Round 10 of “La Liga” scheduled two games tonight with two main
protagonists, HIGUAÍN for Real Madrid & SAMUEL ETO´O for
FC BARCELONA.
REAL MADRID managed to avoid being humiliated tonight after
winning 4-3 MALAGA in a game that once again highlighted the serious
defensive problems that Real Madrid have this season. The Malaga
forwards exploited gaps & out of place Real defenders to score 3º goals
- ELISEU (5th min), BAHA (17th min), APOÑO (70th m p.) - &
nearly pull off the surprise.
However, Real Madrid Argentine forward GONZALO HIGUAÍN is finally
coming of age & scored 4º GOALS tonight to save his team from the
ridiculous. The goals came in the 7th, 36th (p), 71st & 78th min to show
that he is ready to take over the reigns of the forward line & fill the gaps
that Raul, & now Van Nistelrooy, have made.
Great night for Higuaín, lucky win to Real Madrid who have serious
problems in defence.
The other game, has SAMUEL ETO´O the main figure as he scored
4º goals for FC BARCELONA in their 6-0 victory over VALLADOLID.
The goals by Eto´o came all in the 1ºst half: 11th, 29th,41st & 43rd min,
to make the crowd stand on its feet.
Lionel Messi drove the Valladolid defence crazy & has set up most
of the goals that Eto´o has scored. But the party continued in the
2ºnd half with goals from GUDJOHNSEN (70th min) & HENRY
in The 83rd min.
Huge win for Barça who will retain top spot of the ladder, & who are
making a habit of big scores.
Written by STRIKER on November 8th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on La Liga and Spanish Football and Spanish Soccer.
Venue: Ewood Park
Date: Sunday, 9 November Kick-off: 1330 GMT
Blackburn’s Benni McCarthy is suspended and fellow striker Roque Santa Cruz is a major doubt with a calf tear.
Brett Emerton is also out, while Vince Grella is another doubt. Both men have hamstring injuries.
Chelsea defenders Ashley Cole (calf) and Ricardo Carvalho (hamstring) and midfielders Michael Ballack (foot) and Michael Essien (knee) are sidelined.
Brazilian midfielder Mineiro has been added to the Blues squad and could make his first Premier League start.
Blackburn (from): Robinson, Simpson, Samba, Nelsen, Ooijer, Tugay, Warnock, Villanueva, Roberts, Fowler, Santa Cruz, Derbyshire, Pedersen, Olsson, Andrews, Brown, Khizanishvili, Treacy.
Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Bridge, Mikel, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Lampard, Mineiro, Drogba, Belletti, Anelka, Malouda, Stoch, Kalou, Deco, Bosingwa, J Cole.
Blackburn striker Jason Roberts:
“
Chelsea first-team coach Ray Wilkins:
“We spoke about what went wrong in Rome, and the lads know what went wrong.
“It has got to be forgotten, as the Liverpool game was. Someone will beat every team every now and then, and it is how you react to it.
“As far as the ambience goes, though, it has been spot on - and we are ready.”
BIG-MATCH FACTS
The Premier League’s draw specialists host the pacesetters, as Blackburn prepare to receive Chelsea, on the 60th birthday of Blues’ manager Luis Felipe Scolari.
The match brings together the weakest defence and sharpest attack in the highest league (going into this 12th round of fixtures).
The Londoners have twice as many points as Blackburn (26 to 13), and are aiming to uphold the Premier League’s one remaining 100% away record, and the only unbeaten top-flight away record in 2008.
Chelsea are undefeated in six league and cup matches with Blackburn over the past two seasons.
Distance between the clubs: 234 miles (377 kilometres)
CLUB FORM
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Club stats
Going into the weekend: 13th 13 points
2008-09 Premier League performance - best and worst categories in the league
(all statistics are ahead of this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures)
1. Vying for a first win in six Premier League matches.
2. Claimed three points out of 15 since beating Newcastle 1-2 at St James’ Park on 27 September.
3. Only beaten Fulham in home league matches; 1-0 on 20 September.
4. That was also their only clean sheet in 11 home Premier League games.
5. Without victory in 13 matches against the ‘Big Four’. Picked up four points from the available 39 against the quartet of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, and failed to score in seven of the last nine such matches.
6. One draw shy of 150 all-time in the Premier League.
7. Gained a first win in 10 Premier League matches against London clubs in the most recent opportunity; 1-0, home to Fulham on 20 September 2008.
8. That was also their first maximum in seven top-flight matches at Ewood Park against clubs from the capital.
9. Chelsea were one of four clubs to leave Ewood Park with maximum points last season.
Fixtures
CHELSEA
Club stats
Going into the weekend: 1st 26 points
2008-09 Premier League performance - best and worst categories in the league
(all statistics are ahead of this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures)
1. Won the last two Premier League games with an aggregate of 8-0, since their only defeat in 11 league games this season.
