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Wigan vs. Portsmouth This Wednesday

April 13th, 2010

Once again, Wigan will be playing minus Gary Caldwell – serving the 2^nd game of a 3-match suspension.

After missing the last three matches due to a back injury, Emmerson Boyce may be well enough to return while a final decision is still pending on Hendry Thomas’ ability to play.

On a positive note for Portsmouth, Anthony Vanden Borre will be returning after a suspension but Nadir Belhadj and Tal Ben Haim with both remain sidelined.

Danny Webber and Hermann Hreidarsson will both be out for the rest of the season.

Wigan Player Status:

Injured: Richard Kingson

Suspended: Gary Caldwell

Doubtful: Boyce (back injury), Thomas (unspecified)

Portsmouth Player Status:

Injured: Belhadj (pulled hamstring), Ben Haim (groin injury), Hreidarsson (Achilles tendon), Webber (knee injury)

After a horrible season, Portsmouth is sorely anticipating the prospect of an FA cup at season’s end.

The Portsmouth club may be down – but their fans certainly aren’t as boss Avram Grant’s team maintains their ability to play with pride.

With the drop zone just 4 points after the weekend’s results, this is the kind of game that fixture hosts Wigan are not looking forward to with the gap between them.

Roberto Martinez’s players are finding themselves facing increasing pressure with the demands of matching the fire that Portsmouth demonstrated at Wembley. If not, we may well be seeing these two sides face off against each other in the Championship next season.

Some other interesting points:

By beating Liverpool and Burnley 1-0, the Latics have won 2 of their last 3 home games. These are their only victories in the last 13 Premier League games.
In their last 13 Premier League games, Roberto Martinez’s club has failed to score more than one goal.
Wigan threw away 19 league points this season. A dubious feat only matched in the Premier League by Stoke.

Watch: 18th April: Wigan v Arsenal, 13:30

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Posted in Fixtures

Tags: Arsenal football portsmouth wiggan

Tottenham vs. Arsenal on Way to Chelsea

April 13th, 2010

Club captain Ledley King for Tottenham remains confident when talking about a comeback against Arsenal, this Wednesday, after his seven-week absence due to a thigh injury.

In other news, Wilson Palacios starts a two-match ban and fellow midfielder Niko Kranjcar will be sidelined with an ankle injury.

Arsene Wenger, manager for Arsenal, states that forward Robin van Persie will be returning to the squad after a five month absence as a result of ruptured ankle ligaments.

Recovering from a knee problem, Alex Song hopes to be in sufficiently good shape in time to play.

With all that said it should be no secret that this time around, there can be no room for error. A poorly-timed tumble on the notoriously treacherous Wembley turf for Michael Dawson now means that this is a season-defining moment for both Tottenham and Arsenal.

The one remedy for Tottenham’s FA semi-final disaster would be a first league win over Arsenal in ten years. This would keep them in contention for the 4^th Champions League spot as well as ending the title challenge for their bitter rivals.

But it’s the Gunners who have more reason to feel confident. Aside from being the fresher of the two, Arsenal has recent events on their side. With either a win or a draw, they’ll set a club record of 21 consecutive top-flight matches without being defeated by another team.

Manager Arsene Wenger has noted that his side must win the remaining five matches to have a chance at the Chelsea, who are leading with three points ahead along with a superior goal difference. The only option is victory for Wenger which will most likely prompt him to bring Robin van Persie back into his squad for his first match since November.

This match may also see the return of Sol Campbell who hasn’t played at White Hart Lane since October of 2005. The subsequent hostile environment promises to be quite interesting

Also, watch: 17th April: Tottenham v Chelsea, 17:30

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Posted in Fixtures

Tags: chelsea football tottenham

Gus Hiddink Reveals That He was on Manchester City’s List to Replace Mark Hughes in December

April 13th, 2010

Although specifying that there were no formal talks, Dutchman Gus Hiddink has stated that there “was some interest” in replacing boss Mark Hughes.

It’s been confirmed that Roberto Mancini got the job at City while Hiddink was confirmed as Turkey’s new manager, which will begin officially in June.

It was at this point that Hiddink stated that he needed to make a judgement call regarding the offer from Turkey. It was noted that when City demonstrated interest in Hiddink he was, at the time focusing on two roles as Chelsea boss and the Russia coach.

Hiddink added that the situation was possible since it was from February till season’s end with Chelsea with no programme (with the exception of one game) with the national team.Taking over at Eastland, however, presented a major problem, since his contract with Russia included another 18 months. However, the contract expires next month which will free him to start his new role with Turkey. But Hiddink has admitted being conflicted over taking a position with a national team or opting to return to City’s more lucrative Premier League.

Hiddink is quoted as saying “It’s a big club, a club with history and also a club with money, of course”.
Ultimately, the decision was further made difficult because of Hiddink’s club experiences which included an enjoyable tenure with Chelsea. This only added to the dilemma of his decision.

In February of 2009, Hiddink replaced Brazillian Luiz Felipe Scolari (who had been sacked) and then went on to save their season with a 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Everton during the last game that Hiddink was in charge.

Having also been a former manager of Holland, Australia and South Korea, Hiddink has expressed belief in current Chelsea coach Carol Ancelotti’s ability to prevail where he, himself, fell short and will proceed to lead his Double-chasing table-toppers all the way to the Premier League trophy, this season.
“Yes, I think Chelsea will win the title, especially with Manchester United dropping points. When you see Chelsea playing against Villa, it shows there’s a lot of confidence in this team”, Hiddink says.