Premier League Match Time: Aston Villa Vs Birmingham

Birmingham City will visit Villa Park for a lunch-time derby against Aston Villa, on Sunday, in match week 10 of the Premier League.

Aston Villa have dominated matches in the middle of these sides, recently, and have won six in a row. Birmingham will seek to end that streak in Sunday's derby against the Villans. And the Blues will look to Liam Ridgewell to contribute the spark against his previous club. Birmingham will also look to their big striker Hikola Zigic to stand up to be counted. Zigic, alongwith Ridewell, was one of the goal scorers in the 2-0 win over Blackpool last week.

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Villa are advent off a 1-0 loss suffered against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light last week, and they will seek atonement against the Blues. Houllier will be keen to stamp his personality on the fortunes of the squad that is still emerging from Martin O'Neill's shadow.

Premier League Match Time: Aston Villa Vs Birmingham

Last season Birmngham concluded ninth on the league table, and they haven't yet lived up to that promise, this season. This could be because of tactiacl errors by team manger McLeish. Equally, the Blues haven't been helped by the fact that summer signings like Hleb and Zigic are yet to gel with the team.

Birmingham are pre-dominantly defensive and Villa will have their task cut out in trying to break down City's back-line, where Scott Dann and Roger Johnson have shone in tandem; goalkeeper look after has also played his part..

That said, full-backs Stephen Carr and Liam Ridgewell will need to stay busy to stave off flank attacks by Villa's Ashley Young and Stewart Downing.

Perhaps the biggest threat to the Blues' goal will come from old warhorse Heskey, who has already netted four times for Houllier's squad this season.

Ahead of Sunday's game, three Villa players are on the injury list. They are Agbonlahor, L Young and Delph. City have their own injury worries with McFadden and Beausejour sidelined. Those apart, Gardner is serving a one-match suspension after receiving a second yellow card in the last match.

Aston Villa fielded the following eleven players in their game against Sunderland in match week nine: Friedel, Beye, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Downing, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Young, Ireland, Heskey.

The substitutes were: Albrighton, Clark, Guzan, Bannan, Sidwell, Carew, Cuellar.

The following players were in the beginning eleven for Birmingham in their game with Blackpool: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Hleb, Fahey, O'Connor, Zigic.

The substitutes were: Derbyshire, Murphy, Michel, Taylor, Phillips, Bowyer, Jiranek.

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Premier League Match Time: Wigan Vs West Brom

It's Premier League match time with West Bromwich Albion due to visit the Dw Stadium Upton Park on Saturday afternoon to take on Wigan Athletic.

The Latics are stuck in relegation zone having won just one of their last nine matches in this Premiership campaign. But they are arrival off a morale-boosting 1-1 draw against Liverpool in game week twelve.

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Wigan have had problems up front with a dearth of goal scorers this season. In their twelve matches, thus far, the Latics have just nine goals to show. They last won against Wolves on October 2, and would be desperate to get the elusive win playing before their home fans on Saturday.

Premier League Match Time: Wigan Vs West Brom

Rodalegga with four goals and N'Zogbia with three have been the Latics' top goal scorers this season, while Odemwingie with four strikes heads the goal tally for the Baggies.

West Brom in eleventh place in the points table have also not done well in modern matches; their last win came six matches ago against Fulham. In a tight mid-table a particular loss can mean a plummet down the table.

The Baggies will welcome the return to the side by Odemwingie who played against West Ham after a hiatus of a month. The Nigerian forward lends psychological power to the squad apart from his undoubted playing skills.

Despite their poor run in away games, West Brom beat Arsenal at the Emirates, their only win in 22 matches on the road. That said, the Baggies have concerns about their back line, having conceded in each of their last ten games.

Wigan's Boyce with a hamstring problem, McCarthy with an ankle injury, and Politt with an injured elbow are sidelined ahead of the match.

West Brom have a larger number of indisposed players. Both Miller with an abdominal strain, and Olsson with an Achilles problem are sidelined. Jara is a serving a one-match suspension, while there's a cloud over the participation of Bednar who is ill, Shorey who has an ankle problem, and Dorrans who has a foot ailment. But Bednar, Shorey and Dorrans could still play after a late check on their match fitness. Mulumbu is also returning from suspension.

Wigan had the following players in their beginning eleven against Liverpool on Wednesday: Al Habsi, Stam, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Thomas, Diame, Cleverley, Gomez, N'Zogbia and Rodalegga; Moses and Di Santo came in as substitutes.

West Brom's beginning eleven in the game against West Ham comprised: Carson, Cech, Pablo, Tamas, Reid, Scharner, Brunt, Thomas, Dorrans, Morrison and Odemwingie;  Barnes, Cox and Fortune were used as substitutes.

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Premier League 2010-2011 - Two Weeks Til Kick Off!

The new Premier League season kicks off in just two weeks time. Oh yesss! Doesn't it seem ridiculous that just a couple of weeks ago we were bathing in World Cup footie, and in two more weeks the English Premiership kicks off yet again?

