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2008-09-24T21:13:00.007+01:00

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Daily Update - 28th August 2008

2008-08-28T15:06:00.004+01:00

Gerrard ruled out for two weeks
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard has been ruled out for the next two weeks as he undergoes crucial surgery on a groin problem. The Liverpool captain looks set to miss the trip to Aston Villa and the game against Manchester United on September 13th. Gerrard has been Liverpool's top fantasy performer this season scoring the sides late winner against Middlesbrough last week. After the Reds' terrible performance against Standard Liege last night and with Gerrard sidelined it is certainly advised to avoid Liverpool players for the next few weeks. On a positive note, Ryan Babel came back to play a cameo role towards the end of Wednesday night's crucial game setting up the winning goal for fellow Dutchman Dirk Kuyt. Babel could be an interesting pick once Liverpool face easier opposition.

Fabregas returns to the frame
Arsenal playmaker Cesc Fabregas returned to the field of play last night with an impresario performance against Dutch side FC Twente in the Champions League. The young Spaniard has been sidelined for the start of the Premiership season through injury but now looks set to start at the weekend against Newcastle. The talismanic creative player was the key to Arsenal's early surge for the Premiership title last year and ended the season withthe highest number of assists - his return to action should not be overlooked in spite of Arsenal's dismal start to their campaign. Also to note was the return to action of defensive midfielder Alexandre Song during Arsenal's 4-0 victory.

Live Scores!

2008-08-27T20:21:00.001+01:00

Summer Transfers IN & OUT

2008-05-28T10:00:00.003+01:00

Updated: 27th August 2008

MAJOR TRANSFERS IN

Arsenal

Amaury Bischoff (undisc.)
Samir Nasri (undisc.)
Aaron Ramsey (undisc.)
Mikael Silvestre (undisc.)

Aston Villa

Carlos Cuellar (£7.8m)
Curtis Davies (undisc.)
Brad Friedel (undisc.)
Brad Guzan (undisc.)
Nicky Shorey (undisc.)
Steve Sidwell (£5m)
Luke Young (£6m)

Blackburn Rovers

Vince Grella (undisc.)
Paul Robinson (£3.5m)
Julio Santa Cruz (undisc.)
Danny Simpson (loan)
Carlos Villanueva (loan)

Bolton Wanderers

Johan Elmander (undisc.)
Fabrice Muamba (undisc.)
Riga Mustapha (undisc.)
Danny Shittu (undisc.)

Chelsea

Jose Bosingwa (£16.1m)
Deco (£8m)

Everton

Lars Jacobsen (free)

Fulham

Andranik (free)
Zoltan Gera (free)
Andy Johnson (undisc.)
John Pantsil (undisc.)
Mark Schwarzer (free)
David Stockdale (undisc.)
Fredrik Stoor (undisc.)
Bobby Zamora (undisc.)
Pascal Zuberbuhler (free)

Hull City

George Boateng (£1m)
Craig Fagan (undisc.)
Anthony Gardner (£2.5m)
Geovanni (free)
Peter Halmosi (undisc.)
Bernard Mendy (free)
Mark Oxley (£150,000)
Tony Warner (free)
Marlon King (loan)

Liverpool

Diego Cavalieri (undisc.)
Philipp Degen (free)
Andrea Dossena (undisc.)
Robbie Keane (£19m)
David Ngog (undisc.)

Manchester City

Tal Ben Haim (undisc.)
Jo (undisc.)
Vincent Kompany (undisc.)

Manchester United

None.

Middlesbrough

Didier Digard (£4m)
Marvin Emnes (£3.2m)
Justin Hoyte (£3m)

Newcastle United

Sebastien Bassong (undisc.)
Fabricio Coloccini (undisc.)
Danny Guthrie (undisc.)
Jonas Gutierrez (undisc.)

Portsmouth

Peter Crouch (undisc.)
Younes Kaboul (undisc.)
Omar Koroma (undisc.)
Glen Little (free)
Ben Sahar (loan)
Jerome Thomas (undisc.)
Armand Traore(loan)

Stoke City

Andrew Davies (undisc.)
Abdoulaye Faye (£2.25m)
Amdy Faye (undisc.)
Dave Kitson (£5.5m)
Seyi Olofinjana (£3m)
Thomas Sorensen (free)
Abdoulaye Faye (£2.25million)

Sunderland

Djibril Cisse (loan)
Pascal Chimbonda (undisc.)
Nick Colgan (free)
El-Hadji Diouf (undisc.)
Anton Ferdinand (undisc.)
David Healy (undisc.)
Steed Malbranque (undisc.)
David Meyler (undisc.)
Teemu Tainio (undisc.)

Tottenham Hotspur

David Bentley (£15m)
John Bostock (£700,000)
Giovani dos Santos (£4.7m)
Heurelho Gomes (undisc.)
Luka Modric (£16.6m)
Cesar Sanchez (undisc.)

West Brom

Roman Bednar (£2.3m)
Marek Cech (£1.4m)
Scott Carson (£3.25m)
Michal Danek (loan)
Graham Dorrans (£100,000)
Kim Do-Heon (£550,000)
Abdoulaye Meite (£2m)
Luke Moore (£3m)
Borja Valero (£4.7m)
Gianni Zuiverloon (£3.2m)

West Ham

Valon Behrami (£5million)
Jan Lastuvka (loan)

Wigan Athletic

Lee Cattermole (undisc.)
Daniel De Ridder (free)
Olivier Kapo (£2.5m)
Amr Zaki (loan)

MAJOR TRANSFERS OUT

Arsenal

Mathieu Flamini (free)
Alexander Hleb (£11.8m)
Justin Hoyte (£3m)
Jens Lehmann (free)
Gilberto Silva (undisc.)
Armand Traore(loan)

Aston Villa

Patrik Berger (released)
Shaun Maloney (£1million)
Olof Mellberg (free)
Luke Moore (£3m)
Thomas Sorensen (free)

Blackburn Rovers

David Bentley (£15m)
Bruno Berner (released)
Peter Enckelman (free)
Brad Friedel (undisc.)
Stephane Henchoz (released)
Gunnar Nielsen (loan)

Bolton Wanderers

Andranik (free)
Daniel Braatan (undisc.)
Ivan Campo (released)
El-Hadji Diouf (undisc.)
Abdoulaye Meite (£2m)
Stelios (released)

Chelsea

Tal Ben Haim (undisc.)
Khalid Boulahrouz (undisc.)
Hernan Crespo (released)
Claude Makelele (free)
Claudio Pizarro (loan)
Slobodan Rajkovic (loan)
Ben Sahar (loan)
Andriy Shevchenko (undisc.)
Steve Sidwell (£5m)

Everton

Lee Carsley (free)
Andy Johnson (undisc.)
Stefan Wessels (released)

Fulham

Nathan Ashton (undisc.)
Carlos Bocanegra (released)
Hameur Bouazza (loan)
Philippe Christanval (released)
David Healy (undisc.)
Jari Litmanen (released)
Brian McBride (released)
Elliot Omozusi (loan)
Ian Pearce (released)
Dejan Stefanovic (undisc.)
Tony Warner (free)
Steven Davis(undisc.)

Hull City

Michael Bridges (loan)
David Livermore (released)
Jay-Jay Okocha (released)

Liverpool

Scott Carson (£3.25m)
Peter Crouch (undisc.)
Danny Guthrie (undisc.)
Jack Hobbs (loan)
Harry Kewell (free)
Anthony Le Tallec (free)
John Arne Riise (£3.98million)

Manchester City

Rolando Bianchi (undisc.)
Bernardo Corradi (released)
Paul Dickov (released)
Geovanni (free)
Andreas Isaksson (undisc.)
Sun Jihai (free)
Emile Mpenza (released)
Georgios Samaras (undisc.)

Manchester United

Chris Eagles (undisc.)
Gerard Pique (undisc.)
Danny Simpson (loan)
Mikael Silvestre (undisc.)

Middlesbrough

George Boateng (£1m)
Lee Cattermole (undisc.)
Dong-Gook Lee (released)
Gaizka Mendieta (released)
Fabio Rochemback (free)
Mark Schwarzer (free)
Luke Young (£6m)

Newcastle United

Stephen Carr (released)
Emre (undisc.)
Abdoulaye Faye (£2.25m)
Peter Ramage (free)
David Rozehnal (£2.9million)
Abdoulaye Faye (£2.25million)

Portsmouth

Omar Koroma (loan)
Pedro Mendes (undisc.)
Sulley Muntari (undisc.)

Stoke City

Marlon Broomes (free)
Russell Hoult (released)
Dominic Matteo (released)
Adam Rooney (£50,000)

Sunderland

Andy Cole (released)
Greg Halford (loan)
Ian Harte (released)
Roy O'Donovan (loan)
Stanislav Varga (released)
Ross Wallace (loan)
Stephen Wright (released)

Tottenham Hotspur

Pascal Chimbonda (undisc.)
Anthony Gardner (£2.5m)
Younes Kaboul (undisc.)
Robbie Keane (£19m)
Lee Young-Pyo (undisc.)
Steed Malbranque (undisc.)
Paul Robinson (£3.5m)
Teemu Tainio (undisc.)

West Brom

Martin Albrechtsen (free)
Curtis Davies (undisc.)
Zoltan Gera (free)
Kevin Phillips (free)

West Ham

Anton Ferdinand (undisc.)
John Pantsil (undisc.)
Nolberto Solano (released)
Bobby Zamora (undisc.)

Wigan Athletic

Julius Aghahowa (undisc.)
David Cotterill (undisc.)
Andreas Granqvist (undisc.)
Salomon Olembe (released)
Josip Skoko (released)
Andy Webster (undisc.)
Marlon King (loan)

Premiership Injuries

2008-05-28T09:49:00.000+01:00

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Live Scores!

2008-01-20T22:08:00.000Z

Premiership Disciplinary Charts

2007-09-18T12:27:00.000+01:00

Blackburn's Tugay is top of the player charts after his red card against Man City a few weeks back but the Turk has only one game to his name so we must focus our attentions elsewhere. One surprise is to see Aston Villa's John Carew with a huge 20 fouls committed - I guess he really is getting in the face of defenders but you don't really want a foul happy striker in your team do you? The usual hard men make up the rest of the positions - I can't imagine Shaun Wright-Phillips popping up anywhere. A small pattern I have noticed: There are no Liverpool players in the list, make of this what you want but I personally feel that it reflects the fact that they probably have the World's best possession winning midfield and they calmed down Momo Sissoko a bit.

Player Disciplinary Table

Player	Team	GP	Fouls	Yellows	Reds	Disc Points
Tugay	Blackburn Rovers	1	4	0	1	10.0
Diop	Portsmouth	1	4	1	0	7.0
Carvalho	Chelsea	2	4	2	0	5.0
Long	Reading	4	14	2	0	5.0
Savage	Blackburn Rovers	5	14	3	0	4.6
Carew	Aston Villa	5	20	1	0	4.6
Cisse	Reading	2	3	0	1	4.5
Kitson	Reading	2	3	0	1	4.5
Davis	Portsmouth	6	14	4	0	4.3
Zamora	West Ham United	3	13	0	0	4.3
Smith	Newcastle United	5	12	3	0	4.2
Pedersen	Blackburn Rovers	5	11	3	0	4.0
Howard	Derby County	6	18	2	0	4.0
Drogba	Chelsea	5	17	1	0	4.0
Gravesen	Everton	1	1	1	0	4.0
Shevchenko	Chelsea	1	4	0	0	4.0
Vassell	Manchester City	1	4	0	0	4.0
Etuhu	Sunderland	6	14	3	0	3.8
Butt	Newcastle United	5	13	2	0	3.8
Jaidi	Birmingham City	3	8	1	0	3.7
Barry	Aston Villa	5	12	2	0	3.6
Senderos	Arsenal	2	1	0	1	3.5
Bocanegra	Fulham	6	12	3	0	3.5
Wheater	Middlesbrough	6	15	2	0	3.5
Samba	Blackburn Rovers	5	8	3	0	3.4
Ronaldo	Manchester United	3	1	1	1	3.3
Kapo	Birmingham City	6	14	2	0	3.3
Rochemback	Middlesbrough	3	7	1	0	3.3
Sidwell	Chelsea	3	7	1	0	3.3
Muntari	Portsmouth	5	7	1	1	3.2
Hamann	Manchester City	6	10	3	0	3.2
Bentley	Blackburn Rovers	5	10	2	0	3.2
Reo-Coker	Aston Villa	5	10	2	0	3.2
Berbatov	Tottenham Hotspur	5	13	1	0	3.2
Kilbane	Wigan Athletic	5	6	1	1	3.0
Kamara	Fulham	6	9	3	0	3.0
Tuncay	Middlesbrough	6	9	3	0	3.0
Boateng	Middlesbrough	6	12	2	0	3.0
Brown	Wigan Athletic	4	6	2	0	3.0
Mido	Middlesbrough	4	6	2	0	3.0
Oakley	Derby County	6	12	2	0	3.0
Eduardo	Arsenal	3	6	1	0	3.0
Helguson	Bolton Wanderers	3	6	1	0	3.0
Jihai	Manchester City	1	0	1	0	3.0
Kanu	Portsmouth	5	12	1	0	3.0
Seol	Reading	3	6	1	0	3.0
Skoko	Wigan Athletic	2	3	1	0	3.0
Nelsen	Blackburn Rovers	4	5	0	1	2.8
Brown	Manchester United	6	11	2	0	2.8
Flamini	Arsenal	5	8	2	0	2.8
N'Zogbia	Newcastle United	5	8	2	0	2.8
Fagan	Derby County	5	11	1	0	2.8
Hunt	Bolton Wanderers	6	7	3	0	2.7
Jenas	Tottenham Hotspur	6	10	2	0	2.7
Ridgewell	Birmingham City	6	10	2	0	2.7
Larsson	Birmingham City	6	13	1	0	2.7
Huddlestone	Tottenham Hotspur	5	10	1	0	2.6

Team Disciplinary Charts
We can see from the team charts that Chelsea are kicking their way to the top whilst Arsenal have decided, as usual, to not get involved too much in the hacking game. Tottenham, menawhile, could be interpreted as not kicking enough crap...

Team	GP	Fouls	Yellows	Reds	Disc Pts	Disc Pts/game
Blackburn Rovers	5	96	15	2	153	30.6
Chelsea	6	95	15	0	140	23.3
Aston Villa	5	77	12	0	113	22.6
Middlesbrough	6	87	16	0	135	22.5
Reading	6	88	10	2	130	21.7
Fulham	6	92	10	1	128	21.3
Birmingham City	6	95	11	0	128	21.3
Portsmouth	6	89	10	1	125	20.8
Newcastle United	5	72	9	0	99	19.8
Derby County	6	86	9	0	113	18.8
Liverpool	5	63	9	0	90	18.0
Bolton Wanderers	6	77	10	0	107	17.8
Wigan Athletic	6	79	7	1	106	17.7
West Ham United	5	70	6	0	88	17.6
Sunderland	6	78	8	0	102	17.0
Everton	6	78	7	0	99	16.5
Manchester United	6	68	8	1	98	16.3
Manchester City	6	59	11	1	98	16.3
Arsenal	5	51	8	1	81	16.2
Tottenham Hotspur	6	71	8	0	95	15.8

OPTA Team of the Week

2007-09-18T12:15:00.001+01:00

There are some interesting players featuring in OPTA's team of the week as well as some you would expect. Man Utd's Nemanja Vidic partners John Terry at the back after his late winning goal against the impressing and very resilient Everton team. Man of the moment Cesc Fabregas gets a spot in midfield after a wonderful display vs his North London counterparts this weekend. What is interesting to note is the inclusion of West Ham's Lee Bowyer who put in an impressive display against Middlesbrough and helped West Ham to quietly move up the table.

