Midweek Review - 30 Dec 2009

Manchester United vs Wigan

"Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!"

-Gary, 30 Dec 2009

This is the first time where festive season games doesnt look exciting as previous season. Further more, the festive season games should have start on the eve of Christmas Day and on the Boxing Day, but all games were played after Boxing Day.

And we end the year with the game at home.

Wigan is a yo-yo team. A cold and hot team. They have the ability to hold Chelsea to a draw yet able to lose Tottenham to 9 goals.

At our side, even though we are back to winning ways, the makeshift defence is appealing. I can sorely feel the absence of our central defenders especially Vidic and Ferdinand. Hopefully, Wigan is in holiday mood and not to make things difficult for Man Utd. And lastly, will like to end the post wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Man Utd Team News: Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Gary Neville, Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Fedrico Macheda are out.

Wigan Team News: Mohamed Diame is out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.5 handicap. Take Man Utd for the win.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

EPL Prediction League

There wont be any prediction games for this weekend due to FA Cup.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!

Results - Games 26 - 27 Dec 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

Well done weimeng but OH SO CLOSE to the Perfect 10!! Still 9-points is good enough as weimeng makes a surge towards the top of the table, overtaking 3 chaps along the way and hot on my heels!

While we are all looking at the top, I am also watching the bottom closely as late entry Siren is slow but steadily cutting down the gap to the next rung. 4 points in the bag this weekend and another 27 to go!

Better buck up, edwinsng!!


Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.


EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) ianrush (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
2) ihawk98 (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
3) edwinsng (22 - 23 Aug 2009)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
5 Games - ihawk98, ianrush
4 Games - KingMeng, delay, Voxeros, Bedokian
3 Games - limyengchuan, Everton, edwinsng
2 Games - necroastr, Siren, redherring, weimeng
1 Game - PMG, cool402


Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.
2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.
3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Fixture Focus – Spurs (28 December 2009)

Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United    

Another tough London derby for our boys in the space of 3 days.

Both teams are in form recently with West Ham having drawn with league leaders Chelsea and beating Pompey at home in the past week or so.  But Zola is facing an injury crisis ahead of the clash at White Hart Lane, with as many as 7 starters potentially out due to injury.

Spurs battled through a tough draw at Craven Cottage on Boxing Day and will now aim to secure all 3 points from this match.  King and Bassong should be available in the heart of the defence, while Defoe should regain his starting role after being on the bench for much of the Fulham game.  The latter is the man to watch as he will be highly motivated to do well against his old club.  Expect ‘arry to start the big man, little man striker combo he likes so much and possibly a midfield consisting of Modric, Kranjcar, Palacios and Lennon.

COYS!

Arsenal 3 - 0 Aston Villa

I don't have fancy tables or team badges to put up like everyone else - all that goes into my drivel are Arsenal hymns. And I apologise beforehand if my style of writing contradicts everyone else's, but I promise to keep it short and sweet here.

This Christmas weekend was especially joyous for this goonerette for three reasons:

#1 - We beat Aston Villa - we were level on points, with a game in hand and goal difference advantage before this game.
#2 - Cesc Fabregas scored a brace in the short period he had on the pitch.
#3 - Chelsea drew (all hail the Brummies! You scratch my back, I scratch yours).

Perhaps the scoreline is a little cruel, but such is the brilliance of the young Spaniard. Get my Arsenal TV Online account details from me if you haven't seen the goals, but if sublime class had a face, Cesc Fabregas would be it.

Having been introduced into the game for less than 10 minutes, Cesc dealt the visitors a blow by scoring from a freekick about 20 odd yards out. Friedel usually pulls amazing performances against us, but even he was comprehensively beaten. I only wish I were there in the stands to celebrate with my man.

In the 81st minute, Traore's long pass released substitute Theo Walcott who paced forward to gift Cesc with a neat flick. The right foot of Fabregas once again brought the Emirates Stadium to its feet as his superb strike whizzed past Friedel for the second time in less than 20 minutes.

Elizabeth Hotel burst into song and I screamed myself hoarse. I even chimed in at "I'll let you shag my wife". Ho-blardy-ho, it's a good Christmas.

The hamstring strain he sustained is a little worrying and we probably won't see Cesc in the next couple of games. But maybe the skipper's contribution will inspire more moments like Diaby's solo effort that sealed off the game.

Yes, I know a team is not built on one player. I could go on about how the rest of my lads did, but let's give the non-fans a break and Fabregas his glory.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

The Arsenal!

Weekend Review - 27 Dec 2009

Hull City vs Manchester United

"...wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas!!"

