Italian Serie A

Yet another week gone by and nothing really changed in the Italian Serie A.

Messina v/s Juventus

The biggest surprise of all was that Juventus were held out to a draw against Messina. Juve suffered an early setback as they conceded a goal in the 3^rd minute of the match. Fabio Cannavaro received a red card for a harsh tackle as Juve were down to 10 men.The goal came from Messina forward Sergio Floccari as he scored his first of the night. But soon Juve came back as Zlatan Imbrahimovic scored on the 18^th minute. Juventus then looked to kill the game as they attacked but some great keeping from Nicholas Caglioni helped Messina stay in the hunt. Just when it looked like Messina would snatch a point from Juve, Adrian Mutu was brought down in the penalty area and a penalty was awarded and Mutu took the spot kick and he gave Juve the lead in the 80^th minute. But there had to be a twist in the tale as Messina continued to pressurize Juventus and in the 86^th minute Sergio Floccari scored his second of the night as the points were shared at the San Filippo. Juventus still are the favorites to win the title as they still have a huge 10 point advantage over 2^nd placed AC Milan.

AC Milan v/s Cagliari

Perhaps not the best performance from AC Milan but they still managed to beat Cagliari 1 ' 0. Shevchenko was not given the start and this proved to be a good move as both the forwards combined for the first goal. Kaka played a lovely through ball as Inzaghi was brought down in the 6 yard box and a penalty was awarded to Milan, which was converted by Alberto Gilardino who has been in fine form in recent weeks.

Livorno v/s Inter Milan

This match was a hard fought battle as it ended as a goalless draw. Inter will definitely be the more disappointed of the two teams as their title hopes took a serious dent as the slipped for the second week in a row and they were now 12 points behind leaders Juventus but more importantly they were now 3^rd 2 points behind city rivals AC Milan who won their match. The game had 4 yellow cards as Inter received 3 of them more out of frustration than intent. Inter Milan will have to get things staright before their crucial Champions League match against Ajax.

AS Roma v/s Empoli

AS Roma's good run of form continued as they won their 10^th win on the trot. AS Roma equaled club record of 10 straight victories but it came at a heavy price as their Captain Francesco Totti suffered an injury. Totti has fractured his left leg and things are not looking good for Roma and Italy as their hopes for the world cup strongly depended on Totti. Italian Simone Perrotta scored the only goal on the 19^th minute. AS Roma are now 4^th thanks to this great run of form and they are looking good to catch Inter Milan and AC Milan.

Fiorentina v/s Lazio

Fiorentina's suffered yet another home loss to Lazio as they went down 2 ' 1 at home. Fiorentina had a really good start but they couldn't maintain it as they slumped to 5^th place in the league. Valeri Bojonov scored for Fiorentina and Valon Behrami and Tommasco Rocci scored the goals for Lazio. This win takes Lazio to 8^th in the table 13 points behind a spot in Europe.

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FA Cup 5^th Round Review

Liverpool v/s Manchester United

Perhaps the biggest fixture of the season for both these sides as they wanted to keep their FA Cup hopes alive. Manchester United suffered an early setback as Rio Ferdinand failed his fitness test and so Nemanja Vidic was given a start. Sir Alex had to go with an inexperienced centre back combination with Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic. Good news for Liverpool fans as goal keeper Jose Reina started. Xabi Alonso was left out of this match. Robbie Fowler was cup tied so he was unavailable which meant that Peter Crouch would start instead of Ciise and Morientes retained his place in the eleven.

Liverpool started the match with a bang and within minutes they had their first chance of the match. Steven Gerrard's cross met Harry Kewell who has been in good knick of late and his shot was saved acrobatically by Edwin Van Der Sar. But the resulting corner was a short corner taken quickly by Gerrard who passed it to Steve Finnan and his cross was met by Peter Crouch as he gave the European Champions the lead after just 19 minutes. Rafa Benitez taking a big gamble as he gave crouch the start and this gamble paid off. Liverpool were clearly the better team as Manchester United's weak defence was tested several times and to add to their problems Mikael Silvestre had to be substituted at half time. The second half was a fierce battle as Man Utd looked for a comeback but the Liverpool defence was solid. The best chance of the game for Man Utd was for Ruud Van Nistelrooy as he wasted too much time and the Liverpool defenders quickly reacted.