	Brad Friedel
	Blackburn Rovers
	(v Chelsea)

Wes Brown	Nemanja Vidic	John Terry	Javier Garrido
Manchester United	Manchester United	Chelsea	Manchester City
(v Everton)	(v Everton)	(v Blackburn Rovers)	(v Aston Villa)

Lee Bowyer	Cesc Fabregas	Michael Johnson	Olivier Kapo
West Ham United	Arsenal	Manchester City	Birmingham City
(v Middlesbrough)	(v Tottenham Hotspur)	(v Aston Villa)	(v Bolton Wanderers)

	Emmanuel Adebayor	Clint Dempsey
	Arsenal	Fulham
	(v Tottenham Hotspur)	(v Wigan Athletic)

Discipline Tables - Round 1 & 2

2007-08-16T12:35:00.000+01:00

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Everton maybe top of the Premiership today but they currently lie last in the disciplinary charts with an average of 8.5 negative points a game. Aston Villa are top of the pile after hacking their way into Liverpool (with little success I may point out). A flurry of red cards has certainly made for interesting reading with, er, Reading heading the cards table with 5 yellows and 2 reds - suspensions will take their toll sooner or later... Meanwhile, the players table is shaping up nicely with a mixture of Reading, Fulham, Aston Villa and Boro' players occupying this weeks top 20. Readings Kalifa Cisse tops the chart but he will get some time to think about his lack of discipline due to his suspension. As with the teams you will find Everton players at the bottom of the rankings with Yobo, Hibbert and Lescott all with only 0.5 points each and Stubbs on zero. If you don't want to lose points in fantasy then these are your men. Other notables with good records include Man City's Corluka, Sunderland's McShane and Wigan's Granqvist who are also just on 0.5 pts after two games.

Team Disciplinary Points

Team	MP	Fouls	Yellows	Reds	Disciplinary Points	Disc. Points/Match
Aston Villa	1	20	4	0	32	32.0
Fulham	2	41	7	0	62	31.0
Blackburn Rovers	1	18	4	0	30	30.0
Reading	2	32	5	2	59	29.5
Middlesbrough	2	41	6	0	59	29.5
Chelsea	2	31	7	0	52	26.0
Manchester City	2	27	7	0	48	24.0
Portsmouth	2	30	3	1	45	22.5
Birmingham City	2	35	2	0	41	20.5
Liverpool	1	14	2	0	20	20.0
Tottenham Hotspur	2	30	3	0	39	19.5
Derby County	2	31	2	0	37	18.5
Newcastle United	1	15	1	0	18	18.0
Bolton Wanderers	2	28	2	0	34	17.0
Sunderland	2	25	2	0	31	15.5
West Ham United	1	15	0	0	15	15.0
Wigan Athletic	2	26	1	0	29	14.5
Manchester United	2	14	1	1	23	11.5
Arsenal	1	7	1	0	10	10.0
Everton	2	17	0	0	17	8.5

Player Disciplinary Points (Top 20)

Player	Team	Games	Fouls	Yellow Cards	Red Cards	Disciplinary Points
Cissé	Reading	1	2	0	1	8.0
Bocanegra	Fulham	2	8	2	0	7.0
Long	Reading	1	4	1	0	7.0
Savage	Blackburn	1	4	1	0	7.0
Zamora	West Ham	1	7	0	0	7.0
Barry	Aston Villa	1	3	1	0	6.0
Oakley	Derby County	2	9	1	0	6.0
Samba	Blackburn	1	3	1	0	6.0
Muntari	Portsmouth	2	4	0	1	5.0
Boateng	Middlesbrough	2	7	1	0	5.0
Davis	Fulham	2	7	1	0	5.0
Howard	Derby County	2	7	1	0	5.0
Larsson	Birmingham City	2	7	1	0	5.0
Carew	Aston Villa	1	5	0	0	5.0
Etuhu	Sunderland	2	6	1	0	4.5
Tuncay	Middlesbrough	2	6	1	0	4.5
Wheater	Middlesbrough	2	6	1	0	4.5
Arca	Middlesbrough	2	5	1	0	4.0
Bouma	Aston Villa	1	1	1	0	4.0

Premiership Preview - Week 1

2007-08-10T18:40:00.001+01:00

Arsenal (home vs. Fulham)

Subs: Almunia, Denilson, Song. Senderos, Walcott, Bendtner
Injured: Adebayor, Gilberto
Suspended: None

Team News:
Summer signings Eduardo and Sagna are set to make their debuts although Eduardo will have a late fitness test on Saturday morning due to a minor ankle problem. Meanwhile, Adebayor is definitely out with a groin injury and captain Gilberto is given extra time to rest from his exerts in the Copa America.

Aston Villa (home vs. Liverpool)

Subs: Bevan, Cahill, Maloney, Osbourne, Moore, Harewood, Berger.
Injured: Delaney, Hughes, Sorensen
Suspended: None

Team News:
Villa have now signed keeper Scott Carson but he won't be available until the Newcastle fixture which means that Taylor must deputise in place of the injured Sorensen. Striker Carew has shaken off an injury and should partner Agbonlahor upfront.

Birmingham (away vs. Chelsea)

Subs: Doyle, Kelly, Martin Taylor, Djourou, Nafti, Forssell, Jerome, Danns, Vine, Tebily.
Injured: Johnson, Schmitz, Sadler
Suspended: None

Team News:
Birmingham have a tough first game away to Chelsea but have new Arsenal signing Djourou to call on. The Swiss defender has signed on a six-month loan and could replace Jaidi in defence at Stamford Bridge. New signing O'Connor will compete with Forssell for a starting spot upfront.

Blackburn (away vs. Middlesbrough)

Subs: Enckelman, Olsson, Ooijer, Mokoena, Dunn, Santa Cruz, Rigters, Derbyshire
Injured: Berner, Steven Reid
Suspended: None

Team News:
Robbie Savage returns to Blackburn side after a long absence with a broken leg, he should partner Tugay in midfield. There is a toss up at right-back between Emerton and Ooijer, as the Dutchman played most of preseason in this spot while Emerton was international duty. New signing Santa Cruz could start alongside McCarthy but Roberts is marginally preferred as he already competitive competition under his belt from the Intertoto cup games.

Bolton (home vs. Newcastle)

Subs: Faye, Michalik, Alonso, Guthrie, Campo, Helguson, Vaz Te, Al Habsi.
Injured: Gardner, Stelios
Suspended: None

Team News:
New signings McCann and Cid are set to make their league debuts for the club today. Bolton have been playing a 4-4-2 formation in preseason and could revert to it as Big Sam will surely know how to cope with his favourite 4-3-3. Helguson could be inline to get his first start but preferences are still for Anelka, Davies and Diouf who proved so affective in the second-half of last season. Swede Wilhemsson and Braaten have not reached full match fitness and won't be considered.

Chelsea (home vs. Birmingham)

Team News: To follow

Derby (home vs Portsmouth)

Team News: To follow

Everton (home vs. Wigan)

Team News: To follow

Fulham (away vs Arsenal)

Team News: To follow

Liverpool (away vs. Aston Villa)

Team News: To follow

Man City (away vs. West Ham)

Team News: To follow

Man Utd (home vs. Reading)

Team News: To follow

Middlesbrough (home vs.Blackburn)

Team News: To follow

Newcastle (away vs. Bolton)

Team News: To follow

Portsmouth (away vs. Derby)

Team News: To follow

Reading (away vs. Man Utd)

Team News: To follow

Sunderland (home vs. Tottenham)

Team News: To follow

Tottenham (away vs. Sunderland)

Team News: To follow

West Ham (home vs. Man City)

Team News: To follow

Wigan (away vs. Wigan)

Team News: To follow

Live Scores

2007-05-25T14:40:00.000+01:00

Daily Transfer News - 24th May 2007

2007-05-24T16:14:00.000+01:00

Click here for all major live football scores!
Brazilian Julio Baptista will return Real Madrid after Arsenal ruled out bringing him to the Emirates on a permanent deal - something to cheer about if you are a fantasy player or Arsenal fan. Over at Portsmouth Harry Redknapp has launched a spending spree. I personally think he should save up and get some plastic surgery.

ETO'O STILL DREAMS OF HENRY CAPTURE

Samuel Eto'o hopes Arsenal forward Thierry Henry will sign for Barcelona this summer.

MUNTARI POISED FOR POMPEY DEAL

Udinese have confirmed Sulley Muntari has travelled to England to complete a move to Portsmouth.

BAPTISTA HEADING BACK TO REAL

Julio Baptista is set to return to Spain following his season with Arsenal.

REDKNAPP LAUNCHES SPENDING SPREE

Harry Redknapp insists Sylvain Distin is the first arrival of many at Portsmouth this summer.

RUTHLESS RAFA STARTS PURGE

Rafa Benitez is ready to start his summer clearout after Liverpool's Champions League defeat.

SOUTHGATE CONTEMPLATES SUMMER SALES

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate may consider selling in order to land his summer transfer targets.

TAYLOR PONDERS TEDDY MOVE

Crystal Palace boss Peter Taylor has revealed he is considering a move for veteran striker Teddy Sheringham.

GARCIA TALKS ON HOLD

Colchester have put Richard Garcia's contract talks on hold after he flew to Australia to be with his ill father.

BERLUSCONI EYES RONALDINHO MOVE

After Champions League glory, AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi wants to sign Ronaldinho.

JACKSON JOINS HORNETS

Matt Jackson has joined Watford on a two-year deal after rejecting the chance to stay at Wigan.

SOUTHGATE - YAK NOT FOR SALE

Gareth Southgate has dismissed suggestions Yakubu is unsettled at Middlesbrough.

Tabloid Headlines - Thursday 24th May 2007

2007-05-24T11:08:00.000+01:00

Click here for all major live football scores!
All the talk is about Southampton's Gareth Bale this morning. Will the teenager go to Tottenham or Manchester United? Having seen him against Man City in the FA Cup this season I have to say that he certainly shouldn't be rated as a £10 million defender. English players being overpriced again? You bet!

THE SUN:

Liverpool failed with a last-ditch bid to snatch defender Sylvain Distin from under the noses of Portsmouth.

Ryan Giggs is trying to convince highly-rated Southampton left-back Gareth Bale to join him at Manchester United rather than sign for Tottenham.

DAILY MIRROR:

Gabriel Heinze could be on his way to Spain after Villarreal entered the race for the Manchester United defender.

Tony Adams has revealed he is desperate to manage old club Arsenal.

DAILY STAR:

Real Madrid are lining up a £20million bid for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Claude Makelele has threatened to quit Chelsea for Spanish club Villarreal this summer unless he gets a new contract.

Blackburn's Andy Todd is poised to follow in his father's footsteps by signing for Sunderland.

Premiership newcomers Birmingham are lining up a £3million bid for West Ham left-back Paul Konchesky.

Southampton have turned down a £6million bid from Spurs for left-back Bale.

Bryan Robson wants to make Manchester United's Kieran Richardson his first signing as Sheffield United boss.

DAILY MAIL:

Tottenham are confident of signing Bale in a £10million deal, but Saints boss George Burley denies anything has been agreed.

Aston Villa defender Jlloyd Samuel is on the verge of joining Bolton on a free transfer.

Watford have agreed a £500,000 deal for Crystal Palace winger Jobi McAnuff.

DAILY EXPRESS:

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd was stunned when given the news of the attempted takeover of his club while he lay sick in a hospital bed.

Bale is certain to leave Southampton this summer, but the Saints want to flush out other potential suitors after Tottenham made a bid worth a total of £10million.

Lee McCulloch has told new Wigan boss Chris Hutchings he still has his heart set on a move to Rangers.

THE GUARDIAN:

Tottenham will sign Bale for £10million today.

Sylvain Distin left Manchester City because of their lack of ambition in the transfer market.

DAILY RECORD:

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood fears losing skipper Russell Anderson, a target for Middlesbrough, Everton and Sunderland.

Maurice Malpas has admitted defeat in his attempts to keep Kevin McBride at Motherwell.

Craig Gordon may be a summer target for a host of Premiership clubs, but the keeper insists he is happy to stay at Hearts and laughed off suggestions he's worth £10million.

Daily Transfer News - 23rd May 2007

2007-05-23T14:16:00.001+01:00

Click here for all major live football scores!

DISTIN SIGNS FOR POMPEY

Portsmouth have signed former Manchester City captain Sylvain Distin on a free transfer.

MUNTARI CLOSE TO POMPEY DEAL

Harry Redknapp admits midfielder Sulley Muntari is very close to signing for Portsmouth.

SAINTS DENY BALE REPORTS

Southampton have denied reports suggesting Tottenham have agreed a deal for Gareth Bale.

TODD OUT AT BLACKBURN

Andy Todd is on his way out of Blackburn after he was told the club are willing to sell him.

MAKELELE CHELSEA FUTURE IN DOUBT

Claude Makelele wants Chelsea to decide if he still has a future at Stamford Bridge.

CHELSEA LINKED WITH TEVEZ DEAL

West Ham's Carlos Tevez has been reportedly offered to Chelsea for £35million.

BAYERN EYE VAN PERSIE RAID

Bayern Munich have reportedly targeted Arsenal's Robin van Persie for a £8million summer move.

PIZARRO OFFER NOT ENOUGH - REPORTS

Rangers fear they could miss out to Juventus in the race to sign Bayern Munich's Claudio Pizarro.

RAFA HAS GOOD ENOUGH DEAL - HICKS

Rafael Benitez won't be awarded a new contract for winning the Champions League.

ETO'O DISMISSES PREMIERSHIP LINK

Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o dismissed speculation linking him with a move to the Premiership.

RAMS EXPECT DAVIES TO STAY

Derby chairman Peter Gadsby is confident manager Billy Davies will stay at Pride Park.

POMPEY SET FOR DOUBLE SIGNING

Portsmouth are expected to confirm the signings of Sylvain Distin and Sulley Muntari on Wednesday.

SIDWELL SEALS BLUES DEAL

Jose Mourinho now wants a striker and defender after signing Steve Sidwell.

Daily Update

2007-05-22T16:48:00.000+01:00

So, Sylvain Distin has finally had enough of Premiership strugglers Man City and is hoping to ply his trade at Portsmouth next season. The Frenchman was a huge part of the Manchester outfit and will be hugely missed at Eastland’s. But what is Man City’s loss can now be Portsmouth’s gain. The South coast team are lining up a formidable defence for the start of next year with Distin moving to be alongside former England and Arsenal man Sol Campbell. Distin statistically is one of the best central defenders in the Premiership and, in my opinion, is the best defender in the air in the English top flight. His clearance and aerial prowess is almost unrivalled and he has coped well against the likes of Peter Crouch and Didier Drogba this season. He will certainly be an excellent addition to Portsmouth and will definitely be one to keep an eye out for at the start of next season.

Live Scores

2007-05-22T16:23:00.002+01:00

Seasonal Round-Up

2007-05-05T07:49:00.000+01:00

So, we draw close to the end of the season and without an International Summer tournament most fantasy players will get a prolonged break from the weekly agonies of picking the "perfect" team. But it is not all done and dusted just yet, we still have a few more games left to enjoy and sneak a few more places up the ranking table.

