| Liverpool takeover: Roy Hodgson 'delighted' by New England Sports Ventures £300m bid Roy Hodgson welcomes news regarding the planned £300m sale of Liverpool to Boston Red Sox owners. telegraph.co.uk |
Osieck set to push the attack button He smiled, joked, chatted and looked totally at ease. It didn't take long to discover what new Socceroos coach Holger Osieck is all about. foxsports.com.au |
The Football League's best bets Make your predictions in our ongoing competition, plus take a look at the best betting suggestions in the lower leaguesWelcome to our weekly Friday tipping round-up. Most of you know the drill by now, but for those that don't, every week I will post my betting suggestions for the weekend, as well as our predictions contest.Derby to beat Millwall at 5-2It's a toss-up as to the form team in the Championship right now: Derby are unbeaten in six, while Portsmouth have gone five games without defeat (both teams have picked up four wins in these runs). So, tempting as it is to back both this weekend, I still sense Derby offer the better betting option with Pompey 2-1 at Hull. Millwall's swift start to the season has tailed off equally sharply and they've now won just one league game in eight. Contrast with the reignited Rams, who have scored 15 in six and are arguably playing the best football of Nigel Clough's tenure. Again, more conservative pro-Derby punters can still get around even-money on the +0&+0.5 Asian handicap.Burnley to beat Reading at EvensTipping any team managed by Brian Laws feels wrong. I'm sorry, it does. But that doesn't mean we should swerve them on Saturday, when their six-game unbeaten run (two wins, four draws) should be extended against a flailing Royals outfit. Last weekend, they were sunk at home by Swansea and this was followed up with a far more limp defeat at basement side Bristol City. And their away form line doesn't offer brilliant reading, given none of their opponents thus far currently reside in the top 11. Burnley aren't wanting for goals at the moment (11 in four) and in Chris Iwelumo they have the division's joint top scorer, whose eight league goals have all come at Turf Moor.NB: prices with Betfair and correct at the time of publicationTipping contestAs you'll note from the scoring, late starters have been awarded one point for every week they have missed.The top of the table so far (I'll post the full table in the comments section below) ...markier 17Thewalthamstowone 15Bobby142 15PiggyPingoPiglet 15captainmorganrum 14josedinho 13richardw 13zaragozaram 13bakerian 12glasscaseofemotion 12Denofiniquity 12MrMondypops 12templetontherat 12ranban 12As for this week: make your result (not scoreline) prediction for each of the following games below, with one point per correct result:Burnley v ReadingMillwall v DerbyBrentford v PeterboroughSheffield Wednesday v BournemouthBarnet v MacclesfieldBury v SouthendI'm tipping Burnley, Derby, draw, Sheffield Wednesday, draw, Bury.James Dartguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Wayne Rooney: was striker right or wrong to say Manchester United 'lack ambition'? A breakdown of transfer business since the Glazer takeover in May 2005. telegraph.co.uk |
Chelsea 2-0 Wolves Goals from Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou extended Chelsea's 100 per cent record at Stamford Bridge but this was far from a perfect display by the champions. Wolves did not come on a mere damage limitation exercise. They began boldly and virtually monopolised possession for the first five minutes, which were played almost entirely in their hosts' half.However, Chelsea, who have yet to concede a goal at home this season, remained unruffled throughout that brazen start by the visitors and soon, with minimal effort, gained a degree of control. At no point, however, could they be considered dominant and their slovenliness at times placed their victory in jeopardy.The home team did produce the game's first shot on target, in the 11th minute, but Marcus Hahnemann tipped behind the blast from José Bosingwa, the right-back who was making his first start after almost a year out with torn knee ligaments.Chelsea have made a habit of swatting aside lesser teams this season but here they were guilty of some negligent breaches of routine as Wolves, always tidy and thoughtful if a little too predictable, were able to forge intermittent chances.In the 19th minute Dave Edwards arrived unmarked in the Chelsea box to connect with a Kevin Foley cross from the right. Petr Cech blocked his downward header. Wolves replicated that manoeuvre a couple of minutes later and Cech was again forced to intervene.Within seconds of that, however, Chelsea tore down the other end and opened the scoring, Malouda sidefooting into the net from 10 yards after being teed up by Yuri Zhirkov.Nicolas Anelka fired into the side-netting from the edge of the area after a flowing move in the 26th minute and Didier Drogba went close after a short free-kick from Malouda ten minutes later. Between those two efforts Nenad Milijas kept Cech on his toes with a couple of shots from long range. Wolves' best chance came just before the break, when Kevin Doyle eluded his marker but mis-timed his header after a dainty chip from Matthew Jarvis.Those opportunities were enough to convince Mick McCarthy, the Wolves manager, that the game was not lost and he made a positive substitution at half-time, withdrawing Jelle van Damme to enable Stephen Hunt to make his injury-delayed debut following his summer move from Hull. The Irish winger was greeted with scornful boos by the Stamford Bridge faithful, who evidently still hold him responsible for the fractured skull suffered by Cech in a collision with Hunt in 2006. Hunt nearly made himself even more unpopular by scoring against the home team within moments of his entrance, but Michael Essien cleared his diving header off the line in the 47th minute.By this stage Chelsea had slipped into a lethargy that visibly dismayed Carlo Ancelotti on the sidelines. In the 52nd minute Doyle was able to conjure room for a shot from the edge of the area, demanding another smart save from Cech.Essien led the attempts to wake Chelsea up. He went on one trademark charge through midfield in the 58th minute, only for his shot from the edge of the area to be inadvertently blocked by Malouda. Just after the hour mark he ventured forward again, and this time fed Anelka, who rifled over from 20 yards.Three minutes later came the most compelling indication yet that Chelsea were below par, as Drogba raced on to a long pass from Branislav Ivanovic and Hahnemann was stranded outside his box. Whether the striker lifted it over the keeper or went around him, a goal seemed certain but instead Drogba ran straight into the American, who did not need his hands to nick the ball away.Kalou was introduced late on in an attempt to kill Wolves off and he duly did so in the 81st minute. Clever interplay with Drogba and Essien prised the Wolves defence apart, leaving Kalou to slot the ball calmly under Hahnemann from eight yards.Premier LeagueChelseaWolverhampton WanderersPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |