World Cup Qualifier Promotion | Aaron Hughes Plan to Cause Upset For Portugal

THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS – In his bid for promotion of his national side towards their 2014 Rio dream, Northern Ireland defender Aaron Hughes aim to block the hopes of a Cristiano Ronaldo-powered Portugal side when they face in Porto for the World Cup qualifiers tonight.

Northern Ireland was not successful when they played past through rival Russia, to which they lost 2-0. Their 1-1 draw against Luxembourg left them hanging in fourth place of Group F.

Citing Russia’s 1-0 win against Portugal, Hughes believes that his side can beat the Portuguese even though they do not get dominant possession of the ball. He noted that his side plans to “sit and defend and hit [Portugal] on the counter attack."

Photo credits:

Aaron Hughes [Photograph]. (2012). Retrieved 16 October 2012, from <http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/sport/football/fulham_star_ready_for_test_of_former_man_utd_favourite_1_1655687>

Manchester United faces threat from speculators

Manchester United may have got off to a solid start on the field this season, but increasing numbers of investors are taking a less positive view of the club’s performance off the field.

Appeal to fans: Alan Hansen backs Sir Alex Ferguson's calls for fans from both clubs to show respect for each other Photo: ACTION IMAGES

Almost 11pc of the shares sold in Manchester United’s controversial $2.9bn (£1.8bn) flotation last month are now in the hands of investors looking to profit from a slide in the company’s stock - so called shorting - according to Markit.

That amount has more than doubled from the days immediately after the initial public offering in New York.

News of the shorting comes as the company prepares today to report fourth quarter profits, its first set of tradng figures since the float.

The number of shares shorted will add to some fans’ concern over the flotation.

Manchester United’s Supporters Trust has criticised the IPO because not all of the $233m raised was targeted at paying down the club’s debts which stand at more than £430m.

“It’s a story that is interesting to short sellers,” said Simon Colvin, an analyst at Markit. “People have ingested the current situation of a highly leveraged sports team that is open to the whims of the football season.”

The US-based Glazer family, which used the IPO to sell about 10pc of the club they acquired for £790m in 2005, opted for a flotation just as Manchester United faces increasing competition for domestic trophies from local rival Manchester City, and for the European Cup from the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Mr Colvin said that the the volume of shares available for short-sellers to borrow has risen as investors at the IPO allocate a portion of their holdings to the lending programmes speculators can tap in to.

Companies in the S&P 500 have an average 3.4pc of their shares in the hands of short-sellers, says Markit.

Short-sellers borrow shares and then sell them in the hope the price will fall. They make money by buying back the shares at a lower price, returning the shares to the original owner and then pocketing the difference.

Shares in Manchester United stood at $12.575 in early trading in New York, some 10.2pc down on the company’s flotation price of of $14.

Manchester United declined to comment.

article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9549193/Manchester-United-faces-threat-from-speculators.html

Arsenal Prepares New Contract for Manager Arsene Wenger

Arsenal’s long-time manager Arsene Wenger is bound to receive a new contract from the club. The club made the decision despite another failed effort to win the Premier League title last season, which stretched their title drought to seven years as they clinched the third spot with Manchester United and champions Manchester City leading in the tables

The move appears to be an affirmation of the moniker “In Arsene We Trust”, which is a popular slogan among Arsenal fans. Currently, Wenger is facing a challenge to lead the club in light of high-profile departures of ex-captain Robin van Persie to Manchester United and Alex Song to Barcelona. New signings Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla replaced the duo.

Wenger’s current contract lasts until 2014. Speculations that the manager will leave Arsenal once his deal expires have been widespread. Ivan Gazidis, chief executive of The Gunners, stays firm in his stand that the Frenchman knows best in leading the club to title victories.

Saying that he is highly satisfied with the way Arsenal is moving forward, Gazidis affirmed that Wenger is the man they need to spearhead the club’s progress. He called the manager an “incredible man who loves [Arsenal]”.

Apart from van Persie and Song’s exits, Arsenal suffered the transfers of big-name players prior to 2011-12. Former captain Cesc Fabregas moved to Barcelona. Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy played for Manchester City to win the title in their first season with the club.  

Gazidis acknowledged that they are concerned with the club not winning a league trophy since 2004. He followed up with assurance that they are doing their best in playign against tough oponnent sides to win titles this year.

The chief executive fended off accusations that the board is satisfied with just top-four league finishes. He added that they are trying to win using “a certain way of playing football that [the club takes] pride in”.