Top Players - David James the Comeback Kid
Ronaldo surely takes the top prize as the fantasy mangers MVP of the season. His consistency, attacking attributes and clinical finishes may have been lacking in the European Cup but he has certainly delivered in style for the Premiership. He has been a thorn in the side of most Premiership defenders and managers will have him labelled in as next years first draft pick into their squads. Moving away from, perhaps, the overrated we come to the underrated players of this season. In the goalkeeping department I have been very impressed with resurgence of David James. The Portsmouth keeper has possibly had one of his best seasons this year (probably due to not having the pressure of playing for England) and has looked mature and comfortable at his new home on the South coast. Another player that I have admired between the sticks this season is Readings Hahnemann. The American, who loves to collect rifles, has been pretty good as shot stopper himself this season. He has racked up the most amount of saves for a keeper this season (161 so far) and when you look at Reading's high position in the league table it is obvious to assume that Hahnemann is their best defender. In other areas I have enjoyed picking Matthew Taylor (POR) and Nicky Shorey (REA) in defence, David Bentley (BLA) and Cesc Fabregas (ARS) in midfield and Dimitar Berbatov (TOT) in attack.

My performance - fantasy mediocrity?
Using these players this year has been a mixed bag for me fantasy football wise. I am doing well in the Daily Mail game (top 200) after a fairly decent run; I am also in the top 100 of the SkySports fantasy game, I actually notched up the highest score for one game week which I am pleased about. Over in the Premierleague.com game I have currently accrued a respectable 1791pts, which was not good enough to disturb the top players but has helped me to lead my private league for most of the season. Finally Yahoo. Oh Yahoo, how I love to hate thee... In my opinion it is by far one of the most intense, skilful and fun games on the market but it still suffers from many flaws and I have made some cardinal sins this year. On no less than FIVE, yes FIVE, occasions I have missed the lockdown time with an illegible team. This has lead to a mediocre season for myself this year. I know, schoolboy error but sometimes you just can't help being stuck up a mountain at 10am on a Saturday without WiFi. Yahoo should seriously look into remedying this setup as I feel it happens to many players and once it does happen, your interest tends to wane in the competition. Saying that though I still somehow managed to scrap into the top 97%.

The Ugly - Fantasy Tripe
There are a few games that I have not enjoyed this season, one is the Sportinglife/Silent Manager fantasy game. The prize money is negligible, £10k, compared to say The Daily Mail's £60k and you have to pay for all transfers bar four, again in The Daily Mail you get five free every quarter. The simplistic scoring system, lack of transfers and long waits for points updates certainly makes this one of the bogey games of the season.

The future - Man City Champions of Europe????
What about my performance? Well, I have tried my best this season to publish as many weekly line-up reviews as possible but it certainly has become a time strain. I have identified five different articles that I hope to make permanent fixtures for next season: EPL Preview (Saturday AM/Friday PM), EPL Review (Tuesday AM), General Weekly Fantasy Article (Wednesday) and finally a Team of the Week/Pick of the Week (Friday).

I hope everyone has had good fortune so far!

Live Scores

2007-03-25T14:03:00.001+01:00

Israel v England Preview - Euro 2008

2007-03-24T10:15:00.000Z

England need nothing short of a victory against Israel on Saturday night and much maligned Steve McClaren will be hoping that his team can produce the goods that will propel them one step closer to the European Championship.

Team News
England will stick to their tried and tested 4-4-2 formation with Aaron Lennon appearing on the left of midfield and Steven Gerrard being utilised on the right, where his club boss Rafa Benitez has tended to implement him this season. Owen Hargreaves returns to the pack after a lengthy absence due to a broken leg and will accompany Frank Lampard in the centre. Steve McClaren's problems come in the full back positions as first-choice picks Ashley Cole and Gary Neville are sidelined due to suspension and injury, so this means that Liverpool's Jamie Carragher and Everton's Phil Neville will slot in.

Israel have even more team selection problems as both first-choice strikers Colautti and Yaniv Katan are unavailable. Bolton's Idan Tal is also suspended which means that Israel will have to draft in some inexperience upfront in the shape of Ben Shushan and Tamuz.

England Over Jew a Win
McClaren has decided to add an injection of pace to England team having decided to use Johnson and Lennon in attack and, alongside Rooney, should cause the relatively poor Israeli defence undue problems. Israel have conceded six goals in their four qualifications games, albeit four were against Croatia, and they have shown signs that they are vulnerable to pacey players. Gerrard, Lampard and Hargreaves will try and dominate the midfield and will dictate England's flow of play. Gerrard is certainly the key man for England today. Israel will come out and may try to play an offside trap against England's strikers, which means that Gerrard could be the main outlet of play, with the Liverpool man looking to use his excellent through ball passing ability to open up the Israeli defence and send the quick footed Rooney and Johnson through on goal. Israel, meanwhile, will try and pack out the midfield to stifle any English creativity and attempt to use the counter-attack, with West Ham's Yossi Benayoun dictating the fast breakaways.

Fantasy Insider's Star Man - Steven Gerrard
England boss Steve McClaren looks like he will try to free up Steven Gerrard in order for the Liverpool man to use his passing range to deliver timely balls to Rooney and Johnson. Gerrard has had a relatively quiet domestic season, by his standards, but the midfielder is one true tactician that McClaren call upon to control the ebb and flow of the game.

The Other Side of the Fantasy Pond

2007-03-21T22:06:00.000Z

So, we get a break from fantasy football for a few weeks thanks to England's participation in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. By the way things have gone so far under Steve (I only finished 7th in the Premiership) McClaren I may have preferred to have watched Malta's Eurovision qualifiers come the 90th minute on Saturday. But, while everyone in the UK moans and groans about the death of football/cricket/cricket coaches, wait let's just say sport in general, I have decided to look across the pond to the good ol' US of A to see how fantasy sports is coming along stateside.

Zodiac Stat Attack
Have you ever thought that fantasy sports could be attributed to a higher force? Well, they have in America. A radio station called Karma Air - Karma Ball recently launched a weekly radio show where it's resident spiritual, Reverend Halofan, will use zodiac charts and astrology to predict the injuries and form of baseball players selected in your fantasy team. Perhaps we could all give it a try; wait i'm picking something up yes, I feel it, Louis Saha will be injured for most of next year...

FHM Style Fantasy
Every smart business person knows that sex sells and some bright spark in America put the idea of sad, lonely, sex maniac fantasy players, like myself, together with semi-clad naked chicks - primo! Mensfantasysports.com has come with an FHM style site where the," ...objective is to deliver the best in fantasy sports insight, while at the same time providing the intimate feel of a private club". Sticky keyboards are never a good idea when picking a fantasy team is what I think. Imagine, you might be so distracting by boobs that you convince yourself that Man City's Georgios Samaras will finally score a goal. Tissue please, obviously to wipe away the tears of Samaras' lame efforts.

A Nation of Fantasy Gamblers
With legislation coming down hard on internet gambling in America, fantasy sports have found a loophole which allows them make revenue from, what is in every respect, gambling. Many different operators from Fanball.com to Rotohog.com are battling it out to get your fantasy buck with the offer of grand prizes of up to $100,000. Fantasy Sports in America has morphed into a monetarily driven skill gaming industry to fill the void left by the crippling anti-internet gambling laws. The UK fantasy market has not had the same scope to grow in the way that its American counterpart has because UK laws on gambling are still relatively relaxed. The UK fantasy scene should continue to grow but operators must look towards more dynamic ways of grabbing fantasy players attention. I think two separate forms of fantasy games should grow: a gambling orientated fantasy game, which doesn't hide its intentions, and the more recreational version. At the moment there are a few too many games on the market that merge the two elements together and it is diluting the effectiveness of fantasy sports products on its customers.

Well, that's enough of America for this week and now back to dreaming of England winning the World Cup at Wembley in 2018. The FA should have stopped paying Sven's wages by then...

Live Scores

2007-03-18T18:27:00.000Z

EPL Preview - Week 31

2007-03-17T10:16:00.001Z

Click here for all major live football scores!

Arsenal (away vs. Everton)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Lehmann - Djourou, Toure, Hoyte, Gallas- Ljungberg, Fabregas, Rosicky, Gilberto Silva – Aliadiere, Baptista
Subs: Almunia, Denilson,Traore. Senderos, Flamini, Hleb, Diaby
Injured: Henry, Walcott, Van Persie.
Suspended: Adebayor (4 of 4), Eboue (3 of 3)

Team News: Arsenal only have the Champions League spot to play for after a couple of bad weeks. To add to that both Henry and Walcott are out for the remainder of the season. Henry has a groin problem, while Wenger has decided to let Walcott have his long awaited operation on his shoulder. Adebayor and Eboue are both still suspended but Toure is back in the side which means that Gilberto will resume in his normal midfield spot today.
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Aston Villa (home vs. Liverpool)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Sorensen – Bouma, Mellberg, Cahill, Bardsley - Barry, McCann, Petrov – Agbonlahor - Carew, Young.
Subs: Taylor, Hughes, Ridgewell, Samuel, S. Davis, Angel, Berger, Gardner, Osbourne, Moore, Maloney.
Injured: Delaney, Laursen, Sutton.
Suspended: None

Team News: Laursen will miss out the Liverpool clash with a hamstring problem; therefore Cahill should step in for the Danish international. Agbonlahor should still be preferred on the right as Maloney has been suffering from a virus all week. Can Carew keep up his excellent fantasy form?
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Blackburn (home vs. West Ham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Friedel - Samba, Khizanashvili, Emerton, Warnock - Dunn, Bentley, Tugay, Pedersen – Derbyshire, McCarthy.
Subs: Enkelmann, Nonda, Gallagher, Jeffers, Peter, Berner, Henchoz, Nelson.
Injured: Savage, Ooijer, Reid, Todd,
Suspended: Mokoena (1 of 1)

Team News: Centre-back Nelson is a major doubt for Blackburn with a hamstring problem so Khizanashvili is poised to take over alongside the impressive Samba at the back. Mokoena is suspended after his sending off against Man City in the FA Cup so Dunn should get a rare start in the centre of midfield.

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Bolton (away vs Man Utd)
Starting XI: (4-3-3) Jaaskelainen - Faye, Ben Haim, Meite, Gardner– Campo, Nolan, Speed, Stelios - Diouf, Anelka
Subs: Walker, Tal, Fojut, Teymourian, Thompson, Davies, Pederson, Hunt.
Injured: Q. Fortune, O’Brien.
Suspended: None.

Team News: Davies has returned from a six-week absence after recovering from a chipped bone in his foot, but this game may come too soon for the striker. Meite seems to have overcome a toe problem and will start for Bolton on Saturday.
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Charlton (home vs Newcastle)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Carson – Sankofa, El Kakouri, Hreidarsson, Young - Holland, Ambrose, Song, Thomas, Zheng-Zhi - M. Bent
Subs: Myhre, Randolph, Diawara, Fortune, Kishishev, Faye, Lisbie, D. Bent
Injured: Gibbs, Young, Reid, Bougherra, Hasselbaink, Thatcher
Suspended: None

Team News: Charlton manager Pardew ruled out Thatcher from the Newcastle game on Friday. The left-back was expected to return but he has still not recovered from his hamstring problem. Striker Darren Bent is also expected to be rested after Pardew hinted that the England international is not 100% to continue. This means that Chinese international Zheng-Zhi, who has been getting a lot of pitch time lately, could get a start, or perhaps a rare foray into attack for Lisbie.
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Chelsea (home vs. Sheffield Utd)
Starting XI: (4-1-3-2) Cech - Diarra, Carvalho, Terry, A. Cole – Makelele – Lampard, Robben, Ballack - Shevchenko, Drogba.
Subs: Cudicini, Ferreira, Wright-Phillips, Kalou, Sahar, Boulahrouz, Geremi
Injured: J. Cole, Bridge, Essien.
Suspended: Mikel (4 of 4)

Team News: Mourinho will be without Essien for the Sheffield clash after the Ghanian suffered a knee injury during the Tottenham FA Cup game. Ukrainian international Shevchenko has recovered from an injury and is in contention to reclaim his spot from Kalou, although the youngster is in a good vain of form having scored and won a crucial penalty in his last two games.
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Everton (home vs. Arsenal)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Howard – Naysmith, Lescott, Yobo, P. Neville – Carsley, Arteta, Osman, Fernandes – Johnson, Beattie.
Subs: Wright, Hibbert, Stubbs, Anichebe, Pistone, De Silva, Vaughan.
Injured: McFadden, Cahill, Valente, Van der Meyde.
Suspended: None

Team News: Everton will be without Australian Cahill with the midfielder now sidelined until August with a broken metatarsal. Osman should come into the side to replace him.
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Fulham (away vs. Wigan)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Niemi - Queudrue, Bocanegra, Christanval, Rosenior – Davies, Smertin, M. Brown, Diop, Radzinksi – McBride
Subs: Lastuvka, Knight, Pearce, Routledge, Dempsey,Helguson, John, Volz.
Injured: Bullard, Elliott.
Suspended: Montella (3 of 3)

Team News: To follow…
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Liverpool (away vs. Aston Villa)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Reina – Finnan, Agger, Carragher, Arbeloa - Gerrard, Alonso, Riise, Sissoko – Kuyt, Bellamy
Subs: Dudek, Hyypia, Aurelio, Fowler, Zenden, Pennant, Mascherano, Gonzalez.
Injured: Kewell, Crouch, Garcia.
Suspended: None

Team News: To follow…
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Man City (away vs. Middlesbrough)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Isaksson - Richards, Dunne, Distin, Ball – Ireland, Hamann, Barton, Sun Jihai, Vassell - Mpenza
Subs: Weaver, Jordan, Dabo, Beasley, Johnson, Miller, Abdoun, Samaras, Corradi, Dickov.
Injured: Onouha, Sinclair, D. Mills.
Suspended: None

Team News: To follow…
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Man Utd (home vs. Bolton)
Starting XI: (4-4-1-1) Kuszczak - R. Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, G. Neville - Giggs, Carrick, Park, O’Shea - Ronaldo - Rooney.
Subs: Heaton, W. Brown, Heinze, Richardson, Dong, Eagles, Smith.
Injured: Van der Sar, Silvestre, Fletcher, Solskjaer, Saha.
Suspended: Scholes (2 of 3)

Team News: To follow…
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Middlesbrough (home vs. Man City)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Schwarzer – Parnaby, Taylor, Pogatetz, Woodgate – Downing, Arca, Boateng, Cattermole – Yakubu, Lee.
Subs: Jones, Davies, Christie, Johnson, J. Euell, Rochemback, Viduka.
Injured: Bates, Riggott, Parlour, McMahon, Huth,
Suspended: None

Team News: To follow…
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Newcastle (away vs. Charlton)
Starting XI: (4-4-1-1) Given –Taylor, Onyewu, Bramble, Solano – Duff, Parker, Emre, Milner – Dyer - Martins
Subs: Srnicek, Carroll, Huntington, Edgar, N’Zogbia, Pattison, O’Brien, Luque, Sibierski.
Injured: Owen, Krul, Moore, Ameobi, Harper, Carr, Bernard, Babayaro, Ramage.
Suspended: Butt (1 of 1)

Team News: To follow…
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Porstmouth (away vs. Reading)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) James – Johnson, Primus, Campbell, Traore, - Taylor, Kranjcar, O’Neill, Hughes – LuaLua Kanu
Subs: Ashdown, Stefanovic, Douala, Hughes, O’Brien, Mvuemba, Benjani, Todorov, A. Cole.
Injured: Mendes, Lauren, Pamarot.
Suspended: Davis (1 of 1)

