Apologies

Hi Guys!

I've been very busy over the last week or so with WorldCupTwenty20.com - Which is the site we are running for the on-going Cricket ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

Apart from that the LIVE EPL Scores system at EPL08.com went down last week and further apologies for that. That has been fixed and you should be able to follow Live Action here.

Working on another Live Scores tool for you guys - Soon we'll be offering Live Scores and Commentary for all the major leagues of Europe (Serie A, La Liga, Eredivisie, Ligue 1 and even the Coca Cola Championships). Add to this we'll be setting up a Live Center for the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

Thus you'll be able to follow all the LIVE action here.

As a Chelsea fan, things haven't been too good last couple of weeks. A miserable dip in form along with the sudden exit of Jose Mourinho has literally given all us fans the blues.

Well we wish Mourinho all the best for his future and thank him for all the special moments at Chelsea.

Plus many of you must have noted that I wrote out Season Previews for all the teams except for the Big 4 - thats primarily because I feel the best preview for such big teams can only be written a few weeks into a long hard season. So all the 4 teams - Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are going to be reviewed in the coming week.

Stay tuned for a lot of exciting action.

Cheers!
Admin@EPL08.com

EPL Weekend 6 - Fixtures and Predictions

[You might be viewing old Fixtures and Predictions on this page. To view the latest English Premier League fixtures and predictions - CLICK HERE]

EPL Weekend #6:

Saturday:

Everton vs Manchester United:
Everton are joint top currently and I fancy them to hold Manchester United at home. Last season they let a 2 goal lead slip away against Man U which eventually turned out be ‘the’ crucial game which ensured United’s title success.
Prediction: 1-1

Portsmouth vs Liverpool:
Portsmouth should be able to pull off an upset victory against Liverpool.
Prediction: 1-0

Tottenham vs Arsenal:
This is one London derby which is never short of excitement, sure to be a hard fought exciting battle with a draw as the final result.
Prediction: 2-2

Birmingham vs Bolton:
Steve Bruce’s men should be able to record a victory against Sammy Lee’s Bolton.
Prediction: 1-0

Sunderland vs Reading:
Both the teams are currently threatened in the relegation zone – but it is too early in the season to worry about it. I expect the points to be split.
Prediction: 1-1

West Ham vs Middlesbrough:
West Ham should be able to record a victory at home against a resurgent Middlesbrough squad. A lot of their players are coming back the fitness and it is definitely a good sign for manager Alan Curbishley.
Prediction: 2-1

Wigan vs Fulham:
Wigan should be able to grind out a narrow win at the JJB Stadium. Perhaps a penalty or a set-piece would decide this tie.
Prediction: 1-0

Chelsea vs Blackburn:
After losing to Aston Villa last time around, the pressure will definitely be on Mourinho’s men to ensure they don’t lose any points at home. This ones going to be a tough battle for sure.
Prediction: 2-1

Sunday:

Manchester City vs Aston Vila:
This one should end in a tame nil-nil draw.
Prediction: 0-0

Monday:

Derby vs Newcastle United:
Derby would be desperate for a good showing but it might not be enough. Michael Owen is in great form and things are looking good for Sam Allardyce.
Prediction: 0-2

Premiership News Update - All Teams

Arsenal:

Wenger to sign new deal. Confirmation by the end of today.

Cesc Fabregas has refuted reports that he's already agreed to join Real Madrid next summer.

Lehmann insists he’s still the No. 1 Goal-keeper at Arsenal after a pretty horrendous start to the season.

Aston Villa:
O’Neill expects Petrov to retain form soon. Also says Barry won’t let England down if he plays this weekend against Israel.

Birmingham City:
Birmingham City might be signing Mohammed Kallon soon. Kallon is currently a free agent. He’s played for Inter Milan and Monaco in the past.

Blackburn Rovers:
Blackburn chairman John Williams predicts wages will soar this year to reflect the record spending on transfers. A report by Deloitte shows transfer spending by English clubs this summer has exceeded £500million, smashing the previous summer's £300million.

Bolton Wanderers:
Bolton striker Heidar Helguson is set to be sidelined for up to seven weeks after undergoing ankle surgery.

Chelsea:
Chelsea say they left Michael Ballack out of their Champions League squad only because of injury.

Derby County:
Chelsea say they left Michael Ballack out of their Champions League squad only because of injury.

Everton:
Everton's Joleon Lescott's has received an England call-up. The 25-year-old has put in some sterling performances for Everton off late and Moyes feels that the England recall is"just reward" for the defender.

Fulham:

New Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy is excited by the prospect of playing regularly again. After hardly getting to play much at Tottenham he's relishing the prospect of playing every game possible for Fulham.