-Gary, 27 Dec 2009

As a contributor of PPL, will like to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas.

Last weekend match is really no excuse. Even with all the defenders are in the sick bay, shouldnt Man Utd have deployed players in that area even though is not their designated position? Granted that it is not a position that they will prefer, isnt it a team's game and isnt it a skill that all players require to have even if you are a forward, you also need to learn how to defend.

With one more game to go at home to Wigan before we usher 2010, we visit Hull City with the same situation - no defenders to play. Hull City debuted in the Premier League last season and did well in the first half of the season before narrowly escaping relegation at the end of the season. This season is their second and isnt fairing well either. With Jimmy Bullard their star player and relying on him is abit too much to ask for. And with his injuries that robbed him of his services in Hull, the task look uphill for Hull City.

Hull City Team News: A full team to choose from with the exception of Jimmy Bullard.

Man Utd Team News: Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville, John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Owen Hargreaves, Edwin van der Sar, Wes Brown, Nani, Rafael, Ryan Giggs and Fedrico Macheda are out. One full team is out, my goodness.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.25 handicap. Not taking Man Utd at the moment till injuries are easing up.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (26 Dec 2009)

Fulham FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

First and foremost, Merry Christmas to all of you!

And now, let's get back to business.

In the upcoming Boxing Day fixture, Spurs will be travelling a short distance to Craven Cottage, where Fulham had slaughtered an under-strength Manchester United just a week before.

Now Roy Hodgson's side seems confident as ever. With ex-Spurs players Murphy and Zamora in-form, and their league and Europa campaigns going well for them, our boys will be in for a tough fight this Saturday.

Spurs seems to be putting its "Partygate" scandal behind, with Keane, the mastermind behind the whole thing, retaining his captaincy. Good news is that Modric and King will be back in the squad for the game.

A testing game for us, especially when we have another just 2 days later against beleaguered West Ham, our unofficial London rival.

But, we shall prevail.

COYS!!!!!

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 26-27 December 2009

EPL33: SAT 26/12 Sunderland vs Everton at 11:00pm SIN/HKT

EPL34: SUN 27/12 Arsenal vs Aston Villa at 09:25pm SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blogger/Blogspot Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Results - Games 19 - 20 Dec 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

Congrats to edwinsng, ihawk98 and myself (Voxeros) for hitting 8 points this weekend.

edwinsng has finally gotten his break and is now only a point away from the next rung. Bad news for Siren who was making good progress to slowly close in.

ihawk98 now leads the Marksmen Board with 5 correct predictions.

As for myself, after a streak of bad guesses, it is good to leap frogged 4 places to 8th.

Let's hope for a good outcome next weekend!


Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.


EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) ianrush (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
2) ihawk98 (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
3) edwinsng (22 - 23 Aug 2009)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
5 Games - ihawk98
4 Games - ianrush, KingMeng, delay, Voxeros, Bedokian
3 Games - limyengchuan, Everton, edwinsng
2 Games - necroastr, Siren, redherring
1 Game - PMG, weimeng, cool402


Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.
2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.
3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (19 Dec 2009)

Blackburn Rovers vs Tottenham Hotspur

The start of the famous "Christmas Crunch" is now on, where all the clubs would be having hectic days ahead in fixtures that will stretch all the way till the end of the year (and not to mention the holiday mood).

Within just 3 days of our convincing win against Manchester City at home, our boys would be travelling up to Lancashire for our match-up against one of the top 4 in the early days of the Premier League.

Ewood Park has been proven to be Blackburn's true blue stronghold this season, where they had only lost 1 out of 8 games there. But they have been without a win for the past 5 games - a ominous statistical sign for us, perhaps?

Spurs will be without Modric, who had ankle problems, and it is expected that most of the first team who defeated the blue half of Manchester would be up, and this may bring in the factor of exhaustion for our players.

And Paul Robinson, an ex-Yid, would be facing his ex-colleagues on the field.

So, let us march forth and claim back the 4th spot!

COYS!!!!!

Weekend Review - 19 Dec 2009

Fulham vs Manchester United

"David Beckham has his wishes granted to face his former team since moving to Real Madrid in 2003."

-Gary, 19 Dec 2009

Seriously if every manager were to be like Mick McCathy, it will defeat the purpose of having a handicap giving so high yet it so easily overcome, where he field 2nd team to face Man Utd.

I can see where Arsene Wenger is coming from as i feel that Mick McCathy is resigned to losing to Man Utd rather than putting a strong team to deny Man Utd the chance to defend their title.