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Photo credits:

Arsene Wenger [Photograph]. (2012). Retrieved 14 September 2012, from < http://www.viasat1.com.gh/v1/vnews/sports.php?postId=551 >

Sports Tips [SOCCER]: Premier League 2012-13 Manchester United vs. Wigan Athletic

BET FOR WIGAN ATHLETIC @ 1.600 WITH 2.0 HANDICAP!

Manchester United will face Wigan Athletic at home when the Premier League resumes on September 15. This match will be crucial for both sides, as The Red Devils plan to top rivals Chelsea and Manchester City and The Latics are on the move to secure their side away from another relegation threat.

Match Preview

 HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON (Last Five Matches)      
2011-12 Premier League (April 12, 2012)      
Manchester United    0-1    Wigan Athletic      
2011-12 Premier League (December 26, 2011)      
Manchester United    5-0    Wigan Athletic      
2010-11 Premier League (February 26, 2011)      
Manchester United    4-0    Wigan Athletic      
2010-11 Premier League (November 20, 2010)      
Manchester United    2-0    Wigan Athletic      
2009-10 Premier League (December 31, 2009)      
Manchester United    5-0    Wigan Athletic   

When United play Wigan on Saturday, they might not feature key new signings Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa, as both suffered minor injuries while on their international duties for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. Van Persie incurred a thigh injury while playing for the Netherlands in their 4-1 win against Hungary. Kagawa withdrew from Japan’s 1-0 against Iraq due to back pain sustained from training.

While United have played their best in their last two games with the help of van Persie and Kagawa, they face the risk of downgrading when they face Wigan in their absence. Danny Welbeck and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez are suitable replacements, though they have yet to prove their current form as starters for the club this season. Wayne Rooney’s absence is another blow to the club as he is set to spend time on the sidelines for up to two months.

Wigan Athletic will be playign against tough oponnent United, but with a stronger force due to the satisfactory forms of ex-Chelsea striker Franco di Santo, midfielders Shaun Maloney and James McArthur. While they lost to United by 16 goals in four out of their last five matches, they caught the Red Devils by surprise 1-0 in their previous encounter in April last season. A weaker United squad will give ample goal opportunities for Wigan.

A close game is highly possible between the two sides, with Manchester United poised to win at 2-1. Handicap bets would mean a win for Wigan by one goal (see Full Time Handicap below for reference).

Full Time Handicap



BET MYR 100 ON WIGAN ATHLETIC


REAL GAME RESULT    RESULT WITH HANDICAP    HOME
(Manchester United)    AWAY
(Wigan Athletic)    COMMENTS:      
2-1    2-3    -100%    +100%    Wigan “wins” by 1 goal,
WIN MYR 160.00   

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Photo credits:

Wigan vs. Manchester United [Photograph]. (2012). Retrieved 14 September 2012, from < http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/wigans-stuns-english-premier-league-leaders-manchester-united-1-0/story-e6frep5o-1226324448985 >

Updated Score for UEFA Champions League

Possible line up

With domestic issues finished for both sides, Chelsea and Bayern Munich will go head-to-head in the Champions League final on Saturday.

Suspensions and injuries mean that neither side are likely to have anything close to their best XI on show.

The FA Cup winners finished 6th in the Premier League and will need to win to ensure Champions League football again next season.

Bayern Munchen-vs-Chelsea Score Board

1-0	2-0	2-1	3-0	3-1	3-2	4-0	4-1	4-2	4-3	5-0UP
0-1	0-2	1-2	0-3	1-3	2-3	0-4	1-4	2-4	3-4	0-5UP

This was the result score from 12bet.com

Bayern  Munchen vs. Chelsea, I guess since this two teams has the ability and are strong teams, we can’t picture out who will take the championship.

I guess by just simply looking back from their previous fight we can tell who can win.

If Chelsea are to win the Champions League then bookies favour them to do it within the 90 minute mark.

ENGLISH PREMIERE LEAGUE | CHELSEA VS. BLACKBURN ROVERS

English Premiere League | Chelsea Vs. Blackburn Rovers 10:00 PM GMT+8

Match pointers

• Blackburn have failed to score in nine of their past 11 league games against Chelsea

• Chelsea have lost 10 games in 2011-12, their most in a season defeats since 2000-01

• Only one player has ever scored more goals (Andrew Johnson's 21 for Crystal Palace in 2004-05) for a relegated team than Yakubu Ayegbeni (16) has this season

• Fernando Torres has scored seven goals in 1,089 minutes with Roberto Di Matteo as manager compared to four in 1,893 under André Villas-Boas

• Blackburn will finish a season with less than 35 points for the first time since 1978-79

FA Cup final between Liverpool v. Chelsea.

