Stats Point To Spurs And Liverpool Making Progress In Europe

It was a nasty shock for Tottenham to leave Switzerland with a deficit against a Young Boys team generally thought to be the weakest of the teams they could have drawn but the odds still favour qualification for the group stages of the Champions League for the North Londoners. Teams facing a 3-2 de...

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Ten Handy Facts About Young Boys Berne

Though there are no easy ties in the Champions League, the draw for the qualifiers has been kind to Spurs. The Swiss club are a less worrying proposition than Sampdoria or Dinamo Kiev but who are Young Boys? 1. Though they have 11 Swiss titles, Young Boys have not topped the pile in the Swiss Super...

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20 Handy Facts About Sporting Braga (Again)

The Portuguese side stand in the way of Celtic in the Third Qualifying Round of the Champions League. Square Football noted 20 handy facts about Braga back in March 2007 when they were drawn against Spurs in the Europa League.Some of these nuggets were there in 2007 but most are new. 1. One Braga p...

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Should ‘Woy’ lead the Anfield revolution?

If reports on Friday’s BBC Football website are accurate then Roy Hodgson, currently fulfilling punditry obligations in South Africa, is being lined up as Liverpool’s big summer signing. But is that a positive signal of intent? Hodgson enjoyed an enchanted last season but is the Fulham boss really t...

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Our opinions on how the Inter vs Bayern Munich CL Final will go

The Champions' League final is bereft of either an English or a Spanish team for only the third time in a decade; in the last ten seasons there have been six Spanish finalists (Valencia x 2, Real Madrid x 2, Barcelona x 2) and six English finalists (Manchester United x 2, Liverpool x 2, Chelsea, Ars...

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Get on side and sport your colours for Shelter this World Cup

In celebration of this years FIFA World Cup, housing and homelessness charity Shelter are teaming up with Nationwide Building Society, Official England Team sponsor, to launch their fantastic footy fundraiser, Strip4Shelter. Shelter is asking people across the country to replace their regular work ...

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Champions' League turns back into the European Cup

Given the dominance of English teams in recent years, and in their turn the Spanish teams and Italian teams before them, the Champions' League has been a curious competition for a few years. It has become less about which is the strongest team, it has been more about which team from the strongest l...

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Arsenal: Can Arsenal spring a huge shock at the Nou Camp?

Normally it’s Arsenal who pass and move teams to death but last Wednesday night the Gunners were given a taste of their own medicine by the Champions League holders Barcelona. For most of the game Wenger’s men were left chasing shadows. Only the sheer brilliance of the much-maligned Manuel Almunia –...

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Arsenal v Barcelona- The History

Memories of the 2006 Champions League Final are still fresh in the memory. Arsenal lost keeper Jens Lehmann early on and battled away with ten men for most of the contest before Barcelona and some cunning from Henrik Larsson sealed their fate. The two clubs have hardly ever met in Europe. In pre-Ch...

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Bayern Munich v Manchester United- The History

When these two giants were paired in the last eight of theChampions League on Friday, the immediate thought was of the epic 1999 Final- but apart from that contest meetings between these two clubs have been rarer than expected. Bayern were a modest club in the early days of European competition and...

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Beckham bows, Bale wows

OK, so the nation’s red-top readers might not be unified in touching an x-ray of his broken Achilles tendon this summer, but David Beckham’s injury and subsequent absence from this year’s World Cup rightfully dominated Mondays papers. Sure, his prospective absence isn’t anywhere near as pressing...

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Manchester United: Can Rooney beat Ronaldo’s record?

The sublime Wayne Rooney scored another brace against AC Milan on Wednesday night to book United’s place in the last eight of the Champions League and former Old Trafford favourite David Beckham received a hero’s return from the fans, but it wasn’t such a good night for another former United ace. ...

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Arsenal: Does Wenger really want United or Chelsea in Champions League?

A Nicklas Bendtner hat-trick on Tuesday night against Porto banished the Great Dane’s horror show at the weekend to book Arsenal’s place in the last eight of the Champions League. It was a stunning display by the Gunners who went into the game 2-1 down from the first leg and many were fearing the wo...

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Tottenham Hotspur: FA Cup glory or Champions League – What’s more important to you?

Many top flight managers have been criticised this season in the FA Cup for resting established first team stars in order to give some of their fringe players a chance to get some game time and show what they can do. Harry Redknapp insists that he will never fall into that category. The former Por...

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Premier League Team of the Decade (2000-2009)

This is a difficult team to compile because it would be so easy to let bias drift in and allow players that are dominant in the latter part of the decade more credit than players that were just as important a few years ago. So I decided to use the teams produced by the PFA as the teams of the year ...

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Obertan and Valencia can replace Cristiano Ronaldo as United go back to the 1990s

As any number of pundits pointed out last summer, you can't replace Cristiano Ronaldo - he offers goals, pace, dead ball threat and those direct tricky runs that defenders absolutely loathe. But what United have done is look to minimise the impact by adapting their game and by combining the attribu...

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Tottenham Hotspur: Carling Cup success or top four finish? You decide!

High-flying Tottenham Hotspur travel to the home of the champions and Carling Cup holders Manchester United tonight in a match that could potentially see them being just 180 minutes away from their third Wembley final in as many years. Unfortunately for those Spurs fans who have shelled out good mon...

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The end of my Liverpool grieving process

Im beginning to get over it now. The midweek thing. Im always being told to get over it, so I am. Its ok. Really. We can concentrate on winning the league now were out of the European Cup. Theres a stat somewhere that suggests winning the league is more do-able if youre out of the European cup ear...

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Is a shock Besiktas win at Manchester United possible?

Anyone who saw the lacklustre Manchester United display for an hour against CSKA Moscow must be wondering whether a United side that has already qualified will somehow show more commitment? Although Sir Alex Ferguson is unlikely to accept another below par performance he is also likely to rest some...

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Blame it on the Bougy

Algerian defender Madjid Bougherra was axed from the Rangers starting eleven as the Ibrox side crashed out of Europe with a whimper. A third successive home defeat for the Gers ensured there would be no parachute drop into the Europa League. After two crushing 4-1 defeats to Sevilla and Unirea Ur...

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Will the summer swapsies of Eto'o for Ibrahimovic bite Barcelona tonight?

There is always a group of death. Pick a series of at least 4 mini-leagues using the fairest system you can dream up (that simultaneously helps all the richest clubs from the richest footballing leagues) and one will always look nasty. But enough of Group A, where Bayern Munich look likely to be e...

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Has Rafa Benitez been saving Aquilani for tonight?

Rafa Benitez has been easing Alberto Aquilani into action since signing him in the summer. But the £20m signing will surely get a start soon. His season in the first team has consisted of 15 minutes at the end of the League Cup defeat to Arsenal at the end of October and the final 7 minutes in the...

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Arsenal should score at least three tonight

Arsenal should complete their qualification for the Champions' League knockout stages with a routine win over Standard Liege tonight, and in winning Arsenal will also simplify the next stage of the tournament by winning the group. Back in September it looked somewhat different when the Belgian team...

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CL Preview: Do or die for Rangers

By Danny Law Rangers can resurrect their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a win over Bundesliga strugglers Stuttgart tonight. The Gers have endured a woeful campaign so far with only two points from four matches, including two 4-1 home defeats to Sevilla and...

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Drogba and Anelka look good each way value for Champions' league top scorer

With Didier Drogba having completed his European ban he looks fired up for another tilt at The Champions' League. After being sent off in the final two years ago and then banned for his outburst following semi-final defeat last season Drogba needs to show a little more coolness under fire if he wan...

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The Liverpool revival starts on Monday

Everything runs in cycles and Liverpool have recently had the equivalent of a solar eclipse in the third week of December - black patches in an otherwise grey sky; but cycles, like winters and eclipses end. And Liverpool really should be seeing the light any day now. Firstly since thrashing Hull 6...

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Liverpool have focus - its the players that are a worry

Liverpool play Lyon in a game where defeat could take qualification out of their hands; on the back of six losses in the last seven games. If Lyon avoid defeat then the French team will have qualified and that could be disastrous for Liverpool as Lyon's next game is against Fiorentina - in a match ...

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Michael Owen could dream a dream against CSKA

Michael Owen's dreams do not concern scoring the winning goal for England in the World Cup final - and that's official. In fact Owen barely thinks about England at all, as his quotes about England that he made yesterday make clear. "I don't go to bed thinking about if I will play for England again...

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Rafa Benitez has reached the point that Sir Alex Ferguson did just four years ago

Football is full of coincidences and this season being Rafa Benitez's sixth full season there were inevitable comparisons with Sir Alex Ferguson who took Manchester United to the title in his sixth full season (if you don't count the half season of 1986/7 when Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford a few ...

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Arsenal set to qualify tonight against an inconsistent AZ

Arsenal has so many injuries for the short trip to Holland that the first team kind of picks itself and a couple of days short of Arsene Wenger's 60th birthday (when he plans to watch the 5 referee experiment in the Europa League) the team will be youthful. Missing Rosicky, Walcott, Nasri, Fabiansk...

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Liverpool capable of facing home truths with Lyon

Liverpool (5/6) starts as odds on favourites to beat Lyon (15/4) tonight and avoid a fourth straight defeat - which last happened in April 1987 under Kenny Dalglish. If you want an omen then Dalglish is hardly a bad man to follow. Liverpool's home record is a great comfort after three straight awa...

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Enough Arsenal, enough already

The Arsenal press officers must be the busiest in the division this season. Every day for the last month, it seems that something with an Arsenal angle has dominating the news agenda. Firstly Arsene Wenger's bold assertion that 'Arsenal will challenge for the title' (the implicit jibe being the ...

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Champions League Preview - Celtic v Arsenal

It comes as something of a surprise to find that Celtic and Arsenal havent been drawn together in Europe before- in fact, in 25 European campaigns the Gunners havent come across any Scottish sides. The two clubs come together this season thanks to the changes to Champions League qualification insti...

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Mark Hughes: Pressure Will Grow..