Even the stats suggest that Thomasz Kuszczak have a quiet game where he didnt have to make a single save!!

Fulham is doing well since the appointment of Roy Hodgson. Last season was the first time they qualified for Europa League for finishing 7th, ahead of Tottenham. This season they have qualified for the last 32 where they will face Shaktar Donetsk, the last winner of the UEFA Cup. Not only that, Man Utd is also facing AC Milan where Man Utd last lost in the Champions League before going onto a 2 year winning run, and ended this season with a defeat to Besiktas. David Beckham has his wishes granted to face his former team since moving to Real Madrid in 2003.

Fulham Team News: Simon Davis, Diomansy Kamara and Andrew Johnson are out.

Man Utd Team News: Nani, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Edwin van der Sar, Wes Brown, Jonny Evans, John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1 ball. I believe Fergie will be saving the best over the festive season, hence might be an odd goal winner. No punt.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Fixture Focus – Spurs (17 December 2009)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

I’m looking forward and not back at the past weekend’s painful memory. 

A resurgent Manchester City this year with the spending power of wealthy owners have brought a team that has the lowest loss record in the league this season.  After a string of 8 draws, Sparky must be anxious to get going again and they will be bringing everything they got to White Hart Lane.  The only confirmed injury is to Shaun Wright-Phillips while Bellamy is out due to suspension.  De Jong and Adebayor are fit to face the Lilywhites.

For Spurs, the team must focus on getting 3 points at home.  Reports indicate that Modric will be on the bench, together with Bentley and Pavlyuchenko.  I hope that ‘arry starts Crouch and Defoe up front.  Keano seems to have lost a step this season.

I think the team should not stress themselves up with thoughts of Top 4 and Champions League qualification.  Just forget all that, concentrate on each game and the rest will take care of itself.

COYS!

Midweek Review - 16 Dec 2009

Manchester United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

"But with a lazy striker and a injury-prone striker in the strikeforce, i wont take the chances."

-Gary, 16 Dec 2009

Aston Villa finally claimed the first win at Old Trafford since 1983. But we are unable to take advantage of Chelsea's slip up to level on points on the standings table.

The stats suggested that we were trying to get the goal to earn 1 point rather than losing 3 points, but it just not our day where the ball hit everywhere except at the back of the net.

Next to visit Old Trafford is Wolves. And they are buoyed by the win against Tottenham during the weekend. Another result that doesnt favour the pundits. Despite the win, i still see Wolves going down once again.

Now we are heading to the midway of the league, and the bottom half is taking shape where Portsmouth, Bolton, West Ham, Wolves, Hull City and surprisingly Everton is part of the relegation fight. Burnley had been the surprise package this season due to their home form where they have won 5 games including Man Utd. For midtable teams like Fulham, Birmingham and Sunderland, they seem to have a player like Damien Duff, Danny Murphy, Lee Bowyer and Darren Bent respectively to change the course of the game.

Man Utd Team News: Rafael, Fabio, Gary Neville, Edwin van der Sar, Owen Hargreaves, Wes Brown, John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans are out.

Wolves Team News: Andrew Keogh, Michael Kightly and Ronald Zubar are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 2 balls. Last meeting in Carling Cup, Man Utd give 1.75 and they won 1-0. If Man Utd is like Chelsea, then i will take Man Utd. But with a lazy striker and a injury-prone striker in the strikeforce, i wont take the chances. No punt.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 19-20 December 2009

EPL31: SAT 19/12 Manchester City vs Sunderland at 10:55pm SIN/HKT

EPL32: SUN 20/12 Everton vs Birmingham at 10:55pm SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blogger/Blogspot Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Results - Games 12 - 13 Dec 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

Looks like it was a low scoring weekend for most of us as the title race opens up both here and EPL as well.

Kudos to redherring for notching one on the Marksmen Board and a massive 6-point haul to charge into the Top4.

Congrats also to ihawk98 and delay for their Marksmen achievement to co-lead with ianrush and KingMeng at 4 apiece. It's getting crowded up there!


Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.


EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) ianrush (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
2) ihawk98 (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
3) edwinsng (22 - 23 Aug 2009)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
4 Games - ianrush, KingMeng, ihawk98, delay
3 Games - voxeros, Bedokian, limyengchuan, Everton
2 Games - edwinsng, necroastr, Siren, redherring
1 Game - PMG, weimeng, cool402


Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.
2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.
3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Fixture Focus – Spurs (12 December 2009)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolverhampton Wanderers    

A must win fixture!  That’s all that I need to say if we want to keep pace for a Champions League position. 

