Archive for January 2010

AFCON final: Ghana vs Egypt

Sunday, 31st January 2010 7:09pm
The 2010 Africa Nations Cup final will see defending champions play World Cup bound Ghana.

Egypt has won the last two Cups and are still to lose in this tournament.

The Pharaohs are the highest scorers at the tournament having scored a total of 14 goals so far. This is more than double what any other team has scored in the tournament.

Of those 14 goals, nine of them have been scored in the second half.

Ghana on the other hand conceded three goals in their first match and those are the only three goals the team has conceded.

In that first match against Ivory Coast, the Black Stars scored in the second half and that was the only second half goal Ghana has scored in the tournament.

Ghana has been able to defend their leads for long periods because in every match where the team has won the single goal has been scored in the first half.

Both teams have kept three clean sheets. Ghana has conceded three goals and Egypt two.

So the final seems to be against two teams with good defences but it seems unlikely to go the penalties.


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Category: Nations Cup | Comments : 0


Sevilla faces Valencia challenge

Friday, 29th January 2010 6:01pm
Round 20 of the Spanish Primera Division will see Sevilla face the challenge from Valencia who are currently third on the La Liga table whilst the hosts are sixth.

A few weeks before Christmas Sevilla were themselves in third place and challenging the top two teams but a string of four consecutive losses have left them in sixth place.

Whilst Sevilla lost form, on the other hand Valencia picked up their form and have lost just once in their last six matches.

A win or a loss will not change Valencia's league position but a win will help close or maintain the gap between themselves and Real Madrid and Barcelona.

A win for Sevilla could see them rise as high as fourth and more importantly will reduce the gap with their opponents to just three points.

In their first meeting this season Valencia came 2-nil winners.

Here are some of the stats for the two teams so far this season:


ValenciaSevilla
Position36
Played1919
Points3933
Drawn63
Won1110
Lost26
Goal difference178
Clean sheets87
Failed to score34
Goals scored3529
Goals conceded1821
Ave. goals scored1.81.5
Ave. goals conceded0.91.1
Biggest winAlmeria 0 - 3 Valencia
Valencia 4 - 1 Villarreal
Athletic Bilbao 0 - 4 Sevilla
Biggest lossGetafe 3 - 1 Valencia
Barcelona 4 - 0 Sevilla
Score 3 or more63
Concede 3 or more21
Home matches
Played910
Points1618
Drawn43
Won45
Lost12
Goal difference76
Goals scored1717
Goals conceded1011
Ave. goals scored1.91.7
Ave. goals conceded1.11.1
Away matches
Played109
Points2315
Drawn20
Won75
Lost14
Goal difference102
Goals scored1812
Goals conceded810
Ave. goals scored1.81.3
Ave. goals conceded0.81.1


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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Third vs second : Arsenal vs Man Utd

Friday, 29th January 2010 5:48pm
In round 24 of the English Premier League, its third versus second as Arsenal hosts Manchester United at the Emirates.

In their first fixture earlier in the season, Arsenal lost 2-1 and now has a chance to even things out at the Emirates with a win.

A win for the Gunners will see them leapfrog their opponents into second place and depending on the Chelsea result could land them top place.

The Gunners have only lost once at home this season and that was the loss to Chelsea.

Manchester United are currently second and are cruising well as they defend the title they won last season.

They have lost four times so far away from Old Trafford and drawn once and therefore look good to get a result that could leave them top of the ladder.

So here are some of the stats for the two teams so far this season:


CategoryArsenalMan United
Rank32
Played2323
Points4950
Drawn42
Won1516
Lost45
Goal difference3434
Clean sheets810
Failed to score35
Goals scored5953
Goals conceded2519
Ave. goals scored2.62.3
Ave. goals conceded1.10.8
Biggest winEverton 1 - 6 Arsenal
Wigan 0 - 5 Man United
Man United 5 - 0 Wigan
Biggest lossArsenal 0 - 3 Chelsea
Fulham 3 - 0 Man United
Score 3 or more1111
Concede 3 or more22
Home matches
Played1112
Points2831
Drawn11
Won910
Lost11
Goal difference2323
Goals scored3431
Goals conceded118
Ave. goals scored3.12.6
Ave. goals conceded1.00.7
Away matches
Played1211
Points2119
Drawn31
Won66
Lost34
Goal difference1111
Goals scored2522
Goals conceded1411
Ave. goals scored2.12.0
Ave. goals conceded1.21.0


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Ghana to meet Egypt in final

Friday, 29th January 2010 10:44am
Ghana will meet the defending champions Egypt in the final of the 2010 Africa Nations Cup in Angola after beating Nigeria by 1-nil.

Ghana who have played four matches so far have scored just one goal in each of those matches and they did the same against Nigeria to reach their first Nations Cup final in nearly 20 years.

Egypt on the other hand comprehensively defeated Algeria to reach their third successive Nations Cup final.

The Pharaohs had won their first five matches by a two goal margin and they reserved their highest winning margin so far for World Cup bound Algeria.

Its also the biggest winning margin by any team so far.(see table below)

Algeria and Nigeria will play out for the third place a day before the final which will be on Sunday local time in Luanda.

So far 68 goals have been scored in the tournament and its now very unlikely that the goals record reached in 2008 will be reached this time with just two matches to go.

The table below shows the goal margins so far in the tournament(note this does not consider penalty shootout margins):


Goal MarginFrequency
0 8
1 9
2 7
3 2
4 1

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Category: Nations Cup | Comments : 0


Everton's fine form continues

Friday, 29th January 2010 5:06am
Everton continued to rise up the English Premiership table after beating Sunderland 2-nil at Goodison Park in the midweek round 23.

