EPL Soccer @ Today.com

I apologize for the current lack of recent updates, but I am in the process of moving house and that has taken up more of my time than I initially thought it would. The move will be complete this weekend and I will be back to regular updates, starting with a weekend recap on Saturday afternoon or early evening (depending on when they get my internet hooked up).

Thanks

John

Everton 3-1 Aston Villa
Everton marched into the quarter finals with an emphatic victory over high flying Villa at Goodison Park. The scoring came early and often as Rodwell put the home side ahead in the 4th minute before Milner tied it up from the spot. Arteta restored Evertons lead from the spot on the 24th and Tim Cahill sealed the win with a 76th minute strike.

Derby 1-4 Manchester United
It was cruise control for United who eased into the next round with a very comfortable victory. A superb Nani strike broke the deadlock and Gibson, Ronaldo and Wellbeck rounded out the scoring for the reds. Miles Addison gave the home crowd something to cheer about with a consolations goal for the Rams.

The quarter final draw was held this afternoon and it looks like this :

Blackburn/Coventry v Chelsea
Swansea/Fulham v Manchester United
Arsenal/Cardiff or Burnley v Sheffield United/Hull
Everton v West Ham/Middlesbrough

Premiership

Portsmouth 2-0 Manchester City
It’s amazing how often this happens. A struggling side see’s their manager sacked and go on to win their next match after the firing. Such was the cae with Portsmouth who got goals from Johnson and Hreidarsson to secure the points.

FA CUP 5th Round

Swansea 1-1 Fulham
This game set the trend for today with Championship sides earning replays against their EPL rivals. A Monk OG gave the visitors the lead, but a stunning strike from Jason Scotland earned a replay for Swansea.

Blackburn 2-2 Coventry
It took a late, late strike to keep Blackburn in the FA Cup. Things looked good for the home side going ahead in the 2nd minute through Santa Cruz, but Coventry battled gamely and eventually went ahead through goals from Gunnarsson and Doyle. That looked like enough for a quarter final spot, but Samba netted the equalizer with the last kick of the ball.

Sheffield United 1-1 Hull
A tight, at times rough, Yorkshire derby ended in the right result. United went ahead early through Halford, but Zayatte tied things up with a nicely headed equalizer.

West Ham 1-1 Middlesbrough
Boro need the FA Cup to keep their eason alive and give their fans something to cheer for, but they will have to try again after tying the Hammers. Boro went ahead through Stewart Downing and held on until the 82nd minute when Ilunga tied it.

Watford 1-3 Chelsea
It was almost a debut to forget for new Chelsea boss, Gus Hiddinck. A tight affair was broken open in the 69th minute when Priskin gave Watford the lead. The shock looked on until Nicoas Anelka hit a hat trick in the final 15 minutes, but Chelsea will have to do much better if they want to advance past the quarter finals.

This week saw the dismissal of two Premiership managers, both of whom barely had time to get their feet wet at their new clubs before being let go.
Tony Adams’ run at Portsmouth has been nothing short of a disaster as he has seen his side slip to just one point above the relegation zone, and get bounced from the FA Cup by Swansea. The writing was on the wall even after such a short tenure.
The same can not be said for Luiz Felipe Scolari who, after a mere 7 months at Chelsea, got the axe after his side slipped to 4th place. It’s a sign of the massive, if somewhat unrealistic, expectations that come with the Stamford Bridge job. Ray Wilkins will take over as caretaker manager until a replacement is found. Fans are drooling over the prospect of a Zola/Clarke management team, but reality looks like it may come in the form of Gus Hiddink……wonder how long he will make it.

Tottenham 0-0 Arsenal
Spurs will be kicking themselves after failing to capitalize on an Arsenal side that had to play with 10 men for almost an hour. Aboue was sent off for the Gunners in the 37th minute after receiving a second yellow, but despite creating numerous chances, Spurs couldn’t cash in.

West Ham 0-1 Manchester United
Make it 13 consecutive clean sheets for United who didn’t play all that well, but still won it thanks to an individual piece of brilliance from Ryan Giggs. The Welshman received the ball on the left wing, cut inside, dummying 2 defenders in the process, before drilling a shot into the bottom corner.

Man City 1-0 Middlesbrough
The misery continues for Boro who drop another close one to City. Recent signing Craig Bellamy paid dividends yet again with the lone goal.

Blackburn 0-2 Aston Villa
Villa continued their title challenge with a hard earned win at Ewood Park. Milner and Agbonlahor got the goals on either side of half time.

Chelsea 0-0 Hull
This may be the game, even more than last weeks loss to Liverpool, that officially ends Chelsea’s title bid. A horrible result against a Hull side that they should have had no problems against.

Everton 3-0 Bolton
A very impressive display from the Merseyside boys as they continue their quest for a European spot. Arteta and a Jo double earned the points.

