Liverpool vs QPR EPL 19 May, 2013

Liverpool host Queens Park Rangers in the final game of the Premier League season with both sides having nothing to play for. Liverpool have secured 7th spot ahead of West Brom and cannot overtake 6th place Everton as well. Meanwhile Harry Redknapp’s side have been relegated and rooted to the bottom and will already be putting plans in place to bounce back to the top flight of English football.

Liverpool have been in good form of late with back to back wins despite Luis Suarez being absent. Daniel Sturridge has taken up the mantle and has been putting in world class performances one after the other including a hat-trick against Martin Jol’s Fulham side. Phillipe Coutinho has also been in fine form, the January signing has shown that with some more time to adapt to life in England he could be one of Liverpool’s most important players next season. Brendan Rodgers will look to end the season on a high and win this game convincingly and erase the early season shambles that plagued his side.

This game will be an emotional one though for Jamie Carragher as he finally hangs up his boots.

TEAM NEWS: There are no new absentees. Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard both miss due to long suspension and injury respectively.

QPR have been abysmal all season will look to get it over fast. Last season they survived by a thread but this season has been a downright failure with their results against fellow London side Chelsea being the only bright spot in an otherwise awful campaign. Harry Redknapp will try to organize the side and with the backing of owner Tony Fernandes will look to make a return to the Premier League soon enough.

TEAM NEWS: Loic Remy has been arrested in a connection to a rape case. No other new injuries have been reported.

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Manchester City 2-3 Norwich Premier League 19 May, 2013

Manchester City host Norwich City in the final round of fixtures of the Premier League. Manchester City secured 2nd place with a win earlier this week following the sacking of ex-manager Roberto Mancini. Chris Hughton meanwhile will be relieved to have seen Arsenal defeat Wigan earlier on in the week which ensured that Norwich City would continue another season in the top flight of English football. A game with no consequence, this may prove to be a boring day at the Etihad with City expected to triumph following their energetic showing in their last game against relegated Reading.

Caretaker manager Brian Kidd will lead the sky blues in their last fixture with Manuel Pellegrini expected to take over in the summer. Manchester belongs to United now following their comprehensive title win but City will look to give their supporters a happy farewell to the season before heading on to the United States for friendly games against fellow Premier League team Chelsea. The team performed well last weekend against Reading and will be expected to do the same this weekend as well.

City have no new injuries. Scott Sinclair is expected to miss due to a shoulder injury meanwhile Kolo Toure is expected to return following an injury against Reading.

Norwich City and Chris Hughton will already be looking towards next season with the club’s status secured. Norwich City’s mid season form seems to have saved them from relegation but their recent form has been very poor and to come away from the Etihad seems very likely. Nonetheless the canaries supporters will look forward to new players like Ricky van Wolfswinkel joining them this summer.

Full Time: City 2-3 Norwich

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Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Copa Del Dey Final 17 May, 2013

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid play the final of The Spanish Cup on Friday. Incidentally the tie will be played in Real’s home stadium, The Santiago Bernabeu. This would be the 3rd meeting between the two Madrid based sides with Real Madrid taking the honors in both the fixtures preceding this game. This game also presents the only chance for silverware for Atletico and 2nd for Real Madrid with Barcelona winning the league and both sides being knocked out of Europe.

This might very well be the last few games Radamel Falcao plays for the Rojiblancos with a rumoured move to Monaco nearly complete. Falcao will be looking to go out on a high with a King’s Cup triumph following Europa league success last season.  Atletico will have to get the mental block of being 2nd best to Jose Mourinho’s side if they are to stand a chance in this tie.

Mario Suarez has returned following a back injury and will be in line to stake a claim in the starting XI.

The Spanish  Cup was Jose Mourinho’s first Cup in Spain and will likely be his last, at least till he makes a return to Spain. The Portuguese coach is expected to take reigns from Rafa Benitez’s Europa League winning side come next season and will look to secure another trophy having won a trophy already this season in the form of the Spanish SuperCup.

Pepe might yet continue his forced exile from the team having criticized Madrid Boss Jose Mourinho for his handling of Iker Casillas meanwhile Alvaro Arbeloa, Mesut Oezil, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos are expected to be fit for the final.