Everton started the season badly and was at one time in the relegation zone but recent good form has seen the team catapult to ninth on the table.

Everton's last loss was a 2-nil loss to Liverpool but since then the team has been unbeaten.

Round 23 also saw Birmingham run of 12 unbeaten matches come to an end after losing 3-nil to Chelsea.

Before that Birmingham's last loss in the league was against Arsenal in October 2009.

The Chelsea win saw the team regain top position on the ladder with Manchester United and Arsenal in second and third spots respectively.

Burnley dropped to the relegation zone after losing to Bolton 1-nil. The win took Bolton out of the relegation places.

However, Burnley can take heart in that there are three teams on 20 points and the goal difference between it and Wolverhampton in 17th place is just one.

So this time I will take a look at the second half scorelines and here they are:


ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 39
0 - 1 32
0 - 2 9
0 - 3 4
0 - 5 1
1 - 0 41
1 - 1 28
1 - 2 6
1 - 3 2
2 - 0 26
2 - 1 9
2 - 2 4
2 - 3 1
3 - 0 10
3 - 1 1
3 - 2 3
4 - 0 2
4 - 2 1
8 - 1 1


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Mariners faces Glory test

Thursday, 28th January 2010 2:12pm
Its towards the end of the season and every match is now crucial as the Perth Glory hosts the Central Coast Mariners in round 25 of the A-League.

The Glory lie fifth on the table now and with just two matches to go after this match, a win for the Glory will mean that the Mariners will have a very slim chance of reaching this year's finals.

The Glory have never been involved in the finals and they have a very good chance this season and a win here will almost assure their maiden finals appearance.

The Mariners lead the pack of teams just outside the finals places and a win for the Gosford based team is just as important and lose this match and the finals dream is nearly over.

Against the Glory the Mariners face a team that has lost just once at home this season whilst the Mariners have lost six on the road.

So here are some of the stats for the two teams so far this season.:


Central Coast MarinersPerth Glory
StreakLLLDDDWLWDLW
Played2424
Points2733
Drawn96
Won69
Lost99
Goal difference53
Clean sheets88
Failed to score105
Goals scored2833
Goals conceded2330
Ave. goals scored1.21.4
Ave. goals conceded1.01.3
Biggest winMelbourne Victory 0 - 4 Central Coast Mariners
NQ Fury 1 - 5 Central Coast Mariners
Perth Glory 4 - 0 Newcastle Jets
Biggest lossCentral Coast Mariners 0 - 3 Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory 6 - 2 Perth Glory
Score 3 or more43
Concede 3 or more21
Home matches
Played1211
Points1322
Drawn74
Won26
Lost31
Goal difference-211
Goals scored1118
Goals conceded137
Ave. goals scored0.91.6
Ave. goals conceded1.10.6
Away matches
Played1213
Points1411
Drawn22
Won43
Lost68
Goal difference7-8
Goals scored1715
Goals conceded1023
Ave. goals scored1.41.2
Ave. goals conceded0.81.8


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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Africa Nations semis: Algeria vs Egypt

Thursday, 28th January 2010 1:08pm
The 2010 World Cup bound Algeria will face the reigning African champions Egypt in the Africa Nations Cup being hosted by Angola.

Algeria last played their North African rivals in a one-off play-off to decide who went to the World Cup and Algeria triumphed that time.

Egypt are still to lose a match in this tournament and they have scored a minimum two goals in each match.

Egypt have also been winning by a two goal margin in each match so far and so Algeria will have their work cut out.

Algeria on the other hand started the tournament with a 3-nill loss to Malawi but have since won two and drawn one including the crucial win over Ivory Coast in the quarters.

So here are some of the stats for the group matches played at this tournament:


EgyptAlgeria
Played33
Points94
Drawn01
Won31
Lost01
Goal difference6-2
Clean sheets22
Failed to score02
Goals scored71
Goals conceded13
Ave. goals scored2.30.3
Ave. goals conceded0.31.0
Biggest winEgypt 3 - 1 Nigeria
Egypt 2 - 0 Mozambique
Egypt 2 - 0 Benin
Egypt 3 - 1 Cameroon
Mali 0 - 1 Algeria
Ivory Coast 2 - 3 Algeria
Biggest lossNo lossMalawi 3 - 0 Algeria
Score 3 or more21
Concede 3 or more01
Home matches
Played3
Points9
Drawn0
Won3
Lost0
Goal difference6
Goals scored7
Goals conceded1
Ave. goals scored2.3
Ave. goals conceded0.3
Away matches
Played3
Points4
Drawn1
Won1
Lost1
Goal difference-2
Goals scored1
Goals conceded3
Ave. goals scored0.3
Ave. goals conceded1.0


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Category: Nations Cup | Comments : 0


Africa Nations semis - Ghana vs Nigeria

Thursday, 28th January 2010 12:53pm
Ghana will meet Nigeria in the semi-finals of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola in the West African battle to decide who will reach the final.

The winner of the Ghana/Nigeria match will meet the winner in the other semi featuring the North African giants Algeria and Egypt.

Ghana has played three matches so far as a result of Togo withdrawing from the competition. Of those of three matches the team has won two of them by a scoreline of 1-nil with the other match being a 3-1 loss to Ivory Coast.

On the other hand Nigeria has played four matches winning two and losing one. The other match was drawn after extra time but Nigeria won on penalties.

