Premier League new boys: Burnley

Premier League new boys: Burnley

At the start of last season Burnley were not really considered promotion contenders from the Championship and they raised more than a few eyebrows by getting themselves promoted. They’re a small town club with small resources but manager Owen Coyle managed to guide them to the play-off final, where they beat heavy favourites Sheffield United 1-0.

Last season was a very special one for Burnley and not just because it resulted in promotion. They upset the football betting odds when they knocked both Arsenal and Chelsea out of the League Cup and were within minutes of reaching the final before Tottenham scored two late goals to deny them a place at Wembley. The club from Turf Moore did get their moment at Wembley though, with their play-off final victory over the Blades.

They will certainly be the favourites with the Premier League betting odds to go down next season. I think that is fairly safe to say. The club still doesn’t have mega-money to splash around and Coyle may be forced to stick with pretty much the same side that got them promoted. That squad includes defender Graham Alexander – a 37-year-old who has never played top-flight football. However, Alexander had a decent campaign last season as did the rest of the team in all fairness and they may surprise a few people next season.

Unlike the other promoted sides (Wolves and Birmingham) Burnley have never played in the Premier League and I think that town might be the smallest ever to have a Premier League club. I doubt they’ll make any major moves in the transfer market and they will have to rely on their existing players to keep them in the division for a second season. The squad is not without talent though, Icelandic midfielder Joey Gudjohnson is a decent player as is striker Steven Thompson, while former Manchester United trainee Chris Eagles is also amongst their ranks.

If they are to survive it will be a massive achievement and will certainly eclipse their League and FA Cup exploits of last season. I’m not sure they have the financial clout or strength in depth to do it personally but everyone wrote Hull City off last season and they managed to do it. The Clarets also play some attractive football and there seems to be a great team-spirit in their camp so they might just do it, but I wouldn’t bet on it in all honesty.

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Premier League News: Manchester United win, West Brom are relegated

Premier League News: Manchester United win, West Brom are relegated

Finally a few issues in the Premier League have been resolved, namely Manchester United have been confirmed as champions. United played out a fairly boring 0-0 draw with Arsenal on Saturday afternoon, where neither goalkeeper really had a save to make, which confirmed them as champions.

Livepool boss Rafael Benitez congratulated the winners, he said: "I prefer just to say well done to the club, a big club, a good club,

"Normally you have to be polite and respect the other manager but during the season we have seen a lot of things that I didn't like, so that's it.

"I say congratulations to United because they have won. And that's it."

Benitez has been criticised for not actually offering his congratulations to United boss Sir Alex Ferguson personally but for me the media are making a big deal of nothing. I don’t see why Benitez should have singled Ferguson out for praise, the two have been at odds all season and there is no reason for that to change now.

The Champions League places were sorted out a while ago, with the usual suspects Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal all qualifying for the top European competition. Aston Villa and Everton will definitely be in the new Europa League next season and the final place will go to either Tottenham Hotspur or Fulham. It is a remarkable turn-around for Spurs who were involved in the battle against relegation not so long ago.

One team who failed in their bid to beat the drop are West Brom who went down 2-0 at home to Liverpool on Sunday which confirmed their relegation. Middlesbrough are the favourites to join them with the Premier League betting odds as their draw with Aston Villa means they now have to win by three goals and hope both Newcastle and Hull lose to stay up, with Hull losing at least 2-0. Three teams can occupy the remaining spot on the last day of the season with Newcastle United, Hull City and Sunderland all in danger of going down.

Sunderland are in the best position, they’re on 36 points, Hull are on 35 and Newcastle are on 34. To be honest I can see things staying as they are as they all face difficult games at the weekend. Sunderland end their campaign with a home game against Chelsea, Newcastle have to travel to Aston Villa and Hull face the daunting task of playing newly-crowned champions Manchester United at the KC Stadium.

Wolves and Birmingham City have already booked their place in the Premier League next season after great campaigns in the Championship. The play-off final for the final place will be contested between Burnley and Sheffield United. This is a hard game to call and I won’t offer any betting predictions on it because it really could go either way. Burnley have got the better of Chelsea in the League Cup this season, while Sheffield United are probably the better side on paper and were in the Premier League a few seasons ago themselves. If at all possible I would really recommend trying to watch this game on Monday as play-off finals are usually great games as so much is at stake. I’ll be keeping an eye on it, of course, and I’ll fill all the sports-city readers in on what happened in my post next week anyway.

