Madrid prepares audacious bid for Bale

Real Madrid are set to offer more than £85m and Fabio Coentrao in order to get Gareth Bale. The Spanish giants made a wooping £81m bid for the Tottenham player last week.

The parents of the 23 year old Welshman have met David Lein-club chairman on the issue.

Bale was the third highest goal scorer in last season's English Premiership.
The versatile player was voted as the PFA player of the year.

He has also declared his interest to join the most successful club in European competitions.

Tottenham rejected the offer that was made by Florentino Perez's men last week.


However,the London club have agreed to sign Roberto Soldado from Valencia.

Soldado is valued at €30m by the Spanish club.

Latest transfer rumours

Gonzalo Higuain's agent has claimed that Arsenal are close to signing the Argentine striker for £25m. The Real Madrid player is definitely on his way out of the Spanish capital following the departure of Jose Mourinho.

However, Juventus are ready to meet Madrid's evaluation of the player by paying installmentally.

Simon Mignolet is expected to complete his move to Liverpool later this week. The Sunderland keeper is part of the ongoing Belgian revolution of great players.

Liverpool manager,Brendan Rodgers has expressed his delight to create a competition in the goal keeping role of the team.

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed to sign Paulinho for a fee of around £20m. The Brazilian is currently on duty with the 'Samba boys' at the FIFA confederations cup.

Edinson Cavani has declared that he'll decide on his future in July. The Napoli striker is yet to impress his suitors based on his performance at the FIFA confederations cup. Manchester City are not ready to meet the player's evaluation.

Chelsea's John Mikel Obi is on his way to Galatasaray of Turkey. The Nigerian international scored a delectable goal against Uruguay in Brazil. He stated that Didier Drogba has assured him that the club's fans are very friendly and that the city is good enough for foreigners.

Three English clubs progress in Europa League

Three teams from the English premier league are through to the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League. Liverpool are the only team from the land of the queen that failed to qualify for the next round.

The Reds needed to win by 3-0, but a defensive error from Jamie Carragher gifted the away side the ticket to the next round. The old man made a ridiculous 360 degrees turn and passed the blindly passed the ball to Hulk. The Brazilian pounced on the ball and slot the ball past Reina.

The aggregate score at Anfield was 3-0 after that goal. Brendan Rodgers' men responded with a flurry of attacks. Luis Suarez delivered a 25-yard free kick that sailed into the net. The scoreline was 1-3 at that stage. Joe Allen made it 2-1 on the night with just two minutes to the end of the game. In the second half, Suarez scored the second goal of the night with another magnificent free kick. Liverpool needed just one more goal to send the Russians packing, but they failed to get that much needed goal.

In London, Chelsea defeated Sparta Prague2-1 on aggregate. The Blues found themselves trailing 1-0 at half time. Rafael Benitez had left Frank Lampard on the bench ahead of this weekend's EPL tie with Manchester City. Eden Hazard scored a late equaliser to ensure that Chelsea doesn't suffer a round of 32 exit.

Tottenham Hotspur edged Olympique Lyonnais by 3-2. The London side played against a French side that were very dominant during the game. Moussa Dembele scored the late goal with a pile diver from the edge of the penalty box.

Newcastle United also qualified for the next stage of the competition. Shola Amoebi scored from the penalty spot to deny Metalist Khirkiv a famous victory in Ukraine.

Liverpool's unbeaten run quashed by Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur has ended Liverpool's eight match unbeaten run in the English premier league. The 5th place team defeated the Reds by 2-1 at the White Hart Lane.

The match was played on Wednesday night at a fully packed stadium. Brendan Rodgers and Andreas Villas Boas were formally under Jose Mourinho in 2004.

Aaron Lennon scored the first goal in the 7th minute of action. Gareth Bale made a dazzling run down the left wing before setting up the England international.

In the 16th minute, Bale scored a spectacular free kick that beat Pepe Reina. The Spanish goal keeper was rooted to the same spot.

Prior to the encounter, Liverpool had refused to lose any of their last eight games, but the selection of Stewart Downing and Henderson backfired. The duo of Jonjo Shelvey and Suso would have done better.

