Bayern Munich Vs Inter Milan for Cup no. 3.

Finally the wait is over for the biggest match of the season. It is the champions League final between the two giants of Europe. Italian champions Inter Milan who recently completed their double are up against Bayern Munich who also finished with a double at Santaigo Bernebau, home to Spanish power house Real Madrid. It was a tough way to the final for both the teams beating several top teams in their way to Madrid.

Both teams are chasing trebles, having also won their league and domestic cup competitions. Bayern and Inter are both seeking a return to continental glory. The Bavarians are looking for their fifth European title, having last won in
2001 in a penalty shootout over Valencia. It was the club’s first European
Cup in 25 years, but they stumbled a bit after that, failing to advance past the
quarterfinals and once missing out on the top European club
competition entirely. For Inter Milan, this is the thier first European Cup final since they
won at home way, way
back in 1965. For Jose Mourinho the Estadio
Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid, will be having some personal matters where he is widely rumored to be taking over later in the summer. and facing his old mentor further spice up the proceedings. Jose Mourinho said some days ago that the Champions League is a bigger competition than the World
Cup. “This game is the most important in the world,” said 47-year-old Mourinho.

Bayern winger Franck Ribery and Inter midfielder Thiago Motta are suspended but otherwise both coaches largely have full squads to choose. Inter will be exploiting the pace of Sneijderand Samuel Eto’o and Bayern looking to Arjen Robben to wreak havoc as he cuts in from the right.

Its an action packed night. The match will be starting at 2045 Hours CET. Don’t miss it!!!

Chelsea plays Portsmouth to finish the year with a double.

Fresh from their triumph in the Barclays English Premier League, Chelsea will be hoping to finish with a double this season. The blues will be meeting Portsmouth in the final of the Football Association Cup (popularly known as the FA Cup) on saturday at the “new” Wembley Stadium. It was a long way for both the teams to reach the 129th final  where teams from all the divisions participated. 

 

News from the newly crowned Premier League champions is that they will be going with their usual squad that trounced Wigan Athletic in the final league match of the season. Beyond that Carlo Ancelotti is still waiting for Branislav Ivanovic injury report which is expected to make the trip to Wembley. Overall Chelsea has had a very good record over the Pompeys and the five times winners will be hoping to make it six and more importantly two in a row following last year’s 2-1 win over gunners. The blues lockers room is in absolute health after the decision of Frank Lampard to take penalty over in the previous match made Didier Drogba who was fighting for the golden boot.

For the Pompeys this is a big game. After relegating from the top division of the English league. the port club will be hoping to win the FA Cup twice in three years. They last won in 2008 after beating Cardiff city by a single goal. News from theri locker room is that midfielder Jamie O’Hara is hoping to play at Wembley on Saturday despite suffering with a double stress fracture in his back. The on loan player will be playing his last match with the Pompeys before moving back to Tottenham Hotspur, his original club. Other than that Avram Grant will be going with their usual squad and hope to make headlines tomorrow.

The match will start at 1500 Hours GMT (1930 Hours IST)

 

Fulham takes on Atletico Madrid for the Europa League trophy.

After weeks of hardwork, the glory is finally waiting for either Fulham FC or Atletico Madrid for one of the most prestigious event in Europe. The inagural UEFA Europa League final between two teams will be taking place in just few hours in Hamburg, Germany and there is plenty to look for. Being the first of the big finals preceeding the champions league much is happening at both ends.

For Fulham this is a dream come true as being their first major final in the clubs 131 years history and also the expectations of the barmy army which is pretty much behing the only English club in Europe. The other English club Liverpool were knocked out by spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the semi finals. The news from the Fulham camp is that their fierce striker Bobby Zamora has recovered from his Achilles tendon problem and is expected to play. So is Damien Duff, who is fast recovering from a leg injury. Other than that the whites are all ready for the big night. The Spanish must be making plans to stop Danny Murphy & Co.

For Atletico Madrid the best plan will be to attack. With Diego Forlan, Jose Antonio Reyes and Sergio Aguero at the front, getting the ball past the net will not be easy. Their defence is a cause of concern with nothing much of a star power in it. Atletico‘s manager Quique Sanchez Flores must be hoping to over come the dissapointment faced in the domestic league with no special break through and conceeding 52 goals. One outside positive for the Spanish side will be the German crowd support which will be behind them as Fulham  beat Hamburger SV to reach the final, Fulham may even have to listen to lown jeers from the Hamburg Arena spectators. 

