As the build up continues and gathers pace for the big game this Saturday against our hated arch-rivals, Liverpool, the team we love to hate and that too with a passion wherever you are in the globe,...
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David Silva is behind more goals than any other midfielder, having a total of 17 goals and assists, followed by Gareth Bale on 16. Nani and Mata are tied on 13, Valencia and Nasri on 10, Giggs with 9 and Young on 7. However, when you take in to consideration the games they've actually played in, specifically focussing on starts, Giggsy comes out top with an impressive 1.

David Silva is behind more goals than any other midfielder, having a total of 17 goals and assists, followed by Gareth Bale on 16. Nani and Mata are tied on 13, Valencia and Nasri on 10, Giggs with 9 and Young on 7. However, when you take in to consideration the games they've actually played in, specifically focussing on starts, Giggsy comes out top with an impressive 1.

Help me, I'm having nightmares. More, after the jump:

Cold as ice

I'm not even sure this match is as important as what's transpiring around the orbit of England's Once Brave (Twice-Removed) John Terry- henceforth known as EOBTRJT. Jack cooked up some brilliance on the matter, as always, which I recommend you all read at once.

Chelsea v Manchester United: A Battle Of Widths - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

According to Castrol EDGE Performance analysis, both Manchester United and Chelsea's wingers have been key to both club's positive play this season, with Antonio Valencia, Nani, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge all enjoying impressive campaigns.

Stamford Bridge hasn't been a pay hunting ground in the league for United in recent years, but they look overpriced at 2.9 with Betfred to beat their arch rivals Chelsea and bag a vital three points to maintain their title challenge.

Having played Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool in quick succession, and with Liverpool coming up again, United are now at a crucial stage of their season having hauled themselves level on points with Roberto Mancini's men at the top of the Premiership.

The massive clash at Stamford Bridge this weekend could see Chelsea put out a back-four with two new starters Ryan Bertrand at LB and Gary Cahill at CB. They could be joined by two of Luiz, Ivanovic, and/or Bosingwa ... Continue reading →

Wayne Rooney and Nani have trained for the last two days and will be in the squad for Chelsea. Ashley Young should also be included and there is the possibility that Tom Cleverley will be too. It is more likely that Tom will next play for the Reserves against Chelsea on Monday but he will travel with the squad this weekend.

Wayne Rooney and Nani have trained for the last two days and will be in the squad for Chelsea. Ashley Young should also be included and there is the possibility that Tom Cleverley will be too. It is more likely that Tom will next play for the Reserves against Chelsea on Monday but he will travel with the squad this weekend.

It's a massive game on Sunday and two sides in contrasting situations. Chelsea are not playing as well as we would like to see them playing and are still struggling to create chances and feed Fernando Torres. We find ourselves 12 points behind United.
United, with plenty of injuries are still picking up vital wins and are now back on level par with City.

The statistics this morning read; Manchester United joint top but still second in the table due to an inferior goal difference compared to that of Manchester City. Our neighbours lost thanks to a...
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Kuyt gets the winner...Liverpool successfully knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup on Saturday in a 2-1 win at Anfield. The Reds can now boast getting the better of both teams in Manchester in less than a week. A Dirk Kuyt winner grabbed Liverpool the glory in a game where United had most of the possession.

What a rough week I have had. My week was similar to Arsenals current form, depressing. Well screw all that, we still had a great week of football. So let me give you a slightly over the top review of the week that wasn't:

Arsenal

It was another dramatic week for the Gunners.

POSSIBLE TEAM V UTDSo its Round Two against the Manchester clubs this Saturdayafternoon.
We face the Old Enemy Utd at Anfield in an early kick-off 12:45pm.
Liverpool have everything to play for and have home advantage in the highest profile game of the FA Cup 4th round.