Philip Dowd failed to award two clear penalties to Liverpool. Steven Gerrard was pushed down in the penalty box, while Suarez was tripped in the same area later in the second half.
Liverpool's best effort was a goal bound attempt that was cleared off the line by Kyle Walker.

In the second half,Gareth Bale scored an own goal, but that was not enough to guarantee the reigning League cup champions a draw.

Arsenal v Tottenham preview

Another big game will be played in the English Premier League this weekend. The North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will be played at the Emirates stadium at lunch time. Andreas Villas Boas will be looking forward to having a rejuvenated Spurs side after they lost their last two games against Swansea and Manchester City.
Arsene Wenger's men will also try and get back to winning ways after getting just a point in their last two EPL games. Arsenal were held by Fulham in a 3-3 draw last weekend while Tottenham succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad stadium.
The two sides are separated by just a point, with AVB's men sitting on the sixth position while the 'Gunners' a place below their rivals.

Arsenal doesn't have fresh injury worries while Tottenham will definitely unleash Emmanuel Adebayor to do the damage against his former side. Meanwhile, the two clubs have problems with their back four.

Our prediction: Arsenal 2-2 TottenhamCopyright 2012 Chat Soccer

Stalemate at the White Hart Lane

Andrea Villas Boas staged a return to Europa League action on Thursday night. The Portuguese manager led FC Porto to winning the title in May 2011. Tottenham played a goalless draw against S.S Lazio of Italy.

The North London side named Hugo Lloris in goal,while Gylfi Sigurdson was also included in the team. The Premiership side failed to break down a stubborn Italian defence for the entire duration of the game.
Tottenham won their first match of the season with a 3-1 win over Reading last weekend.

EPL review

West Ham United continued their fairytale at the Upton Park by beating Fulham 3-0 on Saturday. Andy Carroll was involved in Kevin Nolan's first minute goal. The Liverpool loanee squared up a pass for Nolan to score. The Hammers went ahead to add two more goals before the England international sustained a 68th minute injury. He clashed with Brede Hangeland in abid to get the ball.
Meanwhile, Dimitar Berbatoz made his debut for Fulham in the second half. The former Man United striker looked short of match fitness, as he struggled to make any impact throughout the second half.

West Bromwich Albion ended Everton's 100% record to the season. Steve Clarke's men won the game by two goals to nil.

At the White Hart Lane, Spurs played a 1-1 draw against Norwich City. The Londoners are yet to win a game this season. They have two points from three matches. Moussa Dembele scored a goal on his debut while Tom Huddlestone was sent off in the 85th minute. The visitors scored an equaliser a minute later.

In other games, Swansea City remained unbeaten as they held Sunderland to a 2-2 draw. Stoke City played a 2-2 draw aginst Wigan Athletic while Man City moved to third spot on the table with a 3-1 win over QPR at the Etihad. Carlos Tevez scored his third goal in three games. He is now one goal behind Michu of Swansea who has scored four goals in the EPL scorers' chart.

Luka Modric joins Real Madrid

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the departure of Croatian midfielder, Luka Modric. The former Spurs midfielder has joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of around £30 million on Monday. The Croat expressed his delight with his move to the Spanish capital after a long tussle during the summer. Modric joined Tottenham from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 and he has emerged as one of the best midfielders in Europe over the last few seasons. He was linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer of 2011, but Harry Redknapp blocked the move in order to keep him for another season. Redknapp was eventually sacked by David Levy and Andrea Villas Boas couldn't stand in the way of the Madrid admirer.

Luka Modric

The Croat believes he has joined the club that can boast of the best coach and the best players in World football. Interestingly, Tottenham and Real Madrid have recorded the same results in their first two league matches of the season. They've lost by 2-1 and played 1-1 draws in their respective leagues.

English Premier League review

Sweet Swans
Swansea were fully at home as the Welsh side cruised to a three nil win over West Ham United at the Liberty stadium. Angel Rangel scored the first goal in the 20th minute. His shot bounce under the body of Juusi Jaaskelainen as Michael Laudrup's men triumphed over Sam Allardyce's team.  New signing, Michu scored his third goal of the campaign in the 29th minute after a poor defensive move by a West Ham defender. Danny Graham added the third goal after the restart. Swansea were very delightful to watch as they had 77% of the ball possession. Meanwhile, Matt Jarvis was also impressive for the visitors as he made his debut following his £10 million move from Wolves.