Team News: To follow…
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Reading (home vs. Portsmouth)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Hahnemann – Murty, Bikey, Ingmarrson, Shorey – Little, Harper, Sidwell, Hunt – Lita, Doyle.
Subs: Federici, Convey, De la Cruz, Gunnarsson, Duberry, Sodje, Oster, Halford, Long, Pearce, Kitson.
Injured: Mate, Halls, Sonko.
Suspended: None

Team News: To follow…
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Sheffield Utd (away vs. Chelsea)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Kenny – Geary, Davis, Morgan, Armstrong – S. Quinn, Montgomery, Tonge, Kazim-Richards, Jagielka – Hulse.
Subs: Bennett, Bromby, Sommeil, Law, Kozluk, A. Quinn, Seck, Fathi, Morgan, Webber, Nade, Stead.
Injured: Li Tie, Kilgallon, Leigertwood, Shelton, Lucketti.
Suspended: None

Team News: To follow…
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Tottenham (home vs. Watford)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Robinson – Chimbonda, Dawson, Rocha, Lee – Huddleston, Jenas Malbranque, Ghaly – Mido, Defoe.
Subs: Cerny, Alnwick, Keane, Taarbat, Lennon, Zokora, Stalteri.
Injured: King, Tainio, Murphy, Gardner, Assou-Ekotto.
Suspended: None

Team News: To follow…
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Watford (away vs. Tottenham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Foster –Marriapa, Shittu, DeMerit, Powell – Smith, Mahon, Francis, Bouazza – Kabba, Priskin.
Subs: Lee, McNamee, Doyley, Henderson, Williamson, Bangura, Hoskins, Rinaldi, Cavalli, Williams, Mackay.
Injured: King, Stewart
Suspended: None

Team News: To follow…
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West Ham (away vs.Blackburn)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Green – McCartney, Davenport, A. Ferdinand, Neill – Quashie, Reo-Coker, Benayoun, Boa Morte – Tevez, Harewood
Subs: Carroll, Pantsil, Mullins, Bowyer, Kepa, Konchesky, Sheringham, Newton, Cole, Zamora.
Injured: Ashton, Gabbidon, Upson
Suspended: None

Team News: To follow…
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Wigan (home vs. Fulham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Filan – De Zeeuw, Jackson, Taylor, Boyce – Kilbane, Landzaat, Scharner, Valencia – Heskey, Folan.
Subs: Nash, Unsworth, Cotterill, Johansson, Granqvisst, Haestad, Camara, Cwyka, Aghahowa, Skoko.
Injured: Kirkland
Suspended: Hall (3 of 3), McCulloch (1 of 1), Baines (1 of 1)

Team News: To follow…

Note: Those denoted in red indicates doubts

Live Scores

2007-03-14T20:38:00.001Z

EPL Preview - Week 30

2007-03-14T01:00:00.000Z

Click here for all major live football scores!
Man City v Chelsea
Man. City are languishing near the foot of the table and they are making a speedy nose-dive towards the Championship. Their form has been abysmal for most of the season, having scored only 10 goals at home in the Premiership this year. They met Chelsea in the first game of the season and were duly rolled over 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, I can see the same scoreline at Eastlands on Wednesday night.

City have been beset by off the pitch problems during this campaign with pressure mounting on Pearce after a bad run of performances, division in the dressing room and Joey Barton's alleged assault of a taxi driver this weekend. Pearce can afford a City loss but not a bad performance to go with it. It would make no sense to sack Pearce at this stage of the season as there is no one to come and change things around without the possibility of a mid-season break or a transfer window. The intriguing thing is that Pearce has been criticised for bringing in under par players to the club but people are missing one very important factor, it wasn't what Pearce brought in that was the major problem, it's what he let go: David James, Andrew Cole, Kiki Musampa, Ben Thatcher and Antoine Sibierski. All players with experience that added much needed depth to the City team. Cole's goals have been missed badly and he had a blossoming partnership with Vassell. James too is back to the peak of his best form and should not have been allowed to leave, he wanted more money so City should have obliged. Instead, they let him go and spent the money on an outstanding Swedish International goalkeeper that sits on the bench week-in week-out.

From a team news perspective Pearce doesn't have too many options at hand. Hamann, who had an ineffective game against Blackburn in the Cup, could be dropped in favour of Dabo, who has returned to the squad from injury. There is speculation that Barton may not figure against Chelsea after his altercation with the police earlier this week but Joey is used to situations like this. Last season he played the game against Charlton which was immediately after his brothers murder trial and it was his best performance of the season. The midfielder thrives under pressure like this and wouldn't miss the Chelsea game for anything. Also, Pearce cannot afford to sideline his best player.

Chelsea themselves are in the papers for the wrong reason this week, but whenever are they not? Mourinho spoke of his admiration for Real Madrid, yada, yada. Abramovich is upset, oy vay! I heard this week that the Russian billionaire talks with a childish voice, almost as if his balls haven't dropped. No wonder Mourinho finds it hard to grab him by his short and curlies... Saying this though Chelsea are a professional side and when push comes to shove, as shown against Spurs in the FA Cup, they carry out their work with stealthy precision. Captain John Terry returns to a Chelsea defence that looks lost without him and Makelele has been included in the side although Essien will probably start ahead of him. Shevchenko is Mourinho's main worry after the Ukrainian hurt his ankle during training. He is now a doubt ahead of the City clash while Mikel is certainly out as he is suspended.

Fantasy Insiders view: City are stuck in the mud; 3-0 Chelsea

Probable Formations
Man City (4-5-1) Weaver - Distin, Dunne, Richards, Ball - Sun Jihai, Barton, Ireland, Dabo, Vassell - Corradi

Chelsea (4-4-2) Cech - A. Cole, Diarra, Terry, Carvalho - Essien, Robben, Lampard, Ballack - Shevchenko, Drogba.

*Players denoted in red are doubtful.

Live Scores

2007-03-09T21:11:00.000Z

FA Cup Fantasy - A Bad Idea...?

2007-03-09T10:12:00.000Z

There are certain things that should remain sacred in football and one of them is the FA Cup. The FA Cup is something to be marveled at, enjoyed and watched on a Sunday afternoon with your mates. The minnows battle it out with the Elite and upsets, twists and adventures can be had by all. There remains something old school about the FA Cup that The Premiership has lost. Something less capitalist, harping back to the old days of pies, peas and Bovril. Maybe it is because the FA Cup is still on the BBC that it keeps its treasured spot in the national hearts of the English football fan? One thing is for sure though, I would never dream about making a fantasy football game out of our national heritage because it would be so Americanised to do so. The big fantasy companies have stayed well clear of the FA Cup, until now that is...

CYKI (can you kick it), run by ISM Games, launched its Fantasy FA Cup game earlier in the season and from what I can see is doing reasonably well. My objection to the game is that the makers of the FA Cup game have taken fantasy football to a new low. The guys over at the Bristol HQ must have been wracking their brains coming up with new ways of making money and bingo, FA Cup fantasy came to light. What they didn't consider is that in most people's hearts the FA Cup is not about commercialisation but about the essence of what the game means to be a supporter English football. It is still the purists competition that hasn't been tarnished by Rupert Murdoch's grubby hands, it is a national institution. Something that fantasy football companies should know not to take advantage of.

I look across the pond to America and they will make fantasy games of anything ranging from the Oscars to probably how many fat kids can you squeeze into a school bus and with this FA Cup game now on the market we are unfortunately heading in that direction. What is next for the fantasy player? Can we play Fantasy Football Conference North Division football?? Don't get me wrong, innovation is a good thing but this FA Cup game smacks of a fantasy company just wanting to make a fast buck from a revered and much loved cup competition. It is cynical. Fantasy players should get a break when the FA Cup comes around; watch a game without worrying about assists, points etc. Enjoy the FA Cup don't abuse it.

UEFA Cup Preview

2007-03-08T11:31:00.000Z

Click here for all major live football scores!

The secondary European club competition swings back into the limelight on Thursday night with Tottenham and Newcastle both in action. Tottenham travel to Braga, Portugal and will be hoping to continue their excellent cup run this season, while Newcastle face AZ Alkmaar at St. James' Park.

Spurs are on the upturn domestically at the moment with a good 4-3 victory over West Ham at the weekend under their belt. Braga aren't what you would class as one of the big Portuguese sides but they are tough and determined at home and will give Spurs little time on the ball. Aaron Lennon - Berbatov - Keane triangle could be the key for Tottenham, as all three players have been linking up tremendously well over the past few weeks to deliver some memorable Spurs performances. Centre-back King is still sidelined so Gardner will continue, while Jenas has been left at home. For Braga, Brazilian Wender should prove to be their main threat. The fast paced winger will be asked to take the attack to the London side. Wender (Wenderson Arruda Said) is Braga's top scorer in the UEFA cup with two goals and five domestically.

Player to Watch: Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov can become the first Tottenham player to score in five successive European games having scored five in his last four UEFA Cup appearances.

PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UPS

Braga (4-3-3): Santos; Filipe, Jorge, Rodriguez, Fernandes; Chaves, Andrade, Castanheira; Joao Pinto, Ze Carlos, Wender.

Tottenham (4-4-2): Robinson; Chimbonda, Dawson, Gardner, Lee; Ghaly, Huddlestone, Tainio, Lennon; Berbatov, Keane.

Dutch Courage
Cup Winners (Intertoto) Newcastle will entertain Dutch side AZ Alkmaar at St James' Park on Thursday night. The Magpies have saved their best displays for the UEFA Cup this year and the show down against the tricky Eredivisie side will test their abilities to the max. Manger Glen Roeder has recalled Turkish playmaker Emre into the squad after the diminutive midfielder overcame a calf problem. Stephen Carr and Damien Duff are also in contention for recalls.

AZ Alkmaar are one of Europe's most experienced UEFA Cup teams around, having previously made it to the last four recently. They are also in outstanding domestic form, currently lying second in the Dutch league after a 4-0 smashing of Utrecht this weekend. AZ topped the Group C UEFA Cup qualification group beating favourites Sevilla away in the process and are currently unbeaten in Europe this season. The Dutch side surely go into this game as strong favourites.

Player to Watch: Shota Arveladze
The former Rangers man has bags of experience and his two goal match-winning display against Sevilla earlier in the season shows that he can still rise to a challenge.

PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UPS

Newcastle (4-4-1-1): Given, Solano, Carr, Bramble, Taylor, Milner, Parker, Emre, Butt, Dyer, Martins.

AZ (4-4-2): Waterman, Luirink, Donk, Opdam, de Cler, Jenner, de Zeeuw, Martens, Koevermans, Boukhari, Arveladze

A Tale of Two Alex's - Champions League Review

2007-03-08T00:01:00.000Z

So attacking, flare football took another blow on Wednesday night as last year's beaten finalist went out at the first major obstacle. PSV, a very underestimated team in European football, humbled a depleted Arsenal side with an Alex (currently owned by Chelsea) headed goal. The quarter-finals are now riddled with teams that play tight, orthodox defences such as Milan, PSV and Chelsea. Roma remain, in my opinion, the only adventurous and overly positive team in the competition.

Fantasy wise, the most interesting aspect of the night was seeing the apparent last game for Swede Henrik Larsson in the United kit. The enigmatic striker has been a favourite with fantasy managers since his loan move from Helsingborg in January but with his departure imminent there is now a gap for a new strike partner for Rooney. Saha, the obvious candidate for the slot is out for up to 3-4 weeks, whilst Solskjaer is also sidelined. Alan Smith has returned from a long absence with a broken leg but surely cannot be considered to be an instant filler for the departing Larsson. Instead, it seems that Giggs may be used in the advanced role alongside Rooney. Another alternative could be for United to adopt a Barcelona style with Rooney, Giggs and Ronaldo all playing forward, a la Ronaldinho/Eto'o/Messi. Eitherway, Giggs looks like he will be playing a more attacking role in weeks to come with Ronaldo, and Ferguson will be looking to his two wingers to carry on with goalscoring duties. With Giggs moved forward Ji-Sung Park will surely get an extended run in the first team. Finally, with Silvestre looking to be out for a long time and Evra still sidelined there remains a chance that outcast Heinze may finally get a chance in the left-back berth - watch this space.

AC Milan 1 - 0 Celtic (Milan win 1-0)

Arsenal 1 - 1 PSV Eindohoven (PSV win 2-1)

Bayern Munchen 2 - 1 Real Madrid (Bayern win on away goals 4-4)

Man Utd 1 - 0 Lille (Man Utd win 2-0)

Fight, Fight, Fight! Champions League Review

2007-03-07T10:16:00.000Z

Well, the Champions League turned into a ding-dong of epic proportions last night as Valencia and Inter decided to turn Europe's elite footballing competition into a playground scrap. The game ended in a 0-0 draw but this wasn't enough for the players as they engaged in a full pitch brawl that was reminiscent of the Switzerland v Turkey World Cup play off at the start of last year. Both teams will face sanctions after the scrap with Javi Navarro, the main culprit, probably getting the book thrown at him. Expect Valencia to possible have to play their next Champions League game behind closed doors at home with stiff fines. Saying that though, I think their should be a mass brawl at the end of every drab 0-0 game.
See the mass brawl here

Roma were definitely the bet of the night with odds of 4/1 to beat Lyon - when will the bookies every learn? Totti, who should most certainly be in contention for the European and World Player of the Year after his performances this season, was at the heart of much of the Giallorosso's play. After watching the Roma game I must say that Mancini has the quickest feet on Earth. He tap-danced his way around the, admittedly shabby, Lyon defence to score Roma's second.

Chelsea march on and are still favourites, cue snooze mode.

Fantasy wise from last nights Champions League fixtures I noticed one or two things, most notably a certain Mr Alvaro Arbeloa starting for Liverpool in his second consecutive Champions League game. The bright, young Spanish full-back that was signed from Deportivo La Coruna in the January transfer window seems to have made the transition in to the first team and could figure for the rest of the season. Arbeloa hasn't started a Premiership game yet, with a substitution appearance against Newcastle being his only appearance so far, but on the back of his performances against Barcelona he will surely get to start more regularly in the Premiership. Throw in a reasonable fantasy price and he could be a cheap buy for the end of season run in.

Full Results
Chelsea 2 - 1 FC Porto
Robben 48' , assist : Diarra Ballack 79' , assist : Shevchenko
Quaresma 15' , assist : González

Liverpool 0 - 1 Barcelona
Gudjohnsen 75' , assist : Xavi

Lyon 0 - 2 AS Roma
Totti 22' , assist : Tonetto Mancini 44' , assist : Totti

Valencia 0 - 0 Internazionale

Champions League Fantasy Preview

2007-03-06T18:02:00.000Z

Liverpool (2) v (1) Barcelona
The Champions League is back with some interesting games set up in the second leg of the last sixteen. The fixture of the round is Liverpool v Barcelona with last years champions unexpectedly looking to come back two goals at Anfield. Barcelona are expecting to come to England all guns blazing with Messi, Eto'o and Ronaldinho expected to play. Belleti should be dropped at right-back for the more defensively minded Oleguer. It is a tough call for the Catalans to come back against Liverpool but if anyone can do it they surely can. Liverpool's Finnan will have the toughest test having to keep World Player of the Year Ronaldinho under wraps.

Probable Starting XI:
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina – Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa – Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Sissoko, Riise – Bellamy, Kuyt.