MAN TO WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is considered one of the best players in the World rivalled only by Barcelona’s Messi, therefore all eyes will be on him despite many stars on show.

Result: Real 1-2 Atletico
14' 1-0 Ronaldo
35' 1-1 Costa
98' 1-2 Miranda

All goals Highlights


Full Match


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SL Benfica 1-2 Chelsea Highlights, Preview Europa League Final 15 May, 2013

Preview: Chelsea take on Portuguese giants Benfica in the final of the Europa League final. Both teams would look to win this showpiece and end the season on a high. The rematch of last year’s quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League is sure to be an intriguing one.

BENFICA includes a win over Fenerbahce in the semis, Newcastle, Bordeaux and Bayer Leverkusen in the preceding rounds. Benfica will look to put their weekend setback against local rivals FC Porto behind; they trail the leaders by a point

Benfica’s road to the final the finanow with just one more league fixture to go.

Nemanja Matic will face his youth team for the first time since moving to the Portuguese giants from Chelsea.

TEAM NEWS: Benfica have no injuries to worry about with defender Hugo Almeida making a return.

The expected team to be put out by Jorge Jesus will be: Moraes, Hugo Almeida, Ezequiel Garay, Luisao, Pereira, Nemanja Matic, Perez; Salvio, Lima, Nicolas Gaitan, Oscar Cardozo.

Chelsea will look to continue their splendid recent form which saw the clinch Champions League qualification for next season. Rafa Benitez will be determined to win the Europa League and Chelsea’s 2nd European Cup in as many years. Former Benfica and Current Chelsea players, Ramires and David Luiz meet their new team for the 3rd time having clashed last year over a 3-1 aggregate win.

TEAM NEWS: Frank Lampard is likely to start after the star midfielder broke Chelsea legend Bobby Tambling’s goalscoring record last weekend against Aston Villa. Eden Hazard and John Terry remain serious doubts after both were unable to complete 90 mins during the weekend’s league fixture. Fernando Torres will meanwhile get the start as Demba Ba is cup tied having represented Newcastle in the Europa league earlier on in the season.

Man to Watch: Frank Lampard
It’s a big occasion and expect Frank Lampard to step up when it matters having already scored on numerous high stakes encounters.

Details
Competition: Uefa Europa League Final season 12-13
Date: Wednesday 15th May 2013
Timing: 19:45 (UK) 7:45 PM (Lisbon)
Venue: Amsterdam Arena - Netherlands
TV Coverage:  Fox Soccer, ITV, SIC, Sport TV1, UTV, TEN Sports India, Ten Action, Ten HD, Al Jazeera Sports. ESPN (selective region)
Results: Cheslea 2-1 Benfica
1-0 Torres (60')
1-1 Cardozo (68')
2-1 Ivanovic (90')
Chelsea Trophy Celebration video

Goals Highlights
 

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Aston Villa vs Chelsea Premier League 11 May, 2013

Preview: Chelsea visit Aston Villa in the 37th game of the season knowing well that a win against them would see the blue taking part in next season’s UEFA Champions League due to much superior goal difference in comparison to 5th placed Tottenham. Villa meanwhile have been in fine form recently which has allowed them to surge up to 13th place following forays into relegation zone, so a repeat of 8-0 mauling they received in the reverse fixture seems very unlikely. Christian Benteke has been in imperious form and has been the engine behind their recent success.

Paul Lambert without a doubt will look to secure points to confirm safety but there may be complacency with the recent wins and as Wigan are a defeat away from gracing the Championship if Norwich and Newcastle manage to pick up points in the next 2 games. Star man Christian Benteke will try to increase his goal tally against a leaky Chelsea defence which conceded 2 avoidable goals mid-week against Tottenham.

Aston Villa will likely put out the same XI which came away with a precious away win from Carrow road last weekend. Recently retired Villa captain Stilliyan Petrov has retired from Football after his fight against cancer.

Rafael Benitez will look to lock up a UCL spot with a  win which would allow them to look forward to the EUROPA League final against Portuguese outfit Benfica midweek at the Ajax Arena. With 3 games left till Rafael Benitez makes way to a rumoured return of Jose Mourinho, he will be looking to win 3 out of 3 remaining.

