Down to the wire for top 4 in Germany

With 9 games remaining in the German Bundesliga season the top four teams are separated by just 1 point.  

On top with 49 points is Hertha Berlin, then come Bayern Munich, Wolfsberg and Hamburg all with 48 points.

Hertha Berlin have been German Champions just twice, the last time 78 years ago in 1931.  A considerable amount of Hertha Berlin's impetus for a their push at the title has come from their Ukrainian striker Andriy Voronin scoring 8 goals in the last 8 matches.  In their remaining 9 matches the away game on the 2nd of May against Hamburg SV is the only time they will play one of the challengers.  If Hertha can win this match they will most likely have knocked Hamburg SV out of the title race, if they lose however Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich will be ready to pounce.          

Bayern Munich are the most successful German club having won the league a record 21 times and have won the European Cup 4 times.  On this upcoming weekend Bayern Munich play VFL Wolfsburg away.  This will be the last chance Munich have to take points directly away from another one of the titles challengers, a win is critical if Munich want to win a 22nd title.    

Wolfsburg has never won any senior trophies in it's 63 year history.  Since the winter break in the German season Wolfsburg have not lost winning 7 games and drawing 1 giving them the best form of the 4 teams.  Wolfsburg will hope their creative midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic can continue his good form which has since him leading the assist table this season with 14 assists so far.  Wolfsburg's only match against a challenger for the title is the afore mentioned home match against Bayern Munich.

Hamburg have won the German league 5 times, the last time was the 1982/83 season.  That season was also when Hamburg won their only European Cup.  The afore mentioned home match against Hertha Berlin is Hamburgs only remaining match against another title rival.  If Hamburg don't win this match to win the league they will have to rely on other teams causing an upset against Hertha at least twice.      

If the German league is decided by by goal difference, which is a possibility with the close nature of it Bayern Munich and Wolsburg have the advantage both clubs have a goal difference of +22.  Hertha Berlin have a +10 goal difference and Hamburg have a goal difference of +3. 

ECL preview- Quarter finals and beyond

The ties for the 2008/09 Europe Champions League quarter finals are:

QF 1 Villarreal - Arsenal

QF 2 Man. United - Porto

QF 3 Liverpool - Chelsea

QF 4 Barcelona - Bayern

The winners from the 1st and 2nd quarter finals will play in the first semi final.

The winners from the 3rd and 4th quarter finals will play in the second semi final.

Villarreal v Arsenal

How they got to the quarter finals.

Arsenal finished second in group G to Porto.  In the round of 16 Arsenal got through against Roma in a penalty shootout after the two legs ended at 1 all. 

Villarreal also finished second in their group, a point behind Manchester in group E.  Villarreal disposed of Panathinaikos 3-2 in the round of 16.

Best result in the champions league.

Arsenals best result was in the 2005/06 season when they were finalists, losing 2-1 to Barcelona.  

Villarreal best performance also came in the 2005/06 season losing to Arsenal in the semi-finals 1-0.  

Last time they meet.   

Was the afore mentioned semi final clash.  In the first leg only in London a Kolo Toure goal separated the teams.  In the second leg Arsenal just held out against a dominant Villarreal. Jens Lehmann saving a 89th minute penalty from Juan Roman Riquelme.

Key player

Arsenal- Csec Fabregas.  Arsenal's captain should be back from injury in time.  Arsenal fans will be hoping he can quickly display the form that has made him one of the best young midfielders in the game.

Villarreal- Marcos Senna an international teammate of Arsenal's captain, could find himself directly up against Fabragas.  The defensive midfielder play an important role in Villarrael side full of attacking midfield talents.

Predication: Arsenal to progress to the semi finals.

Manchester Unitied v Porto     

How they got to the quarter finals.    

Man. Untied finished on top of group E.  Man. Untied defeated Inter Milan 2-0 in the round of 16.

Porto finished first in group G a point above Arsenal.  Porto draw 2-2 with Atletico in the round of 16 going through on the away goals rule.

Best Result in the Champions League.

Man. Untied are defending champions and have also won the cup twice before in the 1967-1968 season and 1998-1999 season.

Porto have also previously won the European cup most recently in the 2003-2004 season as well as the 1986-1987 season.

Last time they meet.

One their way to the title in 2003-2004 Porto met Man. Untied in the round of 16.  After the first leg in Portugal Porto were leading the tie with a 2-1 goal advantage.  In the second leg Manchester looked to be going through after a first half goal to Scholes until Costinha scored a 90th minute equaliser for Porto allowing the to go through 3-2 on aggregate.

Key Player.

Man. Untied- Nemanja Vidic is arguably the player of the season so far in the EPL and currently one of the best centre backs in the game.

Porto- Lucho Gonzalez the versatile Argentine midfielder is critical to Porto with his leadership skills, hardworking style, accurate passing and fierce shot.   