So here is some of the stats for the group matches for the two teams:



NigeriaGhana
Played32
Points63
Drawn00
Won21
Lost11
Goal difference2-1
Clean sheets32
Failed to score10
Goals scored52
Goals conceded33
Ave. goals scored1.71.0
Ave. goals conceded1.01.5
Biggest winNigeria 3 - 0 Mozambique
Burkina 0 - 1 Ghana
Angola 0 - 1 Ghana
Biggest lossEgypt 3 - 1 Nigeria
Ivory Coast 3 - 1 Ghana
Score 3 or more10
Concede 3 or more11
Home matches
Played2
Points6
Drawn0
Won2
Lost0
Goal difference4
Goals scored4
Goals conceded0
Ave. goals scored2.0
Ave. goals conceded0.0
Away matches
Played12
Points03
Drawn00
Won01
Lost11
Goal difference-2-1
Goals scored12
Goals conceded33
Ave. goals scored1.01.0
Ave. goals conceded3.01.5

Previous Matches

SeasonRoundTeamGoalsTeamGoals
2007/8 4Ghana2Nigeria1


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Coyle faces old team

Tuesday, 26th January 2010 10:37pm
Round 25 of the English Premiership is a midweek round and Owen Coyle will face his old team Burnley looking for his first win as manager of Bolton.

Coyle has been in charge of his new team for just two league matches and both matches were lost against Arsenal.

Burnley has failed to score in its last two matches against Everton and Manchester United and so will be looking forward to scoring in this match.

This will be the third away match in a row for the team with the poorest away record in the league.

So here is the stats for the two teams so far:


BoltonBurnley
StreakDWDDLLDDLDLL
Played2021
Points1820
Drawn65
Won45
Lost1011
Goal difference-14-21
Clean sheets03
Failed to score58
Goals scored2822
Goals conceded4243
Ave. goals scored1.41.0
Ave. goals conceded2.12.0
Biggest winBolton 3 - 1 West Ham
Burnley 3 - 1 Sunderland
Burnley 2 - 0 Hull
Biggest lossBolton 0 - 4 Chelsea
Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton
Tottenham 5 - 0 Burnley
Score 3 or more43
Concede 3 or more58
Home matches
Played1110
Points1019
Drawn44
Won25
Lost51
Goal difference-75
Goals scored1614
Goals conceded239
Ave. goals scored1.51.4
Ave. goals conceded2.10.9
Away matches
Played911
Points81
Drawn21
Won20
Lost510
Goal difference-7-26
Goals scored128
Goals conceded1934
Ave. goals scored1.30.7
Ave. goals conceded2.13.1



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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Nigeria beats Zambia to reach semis

Tuesday, 26th January 2010 2:39pm
Nigeria reached the semi-finals of the 2010 Africa Nations Cup after beating Zambia 5-4 on penalties.

The match finished goalless after extra-time and therefore penalties had to decide the winner.

In the earlier match Egypt once again triumphed over Cameroon scoring two goals in extra time to make a date with Algeria who overcame Ivory Coast.

Cameroon were the first score through an own goal but Egypt came back to score the next three goals in that match.

Algeria also won in extra time over the fancied Ivory Coast. The Elephants were leading 2-1 in the dying minutes of the match but Algeria equalized and in extra got the semis place.

Egypt last played Algeria in a World Cup deciding match and this could be a very explosive encounter.

Ghana dispatched the hosts Angola with a lone goal scored in the first goal. The Black Stars will meet the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a West African battle.

Continuing with the trend of showing scorelines for the Nations Cup this time I will show the first half scored so far:


ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 6
0 - 1 7
1 - 0 3
1 - 1 4
1 - 2 1
2 - 0 4


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Tenerife holds Valencia's run

Tuesday, 26th January 2010 2:26pm
In La Liga's round 19, Tenerife managed a goalless draw against in-form Valencia.

Valencia was going for its fourth win in a row but relegation Tenerife managed to salvage a draw that gave it a valuable point and avoid the relegation places.

The bottom two teams both lost in round 19 with Real Zaragoza losing 4-2 to Villareal and Xerez at home losing 2-1 to Osasuna.

At the top, Barcelona continued with its winning run with a 3-nil over Valladolid. This was the third match in a row with Barcelona keeping a clean sheet. Out of 19 matches, Barca has kept 11 clean sheets in the league.

Real Madrid won 2-nil with two first half goals against Malaga. This was a welcome return to winning ways for Real after losing to Athletic Bilbao in the last round.

In the Madrid derby Atletico Madrid came short after losing 1-nil to Getafe.


Below is the current form table and its no surprise that Barcelona are at the top:


TeamPWDLForAGDPtsStreak
Barcelona 6 5 10 172 1516WWDWWW
Real Madrid 6 4 11 133 1013WWDWLW
R Santander 6 4 11 96 313WLWWDW
Getafe 6 4 02 64 212WWWLLW
Valencia 6 3 21 105 511LDWWWD
Villarreal 6 3 21 119 211WWDDLW
Atletico 6 3 12 117 410LDWWWL
Mallorca 6 3 12 75 210WLWLWD
Athletic Bilbao 6 3 12 77 010WWLDWL
Deportivo La Coruña 6 2 31 54 19DDDWLW
Málaga 6 2 31 77 09DWDDWL
Espanyol 6 2 13 56 -17LWLWLD
Osasuna 6 2 13 45 -17LLDLWW
Almeria 6 1 32 46 -26DLWDDL
Sevilla 6 2 04 510 -56WLLLLW
Valladolid 6 1 23 411 -75DWLLDL
Sporting Gijon 6 1 14 69 -34LLDWLL
Tenerife 6 0 33 311 -83LDLLDD
Zaragoza 6 0 24 414 -102LLDLDL
Xerez 6 0 15 411 -71LLLLDL



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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Sydney regains top spot

Monday, 25th January 2010 9:17am
Sydney FC regained the top spot on the A-League ladder after beating Newcastle Jets 3-1 in round 24 of the A-League.