2. The 0-1 home loss to Liverpool on 26 October is their only defeat in 32 Premier League matches.
3. Not conceded in 260 minutes (four hours 20 minutes) of Premier League football. Xabi Alonso’s winner for Liverpool was the only goal shipped in six Premier League outings.
4. On the longest current run in the Premier League of 19 matches, since conceding more than a single goal in a game.
5. The only league club in all four divisions, yet to concede a second half goal this season.
6. Won all five away league games this season, and the last eight, since being held to a 4-4 draw by Spurs at White Hart Lane on 19 March.
7. Undefeated in an unmatched 15 away Premier League outings; dropped just four points out of 45 on the road since losing 1-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 16 December 2007.
8. Won their last seven Premier League matches in the North-West since losing 2-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford on 23 September 2007.
9. Blackburn were one of 13 clubs they beat away from home last season.
Fixtures
KEY PLAYER NOTES
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Squad profiles
David DUNN is a double shy of 50 club career goals.
If on the field from the outset:-
Roque SANTA CRUZ will be making his 50th start in a Rovers’ shirt.
Suspended:-
Benni McCARTHY (one match)
CHELSEA
Squad profiles
Goalkeeper Petr CECH leads the race for the Barclays Golden Glove jointly with Jose REINA of Liverpool. Both have kept six clean sheets.
If selected:-
Joe COLE will be playing the day after his 27th birthday.
Michael BALLACK will be making his 50th Premier League appearance for Chelsea.
HEAD TO HEAD
Chelsea are undefeated in six league and cup matches with Blackburn over the past two seasons. Blackburn scored just one goal in those six games.
The Londoners have lost only one of their last eight Premier League visits to Ewood Park.
Last season’s first league meeting between these clubs, a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge on 15 September 2007, turned out to be Jose Mourinho’s last game in charge of the Blues.
Home and away
League (inc PL): Blackburn 32 wins, Chelsea 36, Draws 26
Prem: Blackburn 11 wins, Chelsea 9, Draws 8
at Blackburn only
League (inc PL): Blackburn 20 wins, Chelsea 13, Draws 14
Prem: Blackburn 6 wins, Chelsea 6, Draws 2
LAST SEASON’S CORRESPONDING GAME
Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Chelsea
23 December 2007 - Ref: Steve Bennett
Chelsea scorer: Joe Cole 22
REFEREE
Chris Foy (St Helens, Merseyside)
Written by Darkvader on November 8th, 2008 with no comments.
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Roy Keane has accused Sky Sports of brainwashing the public.
“I was asked to do the Celtic versus Manchester United game but I’ve done it once for Sky and never again,” Keane said. “I’d rather go to the dentist. You’re sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they’re trying to sell something that’s not there.”
Ah, that would be the ScudamoreWorld/Murdochracy fake reality then…
English Premiership football exists in a twilight zone representing the dictatorship of the markets.
Selected agents, owners, bookmakers, managers, players, officials, administrators, the media and the underworld (those not already covered in this listing) attend certain ####################################################### in order to develop their links and strategies for match fixing.
Knowledge and information are everything in corrupted football betting markets, and these foundations may be sub-divided into the internal and the external.
Inside information is allegedly illegal in financial markets, although prosecutions are as rare as a dose of honesty from Andy Gray.
In football, inside information is gold-dust.
If you psychopathically control the outcome of just one match, you are able to set yourself up for life, assuming one is not a greedy person, by trading the scam in Asia and/or on the private markets.
Our knowledge and information are far more revealing.
For although we receive copious amounts of inside info from our web of contacts in the markets and the game, it is our analytical databases that reveal far more knowledge about the massive corruptions that are taking place behind closed doors.
We choose only to expose the tip of the iceberg of our full knowledge of the ################################################################## corruption in the English game.
If we were to inform you of the full extent of what is taking place in the name of sport, you would be totally gobsmacked.
In this post, we visit and assess a whole range of the corruptions which define the Premier League and football in general.
This journey will take us to some interesting locations - Asian bookmakers, corrupt goalkeepers, the systemic rigging of Premiership matches, criminalised officials, linkages between owners and the underground betting markets, the arena of agreed draws, insider trading, the global financial plight and its impact on the betting markets and the strategies of the insider operators who game these markets.
Unfortunately, the remainder of this post and all posts labelled # are available in full to subscribers only.
Our roster is now full for Football Is Fixed.
But, please enjoy the free snippets that we are posting on this site.
© Football Is Fixed/Dietrological
Written by Football Is Fixed on November 8th, 2008 with no comments.
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