We should not wish for another 9 goal mauling (although it would be a nice…LOL) but a solid win would be a great comeback from a frustrating outing against Everton last week where we paid the “penalty” and gave away 2 points.  The return of Luka Modric to the substitute bench (if not in the starting 11) is a beautiful sight as Palacios is struggling with a rib injury.  Keane started his career with Wolves and in his 2 games for Spurs against Wolves, he has scored 4 goals so I am wondering if Redknapp will start him tonight.

Wolves have only won 4 times at White Hart Lane in the last century so I do expect nothing less than 3 points from this weekend. 

COYS!

Weekend Review - 12 Dec 2009

Manchester United vs Aston Villa

"With so many injuries and Aston Villa a team not to be reckon with, no punt for me."

-Gary, 12 Dec 2009

This week, there is more soccer news than political news. CSKA Moscow could be expelled from European soccer due to doping. Wolfsburg could replace CSKA for the knockout rounds and Besiktas would go in to Europa League. But UEFA's decision is to let CSKA continue in the knockout rounds.

Dean Aston retires from soccer from an injury he never recovers. A talent that goes to waste at such a young age.

The win is a mere formality for Man Utd to cement their first place and to have the second leg to be played at home.

Tonight Aston Villa will be visiting Old Trafford and will be looking to break into the Top 4, which 4th placing is currently occupy by Tottenham. Martin O'Neill is a manager that deserves some respect. Operating with the smallest squad in the Premier League, with no star players putting on air, like Man City, Aston Villa is making progress since O'Neill is appointed. Though they miss out European soccer this season, they should be able to make up for it coming the end of this season.

Man Utd Team News: This list is getting longer and longer. Rafael, Fabio, Wes Brown, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves are out.

Aston Villa Team News: Craig Gardener, Wilfred Bouma, James Collins and Curtis Davis are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1 ball. With so many injuries and Aston Villa a team not to be reckon with, no punt for me.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Mid-Week Outlook (07 Dec 2009)

Vfl Wolfsburg vs Manchester United

"...a ManUtd defeat is simply unimaginable. ECL-obsessed Fergie would never allow it...."

- JayWalk, 07 Dec 2009

Hi everyone. I am back but only temporarily as Cool402 is pretty tied up to be able to handle 2 match previews per week. I am still on a season's sabbatical.

Do not let the scoreline deceive you. We didn't really play THAT well to justify the majestic scoreline at Upton Park.

Truth to be told, their goalie was sick to the extent of barfing at the goal mouth.

Yeah. It was that bad that Green (his name, not the colour of his puke) had to be substituted at the 72nd minute.

Other than that, the stats are pretty even but our numbers being the away team carried a heavier weight.

Looking slightly further ahead, we will be playing at home to Aston Villa which will be a difficult match as the Villains will be pushing to break into the top 4. I wonder if we are going to sustain even more injuries after midweek's travel to Germany?

JayWalk The Talk: So now we are kinda screwed as we are heading towards more casualties than players. Brown and Neville hopped off Upton Park over the weekend. So perhaps we have to ditch the 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation in favour of 3-5-2 or 3-4-3?

Why?

Not enough defenders! That's why!

Let me rattle off the sickbay list. We have Brown and Neville as earlier mentioned, then we have Vidic, Ferdinand, O'Shea, Evans, Van dar Sar (still not looking too good) and Hargreaves (why did we even buy him in the first place?).

Anyway, January is round the corner and it's time for Fergie to start his shopping spree. He was right to hold off purchases during the summer when the prices were ridiculously off the charts.

We should be looking at Russian keeper Akinfeev from CSKA Moscow to replace the ailing Van dar Sar. Foster? No quite there yet and perhaps never will be.

Fergie should also be calling on Ribery again but I doubt anything will come out from it as he is still ludicrously priced at 85 million Euros. Besides, he is club tied for the ECL and as such, really no point to buy him now nor is Ribery willing to give up playing the ECL this season.

Then there is also Silva from Valencia but word has it that while he is a big fan of Fergie, he is happily entrenched in Spain.

Meanwhile, on the outbound train, it's time to pack up Nani, Berbatov and Hargreaves and ship them out for cash while we still can get some money out of them.

JayWalk The Walk: Bookies are giving ManUtd a quarter-ball advantage over Wolfsburg with decimal odds of 1.95 for both sides. In English, it means that the bookies are predicting a draw i.e. there is no way ManUtd will pull off an away win to wrap up the first round of the ECL.

