| Business as Usual Against Arsenal For Mourning Ancelotti COBHAM, England (Reuters) - The death of Carlo Ancelotti's father has cast a shadow over training but Chelsea and their Italian manager will be raring to go for Sunday's clash with Arsenal, according to assistant Ray Wilkins. feeds.nytimes.com |
Squad sheets: Manchester City v Newcastle United Manchester City have conceded only two goals in their opening six Premier League games and anything but a home victory would represent a surprise here even if Newcastle can be encouraged by the fact they won their last away game at Everton. Newcastle have not beaten City on their own ground since Alan Shearer scored the winner in a 1-0 victory at Maine Road in September 2000 and, if they are to end that run, they may have to monitor Carlos Tevez closely – the Argentinian has scored four of his side's seven league goals so far. Daniel TaylorVenue City of Manchester Stadium, Sunday 1.30pm Tickets £30-£40 (0870 062 1894) Last season N/A Referee M AtkinsonThis season's matches 5 Y14, R2, 3.20 cards per gameOdds Manchester City 4-9 Newcastle 15-2 Draw 7-2Manchester CitySubs from Given, Jô, Vieira, Ibrahim, Cunningham, Adebayor, A Johnson, Santa Cruz, Lescott, Wright-PhillipsDoubtful Wright-Phillips (knee)Injured Richards (hamstring, 16 Oct), Kolarov (knee, 16 Oct), Bridge (thigh, 16 Oct), Zabaleta (hamstring, 16 Oct), Balotelli (knee, Nov), M Johnson (knee, Nov)Suspended NoneForm guide WWDLWDDisciplinary record Y13 R0Leading scorer Tevez 4NewcastleSubs from Soderberg, Perch, Kadar, R Taylor, Smith, Gutiérrez, Ameobi, Lovenkrands, Best, RangerDoubtful NoneInjured Guthrie (knee, 16 Oct), Simpson (ankle, 16 Oct), S Taylor (shoulder, Nov), Harper (shoulder, Jan), Gosling (knee, Jan)Suspended None Form guide LWLDWLDisciplinary record Y15 R0Leading scorer Carroll 4Match pointers• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League games against Newcastle winning five of those games• Newcastle have won one Premier League away game in October since 2003• Man City have contested the highest number of tackles (156) while Newcastle have made the fewest (98)• Newcastle have hit the target with 53% of their shots, the highest percentage in the top flight• City, meanwhile, have the best shooting accuracy from inside the penalty area, 61%Manchester CityNewcastle UnitedPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Arsenal v Birmingham City: live Follow live, minute-by-minute commentary of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Birmingham City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday Oct 16 2010, kick-off 15:00 BST. telegraph.co.uk |
England out of 2022 World Cup race England have withdrawn from the race to host the 2022 tournament after the USA ended their interest in staging the 2018 edition. foxsports.com.au |
Eduardo: I don't blame English football The Shakhtar Donetsk forward is still a devotee of the Wenger way – but he will do Arsenal no favours when they meet in the Champions League this weekThink of Eduardo da Silva, and it is impossible not to think of the incident at St Andrew's in February 2008, when a foul by Martin Taylor left his foot hanging limp from his leg, the ankle dislocated and the shinbone broken. That injury defines his time in England but, as he tries to rebuild his career with Shakhtar Donetsk, who face his former club Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday, he seems to feel remarkably little bitterness about his time in the Premier League.His injury was just one of a number of horrific recent leg breaks – Aaron Ramsey, Antonio Valencia, Hatem Ben Arfa – to afflict Premier League players, but he does not think the pace or aggression of British football is at fault (Valencia suffered his in the Champions League but against Rangers). "I don't blame English football for my injury," he says. "It could have happened not just in England but in any match anywhere. Football has become much more physically intense all over the world. For example, recently in the Ukraine league a defender from Obolon broke the leg of my team-mate Fernandinho in almost the same way mine was broken against Birmingham."His overwhelming attitude towards Arsenal – to fans, to team-mates and to Arsène Wenger – is one of great affection. "It's a club with a phenomenal stadium," Eduardo says. "They have great support, fantastic players and always aim for top honours. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Arsène Wenger, with whom I got on extremely well. He was good to me right to the end of my days at the club. I'll always have good memories of Arsenal."The recent criticism Wenger has received baffles him and, like all the devout, Eduardo seems to regard the five years without a trophy as almost an irrelevance, a brief but inconsequential spell in the wilderness before the days of glory arrive. "Arsenal fans occupy every seat at the Emirates in every game the club plays," he says. "They like to see beautiful speedy one-touch football as mastered by Wenger. He told us to enjoy football, to figure out attacking combinations. I think that's the future of football and sooner or later the long-waited trophies will arrive."Shakhtar's style is not dissimilar, and their coach, Mircea Lucescu, is a purist in the Wenger mould. He too is heavily influenced by the Dutch sides of the 1970s, believes in the rapid transfer of the ball and prefers to work with younger players, reasoning they are both more biddable and less prone to fear. "He's very good at motivating us, but he's considerate," Eduardo says. "He immediately put me at ease, telling me to concentrate on doing the things I know best. The two teams don't play the same tactical system, but Arsenal and Shakhtar both have coaches who are very ambitious, like to teach the youngsters and play inventive attacking football. I have to say that Lucescu's training sessions are harder and more demanding than the ones I had at Arsenal but on the other hand the games are definitely less intense than in England."This now, he hopes, is the final stage of his rehabilitation. He is 27 and should just be reaching his peak. "For me the most important thing now is regular playing practice in the Ukraine championship and in the Champions League," he says. "This first season will be the most difficult as I need time to adapt myself to the requirements of the new team and the new league. But I was always sure I'd be able to continue my football career. Of course I was tormented into pieces after learning what kind of injury I'd suffered. But without the support of the doctors, Arsenal and my relatives the recovery process could have taken a much longer time."Settling in Ukraine has been relatively simple, a process aided by the fact that six of the squad are Brazilian, and Eduardo is already good friends with Shakhtar's right-back and captain Dario Srna, his team-mate for Croatia and the man who persuaded him to make the move east. "It's very helpful to see a lot of my countrymen here, plus Marcelo Moreno whose father is Brazilian. I can speak my native language with them, while with the others I speak English. And this Russian language has something in common with Croatian and I can understand it if they speak slowly. But above all, Dario Srna is helping me with all the routine things."Eduardo's involvement has been patchy so far this season. Although he has played some part in 10 matches in all competitions for the Ukrainian league leaders, he is yet to play more than 57 minutes, which is less of a comment on him than it is on how well Luiz Adriano has been playing as Shakhtar's lone centre-forward. Eduardo is realistic enough to know his main role on Tuesday may be supplying Lucescu with inside information on Arsenal."We've talked a bit about the forthcoming games," he says. "I said that we can surprise Arsenal in the same way Olympiakos did last season by beating them 1-0. We both believe that Shakhtar, with our enormous home support, can defeat them, while in London the task will be much harder. I haven't talked to my former team-mates since the draw, but I've already decided that I'll swap my shirt with the No4 of Cesc Fábregas in London and with the No11 of my good friend Denílson in Donetsk. Even before the draw was made, I dreamed of playing against Arsenal, meeting my former team-mates and playing in front of the fans again at the Emirates."After two nightmarish years, Eduardo's dreams are at last coming true.Shakhtar DonetskArsenalChampions LeagueJonathan Wilsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |