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Sunday afternoon will see Chelsea take the field at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool in a desperate bid to recover from last weekend’s loss. This will be excellent game with only 3 points separating the two teams. Chelsea is currently in 2^nd place and Liverpool 3^rd in the 2009/10 Barclays Premier League season.

Chelsea

The Chelsea side is a very formidable opponent no matter where they play and have only taken the 1 loss so far in the 2009/10 Premier League season. Apart from a draw in a pre-season friendly, Chelsea had won every match so far this season until the surprise 3-1 loss to Wigan last weekend and they’ll be seeking to overcome this quickly. They also have a great chance to move 6 points clear of a major rival.

Along with Man U, Chelsea is the side to beat and have made an impressive start to their Premier League campaign.

Chelsea is developing a slight problem with injuries and has a few of players on the sidelines. Mikel, Ballack and Alex are all out for this weekend’s clash.

Liverpool

Liverpool has made an impressive return to form after their shaky start to the 2009/10 Premier League season despite losing to Fiorentina on Wednesday. Prior to this they had notched up 6 consecutive wins. The Liverpool side is shaping up a little differently this season with a more attacking mentality. They were able to score 6 times last weekend against Hull City.

Liverpool is quite clearly capable of winning this Sunday and will be keen to level on points with their title rivals.

The injury list at Liverpool shouldn’t affect their game too much with Aquilani on the sidelines with an ankle/foot injury and Mascherano looking doubtful with a virus.

My Opinion

This could quite possibly be the best Premier League match that we’ll see this season with both teams desperate to get the other out of the title race. Although it is still early in the season a loss here will hurt.

I would expect to see a draw, although it has been sometime since Chelsea last lost at Stamford Bridge. The new found attacking style of Liverpool could very well see this turn into a high scoring affair. As a Liverpool supporter I would like to see them win, but I would consider this to be an unlikely result.

My Tip – Draw (Odds of $3.45 at Betfair)

On Saturday afternoon in the English city of Liverpool, the Reds will be playing host to the lads from Hull City in their next Premier League fixture. This should be an easy opportunity to win a bit of cash with the chances of Liverpool losing being very slim.

Liverpool

After a shaky start to the 2009/10 Premier League season, Liverpool is finally beginning to find some solid form. They are currently sitting in third place on the league table after winning their last 3 premier league fixtures. Overall they have won their last 5 games including 1 Carling Cup match and 1 Champions League match.

They have definitely been impressive over the last few weeks and their current form would be expected to be continued as they take on Hull at Anfield.

Liverpool only has 2 injuries in their line-up at the moment with Alberto Aquilani out with an ankle/foot injury (2 Weeks) and Daniel Agger with a back injury (5 Weeks).

Hull City

Hull City has not had a good opening to their Premier League campaign only managing to take 4 points in their 6 league fixtures so far. On average, Hull City is conceding slightly over 2 goals per game this season and they have lost their last 2 premier league games as well as taking a loss on Wednesday in the Carling Cup. The 2 games prior to this resulted in a draw against the Wolves and a win over Southend in the Carling Cup.

A very disappointing start to the season from Hull City has resulted with them sitting in 19^th place on the league table and unless they can turn it around, they may be facing relegation in the next few months.

Their line-up is currently riddled with injuries with 5 players out. The list includes Steven Mouyokolo with a hamstring injury (3 Days), Anthony Gardner with a knee injury (3 Days), Richard Garcia with a knee injury (5 Weeks), Jimmy Bullard with a knee injury (1 week) and Ian Ashbee is out with a PCL tear (7 Months).

My Opinion

Liverpool should be the outright winner here without any trouble from the visiting side. Liverpool only just missed out on the Premier league title last season and they are expected to challenge for it again this season. Hull City on the other hand is not exactly the best team in the league and will find it difficult to stave off defeat at the hands of the Reds.

The best bet for this match would have to be the correct score of 2-0 with a Liverpool win. The payout for this is currently $6.80 and is a very likely score line. Another safe bet would be on a clean sheet for Liverpool paying $1.70.

Head along to Betfair now for all the best Barclays Premier League odds.

As a Liverpool fan I was very excited to read about the plans of coach Rael Benitez for next season. Players like Carlos Tevez, David Silva and Glenn Johnson have all been talked about to build on their best ever Premier League performance last season. Liverpool finished 4 points behind Champions Manchester Utd and only have two disappointing 0-0 draws with Hull to blame for not taking out their first title in 18 years.