Hazardous Chelsea
 In other games, Chelsea defeated Newcastle United by two unreplied goals at the Stamford Bridge. The reigning Champions League holders finished their business in the first half of the match. Eden Hazard created a lot of hazard for the visitors throughout the encounter. Fernando Torres won a penalty in the 20th minute and Hazard stepped up to slot the ball to the right hand side of Tim Krul. Newcastle struggled to contain the Belgian who orchestrated a well aligned midfield that also comprised of Mikel Obi and Raul Meireles.

Hazard provided a sleek pass to Torres in the closing moments of the first half and the Spaniard finished calmly to seal a third successive premier league win for Roberto Di Matteo's team.

Van Persie's phenomenal finish
Manchester United won their first league win of the season at the Old Trafford stadium. The Reds overcame Martin Jol's Fulham that were without Clint Dempsey who is unsettled at the London club. Damian Duff drew the first blood in the third minute of the game. United reacted to hat early goal in a great fashion. The Red Devils exchanged a lot of accurate passes amongst themselves. Shinji Kagawa and Ashley Young combined well with Van Persie who led the attack in the absence of Rooney who was on the bench. Patrice Evra floated an in-swinger for Van Persie, the former Arsenal goal poacher volleyed the ball into the top corner of the Fulham net to mark his debut at the 'Theatre of Dreams'. Kagawa's controversial goal was allowed to stand while Rafeal added a third goal to make it 3-1 at the end of the first half.

In the second half, Sir Alex Ferguson's men took their foot of the pedal as Wayne Rooney's men came on for Kagawa who was the man of the match. After some minutes of action, Rooney was stretched off as his thigh had a deep cut. The injury will keep him out for the next four weeks.

Other games
Andrea Villas Boas' woes continued at Tottenham. The former Chelsea boss couldn't lead his team to claim all the three points at the White Hart Lane. Spurs struggled to break down West Bromwich Albion's defence for more than an hour of play. The first half ended goalless as the visitors looked solid at the back. In the 75th minute Assou Ekotto gave Tottenham the lead, but his goal was cancelled out in the 90th minute when James Morrison fired the ball home after a sloppy defending by the hosts.

Everton were superb at the Villa Park. The 'Toffees' defeated Aston Villa by 3-1. Paul Lambert's Villa side were very poor and they were lucky not to have lost by a wider margin. Everton took a three nil lead after 45 minutes. Steven Pienaar unleashed a 25 yard shot to give his side the lead inside the opening 10 minutes of the match. Marouane Fellaini made it 2-0 with a good header that came from a corner kick. After the restart, Villa had a man sent off and Distin's header came off the crossbar with the score line at 3-0. The Birmingham based club rallied to score a consolatory goal before the end of the match.

The game between Reading and Sunderland has been postponed till next Tuesday due to a water logged pitch that was caused by a heavy downpour at the Stadium of Light.

English Premiership preview.

The 2012/2013 Barclays English Premiership is back, in our usual manner, we shall preview some of the games that will be played on match day one. All opening day matches will be played at 14.00 UTC

West Bromwich Albion vs Liverpool
These two teams have appointed new managers during the summer. Roy Hodgson left his role at 'The Hwathorns' to take up the England manager's job with the FA while Kenny Dalglish was sacked despite his victory in the Carling Cup and a FA Cup final appearance. Brendan Rodgers took over from the Scot in June and he has signed three new players. The Reds are on a three match winning streak starting from their 1-0 win over FC Gomel of Belarus on August 2. The Carling cup champions defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-01 in a friendly last Sunday some few days after a 3-0 bashing of FC Gomel at Anfield. Suarez and Borini will be expected to lead the Reds line up against Steve Clarke's team. Clarke was Dalglish's assistant last season and the Briton has stated that he doesn't have any negative feelings ahead of the Saturday kick off. Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie will be expected to create some problems for the Reds' defence. Luis Suarez scored a brace the last time these two teams met at 'The Hawthorns'.
Prediction: West Brom 1-3 Liverpool

