Carlo Ancelotti claimed yesterday that Liverpool can no longer win the Barclays Premier League title, although such a dismissive attitude will not stop him seeking to follow their example when Chelsea face Manchester United on Sunday.
Chelsea can open a five-point gap at the top of table by beating United at Stamford Bridge and victory would put them 12 points clear of sixth-placed Liverpool, who host Birmingham City on Monday night. Click to continue reading...

All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

The derby match between St. Pauli and Hansa Rostock once again brings fire and violence and police involvement, this time inflamed by St. Pauli's Deniz Naki. [101gg]

Every fan attending the Dynamo Kiev v Inter Champions League match will be given masks to protect against the terrifying dangers of swine flu.

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New Atletico manager Quique� Flores remembers the Blue machine well, Michael Essien all too well. Furthermore, a win will take us through to the group stages. Oh, and Didier Drogba is back to terrorize Europe.

I'll have that.

This man may be the fulcrum in 09-10.

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FIFA has announced its 23-man shortlist for World Player of the Year. Lets discuss who we think should win and why.

Michael Ballack
Gianluigi Buffon
Iker Casillas
Diego
Didier Drogba
Michael Essien
Samuel Eto'o
Steven Gerrard
Thierry Henry
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Andres Iniesta
Kaka
Frank Lampard
Luis Fabiano
Lionel Messi
Carles Puyol
Franck Ribery
Cristiano Ronaldo
Wayne Rooney
John Terry
Fernando Torres
David Villa
Xavi

Club-wise distribution

Chelsea 5
Manchester United 1
Liverpool 2
Valencia 1
Barcelona 6
Real Madrid 3
Sevilla 1
Inter 1
Juventus 2
Bayern Munich 1
Arsenal 0

Oh wait !

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Via the Guardian (of course), following our 5-0 demoltion of Blackburn on the weekend ...

"The oversimplified reading of a diamond formation* suggests that any success is significantly dependent on the excellence of attacking full-backs. Yet Chelsea were without Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa when they obliterated Blackburn at the weekend.

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Carlo Ancelotti has decided to name his starting 11 way ahead of the game tonight which is unusual and he has also taken the step of giving complete rest to John Terry, Petr Cech and Nicolas Anelka whereas Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba will be on the bench. He said before tonight's game: If I have the possibility to give rest to all the players who also have to play in Click to continue reading...

Carlo Ancelotti has decided to name his starting 11 way ahead of the game tonight which is unusual and he has also taken the step of giving complete rest to John Terry, Petr Cech and Nicolas Anelka whereas Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba will be on the bench. He said before tonight's game: If I have the possibility to give rest to all the players who also have to play in

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By TRAVIS CLARK

It was all or nothing for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool on Saturday. While a loss wouldn't quite knock them out of the title race, it would be the club's fifth loss in a row and put title talk on the backburner, at least for the time being.

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By TRAVIS CLARK

It was all or nothing for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool on Saturday. While a loss wouldn't officially knock them out of the title race, it would be the club's fifth loss in a row and continue to undermine Benitez's job status.

However, Fernando Torres was passed fit, and his presence in the starting lineup was welcome considering captain Steven Gerrard was injured.

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Just two months into the 2009-2010 season, the "big four" of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have lost 10 matches combined. Compare that with 18 matches lost by the league's elite combined in the entirety of last season, and it's clear that either the big four are weaker, or the rest of the league is getting stronger.

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On FIFA's web-site promoting the start of the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria the event is hyped as a chance to "discover the stars of tomorrow."� And while there is an impressive list of former participants (including, for example, Ronaldinho, Michael Essien, and Luis Figo) another look at the history of the U-17 World Cup offers more cautionary tales than burgeoning stars.

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Chelsea continued to hammer their opponents. After a 4-0 triumph over Athletico Madrid, the Blues annihilated Blackburn Rovers 5-0 at Stamford Bridge. Things started on the wrong foot for the Rovers, as the home side went into the lead with an own goal from Gael Givet in the 19th minute. Ever since that, the game took [. Click to continue reading...

Evening all.

Apologies for not finishing my preview post/s. However considering the game is on Sunday I thought delaying it was a reasonable thing to do. Besides fatigue has got the better of me completely today. It is a strange feeling when one minute there is enough energy within me to challenge Usain Bolt to a race, but the next minute it feels as if challenging Michael Essien in a sleep marathon contest was more appropriate.

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One of the highlights of last season was Liverpool's briliant double over Chelsea. Despite the club's poor overall record at Stamford Bridge - and a frustrating inability to beat the better teams so far this season - today's game is eminently winnable...but only if the formation and tactics are right, and that means aces in their place. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool's depressing defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge could have (and should have) been avoided, but as is so often the case, Rafa Benitez's decisions conspired to adversely affect Liverpool yet again.
The most galling thing about the defeat is that the game was definitely winnable. Click to continue reading...

OPTA's latest statistics have revealed some surprising facts about the effectiveness of two of Liverpool's key midfielders.
According to OPTA, Javier Mascherano is the top passer in the Premiership this season, with 547 completed passes and an accuracy rate of 87%. Chelsea's Michael Essien has the same accuracy rate but has completed a lot less passes. Click to continue reading...

Four more Chelsea players helped their countries qualify for next year's World Cup in South Africa over the weekend. Michael Ballack captained Germany into the finals. Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba propelled Ivory Coast to its second consecutive WC appearance. And Branislav Ivanovic powered Serbia into the mix.

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Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira is tipped by many to be leaving the Italian giants after failing to find a regular place in Jose Mourinho's side. Besides Arsenal, his old club, Chelsea seems to be interested in the 33-year old.

