EPL FIXTURES & PREDICTIONS WEEK 3 - 31st August 2013

The Barclays Premier League returns today with a lunch time kick-off at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City welcomes Hull City. The Etihad millionaires will be looking to bounce back from the shocking defeat in the hands of Cardiff City last Sunday.

Prediction : Manchester City 3 - Hull City 1

Other matches of the day and Predictions:

Kick-off Time Venue          Match                   Predictions

3.00pm Cardiff City Stadium Cardiff City vs Everton 1-1

3.00pm St. James' Park Newcastle United vs Fulham 1-1

3.00pm Carrow Road Norwich City vs Southampton 2-1

3.00pm Boleyn Ground West Ham United vs Stoke City 1-0

5.30pm Selhurst Park Crystal Palace vs Sunderland 1-1

TRANSFER ZONE - 31st August 2013

• Real Madrid have revealed that they have persuaded Tottenham to sell Welsh winger Gareth Bale for £78 million, which is £2 million less than world record fee paid for Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

• Manchester United are set to table an improved £30 million bid for Atletico Bilbao playmaker Ander Herrera after their initial £25 million bid was rejected yesterday.

• Chelsea have completed the signing of Porto and Ghanaian winger Christian Atsu for £3.5 million who is expected to join Vitesse Arnhem on loan.

• Tottenham have announced the triple signing of striker Erik Lamela from Roma for £30 million, defender Vlad Chiriches from Steaua Bucharest for £8.5 million and midfielder Christian Eriksen from Ajax for £11.5 million.

• Liverpool have lined up £25 million double swoop for PSG defender Mamadou Sakho and Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori.

• Arsenal are desperate to sign Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler who is valued at £60 million but Arsene Wenger is willing to offer £40 million for the German wonderkid.

• Tottenham are ready to listen to offers for either Jermain Defoe or Emmanuel Adebayo.

•  Everton are lining up a late move for Portuguese midfielder Viana Diogo before the end of the transfer window. 

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2013/2014 SEASON - GROUP STAGE FULL FIXTURES