Arsenal vs Sunderland
This is a match that will generate a lot of interest from across the world. Thomas Vermalean has just been named as the new Arsenal captain after Robin Van Persie signed for Manchester United on Friday. Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla and Oliver Giroud will be expected to make their debuts for the 'Gunners'. Sunderland is a team that is capable of creating problems for Arsenal based on previous matches. The inability of the Black Cats' to secure a permanent deal for Nicklas Bendtner might work against them. K. Jones is the only notable striker for the visitors. Arsene Wenger is not expected to parade Alex Song who has been linked with a switch to the Nou camp. Oxlade Chamberlain and Laurent Koscielney have been ruled out of this fixture due to injury. Arsenal will be expected to win their first match at the Emirates in the new season.
Prediction: Arsenal 4-1 Sunderland

Newcastle vs Tottenham
Newcastle United finished last season in the fifth spot behind AVB's men. Papiss Demba Cisse and Demba Ba are still part of Alan Pardew's team and the Senegalese duo scored a total of 28 premier league goals last season. Yohan Cabaye and Cheik Tiote are struggling to regain full fitness ahead of this match.Luka Modric is not going to play this match following his impending move to Real Madrid. The Croat was fined twice during the pre-season period and he also failed to travel with the team when they toured North America. Andrea Villas Boas will lead his team to the Sport Direct Arena.
Prediction: Newcastle 2-2 Tottenham

Wigan vs Chelsea
Victor Moses will be expected to feature for Roberto Martinez's men despite his unsettled transfer to Chelsea. The Nigerian international has been linked with a move away from the DW stadium since May 2012. Chelsea's new players will make their debut on Sunday afternoon. Roberto Di Matteo's career as the permanent manager of the reigning European club champions must not end in a defeat. The Italian was not the first choice of Chelsea's Russian owner during the summer. The pressure to win his first game of the season cannot be ruled out. Oscar and  Eden Hazard are some of the players that will be part of the new-look Blues' side. Fernando Torres is the team's top striker after the departure of Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba.
Prediction: Wigan 2-4 Chelsea

Manchester City vs Southampton
Gaston Ramirez could be watching this game from the stands on Sunday. The Uruguayan and Bologna midfielder who was linked with the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool has travelled to hold talks at the Saint Mary's stadium. Southampton will be making their return to the top flight of English football after three year absence. The team played against Arsenal in the FA Cup final in 2005. Roberto Mancini's men will be expected to start their title defence with a comprehensive victory at the Etihad stadium. The defending champions won last weekend's Community shield match against Chelsea. Mario Balotelli is a major doubt for this game while Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez are the main strikers that should start this game. Eden Dzeko could be introduced later in the match if he is not listed on the starting line up. Jack Rodwell will be on the bench for this game.
Prediction: Man City 5-1 Southampton

Latest transfer stories

Liverpool
Daniel Agger's future at Liverpool remains a major doubt after the Dane admitted that his future lies in the hands of the owners. Manchester City are interested in  signing the player. Meanwhile,Liverpool have  completed the signing of Oussama Assaidi from Heereven of Netherlands. The Moroccan international joined the Anfield giants for an undisclosed fee, but reports in some quarters stated that he was signed for £3m. The 24 year old made his international debut in February 2011 against Algeria. He has scored a total of 20 goals in the Dutch league over the past two years. The winger is known for his pace and skillful display on the ball. Dirk kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez's departure from Anfield will give him the opportunity to feature on a regular basis.
Christian Tello and Nuri Sahin are still being sort after by the Reds while Charlie Adam has been linked with a move to either Everton or Stoke City for a fee of £5m. Joe Allen and Fabio Borini are the other summer signings at Liverpool.

Manchester United
Robin Van Persie is expected to make his debut in Monday's match against Everton as the new English Premier League resumes. The former Arsenal captain completed his £24m move to the Old Trafford on Friday afternoon after undergoing a medical. Manchester United are also interested in Fulham's Moussa Dembele and the capital club have rejected a low bid for the midfielder. Henriquez is another player that has been linked with a move to Sir Alex Ferguson's side. Dimitar Berbatov is on his way to Zenit Saint Petersbourgh. The 31 year old Bulgarian striker has been declared surplus to requirements by the 'Red Devils'.