Place your bet this weekend on the highly anticipated FA Cup final between Liverpool v. Chelsea.

Chelsea v Liverpool – Betting Tips:
Chelsea to win the FA Cup
Under 2.5 goals

One of the best rivalries in British football trips the new Wembley arena for the first time this few days as Liverpool take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

Amazingly, this will be the Thirty first conference of the two clubs in the last eight seasons as reminiscences of legendary Winners twice headers and numerous home cup situations ruminate clean in memory.

During that period the teams have been eerily impossible to split with Chelsea winning 11, Liverpool winning 11 and eight matches ending in a draw; the Blues perhaps holding any marginal advantage having won the 2005 Carling Cup in extra time.

Research of latest FA Cup finals also indicates that we should back Several weeks to be the side raising the award on Sunday night at possibility of 7/10. The Stamford Link team have surfaced winning on five of their six trips to the nationwide arena, and have never missing a game title there within 90 moments.

Roberto di Matteo has worked wonders since taking charge at Chelsea, but he still doesn’t have anything tangible to show for his efforts. Victory this weekend would be a perfect precursor to the Champions League final a fortnight later, and set up the Blues for a truly memorable season.

Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United premier liga match preview

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 12BET odds Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United 4/2 3AM GMT+8

Blackburn Rovers' probable starting line-up cost the club approximately £17.5 million in transfer fees. Manchester United's, in comparison, cost around £130m. The most expensive of those 11 Rovers players was Scott Dann, who cost £6m from Birmingham City. Blackburn have lost just two of the last nine encounters between the two clubs at Ewood Park.

Manchester United have the opportunity to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a win after Sunderland held title rivals Manchester City to a 3-3 draw in Manchester on Saturday. If United were able to maintain that gap until their meeting with City on 30 April, they would require a victory to win the league at the Etihad Stadium. Antonio Valencia (pictured above right) trails only David Silva in the Premier League assist charts, despite having played 10 fewer matches than the Spaniard. Valencia has racked up 11 assists in 19 games.

Aston Villa Vs Chelsea premier liga match preview

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 12BET ODDS Aston Villa Vs Chelsea 3/31 10PM GMT+8  

Aston Villa have generally struggled against the big boys this year, although they did win 3-1 at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season and Chelsea should have too much for them so 4/5 is a great bit of business.

Aston Villa’s main problem has been putting the ball in the back of the net this season. No-one outside the bottom three has scored less than them this season. To go with this Chelsea haven’t scored more than 1 goal away from home since the start of January in the league

Petrov fever fear for Villa

 Villa skipper has high temperature

Captain Stiliyan Petrov is a worry for Aston Villa ahead of their crunch weekend home game against top-four chasing Chelsea.

The West Midlands side are low on confidence following last weekend's 3-0 defeat by Arsenal and are in danger of slipping into the relegation tussle. Although the club are currently eight points clear of the bottom three, Alex McLeish's side face a tough run of fixtures in April after the Blues' visit to Villa Park. Alan Hutton and Charles N'Zogbia will almost certainly miss the game with respective calf and knee problems while Darren Bent (ankle), Richard Dunne (collarbone) and Ciaran Clark (knee) are sidelined. And with James Collins and Emile Heskey carrying knocks, there is now a real worry over the Bulgarian.

"Stan Petrov's got a bit of a fever," explained assistant manager Peter Grant. "He came off after the game with a high temperature on Saturday. "He didn't feel that great during the game. The doc took his temperature on the way back up and it was very high."

Manchester United vs Fulham premier liga match preview

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 12BET odds Manchester United vs Fulham 3/27 3AM GMT+8

That is the spin being placed on this fixture by the pessimists in the blue half of Manchester and perhaps many overconfident Reds, but Martin Jol’s team are capable of upsetting the odds. Having conceded five to United at Craven Cottage in December, they will be yearning to redeem themselves and could make life difficult for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.

Manchester United (probable, 4-3-3): De Gea; Jones, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Giggs; Welbeck, Rooney, Hernandez.
Out: Anderson (hamstring), Fletcher (bowel condition), Lindegaard (ankle), Vidic (knee), Owen (thigh), Bebe (knee), Nani (ankle).

Fulham (Probable, 4-4-2): Schwarzer; Kelly, Hangeland, Senderos, J Rises; Ruiz, Diarra, Dembele, Dempsey; Johnson, Pogrebnyak.
Out: Etheridge (wrist), Grygera (knee), Sidwell (hernia), Sa (hamstring)

 

Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City premier league match preview

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 12BET odds Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City 3/22 3:45AM GMT+8

As horrible Saturday's nights events involving Fabrice Muamba were for Bolton's players, Spurs's players appeared equally distrubed and manager Harry Redknapp faces a job to get their spirits up as they chase a Champions League place.

Tottenham have lost their last three games in the Premier League and face a beligerent Stoke side who have already won twice against Redknapp's men. In the Carling Cup in September, following a 0-0 draw, Stoke knocked Spurs out on penalties. And in December, Spurs had Younes Kaboul sent off in the Premeir League game at the Britannia and lost 2-1.

 

Fulham Vs Swansea City match preview

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 12BET odds Fulham Vs Swansea City 3/17 11PM GMT+8

The last time Fulham met Swansea in the league at Craven Cottage, both sides were in the fourth tier of English football. Fulham won 2-1. Fulham has lost just one and won six of its last eight Premier League games at Craven Cottage. Fulham has recovered the most points (8) from losing positions in home matches this season.

Swansea’s last six away league games have seen the club alternate between wins and losses. Swansea will be without the services of flying winger Nathan Dyer as he serves the second game of his three-match suspension. Brendan Rodgers decided against appealing Dyer's ban as it could have resulted in the 24-year-old having another match added if the club's plea was rejected.

 

Arsenal Vs Newcastle United match preview

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 12BET odds Arsenal Vs Newcastle United 4AM GMT+8

Arsenal get off to a bright start, but Newcastle weather the early storm, and after 10 minutes, it remains scoreless. Robin van Persie discovers that Mikel Arteta is actually a deep cover double agent who's been indoctrinated by Newcastle and is working for a group of Mike Ashley Reapers hovering on the edge of the galaxy waiting to buy up everything and start it all over again.

Working together with a band of the Arsenal youth team and former enemy Yossi Benayoun, Robin van Persie travels the galaxy amassing evidence and resources to take down Arteta, all while the rest of Newcastle's eyes glow weirdly blue. In the second minute of stoppage time, Wenger finally believes van Persie, and nearly too late, but as Ashley crashes his giant spaceship shaped like a bug into the Emirates, van Persie scores a late winner, breaking his arm in the process, climbing atop the rubble, and taking his mantle as Hero of the Galaxy.

Norwich City Vs Wigan Athletic match preview

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 12BET odds Norwich City Vs Wigan Athletic 3/12 12AM GMT8

Norwich City and Paul Lambert have won many fans this season with their brand of attacking, passing football. Two defeats in a row – to Manchester United and Stoke – have seen them drop to 13th, but a win today would catapult them back into the top half. Ayala, Tierney, Rudd and Vaughan will miss the game for the Canaries, but there is a possibility that Ryan Bennet will return to the side having been an unused substitute at Stoke.

Wigan have just one win in the last ten games, which is a worrying statistic for the bottom side as there are only 11 games left in the Premier League this season. The Latics are three points from safety, and perhaps Dave Whelan’s public backing of Roberto Martinez will inspire the players to start pulling their weight. Rodallega and Diame could be in line to start, but David Jones and Mike Pollitt are both out with injuries.

 

Newcastle United will match Sunderland this Sunday

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: 12BET odds Newcastle United vs Sunderland 3/4 8PM GMT+8

Sunderland may have finished above Newcastle three years running, but they have lost eight of the last 14 games against their local rivals and have not enjoyed a victory on Tyneside since 2001.Martin O'Neill is already hugely popular given the vast improvement in results since he became manager in December, but he knows a win on Sunday would do wonders for the club's self-esteem.

Newcastle, though, remain in the hunt for Europe, they have lost just twice at home this season and have the marginally better record in Tyne-Wear derbies 53 to 44 wins to reassure them. It's going to be a close one to call.Newcastle striker Papiss Cissé is expected to be fit for Sunday's derby with Sunderland.Cissé withdrew from the Senegal squad in midweek with a groin problem, but has trained and will be available, as should midfielder Cheick Tiote, who was rested on Friday following his return from international duty with the Ivory Coast.