EPL Results – Chelsea beat Reading, Man Utd held by Portsmouth. Review of all Mid-Week Matches

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Portsmouth 1 - Manchester United 1
Cristiano Ronaldo and new Portsmouth signing Sulley Muntari saw red as Manchester United were held to another battling draw by Portsmouth.

The champions took the lead via a Payl Scholes goal assisted by United debutant Carlos Tevez. Portsmouth leveled in the 53rd minute through Mwaruwari Benjani.

The Manchester derby is up next for United while Portsmouth face Bolton at home.

Reading 1 - Chelsea 2
Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba ensured Chelsea didn’t drop any points at Reading. Both scored shortly after half-time to complete a fine comeback win. Earlier in the match, Andre Bikey capitalized on a mistake by Petr Cech to give Reading the lead.

Chelsea travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday while Reading play host to Everton.

Man City 1 - Derby County 0
Manchester City continued their perfect start to the season with a 1-0 victory over newly promoted Derby County at the City of Manchester Stadium.

19-year-old Michael Johnson scored a classy goal which was also his first professional goal.

Derby travel to Tottenham this weekend while City play hosts to Manchester United.

Birmingham 2 - Sunderland 2
The Premiership new-boys renewed their Championship rivalry after playing out an entertaining draw. Sunderland continued their late scoring antics as Stern John came off the bench to net the equalizer in the 90th minute.

Birmingham host West Ham United coming weekend while Sunderland travel to Wigan.

Fulham 2 - Bolton 1
Fulham dealt Bolton a second straight defeat after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Craven Cottage.

Ex-Fulham striker Heidar Helguson put Bolton in the front after a mistake by Fulham goalie Tony Warner. David Healy equalized for Fulham and Ex-Chelsea midfielder Alexi Smertin netted the winner.

Fulham play hosts to Middlesbrough this weekend while Bolton travel to Portsmouth.

Wigan 1 - Middlesbrough 0
On a night studded with goalkeeping errors, the costliest one came JJB Stadium when Mark Schwarzer's spill gifted Wigan a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.

Schwarzer could not hold Antonio Valencia's 55th-minute shot and Antoine Sibierski pounced to bundle the ball home for his second goal in as many matches.

Season Preview - Reading

Last season: 8th, 55 points; FA Cup fifth round; Carling Cup third round

Transfers:

In: Emerson Fae (Nantes, £2.5m); Kalifa Cisse (Boavista, £1m)

Out: Greg Halford (Sunderland, £3m); Steve Sidwell (Chelsea, free)

Official Website: http://www.readingfc.co.uk/

Official Kit:

Steve Coppell's Reading had a fantastic 2006/07 campaign - their first in the top flight. But let's be honest, they overachieved last season. But not targeting Europe was a big mistake by Coppell.

Reading hardly seen any activity in the transfer market this season – except for losing their best player to Steve Sidwell to Chelsea. It is important that their players stay largely injury free due to a lack of strength in depth.

Schedule via English Soccer Talk:

We'll be able to see what kind of team Reading is by looking at their results in their first four games this season. In a 13-day stretch, which included Reading’s remarkable 0-0 draw at Manchester United, also sees them host Chelsea and Everton, and make a trip to Bolton. They won't be able to hide in these games, and getting off to a good start in the Premiership is essential for any team with European ambitions (Coppell might be harbouring some this season).

Every game from September into December is very winnable, with the toughest of those being a road game at Portsmouth and a home date with Arsenal. I can't see Reading getting many points out of their 7 combined games in January and February as they'll play at Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Everton, and host Portsmouth, Manchester United, Bolton, and Aston Villa.

The run-in to the end of the season isn't exceptionally difficult, but 3 of the last 4 games are away, including a trip to the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal.

EPL08.com prediction:
League Position – 14
Their fairytale premiership debut - in which they finished 8th - is definitely not going to witness a repeat. Reading over achieved last season and they have also lost arguably their best player in Steve Sidwell, who left for the greener pastures of Stamford Bridge.

But they showed their grit and determination in their opening game of the season at Old Trafford and managed to take a point off the Champions. They could again prove a lot of people wrong this season.

Latest Results – Sunday Review: Chelsea & Arsenal Win. Man Utd held

[For results and reviews of all the games played on Saturday – Click Here]

Arsenal 2 – Fulham 1

The day’s first game saw Arsenal get off to a rather shaky start and Fulham took a shock lead after just 52 seconds through David Healy following a blunder by Gunners keeper Jens Lehmann.