Benitez has confirmed that Frank Lampard will start against Villa, he will look to equal Bobby Tambling’s record if not break it before leaving come the end of the season. Demba Ba will be expected in attack. No new injuries has been reported.
Result: Chelsea 2-1 Villa
Scores:
14' 1-0 Benteke
61' 1-1 Lampard
88' 2-1 Lampard

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Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspurs Premier League 8 May, 2013

Preview: Rafael Benitez’s 3rd placed side welcome fellow Champions League qualification chasers Tottenham on Wednesday. It is top of the table clash and the result will have serious repercussion in the race for a spot in Top 4 of the Barclays Premier League and a place in the most prestigious European Club football tournament, The Champions League.

Previous weekend saw both the blues and spurs chalk up 1-0 wins over Champions Manchester United and Southampton respectively. The blue are on 68 pts having played 35 games whereas Spurs are 3 points behind having played the same number of games.

CHELSEA
A win for Chelsea will see them effectively clinch Champions League qualification with the blues boasting a much higher goal difference in comparison to their London rivals. A trip to Aston Villa and a visit from Merseyside club Everton await the blues which surely should see them finish in the top 4 but Europa League Final which is sandwiched in between the final two fixtures could prove a distraction.

TEAM NEWS: Eden Hazard will be expected to make his return from a calf injury suffered in the Europa League semi-final against FC Basel. No other new injuries plague the blues. Demba Ba will likely again be given the nod ahead of faltering Fernando Torres.

Hotspurs
Tottenham must win this game if they are to qualify for next year’s Champions League ahead of either Chelsea or Arsenal. Tottenham form has been pretty ordinary despite win last weekend, they were very poor and needed to be Baled out. Gareth Bale will most likely be the only significant threat despite Villas-Boas saying otherwise.

TEAM NEWS: Same squad that won 1-0 at home against Southampton will be expected. Gylfi Sigurrdson might get the nod in midfield instead of Clint Dempsey.

Man to Watch: Juan Mata
Despite the presence of multiple award winner Bale, Mata will shine brightest.

Result: Chelsea 2-2 Spurs
1-0 Oscar 11'
1-1 Adebayor 26'
2-1 Ramires 39'
2-2 Sigurdsson 80'

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Manchester United vs Chelsea Premier League 05/05/2013

Barclays Premier League: Watch Man Utd vs Chelsea Live from Old Trafford at 16:00 BST, Sunday. May 5, 2013

Man u play hosts to 3rd placed Chelsea which is expected to be a huge game for Rafa Benitez’s side as they try to secure Champions League qualification with rivals Tottenham and Arsenal playing the day before. It will be Rafa Benitez’s 3rd crack at Manchester United as Chelsea boss with Chelsea coming out victorious in a FA Cup replay. Manchester United effectively have nothing to play in the remaining games having already secured the Championship and also losing the chance to beat Chelsea’s record of 95 points in a single season after a draw at the Emirates last weekend.

Manchester United 
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson might decide against fielding a strong XI and give the youngsters on the bench a chance to prove themselves on the big stage. The Red Devils draw last weekend against the Gunners leaves that with 85 points having played 35 games, 3 wins out of 3 remaining fixtures will leave them with 94 points and 1 point short of Jose Mourinho’s record.

TEAM NEWS: Danny Welbeck and Nemanja Vidic are still struggling with injuries whereas winger Ashley Young has been ruled out for rest of the season with an ankle injury.

CHELSEA 
Blue have been in a decent run of form with recent wins over Basel in Switzerland and an easy win over Swansea during the weekend. Frank Lampard must start and will be expected to be the leading man in the team despite the presence of Chelsea’s player of the year Juan Mata and prominent teammates such a Eden Hazard and Oscar.

TEAM NEWS: As such there are no new entries to the injuries list. Demba Ba will be expected to start having scored a wonder goal to knock out Manchester Utd in the Quarterfinals of the FA Cup. John Terry is expected to start from the bench with David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic expected to start. 

Man to Watch: Frank Lampard

There was something special about Super Frank against the Swans and expect him to equal Bobby Tambling’s record this weekend if he starts and Chelsea scrape their way to a win.

Prediction: Manchester United(1) – Chelsea(2) 

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