Which leave ManUtd the only option of a draw which is enough to send them through as leaders. What's more worrying is Wolfsburg who needs to win very badly if they are to advance on their debut season. CSKA Moscow is level on points with them and a relatively easier fixture against cellar-dweller Besiktas, whom the latter's fate is more or less sealed.

Expect CSKA Moscow to go for goals in the hope that the eventual superior goal difference can pip ManUtd to the next round if Vfl Wolfsburg beats ManUtd.

Verdict? I say it's a draw as a ManUtd defeat is simply unimaginable. ECL-obsessed Fergie would never allow it.

Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.

Image Credits: http://www.soccernet.com, http://www.comercioelectronico.com.mx

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 12-13 December 2009

EPL29: SAT 12/12 Stoke vs Wigan at 08:40pm SIN/HKT

EPL30: SUN 13/12 Liverpool vs Arsenal at 11:55pm SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

Our very own Voxeros (aka Jaywalk) will be watching the Liverpool vs Ar5ena1 game at Modestos Pub (aka Liz Pub) at Elizabeth Hotel.  All are welcome to join him there for the game and bring along nice XMMs you know (er, clothing optional too as we need more pictures for our main site banner photo!)

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blogger/Blogspot Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Results - Games 04 - 05 Dec 2009 EPL Prediction League 2009/2010

Heh heh.... I'd bet everybody is happy to see our new banner which I promised a new pair every season! Sorry this one came a bit late but good stuff are worth waiting for right?

Anyway, Everton and KingMeng both came so close to the Perfect 10. Ahh what a waste!!

Still, it's a consolation for KingMeng to co-lead the Marksmen Board with ianrush at 4 correct games apiece.

In other news, Siren continues to make good strides by notching yet another correct prediction. She is off the cellar but only because PMG kinda MIA on us liao. Still, it's yet to be seen if she can catch up with the next run Edwinsng. Good luck!

As for the rest of the guys. Quit staring and read the rest of the blog can?


Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.


EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) ianrush (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
2) ihawk98 (22 - 23 Aug 2009)
3) edwinsng (22 - 23 Aug 2009)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
4 Games - ianrush, KingMeng
3 Games - ihawk98, voxeros, Bedokian, limyengchuan, delay, Everton
2 Games - edwinsng, necroastr, Siren
1 Game - PMG, weimeng, cool402, redherring


Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://jaywalk.blog-city.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.
2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.
3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Weekend Review - 5 Dec 2009

West Ham United vs Manchester United

"... a mouthwatering semi-final tie against Man City!!"

-Gary, 5 Dec 2009

So we are through to the next round and we got a mouthwatering semi-final tie against Man City!!

The other semi-final will be Aston Villa against Blackburn. Interesting in a way that neither Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool are in the semi-final, given that it is the lowest heriachy in the domestic competition.

Tonight we visit Upton Park where we are seeing more youngsters than experienced players and a couple of Italians on the field due to injuries. West Ham United seem to have the tendency to produce local products and sell them, rather than holding them and let them to play and improve their skills. Classic example will be Joe Cole though he was tempted by money to play for Chelsea.

The draw for next World Cup Finals is out and England got a relatively easy group from my opinion. They have United States, Algeria and Slovenia in the group. Out of 8 groups, there is surely a group of death. And the Group of Death consist of Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea. The way i see it, im predicting Ivory Coast and North Korea to go through. That's another post when the time is nearing.

West Ham Team News: Charlton Cole, Matthew Upson, Valon Behrami, Luis Jimenez and Mark Noble are out with injuries.

Man Utd Team News: Jonny Evans, John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.25 handicap. Take Man Utd for the win.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (6 Dec 2009)

Everton FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

OK, we were through with the Carling Cup. We did not get our revenge against Manchester United, and we lost to a half-team of boys.

Enough said, let us get back to the league.

We are going to play our third away game in less than 10 days, this time going up to meet the blue half of Liverpool, known as Everton.

Everton, too, had a busy week, having lost to Liverpool in the ever-popular Merseyside derby last weekend, but had won away at Athens in the Europa competition. Spurs would have an advantage over the Toffees, though, after having rested an extra day and we did not leave the British Isles for the midweek game.

Still, Moyes' boys would not want to sit pretty at 16th, where they were just 3 points away from the "Twilight Zone". Expect the full squad of Everton this weekend, though they are now plagued by injury problems.

Spurs would most likely use the same lineup against Aston Villa last weekend, though King may be involved this time round.

Expect a good game.

COYS!!!!!