Probable Starting XI:
BARCELONA (4-3-3): Valdes – Oleguer, Thuram, Puyol, Zambrotta – Xavi, Deco, Iniesta – Messi, Eto’o, Ronaldinho.
_______________________________________________________________

Lyon (0) v (0)AS Roma

Probable Starting XI:
OLYMPIQUE LYON (4-4-2): 1-Gregory Coupet; 2-Francois Clerc, 3-Cris, 29-Sebastien Squillaci, 20-Eric Abidal; 15-Alou Diarra, 21-Tiago, 8-Juninho, 10-Florent Malouda; 11-Fred, 14-Sydney Govou

Probable Starting XI:
AS ROMA (4-2-3-1): 32-Doni; 2-Christian Panucci, 5-Philippe Mexes, 13-Cristian Chivu, 22-Max Tonetto; 16-Daniele De Rossi, 17-David Pizarro; 11-Rodrigo Taddei, 20-Simone Perrotta, 30-Mancini; 10-Francesco Totti
_______________________________________________________________

Valencia (2) v (2) Internazionale

Probable Starting XI:
VALENCIA (4-4-2) : Canizares; Miguel, Ayala, Albiol, Moretti; Angulo, Marchena, Hugo Viana, Silva; Villa, Morientes.

Probable Starting XI:
INTERNAZIONALE (4-3-1-2) : Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cordoba, Materazzi, Maxwell; J. Zanetti, Dacourt, Stankovic; Figo; Ibrahimovic, Crespo.
_______________________________________________________________

Chelsea (1) v (0) FC Porto

Probable Starting XI:
CHELSEA (4-4-2): Petr Cech; Lassana Diarra, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole; Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben; Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko.

Probable Starting XI:
Porto (4-3-3): Helton; Lucas Buccolini, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Fucile; Paulo Assuncao, Raul Meireles, Lucho Gonzalez; Ricardo Quaresma, Lisandro Lppez, Helder Postiga.

Live Scores

2007-02-28T14:10:00.002Z

Reading v Aston Villa Review

2007-02-11T14:21:00.000Z

Reading v Aston Villa

Reading (4-4-2)

_______________ Hahnemann 7 __________________

Murty 6 ------- Bikey 7 ------- Ingimarsson 6 ------- Shorey 7

Little 9 --------- Sidwell 8 ----------- Harper 6 --------- Hunt 7

____________ Long 5 _________ Lita 6 _____________

Team News
Bikey continued at centre-back and came off the victor from an absorbing 90 minute battle with Villa's John Carew. Bikey stuck to Carew like the proverbial glue and gave the striker no breathing space. He made a vital block inside the 6 yard area and looks to have cemented his place at the back in the meantime. In other news striker Doyle is on the mend and is back in training with the first team. He will be vying with Lita and Long, who were quiet in this match, for a starting spot in the coming weeks.
Round Up
Sidwell continues to garner fantasy points with two goals to his name against Villa which doubled his tally for the season. This comes after his two sumptuous assists against Man City last week. Although not the best fantasy earner on the day there can be no doubt that Glen Little was the star man on the day. He caused no end of grief to England left-back Barry and skipped past the defender on many occasions. The first goal came from one of his bursts down the right-flank, forcing the corner which lead to goal. Hunt was also in fine fettle setting up the first goal for Sidwell. The left-winger showed excellent technique in his ball deliver from crosses and was a good outlet for fast breaks from the long balls of Hahnemann. The American goalkeeper also had a spotless performance. When called into action the shot stopper pulled off some world class saves, notably a looping shot from Maloney.
The Future
Reading have some VERY tough games coming up with away games to Man Utd, Middlesbrough and Arsenal all on the cards. Reading players have returned very well in recent weeks but it may be time to let them go.

Aston Villa (4-4-2)

__________ Carew 7 _________ Young 6 ____________

Maloney 6 ----- Petrov 4 -------- McCann 5 ------- Agbonlahor5

Barry 5 -------- Cahill 5 --------- Mellberg 5 -------- Bardsley 6

_________________ Sorenson 6 __________________

Team News
Shaun Maloney made his starting debut against Villa and was lively at times but he is lacking a defensive attitude and left Barry stranded alone with Little throughout most of the first-half. Carew played off the centre-back and played very well as a holding figure. Ashley Young seemed to have been given a free role against Reading, popping up on the right, centre and upfront on many different occasions.
Round Up
Aston Villa totally dominated for the first 30 minutes but slowly pulled their way back into contention. Martin O'Neill's side were too one dimensional and they squandered a glut of chances with Young culpable of missing several obvious ones. Young, who started the season as a winger but has progressed to become a striker, is still lacking many fundamental attributes of a Premiership striker, most notably his heading ability. Villa's midfield was void of creativity with Petrov a non-persona for most of the game. It was in fact the Bulgarian who was largely at fault for the first goal. Petrov was hugging the six-yard line when Hunt swung in his corner. The Bulgarian wasn't marking any opposition player and was ball watching as Sidwell, unchecked, swanned into the box behind the Bulgarian and put Reading one to the good.
The Future
Villa have some difficult ties coming up but have the advantage of playing at home to Liverpool and Everton. Ashley Young has been a darling of fantasy players this year but his performance against Villa may warrant some to question his place in their side. Carew, on the other hand, looks bright, intelligent and everything that Milan Baros wasn't. He is an excellent purchase for O'Neill and I am sure he will be on the scoresheet many times this season and seasons to come.

Live Scores - Saturday 10th February

2007-02-10T17:55:00.000Z

EPL Preview - Week 25

2007-02-03T10:10:00.001Z

Arsenal (away vs. Middlesbrough)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Lehmann - Clichy, Toure, Hoyte, Senderos - Flamini, Fabregas, Rosicky, Gilberto Silva – Adebayor, Henry
Subs: Almunia, Djourou, Denilson, Aliadiere, Walcott, Traore.
Injured: Diaby, Gallas, Baptista, Van Persie, Hleb, Ljungberg, Eboue.
Suspended: None

Team News: Wenger has called up Brazilian sensation Denilson into the Arsenal squad after his performance against Spurs in the midweek game. He will sit alongside Djourou who has returned from injury. Adebayor passed a late fitness test on his knee on Friday and will start but Eboue is still sidelined with an ankle injury so Hoyte will remain at right-back against Boro’. Senderos is the main doubt for the gunners after picking up a head injury against Spurs.
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Aston Villa (home vs. West Ham)
Starting XI: (4-3-3) Sorensen – Bouma, Mellberg, Cahill, Bardsley - Barry, McCann, Petrov - Agbonlahor, Carew, Young.
Subs: Taylor, Hughes, Ridgewell, Samuel, S. Davis, Angel, Berger.
Injured: Delaney, Moore, Laursen, Osbourne, Samuel, Sutton.
Suspended: None

Team News: New signings Carew and Young are set to make their home debuts for Villa against West Ham this weekend. Defender Laursen has recovered from injury and will take up a spot on the bench with new signing Maloney. Maloney is highly revered in Scotland but has failed to shine on the big stage so far. Absentees include Osbourne and Samuel who are sidelined through injury.
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Blackburn (home vs. Sheffield United)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Friedel - Nelson, Khizanashvili, Henchoz, Warnock – Emerton, Bentley, Tugay, Pedersen – Derbyshire, McCarthy.
Subs: Enkelmann, Mokoena, Samba, Nonda, Gallagher, Jeffers, Peter, Todd, Berner, Dunn.
Injured: Savage, Ooijer, Reid.
Suspended: None

Team News: Khizanashvili returns to the Blackburn side after missing the 3-0 defeat by Chelsea in midweek, while Derbyshire is expected to continue alongside McCarthy in attack. New signing Dunn has been cleared to play and should start on the bench but there are doubts over the fitness of Emerton (foot) and Todd (flu) so Gallagher could be drafted into midfield if Emerton doesn’t pass for fit.

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Bolton (away vs. Watford)
Starting XI: (4-3-3) Jaaskelainen - Hunt, Ben Haim, Meite, Gardner– Campo, Nolan, Speed - Stelios, Diouf, Pedersen
Subs: Walker, Tal, Fojut, Abdoulaye Faye, Teymourian, Thompson, Vaz Te, Michalik, Augustyn.
Injured: Q. Fortune, Anelka, Davies, O’Brien.
Suspended: None.

Team News: Allardyce has been boosted by the return of Diouf who has completed his two-match suspension. Bolton are also boosted by the arrival of Thompson from Portsmouth and he is in contention for a start as Big Sam looks for a way to revive Bolton’s flagging fortunes. Bolton are missing their two principal strikers as Davies is sidelined with a chipped bone in his ankle for three weeks and Anelka will miss this game due an aggravated calf injury. Faye is also doubt.
------------------------------------------------------
Charlton (home vs. Chelsea)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Carson – Sankofa, El Kakouri, Hreidarsson, Thatcher - Holland, Hughes, Rommedahl, A Faye, Thomas - M. Bent
Subs: Myhre, Randolph, Kishishev, Zheng, Diawara, Fortune, Kishishev, Ambrose, Hasselbaink, Lisbie.
Injured: Gibbs, D. Bent, Young, Reid, Song, Bougherra.
Suspended: None

Team News: Charlton are on somewhat of a run, if you can call it that, having won and drawn their last two games. These set of results have lead to some consistency in the squad selection and Pardew is likely to stick with the side that drew with Bolton midweek. New signings Song and Bougherra are unavailable with injury. Charlton always seem to raise their game against Chelsea and it will be no walk in the park for the Blues at the Valley with confidence buoyed by recent results.
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Chelsea (away vs. Charlton)
Starting XI: (4-1-3-2) Cech - Diarra, Carvalho, Terry, Bridge – Makelele – Lampard, Essien, Ballack - Shevchenko, Drogba.
Subs: Hilario, Ferreira, Robben, Mikel, Wright-Phillips, Kalou, Sahar.
Injured: J. Cole, A. Cole, Boulahrouz.
Suspended: None

Team News: Mourinho is boosted by the return of club captain Terry for the trip to Charlton. The England skipper will start alongside Carvalho with Bridge coming in for the injured Ashley Cole (who should have really won a Pulitzer prize for his autobiography – what a guy…er), whilst Diarra is set to continue at right-back.
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Everton (away vs. Liverpool)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Howard – Stubbs, Lescott, Yobo, P. Neville – Van der Meyde, Carsley, Arteta, Osman, Cahill - Johnson.
Subs: Wright, Hibbert, Anichebe, Weir, Vaughan, Naysmith, Pistone, Beattie, Fernandes, Valente.
Injured: McFadden
Suspended: None

Team News: Everton are waiting on a late fitness test for striker Johnson before determining the starting line-up in the 205^th Merseyside derby.
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Fulham (home vs. Newcastle)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Niemi - Queudrue, Knight, Christanval, Rosenior – Davies, Volz, M. Brown, Radzinski – McBride, Helguson
Subs: Lastuvka, Bocanegra, Diop, Routledge, Dempsey, C. Jensen, Montella.
Injured: Bullard, Elliott, Elrich, Pearce, Smertin.
Suspended: None

Team News: Christanval returns to the starting line-up after recovering from injury but Montella is struggling with an abdomen injury and will be forced to start on the bench with the brawn of Helguson and McBride preferred upfront.
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Liverpool (home vs. Everton)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Reina – Finnan, Agger, Carragher, Riise - Gerrard, Alonso, Gonzalez, Pennant – Kuyt, Crouch
Subs: Dudek, Hyypia, Fowler, Bellamy, Zenden, Arbeloa, Guthrie, Paletta.
Injured: Kewell, Sissoko, Garcia, Aurelio.
Suspended: None

Team News: Liverpool are the form side in the Premiership at the moment and Benitez will be hoping for continuation against Everton. This historically is always a grim game for discipline though, with a flurry of cards always a highlight of this match-up. Benitez will probably start with a more defensive line-up than the one he has played recently with Bellamy most likely to be one that misses out. Brazilian Aurelio is a new name on the injury list but Zenden is now back in training and should start on the bench.
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Man City (home vs. Reading)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Weaver - Richards, Dunne, Distin, Jordan – Ireland, Dabo, Barton, Trabelsi, - Corradi, Vassell
Subs: Isaksson, Ball, Beasley, Johnson, Hamann, Miller, Abdoun, Samaras.
Injured: Onouha, Sun Jihai, Sinclair, Dickov, D. Mills.
Suspended: None

Team News: Pearce could hand new signing Ball his debut against Reading but with such formidable opposition and with little match practice under his belt the City manager should stick with the tried and tested.
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Man Utd (away vs. Tottenham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Van der Sar - R. Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, G. Neville - Giggs, Carrick, Ronaldo, Scholes - Larsson, Rooney.
Subs: Kuszczak, W. Brown, Heinze, Richardson, Silvestre, Fletcher, O’Shea, Park, Solskjaer.
Injured: None
Suspended: None

Team News: Consistency is the name of the game for United.
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Middlesbrough (home vs. Arsenal)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Jones – Xavier, Taylor, Pogatetz, Woodgate – Downing, Arca, Boateng, Cattermole – Yakubu, Viduka.
Subs: Schwarzer, Turnbull, Davies, Christie, Parnaby, Mendieta, Johnson, J. Euell.
Injured: Bates, Riggott, Parlour, McMahon, Rochemback, Huth, Lee.
Suspended: None

Team News: Schwarzer is a big doubt for the Arsenal clash after missing his sides game against Portsmouth in midweek with a back injury. Fellow Aussie Jones should stand in but the keeper has bad memories of Arsenal – remember Highbury last season anyone?
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Newcastle (away vs. Fulham)
Starting XI: (4-4-1-1) Given – Huntington, Onyewu, Bramble, Carr – Duff, Parker, Butt, Milner – Dyer - Martins
Subs: Srnicek, Carroll, Taylor, Edgar, Solano, Pattison, O’Brien, Luque, Sibierski.
Injured: Owen, Krul, Moore, Ameobi, Harper, Bernard, Babayaro, N’Zogbia, Ramage, Emre.
Suspended: None

Team News: New signing Onyewu is expected to go straight into the Newcastle starting line-up. The American will join up with a depleted Newcastle squad but Peruvian Solano will also boost the ranks after returning from suspension. Butt is suffering from a knee injury but is expected to pass fit for the match.
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Porstmouth (away vs. Wigan)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) James – Johnson, Primus, Campbell, Pamarot, - Taylor, Mendes, O’Neill, Lauren – Benjani, Kanu
Subs: Ashdown, Douala, Hughes, O’Brien, Krancjar, LuaLua, Koroman, A. Cole, Davis.
Injured: Traore, Stefanovic.
Suspended: None

Team News: Traore will miss the Wigan game with an ankle injury so Pamarot should start on the right.
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Reading (away vs. Man City)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Hahnemann – Murty, Duberry, Ingmarrson, Shorey – Little, Harper, Sidwell, Hunt – Lita, Long.
Subs: Federici, Convey, De la Cruz, Bikey, Sodje, Oster, Halford, Pearce, Kitson.
Injured: Mate, Halls, Sonko, Gunnarsson.
Suspended: None

Team News: Reading defender Sonko has been ruled out for the rest of the season with cruciate ligament damage to his knee so new signing Duberry will come in to replace him, Gunnarsson is also injured. Long has passed a fitness test and will start alongside Lita.
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Sheffield Utd (away vs. Blackburn)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Kenny - Geary, Lucketti, Jagielka, Armstrong – S. Quinn, Montgomery, Tonge, Kazim-Richards – Hulse, Stead.
Subs: Bennett, Bromby, Sommeil, Law, Kozluk, A. Quinn, Seck, Fathi, Morgan, Webber, Nade.
Injured: Li Tie, Kilgallon, Leigertwood, Shelton.
Suspended: Gillespie (2 of 3)

