Results from Grand Slam Sunday, as well as predictions for this weekend.

Results-22~23 March 2008 Barclays Premier League
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 D. BENT 80,O'HARA 82
PORTSMOUTH 0

ASTON VILLA 0
SUNDERLAND 1 CHOPRA 82

BLACKBURN ROVERS 3 SANTA CRUZ 12,63,ROBERTS 45
WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 KING 17pen
(Blackburn reduced to ten men)

BOLTON WANDERERS 0
MANCHESTER CITY 0

MIDDLESBROUGH 1 SANLI 32
DERBY COUNTY 0

NEWCASTLE UNITED 2 VIDUKA 6,OWEN 83
FULHAM 0

READING 2 BIKEY 31,79
BIRMINGHAM CITY 1 ZARATE 64

EVERTON 1 YAKUBU 8
WEST HAM UNITED 1 ASHTON 68

Grand Slam Sunday
MANCHESTER UNITED 3 BROWN 34,RONALDO 79,NANI 81
LIVERPOOL 0
RED CARD:MASCHERANO (LIV)

CHELSEA 2 DROGBA 72,81
ARSENAL 1 SAGNA 59

Total predictions:
RESULTS:3/10
SCORELINES:0/10
(lol pathetic)

And on to this weekend's fixtures! And its...
WAR ON MERSEYSIDE (on the pitch, at least)
THE MERSEYSIDE DERBY, EVERTON V LIVERPOOL
MATCH OF THE WEEK
LIVERPOOL 3-1 EVERTON @ ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL
It will be a typically ferocious and controversial Merseyside Derby this weekend. Liverpool and Everton, fierce city rivals, face off against each other for bragging rights in the city of Liverpool. The red half of Merseyside will be out in strength to cheer their team on and pip their much-hated 'blue half' rivals to the coveted fourth and final Champions League spot. Expect controversy in this match, the usual ingredient in every derby between these two sides. In the reverse fixture this season at Goodison Park, Everton were reduced to 9 men and Liverpool scored 2 penalties (including one in stoppage time) to secure victory at the home of the Evertonians.
REVERSE FIXTURE: EVERTON 1 LIVERPOOL 2

Other fixtures
BIRMINGHAM CITY 1 MANCHESTER CITY 1 @ ST ANDREWS, BIRMINGHAM
Birmingham will look to capitalise on Manchester City's disastrous away form to secure precious points in their bid to escape relegation. Birmingham have had decent results at home this season, including a draw against Arsenal, so they definitely are up to the task of keeping the Eastlands side at bay.

BOLTON WANDERERS 0 ARSENAL 1 @ REEBOK STADIUM, BOLTON
Bolton and Arsenal are both in poor form at the moment. Bolton have collected one point from the last 18 available, while Arsenal snapped their four-match drawing streak in the BPL with a.... defeat. That means that the Gunners have only collected four points out of 15, seeing their five-point lead at the summit trimmed down as they now trail Manchester United by 6 points. Bolton are struggling to score and Arsenal could well nip that single goal to secure a much-needed victory to boost morale.

DERBY COUNTY 1 FULHAM 1 @ PRIDE PARK, DERBY
Fulham will need to collect maximum points here if they want a chance of avoiding the drop. Derby are more than capable of facing up against their fellow strugglers at home, with their vocal supporters cheering them on. Derby could well grab a point, but arguably for nothing, as they are odds-on to be relegated at the end of the season.

PORTSMOUTH 2 WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 @ FRATTON PARK, PORTSMOUTH
Pompey bumped to the ground bruising with a 0-2 defeat at Spurs last week. They should resume normal services this weekend as they host Wigan, who have collected just one away win this season. Win for Portsmouth.

READING 1 BLACKBURN ROVERS 3 @ MADEJSKI STADIUM, READING
Matches between these two sides always seem to end with loads and loads of goals to savour. In the corresponding fixture last season, Blackburn triumphed 3-2 and they could well do it again. Reading are a pale shadow of their best and Blackburn's quality should see them through.

SUNDERLAND 2 WEST HAM UNITED 2 @ STADIUM OF LIGHT, NEWCASTLE
Sunderland claimed their first away win of the season at Villa and with that, boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation. It won't hurt for them to collect more points here against inconsistent West Ham United. Sunderland's home advantage should cancel out West Ham's better quality. Stalemate.

MANCHESTER UNITED 3 ASTON VILLA 0 @ OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER
Manchester United opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table following a 3-0 victory over rivals Liverpool. They are expected to romp to victory against the off-form Villans. Villa crashed to a 0-1 defeat at home to Sunderland last week, a result that surely all but writes off their chances of qualifying for European football next season. Don't expect Villa to put up too much of a struggle in the intimidating Old Trafford cauldron.

CHELSEA 3 MIDDLESBROUGH 0 @ STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON
Chelsea moved to second following victory over Arsenal. They are expected to defeat Middlesbrough, who are poor travellers. Couple that with Chelsea's formidable home record, and what do you expect?

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 4 NEWCASTLE UNITED 2 @ WHITE HART LANE, LONDON
Expect a thrilling game of attacking football at White Hart Lane. Both sides have attacking-minded managers. Spurs have thrilled their fans this season with plenty and plenty of goals and the goals are expected to flow again against an easily-dismantled Newcastle defence. However, Spurs are not consistent in defence, as shown in their 4-4 draw with Chelsea. So expect Newcastle to bag some goals too. But Spurs to win. GOALS. GOALS. GOALS.

Joel at 3/28/2008 06:33:00 PM :: link

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