Not that I'm complaining. It just seems to have been a very short summer, with copious amounts of football to keep us occupied and our minds off boring transfer sagas that usually end up meaning a leading Premiership player being courted by a leading European side (this summer it has of course been Cesc Fabregas being hunted by Barcelona). Transfer rumours that seem to have a lot of life left in them, despite what some might say.

So what will the upcoming Premiership season have in store for us? We'll be posting a preview in the next few days, but the main ingredient I see coming into play is the force of the teams just outside the standard Top Four of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Manchester City look set to be the team to upset the odds this season, as they've gone out and splashed some serious cash over the summer. Without a doubt, their squad on paper now looks like a very strong Premier League Top Four side. It just depends whether or not they have the ability to transfer that potential into reality. A strong start to the season and they could be in with a very serious shout.

Another side that looks like it has the power to compete is Spurs. Led by Harry "I shoulduv been Ingerlund boss" Rednapp, they had a great season last year and are now poised to strike it big in Europe (although have to get through a potentially tricky qualifying match to make it through to the group stages). They've always been the "nearly" side of London, so perhaps the tide is finally turning.

Elsewhere, Everton don't seem to have the financial clout to compete, though will always perform and fight as a team. I would love to see Newcastle do something big, but they really need a stable season to reinstate themselves back in the Premiership. And Aston Villa have perhaps one of the finest British managers around today in Martin O'Neill, but do they have enough to scare the big boys? I fear not.

Anyway, watch out for our review of the upcoming Premiership season, coming soon. We'll also be blogging our way through the season, with attention on each of the major leagues, plus of course the Champions League. We'll also be following the Hunchers Consensus, just to keep a track of how well the Hunchers community is performing. Don't forget to make your weekly football predictions!

Barclays English Premier League - World's Most Popular and Prestigious League

The Barclays English premier league is arguably the most televised, most glamorous, most popular and the richest league in the world right now, with at least four of the teams - Manchester United, Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC ranked among the top 20 richest club sides in the world, and the league televised in several countries of the world. The television rights on the league is in millions of pound sterling and the prize money for the league winners is the best any country can offer anywhere in the world.

The English premier league has metamorphosed from a small league in the 19th century to the giant of the 21st century. With the league producing four quarter finalists each year in the past five years in the UEFA champions league, with Liverpool FC lifting the champions league trophy in 2005, Manchester United in 2008 (playing the final with fellow English club side Chelsea FC); Arsenal playing in the finals in 2006; Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United each having played at least at the semi-finals level in the past five years, the Barclays English premier league is obviously the best league in Europe currently.

Years ago, Brazilian and Argentine players shunned the English premier league like a leper, rather preferring to ply their trades in the Spanish La Liga, Italian serie A, German Bundesliga and the French league, etc. But today the story has changed as more of the Brazilian players are now gradually entering into English premier league - The likes of Robinho, Edwardo, Baptista, Carlos Tevez, etc. now showcase their talents in this wonderful league; it is certainly a place every footballer would love to be.

We are entering into the second round of the 2009/2010 league, we expect more Brazilians, Argentines, Nigerians, French, Portuguese, Ivorian players etc to troop into this prestigious, exciting, entertaining and attractive league to add more colours and glamour to the league as we also expect more transfer records to be broken. Manchester United currently holds the record of the most expensive player transfer in the European league with the sale of Christiano Ronaldo for 70 million Euro to Real Madrid FC of Spain. With the exit of Christiano Ronaldo would more quality players come in? We hope to see more of Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Gabriel Agbonlahor, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Stephen Gerrard, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Fabregas, Ireland, John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien, Berbatov, etc. The Barclays English premier league is certainly the place where the soccer action is at the moment.

Premier League: Can Liverpool Avoid Relegation?

One of the best clubs in English football is in the doldrums thanks to issues not related to the field of play. Liverpool FC need to sort out their management issues so that the players can concentrate on doing what it is supposed to be doing - play football.

The club has debts, including fees, payable to Royal Bank of Scotland by October 15, failing which an additional penalty would be due.

RBS have taken the issue to High Court, in a bid to resolve a power struggle within the club, and prevent the club from removing the chairman and another board member who have approved an offer to buy the club by New England Sporting Ventures (NESV), owners of Boston Red Sox, an American baseball team.

To add to the off-field wrangles at Anfield, a Singapore billionaire, Peter Lim has bid to buy the club and made an offer that is said to compete with that of NESV's. Mr Lim is reported to have offered an additional amount to the beleaguered club to help it to buy players. The NESV offer, accepted last week by club chairman Martin Broughton, has been disputed by Liverpool's current American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

Gillett and Hicks have contended via their lawyer that they are not trying to prevent the club's sale but are interested in looking at better offers than NESV"s. According to a statement by the lawyer made on behalf of the owners, an American hedge fund had also made a competitive bid, offering an additional amount to build a stadium.

Incidentally, the hedge fund, refinanced the loan taken by Gillett in 2007 to buy the club, and controls 50% of Gillett's shareholding in Kop Holdings the company that owns Liverpool FC.

Mr Lim had also bid to buy the club in 2007, when Gillett and Hicks's bid was favoured over his. Mr Lim owns several bars, with a Manchester United theme, in Asia, a testament to the Premier League's popularity in Asia.

