Ajax Amsterdam vs AC Milan 01-10-2013 Champions League

  Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam (Netherlands) will be hosting on Tuesday, October 01, 2013, an UEFA Champions League 2013-14 (Group H) match between Ajax Amsterdam and AC Milan. The match referee will be J. Eriksson‎.

  Ajax Amsterdam team was quite helpless in their first Champions League match against Barcelona. They were cut open time and time again. Since and including 2011 Ajax are 2-1-3 at home in all Champions League matches. This Ajax edition looks to be ever so slightly off the pace compared to the team they’ve had the last couple of seasons. For Ajax Bojan Krkic (Attacking midfielder) is out.

   AC Milan on the other hand beat Celtic with a weakened first eleven in their first Champions League match of the season. Since and including 2011 Milan is 2-5-4 away from home in all Champions League matches. De Sciglio (Defender), El Shaarawy (Attacker) and Kaka (Attacking midfielder) are all out still. Influential midfielder Montolivo is in the squad and is expected to play.

Possible lineups:

• Ajax Amsterdam: Vermeer; Van Rhijn, Moisander, Denswil, Blind; De Jong, Poulsen; Sereno, Bojan, Fischer; Sigthorsson.
• AC Milan: Abbiati; Abate, Mexes, Zapata, Constant; Birsa, Poli, De Jong; Niang, Matri, Balotelli.

Ajax Amsterdam vs AC Milan - UEFA Champions League 2013-14 (Group H)
Match date: Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Kick Off Time: 20:45 CET - 18:45 GMT - 8:45 PM
Stadium: Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Referee: J. Eriksson‎ 

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

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Arsenal vs Napoli Uefa Champions League 01-10-2013

Match Details and Timings:
Arsenal vs Napoli
Football: UEFA Champions League 2013-14
Match date: October 1, 2013
Kick Off Time: 2:45 PM EDT - 19:45 UK (BST) - 6:45 pm (GMT), 12:15 am (IST)
Stadium: Emirates Stadium - London
Referee: M. Mažić‎

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

Arsenal have won every game since an opening day loss in the league, and went to Marseille and won 2-1, though they did ride their luck at times in their opening Group F fixture. A 2-1 win at Swansea saw them top of the Premier league with fifteen points from six, and midfielder Ramsey scored again to keep us his great goalscoring run. There are plenty of injury worries though for the Gunners with Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Oxlade Chamberlain and Diaby all out, Rosicky may return. 

Arsenal (4-2-3-1):  Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Flamini, Wilshere, Ramsey, Gnabry, Ozil, Giroud.

Napoli beat Dortmund 2-1 on match day one, and though they played ten men for a large part of the game it was a good display. In Serie A they are unbeaten and have sixteen points from six played, just two points off leaders Roma. The latest a 2-0 away win in Genoa , Pandev with both goals, his first strikes of the season. Benitez brings real European pedigree as a coach, and the signings in the summer look to have made the squad stronger, despite losing Cavani. 

Napoli (4-2-3-1): Reina, Maggio, Zuniga, Britos, Albiol, Behrami, Inler, Callejon, Hamsik, Insigne, Higuain.

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AS Roma vs Bologna 5-0 Highlights 29-09-2013

Football: Italian Serie A
Match date: 29 September 2013
Kick Off Time: 19:45 UK (BST)
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Italy

Final score and result:- Roma vs Bologna 5-0 ( Florenzi, Gervinho 2 goals, Benatia, Ljajic)
Stadio Olimpico, Rome- 29 September, 2013- 29/9/13- Sunday- Serie A.
Gervinho scores twice as Roma make it six in a row with a crushing 5-0 win over Bologna.

Roma 5-0 Bologna

8′ 1-0 Florenzi A. // 17′ 2-0 Gervinho // 25′ 3-0 Benatia M. // 62′ 4-0 Gervinho // 85′ 5-0 Ljajić A 

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Torino vs Juventus Italian Serie A 29-09-2013

Torino are going well with eight points and just one loss in five games, the midweek draw at home to Verona in which they surrendered a lead twice in a 2-2 draw. Cerci get another two goals there, taking the midfielders tally for the season to five. Larrondo is the only injury doubt for the Turin derby match.  Juventus have won the last four meetings of the teams played here , and are unbeaten in the last seven. 