The game had no less than 40 fouls and the game had 7 yellow cards. Liverpool proved to be too strong for their opposition and they were looking set to reach the Quarter final stage of the competition. On the very last minute Man Utd suffered yet another setback as mid fielder Alan Smith suffered a freak injury. The Englishman was defending a Liverpool free kick and Riise's powerful free kick hit the bottom of his foot. By the looks of it Alan Smith would certainly be out for the rest of the season thanks to a broken leg and a stress fracture on his ankle.

But all smiles for the European Champions as they beat Man Utd in the FA Cup after 85 years and by doing so they made it to the Quarters. Liverpool are now firm favorites to reach the final which will take place at Wembley. Rafa Benitez said in the interview later that "It's hard to loose a match at Anfield with our fans behind us".

Charlton Athletic v/s Brentford

Charlton have been very impressive at "The Valley" off late and they continued their good run of form as they entertained Brentford. Darren Bent has been in an excellent form as he has scored 4 times in the last 4 games. Bent gave the premiership side the lead in the 3^rd minute. Charlton were clearly outplaying their opponents and they got their reward minutes before half time as Jay Bothroyd scored from 25 yards out. His powerful free kick gave the Charlton a 2 ' 0 lead just at the break. Conceding two very sloppy goals lowered the confidence level of Brentford as Bryan Hughes sealed the game with an easy finish in the 62^nd minute as Charlton were heading to the Quarters. Brentford did get some conciliation as Isaiaih Rankin scored on the 83^rd minute but it proved to be too little as Charlton won the game.

Newcastle v/s Southampton

FA Cup was the only chance of silverware for Alan Shearer's men and they headed into this match with a good victory over Aston Villa. Newcastle started the game really well as Shola Ameobi had a few chances but Southampton goal keeper, Claus Lundekvam made some sensational saves as he kept Southampton in the hunt. At halftime both sides were level but Newcastle were clearly the better side and they didn't want to take this match to a replay. Newcastle started off from where they left off as they pounded shot after shot on Lundekvam's net but the young goal keeper was not to be beaten. But he eventually had to give way for a goal from Kieron Dyer as he slotted home thanks to a lovely through ball from Charles N'Zogbia. Some sloppy defending from Southampton and too add insult to injury, Goal keeper Lundekvam suffered an injury just after Southampton had used up all of their 3 substitutions. They had to play the remainder of the game with 10 men as substitute Dexter Blackstock took the gloves. Newcastle moved to the final 8 in the competition.

Bolton Wanderers v/s West Ham

Honors even at the Reebok stadium as Bolton fail to make most of the home advantage. Not the best of conditions at the Reebok Stadium, as West Ham were welcomed by a Bolton side who were famously strong at home. What was at stake? A place in the last eight of the oldest competition in England. Both teams played with fury as tackles were flying in and none of the teams really made their chances count as the first half ended goalless. Kevin Nolan came closest to scoring as his shot went wide. But a spirited second half performance from West Ham ensured that they would take the match to the replay. Paul Konchesky proved to be very dangerous down the left hand side but his crosses were not met by the West Ham players and in the end it ended in a disappointing 0 ' 0 draw. For West Ham fans it was a good result but the replay was to be played. With European matches round the corner Bolton are going to face Fixture congestion as they play 4 games in the space of a week. This would give a slight advantage to West Ham.

Chelsea v/s Colchester United

42 places separated the two teams as England's best football team entertained League 1 side Colchester. Colchester were in a 4 match winning streak and they were no pushovers. Jose Mourinho made 9 changes to the side that went down to Middlesborough. John Terry, William Gallas, Del Horno, Frank Lampard and Hernan Crespo were rested before their crucial encounter with Barcelona. The pitch was in terrible condition as it rained continuously in London.