The previous leaders the Gold Coast could only manage a one-all draw against the Central Coast Mariners and now trail the leaders by just one point as they currently lie third.

In second position at the moment is Melbourne Victory who beat bottom club Adelaide United 2- nil with a goal in each half.

There was a key win for Perth Glory who beat the Wellington Phoenix 2-nil at the ME Bank Stadium and that win means the Perth side now sit in fifth place ahead of the Phoenix by two points.

The Phoenix have a game in hand against Victory and after that match is played on Australia Day it will become very clear where they stand with Glory but they look set for the finals.

The team in seventh position - Mariners are four points adrift which means after round 25 the the teams in the first six places will still be in those top six places.

The Queensland battle between North Queensland Fury and Brisbane Roar finished one-all and the two teams still have a slim chance to make it to the finals.

This week I will take a look at the first half scorelines so far this season and here they are:


ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 33
0 - 1 18
0 - 2 5
0 - 3 1
1 - 0 30
1 - 1 14
1 - 2 2
1 - 3 1
2 - 0 6
2 - 1 4
2 - 2 2
3 - 0 2
4 - 1 1


So its not surprising to see that going into half-time the most popular scoreline is a goalless draw. However, of the 33 matches that went into the break goalless only seven finished that way.


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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Cameroon squeezes into quarters

Friday, 22nd January 2010 5:55pm
Cameroon just managed to reach the quarter-finals at the expense of Gabon after three teams in Group D finished with four points.

The Africa Nations Cup uses head-to-head when teams are tied on points and because they were three teams involved the matches between those teams had to considered.

Cameroon had earlier lost to Gabon and so had the head-to-head been between the two teams Gabon would have reached the quarter-finals instead.

Here is what the table used for the Group D head-to-head looks like:


TeamPlayedWonDrawLostForAgainstGDPts
Zambia 2 1 01 44 03
Cameroon 2 1 01 33 03
Gabon 2 1 01 22 03


Elsewhere in Group A, hosts Angola won the group and will now play Ghana to decide who reaches the semis. Ghana beat Burkina Faso 1-nil to reach the quarters.

Ivory Coast who were the first team to reach the quarters will play Algeria after the Algerians secured their place through the goalless draw against the hosts.

Defending champions Egypt will face Cameroon after going through their group with a perfect record.

Zambia will play Nigeria after the Super Eagles dispatched Mozambique 3-nil to secure second place in Group C.

Here is an update of the scorelines so far in the 2010 Africa Nations Cup:


ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 3
0 - 1 3
1 - 0 1
1 - 1 1
1 - 2 1
2 - 0 3
2 - 2 2
3 - 0 2
3 - 1 3
3 - 2 1
4 - 4 1



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Category: Nations Cup | Comments : 3


Derby day as Getafe face Atletico

Friday, 22nd January 2010 5:37pm
Its another derby in Madrid this weekend with Getafe facing the in-form Atletico Madrid in round 19 of the Spanish La Liga.

Getafe and Atletico are just separated by four points with Getafe on top and that is because Atletico had a bad start to the season.

However, in the last few weeks Atletico has found its feet again and now lies third on the form table with 13 points from the last six matches. This is the same number of points as Real Madrid over that period.

Getafe on the other hand has won three matches out of the last six and more importantly it has lost the last two matches to Sporting Gijon and Malaga. Both losses were 1-nil away losses.

The other loss from the last six was also an away match to Villareal but this week Getafe is home.

Here are some of the stats for the two teams as they enter derby day:


CategoryAtleticoGetafe
FormWLDWWWLWWWLL
Played1818
Points2327
Drawn50
Won69
Lost79
Goal difference02
Clean sheets33
Failed to score37
Goals scored3026
Goals conceded3024
Ave. goals scored1.71.4
Ave. goals conceded1.71.3
Biggest winAtletico 4 - 0 Espanyol
Valladolid 0 - 4 Atletico
Getafe 5 - 1 Xerez
Biggest lossMálaga 3 - 0 Atletico
Barcelona 5 - 2 Atletico
Osasuna 3 - 0 Atletico
Zaragoza 3 - 0 Getafe
Score 3 or more33
Concede 3 or more43
Home matches
Played98
Points1518
Drawn30
Won46
Lost22
Goal difference57
Goals scored1815
Goals conceded138
Ave. goals scored2.01.9
Ave. goals conceded1.41.0
Away matches
Played910
Points89
Drawn20
Won23
Lost57
Goal difference-5-5
Goals scored1211
Goals conceded1716
Ave. goals scored1.31.1
Ave. goals conceded1.91.6


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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Queensland battle: Fury vs Roar

Wednesday, 20th January 2010 3:35pm
North Queensland Fury and Brisbane Roar are separated by just one point on the table and the two teams meet in round 24 of the A-League.

A win for the home team will see them leapfrog their opponents but the highest position they can attain is seventh, just outside the finals places.

Similarly the highest position the Roar will get to if they win would be seventh and a loss could see either team anchor the table or be second from the bottom.

Fury has had better form over the last six matches collecting seven points whilst the Roar who have lost their last three matches have accumulated six points.

In their previous matches the Fury drew its home match whilst the Roar won the match at Suncorp.

