A view on the weekends action

This week I'm going back to the old format based on my reviews.

Man city V Chelsea

Chelsea's first real test for this season and I smell an upset. Don't bank on Chelsea winning this one because we all now how capable City are. And the home advantage comes in very handy. Last season City did the double over Chelsea and that will be playing on both teams minds. On the return leg of that fixture Bridge refused to shake Terry's hand. If Bridge starts for city, because they have problems at the back injury wise, than I hope he does shake his hand. I mean surely he got his revenge after the crap world cup England had. If he doesn't he will be taking it way too far. Ancelloti was so confident that he named his team in an interview a day before the game. I was lucky enough to see the interview on Sky Sports News. The team envolved the regulars like Drogba, Malouda, Anelka, [Kalou is injured so he gets the nod] Essien and Mikel but no Frank Lampard. If he will be on the bench is yet be comfirmed but I read in the paper that he was struggling to recover from his hernia op and may miss Chelsea's next 3 games. If you are lucky enough to have Sky sports than watch this game live. If you don't have Sky sports than go to London with a few mates have a few pints and watch it in a pub. If you choose your pub wisely you might be able to watch it in 3D!!!!!!!

Arsenal V WBA

Arsenal will be disappointed that they let their lead slip in the last minute against
Sunderland. But this should be another win for the Gunners. At home with the confidence of that Carling Cup thrashing of Tottenham it might be another goalfest. I wouldn't be shocked if a number of the lads that played on Tuesday get a place on the bench. WBA also won in the Carling Cup so they will want to continue their form as well.

Birmingham V Wigan

Both teams lost their last game and will be looking to bounce back. Both teams are in the lower half of the table and for Wigan thats not to unusual but Birmingham fans will be annoyed and will want to get out as soon as posable. I don't see much between these two teams and I say draw.

Blackpool v Blackburn

At last Blackpool get to play their 2nd game at home. And the only time they have played at home was a 2-2 draw with Fulham. Thats pretty good seeing that Utd could only manage that as well. They may have been favourites to go down at the start of the season but they are certainly not favourites any more [for me anyway]. Blackburn have come under a lot of stick for the way they play especially after the blatant foul that El Hadge Douif [sorry if I got the name wrong but a player that dirty doesn't deserve his name to be spelt right]. I hope referees cut down on that because its just fouling your way to the goal. I'm going to say that Blackpool will win this won and cause a big upset.

Fulham v Everton

Fulham have had another big injury blow with striker Dembele, who was supposed to fill in for Zamora, has got injured. They are now very short on strikers and I wonder how they will set up. As for Everton and just gets worse and worse and worse. They have been knocked out by Brentford and need to get form or face relegation.

Liverpool v Sunderland

Liverpool have crashed and burned out of the Carling Cup and need to find some form or they have no hope of getting back into the champions league. Sunderland have no more part to play in the Carling Cup after they lost to West Ham. I see a game of two defences today and it might take something special to break the deadlock.

West ham v Tottenham

Two teams with different fortunes in mid-week. West ham won their first game of the season at Sunderland while Tottenham got shown up at White Hart Lane by rivals Arsenal. It is difficult to call but Tottenham are your safest bet .

Bolton v Man Utd

Man utd should win this one. The form they're in it shouldn't be a challenge. Bolton will try their best but I don't see them getting anything from this game.

Wolves v Villa

I understand this is a bit of a derby so both teams will be going all out to win it. If I see a goalie in the box at the end of stoppage time I will laugh my head off. I hope their is a goalie in the box because that always spells goal. Wolves for me but it'll be a great game.

Newcastle v Stoke

Newcastle we be buzzing after becoming the first team to beat Chelsea this season and at Stamford Bridge as well that just makes it all the sweater. Stoke sit 1 place of the relegation zone and will be desperate to get a win here to boost them up the table.

Carling Cup 3rd round part 2

Last nights Carling Cup action was even more exciting than the first. It saw 3 all Prem ties so we would lose 3 Prem clubs. But no one expected Liverpool to go out, like their Mersyside neighbours, to a league in a league below them. Unlike Everton, Liverpool lost to a league 2 divisions below them. Let me tell you about it. Liverpool looked like they had this one in the bag when Jovanovic gave them an early lead. But Northampton scored an equaliser and at 90 minutes they couldn't be separated. So it went to extra time and Northampton took the lead in the Ist period. It looked like Liverpool would be going out but N'gog scored a late goal to send it to penalties. N'gog missed his penalty and so did another Liverpool player, I don't know his name, That gave a Northampton player,another name I don't know, a chance to win the shoot-out. He scored and Liverpool were out. After the game Roy Hodgson apologised to his supporters about the defeat. I think Liverpool will struggle to get back into the top 4 this season because they can't string a good run of wins together.

