Archive for December 2009
Gunners continue scoring spree
This was the Gunners third match in a row when they have scored three goals or more.
In 19 matches the Gunners have scored three goals or more in ten of them.
The Gunners average just under 3 goals per match and they have reached the half century mark as they completed the first part of their season's matches.
There were no changes in the top three positions after this round with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal all winning but there were changes beyond that.
Tottenham has now moved into fourth place after Aston Villa's last two losses made sure the Midlands outfit slid down to sixth.
Villa had only lost three matches before the Christmas matches but then lost to Arsenal and Liverpool to lose the momentum they have been building up until then.
Birmingham City continued their unbeaten streak after winning away to Stoke but the two draws before that match means they no longer top the form table.
At the bottom, Portsmouth still anchor the table and they are joined by Hull City and Bolton in the relegation zone.
Bolton and Hull played each other in this round and the match ended in a draw despite Bolton being 2-nil up at one stage in the second half. Bolton has since sacked the manager Gary Megson.
Maybe at this time as the league reaches the halfway stage its time to put focus on relegation and show the league table upside down:
| Team | Played | Goal Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | 20 | -14 | 14 |
| Hull City | 20 | -22 | 18 |
| Bolton | 18 | -10 | 18 |
| West Ham | 20 | -9 | 18 |
| Wigan | 19 | -23 | 19 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 20 | -19 | 19 |
| Burnley | 20 | -18 | 20 |
| Blackburn | 20 | -15 | 21 |
| Stoke City | 19 | -8 | 21 |
| Everton | 19 | -6 | 22 |
| Sunderland | 20 | -3 | 23 |
| Fulham | 19 | 5 | 27 |
| Birmingham City | 20 | 2 | 32 |
| Liverpool | 20 | 12 | 33 |
| Aston Villa | 20 | 11 | 35 |
| Manchester City | 19 | 11 | 35 |
| Tottenham | 20 | 20 | 37 |
| Arsenal | 19 | 30 | 41 |
| Manchester United | 20 | 27 | 43 |
| Chelsea | 20 | 29 | 45 |
delicious
digg
Bolton sack boss Megson
Bolton are third from bottom and in their last match under Megson they squandered a two goal lead as they drew 2-all against Hull City.
Megson had been at the Reebok Stadium and this season found his team flirting with relegation although his team has two games in hand.
Here is stats for the Trotters so far this season:
| Megson's Wanderers | |
|---|---|
| Played | 18 |
| Points | 18 |
| Won | 4 |
| Drawn | 6 |
| Lost | 8 |
| Goal difference | -10 |
| Clean sheets | 0 |
| Failed to score | 4 |
| Goals scored | 26 |
| Goals conceded | 36 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.4 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 2.0 |
| Biggest win | Bolton 3 - 1 West Ham |
| Biggest loss | Bolton 0 - 4 Chelsea Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton |
| Scored 3 or more | 4 |
| Conceded 3 or more | 4 |
| Home matches | |
| Played | 10 |
| Points | 10 |
| Won | 2 |
| Drawn | 4 |
| Lost | 4 |
| Goal difference | -5 |
| Goals scored | 16 |
| Goals conceded | 21 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.6 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 2.1 |
| Away matches | |
| Played | 8 |
| Points | 8 |
| Won | 2 |
| Drawn | 2 |
| Lost | 4 |
| Goal difference | -5 |
| Goals scored | 10 |
| Goals conceded | 15 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.9 |
Villa face Liverpool test
Liverpool is coming off a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in which the Anfield team won 2-nil against ten-man Wolves.
Villa are currently in fourth place and Liverpool are placed seventh.
A win for Villa could take them as high as third depending on other results but a loss could see them as low as sixth.
A win for Liverpool could see them gaining just one place depending on the Manchester City/Wolves match.
Here is the rest of the stats between the two teams going for a top four come May 2010:
| Liverpool | Aston Villa | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 7 | 4 |
| Played | 19 | 19 |
| Points | 30 | 35 |
| Drawn | 3 | 5 |
| Won | 9 | 10 |
| Lost | 7 | 4 |
| Goal difference | 11 | 12 |
| Clean sheets | 6 | 7 |
| Failed to score | 4 | 2 |
| Goals scored | 36 | 29 |
| Goals conceded | 25 | 17 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.9 | 1.5 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| Biggest win | Liverpool 6 - 1 Hull | Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton |
| Biggest loss | Liverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa Chelsea 2 - 0 Liverpool Fulham 3 - 1 Liverpool Portsmouth 2 - 0 Liverpool | Arsenal 3 - 0 Aston Villa |
| Score 3 or more | 5 | 3 |
| Concede 3 or more | 2 | 1 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 10 | 9 |
| Points | 20 | 20 |
| Drawn | 2 | 2 |
| Won | 6 | 6 |
| Lost | 2 | 1 |
| Goal difference | 15 | 11 |
| Goals scored | 26 | 17 |
| Goals conceded | 11 | 6 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.1 | 0.7 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 9 | 10 |
| Points | 10 | 15 |
| Drawn | 1 | 3 |
| Won | 3 | 4 |
| Lost | 5 | 3 |
| Goal difference | -4 | 1 |
| Goals scored | 10 | 12 |
| Goals conceded | 14 | 11 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.6 | 1.1 |
Sydney finishes year on top
Sydney's cause was helped by Melbourne Victory's loss to bottom team North Queensland Fury.
Adelaide on the other hand will finish the year at the bottom of the ladder.
I think they will hope that the New Year will bring them goals. Adelaide has scored the least number of goals so far having only scored 16 goals. All the other teams have scored more than 20 goals each.
After going for four rounds without a loss, Newcastle Jets suffered a heavy loss against Perth Glory.
Glory won 4-nil after scoring three goals in the first half.
The other match was the M1 derby between Gold Coast United and Brisbane Roar where the Roar lost 5-1 despite scoring first. The match was one-all at half time.
There is still one more match in this round and that will be the New Year's eve match between the Central Coast Mariners and Wellington Phoenix.
Gunners too good for Villa
A win for Villa would have seen them leapfrog the Gunners into third place but they had no reply to the hosts' three second half goals.
Manchester United maintained its pressure on leaders Chelsea with a 3-1 away win at Hull. Chelsea could only draw its away match against Birmingham which finished goalless. Its gap at the top has now been reduced to just two points.
West Ham had a massive win over Portsmouth winning 2-nil and getting out of the relegation zone.
Bolton after their 1-all draw against Burnley replaces the Hammers in the relegation zone.
For the second time this season there were five draws in a round. The number of draws has been picking up especially considering that they were just four draws from the first seven rounds of the season.