Mr Lim is reported to be planning to sell off the bars, if his bid to own Liverpool were successful., and use the proceeds to wipe off the club's debts to RBS, while providing additional money to invest in new players in the January transfer window.

After the completion of eight matches, Liverpool are languishing in 18th place on the Premier League points table, and their fans would welcome investment in new players who could revive the squad.

The High Court ruling on the matter is expected on Wednesday, October 13, at 10:30 BST. If the management dispute is not resolved, there is a danger of the club going into administration, in which case Liverpool FC would be docked 9 points, opening up the prospect of relegation.

Premier League Match Time: Sunderland Vs Aston Villa

Sunderland will host Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light in a game that's crucial to Aston Villa's top six ambitions. Last season, Villans won at Wearside, scoring two to Sunderland's none, while drawing their home match against the Black Cats, 1-1.

Sunderland have drawn five matches in a row, with the goalless match against Blackburn on Monday being the latest. On the positive side, the Black Cats have staved off defeat for six matches in a row, their best performance since doing it for 17 successive games in 2006-07.

But the draws against Manchester United and Blackburn must surely rankle as Sunderland should have won those games, and that could have taken the squad well up the table. That said, Sunderland have acquitted themselves well against strong opposition in the form of Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal. Their only loss came in an away match against West Brom. Converting draws into wins must be manager Steve Bruce's top priority.

Contrastingly, Villa have played in only two goalless draws in their last 20 matches, including the one against Chelsea in match-week eight, the Midlands outfit are formidable rivals having finished sixth in three consecutive seasons.

Particularly after the arrival of Gerard Houllier as manager, Villa have turned things around, as they began the season badly under MacDonald who took temporary charge after O'Neill's shock departure before the season started. Under Houllier, Villa have lost just the solitary match in four, winning two and drawing one.

Ahead of the Villa game, Sunderland have injury worries in the form of Kieran Richards, sidelined with a hamstring problem, David Meyler with a knee injury, and Fraizer Campbell who has sustained an injury to his cruciate ligaments.

Gabriel Agbonlahor with a groin problem, Emile Heskey with a back injury, Luke Young with a hamstring injury and Richard Dunne with an ankle problem are likely to miss the Saturday game for Villa.

If Sunderland hope to get a win against the Villans at Wearside, they must surely look to Frenchman Steed Malbranque to strike form against Houllier's men. Malbranque has consistently been making it to the first eleven, and his best is yet to come.

Sunderland's probable starting eleven on the day should have: Mignolet, Bardsley, Bramble, Turner, Onuoha, Henderson, Elmohamady, Henderson, Wellbeck, Malbranque, Cattermole

Aston Villa are likely to include the following players in their starting eleven: Friedel, Warnock, Clarke, Collins, Beye, A Young, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Downing, Ireland, Carew

Premier League Match Time: Wigan Vs Bolton

The DW Stadium will be the venue of a local derby between Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers due for a Saturday afternoon kick off in match-week nine of the Premiership.

The Latics will seek to extend their unbeaten match streak to four, while if Wanderers stay unbeaten in Saturday's game, it will be their fifth in a row. Bolton will be especially enthused coming as they are off a 2-1 win against Stoke City.

Contrastingly, Roberto Martinez's side played in a 2-2 draw at Newcastle in match week eight. Hugo Rodalegga, who missed the Newcastle game, could be in the starting eleven against Bolton, though Stven Gouhouri who also sat out last week's game is less certain to play against the Wanderers, though. The Ivorian defender tore his calf muscle ahead of ast week's game against Newcastle United.

Last season's match between the sides, ended in a draw at this venue, while Bolton won their home match 4-0.

Wigan must consider Wanderers' striker Kevin Davies as the greatest threat in the game. Davies is in great form this season, and that has resulted in an England call up as well. Davies will have effective support in the Bolton squad in the form of Elmander, Lee, Muamba and Cahill.

Chris Kirkland could return to action between the posts for Wigan in the Bolton game. Al Habsi is the number one goalie for Wigan but he is on loan from Bolton, and the rules forbid a player on loan from playing against his parent club. This renders Al Habsi ineligible, thereby paving the way for Kirkland to take charge in goal.

Elbow surgery has sidelined Wigan's other goalie Mike Pollitt and Lee Nicholls could be the back up for Kirkland. Di Santo and Caldwell are also due to miss the match owing to injury.

Bolton will be without Ivan Klasnik who is serving a suspension.with a second yellow card in the Stoke game. Klasnik shot home the match winner against Stoke in the last minute of regulation time. Manager Owen Coyle could take a late call on Andy O'Brien who is still working with the team physio to get fit ahead of the Wigan match. But Sean Davis, Jlloyd Samuel, Ricardo Gardner and Joey O'Brien appear certain to miss Saturday's game.