Chelsea
The reigning UEFA Champions League and FA Cup holders are still interested in a move for Wigan's Victor Moses. The latest hint about this transfer saga was dropped by Roberto Martinez who declared that Moses' move from the DW stadium is still imminent. Meanwhile, Oscar has said he's not under any pressure because of his number 10 jersey at Chelsea. The youngster has already represented Brazil with the number. Jose Bosingwa is set to join QPR. The Portuguese player was released by 'the Blues' at the end of last season.

Arsenal
Cameroonian midfielder, Alex Song is the latest player to depart from the Gunners. FC Barcelona have agreed a deal with  Arsenal player. A fee of around £15million has been paid by the Catalans. Arsene Wenger has admitted that Song could leave very soon and that the player won't be part of Sunderland's game on Saturday. The manager is lining up Nuri Sahin as a possible replacement for Song. Nicklas Bendtner has stated his desire to follow the footsteps of Van Persie. The Danish striker spent the entire 2011/2012 season on loan at Sunderland and also scored two goals at Euro 2012.

Manchester City
Adam Johnson has expressed his frustration of missing out on Roberto Mancini's first team sheet for the new season. The English winger played for 90 minutes in his country's 2-1 win over Italy on Wednesday. Johnson played 26 times last season, but 15 of those appearances were made from the substitute bench. He could be part of a swap deal for Liverpool's Daniel Agger who is valued at £25m by Liverpool. Sunderland are set to make a £10m bid for him. However, newly signed Jack Rodwell is uncertain to be part of the league champions starting line up. Soccer analysts have predicted that an injury-free season by Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott could prevent the former Everton player from fulfilling his dream at the Etihad stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur
Andreas Villa Boas's team is set to make a bid for Chelsea's Raul Meireles if Luka Modric joins Real Madrid. The Portuguese international has fallen down the pecking order at Stamfod Bridge after the arrival of midfielders like Eden Hazard and Oscar.

Liverpool and Spurs in a stalemate.

Liverpool's youngsters played a goalless draw against a strong Tottenham side in a pre-season friendly that was played in US on Saturday evening. Adam Morgan and Joe Cole led the Reds attack while Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon were amongst the regular players that were named by Andreas Villas Boas. Brad Friedel was in goal for Spursa while Brad Jones held the same position for the Reds. The best chance of the match came in the 43rd minute after Jay Spearing's error allowed Lennon to fire a shot that came off the post. Andy Carroll and Fabio Borini were introduced towards later in the match but the latter was marked by Spurs defenders. Martin Skrtel also had a decent chance that was saved by Friedel. Liverpool will now head back to Europe as they commence their Europa League next Thursday.

Persie VS Modric: Will they leave their clubs?

The uncertainty around the possible transfer of players across Europe has began. Arsenal's top striker and English Premiership's best player of the season is in the spot light. The Gunners captain has made it clear that he won't renew his contract with the London club that has failed to win a trophy in the past seven years. RVP as he is fondly called by his admirers is willing to join the likes of Sami Nasri, Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor. All these players were formally players of Arsenal before they joined Manchester City.
On the other hand, Luka Modric is also on his way to Real Madrid. Although, the Croat is not ready to spend the next season with Tottenham Hotspur following their inability to qualify for the Champions League after Chelsea's victory over Bayern Munich. The White Hart Lane club want a fee of £35 million before they release him to any club, while Madrid are not interested in a fee higher than £27m. Only time will determine the fate of these two players as the new season beckons. The London 2012 Olympics could act as a bait for them. The new EPL season is not expected to start until 18th August,2012.

Modric

 

 

 

 

 

Van Persie

Spurs disappoints Muamba at Reebok Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur defeated Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at the Reebok Stadium for the first time since 1996. Luka Modric chested down a corner that was taken by Rafael Van Der Vaart and fired a volley into the back of the net after 37 minutes of play. Willem Gallas' handball in the penalty box was over looked by the referee as he tried to prevent David N'Gog from creating a problem for his team.
After the restart Kevin Davies was able to find David N'Gog in the penalty box and the former Liverpool man back-heeled a pass to Nigel Reo Coker who blast the ball past Brad Friedel in the 50th minute.  Bolton were on the ascendancy when Gareth Bale turned his team defence into a counter attack by setting up Van Der Vaart for his side's second goal of the night. Croatian International, Luka Modric did a nice job in the middle of the pack by finding Aaran Lennon on the right flank. The Englishman delivered a low drive that was easily tapped in by Emmanuel Adebayor in the 62nd minute. Bale and Van Der Vaart made some one-two moves in the midfield to set up Adebayor for his second goal of the night. The Togolese striker rounded Bolton's second choice goal keeper before slotting home the fourth goal of the day. Tottenham's next match is against Aston Villa next weekend.