So this time I will take a quick look at the draws table and see how its shaping up now:
| Team | Played | Goals For | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 18 | 13 | 8 |
| Everton | 18 | 10 | 7 |
| Fulham | 18 | 7 | 6 |
| Stoke City | 18 | 6 | 6 |
| West Ham | 19 | 10 | 6 |
| Aston Villa | 19 | 5 | 5 |
| Birmingham City | 19 | 3 | 5 |
| Blackburn | 19 | 1 | 5 |
| Bolton | 17 | 8 | 5 |
| Burnley | 19 | 7 | 5 |
| Hull City | 19 | 5 | 5 |
| Sunderland | 19 | 6 | 4 |
| Tottenham | 19 | 5 | 4 |
| Wigan | 18 | 5 | 4 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 19 | 5 | 4 |
| Chelsea | 19 | 4 | 3 |
| Liverpool | 19 | 4 | 3 |
| Arsenal | 18 | 3 | 2 |
| Portsmouth | 19 | 1 | 2 |
| Manchester United | 19 | 2 | 1 |
3rd vs 4th : Arsenal vs Aston Villa
The two teams are equal on points but the Gunners take third place because of their superior goal difference.
This is a key match in terms of both the title and the top four positions as these clubs are in direct competition on both fronts.
Villa currently lie second on the form table having accumulated 14 points from their last six matches and its important to note that Villa is one of only two teams who haven't lost a match in their last six at the moment. The other is Birmingham City.
The winner of this tie could go into second place depending on Manchester United's result against Hull City.
A loss for either team could see them go down to sixth place also dependent on the Fulham/Spurs match.
Its interesting to see that Villa's next match after this one is against Liverpool, another team aiming to finish in the top four places.
This is the first time for the two teams to meet this season but in the same fixture last season Villa won 2-nil.
This is the rest of the stats for the two teams so far this season:
| Arsenal | Aston Villa | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 3 | 4 |
| Streak | LLWWDW | DDWWWW |
| Played | 17 | 18 |
| Points | 35 | 35 |
| Drawn | 2 | 5 |
| Won | 11 | 10 |
| Lost | 4 | 3 |
| Goal difference | 24 | 15 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 7 |
| Failed to score | 2 | 1 |
| Goals scored | 44 | 29 |
| Goals conceded | 20 | 14 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| Biggest win | Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal | Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton |
| Biggest loss | Arsenal 0 - 3 Chelsea | Aston Villa 0 - 2 Wigan |
| Score 3 or more | 8 | 3 |
| Concede 3 or more | 2 | 0 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 8 | 9 |
| Points | 21 | 20 |
| Drawn | 0 | 2 |
| Won | 7 | 6 |
| Lost | 1 | 1 |
| Goal difference | 18 | 11 |
| Goals scored | 25 | 17 |
| Goals conceded | 7 | 6 |
| Ave. goals scored | 3.1 | 1.9 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 9 | 9 |
| Points | 14 | 15 |
| Drawn | 2 | 3 |
| Won | 4 | 4 |
| Lost | 3 | 2 |
| Goal difference | 6 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 19 | 12 |
| Goals conceded | 13 | 8 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.1 | 1.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.4 | 0.9 |
Queensland battle : Gold Coast vs Brisbane
Both teams are coming off wins and they have both accumulated ten points from their last six matches with three wins, two losses and one draw.
The difference could be that the Roar has won its previous two matches and Gold Coast hasn't.
In their previous two encounters at Suncorp Stadium the Gold Coast came on top and this will be a final chance for the Roar to get something from their near neighbours.
A win for the Gold Coast will keep them in third place whilst a win for the Roar could take them as high as fourth on the table.
Here is the rest of the stats for the two teams so far this season:
| Brisbane Roar | Gold Coast | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | 5 | 3 |
| Form | LWDLWW | WDLWLW |
| Played | 20 | 19 |
| Points | 26 | 30 |
| Drawn | 5 | 3 |
| Won | 7 | 9 |
| Lost | 8 | 7 |
| Goal difference | 1 | -2 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 6 |
| Failed to score | 4 | 6 |
| Goals scored | 28 | 27 |
| Goals conceded | 27 | 29 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.4 | 1.5 |
| Biggest win | Newcastle Jets 0 - 3 Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar 4 - 1 Wellington Phoenix | Gold Coast 5 - 0 NQ Fury |
| Biggest loss | Brisbane Roar 0 - 3 Central Coast Mariners | Wellington Phoenix 6 - 0 Gold Coast |
| Score 3 or more | 4 | 2 |
| Concede 3 or more | 4 | 5 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 12 | 9 |
| Points | 14 | 19 |
| Drawn | 2 | 1 |
| Won | 4 | 6 |
| Lost | 6 | 2 |
| Goal difference | -3 | 8 |
| Goals scored | 13 | 16 |
| Goals conceded | 16 | 8 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.1 | 1.8 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 8 | 10 |
| Points | 12 | 11 |
| Drawn | 3 | 2 |
| Won | 3 | 3 |
| Lost | 2 | 5 |
| Goal difference | 4 | -10 |
| Goals scored | 15 | 11 |
| Goals conceded | 11 | 21 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.9 | 1.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.4 | 2.1 |
Stalemate at the Riazor
A win for the home side would have seen them up to fourth place but they will remain in sixth place.
With Seville losing 2-1 at home to Getafe a win for Valencia would have seen them regain third place but for now they will maintain fourth position going into the Christmas break.
Its interesting to see that none of the teams in positions third to sixth managed to secure three points and that has moved Athletico Bilbao nearer to the European places after their 2-nil win over Osasuna. Athletico is in seventh position.
There wasn't much change at the bottom with Xerez not in action having already played Barcelona earlier in the month but Malaga had a good win over Mallorca.
Real Zaragoza had a nightmare at the Bernabeau losing 6-nil to Real Madrid. Madrid were already 4-nil by half time and they scored a further two goals after the break.
This was the second match this season where a team has scored six goals and the sixth match were the winning team had scored five goals or more.
After taking a look at the goal margins after the last round, this week I will take a look at the scorelines after 150 matches so far in La Liga.
| Scoreline | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 0 - 0 | 9 |
| 0 - 1 | 8 |
| 0 - 2 | 10 |
| 0 - 3 | 3 |
| 0 - 4 | 2 |
| 1 - 0 | 18 |
| 1 - 1 | 18 |
| 1 - 2 | 10 |
| 1 - 3 | 2 |
| 1 - 4 | 3 |
| 2 - 0 | 9 |
| 2 - 1 | 14 |
| 2 - 2 | 8 |
| 2 - 3 | 3 |
| 2 - 4 | 1 |
| 3 - 0 | 6 |
| 3 - 1 | 5 |
| 3 - 2 | 5 |
| 3 - 3 | 1 |
| 4 - 0 | 3 |
| 4 - 1 | 3 |
| 4 - 2 | 3 |
| 5 - 0 | 2 |
| 5 - 1 | 1 |
| 5 - 2 | 1 |
| 6 - 0 | 1 |
| 6 - 1 | 1 |
Interestingly the two most popular scorelines at the moment are 1-0 and 1-1 which have been the final score in 18 matches apiece.
14 matches have so far finished 2-1 in La Liga which is the third most popular scoreline.
Chelsea fail to take advantage
Chelsea could have increased its gap at the top to six points with a win at Upton Park but a one-all draw means the gap is now just four points going into the busy Christmas period.
Manchester United lost 3-nil to Fulham to register the champions' biggest loss this season.