The match will start at 2045 Hours CET.

Final Showdown at the premier league.

After 370 matches in the Barclay’s Premeir League this season, the title race has gone down to the wire. 10 matches on the final day will decide who gets the Barclays flag and other vital positons for entry into Europe for the next season. Chelsea, currently at 83 points, has the upper hand with a point lead over rivals Manchester United but nothing vould be said till the referee blows the final whistle of the season. Also, there is a slim battle for the third-fourth place with Tottenham Hotspur just 2 points behind Arsenal who are having their worst run in years with 10 games without a point.

Chelsea will be up against Wigan Athletic for the last day. The blues will be going out with their usual squad without any fresh injuries. Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba will be all fired up to lift the trophy in front of the home crowd. For Wigan it will be playing for pride and an attempt to stop the blues to win the match and the title, their Striker Marcelo Moreno is injured due to ankle injuries along with other Wiganers. 

Defending champions  Manchester United will be hosting Stoke City at Old Trafford for the final match of the season. The pressure is double on the red devils, first one being of winning and second hoping the nearly impossibe task of Chelsea either loosing or drawing againts Wigan. For Man United veteran defender Gary Neville is injured and Rio Ferdinand is not finding the touch. High hopes are on Wayne Rooney and Berbatov to fire while hoping that Chelsea don’t fire.

The best part of tomorrow is that all the match will be starting at 1600 hours GMT (2030 Hours IST) so there will be pre-match or post match tensions. The matches are:

Arsenal Vs Fulham

Aston Villa Vs Blackburn Rovers

Bolton Wanderers Vs Birmingham City

Burnley Vs Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea Vs Wigan Athletic

Everton Vs Portsmouth

Hull City  Vs Liverpool

Manchester United Vs Stoke City

West Ham United  Vs Manchester City

Wolverhampton Wanderers Vs Sunderland

Gearing up for the last day with all the rumours around.

Portsmouth will be demoted from the Premier League this month, and its players will be put up for sale immediately after the final, against the Premier League’s top club, Chelsea, on May 15. The continued existence of a club representing the navy town of Portsmouth on England’s south coast is by no means guaranteed, even in a less glamorous, less well-heeled, lower league.

Even at the pinnacle of the Premier League, the clubs are spending money they don’t have. Manchester United and Liverpool are owned by Americans who borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars before the banking collapse and who cunningly (from their perspective) made the clubs liable for those debts.

A new challenger, Manchester City, was owned first by the exiled former prime minister of Thailand and now by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. Manchester City’s biggest match of the season is Wednesday, when it plays Tottenham Hotspur. If Tottenham wins, it will finish fourth. If City wins, it will probably finish fourth.

If City wins, there is talk that it will pay whatever it takes to get Fernando Torres from Liverpool. He is injured, and has been for much of the season. Torres is the most potent striker in England — some would say in the world — so his transfer value would be anything the buyer and seller deem it to be. Rumours are rife this morning with the newsthat Chelsea are looking to catch the money men at Manchester City cold to beat them to the signing of Fernando Torres.It’s no secret that Torres is disappointed, like all Liverpool players and fans, with their form in the Premier League this season. With Champions League football a distant memory next season, with the future of Rafa Benitez up in the air and also the future of Liverpool in doubt in the hands of their American owners, it could be the time for Torres to move on as he looks for honours. 

That could be as much as 80 million pounds, about $121.5 million. Torres could command an annual salary of $15 million. If Torres goes, Rafael Benítez, his fellow Spaniard, will probably go as well. The manager at an English club is responsible not just for tactics and team selection, but also for buying and selling players. Since Benítez arrived six years ago, he has made 48 major signings — spending more than $350 million — and sold 59 players, for about $220 million.

Liverpool to fight Chelsea for fourth place while United hopes for some light.

Shifting back to the English Premier League, the final two games are going to be the most important of all. With just 2 points between leaders Chelsea and second placed Manchester United, it is anybody’s title of course the blues having the upper hand. This sunday half of it will be decided when Chelsea will be travelling to meet Liverpool at Anfield followed by Manchester United‘s match against Sunderland.