Wigan's probable eleven for this match could be: Kirkland, Figueroa, Alcaraz, Gohouri, Boyce, Gomez, McCarthy, Thomas, N'Zogbia, Di Santo, Rodalegga

Bolton's starting eleven could comprise: Jaaskelainen, Robinson, Knight, Cahill, Steinssen, Petrov, Muamba, Holden, Lee, K Davies, Elmander

English Premier League Season 2010-2011 Preview

The English Premier League season is going to begin next weekend, 14 August 2010. After a long break from the Premier League football. Twenty teams will be challenging for the elusive title. Following are the teams:

1) Arsenal
2) Aston Villa
3) Birmingham
4) Blackburn Rovers
5) Blackpool
6) Bolton Wonderers
7) Chelsea
8) Everton
9) Fulham
10) Liverpool
11) Manchester City
12) Manchester United
13) Newcastle United
14) Stoke City
15) Sunderland
16) Tottenham Hotspur
17) West Bromwich Albion
18) West Ham United
19) Wigan Atheletic
20) Wolverhampton Wanderers

As the defending champion, Chelsea starts as one of the favorite to winner the title again. However, there are several teams which also have the ability and among the favorites to wrestle the title from Chelsea. Manchester United and Arsenal are two of Chelsea closest contenders for the past several seasons. They are expected to be near anywhere at top of the table coming next May 2011, fighting for the championship. Apart from them, we should not neglect Liverpool and Manchester City as the other dark houses for the championship. Liverpool has the history and players behind them while Manchester City is spending millions of pounds on players to launch their assault on the championship. Manchester City is mimicking Chelsea success when they spend lots of money acquiring good players to their clubs since the arrival of the current owner in 2003. They money from Roman Abramovich has turn Chelsea into a football power house. It seem like Manchester City are heading the same direction as well with money from Abu Dhabi United Group.

Therefore, by end of the season we should see one of this team capturing the English Premier League Championship.

Premier League Match Time: West Ham Vs Newcastle

West Ham host Newcastle United this Saturday afternoon at Upton Park, in what manager Avram Grant is likely to see as an opportunity to get off the bottom off the table where his squad currently reside.

If you considered all competition, you would see that the Magpies have a great record on the road, in the ongoing season. Their only away losses have come against Manchester City and Manchester United.

The Hammers had a horrendous start to the premiership, with four losses on the trot. That said, West Ham's last loss came five matches ago, and they will look to extend that unbeaten streak against the Magpies, who have in contrast just garnered the solitary point from their last three games. Unlike west Ham, Newcastle began the league season well getting a brilliant win against Villa in only their second match. But thereafter their campaign has fallen apart.

But for Fabricio Colloccini's equaliser in injury time, Newcastle would not have salvaged the single point they did in their last game against Wigan. Newcastle returned to the Premiership this season, and the last game between the two sides was during the Magpies' relegation year in 2009. The Upton Park game that year went to the Hammers, 3-1, while the Magpies' home game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Head to head however, Newcastle have a 44-37 advantage over Avram Grant's men, though on current form, they would be hard pressed to preserve that record. In Andy Carroll, the Magpies have one of the top scorers of the season, and they will look him to provide the impetus.

The Hammers have few injury worries with the list being restricted to Hitzlsperger with a thigh injury and Collison and Hines with knee problems.

Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan, who was sidelined due to an ankle injury in his side's game against Wigan in match-week eight, is set to return for the Upton Park game. Chris Hughton also hopes to welcome Danny Simpson back after a long hiatus owing to an ankle injury.

Sol Campbell's thigh and Steven Taylor's shoulder will continue to keep the respective players out of the Saturday game, though Taylor could get back to training on Monday. Dan Gosling, Ben Arfa, Steve Harper and Leaon Best continue to figure on the injury list for the Magpies.

The probable eleven for West Ham should be: Green, Da Costa, Jacobsen, Gabbidon, Upson, Parker, Dyer, Boa Morte, Noble, Piquionne, Obinna.

The following men are likely to comprise the starting eleven for Newcastle: Krul, Coloccini, Perch, Enrique, Williamson, Tiote, Nolan, Guttierez, Barton, Carroll, Lovenkrands.

Premier League Match Time: Stoke Vs Blackburn

Stoke City will host Blackburn Rovers in a Saturday afternoon Premier League game at the Britannia Stadium.

Stoke have made a come-back after a bad start that would have prompted their greatest fans to write them off. But not only do the squad look tough but have actually proved hard to beat, after three successive defeats in their first three matches. In their next three, Stoke banked seven points out of a possible nine.

Tony Pulis will happy at the tenacious quality of his squad and that should stand them in good stead in the Birmingham match. But the interesting thing will be to see if the mood lasts, as the longest streak of unbeaten matches Stoke have had, in two previous seasons of the Premiership, is seven matches.

Against a similar team, in Blackburn, the Potters will look to Kenwyne Jones to continue his goal scoring form; Jones has had a strike in every match he has played for Stoke this season. Ricardo Fuller and Jermaine Pennant are unlikely to play in the Birmingham game.

Blackburn have had three successive matches unbeaten, and after a 2-1 win against Blackpool, they will look for a back to back win against Stoke, something they last achieved in March 2009. The Rovers, like their rivals on the weekend, are a never-say-die outfit, and a keen tussle can be expected on the day.

But Blackburn haven't been great travellers, in recent years. But their away win against Blackpool at Bloomfield road last week was an exception and their uncharacteristic willingness to attack in that game saw the Rovers gain two lucky goals.