Meanwhile highly rated Fulham mid-fielder Jimmy Bullard is targetting an October comeback.

Liverpool:
Torres injury blow worries Rafa Benitez. I’m sure Steven Gerrard’s been giving him a couple of sleepless nights too.

Manchester City:
Micah Richards says playing regular first-team football is the reason he's staying at Manchester City after he was linked with many big team moves.

Manchester United:
Franz Beckenbauer says Michael Ballack should have joined Manchester United and not Chelsea. Ballack could have filled a void both at Man United and Real Madrid. He’s being wasted at Chelsea – because Frank Lampard plays a similar role there.

Middlesbrough:
Julio Arca is relishing the chance to bring a little South American magic to Middlesbrough's midfield. While manager Gareth Southgate is starting to sleep better after safely negotiating his first year as a manager.

Newcastle United:
Alan Shearer has backed Sam Allardyce to drag Newcastle back into Europe in his first season.

Portsmouth:
Harry Redknapp has tipped Glen Johnson to force his way into the England squad. Meanwhile it has been revealed that Portsmouth will receive only half of Gary O'Neil's £5million fee up front from Middlesbrough.

Reading:
Left-back Nicky Shorey is non committal about his future at Reading and hasn’t ruled out leaving the club in January. Meanwhile Brynjar Gunnarsson has signed a new contract which will keep him with the Royals until 2009.

Sunderland:
Andy Cole staked his claim for a place in Sunderland's starting line-up by playing for the reserves.

Tottenham Hotspur:
Martin Jol believes the international schedule means it will take Tottenham longer to peak this season.

West Ham United:
West Ham are hopeful Kieron Dyer will return from his broken leg earlier than expected.

Wigan Athletic:
The FA have charged Wigan over the conduct of their players at Newcastle last week.

News Source: Sporting Life

EPL Goal of the Month - August

The month of August saw the start of the English Premier League season and with it came a lot of stunning goals. Here's a compilation of the best goals of the Premiership season till now:

A. Steven Gerrard Aston Villa v LIVERPOOL (11 August)
B. Obafemi Martins Bolton v NEWCASTLE (11 August)
C. Matt Derbyshire Middlesbrough v BLACKBURN (11 August)
D. Olivier Kapo Chelsea v BIRMINGHAM (12 August)
E. Michael Chopra Birmingham v SUNDERLAND (15 August)
F. Michael Johnson MAN CITY v Derby (15 August)
G. Paul Scharner West Ham v WIGAN (25 August)
H. Charles N’Zogbia Middlesbrough v NEWCASTLE (26 August)
I. Mark Viduka Middlesbrough v NEWCASTLE (26 August)
J. Luis Nani MAN UTD v Tottenham (26 August)



Goal of the month - August - LIVE EPL Scores.

EPL Weekend 5 – Results and Review: Liverpool Go Top, Chelsea defeated.

[CLICK HERE to view the latest EPL Results] -

A weekend of late goals saw Chelsea lose their first game of the season and it gets real close at the top of the Premiership Table.

Results - EPL Weekend # 5:

Saturday:

Bolton 1-2 Everton:
(Prediction was: 1-1)
There was late heartbreak for Wanderers as Joleon Lescott headed home from a corner. Earlier in the match, Yakubu scored on his Everton debut and Bolton leveled via in-form Nicolas Anelka. Victory took Everton joint top of the Premiership table.

Fulham 3-3 Tottenham:
(Prediction was: 0-1)
Tottenham let slip 2-0 and 3-1 leads as Fulham fought back superbly to claim a 3-3 draw at Craven Cottage. Younes Kaboul, Berbatov and Gareth Bale scored for Spurs while Clint Dempsey netted the first for Fulham before Alexey Smertin reduced the deficit to 2-3 in the 77th minute. A 90th minute extra-ordinary looping overhead kick by Diomansy Kamara earned Lawrie Sanchez's side a point. Pressure is really on Martin Jol now.

Liverpool 6-0 Derby:
(Prediction was: 2-0)
Liverpool marched to the top of the Premiership table for the first time in five years after a 6-0 annihilation of Derby at Anfield. Alonso (2), Babel, Torres (2) and Voronin scored for Rafael Benitez's side.

Middlesbrough 2-0 Birmingham:
(Prediction was: 2-1)
Gareth Southgate would finally be pleased at the way things are turning out for Boro. They notched up a deserving 2-0 victory over Birmingham. David Wheater’s powerful header in the 12th minute gave Middlesbrough the lead before Stuart Downing lashed in from close range to add the second and pretty much wrap things up.

Newcastle vs Wigan Athletic:
(Prediction was: 2-0)
Michael Owen had 2 goals disallowed before netting in a late winner in the 87th minute of the game. This was his first goal in the league for the Magpies since a hat-trick away to West Ham in December 2005.