Chelsea also fell at the first hurdle losing 4-3 to Newcastle. Chelsea took the lead with Van Aanholt's first goal for the club. But Newcastle equalised through Ranger. Just before the break Taylor scored a great free-kick to put the Magpies infront. Aneobi scored at the start of the second half to give Newcastle a 2 goal cushion. Chelsea fought back and Anelka scored a goal to bring the Premiership champions back in the game. When Alex went over in the box, rather cheaply for my liking, Anelka stood up and brought Chelsea level. It looked to be heading for extra time when all of a sudden Aneobi scored in stoppage time to send Newcastle through. This proves for me that Chelsea can be beaten. Yes they didn't play their first team but if you keep on pushing they will crack. If you look at their fixtures so far they have been easy. When they start to play teams closer to them then we will see if they are still champions.

Man City lost away to WBA with a side that had 6 inexperienced youngsters starting. It is a massive blow to City because I see this as one of the tournaments that they could win, as well as the FA Cup. City have had a slow start and will be hoping to turn it round at the Bridge on Saturday.

Villa beat Blackburn 3-1 at Villa Park in a repeat of last years semi-final. It is Villa's first win under their new manager and they will hope that continues for months to come.

Wigan are also through after beating Preston North End 2-1 at the DW. It will be important for Wigan to have a good cup run so that the fans won't have to fear the drop.

Man Utd had a small scare at Scunthorpe. They went behind but managed to turn it round before half time making it 2-1. It ended 5-2 to Utd and they progressed into the next round. Utd will be hard to beat this Carling Cup. Now that
Tottenham, Chelsea, Man city and Liverpool are out. The only team you could see beating them is Arsenal but Wenger always sticks to the young lads even if its the final. While Fergie will play his first team in the final. The question is will he change because he knows he needs silver wear. Against Spurs he played a pretty decent starting XI with reserves on the bench if he needed them. I wonder what he is playing?

Carling Cup 3rd round part 1

Last night the Carling Cup 3rd round took off. This is the round were the big boys get envolved. There were 3 all premier legue ties so that meant we would lose 3 big contenders. The pick of these ties was Tottenham v Arsenal. And what a game it was. Arsenal took the lead through Henri Lansbury after dominating the first half. Tottenham were quick out of the blocks at the start of the second half and equalised through Robbie Keane. Both teams really started to go for it but no one could find a winner. Extra time it was then and Arsenal cleverly got in behind the Tottenham back line and were awarded a penalty when Nasri was pushed over. Nasri dusted himself of and sent Arsenal back infront. Minutes later Arsenal opened up Tottenham again with Chamakh through on goal this time. A clumsy challenge by Naughton sent Chamakh to the ground and Arsenal had the chance to probably put it beyond Spurs. Nasri stepped up again and put it in the opposite side than the first. Tottenham had one cleared off the line, Nasri showing he can perform at both ends of the pitch. Just when Arsenal fans thought it couldn't get any better Arshavin sent a thunderbolt into the Spurs goal putting the icing on the cake for the Gunners.

In other games West Ham beat Sunderland 1-2 giving them a much needed first win of the season. And Stoke
beat Fulham 2-0 . Wolves were really tested at Notts County. They went behind in the first half but managed to pull it back to
3-1. Then Notts County scored again making it a last few tense minutues before Doyle scored in the 119th minute to seal it for the premier league side.

In the games involving lower teams Millwall's good start to the season has gone up in flames. The weekend before this they were hammered by Watford losing their perfect clean sheet record. They faced Ipswich at home and were defeated 2-1. Mabye all the hipe about Milwall going to the premier league at the first attempt will stop now. Swansea beat Peterborough 3-1 and Being a Portsmouth fan just keeps on getting harder as they lost 2-1 to Leicester.

The big shock of the 3rd round was Everton got Knocked out by Brentford. It was 1-1 afer extra time and Brentford went through 4-3 on penalties. What a result fo Brentford. As for Everton they just can't find their feet this season.

Touchline tittle-tattle

You have all been great about sending in comments to my blog that I don't have time to answer them all separately so I'm going to answer them all in one post.

I'll start with Becky and I don't need Harry to give me any reviews because I managed to watch the game on sky player [because the room I'm in has no Sky Sports 1] but thanks for the offer.As for Regents Park its great to hear that we are winning and that Abraham has joined. As for you who don't know Regents Park was the name of my football team before I got ill. But I'll be back no doubt about it.

Next I move on to Lisa's question about which teams her 2 youngest children should support. The children in question are Lola [age 8] and Rudy [age 6]. Now Lisa supports Man Utd, her husband Ed supports WBA and their oldest son Louis supports Liverpool. I think that Rudy should support Everton to create a rivalry between Louis and him. And Lola should support Man City to create a rivalry between Lisa and her. As for Ed WBA don't really have an absolute team that they hate. They have Birmingham and Aston Villa but that isn't one that Match of the Day goes wild for. Sorry Ed.

Andy has said sorry for Sunderland's late equaliser against my beloved Arsenal and says that they deserved it. My reply to that is....
STOP BOASTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that is all I have to say on the matter.
[Standing up and walking away with a bad mood].

Chris has asked me what Everton need to do to start winning. The answer Chris is simple, SCORE MORE GOALS AND DON'T CONCEDE AS MANY!!!!!!!! Its great that you're the king of comebacks but that is no good to you unless that comeback results in a win. Maybe you should just insist on playing in your away kit. That would probably scare them so much that they would forfeit.

Now to end I am going to make a statement. No one has commented on my new format for A view on the weekends action. If you don't comment I will have to go back to the old one because I will asume that you hated it so much you punished me by not commenting.

My top four

I received a question from Claire about who would win the Premier League and who would finish in the top four. I think it's too early to start picking winners but Chelsea do look unbeatable and if they keep their form I might start tipping them to win the league. As for the top four I reckon the three regulars will cover the top three. The last place will be contested by Tottenham, Man City and Liverpool. It will be tight and may come down to goal difference but it's too early for me to call it now.

A view on the weekends action

I have managed to get hold of a laptop and so here is my view on the weekends action

ON TIME!!!!!

Today I'm going to start with Sunday's early kick-off. Its the big one. Man Utd v Liverpool. This is arguably the biggest game of the premier league season. Both sets of fans will be pumped up for it and there will be alot of crunching tackles during the game. For my prediction I'm going to say a draw. My reasons are both teams have had decent starts. If Man Utd had won their mid-week game, like Liverpool, I might of tipped them to win it but they will not be confident after that night and liverpool, who won their mid-week game comfortably, will be slightly more confident. Torres needs to turn up or Liverpool will have to rely on N'Gog up front. Man Utd need to use the home advantage to their advantage. If they can start the game brightly then the crowd will start singing and that is very intimitating for any side. Don't miss this one it is gonna be a cracker. Now back to saturday and to the tea time kick-off. Sunderland host Arsenal at the stadium of light and Sunderland have a decent record against the gunners. But don't let that fool you. Arsenal are the second highest scorer in the league and are coming into this game of the back of a 6-0 win in the champions league. I reckon Arsenal will win but don't write Sunderland off, history is on their side. Stoke play West Ham at home this week and they will be boosted by getting their first win of the season while west ham sit rock bottom without a single point on the board. Stoke should win this one if they don't do anything silly especially seeing that they are at home. I think every Villa fan would admit they've had a torrid start to the season. Bolton though have have had a pretty decent start by their standards and will be looking to capitalise on Villa's bad form. I see Bolton pushing Villa a lot this game but it will be hard as they are away from home. Blackburn v Fulham isn't a very promising game because Blackburn's main tactic is to throw the ball into the box whenever they can. Fulham are without their main threat up front Bobby Zamora and will be without him for many months to come. It will be interesting to see how Mark Hughes changes his attack, personally, I would like to see Dembele in from the start. As I said, don't expect much - the most excitement you might get is ordering your hotdog from the refreshment stand before the game. Everton have proved that it's not over until the fat lady sings with two goals in two minutes to go level against United. You can read my match review in a previous post. Newcastle's 6-0 thrashing of Villa has been followed up by a draw and a defeat. They are not looking like the team that hot promoted by winning the Championship. I reckon Everton may have this one but Newcastle won't go down without a fight. Tottenham host Wolves and last season Wolves did the double over Tottenham. Wolves have also started the season brightly in terms of their football and might trouble Spurs every now and then. Tottenham will be expected to win but if history repeats itself the White half of north London will be very upset. West Brom play Birmingham and I'll admit I have underrated them this season. It turns out they gave much more quality than I first thought. Birmingham have had a solid stArt and will hope to continue it at the Hawthorns. Many people would say this game could be dull but I think this might throw up a few goals. Man City go to Wigan having had a disappointing start to the season. The way they have been playing is very good but the results are very bad. Wigan have started better than I thought they would though this will be tough. They are at home which is a help but the support they get at the DW is very minimal. Blackpool have a tough trip to Chelsea which I don't think they'll get anything out of. They have been good away from home but the last time they went one of the big boys they list 6-0. I expect something like here. As for Chelsea Frank Lampard should make his return after his hernia op.

Please comment on whether or not you prefer the new format of my view on the weekend's action. I you don't I'll happily go back to the mr format. Please be completely honest in your opinion this format was just an experiment yo see which one you preferred.

Dinos concerns

DINO IS RIGHT TO BE CONCERNED BECAUSE THE STADIUM OF LIGHT IS A TOUGH PLACE TO GO. WE DID LOSE THERE LAST SEASON AND SUNDERLAND WILL USE THAT TO BOOST CONFIDENCE. BUT I THINK WE CAN WIN BECAUSE WE ARE THE SECOND HIGHEST SCORING TEAM IN THE LEAGUE AND HAVE ALL THE CONFIDENCE FROM OUR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE VICTORY. BOTH TEAMS HAVE NEW WEAPONS UP FRONT. ARSENAL'S IN THE SHAPE OF CHAMAKH AND SUNDERLAND'S IN THE SHAPE OF GYAN. IT WILL BE A CLOSE INCOUNTER BUT I SHOULDN'T WORRY DINO WE WILL BE FINE