At the beginning of last season (2010) we highlighted Nani's emergence as a "must have" Fantasy Premier League option when Antonio Valencia broke his leg in a Champions League game and eventually missed the majority of the 2010-2011 season. Deja ... Continue reading →

7:45am ET, live in the US on FSC.
Last four head-to-head:
1-1 (h) 10.15.11
3-1 Liverpool (h) 03.06.11
0-1 United (a; FA Cup) 01.09.11
2-3 United (a) 09.19.10
Previous round:
Liverpool: 5-1 Oldham (h)
United: 3-2 City (a)
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-2 City (h); 1-3 Bolton (a); 0-0 Stoke (h)
United: 2-1 Arsenal (a); 3-0 Bolton (h); 3-2 City (a)
Goalscorers (all competitions):
Liverpool: Bellamy, Suarez 8; Gerrard 5; Carroll, Maxi 4; Adam, Skrtel 2; Downing, Henderson, Johnson, Kelly, Kuyt, Shelvey 1
United: Rooney 18; Welbeck 9; Berbatov, Nani 8; Chicharito 6; Valencia 4; Giggs, Owen, Young 3; Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Jones, Park, Smalling 2; Macheda, Scholes 1
Referee: Martin Atkinson Mark Halsey
Atkinson was supposed to be in charge, but pulled out Thursday with a virus.

The Arsenal youngster Nicolas Yennaris was thrown in at the deep end on his League debut for the Gunners when he replaced Johann Djourou against Man United last weekend. He was tasked with keeping Nani at bay, and he certainly did a better job that Djourou. Although Arsenal lost, Yennaris was more than happy with [.

The Arsenal youngster Nicolas Yennaris was thrown in at the deep end on his League debut for the Gunners when he replaced Johann Djourou against Man United last weekend. He was tasked with keeping Nani at bay, and he certainly did a better job that Djourou. Although Arsenal lost, Yennaris was more than happy with [.

Benjamin Franklin once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. With this definition in mind events at the Emirates stadium on Sunday could lead some Arsenal supporters to question the mental health of their manager.

Sunday 28th August 2011 will be a date forever etched on the minds of Arsenal and Manchester United supporters alike, remembered with very differing degrees of fondness.

Sorry about the title, but I can't resist a good pun if possible. Misleading as it might be, I must stress that I am not saying Johan Djourou deserves any credit for his performance against Manchester United.

However, for all the criticism surrounding Arsene Wenger for his choice to remove Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain just as he'd made our equaliser and was at the centre of everything good we were doing, a rather more bold move by the boss has gone largely ignored: replacing the more experienced Djourou, terrible as he was, for Premier League debutant Nico Yennaris, a move that proved more successful than bringing on Andrey Arshavin later.

Manchester United's 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates yesterday is proving to be one really costly win. The Red Devils will be without 4 of their first team players as they won the first of 4 huge away games.

Rooney, Nani, Carrick and Jones are in danger of missing out on United's FA Cup away fixture to Liverpool on Saturday after the quartet suffered injuries during the game.

Not the debut we hoped for

A 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester United with each side coming on top in one half is not the worst of results. However, the manner in which we lost the game, left a bitter taste in the mouth. After what happened in the reverse fixture early in August, many Arsenal fans (including me) wanted to exact revenge but also conscious of the fact that we want to avoid another thrashing.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal v Man United 1:2 MOTD

It was the 74th minute when Arsene Wenger went from mere arrogance to sheer incompetence. Replacing Alex Oxlade Chamberlain with Andrey Arshavin. The Ox had been Arsenal's best player on the pitch providing the side with desperately needed speed, ambition, and some quality skills.

The real issue with Mario Balotelli isn't his 'swag', abrasive nature or arrogance for that matter. The real issue with Mario these days is that he's turning into the Lady Gaga of football. Of course, the issue of kicking Scott Parker in the head yesterday (in City's 3-2 defeat of Spurs) isn't something that should surprise you at all.

Arsenal 1 (Van Persie 71) Man United 2 (Valencia 45, Welbeck 81)
(Premiership)

The bare facts make for grim reading. Defeat to United leaves us fifteen points behind them, and eighteen off the pace set by their city rivals. Our own neighbours remain ten points above us despite their loss earlier in the day, and that critical fourth spot is still an elusive five points away.

For today's introduction we are going back into the mists of time, when men were men and not floppy overcooked strings of spaghetti like Busquets, Nani and Pepe.

England were World Champions and Man Utd had recently won the European Cup. For the younger reader who has grown up in the Sky era, there can be no understanding of the excitement and national pride that both events stirred.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is infamous for exposing his players to 'hairdryer'-like rants on the training ground or the locker room.
It's referred to as a 'hairdryer' when Ferguson shouts at his players, because he is yelling so loud and hard that it pushes the player's hair back like someone blow-drying their hair.

I. Manchester United @ Arsenal: This is just amazing. Arsenal looking for revenge after a humiliating, fluke, 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford earlier in the season. Manchester City are at home against Tottenham in a superb Top-4 clash, but Sir ... Continue reading →

Liverpool's soon to be confirmed signing Joao Carlos Teixeira has quiet the reputation to uphold after comming through Sporting Lisbon's talented academy which has produced stars such as Christiano Ronaldo, Nani and Luis Figo.

He has already shown he can score infront of the kop after scoring against Liverpool in the NextGen series game.

It's being reported today that Liverpool have agreed a deal with Sporting Lisbon for their young midfield starlet Joao Carlos Teixeira, in a deal believed to be worth £1million.

Young Teixeira has impressed while playing in the NextGen series, scoring against Liverpool in the process.

While he hadn't made a first team appearance yet for Sporting, he is highly rated in Portugal and has already been compared to Deco.

After waiting through half the January window with hardly even a solid link to report, Liverpool made an exciting first move in the market today—though it's exciting far more for its future potential and for the way in which participation in the NextGen Series is already paying off for the club than exciting for the club's prospects in the present.

Lindegaard, Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Scholes, Carrick, Nani, Rooney, Welbeck.

"CONFIRMED LINE-UP: United vs Bolton" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.

The FA will not be taking any action against Glen Johnson for his challenge on Joleon Lescott in the first leg of Wednesday night's League Cup semi-final.
After all the controversy that surrounded Vincent Kompany's red card against Manchester United for a two-footed tackle on Nani in the FA Cup third round last weekend, there have been calls for Johnson to face severe punishment.

Glen Johnson's two footed lunge on Joleon Lescott

Watch Glen Johnson's tackle on Joleon Lescott and tell me why Vincent Kompany was sent off for his tackle on Nani and Johnson wasn't?

Liverpool wants to bolster their youth ranks with a deal for Sporting Lisbon teenager Joao Teixeira.
Teixeira, who turns 19 this month, caught the eye when scoring for the Portuguese side against Liverpool in the NextGen Series.
Midfielder Teixeira comes from the famed Sporting academy that produced Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani.

szólj hozzá: City v Liverpool 0:1 EXTENDED

Have at the 20 minutes highlights before it is taken down. Stefan Savic brings down Daniel Agger and Steven Gerrard converts the PK in the 12th minute. Liverpool were much the better team for large parts of the match in the first half. In the second they played good hard defensive ball to deny City at the Etihad.

Liverpool are said to be monitoring Sporting Lisbon's Joao Teixeria and will hope a deal can be struck this transfer window to bring him to Anfield.

The young midfielder will turn 19 this month and has put in some impressive performances for Sporting Lisbon in the NextGen Series, scoring against Liverpool in Sporting's 3-0 victory.

The pundits all over the place are having a go at Chris Foy for expelling Vincent Kompany for a challenge on Nani in the FA Cup match last weekend. Their lamentations are everywhere: "It's the end of tackling as we...

For the third time in two months, Liverpool and Manchester City square off, this time in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final. Liverpool's trip to the Eastlands last week ended with the visitors on the wrong end of a 0-3 result that saw City concede most of the possession but take the chances they managed to create.

Vincent Kompany was rightly sent off for a two footed challenge on Nani at the weekend in a game that saw Manchester City knocked out of the FA Cup.

Nani got out of the way of the challenge, saving himself from getting hurt, and Wayne Rooney complained to referee Chris Foy.

After the game, Roberto Mancini claimed that the challenge was "300%" not a red card and accused Rooney of influencing the ref.