Arsenal won its match against Hull City to close the gap to second place to just two points with one game in hand.
Liverpool lost its seventh match of the season after losing 2-nil to relegation threatened Portsmouth.
This is the fourth match Liverpool has lost with a two goal margin with the other three having been just one goal margins.
Pompey's win did not change its position on the ladder but its now within reach of sides four places off the bottom if it wins its next match.
Wolverhampton Wanderers moved out of the relegation zone after its win 2-nil over Burnley. Bolton slipped into the relegation zone but they are still to play Wigan Athletic on Monday night to complete round 18.
I will this time take a look at the away table having looked at the home table in the last round.
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | A gainst | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 16 |
| Man United | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 15 |
| Aston Villa | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 15 |
| Tottenham | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 15 |
| Arsenal | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 14 |
| Man City | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 14 | - 1 | 11 |
| Bham City | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 11 |
| Liverpool | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 14 | -4 | 10 |
| Wolves | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 19 | - 11 | 8 |
| Fulham | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 11 | - 3 | 7 |
| Everton | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 16 | - 5 | 7 |
| Bolton | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | - 5 | 7 |
| Stoke | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 | - 7 | 7 |
| Wigan | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 26 | - 15 | 7 |
| West Ham | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | - 5 | 6 |
| Portsmouth | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 14 | -9 | 5 |
| Sunderland | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 16 | -8 | 4 |
| Blackburn | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 23 | - 17 | 4 |
| Hull | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 24 | - 19 | 2 |
| Burnley | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 29 | - 21 | 1 |
Not surprisingly poor travellers Burnley are bottom of this table with their one point draw at Eastlands.
Jets notch four wins in a row
The four wins means the Jets have moved from bottom of the table to fourth place in around five weeks and they now look certain of securing a finals place.
Whilst the Jets have been in ascendancy, the same cannot be said for Perth Glory who are now in seventh place after losing to the Gold Coast United 2-nil.
The Glory have lost their last two matches and they have won just once in their last six matches.
The two top teams could not be separated after the match between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC ended in a goalless draw. This was the sixth goalless draw this season in the A-League.
Elsewhere in the round, Adelaide United drew Wellington Phoenix and the Central Coast Mariners lost to Brisbane Roar at home.
This week I think it will interesting to take a look at the A-League form table and here it is:
| Team | P | W | D | L | For | A | GD | Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle Jets | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 15 | WLWWWW |
| Melbourne Victory | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 11 | LWWDWD |
| Brisbane Roar | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 10 | LWDLWW |
| Gold Coast | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 10 | WDLWLW |
| Central Coast Mariners | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 7 | WWDLLL |
| Sydney | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 7 | LLLWWD |
| Perth Glory | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 6 | DWDDLL |
| Wellington Phoenix | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 6 | DWLDLD |
| NQ Fury | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 6 | LWLWLL |
| Adelaide Utd | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 5 | LDLLWD |
So the form team is the Jets and Adelaide with just five points from the their last six matches anchor the table.
Man City sack Hughes, appoint Mancini
Hughes' Man City currently lie sixth on the ladder with just two losses and the second one being the midweek 3-nil loss to Tottenham Hotspurs.
Man City's problems has been the number of draws the team has had so far. City has drawn nearly half of its matches.
City has drawn three at home and five away. The draws have cost City a total 16 points.
Two of the draws like against Aston Villa and Liverpool were maybe not that bad but the rest should have been wins for a top team like City.
So here is the stats so far this season for Hughes' Man City:
| Category | Stat |
|---|---|
| Team | Man City |
| Played | 17 |
| Points | 29 |
| Won | 7 |
| Drawn | 8 |
| Lost | 2 |
| Goal difference | 6 |
| Clean sheets | 4 |
| Failed to score | 2 |
| Goals scored | 33 |
| Goals conceded | 27 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.9 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.6 |
| Biggest win | Blackburn 0 - 2 Man City Man City 4 - 2 Arsenal Man City 3 - 1 West Ham |
| Biggest loss | Tottenham 3 - 0 Man City |
| Scored 3 or more | 6 |
| Conceded 3 or more | 5 |
| Home matches | |
| Played | 8 |
| Points | 18 |
| Won | 5 |
| Drawn | 3 |
| Lost | 0 |
| Goal difference | 7 |
| Goals scored | 20 |
| Goals conceded | 13 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.5 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.6 |
| Away matches | |
| Played | 9 |
| Points | 11 |
| Won | 2 |
| Drawn | 5 |
| Lost | 2 |
| Goal difference | -1 |
| Goals scored | 13 |
| Goals conceded | 14 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.4 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.6 |
Inter paired with Chelsea
Inter finished second in their group and face Chelsea who won their group and therefore the second leg will be at Stamford Bridge.
This fixture will bring back Jose Mourinho back to the Bridge and will also bring Mourinho face to face again with Carlo Ancelotti, the former AC Milan coach.
In other fixtures in the draw Manchester United has been drawn against AC Milan, Barcelona against Stuttgart whilst Real Madrid will face Lyon.
Arsenal will have to fight it out with FC Porto whilst Fiorentina will be tested by Bayern Munich who knocked fellow Serie A club Juventus.
Sevilla drew CSKA Moscow and Bordeaux will face Olympiacos.
The sixteen fixtures will be played over four rounds instead of two with the first fixtures being played on the 16th February 2010 and the last fixture on 17th of March 2010.
The next draw for the quarter-finals and semis will be conducted on the 19th of March 2010.
Tenerife face Atletico test
In their previous six matches, Atletico has accumulated six points from two wins whilst Tenerife has bagged five points from one win and two draws.
In round 14 both teams lost with Tenerife losing away to Getafe but Atletico lost a home fixture against Villarreal.
So one point separating the two teams at the moment this could be a very interesting fixture especially as Atletico now no longer has the distractions of European competition.
So here is the rest of the stats for the two teams after 14 rounds:
| Atletico | Tenerife | |
|---|---|---|
| Streak | LLLWWL | LDLDWL |
| Played | 14 | 14 |
| Points | 13 | 14 |
| Drawn | 4 | 2 |
| Won | 3 | 4 |
| Lost | 7 | 8 |
| Goal difference | -6 | -13 |
| Clean sheets | 2 | 2 |
| Failed to score | 3 | 5 |
| Goals scored | 20 | 14 |
| Goals conceded | 26 | 27 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Biggest win | Atletico 4 - 0 Espanyol | Tenerife 2 - 1 Osasuna Tenerife 1 - 0 Athletic Bilbao Tenerife 1 - 0 Xerez Tenerife 2 - 1 Sporting Gijon |
| Biggest loss | Málaga 3 - 0 Atletico Barcelona 5 - 2 Atletico Osasuna 3 - 0 Atletico | Villarreal 5 - 0 Tenerife |
| Score 3 or more | 1 | 1 |
| Concede 3 or more | 4 | 4 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 7 |
| Points | 9 | 13 |
| Drawn | 3 | 1 |
| Won | 2 | 4 |
| Lost | 2 | 2 |
| Goal difference | 3 | 2 |
| Goals scored | 13 | 9 |
| Goals conceded | 10 | 7 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.9 | 1.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 7 |
| Points | 4 | 1 |
| Drawn | 1 | 1 |
| Won | 1 | 0 |
| Lost | 5 | 6 |
| Goal difference | -9 | -15 |
| Goals scored | 7 | 5 |
| Goals conceded | 16 | 20 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 2.3 | 2.9 |
Everton face in-form Birmingham
Birmingham has picked up 16 points from its last six matches compared to Everton's five and hence it sits on top of the form ladder.
