Fulham pulled off one of the comebacks of the season against Manchester City. Fulham looked down and out trailing 2-0 at half-time, but they came out fighting to win 3-2. Roy Hodgson must have given his player the hair dryer treatment as they looked a different team after the break, but is it too little too late?
That result now sets up a mammoth game for Fulham against Birmingham City at Craven Cottage next week, which is truly a six pointer. Birmingham City's chances of surviving the drop are quickly fading after they only managed a point against Liverpool drawing 2-2. Who will hold their nerve and win? The winner of this game really gives themselves a good chance of survival.
Reading and Bolton must be hoping that the game ends a draw, I still predict that the current bottom three teams (Birmingham City, Fulham and Derby) will be in the Championship next season.
Chelsea kept their title hopes on track by beating Manchester United 2-1. Both Chelsea and Manchester United are level on 81 points with only two games left. Michael Ballack scored his first just before half time with a brilliant header.
In the second half Ricardo Carvalho's sloppy back pass was picked up by Wayne Rooney and he smacked in the equaliser to put Manchester United in the driving seat.
Just as it looked as time was running out for Chelsea, in the 84 minute Michael Carrick handled in the area. Up step the cool head of Michael Ballack who's thunderous penalty sent the home crowd wild.
Manchester United threw everything at Chelsea, and the pressure nearly paid off. Both Ashley Cole and Andriy Shevchenko were force to make goal-line clearances.
Chelsea in the end deserved the three points, which has helped their title hopes. Will Manchester United hold their nerve or will they buckle under the pressure? We will just have to wait and see, as a neutral it makes for a really good finish to the season.
At 12:45 on Saturday (26/04/2008) all eyes will be on Chelsea as they kickoff the most important game of the FA Premier League against Manchester United. This is a must win for Chelsea and they might have to do it without Frank Lampard, who is currently grieving after the death of his mother.
Can Chelsea stop Manchester United from retaining the title? Personally I don't think so, I reckon the game is over hyped and I predict the final result will be a 1-1 draw.
However, I've been wrong on many occasions and it will probably be a blinding game with Chelsea overpowering Manchester United and winning 3-1. This would be the best result for all us neutral fans, who want the title to go right down to the wire.
Elsewhere Birmingham City have got to dig deep and beat Liverpool to have a chance of surviving the drop. Liverpool will probably field a weakened team, as they still have one eye of the Champions League Semi-Final, this wont help the other teams that are battling against relegation such as Bolton and Fulham. Liverpool will still have a lot of class on the pitch and I believe they will still be too strong for Birmingham City and I predict the score will be 3-1 to Liverpool.
The current bottom three looked doomed and I can't see Fulham or Birmingham City winning enough games to survive the drop, which is a shame, unfortunately three teams have to be relegated at the end of the season. Hopefully both of these teams will be strong enough to bounce straight back into the FA Premier League.
Predict Addict is pleased to announce that it will be running a prediction league for the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. The UEFA Euro 2008 kicks off on the 7th June 2008, with the final taking place on the 29th June 2008. Hosts Switzerland and Austria are preparing the final stages before the four week long football tournament, which will entertain and thrill football fans.
Will the favourites Germany lift the trophy or can Greece retain the title? If you think you know the score then join the Predict Addict league and prove it! Anybody can enter as the prediction league is free.
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Enjoy the game and good luck with your predictions.
Just finished creating a video explaining how to make predictions for forthcoming football games in Predict Addict on YouTube. This is the first of a set of tutorial videos that will show users how to perform certain tasks within the Predict Addict website.
This video shows how simple it is to make predictions for up and coming fixtures for the selected football competition.
Check out the video using the following URL http://www.youtube.com/v/PZlYXp0HAAI&hl=en
Arsenal yet again gave away a penalty just after taking the lead against Manchester United. For the second time in a week they surrender their lead and paid the price for not concentrating on defending, with Manchester United eventually winning the game 2-1.
After Emmanuel Adebayor had given Arsenal the lead, everything was looking rosy for Arsenal. Until William Gallas handled in the Arsenal box and the referee gave a penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo cooly slotted away the penalty, even though it had to be retaken.
Owen Hargreaves' free-kick won the game for Manchester Untied, and what a goal from 25-yards!
This result means Arsenal's title hopes are over and Manchester United are now six points clear at the top of the Premier League. This result doesn't help Chelsea's cause, as Avram Grant would have been hoping for a draw.
It's now a two horse race, between Manchester United and Chelsea. Chelsea need to apply the pressure and win at home against Wigan tomorrow (14/04/2008). I predict the score will be 3-0 to Chelsea, they should easily dominate the match.
After throwing away the Champions League Quarter Final against Liverpool, they have to get a result against Manchester United today (13/04/2008) to keep their season alive.
Arsenal at one point in the season were clear at the top of the Premier League and were sitting pretty, but that's all changed. Arsenal seemed to hit the self destruct button in the latter part of the season.
They now find themselves six points behind the leaders Manchester United and are in third place. However, a win against their rivals will reduce the deficit to just three points and Manchester United still have to play Chelsea who are also title contenders.
So is Arsenal's title hopes over? I predict that the game against Manchester United will end in a 1-1 draw. So I think Arsenal will have to wait another season to win the Premier League.
Derby County were the first club relegated from the FA Premier League yesterday (29/03/2008). They were the bookies favourites to get relegated at the start of the season and the bookies are rarely wrong. However I believe the future is bright for Derby County as they have one of the best English managers in Paul Jewell and given time he will turn things around.
Arsenal kept their chances of winning the FA Premier League alive, with an awe inspiring comeback against Bolton. At half-time Arsenal were a man down after Abou Diaby was sent off and losing 2-0, however they still managed to beat Bolton 2-3.
Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4-0, with Rooney and Ronaldo on top form, these guys look unstoppable at the moment. Shame Rooney can't deliver the goods when playing for England.
Liverpool won the Merseyside derby with Torres getting the only goal of the game. Everton rarely creating a chance with Yakubu playing up front as a lone striker.
So the race for the Premier League is still in the balance with all the top four clubs winning. Manchester United are still in the driving seat, but Arsenal and Chelsea are applying the pressure, so it looks like it's going to be a close finish.
When will the England players show the fight, passion and determination to win every ball, and the raw energy that was once feared.
Did England turn up to Paris to face France? France looked really pumped for the game and ready to fight tooth and nail to beat the old enemy England. Whereas England were yet again poor. Did Steve McClaren pick the formation? Rooney is not a lone striker and England need at least two up front.
Ribery's penalty gave France a 1-0 deserved victory against England, but was it a penalty? James must of felt a little hard done by, as Anelka's touch was too heavy and James just stood his ground.
On the positive side it was nice to see that Beckham made his 100th cap for England, it was even nicer to see the whole stadium give him a standing ovation when he was substituted. Hope it's not Beckham last game for England as he still has a lot more to offer on the international stage.
By way the best English player on the pitch was Peter Crouch, he held the ball up well and always played the right pass. Shame he doesn't get a regular game at Liverpool, he will definitely have to get a transfer at the end of the season.
Result
France 1 - 0 England
England play France on Wednesday (26/03/2008) in Paris and will Fabio Capello pick Beckham for England?
I'm a big fan of Beckham and I hope he does get to play, as he still has a lot to offer on the international stage. When McClaren dropped Beckham, I knew it would effect England's chances of qualifying for Euro 2008.
I hope that England play with heart and passion against France, as that's what's been lacking from the last couple of internationals. It's time to start over again and a lot of the players in the England squad still have to justify why they're in the squad.
Can Lampard and Gerrard play in the same team? Should Crouch start up front? Hopefully Capello will have the answers and solutions to these questions. England needs to stretch the French defence and revert back to traditional wingers and high tempo football.
Whatever the outcome, I just hope England puts in a good performance and holds their own and the players can hold their heads up high.
France are a force to be reckoned with, hopefully England won't be on the wrong end of Anelka and Trezeguet.
Prediction
I'm going for a 1-2 to England, France will score first through Anelka, Crouch and Rooney for England late on.