EPL Soccer @ Today.com

Saturdays card has eight games, the first of which is Fulham travelling to Goodison to take on Everton where I think the men in blue should take full points…2-0 Everton.
Red hot Chelsea have a home date with Sunderland, but will have to do without the services of Carvalho who will be out for the next few weeks. Not enough to stop the Chelsea juggernaut……..3-0 Chelsea.
Man Utd are at home to high flying Hull whose dream start hit a bit of a roadblock last week with a loss to Chelsea. Look for more of the same today…..2-1 Utd.
Middlesborough host West Ham at the Riverside with both clubs in need of points which I think they will share in this  one…2-2.
Portsmouth are at home to Wigan who have been struggling to score as of late and I think those struggles will continue…2-0 Pompey.
Stoke host Arsenal who will feel they have something to prove after blowing a 2 goal lead to Spurs midweek, and a match against EPL new boys may just be the tonic……3-0 Gunners.
West Brom host Blackburn and the Hawthorns, and if they show the same kind of attacking flair as they did last week in a losing effort to Hull, then I think they could take this one….2-1 WBA.
Game of the day looks to be Tottenham at home to top of the table Liverpool. Spurs seem to have found some life under new boss Harry Redknapp, pick up 4 points from 6 after his appointment. Possible high scoring affair here…..3-2 Liverpool.
The lone game on Sunday sees Bolton take on Man City at the Reebok. Robinho seems to be beginning to pay dividends for City after scoring a hat-trick last time out……2-1 City.

One of England most famous grounds looks like it will be closing it’s doors in the not too distant future. Tottenham today unveiled plans for a new 60,000 seat stadium close to their current home, White Hart Lane.
The development will include leisure facilities, public space and housing.

“The scheme includes the current site and adjoining land, with the stadium sited to the north of the existing one,” said Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

In a sign of the current state of the game, the new stadium will be named after a sponsor. In this day and age, money talks.

Speaking of sponsorship, Manchester United announced a sponsorship deal with Swiss watch company Hublot which will add 4 million pounds to the club coffers over the next 3 years.

Check back tomorrow for a review of the weekends games.

It was a day of late goals and high drama in the Premiership today. Aston Villa eked out a 3-2 win at home to Blackburn, Fulham got 2 goals from Andrew Johnson to knock off Wigan 2-0.Hull were finally brought back down to Earth as Chelsea downed them 3-0, with Frank Lampard seeting the pace with a 3rd minute strike. Stoke picked up 3 valuable points against Sunderland, courtesy of a 74th minute Ricardo Fuller strike.
The game of the day came at Emirates stadium where Arsenal and Spurs played to a 4-4 tie. The Gunners looked to have the game in the bag with a 2 goal cushion with under 2 minutes to play before Jenas and Lennon hit late goals to tie it.
Everton got a last minute goal from Fellaini to snatch a 1-0 victory at Bolton. A 75th minute Steven Gerrard penalty was enough to give Liverpool full points against Portsmouth, and a double strike from Cristiano Ronaldo propelled Manchester Unted past West Ham. The final game of the day saw Middlesborough knock off Manchester City 2-0.

Newcastle 2-1 WBA
The magpies came away with a much needed victory today, but made things a little harder than they had to be. The points looked to be secure courtesy of first half goals from a Joey Barton spot kick and Obefemi Martins. West Brom ha other ideas though and a 65th minute strike from Ishmael Miller made it a nervous final 25 minutes for the St James’ faithful.

In other news, Portsmouth officially names Tony Adams as their new manager, taking over from the recently departed Harry Redknapp.

Tomorrow sees a full slate of games on tap, so be sure to check back for scores and news.

Cristiano Ronaldo received the FifPro World Player of the year award today, and in doing so, declared that he had made the right move by sticking with Manchester United rather than making the much ballyhooed move to Real Madrid. He went on to state that his forseeable future lies with United.

In managerial news, Porstmouth have confirmed that former Arsenal stalwart, Tony Adams in front-runner for the spot to replace Harry Redknapp after he made the move to Tottenham.
Redknapp has contacted former Spurs captain Tim Sherwood to accept a position in the backroom staff.

Aston Villa striker John Carew was “fined heavily” by boss Martin O’Neill after breaking team curfew during last weeks European tie against Ajax.

Check back in tomorrow for more updates.

Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool
Liverpool served notice of their title intentions today, and in doing so, also ended Chelsea’s impressive 86 game home unbeaten streak. A goal in the 10th minute by Alonso was enough to secure the points and put the reds top of the table.
Man City 3-0 Stoke
City shocked the soccer world a couple of months back by swooping in to nab Robinho in a big money transfer from Real Madrid. That move paid dividends today as the Brazilian star netted a hat-trick and gave City a comfortable victory.
Tottenham 2-0 Bolton
Less than 24 hours after replacing ousted boss Jorge Ramos with Harry Redknapp, Spurs recorded their first win of the season. Goals from Pavlyuchenko and Bent did the damage, giving the new gaffer a dream start.
Wigan 0-4 Aston Villa
Villa recorded an impressive away victory, hitting hapless Wigan for 4 with all the goals coming from different scorers.
West Ham 0-2 Arsenal
The Gunners left it late with both goals coming in the last 15 minutes of the London derby. A Faubert own goal and a last minute strike by Adebyor were enough for the win. The Hammers misery was compounded by a last minute red card for Carlton Cole.
Portsmouth 1-1 Fulham
Pompey will be kicking themselves after giving up a late equalizer to US star, Clint Dempsey after Peter Crouch looked to have done enough to secure all 3 points.

The early game today saw Manchester United head to Goodison,a ground they always seem to struggle at, to take on Everton. United controlled most of the play and went ahead through Darren Fletcher, but were made to pay for their missed opportunities by a second half header from Fellaini.
Newcastles woes continued as they fell 2-1 to close neighbors Sunderland. Half time saw the score level at 1-1, but Kieran Richardson broke the deadlock with the winner in the 75th minute.
A game that, on paper at least, looked like being a dull affair, turned into an absolute cracker as Hull continued their improbable start with a 3-0 win over WBA. The games was closer than the scoreline suggests and, truth be told, West Brom were the better side until going a goal down.
Blackburn and Middlesborough played to a 1-1 tie at a rain-soaked Ewood Park. The conditions didn’t lend themselves to a pretty game and Boro looked to have done enough when Alves put them ahead in the 74th minute, but their hearts were broken by a Benni McCarthy header 3 minutes into injury time.

SATURDAY

Everton v Man. Utd
United have always struggled at Goodison Park, but with Rooney and Berbatov finally seeming to click up front, I think they’ll come away with the points. 2-0 United.
Sunderland v Newcastle
It’s derby day on Tyneside with second bottom Newcastle visiting the Stadium Of Light. I expect a tight game and honors even. 1-1
West Brom v Hull
Hull have surprised everyone with their great start this season, sitting 3rd at the moment. Look for them to conyinue their winning ways. 1-2
Blackburn v Middlesborough
Boro are coming off a 5-0 shellacking at the hands of Chelsea last week and you have to wonder if they can bounce back with a road trip to Ewood Park. I think not. 3-1 Blackburn

SUNDAY

Chelsea v Liverpool
This has to go down as the fixture of the week with the top 2 teams squaring off. Both teams are playing great football and scoring in bunches. 2-2
Man City v Stoke
The Blues picked up a valuable point earlier in the week snatching a late tying goal at Newcastle. I expect them to carry the momentum into this game against one of the EPL new boys. 1-0 City.
Tottenham v Bolton
It’s hard to believe that abteam loaded with as much talent as Spurs have, continue to prop up the table. I believe they can turn things around starting tomorrow. 2-1 Spurs
Wigan v Aston Villa
The JBL Stadium is always a tough place to go and pick up anything against a stingy Wigan side, but I think Villa will have just enough to capture full points. 0-1
West Ham v Arsenal
The London derby is another great fixture on this weekends card and I think we can expect a fast paced, open style of game with lots of goals. 2-4
Portsmouth v Fulham
Pompey will be looking to rebound from their midweek European disappointment with a home win against Fulham, and I fully expect them to do so. 2-0

Be sure to check back tomorrow for scores and reports.

Not  a great day for 2 of the 3 Premiership clubs involved in UEFA Cup play. Tottenham’s onfield woes continued as they fell 2-0 at the hands of Udinese. It didn’t help their cause any when, already a goal behind, Jamie O’Hara wasred carded midway through the second half. Portsmouth faired little better as they were easily disposed of by Braga, 3-0. This was the first game for both clubs in the group phase and leaves them with a bit of work to do going forward.

The lone bright spot of the day fell to Aston Villa as they recorded a memorable 2-1 victory over Dutch giants Ajax. First half goals from Laursen and Barry where enough to seal the 3 points and a night of celebration for the Birmingham club.

Check back in tomorrow when I’ll have a preview of the EPL games this coming weekend.

Champions League action wound up on Wednesday with EPL big guns Chelsea and Liverpool taking part. The Blues, who have been playing some swashbuckling football under new boss Felipe Scolari, took a little trip back in time and won a game in the style we have become accustomed to over the past few years, grinding out a 1-0 win over Roma thanks to a 77th minute strike from captain John Terry. The win put them top of their group with 7 points, and heavy favorites to go through.

Liverpool travelled to Spain and came away from Madrid with a respectable 1-1 tie. Robbie Keane opened the scoring for the reds, but a late Simao strike left honors even. Atletico and Liverpool share top spot with 7 points and both look certain to move on.

The UEFA cup continues tomorrow with Tottenham, Portsmouth and Aston Villa all in action. Check back for scores and updates.