Torino (3-5-2): Padelli; Darmian, Bovo, Moretti; D’Ambrosio, Basha, Vives, El Kaddouri, Pasquale; Cerci, Immobile

Juventus went behind at Chievo midweek, but hit back for a 2-1 win. This is the fourth game running they have went behind , and it is a pattern they will want to end. The win puts them on thirteen points still unbeaten, so something is going right and they will want a win in the derby to keep spirits high for an upcoming champions league match. Pepe, Caceres and Rubinho remain the only injury misses.

Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pogba, Marchisio, Asamoah; Tevez, Vucinic

Competition: Italian Serie A

Stadio Olimpico Torino, Turin, Italy
Sunday, 29 September 2013 11:30 UK (BST) - 6:30 AM EDT

Referee:‬ P. Mazzoleni‎ 

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

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Aston Villa vs Manchester City 3-2 Highlights 2013

Competition: Premier League
Match date: 28 September 2013
Kick Off Time: 15:00 UK (BST)
Venue: Villa Park, England  

Final score and result:- Aston Villa vs Man City 3-2 ( El Ahmadi, Bacuna, Weimann/ Toure, Dzeko)

Villa Park, Birmingham- 28 September, 2013- 28/9/13- 15.00 UK KO Saturday

Villa come from behind twice to register a stunning 3-2 win over Man City

Aston Villa 3-2 Manchester City:

[0-1] - Y. Toure - [45']
[1-1] - K. El Ahmadi - [51']
[1-2] - E. Dzeko - [56']
[2-2] - L. Bacuna - [73']
[3-2] - A. Weimann - [75'] 

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Manchester United vs West Brom 1-2 Highlights 25-09-2013

Venue: Old Trafford
Date: Saturday, 28 September, 2013
Kick off: 15:00 GMT

Final score and result:- Manchester United vs West Brom 1-2 ( Rooney/ Amalfitano, Berahino)

Old Trafford, Manchester- 28 September, 2013- 15.00 UK- 28/9/13- Saturday

West Brom secure their first win at Old Trafford since 1978 as Man Utd fall into the bottom half of the table after being stunned by the Baggies.

Manchester United 1-2 West Bromwich Albion:

54′ 0-1 Morgan Amalfitano // 57′ Wayne Rooney 1-1 // 67′ 1-2 Saido Berahino

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Tottenham vs Chelsea 28-09-2013 Highlights 1-1

Venue: White Hart Lane
Date: Saturday, 28 September, 2013
Kick off: 12:45 GMT

Tottenham held a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the match of English Premier League. Tottenham vs Chelsea match ended with 1-1 scoreline in English Premier League 2013. Torres got red card in the match against Tottenham.

Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea Highlights
19′ 1-0 Sigurdsson G. // 65′ 1-1 Terry J

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Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid Spanish La Liga 28-09-2013

Real Madrid is 5-1-0 in the Primera Division so far. Five out of those six went over 2.5 and three of them over 3.5. For Real Madrid Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Xabi Alonso are still missing. Isco and Christiano Ronaldo has arguably been the team’s best performers so far. Ancelotti will need these two attacking players in top shape for this spectacular La Liga matchup.

Real Madrid lineups:
- Diego Lopez, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao, Alvaro Arbeloa, Pepe, Luka Modric, Angel Di Maria, Isco, Sami Khedira, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema.

 

Atletico Madrid is a perfect 6-0-0 in the Primera Division so far. Five out of those six went over 2.5. Three of them went over 3.5. For Atletico Madrid Attacking midfielder Adrian is still set to miss out. Having sold Falcao, many thought Atletico would struggle this season. Not so! Diego Costa and David Villa have been phenomenal up front. The experienced central midfielder Tiago, and young attacking midfielder Koke (5 assists so far) has also been on fire. Arda Turan (Attacking midfielder) has also been really good. What I like about this team is that they also brought in so many good players to add depth to their squad after Falcao left.

Atletico Madrid lineups:
- Thibaut Courtois, Miranda, Diego Godin, Filipe Luis Kasmirski, Juanfran, Gabi Fernández, Tiago, Koke, Arda Turan, David Villa, Diego Costa.

