Champions League 2013 Final Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund 25 May, 2013

Jupp Heynckes will lead Bayern Munich against domestic rivals, Borussia Dortumund. It will also be his penultimate game in charge of Bayern with the possibility of it being the best ever campaign for Bayern having already recorder the highest amount of points scored in a season with 91 points, 25 greater than the 2nd placed team Borussia Dortmund. Both team faced off against Spanish giants in the semis with Borussia barely making it after a nervy finish at the Santiago Bernabeu. Bayern meanwhile handed Barcelona a thrashing winning 7-0 on aggregate.

The two teams have faced off thrice with Bayern winning once in the DFB Pokal while the other two have ended in a draw.

Bayern Munchen are favourites in this final having soundly beaten both Italian Champions – Juventus and Spanish Champions- F.C Barcelona in the preceding ties. Their path to the final has only one blemish handed by Arsenal who defeated Bayern 2-0 at the Allianz arena.

Team News: Holger Badstuber is out for another 6 months following a setback. Toni Kroos is slowly coming back to fitness but will not play a part in the final.

BVB Jurgen Klopp’s side have had much to do to make the final having seen of Shaktar Donetsk, Malaga and Real Madrid in the knockout rounds with games against Malaga and Real in particular going down to the wire. Robert Lewandowski’s 4 goals against Real helped them overcome Cristiano Ronaldo and company.

With a good young team of Marco Reus, Robert Lewandowski, Mats Hummels and the departing Mario Gotze, BVB will look to upset the favourites.

Team News: Mats Hummels picked up an injury in last weekend’s loss to Hoffenheim and is a doubt for the final.

Man To Watch:  Bastian Schweinsteiger
The German has been Bayern’s heartbeat and will look to inspire a Champions League triumph finally for the Bavarians who have had to deal with heartbreak in 2 out of 3 previous finals.

Competition: Uefa Champions League Final 2012-13
DATE: Saturday 25th May 2013
Kick OFF TIME: 19:45 (UK) 20:45 (Berlin)
TV Coverage: ITV HD / Sky Sports 1 / SKY 3D / Al Jazeera / Fox Soccer / Ten Sports / Ten Action / ESPN
Watch Live Streaming Online:
Link 1 [Live Scores]
Link 2 [Video Stream]
Link 3 [Free Android App]

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WBA 5-5 Manchester United Premier League 19 May, 2013

Sir Alex Ferguson takes his Manchester Utd team to one last challenge against The Baggies. The retiring manager who has served a best part of last 27 years as Manchester United manager having overseen Man Utd becoming one of the biggest global brand and the most successful team in entire England. Having sewn up the title long ago against Aston Villa, Ferguson now will look to sign off for good with a win. West Brom meanwhile have secured a Top table finish and will just look to enjoy themselves, they have confirmed that they’ll do a Guard of Honor for the Champions.

West Brom have nothing to play for in this fixture and have enjoyed a fine season under Steve Clarke with on-loan Chelsea man Romelu Lukaku leading the way this season. They will look for a win but a loss will not leave them too disappointed as well.

Defender Steven Reid is the only injury doubt for the baggies, Marc-Antoine Fortune returns from suspension.

Sir Alex final game as Manchester United boss before current Everton manager David Moyes is sure to be a big occasion. This will also be Paul Scholes’ final game, Phil Neville meanwhile retires at Everton and David Beckham at Paris-Saint Germain. This almost brings an end to Fergie’s fledglings with Ryan Giggs the only one remaining from the golden generation.

This game will have no bearing on either teams so it will be thoroughly enjoyed by Utd and they will look to give Ferguson a win in his final game.

Wayne Rooney will probably be left out with the striker keen to exit the red devils. No other new injuries have been reported.

Result: West Brom 5-5 United
06' 0-1 Kagawa
09' 0-2 (own) Olsson
30' 0-3 Buttner
40' 1-3 Morrison
50' 2-3 Lukaku
53' 2-4 van Persie
63' 2-5 Hernandez
81 ' 3-5 Lukaku
81' 4-5 Mulumbu
86' 5-5 Lukaku

All Goals Highlights

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Chelsea 2-1 Everton Premier League 19 May, 2013

Chelsea  play host to Everton in David Moyes’ final game as Everton boss before he goes on to take up the mantle of the recently retired Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. This will also mark the last game for Rafa Benitez as Chelsea boss before a new manager; rumoured to be Jose Mourinho. Chelsea with a win can guarantee themselves a place in the top 3 and spare the hassle of negotiating the qualifying rounds to make the group stages of the Champions League. Meanwhile Everton will look to give David Moyes a good send off and bring an end to a successful 10 year reign for the Scot.