Speaking of this, striker Didier Drogba told RTL:

Patrick Viera will be a good addition to our squad, if we can recruit.

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Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira is tipped by many to be leaving the Italian giants after failing to find a regular place in Jose Mourinho's side. Besides Arsenal, his old club, Chelsea seems to be interested in the 33-year old.

Speaking of this, striker Didier Drogba told RTL:

Patrick Viera will be a good addition to our squad, if we can recruit.

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Ancelotti interested in bringing veteran Frenchman?

Portsmouth vs Chelsea Tickets Still Available!

Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira could finally be set to seal his return to London, but surprisingly with Chelsea, according to reports.

The 33-year-old Frenchman who made more than 250 league appearances and won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups during his time at Arsenal - was linked with a return to Arsene Wenger's side along with Tottenham Hotspur earlier this summer.

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Chelsea hosted Liverpool on Sunday, October 4, 2009 in the biggest match of the weekend in the English Premier League. Were Liverpool able to get points on the road or did Chelsea win to remain top of the table? Here's a recap and video highlights of the match.

Chelsea defeats Liverpool 2-0 Video Highlights

Recap courtesy of (http://www.

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Today Man United and Arsenal have been linked with a 23-year old midfielder thought to be the next Michael Essien. Anthony Annan (who currently plays for Rosenborg) had a trial with Blackburn...
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Today Man United and Arsenal have been linked with a 23-year old midfielder thought to be the next Michael Essien.
Anthony Annan (who currently plays for Rosenborg) had a trial with Blackburn Rovers last season but the move didn't go through. He was also linked last season with Tottenham Hotspur but it now looks like he could move to one of the ‘top four' clubs. Click to continue reading...

If Villarreal continues their poor run of form, El Madrigal will look similar to this on match nights.

After another underwhelming performance in a 0-2 loss to Real Madrid at El Madrigal on Wednesday evening, Villarreal currently sits in 18th place with only two points from four La Liga matches.

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Throughout the history of football, there has always been players that seem impervious to harm, hurling themselves at all sorts of challenges with no regard for personal safety (or the safety of the opposition for that matter). This years batch of players are no different. The premiership being the most physical league in the world (citation?

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Chelsea will line up in a 4-1-2-1-2 formation as follows: 40 Hilario 19 Paulo Ferreira 2 Branislav Ivanovic 41 Sam Hutchinson 18 Yury Zhirkov 12 John Mikel Obi 35 Juliano Belletti 15 Florent Malouda 10 Joe Cole (c) 45 Fabio Borini 21 Salomon Kalou Substitutes: 22 Ross Turnbull, 41 Jeffrey Bruma, 26 John Terry, 3 Ashley Cole, 24 Nemanja Matic, 5 Michael Essien, 8 Frank Lampard. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea will line up in a 4-1-2-1-2 formation as follows: 40 Hilario 19 Paulo Ferreira 2 Branislav Ivanovic 41 Sam Hutchinson 18 Yury Zhirkov 12 John Mikel Obi 35 Juliano Belletti 15 Florent Malouda 10 Joe Cole (c) 45 Fabio Borini 21 Salomon Kalou Substitutes: 22 Ross Turnbull, 41 Jeffrey Bruma, 26 John Terry, 3 Ashley Cole, 24 Nemanja Matic, 5 Michael Essien, 8 Frank Lampard. Click to continue reading...

With 6 matches played and 18 points earned, Chelsea remain the only unbeaten side in the Premiership. And while one could argue that the Blues haven't been tested by top rated clubs this season as yet, 3 goals and quality display of football Sunday against Spurs no doubt added to the confident air surrounding Stamford Bridge. Click to continue reading...

With 6 matches played and 18 points earned, Chelsea remain the only unbeaten side in the Premiership. And while one could argue that the Blues haven't been tested by top rated clubs this season as yet, 3 goals and quality display of football Sunday against Spurs no doubt added to the confident air surrounding Stamford Bridge. Click to continue reading...

Richard Scudamore launches more Scuds

The Premier League has brought in protectionism ostensibly in the name of encouraging homegrown talent but what it actually accomplishes is legalize the sort of predatory Gael Kakuta and Paul Pogba type of transfers.

Richard Scudamore in one fell swoop has made the UEFA head honchos happy and preserved the EPL's global brand alive.

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The biggest sporting event in the world (the FiFa World Cup) is for the first and maybe last time taking place in the beautiful continent of Africa. After missing to host the 2006 event, South Africa and by extension Africa will look to make 2010 the best tournament ever to have taken place in a World Cup series.

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These ten never stop running. Mentions go out to Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, West Ham, Bolton and Man City players who give their all.

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Yes he does occasionally let his temperament get the better of him, although he has cleaned that area of his game of late, this Man United striker runs all day.

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Yesterday we asked Offside readers to sound off and let us know who the hardest working player in world football was. We had a great response which helped us define "hard working" a little more specifically. As well as running around, and putting the hours in at training, concepts like willingly playing out of position [. Click to continue reading...

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

Brazil and Ghana were the latest teams to book their place in next year's World Cup, posting wins� over the weekend� to make� the picture of which teams will be in South Africa� a little clearer.

Brazil became the first team from CONMEBOL to secure its place by disposing of arch-rivals Argentina,� 3-1.

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by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

Brazil and Ghana were the latest teams to book their place in next year's World Cup, posting wins� over the weekend� to make� the picture of which teams will be in South Africa� a little clearer.

Brazil became the first team from CONMEBOL to secure its place by disposing of arch-rivals Argentina,� 3-1.

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