after a win over Newcastle Jets.

Below are the second half scorelines for the A-League matches this season:

ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 34
0 - 1 18
0 - 2 6
0 - 3 3
1 - 0 19
1 - 1 18
1 - 2 3
1 - 3 2
2 - 0 9
2 - 1 6
2 - 2 1
3 - 0 3
4 - 0 2
5 - 0 1

Its interesting to see that in 34 of the matches, no goals were scored in the second half.

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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Algeria concedes the most

Tuesday, 2nd February 2010 7:58pm
Algeria conceded the most number of goals after conceding ten goals at the just ended 2010 Africa Nations Cup.

In just two matches against Malawi and Egypt, Algeria conceded seven goals but then conceded three goals in the other remaining five matches.

Burkina Faso played the least number of matches of all the teams following the withdrawal of Togo in Group B and hence conceded just one goal.

Here is a chart showing the number of goals conceded by each team:


graph

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Category: Nations Cup | Comments : 0


Egypt tops goal scoring charts

Tuesday, 2nd February 2010 7:40pm
The African champions Egypt finished the 2010 Africa Nations Cup as the biggest scorers

In total the Pharaohs scored 15 goals and in second place was Mali who didn't even reach the knockout stages with seven.

The total number of goals scored in the tournament was 71.

Here is the chart showing the goal scored by each team:


graph It should be noted that the teams did not play the same number of matches with Burkina Faso just playing two.


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Category: Nations Cup | Comments : 0


Egypt wraps up third title in a row

Tuesday, 2nd February 2010 5:55am
Egypt once again showed its class in African football winning the Africa Nations Cup for the third time in a row after beating Ghana 1-nil in the final.

Egypt becomes the first time to do and this started with their victory at home in 2006 and was followed by another win in Ghana in 2008.

They scored far many more goals than everybody else- 15 in total and conceded just two.

Interestingly Egypt beat four of the World Cup bound teams and the team they did not play was Ivory Coast.

Apart from Ghana they scored three or more goals against teams destined for South Africa.

Here are the different margins for the matches in the Angola tournament.:

Goal MarginFrequency
0 8
1 11
2 7
3 2
4 1

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Category: Nations Cup | Comments : 0


Sevilla overcomes Valencia in crunch tie

Monday, 1st February 2010 8:57pm
Sevilla won the crunch match against Valencia in round 20 of the Spanish Primera division to move to fourth position on the table.

Sevilla won 2-1 to be within three points of their rivals. This has been a big turnaround for a team that had lost three matches in a row in January.

Once again there were no changes at the top as both Barcelona and Real Madrid won. Barca had an uncharacteristic 1-nil win over Sporting Gijon whilst Real Madrid dispatched Real Zaragoza 3-1.

Bottom club Xerez had a surprise win over Malaga despite trailing 1-nil at half time.

This was Xerez's only second win of the season and the club now has 11 points, six adrift of Tenerife which is second from bottom position.

Xerez is only the fifth team to be trailing at half time to win the match at full time as the table below shows:

TrendFrequencyPercentage(%)
Home team leading at half time, home team winning at full time 5335.1
Away team leading at half time, away team winning at full time 3523.2
Home team trailing at half time, home team winning at full time 53.3
Away team trailing at half time, away team winning at full time 10.7
Draw at half time, home team winning at full time 3925.8
Draw at half time, away team winning at full time 1811.9
Matches ending in result 15175.5


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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Man Utd outclass Arsenal

Monday, 1st February 2010 6:58pm
In round 24 of the English Premiership, champions Manchester United outclassed Arsenal to win 3-1 at the Emirates.

Before this match Arsenal had lost just once in the league at home, a 3-nil to Chelsea but Man Utd were 2-nil by half time and scored a further goal before the Gunners got their consolation.

The result leaves the Gunners in third place but United are now just one point behind league leaders Chelsea who have a game in hand.

Chelsea won its match against Burnley 2-1 to remain top whilst the loss for Burnley means the team remains in the relegation zone.

In the battle for fourth place there were wins for Manchester City, Aston Villa and Liverpool whilst Tottenham drew.

The draw was costly to Spurs and even though they are still in fourth place, they are only one point ahead of Liverpool and Man City.

The round will finish with a match between Sunderland and Stoke.

Its been a while since I looked at the draws and so this week here is the draws table:


TeamPlayedGoals ForPoints
West Ham 23 119
Everton 23 128
Hull City 23 98
Manchester City 22 138
Aston Villa 23 57
Birmingham City 23 57
Blackburn 24 37
Stoke City 21 77
Bolton 22 106
Fulham 23 76
Tottenham 24 66
Wolverhampton Wanderers 23 76
Burnley 23 75
Liverpool 24 55
Sunderland 22 85
Arsenal 24 54
Wigan 22 54
Chelsea 23 43
Portsmouth 22 23
Manchester United 24 32

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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0



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