So here is the stats for the two teams so far this season:


Brisbane RoarNQ Fury
StreakLWWLLLWLLWDL
Played2323
Points2625
Drawn57
Won76
Lost1110
Goal difference-7-17
Clean sheets54
Failed to score56
Goals scored3024
Goals conceded3741
Ave. goals scored1.31.0
Ave. goals conceded1.61.8
Biggest winNewcastle Jets 0 - 3 Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar 4 - 1 Wellington Phoenix
Gold Coast 0 - 2 NQ Fury
Biggest lossGold Coast 5 - 1 Brisbane Roar
Gold Coast 5 - 0 NQ Fury
Score 3 or more41
Concede 3 or more67
Home matches
Played1310
Points1414
Drawn22
Won44
Lost74
Goal difference-5-4
Goals scored1311
Goals conceded1815
Ave. goals scored1.01.1
Ave. goals conceded1.41.5
Away matches
Played1013
Points1211
Drawn35
Won32
Lost46
Goal difference-2-13
Goals scored1713
Goals conceded1926
Ave. goals scored1.71.0
Ave. goals conceded1.92.0


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Category: A-League | Comments : 0


Zaragoza, Xerez in stalemate

Tuesday, 19th January 2010 5:36am
The two bottom clubs in La Liga could only draw in round 18 of La Liga after Real Zaragoza and Xerez played out a goalless draw.

Zaragoza and Xerez are separated by six points and this was a real chance for Xerez to close that gap but the draw meant the spoils were shared and the gap remained six points.

The other team in the relegation zone Tenerife also a managed a one-all draw against Almeria and so stays two points ahead of Zaragoza.

At the top of the table, Barcelona has increased its lead at the top to five points following its 4-nil thrashing of Sevilla and Real Madrid's loss to Athletic Bilbao.

The Barca match was goalless going into half time but after the break Barca scored four to be just four goals shy of a half century of goals this season.

Valencia increased its grip on third place after a 4-1 win over Villareal. Valencia is now just three points behind Real Madrid and five points ahead of Mallorca in fourth.

. After the last round I took at look at the winning trends in La Liga and this week I will take a look at the drawing trends:


TrendFrequencyPercentage
Draw at half time, draw at full time 3168.9
Home team leading at half time, draw at full time 920.0
Away team leading at half time, draw at full time 511.1
Drawn matches 4525.0


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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Cameroon back on track

Tuesday, 19th January 2010 5:01am
Cameroon is now back on track after beating Zambia 3-2 in its second match in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

Cameroon lost its first match in the tournament to Gabon and needed to get something out of the Zambian match in order to stay in the competition beyond the group stages. Now th team needs at least a draw in its final match against Tunisia to reach the knockout phase.

Also in the second round of matches in Group A Angola and Algeria recorded wins whilst in Group B Ivory Coast reached the knockout phase after beating Ghana.

Ghana will need to Burkina Faso in its second match to join Ivory Coast whilst a draw will be good enough for Burkina Faso.

In Group C, Nigeria had a narrow win over Gabon whilst Egypt reached the quarters after beating Mozambique.

Like at the end of the last round I will also show a table with the updated scorelines from the Africa Nations Cup following the second round of matches and here it is:


ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 2
0 - 1 2
1 - 0 1
1 - 1 1
2 - 0 2
2 - 2 1
3 - 0 1
3 - 1 2
3 - 2 1
4 - 4 1



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Villa fails to score again

Monday, 18th January 2010 8:45pm
Aston Villa failed to score in the league for the third match in a row following a goalless draw against West Ham in round 22 of the English Premiership.

Villa last scored in the league in the 1-nil win against Stoke City. Interestingly that 1-nil win was their fourth clean sheet in a row.

After that match they have since played Arsenal, Liverpool and now West Ham and failed to score a single goal.

But in the same round goals were not a problem at Stamford Bridge where beat Sunderland 7-2. Chelsea were actually 4 goals up at half time and therefore became the first team to score four goals in the first half this season.

Arsenal had an important win over Bolton winning 2-nil at the Reebok. The two teams play each other again in midweek.

That win means Arsenal will go top if they win by more than two goals at the Emirates.

Manchester United stayed in the chase with a 3-nil win over Burnley. All the goals were scored in the second half.

Portsmouth were out of action after their match was the only match postponed in this round. Pompey were due to play in-form Birmingham City.

Following Chelsea's 4-nil half-time score, this week I will show a table showing the rest of the half-time scores so far this season:


ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 53
0 - 1 34
0 - 2 5
0 - 3 2
1 - 0 56
1 - 1 20
1 - 2 5
1 - 3 1
2 - 0 14
2 - 1 6
2 - 2 3
3 - 0 5
3 - 1 1
3 - 2 3
4 - 0 1


Its interesting to see that the goalless draw is not the most popular result going into half time but a 1-nil scoreline is.


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Gold Coast regains top spot

Monday, 18th January 2010 8:19pm
The Gold Coast United regained top position after beating title rivals Sydney FC in round 22 of the A-League.

This was the third match this season that the Gold Coast had beaten Sydney by a one goal margin. The first two matches finished 2-1 and 1-nil respectively but they were both at Skilled Stadium.

Melbourne Victory went back to winning ways after beating Perth Glory 6-2. Victory had lost their last two away matches and were slipping away from the top position and the big win was also good for goal difference which could be handy at the end of the season.

Elsewhere there were wins for Wellington Phoenix who beat North Queensland Fury and also Newcastle Jets who won away to the Brisbane Roar.

The only draw of the match was in the match between Adelaide United and the Central Coast Mariners. It was one all draw.

Adelaide still anchor the table and their next match will be a catch up round 19 match against Perth Glory.

After taking a look at the first half table last last week, this week I will show the second half table and here it is:


TeamPlayedWonDrawLostForAgainstGDPts
Melbourne Victory 22 10 93 209 1139
Wellington Phoenix 22 8 95 2012 833
Gold Coast 23 8 96 2118 333
Sydney 23 6 125 1312 130
NQ Fury 23 7 97 1622 -630
Newcastle Jets 23 7 88 1416 -229
Perth Glory 22 6 106 1516 -128
Central Coast Mariners 23 4 154 1212 027
Brisbane Roar 23 5 810 1422 -823
Adelaide Utd 22 3 910 1016 -618


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Sevilla faces Barca challenge

Saturday, 16th January 2010 7:52am
Barcelona will play Sevilla in round 18 of La Liga after meeting the same team in a cup game in midweek. Barca the Copa del Roy match 1-nil.

Sevilla are on a poor run at the moment having lost their last three matches 2-1.

Before those three losses Sevilla had only lost twice in the league and were fourth on the table.

Barca are the form team with 16 points from their last six matches and scored 13 goals and conceded just two.

Depending on the other results a win for Sevilla will take them just one more place up whilst a loss could also drop see them drop one place.

A loss for Barca will mean losing top place if Real Madrid wins its match against Athletic Bilbao.

Here is some of the stats for Barcelona and Sevilla so far this season:


BarcelonaSevilla
FormWWWWDWDDWLLL
Played1717
Points4330
Drawn43
Won139
Lost05
Goal difference3211
Clean sheets96
Failed to score13
Goals scored4228
Goals conceded1017
Ave. goals scored2.51.6
Ave. goals conceded0.61.0
Biggest winBarcelona 6 - 1 Zaragoza
Tenerife 0 - 5 Barcelona
Athletic Bilbao 0 - 4 Sevilla
Biggest lossNo lossValencia 2 - 0 Sevilla
Score 3 or more73
Concede 3 or more00
Home matches
Played89
Points2215
Drawn13
Won74
Lost02
Goal difference165
Goals scored2216
Goals conceded611
Ave. goals scored2.81.8
Ave. goals conceded0.81.2
Away matches
Played98
Points2115
Drawn30
Won65
Lost03
Goal difference166
Goals scored2012
Goals conceded46
Ave. goals scored2.21.5
Ave. goals conceded0.40.8



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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


EPL: Everton vs Man City

Thursday, 14th January 2010 11:38pm
Manchester City's resurgent form will be fully tested against Everton at Goodison Park in round 22 of the English Premiership.

Both clubs were involved in clashes in round 21 where only three matches were possible and Everton drew Arsenal whilst City won against Blackburn.

The match against Everton will probably be new City manager Roberto Mancini's first serious test and he will know that a win will help cement fourth place.

Everton are currently 12th on the table but they haven't lost a match in their last six matches but they have only won once.

On the other hand City has lost once, drawn once and won the rest in their last six matches and therefore will be looking to extending that winning run.

Here are some of the stats for the two teams so far this season:


Man CityEverton
StreakDLWWWWDDDDWD
Played2020
Points3823
Drawn88
Won105
Lost27
Goal difference14-6
Clean sheets63
Failed to score23
Goals scored4228
Goals conceded2834
Ave. goals scored2.11.4
Ave. goals conceded1.41.7
Biggest winWolves 0 - 3 Man City
Man City 4 - 1 Blackburn
Everton 3 - 0 Blackburn
Biggest lossTottenham 3 - 0 Man City
Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal
Score 3 or more82
Concede 3 or more55
Home matches
Played1010
Points2414
Drawn35
Won73
Lost02
Goal difference12-1
Goals scored2614
Goals conceded1415
Ave. goals scored2.61.4
Ave. goals conceded1.41.5
Away matches
Played1010
Points149
Drawn53
Won32
Lost25
Goal difference2-5
Goals scored1614
Goals conceded1419
Ave. goals scored1.61.4
Ave. goals conceded1.41.9



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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Roar chance against Jets

Thursday, 14th January 2010 11:24pm
Brisbane Roar will meet Newcastle Jets in round 23 of the A-League after losing their last two matches. Both matches were away.

The Roar were on a good run until they lost the Gold Coast United and this could be a chance to go back on track.

The Jets were also on a very good run but they have lost their last two away matches. They lost 4-nil to Perth Glory and then in the last round 2-nil to Gold Coast.

The match against the Roar gives them a chance to reverse those away losses.

Jets are currently fourth and a win will help them cement fourth place whilst the Roar are seventh and a win could see them in fifth position on the table.

Here are some of the stats for the two teams so far this season:


Newcastle JetsBrisbane Roar
Rank47
Played2222
Points3126
Drawn45
Won97
Lost910
Goal difference-7-5
Clean sheets35
Failed to score74
Goals scored2830
Goals conceded3535
Ave. goals scored1.31.4
Ave. goals conceded1.61.6
Biggest winNewcastle Jets 2 - 0 NQ Fury
Sydney 1 - 3 Newcastle Jets
Adelaide Utd 0 - 2 Newcastle Jets
Newcastle Jets 0 - 3 Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar 4 - 1 Wellington Phoenix
Biggest lossPerth Glory 4 - 0 Newcastle Jets
Gold Coast 5 - 1 Brisbane Roar
Score 3 or more54
Concede 3 or more46
Home matches
Played1112
Points2114
Drawn02
Won74
Lost46
Goal difference1-3
Goals scored1813
Goals conceded1716
Ave. goals scored1.61.1
Ave. goals conceded1.51.3
Away matches
Played1110
Points1012
Drawn43
Won23
Lost54
Goal difference-8-2
Goals scored1017
Goals conceded1819
Ave. goals scored0.91.7
Ave. goals conceded1.61.9



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World Cup bound teams struggle in Angola

Thursday, 14th January 2010 12:34pm
The first round of group games in the 2010 Africa Nations Cup has been completed and none of the 2010 World Cup bound African teams managed a win.