Emmanuel Adebayor

English FA Cup preview.

Liverpool will clash with their local rivals,Everton in the first semi final match of this season's FA Cup that will be played at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday. The Reds have already won the first silverware of the English season by beating Cardiff City in the final of the Carling Cup in February. Liverpool have only won three League games in 2012, but they've been a terrific form in Cup competitions and by the time the Dalglish led team file out against their Merseyside rivals, they will try and repeat their League success. The Reds will be without their first two goal keepers who are unavailable due to suspension. Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez will be expected to form a good partnership.
On the other hand, Everton have warmed up for this game with a 4-0 victory over Sunderland in the Premier League. Victor Anichebe is the club's top scorer with 6 goals to his name. The Nigerian might be used as a substitute, while Saha and Jelavic will lead the Everton attack. Everton have been beaten twice in the League by Liverpool. The last meeing between these two sides ended 3-0 at Anfield.
Our prediction: Liverool 1-3 Everton

Spurs V Chelsea
Tottenham and Chelsea will rekindle their London rivalry when they meet on Sunday afternoon. Chelsea's request to play on Saturday has been turned down by the English FA that granted Liverpool's request not to play on April 15th due to the Hillsbrough disaster remembrance day. Chelsea will meet Barcelona two days later and Roberto di Matteo will have to prioritize between the Champions League fixture and the FA Cup title.
The last clash between these two London clubs ended in a goalless draw at the Stamford Bridge and Gareth Bale has echoed their scintillating performance in that game. The Welsh man went ahead to boast that his team was better than the Blues. Chelsea can't afford to lose this game because of their current League position. If Everton should win the FA Cup and Chelsea can't finish above their present 6th position, then they won't even compete in the Europa League next season. Liverpool have erased the 7th spot by winning the Carling Cup and Everton can make the 6th position irrelevant if they can play the final against Tottenham.
Our prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham 

Top four or top six?

The race for top four is now a contest among six teams in the English Premier League. Arsenal is currently placed third with 61 points followed by the duo of Tottenham and Newcastle United with 59 points each but the former have a superior goals difference to the Toons. Amazingly, the Blue side of London, Chelsea drew against Fulham on Easter Monday and they are now 2 points behind fifth placed Newcastle United. If not for the poor start of Everton to this current campaign, David Moyes side couldn't have made the top four race more interesting. They've won 4 of their last 5 matches but they are still 10 points behind Chelsea. Tottenham's slip might give Newcastle the chance to snatch the fourth spot from them, although Alan Pardew will still have to lead his players against Chelsea,Manchester City and Everton in three of their last five matches of the season.
Chelsea will clash with Arsenal after their battle against Barcelona next week. The race for the top four is indeed getting interesting and unpredictable by the day. This is what can be regarded as the survival of the FITTEST.

English Premiership preview!

Aston Villa will meet Chelsea at the Villa Park on Saturday afternoon. Steve Bruce's side will have a herculean task of beating a rejuvenated Roberto Di Matteo side that have lost one of their last five matches in all competitions. Chelsea played a goalless draw against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and they will be expected to do better if they intend to qualify for the Champions League next season. Didier Drogba is expected to return to the starting line up after sitting on the bench in his team's 1-0 win over Benfica last Tuesday.
At the Loftus Road, QPR will welcome Arsenal in their quest to survive relegation. Mark Hughes' men were beaten 3-1 by Sunderland last weekend in a game where Djibril Cisse was given a red card. Arsenal are seeking for their eight straight win in the league. Robin Van Persie remains the top scorer of the season with 26 goals. At the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City will attempt to go level on points with Manchester United by beating Sunderland. The Citizens could only manage a one all draw against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium last weekend. Sergio Aguero will be missing in action due to a foot injury that was sustained domestically.