Team News: Sheffield United captain Morgan has returned from a four-match ban but Warnock may stick with Lucketti in defence after a recent good run of results. New signings Kilgallon and Shelton are unavailable with injury and Gillespie is still suspended.
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Tottenham (home vs. Man Utd)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Robinson – Chimbonda, Dawson, Rocha, Lee – Huddleston, Jenas Malbranque, Lennon – Berbatov, Keane.
Subs: Cerny, Alnwick, Murphy, Assou-Ekotto, Ghaly, Defoe, Gardner, Zokora, Stalteri.
Injured: King, Tainio.
Suspended: Mido (1 of 1)

Team News: Jenas is a doubt with an ankle knock but the signs are positive for his return to the Tottenham side. Rocha and Lee should start along with Lennon who missed out on Wednesday night due to illness. Bulgarian international Berbatov also returns to partner Keane with Mido suspended for one game.
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Watford (home vs. Bolton)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Foster –Marriapa, Shittu, DeMerit, Stewart – Smith, Mahon, Francis, Bouazza – Kabba, Henderson.
Subs: Lee, McNamee, Williamson, Bangura, Priskin, Hoskins, Powell, Rinaldi, Cavalli, Williams, Mackay.
Injured: King, Chambers, Carlisle
Suspended: None

Team News: With so many new signings it is difficult to judge how Boothroyd will send out his team this week. Shittu and Mahon are in contention to return to the side after recovering from injury, while any number of players could make their debuts for the hornets today ranging from Kabba to Hoskins. New Brazilian signing Rinaldi is just one vowel short of greatness.
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West Ham (away vs. Aston Villa)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Carroll – McCartney, Davenport, Upson, Dailly – Quashie, Reo-Coker, Benayoun, Boa Morte – Cole, Harewood
Subs: Green, Pantsil, Mullins, Kepa, Konchesky, Sheringham, Newton.
Injured: Ashton, Collins, Bowyer, Gabbidon, Neill, Tevez, Ferdinand.
Suspended: None

Team News: The Biscuit Baron has been out splashing his cash in recent weeks, I’d say he’s been splashing it up the wall after seeing how much he was ripped off for Upson. Upson, who should make his debut today, was woeful against Southend United (bottom Championship side) last week and I can’t see how his price tag can be justified.
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Wigan (home vs. Portsmouth)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Kirkland – Hall, Unsworth, Baines, Boyce – Kilbane, Landzaat, Skoko, Teale, McCulloch – Aghahowa, Folan.
Subs: Filan, Taylor, Cotterill, Johansson, Granqvisst, Haestad, Valencia
Injured: Camara, Heskey, Scharner, De Zeeuw, McMillan.
Suspended: None

Team News: Nigerian Aghahowa (another name for me to learn, I’ve only just got the hand of Boulahrouz…) should start alongside fellow new boy Folan (a crap Forlan…), as Heskey is sidelined with an injury. Aghahowa is a very fast player and anyone who has played Championship Manager 2001 will accredit that, but this is real life and Wigan are up against it. Baines is doubtful with a calf injury so the crisis may thicken come kick-off time.

Note: Those denoted in red indicates doubts

January Transfers OUT

2007-01-08T10:08:00.000Z

Updated: 8th January 2007

Arsenal

None.

Aston Villa

None.

Blackburn Rovers

None.

Bolton Wanderers

None.

Charlton Athletic

None.

Chelsea

None.

Everton

None.

Fulham

Luis Boa Morte (undisc)

Liverpool

None.

Manchester City

None.

Manchester United

Jonny Evans (loan)
David Jones (£1 million)

Middlesbrough

None.

Newcastle United

None.

Portsmouth

None.

Reading

None.

Sheffield United

Ade Akinbiyi (£750,000)
David Unsworth (free)

Tottenham Hotspur

Marton Fulop (£500,000)

Watford

None.

West Ham

None.

Wigan Athletic

Andy Webster (loan)

January Transfers IN

2007-01-08T10:05:00.000Z

Update: 8 January 2007

Arsenal

None.

Aston Villa

None.

Blackburn Rovers

None.

Bolton Wanderers

None.

Charlton Athletic

Zheng Zhi (loan)

Chelsea

None.

Everton

Anderson de Silva (undisclosed)

Fulham

Vincenzo Montella (loan)

Liverpool

None.

Manchester City

None.

Manchester United

Henrik Larsson (loan)

Middlesbrough

None.

Newcastle United

None.

Portsmouth

None.

Reading

None.

Sheffield United

None.

Tottenham Hotspur

Ben Alnwick (£900,000)
Adel Taarabt (loan)

Watford

Moses Ashikodi (nominal)
Will Hoskins (undisclosed)
Lee Williamson (undisclosed)

West Ham

Luis Boa Morte (undisc)

Wigan Athletic

Andreas Granqvist (loan)
Kristofer Haestad (loan)
David Unsworth (free)

Service Resumes

2007-01-04T11:30:00.000Z

Oh, I am back and about time too... Apologies for the inconvenience but normal service, in fact, improved service resumes as of today. You'll be glad to hear I gave my Mrs the boot as she was costing me too many fantasy points with her incessant nagging on a Saturday morning - that's dedication and stupidity to the fantasy cause.

Vacation Time

2006-12-08T15:58:00.000Z

Fantasy Insider Blog spot is on vacation until further notice.

Thanks

EPL Predictions - Week 16

2006-12-02T10:10:00.000Z

Arsenal (home vs. Tottenham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Lehmann - Clichy, Toure, Eboue, Djourou - Hleb, Fabregas, Ljungberg, Gilberto Silva - Van Persie, Adebayor
Subs: Almunia, Song, Hoyte, Aliadiere, Walcott, Baptista, Flamini
Injured: Lauren, Diaby, Gallas, Henry.
Suspended: Senderos (1 of 1)

Team News: To Follow...
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Aston Villa (away vs. Portsmouth)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Taylor– Bouma, Mellberg, Hughes, Ridgewell - Barry, McCann, Petrov, Agbonlahor - Baros, Angel.
Subs: Olejnik, Gardner, Djemba-Djemba, Cahill, Whittingham, Samuel, Agathe, Osbourne, S. Davis.
Injured: Delaney, Moore, Laursen, Sutton, Sorensen
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Blackburn (home vs.Fulham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Friedel – Emerton, Neill, Ooijer, Khizanishvili – Bentley, Pedersen, Savage, Mokoena – McCarthy, Nonda
Subs: Brown, Todd, Gallagher, McEvely, Peter, Henchoz, Jeffers, Gray.
Injured: Roberts, Reid, Enckelman, Nelsen.
Suspended: Tugay (1 of 1)

Team News: To Follow...
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Bolton (away vs. Reading)
Starting XI: (4-3-3) Jaaskelainen - Hunt, Ben Haim, Meite, Abdoulaye Faye – Campo, Nolan, Speed - Davies, Diouf, Anelka
Subs: Walker, Tal, Fojut, Pedersen, Gardner, Sissons, Smith, Wolfe, Vaz Te, Stelios.
Injured: Q. Fortune, O'Brien.
Suspended: None.

Team News: To Follow...
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Charlton (away vs. Sheffield United)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Carson - Young, Diawara, Hreidarsson, D. Traore - Holland, A. Reid, Rommedahl, A Faye, Ambrose - D. Bent
Subs: Myhre, Sam, Ashton, Pouso, Hughes, Fortune, El Karkouri, Kishishev, Gibbs, Walker, Sorondo, M Bent.
Injured: Lisbie, Hasselbaink, Thomas.
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Chelsea

No Fixture this week
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Everton (home vs. West Ham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Howard – Stubbs, Lescott, Yobo, Valente - P. Neville, Carsley, Arteta, Osman, - Beattie, Johnson.
Subs: Turner, Anichebe, Weir, Vaughan, van der Meyde, Vidarsson, Hughes, Wright, McFadden, Davies.
Injured: Pistone, Naysmith, Hibbert, Boyle, Cahill
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Fulham (away vs. Blackburn)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Niemi - Volz, Knight, Pearce, Rosenior – Radzinski, C. Jensen, M. Brown, Diop, Boa Morte - McBride
Subs: Crossley, N. Jensen, Zakuani, Timlin, Runstrom, Bocanegra, John, Milsom, Routledge, Helguson, Christanval, Pembridge.
Injured: Bullard, Elliott, Elrich, Queudrue.
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Liverpool (away vs. Wigan)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Reina - Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise - Gerrard, Alonso, Garcia, Pennant – Kuyt, Bellamy
Subs: Dudek, Warnock, Hyypia, Aurelio, Paletta, Fowler, Crouch, Guthrie, El Zhar.
Injured: Kewell, Sissoko, Gonzalez, Zenden
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Man City (home vs. Watford)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Weaver - Richards, Dunne, Distin, Thatcher - Vassell, Reyna, Barton, Trabelsi, - Corradi, Samaras
Subs: Isaksson, Hart, Ireland, Jordan, Onuoha, Mills, Johnson, Hamann, Miller, Dickov, Beasley.
Injured: Sun Jihai, Dabo, Sinclair.
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Man Utd (away vs. Middlesbrough)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Van der Sar - R. Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, G. Neville - Giggs, Carrick, Ronaldo, Scholes - Saha, Rooney.
Subs: Kuszczak, W. Brown, Heinze, Richardson, Silvestre, Fletcher, Smith, O’Shea, Solskjaer.
Injured: Park.
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Middlesbrough (home vs. Man Utd)
Starting XI: (5-3-2) Schwarzer – Xavier, Taylor, Pogatetz, Woodgate, Huth – Morrison, Rochemback, Downing, Boateng – Yakubu, Christie
Subs: Turnbull, Bates, Mendieta, Johnson, Arca, Maccarone, Graham, J. Euell, Cattermole.
Injured: Ehiogu, Riggott, Parlour, Viduka, Craddock, Parnaby, McMahon, Davies
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Newcastle

No Fixture this week.
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Porstmouth (home vs. Aston Villa)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) James – Pamarot, Primus, Campbell, Taylor – Thompson, Krancjar, Mendes, O’Neill – Bejani, Kanu
Subs: Ashdown, Jordan, Douala, Fernandes, Hughes, O’Brien, Koroman, Johnson, LuaLua
Injured: Cole, Stefanovic, Davis.
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Reading (away vs. Fulham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Hahnemann – Murty, Sonko, Ingmarrson, Shorey – Little, Harper, Sidwell, Hunt – Doyle, Seol
Subs: Stack, De la Cruz, Sodje, Oster, Gunnarsson, Lita, Osano, Cox.
Injured: Brown, Kitson, Mate, Convey, Halls.
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Sheffield Utd (home vs. Charlton)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Kenny - Geary, Bromby, Morgan, Kozluk – Gillespie, Leigertwood, A. Quinn, Jagielka – Hulse, Webber
Subs: Bennett, Lucketti, Montgomery, Unsworth, Law, S. Quinn, Akinbiyi, Short, Wright, Shipperley, Nade, Ifill, Kabba, Sommeil, Kazim-Richards.
Injured: Armstrong, Tonge, Li Tie, Davis
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...
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Tottenham (away vs. Arsenal)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Robinson – Chimbonda, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto – Jenas, Zokora, Malbranque, Lennon – Berbatov, Defoe.
Subs: Cerny, Davids, Murphy, Lee, Tainio, Huddlestone, Ziegler, Barnard, Keane, Davenport.
Injured: Stalteri, Mido, Gardner.
Suspended: Ghaly (2 of 3)

Team News: To Follow...
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Watford (away vs. Man City)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Lee – Stewart, Mackay, DeMerit, Chambers – Bouazza, Mahon, Francis, Smith – Young Henderson.
Subs: Chamberlain, Shittu, McNamee, Doyley, Bangura, Priskin, Spring.
Injured: King, Foster.
Suspended: Powell (1 of 1)

Team News: To Follow...
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West Ham (away vs. Everton)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Green – Spector, Ferdinand, Collins, Konchesky – Tevez, Reo-Coker, Etherington, Mullins, Bowyer – Zamora.
Subs: Kiraly, Mears, Cole, Dailly, McCartney, Paintsil, Sheringham, Mascherano, Reid, Harewood, Benayoun.
Injured: Ashton, Gabbidon, Caroll (On the booze cruise…), Walker.
Suspended: Newton.

Team News: To Follow...
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Wigan (home vs. Liverpool)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Kirkland – Jackson, Hall, Baines, Boyce – Kilbane, Skoko, Scharner, Coterill – Camara, Heskey
Subs: Filan, Jackson, Webster, Wright, Johansson, Todorov, Landzaat, McCulloch.
Injured: Taylor, Valencia, McMillan, Teale
Suspended: None

Team News: To Follow...

Note: Those denoted in red indicates doubts

Fantasy Poll

2006-12-01T22:18:00.000Z

EPL Predictions - Week 15

2006-11-25T10:03:00.000Z

Arsenal (away vs. Bolton)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Lehmann - Clichy, Toure, Eboue, Senderos - Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Ljungberg, Gilberto Silva - Adebayor
Subs: Almunia, Djourou, Song, Hoyte, Aliadiere, Walcott, Baptista
Injured: Lauren, Diaby, Gallas, Henry, Rosicky.
Suspended: Van Persie (1 of 1)

Team News: Wenger will be unable to call upon the skills of either Henry or Van Persie this weekend, as the Frenchman is struggling with a neck injury and the Dutchman is suspended for picking up five yellows. Thus, Adebayor will lead the attack on his own. Wenger has stated that Henry’s injury is a “short-term” one so he should “return to lead the line against Fulham on Wednesday”. Walcott made an excellent impression against Hamburg in midweek and is in contention for a start but with Arsenal not claiming a victory in the last four years at the Reebok, Wenger maybe inclined to continue with Flamini in midfield, with the Frenchman having started the last four games in a row. Gallas is still sidelined so Senderos should continue to deputise in his place, while Rosicky is still making good progress.
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Aston Villa (home vs. Middlesbrough)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Sorensen – Bouma, Mellberg, Hughes, Ridgewell - Barry, McCann, Petrov, Agbonlahor - Sutton, Angel.
Subs: Taylor, Gardner, Djemba-Djemba, Cahill, Whittingham, Samuel, Agathe, Baros, Osbourne, S. Davis.
Injured: Delaney, Moore, Laursen.
Suspended: None

Team News: O’Neill is sweating on the fitness of Sutton after the striker hurt his calf in training. Baros is on standby to step in after an impressive display in the reserves against Tottenham this week. Hughes has returned from injury unscathed and he is set to resume at right-back with Mellberg returning to centre-back. Midfielder McCann returns from a one-match suspension.
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Blackburn

No fixture this weekend.

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Bolton (home vs. Arsenal)
Starting XI: (4-3-3) Jaaskelainen - Hunt, Ben Haim, Meite, Q. Fortune – Campo, Nolan, Speed - Davies, Diouf, Anelka
Subs: Walker, Tal, Fojut, Pedersen, O'Brien, Abdoulaye Faye, Sissons, Smith, Wolfe, Vaz Te, Stelios.
Injured: Gardner.
Suspended: None.

