While We Were Sleeping - Reviews and Previews

English Premier League -

Overnight saw a very high scoring round in the EPL. We witnessed Everton tearing apart Fulham, the Swans and Wolves playing out an 8 goal thriller to finish up 4-4, Wigan revived their top flight hopes with an outstanding 4-0 win over the Toon side and it was the Luis Suarez show as Liverpool stole the point at Norwich with a 3-0 win. We also had a 2-2 draw at Sunderland who hosted Bolton and Stoke who drew with the Gunners 1-1.

It was fitting that in mid week Robin Van Persie was named the EPL player of the year and celebrating that award with a goal last night in the 15th minute. The striker has enjoyed a healthy run of goals this term and has him in good stead for the upcoming European Championships in June. A lot of clubs have been circling the Dutch striker and those clubs include Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus. It is still unclear what the striker wants to do after this season but one thing is certain is that fans will have to wait after the Euro 2012 championships are done to see which jersey the prolific striker will put on in 2013.

In tonights games we travel to Stamford Bridge to see QPR try and wiggle their way out of 17th place and stay in touch with the likes of Wigan and Villa. Chelsea who are coming off a fantastic week that saw them qualify for the Champions League final and finally seeing Fernando Torres hit the back of the net, the club will surely love to end this week on a high. They are currently in 6th position but seeing as Arsenal (3rd) and Newcastle Utd (4th) both stumbled overnight, it gives the blues a chance to come within 1 point off Champions League places.

Tottenham are also in the mix for a top 4 place and they host Blackburn Rovers at White Hart Lane. Blackburn who sit in 19th place are all but assured the drop if they don't produce the game of their life and take home the 3 points. They will need results to go their way to escape relegation.
Spurs however sit in 5th spot and a win tonight will see them in 4th spot on goal difference. Lately Spurs have been in a purple patch with not having a win in the past 4 games:

• Sunderland v Spurs  0-0
• Spurs v Norwich     1-2
• Spurs v Chelsea       1-5
• QPR v Spurs           1-0

Spurs have a tricky run home to season end with away games at Villa and Bolton (both clubs fighting for survival).

I expect both games to have not one empty seat and hopefully plenty of goals.

Tuesday morning Australian time we see the game of the year. Manchester City vs Manchester United at the City of Manchester Stadium. As it stands:

• Manchester United - 83 pts
• Manchester City     - 80 pts

A match that obviously City need to win to keep their hopes alive of claiming the title. But in saying that it is a position the master Sir Alex is all to familiar with. It will be a battle that I believe will be won in the midfield. Not so much by the play makers but by the hard working running of either De Jong or Yaya Toure for City and for United  Michael Carrick. The strike power up front for City looks a lot better than United but all it takes is a brain burst by Mario Balotelli and the momentum swings United's way. Should be a fascinating game with plenty of goals.

Italian Serie A - 

Overnight were 3 games and 3 draws. Palermo hosted Catania in a 1-1, Cagliari were held at home by Chievo Verona 0-0 and in the battle for 3rd place AS Roma scored in the last 10 minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw against a determined Napoli side. The battle for the 3rd and final Champions League spot is heating up and it is between Lazio, Napoli, Udinese, Inter Milan and AS Roma. If Lazio win tonight they will be favourites to take the spot. But they do play Udinese who are 3 points away from them.

In other games the battle for the title is still on between Juventus and AC Milan. AC travel to Siena who are in 11th place and if they can pull an upset they can be as high as 9th if results go their way. In the last 5 meetings between these 2 AC Milan have won all 5. 

Novara host top of the table Juventus and in their last meeting together Juventus prevailed 2-0 at the Juventus Stadium. A loss tonight for Novara will see them relegated to Serie B.