In other games, Wigan Athletic will host Stoke City at the JJB Stadium. The lactics will be without Nigeria's Victor Moses who suffered an injury in their 2-1 win over Liverpool last weekend. Wolves will play against injury-hit Bolton Wanderers in a relegation fight.
On Sunday, Newcastle United will host Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool at the Sport Direct Arena. Newcastle are currently tied on 50 points with 5th placed Chelsea and a win will boost their chances of playing in Europe next season. For Liverpool, they already have an Europa League ticket, but a defeat could see them drop to 9th or 10th based on other results. The Reds have lost 5 of their last 6 games. Charlie Adam will miss this match due to injury. Glen Johnson,Daniel Agger,Craig Bellamy and Martin Kelly are all doubtful for this game.

Tottenham Hotspur will meet Swansea City at the White Hart Lane. Spurs are currently on 55 points, three points behind their North London rivals, Arsenal. Harry Redknapp's men have not won any of their last 5 league matches. A win for Swansea could be on the cards, the Welsh team have beaten Manchester City and drawn against Liverpool this season.

FA Cup previews!

The two outstanding matches in the English  FA Cup will be played on Tuesday night. Tottenham Hotspur will host Bolton Wanderers at the White Hart Lane. Aaron Lennon will not be in action for the hosts due to injury. The initial meeting was terminated by the heart attack that was suffered by Fabrice Muamba. Spurs have lost at home just once in 2012, though they've not won one of their past five games. Tottenham managed to manovre their way past their 5th round opponent. Stevenage were beaten 3-1 by Harry Redknapp's men.

In the second match, Sunderland will meet Everton at the Stadium of Light. John O'Shea,Kieran Richardson, Wes Brown and Titus Bramble. Phil Bardsley Sebastian Larsson are doubtful while Lee Cattermole will be available for selection after serving his four match suspension. Everton have the highest number of appearances in the quarter final of the FA Cup. Everton have beaten Sunderland in seven of their last eleven matches.

EPL Previews.

Liverpool FC will host Wigan Athletic at the Anfield Road. The Reds surrendered a two goal lead to lose 3-2 at the Loftus Road on Wednesday night. That was the first time in several years that Liverpool will fail to get a point when they were two goals up with 13 minutes to go. Chelsea will continue their chase for a top four finish when they host misfiring Tottenham Hotspur at the Stamford Bridge. Harry Redknapp's side have gathered one point out of the 12 points that were at stake in their lat four league matches. Chelsea suffered a 2-1 loss at the Etihad Stadium in their lat match. Roberto Di Matteo's 100% record has finally been truncated, but the Blues will hope to re-ignite their hope of a Champions League spot this weekend. Arsenal FC will meet Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners leapfrogged Spurs after a 1-0 away win over Everton at the Goodison Park. Robin Van Persie will be looking forward to adding to his 26 league goals.
At the Britannia Stadium, Manchester City can go back to the summit of the Premier League if they can beat Stoke City. The Roberto Mancini led team are currently one point behind Manchester United that will play against Fulham on Monday night. Manchester City lost their last away match at the Liberty Stadium. They were beaten 1-0 by Swansea on that day. Sergio Aguero and Mario Ballotelli are expected to lead the attack against Stoke.
At the Reebok Stadium, Bolton Wanderers will face Blackburn Rovers. This will be the first game the Toffees will play after the collapse of Fabrice Muamba in an FA Cup match last weekend. Yakubu Aiyegbeni is Blackburn's top league scorer with 14 goals to his name. Norwich City will get above the 40 point mark if they can beat relegation-threatened Wolves at Carrow Road.

On Sunday, West Bromwich Albion will host 6th placed Newcastle United at The Hawthorns.

Bolton's Muamba slumps on the pitch.

Bolton midfielder, Fabrice Muamba slumped on the pitch in a FA Cup fixture between his team and Tottenham Hotspur at the White Hart Lane on Saturday afternoon. The Congolese born player went down on the turf after 40 minutes of action. The scoreline was 1-1 as at the time of the incidence. Howard Webb later suspended the match after consulting with the managers of the two teams. The medical officials tried to resuscitate him, but they later carried him into an ambulance where he was later joined by the team captain and the manger, Owen Coyle.  Muamba is said to be critically ill and he's currently at the Chest Hospital in London.

Muamba on a stretcher