Reading 0-3 West Ham:
(Prediction was: 2-2)
This result was perhaps the surprise of the weekend. The corresponding fixture last year had resulted in a 6-0 hammering for West Ham and they pretty much turned the tables this time around. Bellamy opened the scoring and Etherington added two classy goals as Reading continue their mixed start to the season.

Man United 1-0 Sunderland:
(Prediction was: 3-1)
Sunderland goalkeeper Gordon was brilliant once again and almost kept Man United at bay before Louis Saha ruined Roy Keane’s Old Trafford return with a goal which saved United the blushes. This was Saha’s first appearance since the Champions League defeat to AC Milan in May.

Sunday:

Arsenal 3-1 Portsmouth:
(Prediction was: 2-1)
Arsenal ran out easy winners against Portsmouth with Adebayor, Fabregas and Rosicky scoring to propel the Gunners to second position in the League. Kanu netted one for Portsmouth. The only blemish as far as Arsene Wenger would be concerned was the 50th minute sending-off, of Philippe Senderos.

Blackburn 1-0 Man City:
(Prediction was: 1-1)
Blackburn continued their promising start to the season with a victory over much fancied Man City. Benny McCarthy scored his first goal of the season as Mark Hughes’ men recorded a 1-0 win. Blackburn are now unbeaten in 14 matches stretching back to last season.

Aston Villa 2-0 Chelsea:
(Prediction was: 0-0)
One could feel it coming as Villa ended Chelsea’s 7-month unbeaten streak. I’d predicted that Martin O’Neill’s men were going to give Chelsea a hard time and they sure did. Villa Park has been a bogey ground for the Blues who have not triumphed there in eight seasons. New signing Zat Knight scored on his debut and Gabriel Agbonlahor wrapped things up.

EPL Fixtures 2007-08: September

Matches this month which you cannot afford to miss:




[For Pre-Match reviews of each match and team news and predictions before a Game Weekend - CLICK HERE]

Entire list of Premiership Fixtures for the month of September:

Saturday, September 1, 2007:

Bolton 1-2 Everton
Fulham 3-3 Tottenham
Liverpool 6-0 Derby
Man Utd 1-0 Sunderland
Middlesbrough 2-0 Birmingham
Newcastle 1-0 Wigan
Reading 0-3 West Ham

Sunday, September 2, 2007:

Arsenal v Portsmouth
Aston Villa v Chelsea
Blackburn v Man City

Saturday, September 15, 2007:

Birmingham v Bolton
Chelsea v Blackburn
Everton v Man Utd
Portsmouth v Liverpool
Sunderland v Reading
Tottenham v Arsenal
West Ham v Middlesbrough
Wigan v Fulham

Sunday, September 16, 2007:
Man City v Aston Villa

Tuesday, September 18, 2007:
Derby v Newcastle

[JOIN OUR FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE GROUP and compete with fellow EPL08.com Followers.]

Saturday, September 22, 2007:

Arsenal v Derby
Blackburn v Portsmouth
Fulham v Man City
Liverpool v Birmingham
Middlesbrough v Sunderland
Reading v Wigan

Sunday, September 23, 2007:

Aston Villa v Everton
Bolton v Tottenham
Man Utd v Chelsea
Newcastle v West Ham

Saturday, September 29, 2007:

Birmingham v Man Utd
Chelsea v Fulham
Derby v Bolton
Man City v Newcastle
Portsmouth v Reading
Sunderland v Blackburn
West Ham v Arsenal
Wigan v Liverpool

Sunday, September 30, 2007:
Everton v Middlesbrough

Tuesday, October 2, 2007:
Tottenham v Aston Villa

[For Pre-Match reviews of each match and team news and predictions before a Game Weekend - CLICK HERE]

Transfer News: Last day of the Transfer Window

Yesterday was the last day of the transfer window and here are the transfers which took place:

Arsenal have signed France international midfielder Lassana Diarra from Chelsea on a "long-term contract" for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be around ₤4 Million. The 22-year-old had found first-team opportunities limited at Stamford Bridge, but I fail to see how he expects to find a regular place for himself in the Arsenal squad which is teeming with young mid-fielders.

Middlesbrough completed the signing of Gary O’Neil from Portsmouth less than an hour before the transfer deadline. The two clubs agreed a £5million fee. Middlesbrough have also completed the signing of Mohamed Shawky and allowed Jason Euell to join Southampton.

Portsmouth saw the return of Glen Johnson from Chelsea and this time on a permanent four-year deal. Johnson had spent last year on loan at Portsmouth and returned to Chelsea this season, but just 3 games into the season were enough to convince Mourinho that Johnson wasn’t the Right Back he was looking to have in his squad.