Chelsea started in an unlikely fashion as they were 1 - 0 down after just half an hour gone in the game. Perhaps they took Colchester too lightly as the goal coming from an unlikely source as Ricardo Carvalho scored the Own Goal. Kevin Watson's cross was intercepted by Carvalho and to Chelsea's misfortune the ball ended up in the back of the net. Keeper Carlo Cudicini had no chance. But Chelsea responded quickly as Portugal defender Paulo Ferreira scored the equalizer. The half ended at 1 ' 1 and Colchester were clearly the better team and an upset was on the cards. But then manager Jose Mourinho brought on Frank Lampard, Hernan Crespo and Joe Cole and this proved to be the decisive move as Chelsea pressurized the Colchester defence but the keeper Aidon Davidson wasn't going to give up very easily. Some good defending from the full backs forced Chelsea to shooting from 25 yards out. Luck was on Colchester's side as they continued to hang on and try and take it to the replay at Colchester. But Colchester's luck finally ran out on the 79^th minute as the keeper failed to collect Crespo's shot and Joe Cole pounced on the rebound and he gave Chelsea the lead. Heart breaking for Colchester fans as they pushed more men forward and in the last kick of the game Cole added his second to give Chelsea the win 3 ' 1.

The match was a hard fought match but one would feel that the score line was a little unfair to Colchester but nevertheless Chelsea confirmed their place in the last eight of the competition.

Aston Villa v/s ManchesterCity

17 year old Micah Richards saved the day for the city team as his goal late in the game took the match to the replay at the City of Manchester stadium. But Stuart Pearce would feel hard done as his side thoroughly dominated their opposition but they failed to convert their chances. Former Villa man Darius Vassell was the culprit as he should have killed the game in the first half itself. Pearce's new signing Georgios Samaras was looking dangerous but Thomas Sorensen was keeping brilliantly and he denied two shots from Samaras. Sylvain Distin had one of the best chance of the match as his shot went over the bar. Joey Barton's corner was failed to be converted by Antoine Sibierski. ManCity were getting frustrated as they had 4 yellow cards in the whole game compared to Villa's 1. But the break through had to come as ManCity were caught napping as Milan Baros scored his 9^th goal of the campaign. He gave Aston Villa a rather undeserved lead in the 72^nd minute. City pushed all their men forward and in the dying moments of the game Barton's corner was met by teenage prodigy Micah Richards as he restored ManCity's FA Cup hopes. This was just his second start as he proved worthy of a place in the starting line-up more regularly. If Stuart Pearce wins the FA Cup he would be the first English Manager to do so in more than 10 years.

In other results Birmingham beat StokeCity away from home 1 ' 0, the goal coming from forward Mikael Forssell.

Middlesborough also had success over Preston North End as they beat the league 2 side 2 goals to nil, Yakubu netted home both the goals giving Middlesborough their 3^rd win in a space of 1 week.

Results:

FA Cup 5^th Round Preview

Fixtures

Saturday, Feb 18^th 2006

Liverpool v/s Manchester United

Bolton v/s West Ham

Newcastle v/s Southampton

Charlton v/s Brentford

Sunday, Feb 19^th 2006

Preston North End v/s Middlesborough

Stoke City v/s BirminghamCity

Chelsea v/s Colchester United

Aston Villa v/s ManchesterCity

Liverpool v/s Manchester United

The biggest fixture of the 5^th round and what a huge match this is going to be. Both sides evenly matched and are currently in great form so this one is going to be a classic.

Liverpool would want revenge as Man Utd had beaten them earlier this season. What will happen in this match only time can tell but this one is going to be a thriller!!!!!

Since it is at Anfield Liverpool will have the psychological advantage but Man Utd have been very impressive away from home this season. Both sides are within 4 pts of each other in the premiership and this win would certainly boost their confidence, especially for Liverpool who have an all important Champions League Fixture coming up.

Good news for Man Utd fans as they have been scoring goals consistently and Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo are in the form of their lives.

Robbie Fowler still hasn't scored his first goal since his move from Man. City and what better occasion than this, can he and Liverpool see Man Utd off and book a place in the Quarter-finals or will the Red Devils triumph yet again ..Only time will tell!!!!!!!!

Prediction:

Liverpool 1 - 1 Man Utd [Nistelrooy and Gerrard]

Man to Watch: Robbie Fowler

Bolton Wanderers v/s West Ham

One can say this will be the 2^nd best fixture in this round but this one also promises to be a ripper. Both sides doing really well in the league and its hard to say who has the upper hand. Bolton has one of the meanest defences at home and West Ham have scored 5 goals in 2 of their previous away games. Bolton goal keeper Jussi Jasskelinen has been in outstanding form and a lot will depend on his goal keeping if Bolton want to win. Bolton knocked out holders Arsenal in the 4^th round and clearly their confidence is sky high.