Event details: 

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid - Spain - LIGA BBVA
Date: September 28, 2013
Time: 20:00 UTC - 10:00 PM CEST
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu - Madrid

Referee: Antonio Mateu‎ 

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

 

 

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Galatasaray vs Caykur Rizespor Super League 28 Sep, 2013

Galatasaray came back to defeat Besiktas in the derby; but the game had to be postponed as the fans entered into the pitch before the match finished officially. They are expected to get all three points. During the midweek, the board declared that they are not going to continue with coach Fatih Terim. So the story is over for the legendary coach. His assistants will be in charge for the last time on Saturday. Melo is banned. Except him, Hamit Altintop is also injured.
Galatasaray: Muslera - Eboue, Semih, Chedjou, Hakan - Engin, Ceyhun, Sneijder, Selcuk - Burak, Drogba.

Caykur Rize have been doing a great job on the recent news as they defeated Bursa at home and recorded their fourth victory in five games as a newly promoted side. Coach Riza Calimbay will miss injured Eren Albayrak. Uche Kalu also missed the last two fixtures. He will be assessed before the trip to Istanbul. Keeper Necati Yilmaz is also injured. Until now, they managed to score in every game. So they have no goal scoring problem. However, They have only one clean sheet. It means they need to be careful in the defence line in order to get points from Istanbul.

Caykur Rizespor: Serkan - Sezer, Viera, Ali Adnan, Koray - Cernat, Kivanc, Sylvestre, Sercan - Tevfik, Kweuke.

Football: Turkey Super League: 6. Round

Whene: 28 September 2013 - 16:00 GMT
Where: Turk Telekom Arena, Istanbul
Referee: Ali Palabiyik

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

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Tottenham vs Chelsea Premier League 28 Sep, 2013

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
2013/2014 English Premier League, Round 6

Date/Time: Saturday, September 28, 2013 at 12:45 BST (7:45 am EST, 4:45 am PST, 17:15 IST)

Venue/Location: White Hart Lane, London, England

Referee:‬ M. Dean‎

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

 Followers of the game are excited for a big match this weekend as Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea at White Hart Lane. Chelsea's performances have been solid so far this season with wins over Hull City, Aston Villa and Fulham in league play. However, a 1-0 defeat at Everton ended the second honeymoon of returning boss Jose Mourinho, and a home Champions League loss to FC Basel rubbed salt in the wound. Kalas, Ramires and Van Ginkel are yet to return due to injuries.

Going into the sixth round of Premier League proceedings, Tottenham hold second place in the table and are just behind local rivals Arsenal on goal difference. With Chelsea just two points behind, one of these sides will be leading the table following Saturday's lunchtime fixture. Villas-Boas comes up against the club that sacked him as manager after just nine months last spring with his revamped Spurs in a fine run of form. It is expected that Capoue and Lennon will all miss out due to injury.

Possible line-ups:

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton; Dembele, Paulinho; Townsend, Eriksen, Sigurdsson; Soldado.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Mikel; Schurrle, Oscar, Hazard; Eto'o.

 

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Inter Milan vs Fiorentina 26-09-2013 Italian Serie A

Match Details and Timings:

Inter Milan vs Fiorentina

Competition: Italian Serie A
Match date: 26 September 2013
Kick Off Time: 19:45 UK (BST) - 8:45 PM SAST
Where: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza - Milano

Referee:‬ P. Valeri‎ 

 Two sides who have both won three and drawn one put their unbeaten records on the line here. Inter followed up a 1-1 draw with Juventus (the only goal they have conceded so far), with a resounding 7-0 away win at promoted Sassuolo.  Diego Milito celebrated his return from injury with two from the bench and will hope to push into the starting line up again. Defenders Chivu and Zanetti are the the only injury misses now, both out long term. Inter under Mazzarri are proving many cynics wrong, and last years awful season looks unlikely to be repeated. Inter have won this fixture for the past twelve seasons, quite a show of dominance over their rivals going into the game.

