Manchester City had a successful season in the EPL last year, and is hoping to for another effort. Manchester City got off to a promising start with a scoreless draw against Tottenham and a 3-0 win against Liverpool. Goalie Joe Hart let in his first goal of the season against Sunderland, but is still solid in goal. Carlos Tevez notched two goals in the win against Liverpool, and he is one of the main keys to the offense.

The Blackburn Rovers have scored one goal in each of their three matches so far this season, each coming from a different player. They’re offense isn’t as potent as that of Manchester City, but it is versatile. After a season opening shutout, goalie Paul Robinson has allowed two goals in the two subsequent games. Nikola Kalinic leads the offensive attack with eight shots, but only two have been on goal and one scored.

Manchester City has the home field edge and the superior goalie. They’re offense stalled against Sunderland, but they have the potential to be aggressive. Blackburn must try to capitalize on a better than expected performance against Arsenal. That might be a tall order against a team as strong as Manchester City.

Bolton broke out after a scoreless draw in their opening match, scoring three times against West Ham. Johan Elmander scored two goals. Their first two matches have seen solid goaltending from Jussi Jaaskelainen, who has allowed one goal while grabbing eleven saves. Birmingham has scored four goals on the early season, including a pair for Craig Gardner. Their offense has looked excellent. The goaltending hasn’t been as stellar, as Ben Foster has notched seven saves while allowing three goals. Still, Birmingham City has gotten a lot from their strikers, making them a potent force.

Bolton scored a pair of 2-1 wins last year, including in the EPL finale on May 9th. They have had strong defense and great goaltending so far this year, and their offense is coming alive. Birmingham City could have some match-up problems as they encounter a defense that is much better than that of their first two opponents. Still, Birmingham City is fully capable of pulling out a win. Gaining a point on the road against Bolton will continue the good start to the season. Look for this match to end in a draw.

Blackpool may prove tougher than expected. After a 6th place finish in the Championship League, Blackpool won a playoff to earn promotion to the Premier League for the first time since the division formed. It is also their first appearance in the top English league since 1971. In their opening match, Blackpool earned a comfortable 4-0 win over Wigan. They won’t be a team to be taken lightly. Newcomer Marlon Harewood scored two goals for Blackpool in their win, and he needs to play as good if they have any chance to beat Arsenal.

Arsenal is coming off a fortunate draw, but earning a point at Liverpool is no small task. The last time the teams met, Arsenal won a 2000 match during the FA Cup. The last time they met in regular league play was in the 1970-71 season, when Arsenal won both matches. Both teams are different now though. Playing at home, Arsenal should be able to claim a win. If Blackpool can force a draw or pull a stunner, they will send a message to the rest of the EPL that they are a team to be reckoned with. A win for Blackpool will spice up the online betting odds further.

At Rapid Vienna on Thursday, Milner is willing to play in Villa’s Europa League play-off match if his desired move to City hasn’t gone through by then, a move that would prevent Milner from playing for City in that competition if he was to change clubs afterwards.

Kevin MacDonald, Villa caretaker manager said, “If James hasn’t gone to Manchester City by the middle of the week, I’m sure he’ll want to play, because he just loves playing football.”

For most of the summer, City has been pursuing Milner and last week appeared to be on the brink of getting their man. Stephen Ireland, their own player has refused to agree to head in the other direction unless he receives a £2 million pay-off, which City is not willing to offer.

To match Villa’s valuation, the cash-rich Manchester club could yet come back with a cash-only offer if Ireland continues to be a stumbling block. Milner wants it resolved – one way or the other – before Thursday’s match and he is sick of waiting to know his future.

On Saturday, Milner played for Villa in their opening Premier League fixture, starring and scoring in a 3-0 home win over West Ham. From the home fans, Milner received a standing ovation, so he would not see another season at Villa Park as an undesirable option.

In the last several weeks, New York has made some major headlines across the MLS and the entire global soccer world by signing Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez. It was an interesting move to bring these two players from Barcelona F.C. to an American club.

Henry is one of the greatest French strikers of all time, while Marquez is the star of the Mexican national team. These two international stars promise to fill up the new Red Bull Arena almost to capacity. It is expected that more than 20,000 fans will show up at Red Bull Arena to watch Henry’s and Marquez’s second home game appearances. All of this talk about the new arrivals has overshadowed Red Bulls true star, Juan Pablo Angel. In fact, Angel has proved his striking abilities this season once again by scoring more than 10 goals in less than 20 games so far.

The clash of Los Angeles and New York will be a fight between the league’s best teams. The Galaxy come in with the best MLS record so far, while the Red Bulls are the second best in the Eastern conference. There are plenty of expectations on Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle to lead Los Angeles to a victory against New York. However, the question remains can the Galaxy handle the pressure of facing some of the biggest names in MLS?