Predication: Man. Untied to win the tie.

Liverpool v Chelsea   

How they got to the quarter-finals.

Liverpool finished on the top of group D with 14 points.  Liverpool defeated Real Madrid 5-0 in the round of 16.

Chelsea finished second in group A.  Chelsea beat Juventus 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.

   

Best result in the Champions League.

Of the teams remaining in the Champions League Liverpool is the most successful have won it 5 times.  Most recently in the 2004-2005 season as well as in 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, and 1983-84.

Chelsea's best result in the Champions League was last season when lost in the final in a penalty shootout to Man. Untied.     

Last time they met.

On the way to last years final Chelsea beat Liverpool 4-3 on aggregate in the semi finals.  After the first leg at Anfield the score was 1-1 and in the second leg after 90 minutes the score was also 1-1 taking the tie to extra time.  Chelsea scored two goals in the first period of extra time and Liverpool could only get a consolation goal with a few minutes remaining. 

Key player.

Steven Gerrard.  Will go down as one of Liverpool's greatest ever players.  Is equal leading scorer in this seasons Champions League with 7 goals.  Captained Liverpool when they won in in 2004-2005.    

Michael Essien.  Recently returned from long term injury turns Chelsea from a very good team into a great one.   

Predication: Narrow Liverpool win.  

Barcelona v Bayern

How they got to the quarter-finals.

Barcelona finished on top of group C.  Barcelona beat Lyon 6-3 in the round of 16.

Bayern Munich finished on the top of group Group F.  Munich defeated Sporting Lisbon 12-1 in the round of 16, breaking many records.  

Best result in the Champions League.

Barcelona have won the Champions League twice most recently in 2005-2006 as well as in 1991-1992.

Bayern have won the Cup four times. Three times in a row in 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76 and more recently in 2000-2001.

 

Last time they met.

The last time they played each other was on the 4th of November 1998 in a group match. Giovanni scored first for Barcelona in the 29th minute.  Zickler got the the equaliser for Bayern in the 48th minute and Salihamidzic scored the winner for Bayern in the 87 minute. 

Key player.

Barcelona- Lionel Messi is currently the best player in the world and is leading goal scorer in the champions league with 7 goals.   

Bayern- Franck Ribery is the best player in the German Bundesliga.  Brings a lot of flair to the Bayern Munich team.    

 

Predication:  Narrow Barcelona win.

If the predications for the the quarter finals are right, the semi finals will be 

Arsenal v Manchester Untied and

Liverpool v Barcelona

Semi finals predications: 

Manchester Untied win 

Liverpool win

Time will tell if I'm right.  

The qualification equation.

On the 1st of April when Australia play Uzbekistan, if Australia win its possible they could qualify for South Africa 2010.  However Australia would be relying on some other results going their way.

The following is what needs to happen for Australia to qualify with a win on the 1st of April.

At the halfway point these are the current standings.

Team

Australia W:3, D:1, L:0, GF:6, GA:0, GD:6, Pts:10,    

Japan W:2, D:2, L:0, GF:7, GA:3 GD:4, Pts:8,

Bahrain W:1, D:1, L:2, GF:4, GA:5, GD:-1, Pts:4,

Qatar W:1, D:1, L:2, GF:4, GA:8, GD:-4, Pts:4,

Uzbekistan W:0, D:1, L:3, GF:1, GA:-6, GD:-5, Pts:1,

Four days before Australia play Uzbekistan, Japan will be playing Bahrain and Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan will be versing Qatar.  

Australia will want Japan to win and for Uzbekistan to beat Qatar.  If this happens the table will look like this.

Team

Japan GP:5, W:3, D:2, L:0, Pts:11,

Australia GP:4, W:3, D:1, L:0, Pts:10,

Bahrain GP:5, W:1, D:1, L:3, Pts:4,

Qatar GP:5, W:1, D:1, L:3, Pts:4

Uzbekistan GP:5, W:1, D:1, L:3, Pts:4,

Four days later as well as Australia playing Uzbekistan, Bahrain will be meeting Qatar.

If Australia win a touch over 21,618,949 Australians will be hoping for a draw between Bahrain and Qatar.  

If this was to occur the table would now look like this

Team

Australia GP:5, W:4, D:1, L:0, Pts:13,

Japan GP:5, W:3, D:2, L:0, Pts:11,

Bahrain GP:6, W:1, D:2, L:3, Pts:5,

Qatar GP:6, W:1, D:2, L:3, Pts:5,

Uzbekistan GP:6, W:1, D:1, L:4, Pts:4,

and this will have meant that Australia had qualified for the World Cup.

Melbourne Victory Classes of 2009 and 2007

In the short history of the A-league Melbourne Victory have become the first two time championship winners.  This is a compassion of the of the respective match day squads.

Melbourne Victory match day squad Grand Final 2006/07

GK M. Theokiltos

RB S. Pantelidis

CB R. Vargas

CB A. Leijer

LB S. Storey

CDM K. Muscat (c)

CDM G. Brebner

CAM A. Caceres

CAM Fred

ST A. Thompson

ST D. Allsopp   

Subs 

GK E. Galekovic

LB Alessandro

CM L. Broxham

CAM K. Sarkies

ST J. Robinson

Melbourne Victory match day squad Grand Final 2008/09 

GK M. Theokilitos

RB S. Ryall 

CB K. Muscat (c)

CB R. Vargas

LB M. Kemp

CDM B. Celeski

RM T. Pondeljak

LM N. Ward

CAM C. Hernandez

ST A. Thompson

ST D. Allsopp

Subs

GK M. Langerak

CDM G. Brebner

CDM J. Luis Lopez

LW/LWB E. Berger

ST Ney Fabiano

In the 2007 grand final Melbourne played in a 4-2-2-2 formation, whilst for the 09 grand final a 4-1-2-1-2 formation was used.

Goalkeeper

In both of the championship winning sides M. Theokiltos has been the man with the gloves. For most of the past season form wise it had been Theokiltos worst season out of the last three. However towards the end of the season Theokilitos rediscovered the form that made him one of the A-leagues best goalkeepers and with another two years of playing experience under his belt the 2009 Theokiltos was an approved version on the 07 Theokiltos.

Sub goalkeeper.

Since moving from Melbourne E. Galekovic has became the A-leagues leading goalkeeper. However Galekovic's replacement as victory's second choice goalkeeper M. Langerak at only 20 years of age has massive potential and in his handful of appearances has already shown his immense talent.  The subs goalkeepers from the two championship sides are even.

Right back.

S. Ryall (09) and S. Pantelidis (07).  In both sides a CB is being played out of position at RB.  However Ryall played in the 09 grand final at a younger age (19) then Pantelidis was in 07 (23).  Also the fact that Pantelidis was in Melbourne's 08/09 season squad but Ryall was chosen ahead of him indicates the 09 team was stronger at RB.

Centre backs.

(07) A. Leijer and R. Vargas, (09) R. Vargas and K. Muscat.  The 07 team had a better CB pairing.  Firstly because A. Leijer is a better CB the K. Muscat.  Secondly although Muscat is a tremendous leader it this can't make up for his lack of speed.  Thirdly A. Leijer at 1.86 m added some much needed height to the Melbourne defence.       

 

Left back.

In the 2007 side S. Storey was a solid left back useful when going forward.  Although M. Kemp (09) received a lot of abuse from his own fans in his first season, he has been one of Melbourne's best players this season, providing much needed width to the team and beginning and joining in attacks well.  M. Kemp is a better LB.  

Defensive midfielder.

In 07 victory used two CDM K. Muscat who is a great leader, good tackler and decent passer and G. Brebner who is a great tackler a posses a dangerous long shot.  In 09 victory just used the one CDM B. Celski.  B. Celeski is a better passer and more likely to build up a dangerous attack.  However B. Celeski is only an average tackler and blocks space rather then tackle players to brake up opponents attacks.  In 07 they were better defensive CDM.  In 09 B.Celeski was a better all round CDM.  Because there quite different it depends on your style of play which year is better.  Since in both 07 and 09 victory played an attacking style B. Celeski is the better CDM.

Midfielders.

(07) A. Caceres CAM, (09) T. Pondeljak RM and N. Ward (LM).  In the 07 season A. Caceres was used to provide width and played with a lot of attacking intent, however for all this intent he didn't produce much end product.  Although T. Pondeljak and N. Ward lined up as RM and LM they played with very little width.  Both T. Pondeljak and N. Ward have good creative ability with the ball.  The 09 combination are just a little better then A. Caceres in 07.

Attacking midfielders.

(07) CAM Fred, (09) CAM C. Hernandez.  Although in theory Fred was supposed to play on the oppisite side to A. Caceres, he would drift inside to play behind 

A. Thompson and D. Allsopp.  Fred was good with the ball at his feet, short passes and had good endurance.  C. Hernandez is goood in tight spaces, dangerous from set pieces, good passer and has a good shot.  Although they have different strengths Fred and C. Hernandez are equally good players.

Forwards.

In both years A. Thompson and D. Allsopp have been Melbourne's first choice forward partnership and in both 2007 and 09 they have shown the same good form.  There is nothing to chose between 07 and 09.

Subs

ST (07) J. Robinson and ST (09) Ney Fabiano.  Ney Fabiano is Melbourne's third best ever striker, he's a better player then J. Robinson

CM L. Broxham and CAM K. Sarkies (07), CDM J. Luis Lopez and CDM G. Brebner (09). Although the players from the two years don't play in the same positions, the are all midfielders.  The reason victory 09 has two CDM on the bench is because the four staring midfielders are all strong attack wise.  The two midfielders for the 09 team are better.  J. Luis Lopez has played for Costa Rica and L. Broxham is still at the club but was kept out of grand final by Lopez and G. Brebner.

LB Alessandro (07) and LW/LWB E. Berger (09).  These are equal in terms of ability. Alessandro was a good dribbler however was a poor crosser and went to ground easily.  E. Berger is still young and has shown his potential at times.          

The 09 version of the victory team is equal to or better then the 07 victory team in all areas across the pitch except at CB where the loss of A. Leijer has still not been sufficiently replaced.                                    

EPL run in.

With all the teams in the English Premier League ethier having only 11 or ten games remaining in the season this is a predication of where they will finish.

Current Standings

Manchester United Games played (GP) 27 Points (P) 65

Chelsea GP 28 P 58

Liverpool GP 28 P 58

Aston Villa GP 28 P 52

Arsenal GP 28 P 49

Everton GP 28 P 45

West Ham United Gp 28 P 39

Manchester City GP 28 P 35

Wigan Athletic GP 28 P 35 

Fulham GP 27 P 34

Bolton GP 28 P 33

Hull City GP 28 P 32

Tottenham GP 27 P 31

Sunderland GP 27 P 31

Stoke City GP 28 P 29

Newcastle GP 28 P 28

Portsmouth GP 27 P 28

Blackburn GP 27 P 27

Middlesbrough GP 28 P 26

WBA GP 28 P 22

Predicated end of season table

1st Manchester United.  Likely to keep their seven point lead and could possibly increase it before the end of the season.  Their key match will be the home fixture against Liverpool

2nd Liverpool.  Should be able just to nick second spot from Chelsea.  Liverpool's key match will be the away tie against Manchester, their last chance to try to win the title.

3rd Chelsea.  Likely to just miss out on second spot.  Arsenal away will be the key match as all London derby's are.

4th Aston Villa.  Should be able to hold on to fourth spot.  Key matches away to Liverpool and then Manchester United, any points Aston Villa pick up in these two matches will be a bonus and very useful.

5th Arsenal.  Probably will just miss out for the last spot in the European Champions League. Key match home against Chelsea will need to win this match to keep the pressure on Aston Villa.

          

6th Everton.  Are likely to claim a spot in next seasons UEFA cup.  Everton's key match will be the home game against a Manchester City side desperate to play in Europe.

7th Manchester City.  Should finish the season well to give themselves a chance to qualify for Europe.  Key match away to Everton, must win match if Manchester City are to have any chance to finish in the top six. 

8th West Ham.  Likely to just miss out on Europe.  Key match for West Ham is the home game against Chelsea, they have to win it if they are to have a chance to make it into Europe. 

9th Tottenham.  Should have a good end to the season to finish in the top half.  Key match away to Manchester United, a match Tottenham would have to win to have any chance to gain entry into Europe for the following season.

10th Sunderland.  Likely to finish mid table.  Key match Manchester Untied at home, just for pride will want to put in a good performance against the current champions.

11th Newcastle.  A mid table finish should be as good as it gets for Newcastle.  Newcastle will have no hesitation in making Middlesbrough's campaign for safety more difficult in their key home match.   

12th Blackburn.  Likely to have a good finish to the season and finish mid table.  Key match for Blackburn at home against Wigan.  Who ever wins this match could finish higher up the table.   

13th Bolton.  Mid table finish likely for Bolton.  Like Blackburn, Bolton's key match is their match away against Wigan.  A win would likely mean Bolton would finish above Wigan. 

14th Wigan.  Should comfortably avoid a relegation fight.  Key match for Wigan the home game against Hull, a win here would prevent any relegation fears for Wigan.  

15th Fulham.  Difficult finish to the season should see Fulham finish in the bottom half.  Key match home against Stoke, a game Fulham need to win not to get dragged into a late relegation battle.       

16th Portsmouth.  Should do enough to avoid relegation.  Key match WBA at home is a match Portsmouth must win to avoid relegation. 

17th Hull.  Are likely to just avoid the drop.  Key match away to Middlesbrough must not lose for Hull if they are to remain safe. 

18th Stoke.  Should just miss out on safety and get relegated.  Key match for Stoke is the away game against Hull, if they can win this match they could swap positions at the end of the season.    

19th Middlesbrough.  Likely to be relegated.  Middlesbrough's key match will be the home game against Hull, must win to avoid relegation.

20th West Bromich Albion.  Are likely to finish in the last spot.  Key match for WBA will be the classical six pointer at home against Stoke in they went to have any chance of avoiding relegation.