But an interesting stat is that although Blackburn have scored in all of their last 10 Premier league games, they have not scored a goal in their last three against the Potters.

Blackburn's record at the Britannia is not very encouraging, with just nine wins to show in 41 games at the venue. Also, other than the Bloomfield Road win against Blackpool, they have not had an away win since beating Aston Villa, in their last match of the 2009-10 Premiership season.

Blackburn lost their last match against Stoke at the Britannia, after they were reduced to 10-men following Samaba's send-off with a red card. The final score was 3-0 in the Potters' favour. I am inclined to believing that this year's match will have a similar result.

Stoke are likely to go with the following starting eleven: Sorensen, Collins, Shawcross, Huth, Wilkinson, Etherington, Diao, Whelan, Whitehead, Walters, Jones

Blackburn's possible starting eleven are: Robinson, Givet, Nelsen, Samba, Salgado, Jones, Nzonzi, Kalinic, E Diouf, Pedersen, M Diouf.

Premier League Match Time: Everton Vs Liverpool

One of the mouth watering prospects in store for football fans, when the Premier League returns after an International break, is a Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool.

Goodison Park will be the venue of a lunch-time kick off on Sunday in what promises to be an explosive match between two sides looking to prove themselves, after indifferent starts to their Premiership campaigns.

Coincidentally, both teams languishing near the bottom of the table, have six points each after seven matches. With new ownership looming for the Reds, Roy Hodgson will be keen to underline his managerial skills with a win. Especially after fans chanted for his removal in the Reds' 2-1 home loss to Blackpool.

In some bad news for Liverpool (other than the off-field wrangles at Anfield), Dirk Kuyt is sidelined ahead of Sunday's game, owing to an injury sustained by the striker in Holland's Euro qualifier with Sweden on Tuesday, a match that the Dutch won convincingly. It could be a month before Kuyt returns to action.

But Hodgson will take cheer from Torres' return to the team after the Spanish striker showed signs of recovery from an abductor strain.

Steven Gerrard, as ever, will the key man, and Hodgson will look for an inspired performance from the England midfielder in what is a must-win for the Anfield squad.

Everton on their part have injury worries too, with the sidelining of Victor Anichebe, Steven Pienaar, Louis Saha and Jack Rodwell. Manager David Moyes will hope that home advantage inspires the Blues to bank three points from the game, and move up the points table.

The Toffees will look to Tim Cahill to provide the momentum, even as the Reds are set to miss the services of Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio and Paul Konchesky due to injury.

The following players were in Everton starting eleven in their 2-0 win against Birmingham, on October 2: Tim Howard, Phil Neville, Sylvain Distin, Philip Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Marouane Fellaini, Mikel Arteta, Leon Osman, Tim Cahill, Yakubu.

The substitutes for the match were: Barkley, Jermaine Bedford, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, John Heitinga, Magaye Gueye, Tony Hibbert, Jan Mucha.

Liverpool included the following players in their last league match against Blackpool, a match that the Reds lost 2-1: Jose Manuel (Pepe) Reina, Glen Johnson, Sotiros Kyrgiakos, Martin Skrtel, Jamie Carragher, Christian Poulsen, Raul Meireles, Dirk Kuyt, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, Fernando Torres.

The substitutes were: Milan Jovanovic, Lucas, David Ngog, Jay Spearing, Martin Kelly, Maxi Rodriguez, Brad Jones.

Premier League News: Manchester United Could Lose Rooney To Real Madrid

A Spanish newspaper, AS, has claimed that Wayne Rooney is unlikely to renew his contract with Manchester United paving the way for a transfer to Spanish club Real Madrid.

According to the paper, Rooney is frustrated with the media intrusion into his personal life and that has led to his decision to quit the Old Trafford squad. Real Madrid boss is said to have told the newpaper that he was very keen to have Rooney with the Bernabeu squad.

Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson could get the opportunity to shift to Juventus, in the January transfer window. The Italian club have shown interest in signing Johnson although his contract with the Anfield squad still has three years to run. Juventus are hoping that Liverpool's off-field management wrangles could get Johnson to consider their offer.

In their match against Wolves, this weekend, West Ham will not have the services of recent signing Thomas Hitzlsperger sidelined with a torn thigh muscle that could take several more weeks to heal.

Ibrahim Afellay could join Manchester United next summer when the midfielder's contract with Dutch club PSV Eindoven is set to expire. Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are other sides interested in the extremely adaptable 24 year old who scored twice in Holland's Euro qualifier win over Sweden.

Despite their recent financial problems, Liverpool could invest £14 mn to acquire Brazil striker Nilmar from Soanish club Villarreal. The goal machine has helped his side to second position in Spain's La Liga; Chelsea and Juventus are also said to be interested in signing Nilmar.

Arsenal's goalkeeping problems could soon be at an end if they manage to acquire Gorka Iraizoz from Spain's Athletic Bilbao.

German right-back Philip Lahm could leave Bayern Munich after 15 years spent at the club, if Carlo Ancelotti has his way.

Sir Alex may have finally found a successor to Van der Sar between the posts, in the form of Rangers' goalkeeper Allan McGregor. Playong for the Scotland national squad, McGregor was impressive in the recent qualifier against Spain that Scotland lost 3-2. Van der Sar, who will turn forty at the end of this month, recently announced his intention to retire.