Houston and New York played earlier this season, on June 2nd. In that game, New York walked away victorious by a score of 2-1. However, past results are not indicative of the future, and Houston has the advantage of playing at home. In order to walk away with a win, Houston needs Pat Onstad, their goalkeeper, to have a great game. He currently has 32 saves on the season. They also need Brad Davis and Brian Ching, who each have 3 goals on the year, to have a big game.

New York, on the other hand, needs their goalkeeper, Bouna Coundoul, to keep playing like he has been. He has 50 saves on the year. They also need Juan Pablo Angel to keep doing what he does best, which is scoring goals. He already has 9 goals on the year.

If their last game, which ended up 2-1, is any indication, Saturday’s MLS match between Houston and New York will be exciting. Despite one team being higher in the standings than the other, all signs point to a close, hard-fought game. Tune in on Saturday night to see who walks away victorious.

Having lost to World Cup odds favorite, Switzerland in their opening game, Spain is trying to become the first team to win the World Cup after losing their first match. They played well enough during the rest of group play to win the group and appear to be back on track.
Spain’s midfield that includes Xavi, Xabi Alonso, and Sergio Busquets is arguably the best in the tournament. Up front, striker David Villa has scored a tournament-best four goals, including their lone goal against Portugal.

Paraguay is qualifying for the quarterfinals for the first time in history. They have made it this far by winning Group F and after defeating Japan on penalty kicks in their Round of 16 match. Their defense has carried them in each game, having only given up one game in the four games they have played.

All the pressure will be on the Spaniards. As the reigning Euro 2008 champs, they were pegged as the favorites to win the World Cup and they have played well enough in recent games to be worthy of that designation. They proved against Portugal that they can penetrate nine-man defenses and they will be favored against Paraguay.

After drawing first blood, the Germans marched ahead 2-0 by capitalizing on their precision passing game that led Thomas Müller to set up Lukas Podolski for a fast crossing ground strike in the net. With their backs against the wall in the 36th minute, the English rallied back with a lofted pass that gave Matthew Upson a sensational header to challenge the Germans 2-1.

Soon after came one of the worst blown calls in this year’s World Cup as English midfielder Frank Lampard boomed a rifling shot off of the cross bar that landed two to three feet inside the goal line which was cleverly recovered by the German keeper Neuer and not tallied as a goal. After ninety minutes of play, the English retreated into the locker room justifiably upset.

As the second half wore on, the downtrodden hopes of the English turned to despair after failing to convert on a free kick. German midfielder Mesut Özil provided a lightning counterattack by streaking along the sideline to find Müller for the easy score. Müller also provided the final dagger to a 4-1 finish that eliminated the English from the cup.

On paper it is easy to see that these teams do not match up well against each other. To win this match, world Cup odds favorite team, Italy will without doubt be the favorites. This will be their 3rd and final match. It could be their opportunity to either A) win the group or B) advance out of the group.

To play the role of a spoiler, many people note that this provides Slovakia with the opportunity. In this match, I think it’s a little early to say that, as they may still actually be in competition. They play New Zealand in the first match. For them, this will be a very winnable game. All they will need to have a good opportunity to advance will be a victory over Paraguay or Italy.

Slovakia does have a chance, although they are certainly not favorites to win. They play a style of ball that can keep both teams in the game. Their defense will struggle against Italy, even though their offense is pretty good.

On another team’s weaknesses, Italy has an offense that can capitalize. A team that does not have any World Cup experience, Italy will be taking on them. This team has never qualified for the World Cup since the conception of the country. A team that is eager to prove and it will provide an inexperienced team that they belong in the World Cup. Look for this team to come out fighting. By the defending champions, don’t expect them to be intimidated.

North Korea and North Korea are a part of Group G. As a result of the high quality of its teams, the group has been labeled the “Group of Death”. North Korea is considered to be the worst of the four, and they are determined to prove the world wrong.

The lack of international experience of a majority of the players is a major obstacle North Korea will need to overcome. From North Korea’s domestic league, most of the roster is drawn, and clubs from that league don’t enter Asian competitions. As a result, most of the team hasn’t faced players on the same level as their Portuguese counterparts.

Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal. In the entire tournament, the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year is considered one of the top three players. He is one of the rare players who can single-handedly swing a game in his team’s favor.

Portugal is coming off from a disappointing qualifying campaign, despite being ranked third in the world by FIFA. To unheralded Denmark, they blew a 2-0 lead at home and needed a late run of three straight wins and some help to edge Sweden for a place in the playoff. They defeated Bosnia 1-0 in both legs to qualify.