Peruvian Nolberto Solano was snapped up by West Ham United from Newcastle. With this almost the entire West Ham mid-field has an ex-Newcastle look (Parker, Dyer, Bowyer, Solano) to it…though most of them have brought their injury woes with them to Upton Park.

West Ham also confirmed they have signed Henri Camara from Wigan on a season-long loan. While Wigan manager Chris Hutchings made his ninth signing of the summer with striker Marcus Bent moving to the JJB Stadium on a season-long loan from Charlton.

Meanwhile Newcastle themselves beat the deadline to complete the signings of Habib Beye from Marseille and Abdoulaye Faye from Bolton.

Danny Murphy has joined Fulham on a one-year loan deal from Tottenham. Murphy had joined Charlton in 2004 after leaving Liverpool and was signed by Tottenham last season where he scored 2 goals in 22 games. Lack of first team options has lead to him being loaned to Fulham.

Murphy’s arrival sees the departure of Senegal midfielder Papa Bouba Diop from Craven Cottage. Diop has joined Portsmouth from Fulham and signed a 3 year contract. Another deal between the same clubs saw Dejan Stefanovic join Fulham on a two-year deal for £1million, subject to a work permit.

Fulham also signed Seol Ki-Hyeon from Reading in a swap deal which saw talented defender Liam Rosenior move to Reading.

Aston Villa seem to have captured Curtis Davis from West Brom is a deal worth an initial £8.5million, rising to to a potential £10million with add-ons. Villa also captured Togo midfielder Moustapha Salifou for an undisclosed fee from Swiss outfit FC Wil on a one-year contract.

Derby manager Billy Davies has ended his search for a strike after completing the deadline-day signing of Scotland striker Kenny Miller for an undisclosed fee from Celtic.

Birmingham confirmed the transfer of Borja Oubina on a season-long loan from Celta Vigo with "minutes to spare" on the last day of the Transfer Window. They also signed midfielder Wilson Palacios on loan from Honduran club Olimpia.

EPL Weekend 5 – Fixtures and Predictions

[You might be viewing old Fixtures and Predictions on this page. To view the latest English Premier League fixtures and predictions - CLICK HERE]

EPL Weekend # 5:

Saturday:

Bolton vs Everton:
Buoyed by their two main strikers – Anelka and Diouf – committing their futures to the club, Bolton will be looking at securing all 3 points at home.
Prediction: 1-1

Fulham vs Tottenham:
Pressures mounting on Tottenham and Martin Jol would be expected to deliver 3 points at Fulham. But Fulham aren’t going to be any push-overs.
Prediction: 0-1

Liverpool vs Derby:
It should be 3 easy points for Liverpool as they take on Derby County at Anfield. Billy Davis has strengthened his strike force by signing Kenny Miller from Celtic and they will be looking at an upset win.
Prediction: 2-0

Middlesbrough vs Birmingham:
Mido seems to be in form and Boro have also signed Gary O’Neil to add strength to the mid-field and should be able to beat Birmingham at home.
Prediction: 2-1

Newcastle vs Wigan Athletic:
Newcastle beat the transfer deadline to sign Marseille's Habib Beye and Bolton's Abdoulaye Faye and they let Solano join West Ham. Sam would be looking at picking up 3 points at home for the Magpies.
Prediction: 2-0

Reading vs West Ham:
The Royals need look no further than this very fixture seven months ago for encouragement, when Reading achieved their highest win of the season - a 6-0 thrashing of the Hammers. Things might be a little different this time around and I expect the game to end in a draw.
Prediction: 2-2

Man United vs Sunderland:
As Old Trafford gets ready to welcome one of their greatest players Keano, Alex Ferguson would be aware that Roy Keane’s boys would be extra fired up for this clash and they would be gunning for an upset.
Prediction: 3-1

Sunday:

Arsenal vs Portsmouth:
Portsmouth have strengthened their squad by signing Glen Johnson (Chelsea) and Papa Bouba Diop (Fulham). Arsenal too snagged Diarra from Chelsea and Wenger would like to avoid dropping points at home this weekend.
Prediction: 2-1

Blackburn vs Man City:
Tight match with a decent amount of high-flying tackles. Blackburn qualified for the main draw of UEFA Cup with a victory in mid-week and would be looking at continuing their winning draw but will be facing a strong Man City squad which currently lies in the second position.
Prediction: 1-1

Aston Villa vs Chelsea:
Chelsea struggled last season against Villa and Martin O’Neill’s men are going to trouble Mourinho’s men again. Expect a strong battle in the middle of the park with few scoring chances.
Prediction: 0-0