Team News: Nolan returns to the squad after missing last weeks game due to the birth of his first child, Idan Tal will most likely be dropped as a consequence. Quinton Fortune is also a contender to be recalled to the side after missing most of the season through injury. The South African started the season as Bolton’s first choice left-back and should continue now that he is fit again.
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Charlton (home vs. Everton)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Carson - Young, Diawara, Hreidarsson, D. Traore - Holland, A. Reid, Rommedahl, A Faye, Thomas - D. Bent
Subs: Myhre, Sam, Ashton, Pouso, Hughes, Fortune, El Karkouri, Kishishev, Gibbs, Walker, Sorondo, Ambrose, M Bent.
Injured: Lisbie, Hasselbaink
Suspended: None

Team News: Charlton are still without striker Hasselbaink, but there is some good news ahead of the visit of Everton, as Traore is available after coming through 90 minutes of a midweek reserve game. Traore will step in at left-back with Hreidarsson returning to his preferred centre-back position for the first time in a while. Diawara is still touch and go with an injury so El Kakouri is on standby to fill in. In midfield Faye returns to bolster the side after sitting out last weeks game against Reading due to a suspension. Rommedahl is also a doubt.
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Chelsea (away vs. Man Utd)
Starting XI: (4-1-3-2) Cudicini - Geremi, Carvalho, Terry, A. Cole – Makelele – Lampard, Essien, Ballack - Shevchenko, Drogba.
Subs: Hilario, Hedman, Diarra, Bridge, Ferreira, Robben, Mancienne, Boulahrouz, Mikel, Wright-Phillips, Kalou, J. Cole
Injured: Cech
Suspended: None

Team News: Chelsea are boosted by the news that first-choice centre-back Carvalho will be available for this weekend’s big clash after recovering from an injury. Ballack and Drogba, who picked up knocks in the midweek Champions League game, are also expected to play through the pain barrier. The key to this fixture lies in the full-back positions. In the past few weeks both teams have relied, more often than not, on the performances of their full-back's.
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Everton (away vs. Charlton)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Howard – Stubbs, Lescott, Yobo, Valente - P. Neville, Carsley, Arteta, Osman, - Beattie, Johnson.
Subs: Turner, Anichebe, Weir, Vaughan, ,van der Meyde, Vidarsson, Hughes, Wright, McFadden, Davies.
Injured: Pistone, Naysmith, Hibbert, Boyle, Cahill
Suspended: None

Team News: The Everton team should remain unchanged after their 1-0 victory over Bolton last week.
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Fulham (home vs. Reading)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Niemi - Queudrue, Knight, Pearce, Rosenior – Radzinski, C. Jensen, M. Brown, Diop, Boa Morte - McBride
Subs: Crossley, N. Jensen, Volz, Zakuani, Timlin, Runstrom, Bocanegra, John, Milsom, Routledge, Helguson, Christanval, Pembridge.
Injured: Bullard, Elliott, Elrich.
Suspended: None

Team News: Michael Brown is set to return to the side after being on the sidelines with an injury for the past few weeks. Coleman believes that Brown will love the fast paced game that could be played out against Reading. The Fulham manager will continue to play McBride as the front man, even though John managed to find the back of the net last week. Radzinski should return to the squad after being rested, while Diop is a slight doubt after a reoccurring injury problem.
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Liverpool (home vs. Man City)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Reina - Finnan, AGGER, Carragher, Riise - Gerrard, Garcia, Zenden, Pennant – Kuyt, Crouch Correction Agger to replace Hyypia (10:41am)
Subs: Dudek, Warnock, Hyypia, Aurelio, Paletta, Fowler, Bellamy, Guthrie, Nabil, Peltier, Hamill.
Injured: Kewell, Sissoko, Gonzalez, Alonso
Suspended: None

Team News: Benitez has a selection nightmare ahead of the visit of Man City, as Alonso and Gonzalez are ruled out, while Pennant is also struggling to be fit. Garcia should get one of the free spots with Zenden starting in midfield. If Pennant doesn’t make it there could be a starting spot for one of the Liverpool youngsters or Bellamy, who has the pace to play on the wing.
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Man City (away vs. Liverpool)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Weaver - Richards, Dunne, Distin, Thatcher - Vassell, Reyna, Barton, Trabelsi, - Corradi, Samaras
Subs: Hart, Ireland, Jordan, Onuoha, Mills, Johnson, Hamann, Miller, Dickov.
Injured: Isaksson, Sun Jihai, Dabo, Beasley, Sinclair.
Suspended: None

Team News: Pearce should retain the same side that thrashed Fulham last week with Barton coming face to face with life long friend and nemesis Gerrard. Barton has always wilted in the presence of Gerrard in the past and the City player will have to shrug off his demons in order to progress his career at Liverpool today. Barton could flop or this could the match which instigates an England call-up.
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Man Utd (home vs. Chelsea)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Van der Sar - R. Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, G. Neville - Giggs, Carrick, Ronaldo, Scholes - Saha, Rooney.
Subs: Kuszczak, W. Brown, Heinze, Richardson, Silvestre, Fletcher, Smith, O’Shea.
Injured: Park, Solskjaer.
Suspended: None

Team News: Fergie has a virtually full-strength squad to choose from ahead of Sunday’s clash with Chelsea. Ferdinand picked up a foot injury during the European Cup defeat to Celtic but has been passed fit. Evra could be recalled in place of the rusty Heinze, who looked short of match practice against Celtic in midweek.
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Middlesbrough (away vs. Aston Villa)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Schwarzer – Davies, Taylor, Pogatetz, Woodgate – Morrison, Rochemback, Arca, Boateng, Cattermole – Yakubu.
Subs: Turnbull, Bates, Xavier, Mendieta, Huth, Johnson, Downing, Maccarone, Graham, J. Euell.
Injured: Ehiogu, Riggott, Parlour, Viduka, Christie, Craddock, Parnaby, McMahon.
Suspended: None

Team News: Downing has been rated as a 50-50 chance ahead of the trip to Aston Villa. The England winger is still recovering from a groin injury that kept him out of last weekend’s game with Liverpool. Julio Arca should continue to deputise in his absence.
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Newcastle (home vs. Portsmouth)
Starting XI: (4-4-1-1) Given – Taylor, Ramage, Bramble, Carr – N’Zogbia, Parker, Solano, Emre – Dyer - Martins
Subs: Srnicek, Carroll, Huntington, O’Brien, Milner, Luque, Sibierski, Butt, Rossi.
Injured: Owen, Krul, Moore, Ameobi, Harper, Bernard, Duff, Babayaro.
Suspended: Emre

Team News: Dyer and Martins should return to the Newcastle side after being rested during the 2-1 win over Celta Vigo on Thursday. Carr could return from injury for this game but he is still a doubt and Solano is poised to carry on at right-back if needed.
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Porstmouth (away vs. Newcastle)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) James – Pamarot, Primus, Campbell, Stefanovic, - Krancjar, Mendes, Davis, O’Neill – LuaLua, Kanu
Subs: Ashdown, Jordan, Douala, Thompson, Fernandes, Hughes, O’Brien, Koroman, Benjani
Injured: Johnson, Taylor, Cole.
Suspended: None

Team News: Stefanovic is in serious need of an operation but with Taylor sidelined the Pompey captain will have painkilling injections to play against Newcastle. O’Neill has recovered from a dead leg but Cole and Johnson are absent this week.
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Reading (away vs. Fulham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Hahnemann – Murty, Sonko, Ingmarrson, Shorey – Little, Harper, Sidwell, Hunt – Doyle, Seol
Subs: Stack, De la Cruz, Sodje, Oster, Gunnarsson, Lita, Osano, Cox.
Injured: Brown, Kitson, Mate, Convey, Halls.
Suspended: None

Team News: Reading remain unchanged from last week.
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Sheffield Utd (away vs.West Ham)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Kenny - Geary, Davis, Jagielka, Kozluk – Gillespie, Law, Leigertwood, A. Quinn, Kazim-Richards - Hulse.
Subs: Bennett, Bromby, Lucketti, Bromby, Morgan, Montgomery, Unsworth, S. Quinn, Akinbiyi, Short, Wright, Shipperley, Webber, Nade, Ifill.
Injured: Armstrong, Tonge, Kabba, Sommeil, Li Tie.
Suspended: None

Team News: Sheffield will be looking for a rare victory at West Ham this weekend and will field a similar side to one that took Man Utd to the wire last week. Bromby has returned from injury and is in contention for a start at right-back.
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Tottenham (home vs. Wigan)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Robinson – Chimbonda, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto – Tainio, Zokora, Malbranque, Lennon – Berbatov, Keane.
Subs: Cerny, Davids, Murphy, Lee, Jenas, Huddlestone, Ziegler, Barnard, Mido, Barnard, Defoe, Davenport, Gardner.
Injured: Stalteri
Suspended: Ghaly (1 of 3)

Team News: Spurs welcomed back Lennon and Chimbonda for the midweek game against Leverkusen and both should start against Wigan. The merry-go-round of strikers could continue again this weekend but if Jol has any sense he will start with Keane and Berbatov. Jenas could participate after coming back from injury but Malbranque could remain in the squad after an impressive midweek UEFA Cup performance.
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Watford

No Fixture this weekend.
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West Ham (home vs. Sheffield United)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Green – Spector, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Konchesky – Tevez, Reo-Coker, Etherington, Mullins, Bowyer – Zamora.
Subs: Kiraly, Mears, Cole, Dailly, McCartney, Paintsil, Sheringham, Mascherano, Reid, Harewood, Benayoun.
Injured: Ashton, Collins, Caroll (On the booze cruise…), Walker.
Suspended: Newton.

Team News: Pardew should name an unchanged side for visit of Sheffield United.
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Wigan (away vs. Tottenham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Kirkland – Jackson, De Zeeuw, Wright, Boyce – Kilbane, Landzaat, Scharner, Teale – McCulloch, Camara
Subs: Filan, Jackson, Webster, Johansson, Todorov, Coterill, Hall, Skoko, Heskey
Injured: Taylor, Baines, Valencia, McMillan.
Suspended: None

Team News: Baines is still missing so Wright should continue at left-back. Heskey is back in training but lacking match-fitness so McCulloch could start alongside Camara again.

Note: Those denoted in red indicates doubts

Formations and Rankings - Week 14

2006-11-22T14:05:00.000Z

(Click Formation Graphics for larger view)
Arsenal v Newcastle
Everyone was surprised by Newcastle's performance this weekend but more surprising was Arsenal's inept performance without one Thierry Henry. The team is clearly set up to revolve around his talents and without him in the side they just revolve around. Arsenal, as we have seen in the past, dominated proceedings but failed to capitalise on their advantage -Henry was brought on in the second half to save Wenger's blushes. Newcastle relied mainly on the heroics of Shay Given this weekend and, as mentioned in this weekend's predictions, proved that he is Newcastle's twelfth man.

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Given

Wigan v Aston Villa
The winning streak of Wigan came to an end against the draw specialists, Aston Villa, this weekend with the Latics recording the first ever scoreless home game in their Premiership history. Wigan gave Skoko a rare start ahead of Landzaat, while Villa were forced into playing youngsters Whittingham and Osbourne due to injuries, as Petrov and McCann were sidelined with injury and suspension respecively (Petrov has had a scan and has been declared fit to play this weekend). McCulloch had a chance to score for the second week in a row but Sorenson was too good, saving the Scotsman's header. Sutton, again, looked like Villa's most dangerous attacking player, linking up well with Agbonlahor and should have been on the scoresheet but for a last ditch clearance off the line. It is a pity that some fantasy games are still missing Sutton from their database's. He picks up his second FISM in a row.
Fantasy Insider Star Man: Sutton

Blackburn v Tottenham
Blackburn conceded their seventh penalty in the space of thirteen games against Tottenham this weekend, which Defoe duly converted to cancel out the spectacular 25-yard Tugay opener. The referee made a botch of this game missing clear penalty decisions and giving away dubious ones -two red cards didn't help either. It is easier to find fantasy flops from this game rather than star men: Mido, for one, was culpable of a terrible performance, as the Egyptian was inaffective and more of a negative for Jol's side. With Jenas and Lennon out there was little width to the Spurs side and they became too centralised.

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Gray

Everton v Bolton
Mikel Arteta was outstanding for Everton this weekend and is proving to be an excellent long term fantasy acquisition if you had the foresight to pick him at the start of the season. When looking for fantasy gold consistency is a must and the Basque man is certainly that. He is Everton's creative force and made up for the absence of Cahill this weekend by scoring a spectacular match winning goal. Moyes will be hoping that Arteta can fill the void left by Cahill, who is injured. Over in the other half, the barren spell of Anelka continues with the Frenchman still not on the scoresheet after ten games. Diouf, as always, was bright and creative but Bolton certainly have a problem if they can't muster a goal between three strikers.

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Arteta

Reading v Charlton
Charlton are sitting ducks at the moment and the lack of cohesion between the defense, midfield and attack is painfully obvious. Les Reed has only been the manager for a few days but he will need to perform miracles if Charlton aren't to sink further into the mud. An organised and enthusiastic Reading side duly rolled over Charlton this weekend with Sidwell a commanding presence in midfield. It was a comfortable victory in the end for Reading and the absence of Faye and Diawara for Charlton in the middle was glaring. Matt Holland is, and always will be, Championship standard, while Fortune and El Kakouri were pathetic. Sidwell, Hunt and Little were the best players on the day for Reading but a goal from Doyle gave him more fantasy value this week.

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Doyle

Chelsea v West Ham
A sensational direct freekick from Geremi handed the points to Chelsea this weekend, as the right-back kept up his electric form. Chelsea were guilty of missing their chances and Mourinho will be indebted to the match winning strike from Geremi, which keeps up the Blues' title challenge. Lampard, who normally plays well against his former club, was off colour, while Ballack was rested. The Chelsea team showed signs of fatigue from midweek internationals and can be forgiven for not winning 3-0 against an outclassed but tough and troublesome West Ham side. Tevez epitomised the committment that is needed to save West Ham this season, with the Argentine working flat out for most of the game - maybe he was playing up to the Spanish scouts in the crowd though, who had come to weigh him up??

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Geremi

Man City v Fulham
This game was a case of a manager getting his tactics right and one getting them wrong. Pearce in this case was right, starting with a positive and creative lineup and was rewarded with three goals from a City team that has scored just four all season at home. This game was won in the first half with Joey Barton the mastermind behind the coup. The Italian Corradi was his sidekick and together they took a floundering Fulham team apart. Coleman, who got his tactics wrong in the first half, quickly made his team more offensive in the second half and they played well but by this time it was too late.

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Barton

Middlesbrough v Liverpool
No defeat for Liverpool this time round and they have doubled their away points tally for the season but the murmurings of discontent are starting to gather pace. Liverpool dominated at the Riverside but failed to capitalise on their advantage. Agger was brought in for Hyypia this weekend and it will be interesting to see if he retains his place after a strong performance against Boro'. Crouch wasn't started but looked very sharp in the last ten minutes and could be an interesting punt if he starts the next two games. The Pogatezt and Woodgate partnership is going from strength to strength and Middlesbrough's days of inconsistency could be behind them if the defense continues in this form.

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Woodgate

Sheffield United v Man Utd
Time and time again Sheffield United are underated by their superior opposition. Liverpool and Bolton have all come a cropper at Bramhall Lane this year and if not for the superb solo efforts of Rooney would have added Man United to that list. Rooney was clearly the star man and is hopefully ready to up his game for the upcoming encounter with Chelsea. Notably, Ronaldo wasn't as sharp as he had been in previous weeks. Evra and Neville look like interesting fantasy punts at the moment with both progressively making more points and spending more time in the opposition half. Neville has looked more dangerous this season, from an attacking perspective, than at any time in his career.

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Rooney

Portsmouth v Watford
For the second time in a row Portsmouth have dominated a game but have fallen behind to a set-piece goal from a corner. Knight was on target for Fulham the week before and it was DeMerit who jumped to put Watford ahead this week -perhaps it is of no surprise to see a team with James in nets conceding from corners... Luckily, Pompey turned their advantage into a victory this week with Kanu the main man for the South coast team. The Nigerian nipped in for the equaliser and won the penalty which LuaLua duly converted.