Recently, Fergie is said to have considered Schalke's Manuel Neuer, Ateltico madrid's David de Gea and Ajax's Maarten Sketelenberg, but these players come with about four times the price tag of McGregor who can be acquired for about £5 mn. McGregor rcently became Scotland's first choice between the posts, taking over from Gordon, currently with sunderland in the Premier League.

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Financial Reality of the Premier League

Established in 1992, the Premier League in England has seen phenomenal growth despite its relatively young stint as a professional football league. It pioneered televised football that was still in its infancy. The Premier League was the replacement of the old First Division and is composed of 22 teams, which was eventually cut back to 20.

Financially, the English Premier League is at the top of its class. Sponsored by Barclays Bank, this association was a recipient of the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the category for International Trade. The League recorded second of its highest revenue so far in 2007-08 season when it reached a raise of 20% to £1.93 billion in total profits alone. More than half of total number of teams achieved profit in the same year. The average salary of a regular player is about £676,000 per annum, on top of bonuses. However, clubs in the league today are experiencing financial challenges primarily due to huge bills for the players, as well as massive transfer fees for player acquisitions. In fact, several teams in the league are in tight financial spot right now, a situation that may negatively impact the league significantly if left unattended for long.

Real financial situation

Although considered to be the richest football league after its last season run which netted a total of up to £2bn, the entire league is actually struggling to survive due to overwhelming wage bill for players alone. Player salaries of the entire league reached as high as £1.3bn and are still expected to rise during the next season. Many clubs are left with nothing in terms of operating profits, putting them in a serious financial constraint. During the 2007-08 season alone, a number of clubs claimed financial loss although the league reached a new record high in profits. This means that a majority of clubs in the league are absorbing losses year in year out for several seasons now, without any sign of recovery.

Such sad situation demands immediate action, prompting league officials to act swiftly to save the league, clubs, and the players from more financial pressures. There is now ruling within the league that bars teams from spending on player acquisitions, transfers, and wages if they cannot earn it from their own revenue. They have to earn first, and then use their net profit to sign contracts for their players. Such act is seen by many to be disadvantageous for some ailing clubs, while at the same time, a good one for those clubs that has huge fan following and huge revenue reserves. Whatever the case maybe, the "spending what you are earning" policy will hold its ground in the coming seasons and is seen as the only way to redeem the Premier League from sinking in the future.

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Premier League: Boston Red Sox Owners To Buy Liverpool FC

New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the owners of the Boston Red Sox will take over Liverpool after a legal dispute with the current American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks is settled by the Premier League.

Hicks and Gillett have expressed their unwillingness to sell the club, and in a bid to prevent its sale, have tried to replace managing director Purlow and commercial director Ayre with their own nominees including Hicks's son.

Purlow and Ayre are said to be in touch with their legal counsel so as to foil the bid to replace them and to ensure the club's sale.

The club has debts of 240 mn with Royal Bank of Scotland, which is also owed 40 mn in fees. The 300 mn bid by the Red Sox owners is sufficient to cover these liabilities. If the debts are not settled by October 15, there would be an additional penalty of 60 mn payable to RBS.

So the legal dispute would have to be settled so as to allow the sale to go through by October 15.

Gillett and Hicks are reportedly uninterested in selling the club for 300 mn, as they feel this is an undervaluation. But if the sale were not to transpire by October 15, the bank could extend the deadline and take possession of the club and see its sale through.

Hicks and Gillett want 600 mn for the club, twice the offer by the Red Sox owners. In fact, their original demand was for 800 mn; they acquired the club in 2007 for 174.1 mn, when the debts did not exceed 44.8 mn.

Apart from owning the Boston Red Sox, NESV also own other companies, Rousch Fenway Racing, New England Sports Network and Fenway Sports Group.

Meanwhile fans of the Anfield outfit who were not very enthused with Gillett and Hicks are optimistic about the takeover. The club needs an infusion of funds that will enable investment in key players who could get the Merseysiders back to winning ways.

However, a group that calls itself the Share Liverpool FC group is not very enthusiastic about the sale. The group, organized with the aim of attracting 100,000 fans to own the club jointly, is the brainchild of Dr Rogan Taylor.

Dr Taylor does not believe that the club has reached a point of no return, and stresses that any prospective owner must necessarily understand the culture of football as played in Britain.

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Safety Signage Part of New Premier League Assurance Scheme

Assessment of safety signage for visitor arrivals at football grounds are part of a new customer quality scheme announced by the Premier League and VisitEngland.

Every Premier League club will be assessed under the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme, which has been tailored specifically with stadia in mind. The project aims to steer clubs into giving the best possible experience to fans.

Arrival signage is part of eight areas deemed important for the 13 million footy fans forecast to visit stadiums this season, and includes things like pre-arrival, match experience, catering, toilets and merchandise.

Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the Premier League, said the strategy was timed well with England's ongoing 2018 World Cup bid.

"With the inspection visit for the 2018 FIFA World Cup bid under way this new VisitEngland scheme is a welcome reminder of the commitment that Barclays Premier League clubs have to ensuring that fans have the best experience possible."