However just as it looked that Wegner’s men were headed for defeat – Arsenal came from behind to snatch a dramatic victory. The first goal came via a penalty from Van Persie after a spirited run by Toure was ended abruptly Carlos Bocanegra. Hleb added the second in the 90th minute as all the Arsenal fans heaved a sigh of relief.

Chelsea 3 – Birmingham City 2

Ex-Chelsea player Mikael Forssell opened the scoring for Birmingham before Claudio Pizarro and Florent Malouda scored on their Premiership debuts for Chelsea. Olivier Kapo levelled matters leveled matters with a sizzling strike before Essien struck the decider five minutes into the second half with a sweet curling shot.

By not losing this game – Chelsea also set an English record for unbeaten league matches at home. Chelsea are now 64 league matches unbeaten at Stamford Bridge, one better than Liverpool's efforts between 1978 and 1981.

Manchester United 0 – Reading 0

Meanwhile Champions Manchester United endured a frustrating start against Reading at home. Marcus Hahnemann was the hero as he saved everything that came his way. The Red Devils had nearly 2 dozen unsuccessful attempts at goal.

Steve Coppell’s side were reduced to 10 men with nearly 20 minutes to go as Dave Kitson was sent-off for a late challenge on Evra. But they held on for a highly commendable draw.

[For results and reviews of all the games played on Saturday – Click Here]

EPL08.com - Predictions for the 2007-08 Season

Here's how we feel the tables going to look like at the end of the season:

1. Chelsea
Though there's more pressure on Mourinho to win the Champions League, I feel Chelsea will have to wait for yet another season to lay their hands on the elusive European title. The league will be a consolation of sorts, but something Chelsea should be able to get back from United.

2. Manchester United
Though they have loaded their team up with a lot of stars, I expect Manchester United to slip up in the league and shine in Europe this season. A Champions League final vs Barcelona at Moscow would be a classique!

3. Liverpool
With the massive amount of money which Liverpool have splurged this year - a non-top three finish might see heads roll at Anfield. In fact supporters feel that this is the season where they can actually end their 17 year title drought.

4. Arsenal
Theres not much pressure at the Emirates Stadium this year. Arsene Wenger is building for the future. No one expects miracles this year and this might play to their favour. We might get to see some exciting free flowing football from the young gunners this season.

5. Tottenham
The Spurs have an attacking line-up which could match that of Manchester United. Berbatov, Defoe and Keane - each had in excess of 10 goals last season and the addition of ₤ 16.5 million Darren Bent just adds to their attacking riches. But again, there's going to be lot of expectations at White Hart Lane - especially because of the amount of money spent in the summer.

6. Newcastle
Under-achievers for ages - this is finally going to be a season in which the Magpies will redeem themselves to a certain extent. Mainly because of the genius of Sam Allardyce. They'll need their strike force to remain injury-free too.

7. Everton
Andrew Johnson needs to start slotting in a lot more goals if Everton are to finish anything higher than 6th position. They might a fancy a decent run in the UEFA cup this time around and also expect them to reach the latter stages of one of the domestic cups.

8. Aston Villa
Martin O'Neill has been a winner for too long to accept another season treading water at Villa Park. A lot of names have left Villa this season but they've got in a couple of good players too. I definitely expect them to push for UEFA cup. Watch out for Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young this season.

9. Manchester City
A top 10 finish might be on the cards. Sven-Goran Erikkson has pretty much bought a truck load of players and that too not for cheap. I bet he's not even see half of them play! Language is going to be a serious problem at City this season, but I still have a feeling that Erikkson might be able to prove his managerial acumen and pull off a top 10 finish.

10. West Ham United
There's absolutely no chance that the Hammers are going to get caught in a relegation battle again. They've acquired some real good players - Ljungberg, Bellamy and Parker and coupled with Alan Curbishley's massive experience, I expect the Hammers to squeeze into the top half.

11. Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn has hardly seen any transfer activity this season with the only major signing being that of Roque Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich. But Blackburn have a pretty strong squad - able mid-fielders and plenty of striking options.

12. Portsmouth
Pompey owner Alexandre Gaydamak handed Harry Redknap a 25-million-pound transfer kitty and Harry's made quite a few signings. Portsmouth might lack the big names but have one of the most balanced squads this time around. Expect them to surprise a few teams but they've got the cruelest of schedules to start off with. After opening the year at newly promoted Derby County, it's home against Manchester United and Bolton, away to Chelsea and Arsenal, back home against Liverpool, at Blackburn, and then home against Reading.

13. Bolton
After four consecutive top 8 finishes under manager Sam Allardyce - the Trotters are going to find the going pretty tough this time around. A lot will depend upon Anelka - who might still leave before the transfer window shuts and even El-Hadji Diouf is keen on a move to Lyon. Kevin Nolan needs to stand up and deliver though I feel a player like him deserves to play in a top 4 squad.