Fantasy Insider Star Man: Kanu

EPL Predictions - Week 14

2006-11-18T09:56:00.000Z

Arsenal (home vs. Newcastle)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Lehmann - Clichy, Toure, Eboue, Gallas - Hleb, Baptista, Fabregas, Flamini, Van Persie - Henry
Subs: Almunia, Djourou, Senderos, Song, Hoyte, Aliadiere, Walcott, Gilberto Silva (Family Matters), Adebayor
Injured: Lauren, Diaby, Ljungberg (match fitness), Rosicky (match fitness).
Suspended: None

Team News: Wenger is humming and haring over his selections for this weeks Newcastle game, as he feels that both Henry and Gallas are fatigued from long weeks and also the matter of a must win Champions League tie to come on Tuesday. Henry is more likely to start than Gallas, as Newcastle have shown that they pose relatively little attacking threat this season and Senderos could come in for the Frenchman. Henry, on the other hand, is in probability going to play as little of the game as is possible, perhaps 60 minutes, depending on the result at the time but he should start. Baptista, the beast, is inline for his first Premiership start after receiving plaudits from Wenger this week. Van Persie is a hot pick this week having shown excellent form lately but a warning for those who do choose him, five yellows in ten games is not a good statistic.
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Aston Villa (away vs. Wigan)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Sorensen – Bouma, Mellberg, Cahill, Ridgewell - Barry, Osbourne, Petrov, Agbonlahor - Sutton, Angel.
Subs: Taylor, Gardner, Djemba-Djemba, Berger, Whittingham, Samuel, Agathe, Baros, S. Davis.
Injured: Delaney, Moore, Hughes, Laursen.
Suspended: McCann (1 of 1)

Team News: Barry and Agbonlahor are set to start against Wigan after overcoming injuries but key man McCann is suspended after reaching his five card limit. Barry will take McCann’s place but as we have seen in the past few games Villa without McCann aren’t the same side. This will give impetus to a confident Wigan side but we must remember that Villa have only lost once this season so it will certainly be a tight affair.
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Blackburn (home vs. Tottenham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Friedel - Gray, Henchoz, Ooijer, Emerton – Tugay, Bentley, Gamst Pedersen, Savage - Nonda, McCarthy.
Subs: Brown, Todd, Mokoena, Douglas, McEveley, Matteo, Gallagher, Peter, Jeffers.
Injured: Enckelman, Nelsen, Reid, Roberts, Neill.
Suspended: Khizanishvili

Team News: Khizanishvili and Neill have been ruled out of the Tottenham clash due to suspension and injury, respectively. Henchoz should stand in for Khizanishvili after making two recent appearances in the sideGray should automatically step in for Neill. The good news for Sparky Hughes is that Savage has returned from a thigh injury and is expected to play but this fortune is tapered by the news that Pedersen is struggling with a rib injury. If the Norwegian doesn’t make it on to the pitch then I expect Peter Sergio or Mokoena to start with Bentley switching to the left flank, depending on Hughes’ outlook.

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Bolton (away vs. Everton)
Starting XI: (4-3-3) Jaaskelainen - Hunt, Ben Haim, Meite, Abdoulaye Faye – Campo, Nolan, Speed - Davies, Diouf, Anelka
Subs: Walker, Tal, Fojut, Q. Fortune, Pedersen, Sissons, Smith, Wolfe, Vaz Te, Stelios.
Injured: Gardner, O'Brien.
Suspended: None.

Team News: The big debate this week is over the starting status of Israeli international Idan Tal. The midfielder was impressive against Sheffield United last week and is in contention to keep his spot although, I feel that Big Sam will prefer to recall Ivan Campo to add more defensive strength, as was lacking at the end of last weekend’s game. Meite and Faye were left exposed at times last week and Campo will cover for them, especially when up against the runs of Johnson for Everton. BUT Tal is a possibility still. Nolan’s Mrs, Hayley, could do all Tal fans a favour by giving birth on Saturday morning, which would see both Campo and Tal start – therefore Nolan too is a doub. Hunt should return to the side after Pedersen’s brief spell at left-back.
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Charlton (away vs. Reading)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Carson - Young, Fortune, El Karkouri, Hreidarsson - Holland, A. Reid, Rommedahl, Hughes, Ambrose - D. Bent
Subs: Myhre, Sam, Ashton, M Bent, Pouso, Thomas, Hasselbaink, Kishishev, Gibbs, Walker, Sorondo, D. Traore.
Injured: Lisbie, Diawara
Suspended: A Faye

Team News: And so begins the start of a new era and who knows what Les Reed has up his sleeve for Reading. I think against on organised and tough Reading side Les won’t be tinkering too much, or be it so at his own peril. Faye is suspended so Hughes should come in to bolster the midfield along with Rommedahl who has returned from a spell on the sidelines. The big worry for Charlton is the absence of the injured Diawara. Charlton look vulnerable without two of their best defensive central men.
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Chelsea (home vs. West Ham)
Starting XI: (4-1-3-2) Cudicini - Geremi, Carvalho, Terry, A. Cole – Makelele – Lampard, Essien, Ballack - Shevchenko, Drogba.
Subs: Hilario, Hedman, Diarra, Bridge, Ferreira, Robben, Mancienne, Boulahrouz, Mikel, Wright-Phillips, Kalou, J. Cole
Injured: Cech
Suspended: None

Team News: After most of his players being involved with midweek internationals and a Champions League came to come, Mourinho could venture into the tinkering mode against West Ham but with Man Utd setting a trial blaze in a charge for the Premiership title, the “special one” shouldn’t make too many alterations to the side that mauled Watford last weekend. Makelele’s old bones could be given a breather (btw have you seen his Mrs? The one in the M&S lingerie advert – corr blimey!) with Essien playing in a holding role. Mourinho has used a diamond formation in the last two games and it has worked to good affect with the full-backs pushing forward in wingback type roles. If Makelele isn’t too tired from his midweek "encounter" in Paris, and we aren’t taking about Greece here (well maybe some was used..), then Mourinho will stick to that formation with Robben left sitting on the bench.
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Everton (home vs.Bolton)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Howard – Stubbs Lescott, Yobo, P. Neville - Davies, Carsley, Arteta, Osman, - Beattie, Johnson.
Subs: Turner, Anichebe, Weir, Vaughan, Valente, van der Meyde, Vidarsson, Hughes.
Injured: Pistone, Naysmith, Hibbert, Wright, Boyle, Cahill
Suspended: McFadden (2 0f 2)

Team News: The absence of Cahill with a knee injury will open the door to Beattie, who will be asked to partner Johnson upfront and add some strength and aerial prowess against the Bolton side. McFadden is suspended, while Valente and Van der Meyde are both in contention after recovering from injuries.
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Fulham (away vs. Man City)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Niemi - Queudrue, Knight, Pearce, Rosenior – Bocanegra, C. Jensen, Volz , Diop, Boa Morte - McBride
Subs: Crossley, N. Jensen, Zakuani, Timlin, Runstrom, John, Milsom, Routledge, Helguson, Christanval, Pembridge, Radzinski
Injured: Bullard, Elliott, Elrich, M. Brown.
Suspended: None

Team News: Radzinksi is set to be rested after a gruelling midweek fixture for Canada so Coleman will recall Diop to bolster his side. Fulham have notched up eight goals away from home the season, which is in total only behind Man Utd and Chelsea so far. I think Fulham have a good chance of breaking City’s cleansheet record at the Blue Camp on Saturday. Jensen hasn’t played out of his skin but is still getting good fantasy points, a sure sign of a good fantasy player.
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Liverpool (away vs. Middlesbrough)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Reina - Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise - Gerrard, Alonso, Zenden, Pennant – Kuyt, Crouch
Subs: Dudek, Warnock, Agger, Garcia, Aurelio, Paletta, Fowler, Gonzalez, Bellamy
Injured: Kewell, Sissoko
Suspended: None

Team News: Wins away from home, zero; goals scored away from home, one. Liverpool and away form don’t go hand in hand too well but they have had to play Bolton Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd and a Merseyside derby with Everton so things can only get better. Sissoko remains on the sideline so Gerrard will play a more central role. Can Kuyt keep up his excellent fantasy average?
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Man City (home vs. Fulham)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Weaver - Richards, Dunne, Distin, Thatcher - Sinclair, Reyna, Barton, Trabelsi, - Dickov, Samaras
Subs: Hart, Ireland, Jordan, Onuoha, Mills, Johnson, Hamann, Vassell, Corradi, Miller.
Injured: Isaksson, Sun Jihai, Dabo, Beasley.
Suspended: None

Team News: As always Pearcey gives absolutely zilch away in regards to team information this week, cheers mate! But it is known that Sinclair has an injury worry. If the 33-year old is unavailable then Miller and Vassell will battle it out to start on the wing. Isaksson, Dabo and Hamann have all returned from injury but are lacking fitness.
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Man Utd (away vs. Sheffield United)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Van der Sar - R. Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, G. Neville - Giggs, Carrick, Ronaldo, Scholes - Saha, Rooney.
Subs: Kuszczak, W. Brown, Heinze, Richardson, Fletcher Smith, O’Shea.
Injured: Park, Solskjaer, Silvestre
Suspended: None

Team News: Giggs is Fergies only major worry against Sheffield United this weekend. Ronaldo and Gary Neville have overcome injury problems.
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Middlesbrough (home vs. Liverpool)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Schwarzer – Davies, Taylor, Pogatetz, Woodgate – Morrison, Rochemback, Downing, Boateng, Cattermole – Yakubu.
Subs: Turnbull, Parnaby, Bates, Mendieta, Huth, Johnson, Arca, Maccarone, Graham, J. Euell.
Injured: Ehiogu, Riggott, Parlour, Viduka, Christie
Suspended: None

Team News: Taylor, Cattermole and Downing are all rated as doubtful for this game due to slight knocks or injuries.
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Newcastle (away vs. Arsenal)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Given – Taylor, Ramage, Bramble, Moore – N’Zogbia, Parker, Solano, Duff, Butt – Ameobi
Subs: Harper, Srnicek, Babayaro, O’Brien, Bernard, Carr, Milner, Luque, Sibierski, Dyer, Martins.
Injured: Owen, Krul,
Suspended: Emre

Team News: Carr is rated as a major doubt for the Arsenal clash, as is Bramble, and defensive injuries is the last thing you want going into this game. Emre is suspended after picking up five yellows, which means that N’Zogbia should take his place. The little bit of good news for Roeder is that Given returns in between the sticks. Given was unbeatable at times last season and Roeder will be hoping for that on Saturday.
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Porstmouth (home vs. Watford)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) James – Pamarot, Primus, Campbell, Stefanovic - M. Taylor, Thompson, Mendes, Davis – LuaLua, Kanu
Subs: Kiely, Jordan, Douala, Hughes, O’Brien, Cole, Krancjar, Koroman, Fernandes.
Injured: Johnson, O’Neill, Bejani
Suspended: None

Team News: Johnson, O’Neill and Benjani are all out so Pamarot, Thompson and LuaLua should all start against Watford. O’Neill picked up a dead leg last time out against Fulham so Thompson will be handed a rare start on the right handside. LuaLua and Kanu are set to continue their exciting partnership from last week. The pair failed to score but only due to Niemi’s heroics, they were electric otherwise and look fair picks.
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Reading (home vs. The Charlatans)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Hahnemann – Murty, Sonko, Ingmarrson, Shorey – Little, Harper, Sidwell, Hunt – Doyle, Seol
Subs: Stack, De la Cruz, Sodje, Oster, Gunnarsson, Lita, Osano, Cox.
Injured: Brown, Kitson, Mate, Convey, Halls.
Suspended: None

Team News: Murty has shaken off a shine injury picked up in training and is set to start. The rest of the Reading team remains unchanged.
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Sheffield Utd (home vs.Man Utd)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Kenny - Geary, Morgan, Jagielka, Bromby – Gillespie, Montgomery, Leigertwood, A. Quinn, Kazim-Richards - Hulse.
Subs: Bennett, Kozluk, Lucketti, Davis, Unsworth, S. Quinn, Li Tie, Akinbiyi, Short, Wright, Shipperley, Webber.
Injured: Armstrong, Tonge, Bromby, Kabba.
Suspended: None

Team News: Davis is rated as a major doubt ahead of the visit of Man Utd today but Kenny should remain in goal even after having his eyebrow bitten earlier in the week… I think he will be biting the pillow on Saturday as Rooney and Co. “put him under pressure”. Sheffield will obviously try to kick the holy be-Jesus out of Man Utd on Saturday so I expect a few goals but also a few casualties.
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Tottenham (away vs. Blackburn)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Robinson – Lee, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto – Murphy, Zokora, Ghaly, Jenas – Berbatov, Keane.
Subs: Cerny, Malbranque, Huddlestone, Ziegler, Barnard, Mido, Barnard, Defoe, Stalteri, Gardner.
Injured: Tainio, Chimbonda, Davenport, Jenas, Lennon.
Suspended: None

Team News: Everyone’s favourite Egyptian since Boutros Ghaly (no relation) should start for Spurs today, as Lennon is out with knee injury. Chimbonda is still sidelined (speaking of which I heard a Spurs song last week which uses the My Sharona song but replaces Sharona with Chimbonda – classic). Davids should get a rare outing this week because Jenas is also injured – lucky Edgar!
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Watford (away vs. Portsmouth)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Foster – Stewart, Shittu, Doyley, DeMerit – Bouazza, Francis, Mahon, Smith – Young, Henderson.
Subs: Lee, Mariappa, Mackay, Powell, Jarrett, Spring, Bangura, McNamee, Priskin.
Injured: Carlisle, King
Suspended: None

Team News: Watford have been the easiest team to predict this year. Pretty solid team, week-in-week-out.
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West Ham (away vs. Chelsea)
Starting XI: (4-5-1) Green – Spector, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Konchesky – Benayoun, Reo-Coker, Etherington, Mullins, Bowyer – Harewood
Subs: Kiraly, Mears, Cole, Dailly, McCartney, Paintsil, Sheringham, Mascherano, Reid, Tevez, Zamora.
Injured: Ashton, Collins, Caroll, Walker.
Suspended: Newton.
Team News: Ferdinand returns from injury this week to face Chelsea, which is lucky as Collins is now on the injury list. Zamora is also back and in contention for a starting spot. Reo-Coker has shaken off an injury which forced him to miss the England U21. Still no place for the Argentine duo, who will be looking on from the sidelines in game where, to be honest, they are probably the only two in West Ham side who could probably match the Chelsea players for skill. Kabor Kiraly also steps into the West Ham squad on a two week loan.
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Wigan (home vs. Aston Villa)
Starting XI: (4-4-2) Kirkland – Baines, De Zeeuw, Webster, Boyce – Kilbane, Landzaat, Scharner, Valencia – McCulloch, Camara
Subs: Filan, Wright, Jackson, Johansson, Todorov, Coterill, Hall, Skoko, McMillan, Heskey.
Injured: Taylor, Teale
Suspended: None

Team News: Baines is a worry this week having picked up a knock, while Coterill returns to the bench in place of Valencia. There is some uncertainty about the back line this week with Baines, as I mentioned previously, carrying a knock and the news that De Zeeuw is having painkilling injections. Jackson didn’t help either coming on last week to score a goal and give Jewell options…

Note: Those denoted in red indicates doubts