Rafa Benitez and Chelsea will be buoyed by the mid-week Europa league triumph over Portuguese side Benfica and will look to end the season on a high. A 0-0 draw in this fixture couples with the Gunners winning 2-1 over Newcastle Utd could lead to a 39th game of the season for both the clubs as a play off for 3rd place.

Chelsea have a near full fit squad to choose from with Hazard and Terry expected to be sidelined for this game as well, the duo missed the Europa League final as well.  

Everton have virtually nothing to play having no chance to qualify for a European spot and secured 6th spot thereby finishing over Merseyside rivals Liverpool.  The team will look to provide a good send off to retiring Phil Neville and departing boss David Moyes, it could also be Marouane Fellaini’s last game as a toffee with the Belgian looking to play in the Champions League.

Key Player: Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres may well be departing this summer but look for him to finally score in the league after decisive and impressive goal scoring performance throughout Chelsea’s Europa League campaign.

Result: Chelsea 2-1 Everton
07' 1-0 Mata
14' 1-1 Naismith
76' 2-1 Torres

All Goals Highlights

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FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 Live Streaming, Schedule, Results

The FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 will take place in Brazil across 6 cities from 15th June to 30th June. There will be 8 nation’s vying for the Cup. The host nation are also current holders and have also won the 2005, 1997 editions of this competition.

Participants

BRAZIL – Qualification was achieved as they are the host nation.

URUGUAY – Uruguay qualified by winning the Copa America in July, 2011.

MEXICO - Winners of the CONCACAF Gold Cup held in June, 2011.

NIGERIA – The Super Eagles qualified by winning the African Cup of Nations held during the January-February 2013.

SPAIN – The European and World Champions qualified for those winning those titles in 2012 and 2010

ITALY – Italy qualify despite not winning a trophy as they finished runners up in EURO 2012 behind World and European Champions Spain.

JAPAN – The sole representatives from Asia qualified for the Confederations Cup by winning the AFC Asian Cup in 2011.

TAHITI – Tahiti, a team from the Oceanic Football Confederation (OFC) qualified having won  OFC Nations Cup.

Fixtures
Match times are currently set to local Brasil time

GROUP A: Brazil, Japan, Mexico and Italy.

Date				Kick OFF
15 June	Brazil		Japan	16:00
16 June	Mexico		Italy	16:00
19 June	Brazil		Mexico	16:00
19 June	Italy		Japan	19:00
22 June	Brazil		Italy	16:00
22 June	Japan		Mexico	16:00

GROUP B: Spain, Uruguay, Tahiti and Nigeria

Date				Kick OFF
16 June	Spain		Uruguay	19:00
17 June	Tahiti		Nigeria	16:00
20 June	Spain		Tahiti	16:00
20 June	Nigeria		Uruguay	19:00
23 June	Nigeria		Spain	16:00
23 June	Uruguay		Tahiti	16:00

SEMI FINAL 1: Winner Group A vs Runner up Group B, 26th June, Belo Horizonte.

SEMI FINAL 2: Winner Group B vs Runner up Group A, 27th June, Fortaleza.

3rd PlACE PLAYOFF:  SF 1 loser vs SF 2 loser, 30th June, Salvador.

FINAL: SF 1 winner vs SF 2 winner, 30th June, Rio de Janeiro.

FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 Live Streaming Online

Link 1 [Live Scores]

Link 2 [Video Stream]

Link 3 [Free Android App]

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Chelsea wins Uefa Europa League title 2013

This is definitely what the football fans had been looking for. Chelsea pulls away the Europa Cup again and emerges on the top as an unstoppable force. The Blues won the final match 2-1 with Benfica this Thursday.

This was outstanding for both the sides as Chelsea had been making this effort for quite a while and now they will definitely tell their story proudly. And the key to this success clearly means never giving up as the game ended in the 93rd minute when Branislav Ivanovic just headed towards Juan Mata and from the corner he made into the net, reminding everyone of the legendary Didier Drogba.