14. Reading
Their fairytale premiership debut - in which they finished 8th - is definitely not going to witness a repeat. Reading over achieved last season and they have also lost arguably their best player in Steve Sidwell, who left for the greener pastures of Stamford Bridge.

15. Middlesbrough
Last seasons 12th to 16th places were separated by only 7 points and it's pretty much going to be the same this year. Not much separating teams at these spots. Gareth Southgate isn't going to find it easy this season either. A cannot see a repeat of a UEFA Cup final appearance in the near future. Yakubu really needs to put on his striking boots.

16. Fulham
Fulham were lucky to survive last season, mainly courtesy of a win against a pretty depleted Liverpool side. New manager Lawrie Sanchez has brought in a host of Northern Ireland players. I expect the Cottagers to struggle this season too - thought Sanchez might be able to survive the drop.

17. Birmingham
Many expect Birmingham to go straight back to the Championship, but I feel that the team has enough quality to avoid relegation. They've got in Liam Ridgewell and Franck Quedrue to bolster the back. The striking options are a little weak, Cameron Jerome and Mikael Forssell have to really perform if Birmingham are to stay up.

18. Sunderland
It's going to be real close dog-fight and the fiery Roy Keane might not be able to retain his cool at the end of it. Keane did wonders in his first year at Sunderland, but even he'll known that the going is pretty different in one of the best top division leagues in the world. We'll keep a special watch on the Desi flavour ala Michael Chopra.

19. Wigan Athletic
Without Paul Jewell in charge, Wigan don't look to have much chance of staying up. Season before last, Wigan surprised a lot of teams by finishing in the top half. Last year they barely managed to avoid relegation by beating Sheffield United on the last day of the season. Things are not going to be rosy for new manager Chris Hutchings.

20. Derby County
In 12 months, Derby County went from third last in the Championship to promotion to the Premiership. The roller-coaster ride should be complete in another 12 months when the Rams find themselves back in the Championship.


Those are my predictions for the coming season and I'd love to hear yours. Been really busy with other work, so haven't been able to put up a team by team season preview yet. Expect
some of it to be up real soon.

Cheers and be sure to stay with us for the entire season.

Review: Wednesday’s Pre-Season Friendlies

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Chelsea 1 – 1 Feyenoord
Substitute goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini helped Chelsea maintain their unbeaten pre-season campaign as the Blues emerged with a 1-1 draw against Feyenoord.
The Italian keeper produced a fine performance - topped by a superb save from Roy Makaay’s penalty.

Goal Scorers: Kevin Hofland (Feyenoord), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Salzburg 1 – 0 Arsenal
Arsenal new boy Eduardo da Silva starred in their friendly at Red Bull Salzburg but could not prevent the Gunners falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat.
Vladimir Janocko’s winner 15 minutes from time ensured Arsene Wenger’s men ended their Austrian training camp on a losing note but the game was not without its positives.

Goal Scorer: Vladimir Janocko

Hibernian 3 – 0 Bolton Wanderers
Hibernian inflicted an emphatic 3-0 defeat on Bolton Wanderers in a lively pre-season game.

Blackpool 1 – 2 Wigan Athletic
Antonio Valencia and David Cotterill scored as Wigan Athletic claimed their third successive pre-season victory with a 2-1 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

By the way, Ex-Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot has been named as the Wigan Captain for the upcoming season.

Brentford 1 – 6 Reading
Shane Long scored twice as Barclays Premier League side Reading claimed an emphatic 6-1 victory over Brentford at Griffin Park. Nicky Shorey, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Simon Church and Andre Bikey also converted for the Royals - while Sammy Moore scored a stunning long-range goal for the Bees.

MK Dons 3 – 2 West Ham United
Matthew Upson celebrated his first full 90 minutes for West Ham United with a goal but Alan Curbishley's side were beaten 3-2 by an MK Dons side managed by former Hammers midfielder Paul Ince. The game also witnessed Freddie Ljungberg’s debut for the Hammers.

A glance at Tuesday’s friendlies:

Dean Ashton scored his first goal for West Ham United in almost a year as the Hammers recorded a 1-1 draw in their pre-season friendly against Leyton Orient

Darren Bent scored for Tottenham Hotspur as the Barclays Premier League side edged to a 2-1 win against Orlando Pirates in Cape Town.

A largely second-string Middlesbrough side won 2-0 against local rivals Darlington, with two goals from Tom Craddock.

Via: Premier League