Matchday One - 17th September

Manchester United v Bayer Leverkusen

Real Sociedad v Shakhtar Donetsk

Galatasaray v Real Madrid

Copenhagen v Juventus

Benfica v Anderlecht

Olympiakos v Paris Saint-Germain

Bayern Munich v CSKA Moscow

Viktoria Plzen v Manchester City

18th September

Schalke v Steaua Bucharest

Chelsea v Basel

Marseille v Arsenal

Napoli v Borussia Dortmund

Austria Wien v Porto

Atletico Madrid v Zenit

Milan v Celtic

Barcelona v Ajax


Matchday Two - 1st October

Basel v Schalke

Steaua Bucharest v Chelsea

Borussia Dortmund v Marseille

Arsenal v Napoli

Zenit v Austria Wien

Porto v Atletico Madrid

Ajax v Milan

Celtic v Barcelona

2nd October

Shakhtar Donetsk v Manchester United

Bayer Leverkusen v Real Sociedad

Juventus v Galatasaray

Real Madrid v Copenhagen

Paris Saint-Germain v Benfica

Anderlecht v Olympiakos

Manchester City v Bayern Munich

CSKA Moscow v Viktoria Plzen


Matchday Three - 22nd October

Steaua Bucharest v Basel

Schalke v Chelsea

Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund

Marseille v Napoli

Porto v Zenit

Austria Wien v Atletico Madrid

Celtic  v Ajax

Milan v Barcelona

23rd October

Bayer Leverkusen v Shakhtar Donetsk

Manchester United v Real Sociedad

Real Madrid v Juventus

Galatasaray v Copenhagen

Anderlecht v Paris Saint-Germain

Benfica v Olympiakos

CSKA Moscow v Manchester City

Bayern Munich v Viktoria Plzen


Matchday Four - 5th November

Shakhtar Donetsk v Bayer Leverkusen

Real Sociedad v Manchester United

Juventus v Real Madrid

Copenhagen v Galatasaray

Paris Saint-Germain v Anderlecht

Olympiakos v Benfica

Manchester City v CSKA Moscow

Viktoria Plzen v Bayern Munich

6th November

Basel v Steaua Bucharest

Chelsea v Schalke

Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal

Napoli v Marseille

Zenit v Porto

Austria Wien v Atletico Madrid

Ajax v Celtic

Barcelona v Milan


Matchday Five - 26th November

Steaua Bucharest v Schalke

Basel v Chelsea

Arsenal v Marseille

Borussia Dortmund v Napoli

Porto v Austria Wien

Zenit v Atletico Madrid

Celtic v Milan

Ajax v Barcelona

27th November

Bayer Leverkusen v Manchester United

Shakhtar Donetsk v Real Sociedad

Real Madrid v Galatasaray

Juventus v Copenhagen

Anderlecht v Benfica

Paris Saint-Germain v Olympiakos

CSKA Moscow v Bayern Munich

Manchester City v Viktoria Plzen           


Matchday Six - 10th December

Manchester United v Shakhtar Donetsk

Real Sociedad v Bayer Leverkusen

Galatasaray v Juventus

Copenhagen v Real Madrid

Benfica v Paris Saint-Germain

Olympiakos v Anderlecht

Bayern Munich v Manchester City

CSKA Moscow v Viktoria Plzen

11th December

Schalke v Basel

Chelsea v Steaua Bucharest

Marseille, Borussia Dortmund

Napoli v Arsenal

Austria Wien v Zenit

Atletico Madrid v Porto

Milan v Ajax

Barcelona v Celtic

TRANSFER ZONE - 30th August 2013

• Chelsea have completed the signing of Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o from Anzhi Makhachkala on a one-year deal.

• Arsenal have completed the re-signing of former midfielder Mathieu Flamini on a three-year deal.

• Tottenham and Liverpool target Toby Alderweireld is set to join Spanish club Atletico Madrid.

• Arsenal have launched a £70 million triple swoop for Real Madrid trio, Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria.

• Liverpool are lining up a move for goalkeeper Shay Given as an experienced cover in goal and will move for PSG defender Mamadou Sakho if their bid for Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori fails.

• Manchester United have been asked to cough out £25 million each for Maroune Fellaini and Leighton Baines.

• Arsenal fear that boss Arsene Wenger may end up not spending a penny from the £70 million transfer kitty after the French manager ended the pursuit of Newcastle United play-maker Yohan Cabaye.

• Manchester City has joined Chelsea and Barcelona in the £40 million race to sign Porto and French-born defender Eliaquim Mangala.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2013/2014 SEASON - THE DRAW

GROUP A

Manchester United
Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayern Leverkusen
Real Sociedad

GROUP B

Real Madrid
Juventus
Galatasaray
FC Copenhagen

GROUP C

Benfica
Paris St. Germain
Olympiakos
Anderlecht

GROUP D

Bayern Munich
CSKA Moscow
Manchester City
Vitoria Plzen


GROUP E

Chelsea
Schalke
Basel
Steaua Bucharest

GROUP F

Arsenal
Marseille
Borussia Dortmund
Napoli

GROUP G

Porto
Atletico Madrid
Zenit St. Petersburg
Austria Vienna

GROUP H

Barcelona
AC Milan
Ajax
Celtic

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2013/14 SEASON - GROUP STAGE DRAW

The group stage draw for the 2013/2014 UEFA Champions league will be held today in Monaco, France today (29th August 2013). The 2014 Final of the prestigious competition will be played at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon Portugal. The draw kicks off at 4.45pm.

Rules 

All the qualified teams will be first drawn from Pot One, with the first team joining Group A, the second joining Group B and so on until all eight groups have their first teams. 

The teams are then drawn from Pot Two and so on until every team has been drawn and placed in a group. No club from the same country can be drawn against each other in the same group. If this happens the team drawn second will automatically moves into another group.

POT ONE	POT TWO	POT THREE	POT FOUR
Bayern Munich	Atletico Madrid	Zenit St.P'burg	FCCopenhagen
Barcelona	AC Milan	Manchester City	Napoli
Chelsea	Shaktar Donestsk	Ajax	Anderlecht
RealMadrid	Schalke	Borussia Dortmund	Celtic
Man. United	Marseiile	FC Basle	Steaua Bucharest
Arsenal	CSKA Moscow	Olympiakos	Victoria Plzen
Porto	PSG	Galatasaray	Real Sociedad
Benfica	Juventus	Bayern Leverkusen	Austria Vienna

TRANSFER ZONE - 29th August 2013

• Chelsea is set to complete the signing of Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o on a stunning £7 million one-year deal today.

• Tottenham have completed the £30 million signing of Roma and Argentine forward Erik Lamela.

• Chelsea have completed the £32 million signing of Brazilian play-maker Willian on a five-year deal after being granted work permit and will wear shirt no. 22 at the club this season.

• Spanish side Atletico Madrid want Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa on loan.

• Tottenham are set to complete the £8.5 million signing of Steaua Bucharest defender Vlad Chiriches after the Romanian international jetted into London for medicals last night.

• Manchester United have tabled an improved £38 million joint bid for Everton stars Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines.

• Arsenal targets Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria are set to stay at Real Madrid despite reports linking them with a move away from the club.

• Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez has turned down the chance of joining Spanish side Valencia.

• Tottenham are in talks with Ajax for the transfer of midfielder Christian Eriksen.

• Newcastle United have launched an audacious bid to take back Senegalese striker Demba Ba on a season-long loan after selling him to Chelsea seven months ago.