In the last round Birmingham beat Blackburn 2-1 at home but in its last away match the team beat Wigan 3-2.
Everton drew Chelsea at the weekend and did not play in the Premier League because of Europa Cup commitments. In its last home match, Everton drew Tottenham Hotspurs 2-all.
So its going to be interesting to see if Everton can stop Birmingham's splendid run or whether Birmingham can continue its climb up the table.
Here is the rest of the stats for the two teams so far this season:
| Everton | Birmingham City | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 15 | 7 |
| Form | WLLLDD | DWWWWW |
| Played | 16 | 17 |
| Points | 17 | 27 |
| Drawn | 5 | 3 |
| Won | 4 | 8 |
| Lost | 7 | 6 |
| Goal difference | -8 | 1 |
| Clean sheets | 2 | 7 |
| Failed to score | 3 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 22 | 18 |
| Goals conceded | 30 | 17 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| Biggest win | Everton 3 - 0 Blackburn | Bham City 1 - 0 Portsmouth Hull 0 - 1 Bham City Bham City 2 - 1 Sunderland Bham City 1 - 0 Fulham Wolves 0 - 1 Bham City Wigan 2 - 3 Bham City Bham City 1 - 0 West Ham Bham City 2 - 1 Blackburn |
| Biggest loss | Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal | Arsenal 3 - 1 Bham City |
| Score 3 or more | 2 | 1 |
| Concede 3 or more | 5 | 1 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 8 | 9 |
| Points | 10 | 17 |
| Drawn | 4 | 2 |
| Won | 2 | 5 |
| Lost | 2 | 2 |
| Goal difference | -3 | 3 |
| Goals scored | 11 | 8 |
| Goals conceded | 14 | 5 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.4 | 0.9 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.8 | 0.6 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 8 | 8 |
| Points | 7 | 10 |
| Drawn | 1 | 1 |
| Won | 2 | 3 |
| Lost | 5 | 4 |
| Goal difference | -5 | -2 |
| Goals scored | 11 | 10 |
| Goals conceded | 16 | 12 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.4 | 1.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 2.0 | 1.5 |
First vs second: Victory vs Sydney
Victory is on a good run at the moment having won 13 points from its last six matches compared to only 9 for Sydney but Sydney has won its last two matches.
In their last match at the Etihad Stadium Sydney came out victors with a 3-nil win over their rivals and it was then Victory's biggest loss at home.
A win for Victory will open a six point gap at the top and a draw will still keep the Melbourne outfit in first place.
Sydney can take pole position if they win by two goals or more.
So here is the rest of the stats for the two teams so far this season:
| Melbourne Victory | Sydney | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | 1 | 2 |
| Played | 18 | 18 |
| Points | 34 | 31 |
| Drawn | 4 | 1 |
| Won | 10 | 10 |
| Lost | 4 | 7 |
| Goal difference | 8 | 7 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 6 |
| Failed to score | 3 | 5 |
| Goals scored | 31 | 25 |
| Goals conceded | 23 | 18 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| Biggest win | Melbourne Victory 4 - 0 Gold Coast | Melbourne Victory 0 - 3 Sydney Sydney 4 - 1 NQ Fury |
| Biggest loss | Melbourne Victory 0 - 4 Central Coast Mariners | Perth Glory 2 - 0 Sydney Sydney 1 - 3 Newcastle Jets |
| Score 3 or more | 6 | 4 |
| Concede 3 or more | 3 | 1 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 9 | 9 |
| Points | 12 | 21 |
| Drawn | 3 | 0 |
| Won | 3 | 7 |
| Lost | 3 | 2 |
| Goal difference | -2 | 8 |
| Goals scored | 14 | 16 |
| Goals conceded | 16 | 8 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.6 | 1.8 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.8 | 0.9 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 9 | 9 |
| Points | 22 | 10 |
| Drawn | 1 | 1 |
| Won | 7 | 3 |
| Lost | 1 | 5 |
| Goal difference | 10 | -1 |
| Goals scored | 17 | 9 |
| Goals conceded | 7 | 10 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.8 | 1.1 |
Man City lose second match
Before this match Man City had only lost once and that was the loss at Old Trafford. The result leaves the team in eighth position on the ladder.
City is still the team with the least number of losses but what pushes the team down the ladder is the fact that it is also the team with the highest number of draws. City has drawn eight matches so far.
Arsenal regained third position on goal difference after a draw against Burnley. Burnley has the fifth best home record in the league at the moment and has lost just once at home.
There was no change at the top after both Chelsea and Manchester United won their matches against Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.
However, there was change at the bottom with Bolton moving out of the relegation following a win over fellow strugglers West Ham.
In round 16 only one home team won but in round 16 six home teams won in the last two days. So this time I will take a look at the home form table that only considers home matches and after the next round I will take a look at the away form table.
Here it is:
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 5 | 20 | 25 |
| Man United | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 22 |
| Tottenham | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 18 |
| Arsenal | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 7 | 15 | 18 |
| Burnley | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 18 |
| Liverpool | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 17 |
| Aston Villa | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 17 |
| Sunderland | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 17 |
| Bham City | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
| Fulham | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| Man City | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 15 |
| Blackburn | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 15 |
| Hull | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 15 |
| Stoke | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 14 |
| Wigan | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 11 |
| Everton | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 10 |
| Bolton | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 19 | -5 | 9 |
| West Ham | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 8 |
| Wolves | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 8 |
| Portsmouth | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 6 |
As pointed out already Burnley has one of the best home records as shown in this table.
Man City and Chelsea are still to lose at home and Blackburn Rovers.
Queensland battle : Roar vs Fury
In the previous round the Roar suffered a defeat on the hands of Adelaide United.
In that same round the Fury got an all important win over Perth Glory to make sure they avoided sitting at the bottom of the ladder again.
The Fury lie in eighth place just above the Roar and the two teams are separated by a single point.
Whichever team wins this battle will move closer to the finals places as a win for the Fury will land them in sixth position.
A draw will suit neither team but as the away team it could be good enough for the Fury. Their only match ended in a draw.