PREDICTIONS -

Chelsea vs QPR -              3-1

Tottenham vs Blackburn - 3-0
Man City vs Man Utd -     4-1

Bologna vs Genoa -           2-0

Inter Milan vs Cesena -      2-0

Atalanta vs Fiorentina -      2-1

Novara vs Juventus -         0-2

Siena vs AC Milan -          1-2

Lecce vs Parma -               1-3

Udinese vs Lazio -             2-2

While We Were Sleeping - Reviews & Previews

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

Barcelona v Chelsea 2-2 (2-3 agg)

Fascinating match that showed 2 sides of the tactical game that we love. Chelsea managed by Italian coach Di Matteo had one game plan in mind and that was to score the away goal and then sit. Pep Guardiola's side needed goals and needed them fast and it was unfortunate that Lio Messi was on on his best form in this match. After sprinting to a 2-0 and in-between goals having captain John Terry sent off for what i thought was a yellow card offence, Barca kept the foot on the pedal but they must have thought they were still in the dressing rooms after a sublime pass by Lampard and a cheeky chip from Ramires saw the away goal in and the tie favouring the London side. It was pressure after pressure from the Spaniards but the Chelsea defence would bot crack sitting 10 players behind the ball and sliding one side to the other. It was very reminiscent to the plan Jose Mourinho had when he won the tie at the Camp Nou in 2010 with Inter Milan. At the end in the 91st minute a clearance from Bosingwa saw Torres one on one with the keeper and he slotted a well needed goal for the out of form striker. 

Leo Messi would have some weight on his shoulders after a performance that he could be heavily critiqued for but come on, every player is allowed an off day and his off day was complete when he missed the penalty.

So Chelsea are through to the final at the Allianz Arena in Munich and will face the winner of tomorrows crucial clash between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. 

Bayern lead the tie 2-1 and i believe have what it takes to hold that advantage when they travel to the Bernabeu. Key figures in this match will be the ever present Cristiano Ronaldo and Sami Khedira for Real whilst for Bayern i wouldn't be banking on a big performance from Arjen Robben but I think Ribery & Lahm can make the difference along with the 2 centre halves. 

SERIE A:

Last night saw 2 important games that could decide the middle of the table and the last few spots in the Europa League. Cagliari were expected to fall against a well drilled Catania side but against all odds Cagliari won in a convincing manner 3-0. In Bergamo, Atalanta were expected to take the 3 points when they hosted Chievo Verona and that's exactly what they did with a 72nd strike from Moralez.

Tomorrow morning we'll see the rest of the Italian clubs play and it's obvious all the attention will be on the game at the San Siro where AC Milan host Genoa and also the match in Cesena where they will host the top of the table Juventus out fit. It's expected that both heavy weights will come away with the 3 points especially at the San Siro where AC are playing an out of touch Genoa side who have had their crowd problems as last week fans threw bottles on the field and the club has been hit with a 2 game suspension where they will play their home games in front on no supporters. 

Juventus travel in healthy and momentes condition. Key figures in that match will be Vidal and the always dangerous Pirlo. 

In other games Roma have a chance to heap more pressure on the last UCL spot when they host Fiorentina and in another crunch game Udinese are at home to Inter. Lazio should take the points at Novara and Napoli should do the job on Lecce.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:

In the one game overnight it seems that Villa are almost flirting with the relegation zone on purpose. They had chance after chance to finish off the Wanderers but in the end it was Owen Coyle's men who walked out of Villa Park with the 3 points to help their cause in getting away from the drop zone.

PREDICTIONS (tomorrows matches):

Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich = 2-1 (extra time 0-0 and penalties won by Bayern Munich)

Novara vs Lazio =        0-2

Siena vs Bologna =      1-3 

Roma vs Fiorentina =   2-0

Udinese vs Inter =        2-0

Lecce vs Napoli =        0-3

Palermo vs Parma =     2-2

AC Milan vs Genoa =   2-0

Cesena vs Juventus =  1-4

Torino vs Reggina =    3-1

While We We're Sleeping, Alessandro Del Piero & Weekend Preview

Let's kick off this blog with the Italian master Alessandro Del Piero. It really seems like the end of his career with the Old Lady of Italian football. The club keep refusing to speculate whether they will renew the captains contract. Juventus fans all over the world are fuming as they want to see their captain play in next years Champions League and also the simple fact that Del Piero should have the right to finish his career in the black and white.