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The Premier League relegation battle

The Premier League relegation battle

All eyes may be on Manchester United and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League but at the bottom something equally as interesting is happening. On Monday May 11 Newcastle face Middlesbrough at St James’ Park and the loser will almost certainly be playing their football in the Championship next season.

To add extra spice to the occasion it is also a local derby and there will be a lot of tension in the North East on Monday night. They played out a very dull 0-0 draw at the Riverside earlier in the season but we should see a better game this time around, or at least a few goals. Neither side can afford to draw to be honest and they should both risk throwing men forward.

It is a little surprising to see Newcastle in the situation they’re in to be honest. At the start of the season I doubt many would have offered betting advice on a team with Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen and Mark Viduka in the side being in the relegation dog-fight. However, Martins has suffered various injuries through the season while Owen and Viduka have looked shadows of their former selves and have failed in front of goal.

Boro did ok last season but they let key players go and didn’t replace them. The biggest mistake was not finding a replacement for keeper Mark Schwarzer when he moved to Fulham and trusting youngsters Brad Jones and Ross Turnbull to step-up to the starting eleven. Both look capable keepers but they’re not top-class as Schwarzer was and that is a major reason why Boro are where they are. They also seem to have no quality up front despite spending a massive £12million on Afonso Alves from PSV. The Brazilian just hasn’t delivered though and he has only found the net seven times this season – a very poor return for such a high price.

It is a very tight game to call but I’m going to go against the Premier League betting odds and suggest Middlesbrough should win this one. They’ve played the better football over the past few weeks and will know this is their best chance to get out of trouble. Newcastle’s preparation has also been disrupted by in-fighting with midfielder Joey Barton being suspended by the club. Whatever the outcome, it should be a great game and it will be played like a cup-final.

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Premier League: Latest News

Premier League: Latest News

After all the hype about Liverpool getting back into the title race it looks as if Manchester United have all but sealed the title now. Manchester United saw off Portsmouth 2-0 in midweek while Liverpool played out an unreal 4-4 draw with Arsenal.

That draw with Arsenal all but ended Liverpool’s title hopes and their odds have rocketed, so if you do still fancy betting on them to do it you’ll get a good price! The game did demonstrate one thing in particular though – the explosive talent of Andrey Arshavin. I’d seen the Russian maestro play for Zenit St Petersburg and Russia before and I always knew he was a top-talent. He has been playing well for Arsenal but up until that game questions had been asked about his fitness – he answered those and then some by popping up with four goals. It really was a classic game of football, with Liverpool pressing and Arsenal sublime on the counter-attack, both sides needed to win but unfortunately the game didn’t produce a winning goal.

For all their good work Liverpool could, and probably will, end the season without a trophy. The FA Cup final will see Everton take on Chelsea and the betting odds will be firmly in Chelsea’s favour. However, if anyone outside the ‘big four’ is capable of beating Hiddink’s Chelsea it is Everton. They have hugely impressed me this season and if boss David Moyes can keep his side together and perhaps add a bit more quality they could well gate crash the top four and qualify for the Champions League next season.

At the other end of the table Newcastle look to be in real trouble and will need to pick up maximum points in their remaining three home games. They face Portsmouth, Fulham and Middlesbrough at home but their away ties are at Liverpool and Aston Villa – where I don’t fancy their chances much. West Brom look well out of it at the bottom now, they’re nine points adrift with five games left and, despite manager Tony Mowbray’s insistence they can get out of it, I think they’re gone. Middlesbrough have picked up four points in two games but they face Arsenal and Manchester United in their next two games and I can’t see them getting anything out of those fixtures. If a team is going to get out of it someone else has to drop and that could well be Hull City. Hull have been in a shocking run of form lately and if they don’t pick up results soon they could be heading back to the Championship after just one year in the Premier League. Wolverhampton Wanderers are the first team to win promotion to the Premier League this season, they’ve stormed the Championship and are under the guidance of former Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy. McCarthy is a fairly decent manager and it will be interesting to see how the Wolves do in the Premier League next season.

