Expecting to get a result when you visit Camp Nou is almost as dangerous as bragging to a mob boss about your conquests a week ago with his 18yr old daughter and if you can somehow stay alive or manage to flee the planet after pulling off such a feat, you’re almost deserving of the trophy then and there… but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet, there are still 90min to be played in this tie and as is stands Barca have the upper hand with their away goal, so the onus is on Ze Germans to attack. Something tells me they shouldn’t have any problems doing that. Can they pull an amazing performance out of their battle hats though and get away with knocking the socks off the mob bosses daughter on his turf? I think the answer is quite simple really. It’ll be highly unlikely!… and this is how I picked the rest of ‘em.
I predict:
Barcelona 3 v 1 Stuttgart
Bordeaux 1 v 1 Olympiacos
Man I can’t wait for the ‘Special One’s’ Inter to waltz into Stamford Bridge tonight and walk into the next round of the Champions League… is it going to happen though, I’m actually not so sure and this is what I love about the UCL. So many unknowns, so many variables, so many theories. It’s a decision I’ve been battling all week and even though both teams have experienced slight dips in form of late, both are still very capable of pulling a result out of thin air. Therefore for the first time in PTP history, I’m going to leave this match open to opinion. I know it will go to extra time, but then anything is capable from there. And as for the other match of the night… what match!? There is only one of interest!
I predict:
Chelsea 2 v 1 Internazionale [With anything to happen in extra time!]
Sevilla 1 v 0 CSKA Moskva
While the lads at Heads or Tails reckon we’re stuck in a twilight zone; that being in August all Spanish media say the same thing: “A new era of football adorns us, ‘The Galacticos’ will dominate the world blah, blah, blah”… 6 months later those same Galacticos are no more revered as “terrestrial beings”, instead they’re just plain old beings capable of getting their butts kicked out of major European competitions. Let’s see if they can keep things moving at the top of La Liga this weekend and this is how we picked the rest of ‘em.
Predictions:
Sevilla 3 v 1 Deportivo la Coruña
Villarreal 3 v 1 Xerez
Atletico Madrid 1 v 1 Osasuna
Sporting Gijón 3 v 2 Athletic Bilbao
Tenerife 1 v 0 Espanyol
Getafe 1 v 1 Mallorca
Valladolid 1 v 2 Real Madrid
Racing Santander 1 v 2 Zaragoza
FC Barcelona 3 v 1 Valencia
Almería 1 v 1 Malaga
Predictions:
Tottenham 2 v 1 Blackburn
Birmingham 2 v 2 Everton
Bolton 1 v 0 Wigan
Burnley 1 v 1 Wolves
Chelsea 4 v 0 West Ham
Stoke City 1 v 1 Aston Villa
Hull City 1 v 3 Arsenal
Man Utd 2 v 0 Fulham
Sunderland 1 v 3 Man City
Liverpool 2 v 0 Portsmouth
Wigan 0 v 2 Aston Villa
While I gather my thoughts on last night’s amazing performances, the European madness continues tonight and it just wouldn’t be Europe without my lame attempt to predict the unpredictable outcomes of what can only be described as a place where anything can and will happen!
So instead, think beautifully tanned women bathing topless, think greased up men wearing extremely short swimming shorts (ok maybe not), like cheesy Euro-dance and lastly think far-out hairstyles and gel ‘a’ plenty!… or simply think David Beckham, he’s Europe personified and once again all of tonight’s hype is about that man, returning to his roots and hopefully helping his turn round a 3-2 deficit from a fortnight ago… fat chance! And here’s how I picked the rest of ‘em.
I predict:
Real Madrid 3 v 1 Lyon
Manchester United 2 v 2 AC Milan
I’m loving the amount of football being played all around the world at the moment, especially in Europe! So many matches all the time, it’s bloody fantastic I tells ya! What isn’t so fab though is Herpes… Herpes and UCL knock out football and just in similar fashion it’s almost impossible to shake off a “bad night at the office” in the 1st leg, unless the gods are with you, the starts are aligned and you literally pull a result out of your arse… well kind of! Ok, even I’m confused now. Ahh forget it, here’s my lame attempt at trying to pick the scores for tonight’s matches.
I predict:
Arsenal 2 v 1 Porto [Arsenal to progress on pens]
Fiorentina 1 v 1 Bayern
The teams getting ready to square off against their respective opponents:
For the third time in four years, Melbourne Victory will host the A-League Grand Final on home turf and for the uptinth time, much like a thorn in Sydney’s side Kevin Muscat had a part to play in the misery inflicted on the home side. His clever ball through the Sky Blues defense to Archie Thompson was enough to catch them sleeping and send Victory into the ‘09-10 grand final… ah Muscat, you’re like one of those retarded moths that keeps flying into lit light globes and heaven knows you only give up once the lights are out. Melbourne to take it out again this season, regardless of the opposition.
The match action in frames:
Match highlights:
Goal highlights – Wellington Pheonix v Perth Glory:
Mick McCarthy’s men put up a huge performance to keep a Rooney-less Manchester United at bay last night, that is until the ‘Ginger Ninja’ Paul Scholes popped up with a late knock-out blow. It’s no wonder rangas have no friends… they always do things when you least expect them too and like to dampen the mood! It’s always about you and United isn’t it Scholes!?
Speaking of late goals… how was Sam Volkes’ lame attempt at an equalizer from about 7yrds out! That’s enough to put a hook in anyone’s nose, ay Mick!?
Match highlights:
Advantage Roonited! AC Milan 2 v 3 Man Utd
Predictions – Premier League – Week 26
The Rooney Show Continues – Arsenal 1 v 3 Man Utd
Rooooney Destroys Hull – Man Utd 4 v 0 Hull City
Thanks to the lackadaisical nature of one Nicklas Bendtner and his quintuplet of missed chances around the 6yrd box, once again Arsenal made things a little difficult for themselves against visiting Burnley yesterday. Where they should have put this match beyond The Clarets’ grasp, they painstakingly kept it within reach and in doing so gave themselves and their fans a few scares along the way. It wasn’t till man of the match Theo Walcott (yes the same Theo Walcott that strolled around confused for England mid week) stepped up and converted a chance instead of trying to tee it up on a platter for that shmuck Bendtner, that some of the tension eased and then late on Arshavin added the killer “f**k off” with a drive into the near post to seal all three points.
The Gunners back in the title race!
Extended match highlights:
Drog Just Two Good – Chelsea 2 v 0 Arsenal
Title Six Pointer! Chelsea v Arsenal
The Rooney Show Continues – Arsenal 1 v 3 Man Utd
Clash Of The Titans – Arsenal v Man Utd
It’s no wonder Sergio Ramos was so excited, overnight Los Blancos claimed a threesome of good fortunes.
1. They played some amazing high speed football to come from behind and win
2. They scored three well worked goals and
3. They leap frogged champions Barca to claim top spot in Spain.
I wonder if this was the turning point of the season and if Barca will have a response or if the two teams will just continue to maul every other team they come up against till they meet in the league and an out ‘n out winner is decided… whatever the case, we’re in for a mouth-watering run to the end of the season. You best believe that!
La acción in pictures:
Match highlights:
Predictions – La Liga – Week 24
This Wasn’t Meant To Happen… Lyon 1 v 0 Real Madrid
Results – La Liga – Week 21
Predictions – La Liga – Week 21
Sitting bottom of the league with your club in administration isn’t an easy pill to swallow and it only get’s harder for Portsmouth this weekend when Alex McLeish’s Birmingham come to town… or does it. The Blues have lost their last three away games and are struggling to find that invincible away form they started the season with, not to mention that in their last seven visits to Frattan Park they’ve only managed draws. So even though Pompey may be down I’m not quite convinced they’re out just yet and I’m giving them a chance to make a mends… so this is how I picked the rest of ‘em this weekend.