Why Juventus need to keep Del Piero?

The club need him for several reasons. His presence alone brings confidence to other players in the dressing room and puts fear in the opposition when they see him on the team sheet. His experience on the european stage is second to none and coming off the bench is something I'm sure he won't have a problem with. Last weekend he made his 700th appearance in the black and white and scored his 289th goal for the club. Which means one more year and every fan would agree he would get his 300th goal in season 2012/2013.
It's a bitter sweet end as he has the chance to lift the Serie A title as well as the Coppa Italia if things go Juve's way.
There is talk that Juve will be making an appearance down under for a one off game in either Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne which will be great for any Juventus fan down here that haven't seen the black and white since they last visited Melbourne in 2008. In this trip Del Piero did not make it down due to being selected for the Italian Euro 2008 squad but this time he will make the trip and draw a healthy crowd.
It is certain that on the 13th of May, Juventus Stadium will be filled with both tears of joy and tears of sadness. It could be the arrival of the 30th Scudetto for the club and the sad part being Del Piero's last appearance. May will be a very interesting month.

While we we're sleeping !!!

Bayern Munich got the edge over Real Madrid in the Semi Final 1st leg at the Allianz Arena in Munich. A result that is balanced, Real would feel hard done by due to the fact a draw was the right result but never the less getting the all important away goal. While Bayern probably could feel relieved to get the win after missing a fair few half chances and a defensive lapse giving Ozil a tap in for the equalizer. There was a late penalty claim for the German side but one i believe waved away by the referee as a good decision. Mourinho would be fuming at defender Coentrao after in the dying minutes he got lured in by Lahm and dived in to no avail as the Bayern captain pranced by and crossed a dangerous ball to Luca Toni's replacement Mario Gomez.

Tomorrow morning is another mouth watering encounter with Barcelona travelling to Stamford Bridge to take on the rejuvenated Chelsea side. A Chelsea side that deeply want to forget about that 2009 cup tie where they just had to hold on 3 more minutes and they would have faced Man United in the final for the second year in a row until Iniesta's volley sunk the hearts on the rich London side.
It truly is a tough one to call so please scroll down to predictions below for my thoughts.

SERIE A - ROUND 34 (round 33 re-scheduled for mid week)

Following the horrific death of Livorno midfielder Piermario Morrosini the round 33 matches in Italy were postponed out of respect. The midfielder and former Italian U21 international who was on loan from Udinese suffered a heart attack early in the second half of their match vs Pescara. Doctors were unable to resuscitate him and he passed away on the pitch.

This weekend we see a few great matches to report with Roma travelling to the Juventus Stadium and Bologna facing AC Milan. Two massive games that could give us a new chapter in the race to the Scudetto. Juve will be confident as they are yet to lose a game and are coming off a 6 game winning streak while Roma have also hit form and Luis Enrique's men are starting to play some attractive football as they aim for that 3rd and final UEFA Champions League spot. AC Milan have to keep the pressure on the bianconeri and face a tricky opponent in Bologna who have a well known striker in Marco Di Vaio who has a fantastic scoring record at the San Siro and the former Juventus employee will be out to help out his former team mates.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE !!!

Big game of this weekend will be the London derby which will see Arsenal playing host to Chelsea at the Emirates. This could be a tricky affair for the blues as they may rest players for their 2nd leg tie against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. If that is the case I see nothing else but a Gunners victory. Man City play away to struggling Wolves and if last week was anything to go by, Mancini's men may put 5 or more past the boys from Wolverhampton. The red devils play at home to Everton and this could be a tricky game for the reds as Everton coming off a FA Cup Semi Final loss will want to bounce back with a big scalp like United. We all remember Tim Cahill's bicycle kick their so maybe he can produce that again. Liverpool play at home against West Brom and if you're a betting man like I am then you'd put money on West Brom grabbing the 3 points an Anfield.