I’ll round off my Premier League update with some bizarre news. Bolton chairman Phil Gartside wants to submit plans to split the league into two, with a two-tier system with 18 teams in each league. It would be a dramatic overhaul of British football and the plans include Scottish sides Celtic and Rangers joining the English league. If the plans are to go ahead he would need the backing of 14 out of the 20 Premier League chairmen, so it seems fairly unlikely. I don’t like the plans myself, I quite like the system the way it is, but to be honest I doubt that he’ll get the backing he needs to pursue this weird idea.

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Premier League News: the title race heats up and a legend returns to Newcastle

Premier League News: the title race heats up and a legend returns to Newcastle

Come ogni settimana, eccoci all'appuntamento tradizionale con Gareth. Ecco le ultime dalla Premier League, il campionato inglese, raccontate dal nostro esperto britannico. A te la parola, Gareth!

The Premier League has been an exciting place over the last couple of weeks. Manchester United surrendered their lead at the top of the table to Liverpool, even if it was for less than 24 hours.

Liverpool were within two points of United going into last weekends fixtures and with their game against Fulham on the Saturday night they had the opportunity to overtake United at the top. They made hard work of it but the Israeli Yossi Benayoun scored a last gasp winner to send Liverpool to the top of the table.

United faced Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday and the betting odds were stacked against Villa, who have been in a very bad run of form lately. However, in the 75th minute Villa had a 2-1 lead and were the better side for the majority of the game. United turned their lead on its head though, with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Macheda. Macheda is a 17-year-old Italian, United bought (or stole) from Lazio and he made an immediate impression in his first game for Alex Ferguson’s side. His first touch was sublime and he hit his shot on the turn, curling it into the corner of the goal. It was fantasy stuff from the 17-year-old and it looks as if, yet again, Ferguson has acquired one of Europe’s top-prospects.

At the other end of the table West Bromich Albion and Middlesbrough are both heading towards relegation. West Brom saw themseleves on the wrong end of a 2-0 score line against fellow strugglers Stoke, while Middlesbrough were hammered 4-1 by Bolton Wanderers. They both face massive uphill struggles to get out and having seen both sides play this season I doubt many will be betting on their survival. Newcastle United occupy the third relegation place and they face a very difficult run in. Newcastle have appointed former England legend, and the clubs all time top goal scorer, Alan Shearer to take over managing the team for their final fixtures in a last ditch attempt to secure survival. Shearer has no experience as a manager but he should instil a bit of passion into the side, whether or not that will be enough to keep them up is open too debate but personally I think it could be a case of too little to late. Newcastle face Stoke at the weekend and it is a massive game for both sides, should Stoke win they will have pretty much secured their own survival and Newcastle will have a massive task getting out of the bottom three. If Newcastle win the game it could be the kick start they need, but only Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton have managed to win away at Stoke this season so it is not an easy task for Shearer.

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Premier League Round Up

Premier League Round Up

Ancora una volta siamo giunti all'appuntamento con Gareth, che ci porterà a conoscenza delle ultime sulla Premier e ci darà delle chicche importanti sul mercato inglese. Come al solito, non mi dilungo e lascio la parola al nostro esperto...a te Gareth!

It has been quite a week in the Premier League. Last weekend Liverpool hammered Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford giving them a glimmer of hope in their bid for the title. Then this weekend the almost unthinkable happened, as United lost 2-0 away at Fulham and Liverpool comfortably saw off fifth placed Aston Villa 5-0 at Anfield to take them within a point of United. Liverpool now have a superior goal difference which could prove crucial at the end of the season.

Liverpool’s task is still not an easy one though, United still have a game in hand meaning they still need to drop points in two games for Liverpool to stand a chance of claiming their first title in 19 years. United are still the betting favourites to clinch a third consecutive league title. Chelsea blew their chances to take the title by losing 1-0 away at Tottenham Hotspur and to add to their woes top-scorer Nicolas Anelka has been ruled out for up to three weeks with a foot injury.

Villa’s loss and Arsenal’s 3-1 win away at Newcastle put some space between the two sides. Villa had been in pole position for a shock place in next season’s Champions League but it looks as if Arsenal have picked up a run of form at the right time. Andrei Arshavin has been outstanding since his move to the Emirates and for me he has made a lot of difference to an Arsenal side that looked fairly average before he joined. When Cesc Fabregas and Thomas Rosicky return from injury and Eduardo is fully fit again they will be even better and should mount a decent challenge for the title next year.