Sunderland 2-0 Stoke
A game that look destined for a scoreless tie turned in the 65th minute when Stoke’s Etherington was red carded. Sunderland capitalized on the man advantage and got goals from Jones and Healey to secure the win.

West Brom 2-3 Newcastle
Both teams exploded out of the gate with 3 goals in the opening 10 minutes. Duff gave Newcastle the lead before Fortune tied things up. Lovenkrands and Taylor gave the vistors a 2 goal cushion before Fortune scored again to close the gap.

Wigan 0-0 Fulham
Honors even in a game that Fulham can probably count themselves unfortunate in not being able to win given the number of chances they created.

Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool
It too some last minute heroice to keep Liverpool’s title dreams alive. Popey had the lead twice through Nugent and Hreidarsson, the second of whch came with only 12 minutes to play. Aurelio got the first tying goal and Kuyt got the second five minutes from time before Fernando Torres fired the winner with the last kick of the ball.

Manchester City v Middlesbrough my prediction 2-1 City
City come into this one under a bit of fire in the press for their lack of success despite the money they have shelled out. With that being said, they should be able to overcome a hapless Boro.

Blackburn v Aston Villa my prediction 1-0 Villa
Blackburn have become masters of the draw, tying 4 of their last 5. Villa stumbled a little last week and lost ground to Manchester Utd in the title race. Look for them to get back in it this week.

Chelsea v Hull my prediction 3-0 Chelsea
A huge loss to Liverpool last week leaves Chelsea floundering in their hopes of winning the EPL. They should have no problem getting back to winning ways against a Hull side that is in the misdt of a major slide after an incredible start to the season.

Everton v Bolton my prediction 1-1
The home side may come into this one a little weary after an FA Cup replay midweek that went into extra time. I’m expecting a share of the spoils here.

Sunderland v Stoke my prediction 2-2
Both sides come into this one sporting very similar records over the past month or so. Too tight to seperate them, so calling for a tie.

West Brom v Newcastle my prediction 2-1 West Brom
West Brom have been showing some signs of life of late, if you exclude their cup exit to Burnley, and a home tie against a Newcastle side struggling to find their form may just net them the full 3 points.

Wigan v Fulham my prediction 2-2
Yet another game between 2 sides sporting identical records over the past 5 weeks. Too tight to call

Portsmouth v Liverpool my prediction 2-0 Liverpool
Liverpool come into today with a mixed bag of emotions. A big win over Chelsea last weekend was dampened somewhat by their FA Cup exit to neighbors Everton in Midweek. They will be without Steven Gerrard for the next 3 weeks, but should be good enough to knock off struggling Pompey.

Tottenham v Arsenal my prediction 3-2 Spurs
The home side will be boosted by the return of Robbie Keane and that may be just enough to give them the edge over their London rivals.

West Ham v Manchester United my prediction 2-0 Man Utd
The Hammers have their work cut out against an impenetrable Utd defence that has not surrendered a league goal in their last 12 games. Look for that trend to continue Sunday.

Aston Villa 3-1 Doncaster
A comfortable win for Villa who essential had the game wrapped up inside 20 minutes thanks to goals from Sidwell and Carew. Price pulled one back for Doncaster on the stroke of half time, but Delfouneso restored the 2 goal advantage on the hour.

Blackburn 2-1 Sunderland
It took extra time to seperate these two, both of whom could use a cup run to keep the fans happy. Healy put Sunderland in front early, but Mokoeana got the equalizer and the stalemate stayed until the 118th minute when Benny McCarthy became the hero for Rovers.

Everton 1-0 Liverpool
Another tight affair between the Merseyside rivals that took extra time to sort out. Dan Gosling was the hero, hitting the winner with only 2 minutes of extra time remaining. Liverpools chances were not helped when Lucas was red carded in the 70th minute.

Burnley eased their way into the 5th round of the FA Cup, and a tie against either Cardiff or Arsenal, after quite handily disposing West Brom. Wade Elliott opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with a superb volley, and Steven Thompson doubled the lead in the 52nd minute. West Brom battled back and got a goal from Zuiverloon on the hour, but that man Thompson put it beyond doubt with his second late in the proceedings.

In other news, Arsenal finally got their man after the FA approved the transfer of Andrei Arshavin from Zenit. It is believed the Gunners shelled out close to 17 million pounds for the Russian.

Transfer deadline day came and went with a lot of moves, but very little in the way of big blockbusters. The three biggest moves were Robbie Keane, mired in the middle of a power struggle at Anfield, finally let go and given the chance to return to Spurs. In my mind this is a great move for Keane as it will get him off the bench and back in front of goal where he belongs.
Charles N’Zogbia, long rumored to be wanting away from Newcastle got his wish today as he heads to Wigan who are in fine form at the moment. The addition of N’Zogbia can only help their European push.
Arsenal will have to wait until Tuesday to see if their on again, off again deal with Zenit for Andrei Arshavin has gone through. Arsene Wenger seems very confident that the Russian star will be a Gunner this time tomorrow.