So here is the rest of the stats so far:
| Brisbane Roar | NQ Fury | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 9 | 8 |
| Streak | DWLWDL | WLLWLW |
| Played | 18 | 18 |
| Points | 20 | 21 |
| Drawn | 5 | 6 |
| Won | 5 | 5 |
| Lost | 8 | 7 |
| Goal difference | -2 | -12 |
| Clean sheets | 4 | 3 |
| Failed to score | 4 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 23 | 20 |
| Goals conceded | 25 | 32 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.4 | 1.8 |
| Biggest win | Newcastle Jets 0 - 3 Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar 4 - 1 Wellington Phoenix | Gold Coast 0 - 2 NQ Fury |
| Biggest loss | Brisbane Roar 0 - 3 Central Coast Mariners | Gold Coast 5 - 0 NQ Fury |
| Score 3 or more | 3 | 1 |
| Concede 3 or more | 4 | 5 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 11 | 9 |
| Points | 11 | 11 |
| Drawn | 2 | 2 |
| Won | 3 | 3 |
| Lost | 6 | 4 |
| Goal difference | -5 | -5 |
| Goals scored | 11 | 10 |
| Goals conceded | 16 | 15 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.0 | 1.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 9 |
| Points | 9 | 10 |
| Drawn | 3 | 4 |
| Won | 2 | 2 |
| Lost | 2 | 3 |
| Goal difference | 3 | -7 |
| Goals scored | 12 | 10 |
| Goals conceded | 9 | 17 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.7 | 1.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.3 | 1.9 |
Relegation fight: Bolton vs West Ham
Bolton are currently second from bottom whilst the Hammers are just above them.
The two teams are separated by just one point and therefore if the Trotters win, they will go above the Hammers.
Depending on other results, a win for either team will get the team out of the relegation zone.
The Trotters have so far won just one match at the Reebok in the league whilst the Hammers have also won just one match away from Upton Park. So it sounds like its going to be an interesting encounter.
Here is the rest of the stats for the two teams:
| West Ham | Bolton | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | 18 | 19 |
| Played | 16 | 15 |
| Points | 14 | 13 |
| Drawn | 5 | 4 |
| Won | 3 | 3 |
| Lost | 8 | 8 |
| Goal difference | -7 | -12 |
| Clean sheets | 2 | 0 |
| Failed to score | 4 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 24 | 20 |
| Goals conceded | 31 | 32 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| Biggest win | Wolves 0 - 2 West Ham West Ham 5 - 3 Burnley | Portsmouth 2 - 3 Bolton Bham City 1 - 2 Bolton Bolton 3 - 2 Everton |
| Biggest loss | West Ham 0 - 4 Man United | Bolton 0 - 4 Chelsea Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton |
| Score 3 or more | 2 | 3 |
| Concede 3 or more | 5 | 4 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 8 | 8 |
| Points | 8 | 6 |
| Drawn | 2 | 3 |
| Won | 2 | 1 |
| Lost | 4 | 4 |
| Goal difference | -4 | -7 |
| Goals scored | 15 | 11 |
| Goals conceded | 19 | 18 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.9 | 1.4 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 8 | 7 |
| Points | 6 | 7 |
| Drawn | 3 | 1 |
| Won | 1 | 2 |
| Lost | 4 | 4 |
| Goal difference | -3 | -5 |
| Goals scored | 9 | 9 |
| Goals conceded | 12 | 14 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.1 | 1.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.5 | 2.0 |
Sevilla regains third place as Valencia slips
In round 13 Valencia had taken over third place but Valencia lost 3-2 to Real Madrid at home to drop back to fourth place.
With both Barcelona and Real Madrid winning their matches there is no change at the top of the table. Barca beat Espanyol 1-nil and the loss was Espanyol's fifth in a row.
Taking a look at the other end of the table, Xerez still has one win this season after losing to Racing Santander and therefore remain anchored at the bottom of the table.
Malaga are second from the bottom despite not losing their last five matches. This was Malaga's fifth draw in a row.
This week I will take a look at goal winning margins in La Liga after 14 rounds. The table below shows the goal margins:
| Goal Margin | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 0 | 34 |
| 1 | 55 |
| 2 | 27 |
| 3 | 16 |
| 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 3 |
So the most popular winning margin is one goal and only three matches have been lost by a five goal margin.
Arsenal outgun Liverpool to stay in the hunt
With Chelsea drawing Everton 3-all and Manchester United losing 1-nil to Aston Villa, the Gunners win means that it has reduced the gap at the top to go back in contention for the title.
This round saw the highest number of draws in a round with six matches ending in a draw. Previously the highest number of draws was five in a round and that was in round 8.
Also in this round only one home team won its match and this was Birmingham City's 1-nil win over West Ham United. This was lowest number of wins by home teams this season in a round. The previous number was three achieved in round 2.
Birmingham is now level on points with Liverpool but is eighth on the table because of goal difference. Liverpool is seventh.
In relegation matters, both Portsmouth and Bolton drew but the Hammers lost.
Wolverhampton Wanderer's win over Tottenham takes them out of the relegation zone and was replaced by the Hammers.
Arsenal was the third away team to be losing at half-time and come winners at full time. In a way Liverpool won the first half and the Gunners won the second and so following on from last week, this week I will take a look at the second half ladder.
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 5 | 19 | 37 |
| Man United | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 7 | 18 | 33 |
| Liverpool | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 29 |
| Arsenal | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 28 |
| Man City | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 27 |
| Aston Villa | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 26 |
| Tottenham | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 25 |
| Fulham | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 25 |
| Sunderland | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 20 |
| Bham City | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 19 |
| Portsmouth | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 19 |
| Burnley | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 19 |
| Wigan | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 28 | -16 | 18 |
| Everton | 16 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 17 | -3 | 17 |
| Wolves | 16 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 16 |
| Stoke | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 16 |
| Blackburn | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 17 | -10 | 16 |
| Hull | 17 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 19 | -13 | 14 |
| West Ham | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 18 | -8 | 12 |
| Bolton | 15 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 18 | -9 | 11 |
So Bolton has the worst second half performance whilst Chelsea has the best.
Its interesting to see how this table differs from the actual one especially from the third position downwards.
Jets flying up the table
Four rounds ago the Jets were anchoring the table and their good run started after beating Sydney FC and from then on they have picked an extra six points.
There was a big result for Melbourne Victory when they beat the Central Coast Mariners 3-nil in Gosford. In their previous two encounters at the Etihad Stadium the Victory shipped in six goals with no response.
That victory kept the Melbourne outfit on top of the ladder especially after a rare loss in New Zealand for Wellington Phoenix who lost to Sydney FC 1-nil.
Like Jets, Sydney FC are on a mini good run and haven't lost a match since losing to the Jets.
There was also a huge result for Adelaide against Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium. Even though Adelaide stay rooted to the bottom of the table, the win means they are still in touch at least with the bottom four sides.
There were no draws in round 18 and the other team to win was North Queensland Fury who beat Perth Glory. Glory are in some sort of free-fall especially after going as high as third on the ladder not so long ago.
Round 18 is the third round so far this season without a draw and so this week I will take a look at the drawing trend as shown in the table below:
| Trend | Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Draw at half time, draw at full time | 14 | 58.3 |
| Home team leading at half time, draw at full time | 7 | 29.2 |
| Away team leading at half time, draw at full time | 3 | 12.5 |
| Drawn matches | 24 | 26.7 |
Valencia face Real challenge
Valencia currently top the form ladder having collected 16 points from their last six matches whilst Real Madrid has picked up 13 and are third.