The chief executive also said that since the league's formation in 1992 over £3 billion has been spent on ground improvements that have made English stadia amongst the best in the world.

It was also announced that new steward training would be developed to enhance visitors' experience further still.

For football clubs and other businesses looking to improve the safety of their visitors with the use of better signs, there are many sources available, both online and in the form of catalogues. However safety signs and directional signs form only a small part of an overall safety strategy.

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Premier League Preview - Birmingham Vs Liverpool

Birmingham City are scheduled to host Liverpool at their traditional venue of St Andrews in the Premier League, in an afternoon kick-off, on Sunday.

In their debut season, last year, Birmingham did brilliantly, finishing at 9th on the points table. Ordinarily, there would be anticipation of the second season syndrome kicking in. But the Blues' early form has belied any such fear.

Having recorded identical 2-2 draws against Sunderland and Bolton, and a 2-1 win over Blackburn have ensured that there has not been any sign of that happening, so far, in three games played.

Stuart Parnaby's hamstring injury worry is likely to prompt team manager Alex McLeish to subject the right back to a late test. Sebastian Larsson who hurt his knee in the Bolton game is certain to miss out.

The Blues have an excellent record at home. They have not lost a match at St Andrews' in their last 16 games here. Against Liverpool, head to head, in 49 home games, Birmingham have won 21 and lost 15, with the remaining 13 ending without result.

The last time Liverpool beat Birmingham here was in 2006, in the FA Cup, when they delivered a 7-0 walloping. That said, the last Premier League loss at home for Birmingham came still farther back, in 2004.

Liverpool haven't had a dream start to their campaign. Once giants of English football, Liverpool's 1-1 draw at home against Arsenal was far from convincing. They went a step or three worse losing to Man City, in the Eastlands, before managing to salvage some pride in a home win of 1-0 against West Brom.

In fact, the game against the Baggies was hard won, with the Hawthorns side the more proactive on the pitch, on the day.

Dirk Kuyt's shoulder and N'gog's Hamstring are likely to keep them out of Liverpool's starting eleven, against the Blues. Joe Cole will also be missing, with this game the last of the three match suspension awarded with the first ever red card of his career.

Left-back Paul Konchesky, a deadline day import from Fulham, and midfielder Paul Meireles, are both likely to begin their campaigns with the Reds.

Gerrard has a penchant for scoring against the Blues, with six goals to show for nine appearances against them.

Birmingham's likely starting eleven could comprise: Foster, Johnson, Ridgewell, Carr, Dann, Gardner, Bowyer, Larsson, Fergusson, Jerome, McFadden

Liverpool's likely starting eleven should include: Reina, Skrtel, Johnson, Konchesky, Carragher, Meireles, Poulsen, Gerrard, Maxi, Torres, Jovanovic.

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Premier League Preview: West Ham Vs Fulham

Fulham are due to visit Upton Park to keep their away date with West Ham this Saturday. West Ham have not lost in their last six home matches to Fulham, winning and drawing three each. Fulham's last win here came in 2001.

West Ham are gung-ho ahead of the Fulham match, with two wins on the trot, first a Premier League home match against Tottenham, last weekend, and then a Carling Cup win against Sunderland.

Valon Behrami has recovered from his knee injury and will be available for selection, but the Hammers will continue to miss Jack Collison and Zavon Hines, while there's a question mark over Thomas Hitzlsperger's fitness.

However, West Ham manager Avram Grant will want to welcome back injury prone Kieron Dyer, who started in the first half of last week's win against Spurs, having to withdraw midway, owing to illness. But Dyer is yet to recover from his illness, and Grant could take a late call on Dyer's inclusion in the starting eleven for the Fulham match.

Fulham's manager Mark Hughes, previously at the helm with Manchester City, has overseen 13 draws in 17 League matches involving the two teams. Hughes has some injury concerns ahead of the match at Upton Park. He will not have the services of Moussa Dembele, Bobby Zamora and Andrew Johnson, and Zoltan Gera should make it to the starting eleven, joining Clint Dempsey upfront.

Mark Schwarzer has a second choice goalkeeper in David Stockdale who is back from injury.

Last season's Premier League match between the sides at Upton Park ended without result, while Fulham won their home match at Craven Cottage.

Apart from Manchester United, Fulham are the only team with an unbeaten record in their six matches, in the ongoing Premier League season, although five of those matches have ended in draws. Their exploits this year have taken the Cottagers to sixth place on the points table.

Given the current form of the two teams, and taking into account West Ham's advantage playing before a home crowd at Upton Park, a draw appears the most probable result in Saturday's match, although West Ham cannot be denied a thin edge, following the injury concerns among Fulham's forward line.

West Ham's probable starting eleven should have the following: Green, Gabidon, Upson, Da Costa, Jacobsen, Boa Morte, Noble, Parker, Dyer, Piquionne, Obinna

Fulham will probably start with: Schwarzer, Salcido, Hughes, Hangeland, Kelly, Duff, Murphy, Etuhu, Davies, Gera, Dempsey

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Premier League Preview - Liverpool Vs Sunderland

Following their loss to Manchester United, Liverpool play host to tough rivals Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts cannot afford another bad result, as that would seriously dent their hopes of a top four finish this season.