The four World Cup teams that had matches all failed to win with Ivory Coast only managing a draw a goalless draw against Burkina Faso.

Nigeria was the first to score in its match against Egypt but lost the match 3-1 in the end. The other three teams all failed to score.

Cameroon was stunned by Gabon who scored a first half goal and defended it to the end of the match.

The worst result was for Algeria who lost 3-nil to Malawi. Algeria was the only team to lose by a three goal margin in this first round of matches.

Ghana, the fifth World Cup bound African team was not involved in this round of matches after its match against Togo was cancelled following Togo's disqualification from the competition.

Its therefore not surprising that Groups A, C and D are anchored by Algeria, Nigeria and Cameroon respectively.

In seven matches, they were seven different scorelines :


ScorelineFrequency
0 - 0 1
0 - 1 1
1 - 1 1
2 - 2 1
3 - 0 1
3 - 1 1
4 - 4 1


The second round of matches will be kicked off by a match between Mali and Algeria and should Algeria lose that match then they will be leaving the tournament early.


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Burnley appoint Laws

Thursday, 14th January 2010 11:04am
Burnley has appointed Brian Laws as manager to replace Owen Coyle who left for Bolton Wanderers.

Laws started the season at championship side Sheffield Wednesday and stayed there until December when he was sacked and comes to Turf Moor with no previous experience managing in the Premier League.

Burnley are currently two points above the relegation zone and they have essentially been kept out of the relegation zone due to their home form.

Laws will probably need to get more than one point away from home in the second half of the season and maintain the home form in order to avoid relegation.

Laws first match will be against .

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Man City rises to fourth

Tuesday, 12th January 2010 6:43pm
Only three matches were played in round 21 of the English Premiership with the other seven postponed because of weather related safety concerns.

Of the three matches played, only Manchester City managed to win and that win took the Eastlands club to fourth on the table.

Man City's 4-1 win over Blackburn moved the team to fourth three points behind third placed Arsenal and one point ahead of fifth placed Tottenham.

Birmingham City continued their unbeaten streak with the 12th match unbeaten in the league after the draw with Manchester United.

That draw meant that the champions failed to claim top post which a win would have afforded them given Chelsea's inactivity.

With so many matches postponed this week I will take a look at the form table and hope that there will be a full round in round 22.


TeamPWDLForAGDPtsStreak
Arsenal 6 4 20 155 1014WDWWWD
Man City 6 4 11 1610 613DLWWWW
Aston Villa 6 4 02 74 312WWWWLL
Bham City 6 3 30 63 312WWDDWD
Tottenham 6 3 21 93 611DLWWDW
Man United 6 3 12 126 610LWLWWD
Liverpool 6 3 12 65 110DLWLWW
Chelsea 6 2 31 98 19LDWDDW
Wolves 6 3 03 59 -49WWLWLL
Everton 6 1 50 119 28DDDDWD
Fulham 6 2 22 86 28WDWDLL
Bolton 6 1 41 1110 17DLDWDD
Portsmouth 6 2 13 79 -27WDLWLL
Wigan 6 1 23 713 -65WLDLDL
Stoke 6 1 14 510 -54LDLLLW
West Ham 6 1 14 411 -74LLLDWL
Sunderland 6 0 33 711 -43LDLLDD
Blackburn 6 0 33 511 -63DLLDDL
Burnley 6 0 33 39 -63LDDLDL
Hull 6 0 33 412 -83DLDLLD


Although Birmingham City are unbeaten in 12 matches, the recent draws mean that they have slid down to fourth on the form table.

Arsenal recent good form sees them take top spot closely followed by Man City who have also scored the most goals in the last six matches.

Hull with just three draws from their last six matches anchor the table.


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Category: English Premiership | Comments : 0


Barca demolish Tenerife to stay top

Monday, 11th January 2010 4:51pm
Barcelona came from their disappointing draw in the last round demolish Tenerife 5-0 away from home.

The win made sure that Barca maintained their two point cushion at the top of the La Liga table. This was Tenerife's second 5-nil loss of the season after losing by the same scoreline to Villareal earlier in the season.

Real Madrid won its home fixture against Mallorca 2-nil and they and Barcelona have each scored 42 goals so far this season.

Round 17 of the Spanish Primera division also saw a big win for Atletico Madrid who beat Valladolid 4 -nil. This is the second time Atletico has won by a four goal margin after also beating Espanyol 4-nil in November.

Sevilla's poor run of form continues after losing 2-1 at home to Racing Santander. Sevilla has lost by the same scoreline in the last three matches. Their next match will be away to Barcelona.

Sevilla has now slipped down to fifth place on the ladder after being overtaken by Deportivo La Coruna.

Nothing has changed at the bottom of the table with both Xerez and Real Zaragoza losing. Malaga coudl only salvage a draw.

At this stage of the season after 17 rounds I think it is interesting to take a look at the trends in terms of the result at half time compared to the result at full time:


TrendFrequencyPercentage(%)
Home team leading at half time, home team winning at full time 4535.2
Away team leading at half time, away team winning at full time 2922.7
Home team trailing at half time, home team winning at full time 43.1
Away team trailing at half time, away team winning at full time 10.8
Draw at half time, home team winning at full time 3325.8
Draw at half time, away team winning at full time 1612.5
Matches ending in result 12875.3


So only five teams have so far managed to turn around the result at half time and with only one away team managing to do so.