TRANSFER ZONE - 28th August 2013

• Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will not be handing in a transfer request to leave the club thus ending Chelsea's pursuit of the England forward.

• Chelsea are set to complete the signing of Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o within the next 48 hours after missing out on Wayne Rooney.

•  Tottenham are in talks with Roma over a possible loan swap deal involving left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Federico Balzaretti.

• Arsenal have joined Tottenham in the race to sign Bulgaria winger Todor Nedelev.

• Spanish club Sevilla have confirmed that Arsenal target Geoffrey Kondogbia is to buy-out the remainder of his contract which has £17.2 million release clause. The midfielder is expected to join French side Monaco.

• Liverpool winger Oussama Assaidi has completed a season-long loan switch to Stoke City.

•  Manchester United are weighing up an audacious £30 million move for Chelsea and Brazilian defender David Luiz.

•  Manchester City have lined up Valencia and France international Adil Rami to solve their defensive crisis.

• Chelsea are lining up a £3.5 million move for Porto winger Christian Atsu.

• Newcastle United have lined up Wigan midfielder James McCarthy as a replacement for play-maker Yohan Cabaye.

• Tottenham are set to complete the £26 million signing of Roma and Argentine forward Erik Lamela.

EPL SCOREBOARD, TABLE & STANDINGS - 27th August 2013

Full Time Scores :

Manchester United 0 Chelsea 0

It was stalemate at Old Trafford as Manchester United and Chelsea shared the spoils. England striker Wayne Rooney turned in an all-action display against a Chelsea side that started the game without a recognised striker. Centre-backs on the opposite sides John Terry and Nemanja Vidic were impressive on the night. The draw sends Chelsea to the summit of the premier league.

Man of the match : Nemanja Vidic. The Serbian completed 13 effective clearances and was the most accurate passer of the ball on the night.

The Premier League table and standings below : 

Team Name P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Chelsea 3 2 1 0 4 1 3 7 2 Liverpool 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 6 3 Tottenham 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 6 4 Manchester Utd 2 1 1 0 4 1 3 4 5 West Ham Utd 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 4 6 Southampton 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 4 7 Manchester City 2 1 0 1 6 3 3 3 8 Arsenal 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3 9 Aston Villa 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3 10 Stoke City 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 11 Cardiff City 2 1 0 1 3 4 -1 3 12 Fulham 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3 13 Hull City 2 1 0 1 1 2 -1 3 14 Everton 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2 15 Norwich City 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1 16 Sunderland 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1 17 West Brom 2 0 1 1 0 1 -1 1 18 Newcastle Utd 2 0 1 1 0 4 -4 1 19 Crystal Palace 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2 0 20 Swansea City 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0

TRANSFER ZONE - 27th August 2013

 

• Manchester United are set to offer a £25 million deal for Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini.

• Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has given Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney a 48-hour ultimatum to declare his stand whether he wants to join Chelsea or remain at Old Trafford.

• Everton have lined up Wigan midfielder James McCarthy as a replacement for Marouane Fellaini.

• Tottenham have lined up an audacious move for Spanish play-maker Juan Mata after losing Brazilian midfielder Willian to Chelsea. 

• Manchester United have made a late offer to hijack Gareth Bale's proposed move to Real Madrid as Tottenham insist the deal is not done yet.

• French striker Karim Benzema has been offered to Arsenal as Real Madrid undergoes a sensational shake-up. 

•  Manchester United have joined Chelsea and Barcelona in the race to sign Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala.

• Atletico Madrid have lined up Ajax defender Toby Alderweireld as a replacement for Manchester City target Martin Demichelis.

• West Bromwich Albion are considering bids from Swansea City, Stoke City and Cardiff City for Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie.

• Cardiff City have lined up a season-long loan move for Barcelona starlet Isaac Cuenca.

•  Tottenham are interested in Real Betis forward Alvaro Vadillo who is dubbed the new Cristiano Ronaldo.

TRANSFER ZONE - 26th August 2013

• Tottenham have agreed a world record £86 million with Real Madrid for the transfer of Welsh winger Gareth Bale.

• Roma and Argentine striker Erik Lamela is set to fly to London for advanced talks with Tottenham ahead of a possible £30 million switch.

•  Liverpool are lining up a season-long loan deal for Chelsea winger Victor Moses.

• Chelsea have completed the signing of Brazilian play-maker Willian subject to work permit hearing on Wednesday and are also in talks to sign Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o.

• Tottenham are set to launch a £30 million bid for Brazilian striker Hulk.

• Liverpool have been asked to cough out £15 million for Derby County's midfield starlet Will Hughes.

•  Crystal Palace have tabled an audacious bid to sign Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner.

• Arsenal are in talks with Newcastle United over a £16 million deal for play-maker Yohan Cabaye.

• Manchester United are set to drop their bid for Everton left-back Leighton Baines and focus only on Belgium midfielder Marouane Fellaini.