PREDICTIONS:

Chelsea vs Barcelona - 1-1

Juventus vs AS Roma - 3-1

AC Milan vs Bologna - 2-2

Fiorentina vs Inter - 1-1

Arsenal vs Chelsea - 2-0

Man Utd vs Everton - 2-2

Wolves vs Man City - 0-6

Liverpool vs West Brom - 1-2

Next Blog will be about the A-LEAGUE FINAL and a review of the Chelsea vs Barca match.

While We Were Sleeping & Super Mario

Lets kick this off with Mr Mario Balotelli. "Why always him"??? Well this Italian youngster is getting on the nerves of not just the City manager Mancini but all those sky blue supporters who really thought this year was their year. Balotelli's actions is also going to put a dent in Italy's preparations for the upcoming European Championships. This young character has been given chance after chance and yet he is still around. No doubt he is one of Gods gifts to our game but there has to come a time where enough is enough. Now City are 5 points away after United stumbled this morning and Balotelli could well be on the starting XI for when he returns vs Sir Alex's men but can Mancini trust him?
Super Mario is walking on very thin ice and odds are yes Prandelli will take him to Poland and Ukraine but one more slip up and the Italian can spend the off season watching his country play in a tournament he knows he could have won.

While we were sleeping!!!!

The Serie A is starting to get to the pointy end of the season and with only 6 points left Juve retained top of the summit with a 2-1 win against 3rd place Lazio. A game that was destined to finish 1-1 until the ever game changing bianconeri captain stepped up and slotted away a beautiful free kick in the dying minutes. Del Piero is playing his way into a contract extension and what a way to perform on his 700th appearance for the Old Lady of Italian Football.

AC Milan are 1 point behind and will not put their foot off the accelerator. AC face Genoa at home next a team who historically do well at upsetting Milan especially at the San Siro. With many players out due to injuries and suspension, fans are wondering whether they can keep the pressure on Juventus. Mr Allegri and his men will no doubt fight to the very end.

The battle for the last Champions League spot is heating up as Lazio, Udinese, Napoli and Roma are all in contention. Overnight Lazio lost to Juve, Napoli lost to Atalanta and Udinese lost to Roma. All results that obviously went Roma's way. Inter are also in contention but on count back it is likely they will not finish above any of the clubs above them due to a poor poor season.

In other leagues:

In Spain there was a brief scare for Real Madrid fans as at one stage Atletico and Real were stuck at 1-1 which would bring Barca a few points closer. But to the rescue Cristiano Ronaldo comes with an impressive hat trick.

In the EPL Man Utd suffered a surprising loss to Wigan who haven't fared to well at home this year but have helped Man City a lot. The sky blues demolished a helpless West Brom and we saw Tevez hit the back of the net just like old times. Arsenal brushed aside Wolves with a convincing 3-0 away win and QPR beat the Swans 3-0 to help them in their fight for survival.

In Germany, Borussia Dortmund have given themselves a healthy 6 point lead at the top after defeating the heavyweights Bayern Munich 1-0.

In Australia the A-League does not look good at all. We all thought that the introduction of this new league after the old NSL would bring Football in Australia to a whole new level and in someways it has but if we look at the success the MLS has had in the USA we here in Australia are miles behind. The MLS are averaging 2 new clubs every 4 years to strengthen the league and introducing clubs from Canada as well.
We recently saw the dimise of Gold Coast United and the introduction of the new team in Western Sydney. Soon after billionaire Nathan Tinkler hands in Newcastle Jets license back to the FFA. The A-League is in shambles and it's hard to see where it will go from here. After the national team has done the country proud on the world stage it is a failure that the Aussie league can't be recognised as a serious competition.