Its an important fixture at the top, for Chelsea it is about the titie while for Liverpool it is more important regarding the climbing up of places and securing themselves a place in Europe. Chelsea‘s body language was seen totally fired up with their 7-0 win against Stoke City last weekend. Chelsea will be banking on the experience of Frank Lampard to deliver while Didier Drogba has enjoyed a fantastic season and is closing in on Wayne Rooney as the Premier League’s top scorer. Skipper John Terry will return for Chelsea but Liverpool will be without striker Fernando Torres as they aim to keep alive their slim chances of a top-four finish.

Just after Chelsea‘s match all focus will be shifting on the Stadium of Light where the red devils will be playing. Man United will be having a close look on Darren Bent as he scored against them in the opening minutes the last time they met. Sunderland are on a good run, with three wins from their last four games. And they are unbeaten at home in their last nine League games. But positives for United is that they have the best away record in the league this season with 33 points. United will be banking on the lights of Berbatov in the front  with crucial passes from Nani and Giggs from the sides. But whatever it is, the EPL will go down to the wire this season.

The match timings are:

Saturday

Birmingham City Vs Burnley  12:45 Hours GMT

Manchester City  Vs Aston Villa  15:00 Hours GMT

Portsmouth Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Hours GMT

Stoke City  Vs Everton 15:00 Hours GMT

Tottenham Hotspur Vs Bolton Wanderers 15:00 Hours GMT

Sunday

Liverpool Vs Chelsea 13:30 Hours GMT

Fulham Vs West Ham United 15:00 Hours GMT

Sunderland Vs Manchester United 16:00 Hours GMT

Manchester United host Spurs in the crucial league stage.

After some great round of football last weekend when Chelsea lost and United won the league it back with the utmost excitement. All the twenty teams will be in action. Starting the play with an early kick off on Saturday is Tottenham Hotspur, who defeated Chelsea and previously defeated Arsenal also, will be on the way to Old Trafford to play against defending Champions Manchester United while leaders Chelsea will be hoping to cruise past Stoke City at home and sit at a comfortable position with their lead on Sunday.

The match at Old Trafford is important for both teams. Manchester United are desperate to get back at the top and retain the title while Tottenham on the other side would be hoping to cement their fourth place while takes them to the champions league qualification round. News from the locker room is that Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown may be back in the starting line up for the red devils while Wayne Rooney is still short of full fitness to start. Sir Alex will be banking on the experiece of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to break the deadlock. For Spurs Jonathan Woodgate is out injured with a groin trouble while Jermaine Jenas is doubtful to play at OT. The table will be changed… lets see what happens.

The match timings of the weekend matches are:

Saturday

Manchester United Vs Tottenham Hotspur 1245 Hours GMT

Bolton Wanderers Vs Portsmouth 1500 Hours GMT

Hull City Vs Sunderland 1500 Hours GMT

West Ham United Vs Wigan 1500 Hours GMT

Wolves Vs Blackburn Rovers 1500 Hours GMT

Arsenal Vs Manchester City 1700 Hours GMT

Sunday

Aston Villa Vs Birmingham City 1200 Hours GMT

Burnley Vs Liverpool 1500 Hours GMT

Everton Vs Fulham 1500 Hours GMT

Chelsea Vs Stoke City 1600 Hours GMT

Chelsea visits Spurs to further extend the lead. Manchester derby on the cards…

After suffering a major jolt in the premier league title, the defending championsManchester United will be facing the City rivals Manchester City in the Manchester Derby and the timings could not be any better than this. In the other big match tomorrow, leader Chelsea will be visiting White Hart Lane in a tricky fixture againstTottenham Hotspurs. Battling for the all important champions league place, sixth placed Liverpool will be going all out against West Ham United on Monday to climb up places and hope there rivals go the opposite way. So with the top teams playing each other, it will be an exciting Premiership Saturday which is bound to change the table.

 

From the red devils camp there ace striker Wayne Rooney is expected to return from the ankle injury while wingerRyan Giggs and defender Rio Ferdinand are expected to stay at bench following there hamstring injury and groin injury respectively. Latest from the neighbours camp is that Pablo Zabaleta is available again after serving a two-match suspension, and Stephen Ireland is due back following a three-game absence with a shin injury. Patrick Vieira is being carefully watched after he picked up a slight knee injury. Former Man United striker, Carlos Tevezwill be looked as his head to head record with the former club looks interesting.

 

Chelsea will be looking to extend their league at the top when they are up against Spurs. Huge boost for the blues is that England left-back Ashley Cole has recovered from his broken ankle and is back in the first-team squad for the first time since February. 
Other matches over the weekend are:

Saturday

Manchester City v Manchester United 12:451″”> Hours GMT

Birmingham City v Hull City 15:00 Hours GMT

Blackburn Rovers v Everton 15:00 Hours GMT

Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00 Hours GMT

Stoke City v Bolton Wanderers 15:00 Hours GMT

Sunderland v Burnley 15:00 Hours GMT

Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea 17:30 Hours GMT

Sunday

Wigan Athletic v Arsenal 13:30 Hours GMT

Portsmouth v Aston Villa 16:00 Hours GMT

Monday

Liverpool v West Ham United 20:00 Hours GMT

Chelsea face trickly Villa, Man United hoping to cruise at Reebok

Even after a huge win over Portsmouth in the midweek, Chelsea would be wondering why only “three” points??? Now with that result the premier league action has got as hot as possible… After 31 matches Manchester United lead the table with 69 points, followed by Chelsea who is a point behind and followed by third placed Arsenal who are also a point behind

This weekend there is plenty of action… After a long time, the new leaders Manchester United will be visiting Reebok Stadium to face Bolton Wanderers and are most likely to cruise over them to stay at the top. On the other hand, Bolton‘s aim will be to climb certain positions to end at a respectable stage. News for the locker room is that Wayne Rooney was reported with a knee injury but is known to be fine and looking the fixtures ahead, Sir Alex will not be taking chances. Other than that the red devils will be traveling with their usual squad with some grim chances of including Owen Hargreaves. Bolton will be without Sean Davis due to ankle injury but their star performer Kevin Davis is ready to lead the kill.

Chelsea will be hosting seventh placed Aston Villa in a tricky fixture as Villa has earlier stalled Manchester United, Liverpool and are no outsiders to the title race. Once at fourth place will will be happy to finish in that place for a prized entry into Europe.

Matches timings for the next three days are:

Saturday:

Birmingham City Vs Arsenal 1500 Hours GMT

Chelsea Vs Aston Villa 1500 Hours GMT

Hull City Vs Fulham 1500 Hours GMT

Tottenham Hotspur Vs Portsmouth 1500 Hours GMT

West Ham United Vs Stoke City 1500 Hours GMT

Wolverhampton Wanderers Vs Everton 1500 Hours GMT

Bolton Wanderers Vs Manchester United 1730 Hours GMT

Sunday:

Burnley Vs Blackburn Rovers 1200 Hours GMT

Liverpool Vs Sunderland 1600 Hours GMT

Monday:

Manchester City VS Wigan Athletic 2000 Hours GMT

Arsenal face the champions Barcelona, United-Bayern re-run in the champions league quarter finals.

 

After some exciting action and some huge upsets the champions league now steps into the last-8 stage featuring some of the best team in Europe. The fixtures for the much awaited quarter finals were finally declared in Nyon, Switzerland. 1999 champions Manchester United have been put up against that year’s runners up Bayern Munich. Some old memories will definitely come in mind and Bayern will be hoping not to have a repeat of that night.

Another thing to note in the quarters is that the presence of two French clubs, FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Olympique Lyonnais. Although they have been scheduled to play each other but this as shown the increasing dominance of French clubs. Lyon everyone knows had pulled a cracked after getting past Real Madrid to reach here.

The other English powerhouse Arsenal will be hosting defending champions Barcelona in the match to watch. Wenger is confident to take this one away but playing in Nou Camp is a different experience altogether.

CSKA Moscow will be celebrating their first ever entry to this level and the first Russian club in 17 years to reach this stage but they are up against Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan who comfortable defeated Chelsea to enter the last-8.

 The complete quarter finals fixture list:

All matches to start at 2045 Hours GMT.

First Leg

 30^th March 2010

Olympique Lyonnais Vs FC Girondins de Bordeaux           Venue: Stade de Gerland, Lyon 

Bayern Munich Vs Manchester United             Venue: Fußball Arena München, Munich

31^st March 2010

Barcelona Vs Arsenal      Venue: Emirates Stadium, London

CSKA Moscow Vs Inter Milan  Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan

Second Leg

6^th April 2010

Barcelona Vs Arsenal      Venue:  Nou Camp, Barcelona

CSKA Moscow Vs Inter Milan      Venue: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow

7^th April 2010

Olympique Lyonnais Vs FC Girondins de Bordeaux           Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux

Bayern Munich Vs Manchester United      Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester