Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria pushed Croatia to the final whistle, but Luka Modric penalty on four minutes was enough to take all three points. Croatia were gifted the penalty after Rene Aufhauser clumsily challenged Ivica Olic.

Croatia didn't look like the team that knocked England out during the qualifying stages, but I still predict they will cause an upset. Especially in the latter stages of the competition against the bigger teams.

Result

Austria 0-1 Croatia

Portugal started their Euro 2008 campaign in style by beating Turkey 2-0 and almost look certain to qualify from Group A along with Czech Republic who beat Switzerland earlier.

Portugal's centre-back Pepe opened the scoring, surging forward from the back playing a nice one-two with Nuno Gomes and then calmly slotting the ball pass the Turkish keeper Volkan Demirel. Raul Meireless scored the second in injury time sliding home after a flowing move started by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal could have scored more, with Cristiano Ronaldo hitting the post from a first-half free-kick and Nuno Gomes also hitting the woodwork twice.

Result

Portugal 2-0 Turkey

The UEFA Euro 2008 finally kicked off yesterday (07/06/2008) and the Czech Republic beat hosts Switzerland in the opening match of UEFA Euro 2008, courtesy of a goal scored by substitute Vaclav Sverkos.

Even more bad news for Switzerland is that their influential captain Alexander Frei has been sidelined for the rest of Euro 2008 after injuring his knee in the opening game as he limped off in tears. Alexander Frei is an important player as he's the one who scores Switzerland's goals and without him the Swiss will struggle.

Result

Switzerland 0-1 Czech Republic

Just checked the Predict Addict inbox and I've received an email asking me to fill out a short survey on predicting Euro 2008.

After filling it out, it made me realise how little I know about the players who will be playing in the competition. Most of the players I've never heard of, so some new stars could emerge.

It you have 10-20 minutes spare then help Stefan conduct his survey about how people predict outcomes in the context of football during the Euro 2008.

Here's the link to the online study http://phpserver.psycho.unibas.ch/em2008/

With the Euro 2008 about to kick off I can't help feel a little deflated due to England's failure to qualify for the competition. So much was expected, but England just didn't live up to those expectations.

I'm sure that my enthusiasm will return when the first game kicks off on Saturday and the competition explodes onto our screens. Glad in a way that England aren't there because their chances are always over hyped and the media make the whole nation believe that this is their year and England just never lives up to it.

So, the question is "Who Will You Support In Euro 2008?"

Congratulations go to Phil Johnson who has won the FA Premier League 2007/08 Predict Addict's prediction league and is crowned the Predict Addict 'Best Pundit'. Phil scored an impressive 339 points, 27 points ahead of Ian Dave, while in 3rd place was Nick Taylor on 308 points.

Below is the final top ten leaderboard for the FA Premier League 2007/08 Prediction League.

Don't forget that next season we will be running the prediction league again. If you can't wait that long then join the UEFA Euro 2008 prediction league and prove that you know your stuff on the European stage?

With 30 points to play for the crown for the 'Best Pundit' of the FA Premier League 2007/08 is still up for grabs. Just like the FA Premier League title the overall winner will be decided on the last day of the season, with three members still in contention.

If your not in the running then better luck next season. The winner will be announced shortly after the season has finished.

Don't forget that next season we will be running the prediction league again. If you can't wait that long then join the UEFA Euro 2008 prediction league and prove that you know your stuff on the European stage?

Good luck with your predictions.

Predict Addict Team

Chelsea's 2-0 win over Newcastle United means that the title race goes down to the final game of the season.

Micheal Ballack settled Chelsea's nerves in the second half, with Florent Malouda scoring the second to seal the win. The pressure is now back on Manchester United as they travel to Wigan Athletic and Chelsea take on Bolton Wanderers.

This season has been the closes for ages and all eyes with be on the top and bottom of the table, I'm sure the final day of the season will be the most dramatic for along while. I think a lot of fans will be biting their nails, listening to the radio and praying that the results go their way.

I predict that Manchester United will win 3-1 against Wigan Athletic and retain the Premier League title. Chelsea have made the season interesting, but have just left it too late.

Will Fulham pulled off the great escape and survive the drop? They are definitely in the driving seat, after beating Birmingham City 2-0. Fulham wanted the win much more than Birmingham City and ran out deserved winners. The win moves them out of the bottom three and it looks like Roy Hodson has turned their fortunes around.

WIth Fulham's destiny is in their own hands, Birmingham City need to win against Blackburn Rovers and hope that both Fulham and Reading do not win. It's going to be a tall task as Blackburn Rovers are still chasing a UEFA place.

Elsewhere Reading have dropped into the bottom three and look almost certain to be relegated. After not scoring for the last six games they face bottom club Derby at the best possible time when on a goal drought. If they can't break the duck against Derby then the Championship beckons and with it the millions of pounds in lost revenue that Premier League status guarantees.

I've changed my predictions and I think that Reading and Birmingham City along with Derby will be relegated at the end of the season.

Just finished creating the second video in the series explaining how to make predictions for forthcoming football games in Predict Addict via Facebook, which is now posted on YouTube.

This video shows how simple it is to make predictions for up and coming fixtures for the selected football competition via Facebook.

Check out the video using the following URL http://www.youtube.com/v/bwYXb788pME&hl=en

View the rest of the How To videos for Predict Addict on YouTube using the following URL http://www.youtube.com/predictaddict

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.

http://www.predictaddict.co.uk

If you're not already member, then fill in the simple registration form http://www.predictaddict.co.uk/Register.aspx to become a Predict Addict member and start predicting.

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.