At the wrong end of the table things are getting a lot worse for Newcastle. Stoke managed a win over Middlesbrough while Newcastle lost to Arsenal meaning they slipped into the bottom three. West Brom’s 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers all but ended their survival hopes and they’re now seven points adrift of safety. Middlesbrough are also in real danger and sit four points away from safety, they have only won one league game in 2009. It is starting to look like it will be West Brom and Middlesbrough and any one from Newcastle, Blackburn, Stoke, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Hull and Bolton but things can always change.

The ‘English domination’ (as the British media are calling it) of European football saw four teams in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Liverpool have been paired with Chelsea for the fifth year in a row and they both have a hard task as either Barcelona or Bayern Munich await them in the semi final. Personally, I’m not sure anyone will be good enough to beat Barcelona this season and I think they should be able to win the Champions League. Of course luck is very important in cup competitions but based on quality I think Barca are better than all four English sides in the competition. Manchester United face Porto and Arsenal face Villareal in their quarter finals. I would expect both English teams to go through but I quite fancy Arsenal to overcome United in the semi-final. The Gunners will not be favourites with the sports betting odds but they do have a good record against United this season I think they could cause a minor upset.

Of the teams competing to get into the league it looks as if Wolverhampton Wanderers will be champions at the end of the season. Birmingham are in pole position to join them but Reading and Sheffield United are also close and could easily beat them too it. Promotion is decided by the top two teams going up and the next four teams compete in play-offs to decide the final promotion place. The teams currently occupying those places are Reading, Sheffield United, Burnley and Cardiff. Reading are perhaps the better side but once you get to the play-offs it is a bit of a lottery and I would be hard-pressed to pick a winner.

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Premier League news: Tight at the bottom.

Premier League news: Tight at the bottom.

Eccoci al consueto appuntamento, su Citysport, con Gareth. Il nostro esperto ci parlerà delle ultime notizie provenienti dall'Inghilterra e dalla massima serie calcistica britannica, la Premier. A te la parola, Gareth.

Before Christmas the Premier League was shaping up to be one of the most competitive seasons at the top of the table for a very long time. It looked as if Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea were all going to be challenging for the title at the end of the season and Aston Villa were well placed to mount a title bid themselves. Things changed though and it now looks as if Manchester United have all but wrapped the league up, with Liverpool and Chelsea losing a lot of ground.

The bottom of the table looks a little more interesting though and there is still betting to be done on who will face the drop. West Bromwich Albion look like they’ve pretty much gone, they’re four points adrift of safety and their performances have been pretty poor to say the least. Aside from West Brom it could be any other two from a whole host of teams.

Middlesbrough have been shocking lately and I’m not convinced of the quality of their squad. I have no idea how Stewart Downing gets into the England side and he hasn’t been playing well for Boro either lately. They upset the sports betting odds this weekend though with a massive win over Liverpool (which all but ended their title aspirations) and it is results like that which can change a team’s season. Boro have a hard run in though, they face Manchester United and Arsenal in their last five games as well as a derby with Newcastle United.

Stoke City, another newly promoted team, have been grinding out results but they’re still in the thick of it. Their home form is brilliant and they’ve taken down Arsenal and Aston Villa at the Britannia Stadium but their away form is shocking. Stoke are still yet to record an away win and if they can pick up their form away from home they should be able to stay up.

Blackburn Rovers have flourished under new boss Sam Allardyce but it will still be a massive job to keep them in the league. I’ve still not been convinced by their performances but they are picking up points now and in truth their squad probably has more quality than the rest of the teams at the bottom. In Roque Santa Cruz they have one of the best strikers in the league and his goals should keep them in the division.

Hull City enjoyed a fantastic start to the season but they’re in free fall now. I just can’t see them picking up enough points to survive in their last eleven games even though they’re still three points out of the relegation places. They bought Jimmy Bullard in January but he played just 45 minutes before he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury and that was a massive blow.

Portsmouth, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are still not out of it but I would be very surprised if any of these teams were relegated. At a push Sunderland are still not out of danger but with 31 points they should have enough points on the board by the end of the year to stay up. The battle for the title may have been all but decided but the relegation issue is wide open and I don’t think we’ll know who is going down until the last day of the season.

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