Also Valencia are still to lose at home and so this will be a real challenge for Valencia to keep their push for the title.
Sevilla are just one point behind Valencia and a Valencia slip up will see them back in third place assuming they win their away match against Sporting Gijon.
So here is the rest of the stats for these two teams after 13 rounds:
| Real Madrid | Valencia | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 2 | 3 |
| Played | 13 | 13 |
| Points | 31 | 28 |
| Drawn | 1 | 4 |
| Won | 10 | 8 |
| Lost | 2 | 1 |
| Goal difference | 20 | 12 |
| Clean sheets | 7 | 5 |
| Failed to score | 2 | 1 |
| Goals scored | 31 | 25 |
| Goals conceded | 11 | 13 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Biggest win | Real Madrid 5 - 0 Xerez | Almeria 0 - 3 Valencia |
| Biggest loss | Sevilla 2 - 1 Real Madrid Barcelona 1 - 0 Real Madrid | Getafe 3 - 1 Valencia |
| Score 3 or more | 7 | 4 |
| Concede 3 or more | 0 | 1 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 6 |
| Points | 21 | 10 |
| Drawn | 0 | 4 |
| Won | 7 | 2 |
| Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Goal difference | 16 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 22 | 10 |
| Goals conceded | 6 | 6 |
| Ave. goals scored | 3.1 | 1.7 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.9 | 1.0 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 6 | 7 |
| Points | 10 | 18 |
| Drawn | 1 | 0 |
| Won | 3 | 6 |
| Lost | 2 | 1 |
| Goal difference | 4 | 8 |
| Goals scored | 9 | 15 |
| Goals conceded | 5 | 7 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.5 | 2.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.8 | 1.0 |
Battle Anfield : Liverpool vs Arsenal
This is a very interesting fixture because Liverpool has beaten Manchester United and drawn Manchester City at Anfield whilst Arsenal has lost to both teams away.
Arsenal currently lie in third place on the table whilst Liverpool are in seventh place. A win for the home team will make them go one point behind Arsenal and depending on other results could take them as high as fourth.
A win for Arsenal will help them maintain third place and keep abreast with Chelsea and Manchester United while a loss could see them in sixth place assuming Tottenham Hotspurs and Aston Villa win.
So here are some of the stats for the two teams going into this battle at Anfield:
| Liverpool | Arsenal | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | 7 | 3 |
| Played | 15 | 14 |
| Points | 24 | 28 |
| Drawn | 3 | 1 |
| Won | 7 | 9 |
| Lost | 5 | 4 |
| Goal difference | 11 | 20 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 4 |
| Failed to score | 3 | 2 |
| Goals scored | 31 | 38 |
| Goals conceded | 20 | 18 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.1 | 2.7 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Biggest win | Liverpool 6 - 1 Hull | Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal |
| Biggest loss | Liverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa Chelsea 2 - 0 Liverpool Fulham 3 - 1 Liverpool | Arsenal 0 - 3 Chelsea |
| Score 3 or more | 5 | 7 |
| Concede 3 or more | 2 | 2 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 7 |
| Points | 14 | 18 |
| Drawn | 2 | 0 |
| Won | 4 | 6 |
| Lost | 1 | 1 |
| Goal difference | 13 | 15 |
| Goals scored | 21 | 22 |
| Goals conceded | 8 | 7 |
| Ave. goals scored | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 8 | 7 |
| Points | 10 | 10 |
| Drawn | 1 | 1 |
| Won | 3 | 3 |
| Lost | 4 | 3 |
| Goal difference | -2 | 5 |
| Goals scored | 10 | 16 |
| Goals conceded | 12 | 11 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.5 | 1.6 |
Inter, Barca through
Barca won 2-1 away to Dynamo Kiev to top the group and with the home team leaving the European stage for the season.
Inter finished second in the group and Rubin Kazan will get into the Europa draw.
Fiorentina stunned Liverpool at home to win Group E and push Lyon into second place. Debrecen became the second team to finish with zero points after a 4-nil home loss to Lyon.
In Group G, Stuttgart secured their place in the knockout stages with a win over Unirea Urziceni who themselves will be in Europa Cup.
Finally in Group Olympiacos' win over Arsenal will see them play in the knockout rounds whilst the draw between Standard Liege and AZ Almaar will see the former play in the Europa Cup.
At this stage I thought it would be interesting to have a look at all the different scorelines in this season's UEFA Champions League and here they are:
| Scoreline | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 0 - 0 | 7 |
| 0 - 1 | 11 |
| 0 - 2 | 2 |
| 0 - 3 | 3 |
| 0 - 4 | 1 |
| 1 - 0 | 12 |
| 1 - 1 | 14 |
| 1 - 2 | 7 |
| 1 - 3 | 3 |
| 1 - 4 | 3 |
| 2 - 0 | 10 |
| 2 - 1 | 6 |
| 2 - 2 | 3 |
| 2 - 3 | 2 |
| 2 - 5 | 1 |
| 3 - 0 | 1 |
| 3 - 1 | 3 |
| 3 - 3 | 1 |
| 3 - 4 | 1 |
| 4 - 0 | 2 |
| 4 - 1 | 1 |
| 5 - 2 | 1 |
| 6 - 1 | 1 |
So the most popular result in the group stages of the Champions League was a 1-all draw.
A-League: Mariners vs Victory
The Mariners have beaten Victory twice already and both matches were at the Etihad Stadium.
The Victory failed to score in both matches.
Now the last league match is at Bluetongue Stadium and Victory has a last chance to at least score against the Mariners.
The Mariners have the best defence in the league at the moment having only conceded just 11 goals so far.
Although the Mariners have lost more matches than Victory, they are still to lose by more than one goal.
So here are the rest of the stats for the two teams
| Central Coast Mariners | Melbourne Victory | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 4 | 1 |
| Played | 17 | 17 |
| Points | 24 | 31 |
| Drawn | 6 | 4 |
| Won | 6 | 9 |
| Lost | 5 | 4 |
| Goal difference | 12 | 5 |
| Clean sheets | 8 | 4 |
| Failed to score | 7 | 3 |
| Goals scored | 23 | 28 |
| Goals conceded | 11 | 23 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.6 | 1.4 |
| Biggest win | Melbourne Victory 0 - 4 Central Coast Mariners NQ Fury 1 - 5 Central Coast Mariners | Melbourne Victory 4 - 0 Gold Coast |
| Biggest loss | Brisbane Roar 1 - 0 Central Coast Mariners Adelaide Utd 1 - 0 Central Coast Mariners Sydney 1 - 0 Central Coast Mariners Newcastle Jets 2 - 1 Central Coast Mariners Gold Coast 2 - 1 Central Coast Mariners | Melbourne Victory 0 - 4 Central Coast Mariners |
| Score 3 or more | 4 | 5 |
| Concede 3 or more | 0 | 3 |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 9 |
| Points | 11 | 12 |
| Drawn | 5 | 3 |
| Won | 2 | 3 |
| Lost | 0 | 3 |
| Goal difference | 4 | -2 |
| Goals scored | 7 | 14 |
| Goals conceded | 3 | 16 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.4 | 1.8 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 10 | 8 |
| Points | 13 | 19 |
| Drawn | 1 | 1 |
| Won | 4 | 6 |
| Lost | 5 | 1 |
| Goal difference | 8 | 7 |
| Goals scored | 16 | 14 |
| Goals conceded | 8 | 7 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.6 | 1.8 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 0.8 | 0.9 |
Bayern outclass Juve to reach last 16
Juventus only needed a draw to maintain second place in the group but the loss now means they now drop to the Europa Cup.