But with the recent news that the American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillet are looking to re finance their own debts back in to Liverpool that will plunge the iconic club $500 million in to the red has left me and thousands of fans all around the world absoloutely devistated.

There has been alot of interest from Dubai International to buy the reds, but Hicks and Gillet are determined to push forward with their re financing plan that could see Liverpool having to come up with annual interest payments of around $60 million.

The plan will not only put a dent in the clubs plans to build on this years success, but may even mean an exodus of players as the clubs financiers look to balance the books, with Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres being top of the list to go. The situation could end up being similar that of Leeds Utd where debts forced them to sell off players and even saw them drop out of the Premier League, the club is still recovering.

The two owners say that the club is not for sale at any price and that they have the clubs best interests at heart. But ever since they took over, Liverpool has been run more like a circus show than a successful soccer team and has become the laughing stock of English football, with Gillet and Hicks being compaired with former Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis and current Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has the most hated men in football.

They have used Liverpool as means to clear their own personal debts and if they have any heart or any respect for the people who spend $100 every week to watch the team they love they will sell up and let Liverpool get on with re building.

Liverpool are now at $3.75 to win the Premiership title in 2010 but expect those odds to lengthen if the sales to balance debts go ahead. Get your free bet at sportsbet.com.au

The English Premier league is drawing to a close with Manchester Utd favourites to claim an amazing third title on the run. They are three points clear of their nearest rivals Liverpool who have also played one game more. While most people around the world would put their houses on Utd clinching a record equaling 18th league title, the run in suggests that it might not be so clear cut.

Liverpool are in red hot form taking 22 points from a possible 24 in their last 8 league games, while racking up a whopping 23 goals along the way.

On paper Liverpool should take a maximum 9 points from their last three games against West Ham Utd, West Brom and Tottenham Hotspur, which will put the pressure right back on the Red Devils.

It has been slip ups against the so called lesser teams that has cost Liverpool dearly so far this season. The defeats at Middlesbrough and Tottenham, as well as draws against the likes of Wigan, Stoke and Hull were all seen as major low points. But with Fernando Torres set to return to the fray after missing the 3-0 victory at Newcastle, and the new PFA Fans Player of the year Steven Gerrard in the best form of his career I really can’t see any slip ups.

Manchester Utd on the other hand have a couple of tricky home ties, against Arsenal and Manchester City. Utd recently eliminated Arsenal from the semi finals of the European Champions league meaning that the Gunners will be out to put a dent in their title challenge. The Manchester Derby is always unpredictable, but Manchester City’s manager Mark Hughes and his big money signings will also be looking to put in a good performance in hope that a derby victory will be enough to secure their massive pay packets for at least another year. Manchester Utd’s other two games are both away, one to Wigan Athletic and the other to Hull City. Wigan are languishing in mid table with nothing left to play for while Hull are just one place and three points above the relegation zone. Hull have already proved they are no pushovers after giving Utd a scare earlier in the season only to lose 4-3. They have also held Liverpool to two well deserved scoreless draws. It would take a very brave man to bet against Manchester Utd, but that is the beauty of soccer, you just never know what to expect.

Premier League Winners

Manchester Utd $ 1.07

Liverpool $ 7.05

Chelsea $ 80.00

At the other end of the table it looks as though West Brom are certain of relegation. They are six points away from the safety zone with just three games remaining. The last two relegation spots are currently occupied by Newcastle Utd and Middlesbrough, but Portsmouth, Blackburn, Sunderland and Hull are by no means out of trouble yet. It is going to be an exciting last few weeks.

Premier League Relegation

Blackburn $ 26.00

Sunderland $ 4.25

Hull City $ 2.65

Newcastle $ 1.45

Middlesbrough $1.22

You can get a $200 free bet on all these markets when you join Sportsbet today.

The second leg of the Champion’s League Football is currently underway and Liverpool have become the first of the four English teams to be eliminated from the tournament at the hands of arch-rivals Chelsea.

Liverpool were faced with a monumental task from the start – they had lost by two goals in the first leg at home and so had to win the match away at Stamford Bridge by three goals to progress to the semi’s.

Liverpool Started With A Rush

The first thirty minutes had Liverpool fans in a frenzy as their men went two goals up and the impossible started to look like a near certainty. The match developed into a classic as both teams traded goals and the final score of 4-4 meant that Chelsea had survived and will now play Barcelona in what will be their fifth semi-final appearance in the past six tournaments.

