betagora's blog
18 may 2009: Portsmouth - Sunderland
MATCH: PORTSMOUTH – SUNDERLAND
PORTSMOUTH
"We dominated the first half and created plenty of chances through our movement and technical quality. We were sharp, composed and mobile with a great attitude. They changed their game plan at the start of the second half and we struggled a bit. After we scored the third goal, the game was over."
10 may 2009: Arsenal - Chelsea
MATCH: ARSENAL – CHELSEA
ARSENAL
"We dominated the first half and created plenty of chances through our movement and technical quality. We were sharp, composed and mobile with a great attitude. They changed their game plan at the start of the second half and we struggled a bit. After we scored the third goal, the game was over." Wenger after the victory over Portsmouth.
2 may 2009: Manchester City - Blackburn
MANCHESTER CITY
British transfer record signing Robinho inspired Manchester City to a 2-1 win at Everton for their first Barclays Premier League away victory since August.
The £32.5m Brazilian scored a 35th-minute opener after racing on to Elano's through ball and then turned provider for Stephen Ireland nine minutes after half-time.
Substitute Dan Gosling fired an injury-time consolation but it could not prevent City's first win at Goodison Park since October 1992 and ended a run of three successive away defeats for Mark Hughes' side.
25 april 2009: Hull - Liverpool
MATCH: HULL – LIVERPOOL
HULL
During the last match Hull had limped up to the Stadium of Light in freefall having won just one of their 16 previous Premier League matches and now find themselves teetering on the brink with memories of their bright start fading fast.
Yet the way Hull started the match suggested there may be life in them yet, as they got forward with plenty of freedom and fashioned their first chance with less than two minutes on the clock.
19 April 2009: Tottenham - Newcastle
MATCH: TOTTENHAM – NEWCASTLE
TOTTENHAM
Tottenham Hotspur kept alive their hopes of European football thanks to Roman Pavlyuchenko's winner against West Ham United at White Hart Lane.
Pavlyuchenko scored within nine minutes of coming off the bench and his 14th of the season means the race for seventh place in the Barclays Premier League is hotting up.
Such is the tightness of this season, Spurs have been fighting against relegation since Harry Redknapp's arrival in October but now could qualify for the Europa League.
"The reality is we are not out of trouble yet," Redknapp wrote in his programme notes - but they are surely safe now.
The main talking point of the first half was a trio of penalty shouts from the hosts being turned down.
12 April 2009: Aston Villa - Everton
A potentially huge match takes place at Villa Park on Sunday, as Everton in sixth place visit Aston Villa in fifth.
Villa have experienced a drastic loss of form in recent weeks, and having looked at one stage like they would comfortably end the season in fourth spot, have now been overtaken by Arsenal and sit just one point better off than the Toffees.
22 march 2009: Genoa - Udinese
MATCH: GENOA – UDINESE
GENOA
The most surprising team of the season: 4th place, 13 wins, 9 drawsa and 6 losses 37 goals scored and 27 conceded.
Great boost of confidence came against Cagliari, with a good 0-1 victory, and the probabilities to reach the Champions League zone increased; they are playing great now, beaten only by Inter Milan in the last 10 games.
The defence will have available all the key player that missed the last game (Ferrari and Biava).
15 march 2009: Lazio - Chievo
MATCH: LAZIO – CHIEVO VERONA
LAZIO
SS Lazio slipped into 7th place after a good start of the season. The reasons are not clear, they don’t have important injuries or financial problems. Zarate that managed to score almost every game at beginning of the season, now he miss to score constantly; he is in competition with Rocchi.
The last 3 games at home against same-level teams (Inter, Genoa, Juventus) didn’t bring more than 2 points (2 draws and 1 loss).
Looking at the table Lazio scored 39 time overall, but also 37 goals conceded: this show a lack in defence, especially at home.
14 march 2009: Everton - Stoke City
MATCH: EVERTON – STOKE CITY
EVERTON
Everton will maintain their challenge for a top four finish when they take on Stoke City at Goodison Park. The Toffees are unbeaten in their last eight matches but know they will be in for a tough encounter with struggling Stoke.
During the last game the team didn't play well, maybe thinking they could walk all over Blackburn, and managing at least to keep the clean sheets.
7 march 2009: Fiorentina - Palermo
MATCH: FIORENTINA - PALERMO
FIORENTINA
Not a good sequence for Fiorentina: out from the Uefa Cup, a draw against the weakest team of the league in the last match, the coach Prandelli that risk to be esonerated if results won't come quickly, starting from this game against Palermo.
Overall Fiorentina have good quality players, from the goalkeeper Frey to the forwards like Mutu. The home record is 9 wins, 2 draws, 1 lost with 20 goals scored and 8 conceded. Palermo didn't score only 1 time on the last 10 games.