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Category: La Liga | Comments : 0


Thriller kicks off Africa Nations

Monday, 11th January 2010 4:28pm
The 2010 Africa Nations Cup was kicked off by an eight goal thriller in a match between hosts Angola and Mali in Luanda.

Angola were 4-nil with just 15 minutes to go but Mali managed to score four goals of their own with the last goal being scored seconds before the end of the match.

Angola and Mali are in group A which also comprises Malawi and World Cup bound Algeria and these two teams will meet in the second match of the tournament.

So eight goals have already been scored after just one match and maybe the record of 99 goals set in the 2008 tournament could well be surpassed this time.

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Perth holds Sydney to stay in the hunt

Monday, 11th January 2010 4:00pm
Perth Glory held league leaders Sydney FC to get the precious point that keeps them in the finals places in round 22 of the A-League.

The draw means Sydney increase their lead at the top to four points after Melbourne Victory lost their second consecutive match. With just five rounds to go Sydney are in the right place at the right time.

Victory lost 3-2 to ten men Newcastle Jets and are now four points adrift of Sydney and just a point ahead of third placed Gold Coast United.

Adelaide got a valuable point against Gold Coast but they remain anchored to the bottom of the table.

Wellington Phoenix are up to fifth place on the table after beating Brisbane Roar 3-1 at home. This was the Roar's second consecutive loss after losing to the Gold Coast in the last round.

This week I will show a first half table so far this season. This table considers only the result up to half time and after the next round I will take a look at the second half table.


TeamPlayedWonDrawLostForAgainstGDPts
Sydney 22 7 114 146 832
Central Coast Mariners 22 8 86 149 532
Newcastle Jets 21 8 76 1617 -131
Wellington Phoenix 21 6 123 1211 130
Gold Coast 21 8 67 1213 -130
Brisbane Roar 22 7 87 1615 129
Perth Glory 21 5 115 128 426
Melbourne Victory 21 6 87 1519 -426
Adelaide Utd 21 5 97 79 -224
NQ Fury 22 4 612 819 -1118



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Coyle opts for Bolton

Monday, 11th January 2010 3:07pm
Owen Coyle left Burnley for Bolton Wanderers after the Trotters sacked former manager Gary Megson.

It would look like Coyle built his Burnley side on home form and his old team only lost once at home in the league. That loss was a 3-1 loss to Wigan.

Teams like champions Manchester United went to Turf Moor and lost whilst the Gunners could only scrap a draw.

Whilst the home form was good, the away form was disastrous. Burnley has only picked one point away from home so far.

Interestingly the Trotters have a poor home form having only won just twice at home compared to Burnley's five wins at home.

So I thought it would be interesting to have a quick comparison between Bolton and Burnley:


BoltonBurnley
Position1814
Played1820
Points1820
Drawn65
Won45
Lost810
Goal difference-10-18
Clean sheets03
Failed to score47
Goals scored2622
Goals conceded3640
Ave. goals scored1.41.1
Ave. goals conceded2.02.0
Biggest winBolton 3 - 1 West Ham
Burnley 3 - 1 Sunderland
Burnley 2 - 0 Hull
Biggest lossBolton 0 - 4 Chelsea
Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton
Tottenham 5 - 0 Burnley
Score 3 or more43
Concede 3 or more47
Home matches
Played1010
Points1019
Drawn44
Won25
Lost41
Goal difference-55
Goals scored1614
Goals conceded219
Ave. goals scored1.61.4
Ave. goals conceded2.10.9
Away matches
Played810
Points81
Drawn21
Won20
Lost49
Goal difference-5-23
Goals scored108
Goals conceded1531
Ave. goals scored1.30.8
Ave. goals conceded1.93.1


The match between Bolton and Burnley ended in a one-all draw.


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Mallorca home form faces Bilbao test

Friday, 1st January 2010 8:02am
Real Mallorca's unbeaten home record will face the test when the team plays Athletic Bilbao in La Liga's round 16.

Mallorca is one of only three teams still unbeaten at home. The other two are Barcelona and Real Madrid.

On the other hand Athletic Bilbao has only lost twice away from home and drawn just once. Its away record is a good as Real Madrid's.

The two teams are separated by just one point with Mallorca ahead at the moment and so a win for the visitors will see them go above the hosts on the table.

So here is the stats for the two teams so far this season:


Real MallorcaAthletic Bilbao
StreakLWDWWLWDWLWW
Played1515
Points2726
Drawn32
Won88
Lost45
Goal difference103
Clean sheets56
Failed to score14
Goals scored2819
Goals conceded1816
Ave. goals scored1.91.3
Ave. goals conceded1.21.1
Biggest winMallorca 4 - 0 Tenerife
Almeria 1 - 4 Athletic Bilbao
Biggest lossSporting Gijon 4 - 1 Mallorca
Athletic Bilbao 0 - 4 Sevilla
Score 3 or more52
Concede 3 or more21
Home matches
Played78
Points2113
Drawn01
Won74
Lost03
Goal difference17-1
Goals scored2010
Goals conceded311
Ave. goals scored2.91.3
Ave. goals conceded0.41.4
Away matches
Played87
Points613
Drawn31
Won14
Lost42
Goal difference-74
Goals scored89
Goals conceded155
Ave. goals scored1.01.3
Ave. goals conceded1.90.7

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