-Inter Milan (3-5-1-1): Handanovic – Campagnaro, Ranocchia, Juan – Jonathan, Guarin, Cambiasso, Taider, Nagatomo – Alvarez – Palaci

Fiorentina won 2-0 in Atalanta at the weekend, Rossi settling the game. They do have important absentees though most notably Mario Gomez up front. Also out injured are Cuadrado, Iakovenko, Ilicic and Pizarro serves the last game of a suspension. Aqualini is a class midfielder in this league, and Rossi is a top notch striker so they still possess a real threat though.

-Fiorentina (3-5-1-1): Neto – Tomovic, Rodriguez, Savic – Joaquin, Aquilani, Ambrosini, Valero, Pasqual – Fernandez – Rossi.

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

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Elche vs Real Madrid 1-2 Highlights 2013 Spanish La Liga

Game Played on 25th September, 2013
Kick Off at 20:00 (GMT)
Half Time finished with scoreline 0:0
Game ended after Full Time with scoreline 1:2

Final score and result:- Elche vs Real Madrid 1-2 ( Boakye/ Ronaldo 2)
Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero, Elche- 25 September, 2013- 21.00 UK KO- 25/9/13- Wednesday
A controversial Cristiano Ronaldo penalty deep into second half stoppage time gives Real Madrid a 2-1 win over newly promoted Elche in La Liga

Elche 1-2 Real Madrid:

51′ 0-1 Ronaldo C. // 90′ Richmond Boakye 1-1 // 90′ 1-2 (pen.) Cristiano Ronaldo

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Manchester United vs Liverpool FC 25.09.2013 Capital One Cup

Manchester United will be aiming for the win following their disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Manchester City. Following the poor showing, David Moyes is going to have some changes in the team line-up. Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini could be dropped at the expense of Anderson and Tom Cleverley. This could also be an opportunity for Jonny Evans as he makes his first start of the season. Robin van Persie, Rafael, Phil Jones and Darren Fletcher will all be sidelined with injury.

Manchester United (4-4-1-1): Lindegaard – Fabio, Ferdinand, Evans, Buttner – Nani, Carrick, Cleverley, Kagawa – Rooney – Hernandez.

Despite the 0-1 loss to Southampton on the weekend, Liverpool continues to strive for a return to the top of the game. Before the match with Southampton, Liverpool had gone undefeated and managed a 1-0 home win over Manchester United earlier this month. Liverpool once again have Luis Suárez following a 10-match ban and the Uruguayan is expected to start at Old Trafford. However, Daniel Agger, Philippe Coutinho, Aly Cissokho, Sebastían Coates and Glen Johnson will all miss.

 Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mignolet – Toure, Skrtel, Sakho, Enrique – Gerrard, Lucas – Sterling, Henderson, Moses – Suarez.

Competition: 2013/2014 England League Cup, 3rd Round
Match date: 25 September 2013
Kick Off Time: 19:45 UK (BST) - 20:45 CET
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester - England 

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

 

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Chievo Verona vs Juventus Italian Serie A 25-09-2013

Chievo Verona vs Juventus

Competition: Italian Serie A
Match date: September 25, 2013
Kick Off Time: 19:45 UK (BST) - 18:45 GMT
Where: Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi - Verona

Referee:‬ A. De Marco

‎Chievo Verona have four points so far and picked up their first win by beating Udinese 2-1 at home at the weekend. They trailed after a minute but came back to lead before the break, and deserved the three points.  Dainelli and Kupisz yet to feature this season are the only injury misses. Chievo have only beaten Juventus once in twenty attempts, and lost home and away last season which shows the task they face coming into this game.

Champions Juventus have began with three wins and an away point at Inter. They beat new boys Verona 2-1 at home at the weekend, when they recovered after surprisingly falling behind. Carlos Tevez has settled well and has three already, and Chilean Vidal continues to impress. Pepe and Caceres are still missing with injury, but otherwise a full squad for Conte to choose from.

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

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Marseille vs Saint-Etienne 24 Sep, 2013

24 September 2013 10:00 PM EAT - 19:00 GMT
Where: Stade Vélodrome - Marseille
Referee:‬ S. Ennjimi‎ 

 

Marseille have 3-2-1 so far and are as expected in the top just below Monaco and PSG. They are not in very good form as they have 0-2-2 in last four matches. But they have met good opposition in the two matches they lost, they lost 2-1 at home to Monaco and then 2-1 at home to Arsenal in the Champions League. Last match ended 0-0 away to Bastia, and the fans are surely expecting better results in future matches. Saint Etienne are 4-0-2 and a third place is better than expected before the season started, though they have mainly met teams that are currently in bottom half of the table. They are 2-0-1 away so far this season, last weekend they lost 2-1 away to Toulouse. 