Maccabi Haifa finished the campaign without a single point after a narrow home loss to group leaders Bordeaux.
In Group B Manchester United won the group after beating Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg 3-1 away.
That loss meant that CSKA Moscow secured second place after beating Besiktas 2-1. This will be the first time for CSKA to reach the knockout stages.
In Group C the big guns Real Madrid and AC Milan took first and second place respectively. Marseille will enter the Europa Cup draw after losing 1-3 to Real.
In Group D the first two places were decided in the previous round and although Apoel Nicosia managed a draw at Stamford Bridge that was not enough to keep them in Europe.
In match day 2 Debrecen could be the other team to finish with zero points if they dont get at least a draw against Lyon.
Valencia climb to third in La Liga
Valencia played in the last fixture of round 13 knowing that a win would put them above Sevilla and they did that winning 3-1 against Athletic Bilbao.
For the second successive round Sevilla's match finished in a draw and this time the team was held by one all by Valladolid.
The top teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, both won to make sure there were no changes at the summit of La Liga.
Xerez lost again and this time the bottom team lost 2-nil to Atletico Madrid to remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder.
Malaga draw against Osasuna for its fourth successive draw and now sits just one point above Xerez.
After round 12 I looked at the home ladder and now its the turn of the away ladder:
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 18 |
| Valencia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 18 |
| Sevilla | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| Deportivo La Coruña | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 12 |
| Real Madrid | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| R Santander | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 9 |
| Osasuna | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 8 |
| Getafe | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 6 |
| Sporting Gijon | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 6 |
| Valladolid | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 6 |
| Espanyol | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 5 |
| Almeria | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 4 |
| Atletico | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 16 | -9 | 4 |
| Málaga | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 3 |
| Mallorca | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 3 |
| Xerez | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 13 | -12 | 2 |
| Zaragoza | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 21 | -14 | 2 |
| Villarreal | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 1 |
| Tenerife | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 18 | -14 | 1 |
So just like real ladder, Barcelona are on top where they are tied with Valencia who have also collected 18 points away from home.
At this point Tenerife and Villareal have the worst away record having just picked a point from their travels.
Everton comeback earns draw against Spurs
Spurs had gone to a 2-nil lead in the second half but Everton managed to score two of their own. Spurs missed a penalty in injury time.
Portsmouth managed a rare win at home after downing Burnley 2-nil but stayed at the bottom. They now trail Bolton in 19th place by just points.
At the top Manchester United closed the gap at the top to just two points after a 4-nil comprehensive win over West Ham United.
Manchester City stopped their run of draws with a win over league leaders and title rivals Chelsea. Man City won 2-1 and Chelsea like Spurs missed a penalty.
Arsenal's win over Stoke City takes them to third place replacing Spurs and Villa maintained fifth after a convincing 3-nil win over Hull City.
This week I will take a look at the first half ladder for the English premiership. This ladder considers the results from the first half only and next week I will take a look at the second half ladder:
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 32 |
| Chelsea | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 27 |
| Aston Villa | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 25 |
| Tottenham | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 23 |
| Man City | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
| Man United | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 22 |
| Stoke | 15 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 21 |
| West Ham | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 20 |
| Sunderland | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 20 |
| Liverpool | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 19 |
| Bham City | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
| Wigan | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 19 |
| Everton | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 19 |
| Burnley | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 16 | -7 | 19 |
| Bolton | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 16 |
| Fulham | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 16 |
| Blackburn | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 15 |
| Hull | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 15 | -4 | 15 |
| Portsmouth | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 14 |
| Wolves | 15 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 11 |
Sydney back to winning ways
Before this win Sydney had lost three consecutive matches and were in danger of losing the second spot on the ladder.
Newcastle United continued with their resurgence beating rock bottom Adelaide United 2-nil at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Before last week the Jets had never won away from home this season and now they have notched two away wins and scoring five goals in the process and conceding just one.
The result pushed the Jets to sixth position on the ladder and this is not bad for a team that was anchoring the ladder not so long ago.
Good news for Adelaide though is that the Fury lost and therefore remain a point ahead of them and a -13 goal difference.
Elsewhere there were draws for leaders Melbourne Victory against Wellington Phoenix and Brisbane held Perth Glory 1-all at home .
The Gold Coast United managed to win their match 2-1 against the Central Coast Mariners after trailing at half-time.
This is only the third time this season that an A-League team trailing at half time has gone on to win and its also the second time for a home team to do so.
Below is the rest of the winning trends so far for the A-League:
| Trend | Frequency | Percentage(%) |
|---|---|---|
| Home team leading at half time, home team winning at full time | 21 | 34.4 |
| Away team leading at half time, away team winning at full time | 18 | 29.5 |
| Home team trailing at half time, home team winning at full time | 2 | 3.3 |
| Away team trailing at half time, away team winning at full time | 1 | 1.6 |
| Draw at half time, home team winning at full time | 13 | 21.3 |
| Draw at half time, away team winning at full time | 6 | 9.8 |
| Matches ending in result | 61 | 71.8 |
Brazil draws Portugal, Ivory Coast
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia
Group E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark
Group F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland
The hosts South Africa will kickoff the tournament on June 11 2010 in a group A match against Mexico.
Four and a half hours later, Uruguay will place France to complete the round 1 matches for Group A.
TipsChallenge will run a 2010 World Cup tipping competition and this is already set up with the fixtures for the first three rounds available.
La Liga: Bilbao vs Valencia
A win for Valencia who are currently in fourth position will get them as far as second place depending on other results.
Bilbao has accumulated seven points at home so far from two wins and one draw whilst Valencia has a very good away record having only lost once so far away from home.
So here are the rest of the stats so far after 12 rounds:
| Valencia | Athletic Bilbao | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 4 | 8 |
| Played | 12 | 12 |
| Points | 25 | 20 |
| Drawn | 4 | 2 |
| Won | 7 | 6 |
| Lost | 1 | 4 |
| Goal difference | 11 | 1 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 5 |
| Failed to score | 1 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 23 | 14 |
| Goals conceded | 12 | 13 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.9 | 1.2 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.0 | 1.1 |
| Biggest win | Almeria 0 - 3 Valencia | Almeria 1 - 4 Athletic Bilbao |
| Biggest loss | Getafe 3 - 1 Valencia | Athletic Bilbao 0 - 4 Sevilla |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 6 | 6 |
| Points | 10 | 10 |
| Drawn | 4 | 1 |
| Won | 2 | 3 |
| Lost | 0 | 2 |
| Goal difference | 4 | -2 |
| Goals scored | 10 | 7 |
| Goals conceded | 6 | 9 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.7 | 1.2 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 6 | 6 |
| Points | 15 | 10 |
| Drawn | 0 | 1 |
| Won | 5 | 3 |
| Lost | 1 | 2 |
| Goal difference | 7 | 3 |
| Goals scored | 13 | 7 |
| Goals conceded | 6 | 4 |
| Ave. goals scored | 2.2 | 1.2 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.0 | 0.7 |
Pompey face poor travellers Burnley
Burnley hasn't won a match away from home and their only point came from a draw against Manchester City.