Liverpool can hold their heads high – they delivered a wonderful performance away from home without their talismanic leader Steven Gerrard, and can now focus their attentions on the race for the Premier League title. They are currently in second place behind Manchester United, who have a one point lead and a game in hand. With just 6 games remaining for Liverpool they will be praying for Man U to drop some points soon.

Barcelona Progress

In the other quarter final played yesterday Bayern Munich managed to salvage some pride with a 1-1 draw against Barcelona who had belted them 4-0 in the opening leg. Barcelona will have home advantage in the first leg of the semi-finals against Chelsea.

Other Quarter Finals To Be Played Tonight

Manchester United face a tough challenge tonight as they head to the home stadium of FC Porto with the tie locked at 2-2 after the first leg. No English team has won at Estádio do Dragão in eleven attempts but if any team is capable of breaking that streak it is the Red Devils who are the defending champions.

They are having another strong season in ’08/’09 – they are top of the table in their domestic competition, have progressed to the semi finals of the FA Cup and are currently on an amazing 22 game unbeaten streak in the Champions League.

That being said their ability to win on the road in recent times has not been so impressive, with just one victory away from homechampions league, manchester united, liverpool, chelsea, barcelona, arsenal in this European campaign. 

Bookmakers have installed them as favourites at 2.05

In the other quarter final left to be decided Arsenal will go into the second leg having travelled to Villareal and come away with a draw, giving them the advantage at home. Arsene Wenger’s men have yet to concede a goal at home in this tournament, but will be tested tonight with a couple of their key defensive players sidelined through injury.

Arsenal are heavily backed to win at around $1.50.

For odds on these matches and other specialty bets click here now to head over to Centrebet where you can also get a free bet of up to $50 when you sign up.

Crooksy

If you had of looked at the betting markets for the English Premier League just over two weeks ago, you’d have seen that Manchester United were about as short as you can get in a race with 19 other challengers and a dozen rounds yet to be played. They were seven points clear of their nearest rivals Liverpool and to make matters even more difficult for their opponents they had a game in hand as well.

How could last year’s champions of Europe possibly lose from there?

Flash forward to the present and we have been given a great example of how quickly things can turn around in sport. It all began with Liverpool’s 4-1 thumping of Man U in Manchester, a game bookies had given Benitez’s men little chance of winning. It was followed up the very next weekend with Liverpool hammering top 4 candidate Aston Villa 5-0, and the shock loss of United to Fulham – their first back-t-back loss in the EPL since 2005.

All of a sudden Liverpool’s rich vein of form has seen them firm from 11/1 in to 5/2 in just two weeks. Manchester remain favourites at 4/11 as they are one point clear of Liverpool with a game in hand over the rest of the field. Chelsea are in third spot a further 3 points back.

So what has gone wrong for Man U…and what has gone right for Liverpool?

Liverpool’s Resurgent Combination Up Front

The key for Liverpool over the past few weeks, has been the partnership between home town hero Steven Gerrard, and the prodigiously talented Spaniard Fernando Torres. Gerrard has been in imperious form of late scoring 6 goals in his last 3 games and is putting himself forward as a candidate for FIFA Footballer Of The Year.

His combination with Torres definitely raises the performance of the rest of the team, and this has been obvious since the Spaniard’s return from injury. With such strikepower up front the rest of the team understands that if they do their job well, the goals will come and over the past few weeks they have delivered on this.

The Problem For Manchester

Having assumed such a commanding lead at the top of the table, all the talk over the past few weeks had been about the possibility of them claiming an unprecedented five titles in the one season. This may have led them to take their eye of the ball so to speak.

In interviews with many of the players after their defeat to Fulham, there was a definite air of surprise about what was happening, which is often an indication that some complacency had slipped in to their camp.

Obviously they are trying to manage their resources in their bid to claim Cup victories in Europe and at home, but they will need to pick up their act once the season regular resumes at the conclusion of the upcoming round of international friendlies.

Manchester’s Opponents Will Be On Liverpool’s Side

They play Aston Villa straight up, with Martin O’Neill’s men currently lying three points outside of the top four. A loss to Manchester would put a huge hole in their drive to qualify for the Champions league next year and will give them the greatest possible incentive to win.

Then there is the fact that the majority of teams in the competition (with the obvious exception being Everton) would rather see Liverpool claim the title, and you have a situation where all of Manchester’s opponents will be gunning for their head.

The next couple of months are going to make for some very interesting viewing.

Crooksy