That was when the whole stadium applauded and Chelsea knew that very moment they were going home with European Silverware. No doubt it has been a long season for the team when they travelled 12 countries this season playing their 68 games. And despite the entire manager crisis, the legendary game is built in the team’s glory. They didn’t let go of their belief even when Oscar Cardozo’s penalty refused their opening point from Torres. Not even when Frank Lampard almost broke the cross bar.

However the last goal was unbelievable for Benfica as well as the Chelsea fans. It was as if the ball was meant to fall into the net. And although Benitez is criticized and always associated with the fact that he has affiliations with Liverpool, he deserves credit for the last goal which made all the difference making Chelsea the Europa League Champions.

Full Time: Chelsea 2-1 Benfica Lisbon
60' 0-1 Torres
68' 1-1 Cardozo (pen)
90' 1-2 Ivanovic




Celebrating ceremony

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Manchester City vs Wigan Athletic FA Cup Final 11 May, 2013

Preview: Manchester City and Wigan will be fighting their final match for the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium this Saturday. City will be inspired by its glorious history as the history predicts the match already won for the Etihad Stadium outfits. Looking at the 2011 FA Cup finals, Manchester City broke the record of winning the 35 year trophy shortage when they won the final game against Stoke City. This wasn’t it for the enthusiastic team, they didn’t just stop winning trophies, and they got into the game and also won the Premier League title last year. And this year, the chances make it look like another successful year for the team manager Roberto Mancini. Wigan on the other hand also has a great success history with the title of coming to the decider round. This gives them a good chance to earn all the success this year and face opposition in a graceful way. 

This time, their match with City will not be as easy as the graceful wins against AFC Bournemouth and Macclesfield Town. These successes were followed by a 4-1 hit of Huddersfield. But this time, some defenders will not be playing for Wigan, such as Antolin Alcaraz, Ivan Ramis, Maynor Figueroa and Ronnie Stam who are all out due to injury. Jean Beausejour will also not be playing for Saturday’s clash.

On the other hand, City’s midfielder Yaya Toure is still a doubt for the match while Scott Sinclair is definitely not playing because of his shoulder injury. The last two meetings between these two sides have resulted in the win of Manchester City; however a repetition of that result will be very unlikely as both the sides are in full bloom.

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Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Live Streaming Info, Time, Preview UCL Semi Final 2013

Tito Vilanova and Barcelona host the new dominant force in European football. Bayern Munich. Bayern will bring their 4-0 lead from the first leg and the tag of being favourites in this tie over to Spain. Tito will be looking to overcome a 4 goal deficit with such an accomplished done only thrice in history of European football. Lionel Messi who scored a goal this weekend against Athletic Bilbao will be the main man and will have to prove to be Barca’s messiah.

FC BARCELONA:
Barcelona have their work cut out in this fixture, they know what is required of them and will have to deliver 4 goals without conceding in the first 90 minutes. Should Barca force extra time they will have to still stop Bayern from scoring one as Tito’s team would have to score 2 in return due to the away goals rule. Lionel Messi being on form is vital if they are to trouble the visitors after being demolished in the previous leg.

TEAM NEWS:
Jordi Alba is suspened for this game while Adriano returns from suspension. Javier Mascherano remains a doubt with Carles Puyol also  sidelined for this crucial game. Sanchez will be on the subs bench meanwhile David Villa is expected to start in front three with Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodriguez.

BAYERN MUNICH
Bayern are in the driver’s seat and an early goal for Bayern would see the tie settled with Barcelona required to score at least 6 goals against this unforgiving Bayern defense. Bayern will be confident of winning this tie despite Barca being wounded.

TEAM NEWS:
Bayern will have Toni Kroos out as he is expected to return only next season Mario Gomez is certain to start with Mario Mandzukic playing the Bundesliga game this weekend. Bayern have an almost full squad to choose from but a similar line up from the first leg is expected to start in this crucial tie.

Man to Watch: Lionel Messi
Messi needs to come up with more than a few magical moments as Barca’s hopes ride on him.

Prediction:
FC Barcelona (3) vs Bayern Munich (1) AET

Match Details:
Competition: Uefa Champions League Semi Final Season 2012-13
Date: Wednesday 1st May 2013
Timing: 19:45 BST (UK) 20:45 (Spain) 2:45 ET (USA)

TV Listing:
You can watch this match live on the following channels. (Sky Sports, Fox Sports, Al Jazeera, Ten Action, Ten Sports, Star Sports - ESPN)

Full Time Scores
1st Leg 4-0
2nd leg: 3-0
Agg: Munich 7-0 Barcelona

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Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal Highlights and Preview 28 April, 2013

Preview: This season champions Manchester United make a visit to the Emirates stadium this Saturday after celebrating the win against Aston Villa which secured their 20th league triumph. Manchester United are 16 points ahead of 2nd placed Manchester City and will be looking to beat Chelsea’s record 95 points in a single season. 4 wins out of 4 is required to make this their best ever league campaign in terms of points scored, Sir Alex will be looking to motivate his side to do so with no other distractions. Arsene Wenger meanwhile will try to keep up the momentum with recent wins over tricky opposition seeing the north London side firmly in pole for Champions league spot.

Arsenal FC Update:
Arsenal will be looking to win at all cost as they sit in 3rd place 1 and 2 points ahead of Chelsea and Tottenham respectively having played a game more than both. A loss coupled with wins for Spurs and Chelsea could see Arsenal taking a blow in the race for Champions League spot but have easier fixtures in comparison to Chelsea.

TEAM NEWS: Arsenal will be without striker Olivier Giroud after his appeal to overturn a red card was rejected. Mikel Arteta is a doubt having an ankle injury. With Lukas Podolski out of favour, Arsene Wenger will deploy Theo Walcott forward with Gervinho on the wings.

Man United Update:
Manchester United will be expected to be a little sluggish having already wrapped up the title but a returning Robin van Persie will be looking to a prove a point having already won the title in his first season with Utd after a summer move from Arsenal.

TEAM NEWS: Sir Alex will start a few second stringers but will still put out a strong team which will look to win. Robin van Persie is almost certain to start with Wayne Rooney and Shinji Kagawa in support. Ashley Young has been ruled out for the season and will not feature.

Man to Watch: Robin van Persie
Top scorer in the league and will try to put one over his former employers.

Prediction: Arsenal 1 - Man Utd 2

Competition: English Premier League 2012-13

Date: Sunday 28th April, 2013
Timing: 04:00 PM (BST)
Where to watch: You can get this action live on your TV on Sky Sports 1, sky 3D, Espn Start Sports, Al Jazeera, Fox Soccer

Scores and Result: Man u 1-1 Arsenal 
0-1 Walcott 2'
1-1 Van Persie 44'

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Manchester United Wins Premier League 2012-13 Title

Man Utd achieved on Monday night. A 3-0 win against relegation threatened Aston Villa side was enough for them to seal the title, Robin van Persie scoring a hat-trick in the first half which consequentially took him above Luis Suarez in the goal scoring charts. A season of much promise for Ferguson and his men has seen them deliver on that.

United started the season in typical fashion faltering at Everton before eking out results, the half of the battle was won with their wins over Manchester City and a then undefeated Chelsea which saw a march to the title from then on aided by their inconsistent competitors.

Robin van Persie is the standout performer for Manchester Utd this season having been acquired from Arsenal for what now seems like a £24 million bargain .The Dutchman often being the savior for Utd this season and his precision in front of goal before his recent barren run proving the difference of 16 points between first and second. His saving acts against Southampton epitomises his contribution to the team this season, Wayne Rooney out injured the onus was on him and he delivered on it.

The players with the lesser talked about roles such as Michael Carrick who has been excellent in midfield for Utd also has had a major role for the title to change hands between the Manchester sides. Rafael, Rio Ferdinand are another who probably won’t get as big a mention as Van Persie but nonetheless have been pivotal for Manchester Utd in achieving their 20th title with 4 games to spare in the season.

The only casualty of all this must be Wayne Rooney with him seeming down the pecking order but his role was vital early on in the season. Wayne paved the way for Robin’s rise with him playing on the left or deep and regularly assisting Robin, injury further down the line has hampered Rooney’s chance of being the man but he is overjoyed with the triumph having said, "It's been a great season for me, we've won the league title, that's what you play for, to win trophies, and I'm delighted."

With 4 games left to play Manchester Utd will look to beat Chelsea’s record points tally of 95, they required 4 wins of which one will be against Chelsea themselves. Robin van Persie meanwhile will look to score his way into a distance in the goal scoring charts with Luis Suarez most likely to miss the rest of the season due to suspension for his bite on Branislav Ivanovic.

Manchester United deserve their title and next season their rivals will hope to at the very least mount a credible title challenge to wrest the title from Old Trafford.

Van Persie 3 hat trick goals against Aston Villa

United 20th Title Celebration video

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Chelsea 2-2 Liverpool Highlights, Preview Premier League 21 April, 2013

Liverpool welcome 3rd place Chelsea in the 2nd big game of Super Sunday in the Barclays Premier League. It’s a game of many subplots which sees former Champions League winning manager with Liverpool in 2005, Rafa Benitez returning ever since departing the club in 2010 after a largely successful spell at the 5 time European Champions. Fernando Torres is another former red taking his place for the blues having lost in his only return to Anfield last season, he along with the rest of the team will be looking to maintain their charge for a 3rd placed finish after a convincing 3-0 win away at Fulham. Liverpool meanwhile have not scored in their draws to both Reading and West Ham united though Brendan Rogers side have shown real progress especially with the creativity and dynamism of Phillipe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge along with EPL player of the season contender and League’s top scorer Luis Suarez.

Chelsea are most likely to put out the same side which beat Fulham away from home with the only likely changes being Demba Ba replacing Fernando Torres up front and Victor Moses being replaced by young brazillian Oscar. John Terry would have been expected to lose his place as well with Benitez’s rotation policy but a nice outing including 2 goals and a clean sheet seem to be enough to merit a place in the starting XI on Sunday.

Liverpool have been lacking goals recently and they would be try to end a spell of 2 games without a goal on Sunday. Liverpool are well known to bring their best against the top opposition and in Chelsea they have one. Liverpool have been the more successful in this tie recently having done a league double last season and a draw this season at Stamford Bridge. The same side which drew at the Madejski stadium is expected to start with Brendan Rodgers lacking in depth. Stewart Downing is the only likely player to get into starting XI with Jordan Henderson dropped to the bench in his favor.

Man to Watch: Fernando Torres

A rejuvenated Torres is what the Anfield club have to deal with this Sunday. He has been in good form and is expected to be a major threat even if he does start from the bench.

Prediction: Liverpool (2) – Chelsea (2)

Match Details

Competition: English Premier League

Date: Sunday 21st April 2013

Kick OFF: 16:00 BST

Result: Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea

26' 0-1 Oscar
52' 1-1 Sturridge
57' 1-2 Hazard (pen)
90' 2-2 Suarez

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Manchester City vs Wigan Athletic Premier League 17 April, 2013

Preview: Manchester City take on Wigan Athletic in a Barclays Premier League clash which could affect Wigan more than the outgoing champions, Manchester City. Both sides head into this clash having booked their places in the FA Cup final after victories this weekend at The New Wembley stadium. This could prove to be a pivotal fixture for Wigan as they try to beat the drop with fellow relegation candidates Sunderland and Aston Villa both having picked up points this weekend. 

Manchester City: Manchester City would most likely put out the same side which defeated Chelsea 2-1 this Sunday. Mancini may rest a few players and give minutes to summer signings such as Scott Sinclair and Jack Rodwell (if fit). David Silva might be rested for this game as well having missed out on their FA Cup win.  Regardless of this being fairly inconsequential to their league position it is likely that Roberto Mancini will put out a team to win and try to reduce or maintain the gap to Champions elect Manchester Utd who had won earlier 2-0 away at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday.

Wigan:  Wigan will be overjoyed coming into this game with their FA Cup win over Milwall this weekend, they will also play Europa league with Manchester City almost certain to finish 2nd. Wigan though have a problem at hand, a major one as they are currently placed 18th and 3 points behind fellow relegation candidates Stoke City and Aston Villa but have played 2 few games than their rivals. Roberto Martinez will be looking to pull off another great escape with tough run of fixtures coming their way.

Man to Watch: Shaun Maloney

Maloney has been in good form this season and will be pivotal along with Arouna Kone if the lactics are going to beat the drop. His last minute leveller against QPR justified the quality he possess and will need to be at his best if they are to have any chance of an upset at the Etihad Stadium.

PREDICTION: Manchester City (1) – Wigan Athletic (2)

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