But West Ham have been in scintillating form of late and that is mainly due to Marlon Harewood and Anton Ferdinand who have been in superb form. Both these sides are fighting for a place in Europe and this will surely be one of the best matches in the round.

The last time these two sides met Bolton won 2 ' 1 away from home but with 4 draws from their previous 5 matches, West Ham are looking to be the better team who are in a 5 match winning streak.

Prediction:

Bolton 1 ' 2 West Ham [Nolan, Harewood and Zamora]

Man to Watch: Marlon Harewood

Newcastle United v/s Southampton

Newcastle haven't been in the best of form lately but on paper they clearly are the stronger side. But one cannot right off Southampton. They are 15^th in the 3^rd division but they are a far better team than that. But obviously Newcastle will be favorites in this clash as it's at St. James Park and with Shearer finding his goal scoring touch things are looking good for Newcastle as they go into this fixture with a win over Aston Villa.

Southampton are the underdogs in this fixture but could they have Giant ' killing on their minds!!!!

Prediction:

Newcastle 3 ' 1 Southampton

Man to Watch: Alan Shearer

Chelsea v/s Colchester United

One of the most one sided matches in the history of the competition but is there a chink in the Chelsea armour!!!! Middlesborough certainly took advantage of it as they beat the Blues 3 ' 0. So will Chelsea look to avenge their defeat or will we see the biggest upsets of the season.

Chelsea going into this match after they beat Everton 4 ' 1 and the return of Didier Drogba returning from the African Cup of Nations would add to the worries of Colchester. Chelsea would be looking to get back to winning ways ahead of their crucial Champions League tie against Barcelona.

Prediction: Chelsea 4 ' 0 Colchester [Lampard, Crespo, and Gudjohnsen]

Man to Watch: Hernan Crespo

Aston Villa v/s ManchesterCity

Yet another all premiership clash, ManchesterCity look to extend their unbeaten run as they make their trip to Villa Park. Aston Villa haven't had a great campaign this season but they certainly have what it takes to make it to the Quarters.

Joey Barton is looking in great touch and he clearly has been city's best performer this season. One of the major worries for city will be Andy Cole's absence who is out with a knee injury. Darius Vassell will play a key role if City wants victory.

Aston Villa will have the home advantage but they will be severely tested by the travelers and their attack will have to fire if they hope to advance to the Quarters.

Prediction:

Aston Villa 1 ' 3 ManCity [Vassell, Sinclair, Barton and Barry]

Man to Watch: Darius Vassell

Italian Serie A

All smiles for Juventus as they won yet another match and by doing so extending their lead to 12 pts over 2^nd place AC Milan. Juventus beat Inter at the San Siro and very few teams have done that this season. Juve took the lead through Zlatan Imbrahimovic who scored in the 63^rd minute but Inter immediately equalized through Walter Samuel, the former Real Madrid man. Just as Inter were seeing the match through Del Piero scored giving Juventus all 3 pts. This loss meant that Inter would drop from 2^nd to 3^rd in the table.

AC Milan also had an impressive away win over Reggina as they beat them 4 ' 1 thanks to a Filippo Inzaghi hatrick. This win pushes Milan to 2nd place since they had the better goal difference compared to city rivals Inter Milan.

AS Roma broke the club record for 7 straight wins as they beat minnows Siena 2 ' 0 away from home. Goals came from Alessandro Mancini and Danielle De Rossi. Roma are now 5^th, just 2 pts behind Fiorentina as they push for a place in Europe next season.

Spanish Premira Liga

Two defeats in 7 days for the Catalans saw Valencia edge closer to the Catalans. After their surprise defeat at the hands of Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona suffered yet another defeat against Valencia at the Mestalla. The match ended 1 ' 0 to Valencia and David Villa scored the only goal. A goal keeping error from Victor Valdes, as he couldn't find Carles Puyol and the simplest of finishes for Villa. Barcelona's lead is now cut to just 6 pts and with almost half the season left Valencia has a very good chance of dethroning the champions.