Pompey prop the ladder with just seven points and having won just once at Fratton Park.
A win for the Pompey will only lift them from the bottom if Wolverhampton Wanderers lose.
On the other hand a win for Burnley depending on other results could see them be in the top half of the table.
So for the rest of the stats for the two teams at this point of the season see below:
| Portsmouth | Burnley | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | 20 | 12 |
| Played | 14 | 14 |
| Points | 7 | 17 |
| Drawn | 1 | 2 |
| Won | 2 | 5 |
| Lost | 11 | 7 |
| Goal difference | -12 | -12 |
| Clean sheets | 3 | 3 |
| Failed to score | 7 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 11 | 19 |
| Goals conceded | 23 | 31 |
| Ave. goals scored | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.6 | 2.2 |
| Biggest win | Portsmouth 4 - 0 Wigan | Burnley 3 - 1 Sunderland Burnley 2 - 0 Hull |
| Biggest loss | Arsenal 4 - 1 Portsmouth Portsmouth 1 - 4 Man United | Tottenham 5 - 0 Burnley |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 7 |
| Points | 3 | 16 |
| Drawn | 0 | 1 |
| Won | 1 | 5 |
| Lost | 6 | 1 |
| Goal difference | -4 | 5 |
| Goals scored | 8 | 11 |
| Goals conceded | 12 | 6 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.7 | 0.9 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 7 |
| Points | 4 | 1 |
| Drawn | 1 | 1 |
| Won | 1 | 0 |
| Lost | 5 | 6 |
| Goal difference | -8 | -17 |
| Goals scored | 3 | 8 |
| Goals conceded | 11 | 25 |
| Ave. goals scored | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.6 | 3.6 |
Jets face Adelaide test
The 3-1 victory over Sydney FC was the Jet's first away win over Sydney but also the first away win for the season.
In round 16 Adelaide lost away to the North Queensland Fury and they replaced them at the bottom of the ladder.
Depending on other results, a win for Adelaide could take them as high as seventh place whilst for the Jets a win could take them to sixth whilst increasing between them and Adelaide to five points.
So here are stats for the two teams so far this season:
| Adelaide | Newcastle Jets | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | 10 | 8 |
| Played | 16 | 16 |
| Points | 17 | 19 |
| Drawn | 5 | 4 |
| Won | 4 | 5 |
| Lost | 7 | 7 |
| Goal difference | -6 | -6 |
| Clean sheets | 4 | 2 |
| Failed to score | 6 | 5 |
| Goals scored | 14 | 17 |
| Goals conceded | 20 | 23 |
| Ave. goals scored | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Biggest win | NQ Fury 0 - 2 Adelaide Utd | Newcastle Jets 2 - 0 NQ Fury Sydney 1 - 3 Newcastle Jets |
| Biggest loss | Adelaide Utd 0 - 2 Gold Coast Adelaide Utd 0 - 2 Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory 3 - 1 Adelaide Utd Adelaide Utd 0 - 2 Brisbane Roar | Newcastle Jets 0 - 3 Brisbane Roar Wellington Phoenix 3 - 0 Newcastle Jets |
| Home matches | ||
| Played | 9 | 8 |
| Points | 12 | 12 |
| Drawn | 3 | 0 |
| Won | 3 | 4 |
| Lost | 3 | 4 |
| Goal difference | -3 | -2 |
| Goals scored | 9 | 9 |
| Goals conceded | 12 | 11 |
| Ave. goals scored | 1.0 | 1.1 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Away matches | ||
| Played | 7 | 8 |
| Points | 5 | 7 |
| Drawn | 2 | 4 |
| Won | 1 | 1 |
| Lost | 4 | 3 |
| Goal difference | -3 | -4 |
| Goals scored | 5 | 8 |
| Goals conceded | 8 | 12 |
| Ave. goals scored | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| Ave. goals conceded | 1.1 | 1.5 |
The 2010 World Cup draw format
The seeded teams are host South Africa and then holders Italy plus Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Netherlands and Spain.
The seeded teams will be in put in eight groups and South Africa the hosts will be in Group A and the rest of the seeded teams will head groups B to H.
Port 2 will comprise Asia, Oceania and North and Central American teams. The teams in this pot are Australia, Japan, Honduras, Korea DPR, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States.
Port 3 will be for African and South American teams. The teams are Algeria, Cameroon, Chile, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The last pot comprises of the unseeded European teams and these are Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
So for the World Cup draw On Friday, a group will comprise a team from each pot but no group will have more than one team from that confederation apart from Europe. There can be two teams in a group from Europe with one being seeded and another being unseeded(pot 4).
Group A for example will comprise of South Africa and then one of Chile, Paraguay or Uruguay, an unseeded European team and then one team from the Asia, Oceania and North and Central American pot.
A 33 team World Cup draw format
In the unlikely event that FIFA grants this request, it will result in an interesting World Cup with one group having 5 teams. This changes the whole dynamics of the World Cup draw in order to accomodate the extra team and the extra four matches and the byes to go with them.
So in this post I will take a quick look at what a 33 team World Cup would look like.
In a normal 32 team World Cup the draw has eight groups of four teams each. Basically each group cannot have two teams from the same confederation apart from teams from the UEFA confederation. Also no group can have three teams from the UEFA.
So in a 33 team World Cup draw I think there will still be eight groups but one of them with 5 teams. This will result in a 68 match World Cup instead of the normal 64.
The teams in the five team group will have to play four matches each in the group stages and the two top teams would qualify for the second round.
It will not be possible to play the last group matches at the same time because one team in the five team group will have a bye and so FIFA will have to think about this one.
In this case I think the draw would have to put Ireland in that group because they are the ones who requested that extra place and therefore may not mind playing four games instead of three.
So the question is what happens to the other four teams. I think they will have to choose a team each from the other confederations including UEFA but maybe not put France in there.
So to fit in with the extra four matches in the group stages and still finish on the scheduled date, 11 July 2010, this five team group would have to start their matches before the opening ceremony, 11 June, 2010.
The opening match is normally played by the host nation(2006) or the defending champions(2002) but in the 33 team World Cup the opening match would have to come from the five team group and before the opening ceremony.
As I said the 33 team World Cup will be an interesting proposition and so lets wait and see what FIFA will do.
If you have any other ideas of how the 33 team World Cup can go just post that in the comments.