On the surface Mark Hughes seems to be revelling in the transfer market this summer. It must feel like monopoly money between his fingertips, a kid in a sweet shop. Under the surface though he must be quietly contemplating the pressure he will confront. Quite possibly this is the most important six ...

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The Return of the Never-Ending Champions League

The 2008/09 Champions League ended on 27th May and on 30th June the 2009/10 edition kicks in- welcome to the all-year round tournament thatcranks back into lifeeven before the first ball in the Ashes Tests has been bowled. It would be a major shock is any of the teams involved in the First Qualifyi...

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Mowbray Has To Get Off To A Flying Start

Taking over a club like Celtic means an instant winning formula is required but the demands of the Champions League make a flying start even more imperative. When Rangers pipped their bitter rivals to the SPL title they also condemned them to the qualifying rounds of the Champions League- a perilou...

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Ruud van Nistelrooy: Surely A Snip?

If there is any validity in what the transfer rumour mill has been churning out, then Tottenham are close to signing Real Madrid and ex-Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.Madrid have just smashed the World transfer record, (reported £56m), by securing the services of Brazilian playmaker K...

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London's Long Wait For A European Champion Goes On

Arsenal and Chelseas defeats in the Champions League semi-finals highlighted once again that the capital city has still not provided a European champion club to match the efforts of Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Nottingham. The two clubs have come so close to breaking Londons duck in recent...

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Prediction Panel: Chelsea vs Barcelona - First goal wins?

After Manchester United dominated both legs of the first semi-final we can savour the second game in what is proving to be an altogether tighter tie. Chelsea probably has a marginal advantage, but a Barcelona team that scored six away to Real Madrid four days ago will not expect another goal-less n...

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Arsenal vs Manchester United - Game of the season?

Both Manchester United and Arsenal go into this game in a rich vein of form; Arsenal's on an unbeaten Premier League run of 21 games and United has responded to a pair of defeats in March with seven wins and two draws subsequently. Two footballing teams that both want to score goals could well offe...

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An Arsenal vs Chelsea final would entend English dominance and resolve an oddity

It is something of an historical oddity that there has never been a London based winner of European football's big prize. It's partly to do with the historical make-up of English football which has always been strong in the initial heartlands of the north-west and west Midlands - whereas London clu...

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Manchester United v Arsenal: Premier League giants square up for European glory

It’s the biggest game of the season so far. The Premiership’s two most successful sides lock horns for a place in the Champions League final, and something has to give. Manchester United have never lost to an English side in European competitions while Arsenal have never lost a European semi-final. ...

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Chelsea: Who would you prefer to face in the Champions League final?

Chelsea became the first visiting team to thwart Barcelona’s attacking talent at the Nou Camp last night and the Blues are now potentially just 90 minutes away from successive Champions League finals. Manchester United and Arsenal contest their first leg of the semi-final tonight but, and it is stil...

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Barcelona vs Chelsea: Messi or Drogba

Much of the pre-match comment has centred on the mercurial Lionel Messi, who seems something of a shoo-in to replace Cristiano as World and European Player of the Year this season - but Barcelona has a defence that can be exploited by the power of Didier Drogba and I would not rule out a goal for th...

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Arsenal's kingmakers can expect the crown soon

Arsenal is in the somewhat unexpected position of remaining in contention to win the treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. Especially unexpected, considering that only a few weeks ago Arsenal was struggling to stay in contention with Aston Villa for fourth place. The Premier Leagu...

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Arsenal (1) vs Villarreal (1): Arsenal probably need to win

Arsenal goes into the second leg already ahead via the away goals rule, but Villarreal showed enough in Spain to suggest that it is more than capable of scoring at The Emirates. Arsenal has some desperate defensive worries tonight, missing Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Johan Djourou an...

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Porto vs Manchester United: United look to Liverpool for inspiration

There must be a feeling of 'after the lord mayors show' about tonight's fixtures; after the pomp and ceremony of that ding-dong 4-4 at Stamford Bridge come two kinfe-edge games. But therein also lies Manchester United's main hope; if it can attack Porto like Liverpool did last night then there is n...

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Bayern Munich vs Barcelona: Bayern must show pride - even in defeat

Barcelona all but sealed progression to the semi-final by winning the first leg 4-0; but pride insists that Bayern Munich produce something at home especially with some domestic difficulties as well. Not sure that Jurgen Klinsmann has much future at FC Hollywood, if he is giving the tie - if not th...

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Chelsea vs Liverpool: Liverpool need a once-in-a-generation win

As I wrote earlier today, The type of win that Liverpool needs tonight at Chelsea has only been achieved four times in history; and two of those results are the kind of 3-1 win that would guarantee nothing. Chelsea is long odds-on to qualify, even if the result tonight is more debateable. Chelsea ...

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Chelsea vs Liverpool - last 10 years

Looking at the last ten years of games between Chelsea and Liverpool doesn't given much encouragement to the idea that Liverpool will progress to the semi-finals of the Champions' League. Liverpool has won at Stamford Bridge just twice in the league or Champions' League over the past decade. A 1-0...

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