Barcelona were without World and European player of the year Ronaldinho and also Deco and Messi. Coach Frank Rijkaard said, "It just wasn't our day today and the better team won".

Elsewhere Deprotivo La Coruna stole the points from Real Betis with a late goal from Castro Ruben who scored in the 90^th minute.

Athletico Madrid won 1 ' 0 against Real Sociedad and the goal coming from former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman.

Goals from Robinho and Raul Bravo helped Real Madrid to an away win over Athletico Bilbao. After humiliation in the Copa Del Rey Real Madrid wanted to set things straight as they closed the gap between league leaders Barcelona and themselves to just 7 pts and they believe that the title race is still alive. Real have to still play Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

La Liga Table

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Gameweek 26 saw many surprises.

Middlesborough v/s Chelsea

Runaway leaders Chelsea suffered they worst defeat in more than 2 yrs as they were stunned by a Middlesborough side who haven't had the best of the seasons. Goals from Fabio Rochembank, Stuart Downing and Yakubu killed the game for Chelsea as the final result was 3 - 0. This has been Chelsea's second loss of the season and just the third defeat under Jose Mourinho. But Chelsea still has a 12 pt lead over their nearest rivals Manchester United.

Man Utd v/s Portsmouth

The men in red crushed a Portsmouth side 3 ' 1 at FrattonPark with goals from C.Ronaldo and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as Man Utd had yet another away win. Cristiano Ronaldo is in great touch as he has netted 4 goals in the previous 2 matches.

Wigan v/s Liverpool

Yet another win for the European Champions as they won 1 ' 0 but the goal came from an unlikely source, Sami Hyypia who scored his 1^st goal of the season. Liverpool completed the double over Wigan and reds are looking in good touch but their attack is still not firing but as Rafa Benitez said "A win is a Win ".

Aston Villa v/s Newcastle

After the sacking of Graeme Souness Newcastle were in desperate need of points as they were struggling in 15^th place just a few points away from the relegation zone and they answered their critics in style as they won 2 ' 1. Shola Ameobi scored in the 2^nd minute of the match as Charles N'Zogbia added the second. Aston Villa could have salvaged a point but great keeping from Shay Given as he saved Milan Baros's penalty.

Fulham v/s West Brom

The highest scoring result was at Craven Cottage as Fulham humiliated a struggling West Brom side 6 ' 1. Goals coming from Helguson, Collins John, and Radzinski as Fulham took complete control over their opposition.

Arsenal v/s Bolton

Arsenal suffered yet another setback to their 4^th place hopes as Bolton held them to a draw at Highbury. Bolton who have been referred as Arsenal's "Boogey team" scored the first goal. Kevin Nolan netted the goal and Bolton constantly pressurized the Arsenal defence and they looked set to steal all 3 pts but Gilberto saved Arsenal some pride as he scored in the 93rd minute. Arsene Wenger's side has had a lack luster season as they are currently in 5^th place behind the likes of Liverpool and Man Utd.

ManchesterCity v/s Charlton

This match has proved to be a very entertaining fixture as 10 goals have been scored in the previous 3 meetings of these two sides. This one was just the same as the blues took 3 pts winning 3 ' 2 at home. Goals from Richard Dunne, Samaras and Joey Barton helped Man City overcome a spirited Charlton comeback as Darren Bent and Marcus Bent netted a goal a piece.

Liverpool v/s Arsenal

This was the most awaited match of the week as 3^rd place met 5^th. Liverpool were clearly favorites and they overcame a weak Arsenal side 1 ' 0. Luis Garcia scored the only goal of the match. Steven Gerrard could have given Liverpool an early lead but he missed the penalty, but some say justice was done as the referee was very harsh on Eboue who was involved in an incident with Fernando Morientes. Liverpool have had their own worries as none of their strikers have scored since New Yr's Eve and they suffered the same problems again as Morientes and Fowler couldn't trouble Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann but same good Substitutions from manager Rafa Benitez gave Liverpool the win as substitutes Luis Garcia and Didi Hamann. Liverpool now edge closer to Man Utd and Arsenal suffered their 9^th defeat of the season. After the match Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that 2^nd place was indeed out of reach and now their only chance of silverware was the Champions League as the Gunners were knocked out of the F.A Cup and the Carling Cup.

All the Results:

EPL Table:

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