I predict:
Arsenal 3 v 0 Burnley
West Ham 1 v 0 Bolton
Wolves 0 v 2 Man Utd
Everton 2 v 1 Hull City
Wigan 1 v 3 Liverpool
Portsmouth 1 v 1 Birmingham
Sunderland 1 v 1 Bolton
Burnley 2 v 2 Stoke City
Today’s history lesson kids comes courtesy of our friends at Heads or Tails.
They tell us of a certain cheese eating manager whose family renounced their Spanish heritage after the civil war in 1936 and fled to France. They also informed us of the historical rivalry and the bragging rights that drive a match between two great footballing nations and lastly they conclude with the satisfaction of having beaten this fierce rival, on enemy territory whilst the cheese eating manager who was once “their own”, is now booed by “his own”… it really is quite riverting stuff.
But rest assured, they also guarantee quality matches this weekend in La Liga and this is how they’ve picked ‘em.
Predictions:
Real Zaragoza 3 v 1 Atletico Madrid
Almeria 1 v 2 FC Barcelona
Real Madrid 3 v 1 Sevilla
Osasuna 3 v 1 Getafe
Deportivo la Coruña 1 v 0 Getafe
Mallorca 2 v 2 Sporting Gijón
Athletic Bilbao 2 v 1 Valladolid
Malaga 1 v 1 Xerez
Valencia 3 v 0 Racing Santander
Espanyol 1 v 2 Villarreal
A massive game this round at the Bridge, with mid-week UCL struggles Chelsea up against mid-week FA Cup flops Man City. Another slip up by the Blues will see United and Arsenal back in contention for the title, whereas a win for City could lock in fourth spot as Tottenham host an in form Everton… whatever the case this weekend is surely going to be huge! And this is how I picked ‘em.
I predict:
Chelsea 2 v 1 Man City
Birmingham 2 v 1 Wigan
Bolton 1 v 1 Wolves
Burnley 1 v 0 Portsmouth
Stoke City 1 v 3 Arsenal
Tottenham 2 v 2 Everton
Liverpool 1 v 1 Blackburn
Sunderland 1 v 2 Fulham
Short and sharp this week, our amigos at Heads or Tails were really impressed with the Cristiano Ronaldo show last week against Villarreal and this week they expect easy wins for the two Spanish giants… and this is how they picked the rest of them.
Predictions:
Sevilla 3 v 1 Athletic Bilbao
Atletico Madrid 1 v 1 Valencia
Getafe 2 v 1 Zaragoza 2-1
Racing Santander 1 v 1 Alemeria
Valladolid 3 v 1 Mallorca
Villarreal 3 v 2 Deportivo La Coruña
Tenerife 1 v 4 Real Madrid
Sporting Gijón 1 v 1 Osasuna
Xerez 2 v 1 Espanyol
FC Barcelona 3 v 1 Malaga
It was all part of Nike’s Write History campaign, but I can’t help but feel partly responsible for the Ultra-violet purple and orange colourway of the new Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly II. You see, some time ago, I put together the PTP edition of the Nike Mercurial Vapor IV’s in a plum colourway and ever since that post, I’ve been inundated with requests of when they’re being released and where they’ll be available… well Nike were listening in and without saying too much more, I believe that they heard your requests and this is partially the result.
A new, unique adaptive traction system designed for explosive acceleration. The Mercurial Vapor Superfly II also includes a reengineered upper for enhanced fit and ball control for fast feet while Nike say the vibrant ultra-violet color boosts visibility on the pitch.” Source Footy-boots.com
I love ‘em and I can’t wait to get my hands on’em.
*UPDATE* Hi-res images of the Nike Mercurial Superfly II launch have now been uploaded
Older Nike Mercurial news:
CR (No 9) At The Double – Olympique Marseille 1 v 3 Real Madrid
Lace Up, Save Lives – Designed to fight AIDS in Africa
Out Of Nowhere! Real Madrid 2 v 3 AC MIlan
Ronaldo In Nike Superfly – Black / Voltage Yellow
Freedom ‘Flys – Clint Dempsey – And his Nike Mercurial Supeflys
Rumour Mill – New Mercurial Superfly Colourway!