 

The teams have met many times before, and Marseille have the upper hand with 12-6-7. At home Marseille have not lost to Saint Etienne and it is 9-3-0. For Marseille the forward Gignac is out (he has featured in all six league matches plus against Arsenal), but attacking midfielder Payet should be back again. Saint Etienne will be without the forward and previous Marseille player Brandao, plus defender Perrin (he played in five of the matches) is also absent.

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

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Kayserispor vs Trabzonspor September 23, 2013

Kayserispor have began with a (112) record in four played and are winless since the opening day. Last week they drew 1-1 at Gencerbirligi, denied by a 95^th minute equaliser of victory. They are unbeaten in this fixture in eight, winning five of them, and last season brought a 2-1 win. They finished fifth last season on 52 points with a home record of (953).

Trabzonspor have began (202), winning both at home and losing both away which doesn’t bode well for this tough trip. They did manage an away win in Limassol in the Europa league in midweek, meaning they can win away. Last week in the league they beat Karabukspor 1-0, Brazilian Paulo Henrique getting the goal. Former English premier league midfielders Zokora and Malouda help make up a solid looking midfield. Last season they finished ninth with 46 points with a (4 3 10) away record.

When: September 23, 2013 1:00 PM EDT - 17:00 GMT

Where: Kadir Has Şehir Stadı - Kayseri

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Besiktas JK vs Galatasaray 22 Sep, 2013

Besiktas JK - Galatasaray

Turkey Super League: 5. Round
Match date: 22 September 2013
Kick Off Time: 17:00 UK (BST)
Venue: Ataturk Olimpiyat, Istanbul

Besiktas offered a perfect performance on the road against Bursa. With a three-goal victory, they continued to sit at the top of the league. Coach Slaven Bilic will miss plenty of players including Ismial Koybasi, Ugur Boral, Oguzhan Ozyakup, Filip Holosko and banned Omer Sismanoglu. Veli Kavlak was also injured; but he recovered and is ready to play. Key player Manuel Fernandes was carrying a slight problem; but he will probably play on Sunday evening in the derby.

Galatasaray were humiliated by Real Madrid in UEFA Champions League. They were also unable to win their last three fixtures in the league. So it makes pressure on coach Fatih Terim's team. It seems like they have to win this fixture in order to be around the top of the league. Didier Drogba got injured during the midweek fixture. His situation is doubtful. Besides him, Hamit Altintop and Eray Iscan will not feature.

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Dortmund replaces a win with 1-1 draw at Nuremberg

Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund struggled to a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg on Saturday that ended their perfect start to the season of five straight league wins.

Despite several changes to the team that lost 2-1 at Napoli in the Champions League in midweek, Dortmund, who stay top of the Bundesliga table with 16 points, were initially the better side.

With top striker Robert Lewandowski and midfielder Nuri Sahin on the bench and defender Mats Hummels injured, coach Juergen Klopp brought in youngsters Marvin Duksch and Erik Durm.

The visitors broke the deadlock in the 37th minute with a fierce free kick from Marcel Schmelzer.

Nuremberg, who have yet to win this season, grew bolder in the second half and secured an equaliser in the 51st minute with Per Nilsson's close-range effort after Dortmund defenders failed to clear a free kick.

Dortmund pushed forward but failed to carve out a second despite some frantic attacking, and it was Nuremberg who almost grabbed an unexpected winner when Alexander Esswein raced clear but fired over the bar in stoppage time.

Bayer Leverkusen moved up to second place on 15 points, shrugging off their own Champions League defeat to Manchester United, by demolishing Mainz 05 4-1 with two goals from Australian Robbie Kruse.

Leverkusen are one point behind Dortmund and two ahead of third-placed Bayern Munich, who travel to Schalke 04 later on Saturday.

Hamburg SV, the only team to have played in the Bundesliga every season since its creation in 1963, headed deeper into crisis after losing their northern derby against visitors Werder Bremen 2-0 after a Nils Petersen double.

Hamburg, who sacked coach Thorsten Fink on Monday, dropped to third-from-bottom on four points while Bremen, in ninth place, have nine.

Croat striker Ivica Olic struck once either side of half-time to help VfL Wolfsburg fight back from a goal down and beat Hoffenheim 2-1 to move up to sixth place.

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Arsenal FC vs Stoke City 22-09-2013 Premier League

Arsenal FC - Stoke City
2013/2014 English Premier League, Round 5
Date: 22.September.2013 - 14:30 CET
Stadium: Emirates Stadium - London
Referee: Mike Dean

 On Sunday, 22nd September at 14:30 (CET), Arsenal FC will host Stoke City at Emirates Stadium for Round 5 of the 2013/2014 English Premier League.

Arsenal enjoyed a winning start to their Champions League group stage campaign with a 1-2 away win over Olympique Marseille in France. Gunners are now on a six match winning streak in all competitions and have the opportunity to go top of the Premier League with a win over Stoke on Sunday. Arsene Wenger has no new injury concerns and may welcome back Mikel Arteta into the squad after the Spanish midfielder resumed training this week.

Stoke preserved a three game undefeated run with a 0-0 home draw against Manchester City last weekend. Mark Hughes will be pleased with the current form and hope the Potters are capable of a similar feat at Emirates. Peter Crouch is expected to replace Kenwyne Jones in the attack. The Trinidad and Tobago striker has not managed to find the net in four games this season.

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Ronaldo reminds Bale who is the boss at Real

Cristiano Ronaldo scored three consecutive goals against Galatasaray to remind the new teammate Gareth Bale that who is the boss at Real Madrid. Real Madrid had recently paid a record transfer fee of 100 million euros for Gareth Bale. Previously this record was held by one of the most famous and best football player in the World, Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid had payed 94 million euros for Ronaldo in 2009.

With the help of 3 goals Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid picked-up a victory by 6-1 in the Champions League Group B opening match. Ronaldo has recently extended his contract with the club till 2018 and according to reports is now the world’s highest paid player with an annual wage of around 17 million euros. Bale entered is the ground as a substitute in the second half of the game and helped to set-up the fourth and the fifth goal for his team.
Ronaldo had welcomed Bale in the team by giving him a hard time in the training session. Ronaldo said that they are now getting to know each other and soon everything will start getting better as Bale is steadily getting up to the speed after staying out of the action for a while.
During a presentation Gareth Bale joked that Ronaldo is the Boss in the team. Bale had scored his Real Madrid debut goal against Villarreal and said that he feels quite satisfied after being able to contribute to the team’s performance immediately.

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Man City vs Manchester United Premier League 22 Sep, 2013

Once again, the Premier League has something amazing for its viewers, one of the most awaited and most enjoyable match of the year: The Manchester Derby. Both the bitter rivals from Manchester will be facing each other in the same city this Sunday, 22nd September at 17:00 (CET).

 

Manchester City opened their Champions League account with 0-3 win over Czech Republic side Viktoria Plzen and Manuel Pellegrini is expected to preserve the starting eleven from that match for Sunday's fixture. City are level on points with United but hold 4th place ahead of their rivals on virtue of a +1 goal difference. Last season's corresponding fixture ended 2-3 in favour of the visitors and this year will be just as uncertain with both clubs starting the season with new managers.

The Red Devils celebrated a convincing 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen in their midweek Champions League fixture, with Wayne Rooney on the double to help secure the victory. Rooney and Robin van Persie will need to be just as clinical if United are to come on top in the Etihad Stadium. David Moyes will likely opt for Ashley Young over Shinji Kagawa but otherwise is expected to preserve the starting eleven from Tuesday's win.

Manchester City vs Manchester United
2013/2014 English Premier League, Round 5

22.September.2013 - 17:00 CET
Stadium: Etihad Stadium - Manchester
Referee: Howard Webb

 

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Lithuania defeated Croatia and qualified for Euro final

Former European champions Lithuania reached their first final since winning the 2003 tournament after an effervescent performance by their back-court players secured a 77-62 win over Croatia on Friday.

The Lithuanians romped into Sunday's showpiece thanks to an 18-3 run early in the second half and will lock horns with either holders Spain or 2011 runners-up France, who meet later on Friday.

Playmaker Mantas Kalnietis scored 18 points, shooting guard Jonas Maciulis netted a game-high 23 to go with six rebounds and forward Linas Kleiza sank 22 coupled with 11 rebounds to give a physical Lithuanian team their ninth win in 10 matches against the Croatians.

"We gave Kleiza and Maciulis too many open shots and we didn't play defence with enough tenacity," Croatia forward Bojan Bogdanovic, their top scorer with 15 points, told the country's national HRT television.

"The fans were our best player today and we can only hope that they come back in numbers on Sunday for the bronze-medal match."

Despite failing to contain Kleiza in the first half, when the former Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets sharpshooter scored 17 points, the Croatians rallied from a nine-point deficit and trailed 40-37 at halftime.

But Kalnietis and Maciulis took over from Kleiza after the interval as the Lithuanians romped away to a 58-40 lead midway through the third quarter, sparking wild celebrations among their fans in the Stozice Arena.

They held firm in the final period to snap Croatia's eight-game winning streak, which came after a crushing 68-40 opening day defeat by Spain and drove them to their first semi-final since they won the bronze medal in the 1995 tournament in Greece.

"The better team won and having more depth in a squad as athletic as Lithuania makes all the difference in a marathon 24-team tournament," said Croatia coach Jasmin Repesa.

"We hoped to go all the way but looked very flat today and had no chance of winning with poor perimeter shooting," he added after seeing his team nail only three of 20 three-pointers.

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Midfielder Busquets to be out in Barcelona/Rayo match

Sergio Busquets has been left out of Barcelona's squad for Saturday's match at Rayo Vallecano, the club said on Friday, opening the door for Alex Song or Sergio Roberto to start in midfield.

Coach Gerardo Martino, who replaced Tito Vilanova in the close-season, has sought to keep his squad fresh by resting and rotating players who have also had international commitments.

Busquets was left off the squad list released by Barca, who are seeking a fifth straight league win against a Rayo side who are looking to end a three-game losing streak following their opening 3-0 victory against Elche.

Barca's assistant coach Jorge Pautasso was standing in at the pre-game news conference for Martino, who has travelled to Argentina to attend his father's funeral.

Pautasso defended Martino's attempts to alter the team's tactics and to reintroduce elements from former coach Pep Guardiola's successful side.

"We're not bringing any revolution, not even major changes," he told reporters.

"We would never betray the Barcelona style, since we want to add to, not take away from, the good that was achieved."

Rayo's main focus will be on tightening up at the back, having conceded 12 goals already this season, more than any other side in La Liga.

Barcelona are tied with Atletico Madrid as the league's most prolific scorers with 14.

Martino will return from Argentina on Saturday morning in order to be in the dugout in Madrid.

Lionel Messi is set to play his 250th La Liga game, nine years after making his debut against Espanyol.

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Chelsea vs Fulham Premier League 21 Sep, 2013

Match Details and Timings:
Chelsea vs Fulham
Football: 2013/2014 English Premier League
Match date:  Saturday, 21 September 2013
Kick Off Time: 12:30 PM EDT - 16:30 GMT
Stadium: Stamford Bridge, London, United Kingdom
Referee: Andre Marriner

 

Stamford Bridge, London will be hosting on September 21, 2013, an English Premier League match between Chelsea and Fulham. The match referee will be Andre Marriner. 

 

  Chelsea is has lost to Basel in a Champions League at home in midweek. The team is expected to win the English Premier League, however it doesn't look like it's going to be the champion, especially when it played badly in the final third. Coach Mourinho, seems not to count much on Torres and Ba, in addition that Mata is often not included. Chelsea made the record of 2/1/1 so far, which means there's still time to change this round, if it scored 3 goals against Fulham.  The has no injuries to worry about.

  Fulham, on the other hand, made 4 points in 4 games. The team could beat WBA, but, unfortunately, it  messed that up last match day towards the end. Fulham has a very good attacking midfielders, and overall the players look in a very good form. Thus, the game will not be that easy for Chelsea to beat Fulham. The latter which is going to miss: Briggs (defender), Stekelenburg (Goalie), Hughes (Defender) new in the team Darren Bent (Striker).

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