However, Roy Hodgson's squad have not found Sunderland very difficult rivals to handle. In the last matches between the two sides, Liverpool have emerged winners on as many as seven occasions, with two wins for Sunderland, both in their own backyard.

The drawn match was hosted at Anfield, which was also the venue of the last match beteen the sides. Liverpool won that match 3-0.

In their last five Premier League matches, Liverpool have had a solitary win, with two draws and two losses. In these matches, the Merseysiders have scored just four goals while conceding seven.

Two of those goals came against Manchester United last week, in a creditable performance with Liverpool coming from 2-0 down to level the score, before the Red Devils prevailed 3-2, on the back of a third goal from Berbatov.

But Roy Hodgson should be justifiably worried about his squad's 16th place in the Premiership points table, after their fifth match of the season. Ironically, Fulham, the club Hodgson left to join Liverpool are nine places ahead of the Anfield side, on the points table.

Liverpool's midfielders have not been creative enough, this season, and that could be the root of the problem. While Meireles, a recent signing, has given a good account of himself, his midfield partners Lucas and Poulsen have been reluctant to go forward, and have failed to act as a foil to the three-pronged attack line of Gerrard, Cole and Torres.

Cole in particular could be the man to turn things around, compensating for the lack of midfield flair.

Sunderland have had a fairly impressive run, this season, with a win against Manchester City the high point. Last weekend's 1-1 draw against Arsenal made possible by Darren Bent's injury time strike (his third goal of the Premiership season) ensured that Sunderland took a point from a top team.

Nitpickers looking for a weakness could focus on the Black Cats' inability to score goals. They have scored just five in five matches and conceded as many. Sunderland will be looking to the recently signed Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan to rectify that deficiency.

Liverpool's past record against Sunderland should hold them in stead, in what is likely to be crucial to the Merseysiders fortunes, this Premier League season.

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English Premier League Best 11 For 2009-10 (August - December)

English Premier League has reached to its half way in the 2009-10 season. The League is getting very difficult or we can say it is getting more interesting. Teams like Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City are creating problems for the top four teams. In fact at mid season Liverpool is looking to lose its place from top four of this season. We have already witnessed some great games this season along with some great individual efforts.

Picking the best eleven for this season is a very difficult thing. We have seen some great performances this season. Top eleven players can be following:

Goal Keeper
Petr Cech (Chelsea) - One of the greatest seasons for Cech. He is the main reason for Chelsea's position this season.

Defenders

Right Back: Carlos Cuéllar (Aston Villa) - Although he has played at centre back position but he can also play as full back.

Centre Backs:
Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal) - Vermaelen is the signing of the season for Arsene Wenger, his ability of defending and scoring is a main reason for Arsenal's great performances this season.

Richard Dunne (Aston Villa) - Dunne is getting better and better every game he is playing.

Left Back: Patrice Evra (Manchester United) - Evra is the unanimous choice for this position. He is the only player from Manchester United to give consistent performance this season.

Midfield

Wingers: Aaron Lennon (Tottenham) - Stunning display in some games. He is the man behind the success of Jermain Defoe this season.

Ashley Young (Aston Villa) - He can be the best choice for right midfield.

Central Midfielders

Cesc Fabregas(Arsenal) - Fabregas is playing the best possible role for Arsenal. Game against Aston Villa has proved this. He came in for 30 minutes and showed a heroic stuff.

Frank Lampard (Chelsea) - Lampard is the most consistent player in English Premier League for last 3-4 seasons.

Strikers

Didier Drogba (Chelsea) - Chelsea's performance hugely depends upon Drogba. He single-handed defeated Arsenal at Emirates.

Jermain Defoe(Tottenham) - Defoe is scoring at great pace. He has scored five goals in a game against Wigan in a duration of 37 minutes, including three in eight minutes.

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New English Premier League Rules Come Into Force

As all avid EPL fans are probably aware, new rules stipulating a minimum number of homegrown players in the squad of each English premier league club come into full force this season.

Given the woeful performance of England at the recent world cup, many would argue that these rules could not come a day sooner. Critics of the influx of foreign players in the EPL will argue that as the number of foreign players has steadily risen, the quality of home grown talent has also declined steadily.

This is not to say that the premier league clubs have now seen the error of their ways are. If you were hoping to see clubs focus on developing a new stream of academy stars such as those that came through the ranks at Old Trafford in the 1990s or those that have come through the academies of Everton (including the likes of Wayne Rooney and more recently, Jack Rodwell) and West Ham (including household names like Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard to name a few); you may be disappointed.

Why? Because the new rules state that each of the 20 premier league clubs have to submit a squad of up to 25 players. Each squad must include no more than 17 players who do not qualify as homegrown. So the issue is the requirement for qualifying as home grown.

To qualify as homegrown according to these less-than-onerous Football Association rules, all that is necessary is that a player, "irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday".

OK, sorry, I'm sure like most fans, you simply thought homegrown meant British - or at least, someone who could one day be in a position to play for the Three Lions of England! Well, sorry! The new rules apparently makes Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas a home grown player. Great!

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