Arshavin makes the difference!
Said it.  .  .one slip, and all Barca's hard work will come undone.

Now all the Arses need to do is hang in there till 90.

RVP puts his critics to shame. Nice.

chamotex:

You cant attack Barca and win  - very unlikely.
You can only park the bus and hope for the best.
Any manager with half a brain should know this.

More like, park the bus and make use of counter-attacks.
But that won't work with RVP developing jelly legs in front of goal.
Arshavin should be a good sub for Song.   .  .doubt that Bendtner's gonna be any better than RVP.

coded guy:

Where is debo and his goons?

In front of their TVs screaming obscenities at their players, of course.  .  .where else?

Then again, we all knew this was gonna happen.
But football's like chess. . .one wrong move and all Barca's hard work could be undone. Arses could get a lucky draw.

New ideas, Wenger. This set up is leaving the path to Szczęsny too wide open.

Nani is definitely my MOTM. He was tireless, though a tad selfish a few times.
Lovely goal, as well as the assist for Rooney's.

Smalling wasn't bad either. Doubt that Evans would've been that steady in front of those beefy City guys (wonder what Mancini feeds them).

All in all, great midfield battle. The 4-5-1 formation served its purpose to a good extent.
Giggsy's age might be starting to tell, though.

HNIC:

Walahi, I wish it will be Scholesy
Tevez won't miss penalty kicks at O.T

Take that ill-luck to ya thread, abeg.

Ominously for West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United have a hugely impressive recent record at the Hawthorns.
In four Premier League visits they have won all four, scoring 13 goals and conceding just two.
Overall, they have won their last six trips there and were last beaten at the Hawthorns in the league in March 1984.

Yet, while they remain unbeaten this season, in 18 games, and lead the Premier League, they were held to another away draw on Tuesday when, after leading through Dimitar Berbatov, they were pegged back by a last minute equaliser from Lee Bowyer.
That was their eighth draw overall and seventh away from home.
It is already United's highest number of away draws since the 1998-99 season, when they drew nine but still won the title.

United are without Park Ji-Sung, on duty at the Asia Cup, while Nani, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen and John O’Shea undergo tests. Owen Hargreaves and Antonio Valencia are out.
"We're looking at Nani as a possibility," Sir Alex Ferguson told reporters at Carrington on Friday. "We'll see how he is today, but he maybe has more chance of playing against Stoke."
Either way, Sir Alex will look to "freshen things up" against Roberto Di Matteo's side. "We may look to make one or two changes," confessed the boss, "as one or two looked a bit tired in the last few minutes against Birmingham.

Albion have lost their last three and seven of their last 10, the most recent the reverse the 3-1 home defeat by Blackburn on Tuesday.
Albion will miss Gabriel Tamas, sent off in the 3-1 defeat by Blackburn, while Gonzalo Jara is also missing after accumulating five cautions.

WBA (probable, 4-1-4-1): Carson; Shorey, Scharner, Pablo, Cech; Mulumbu; Tchoyi, Dorrans, Morrison, Thomas; Odemwingie.

United (probable, 4-3-2-1): Van der Sar; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Carrick, Anderson, Giggs; Nani, Rooney; Berbatov.

Referee: Chris Foy.

Arsenal will be up against a daunting home record as they look to keep their title bid on course against Birmingham on New Year's Day.
Alex McLeish's men have turned St Andrews into something of a fortress, having lost just one of their last 24 Premier League games there.
The Blues have already produced one upset this week after pinning Manchester United to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday courtesy of Lee Bowyer's 89th-minute strike.
And the Gunners are the next high-profile side on their checklist as they bid to pull clear of their precarious spot on the edge of the relegation zone and climb the table in Saturday's tea-time kick-off.

Arsene Wenger's team, meanwhile, appeared to suffer a festive hangover in midweek after being brought down to earth with a bump from their triumph over title rivals Chelsea with a disappointing 2-2 draw at Wigan.

Blues boss McLeish is poised to field an unchanged side to the one that snatched a point against United in midweek.
His side have no fresh injury worries, with former Gunners midfielder Alexander Hleb again likely to be amongst the substitutes as he continues his return from a hamstring injury.

The Gunners welcome back captain Cesc Fabregas from suspension after the Spaniard missed Wednesday's Wigan clash.
However, midfielder Abou Diaby will be out for around a month after suffering a calf strain at the DW Stadium.
Robin van Persie and Alex Song are expected to come back into the side having been rested against the Latics, but Thomas Vermaelen (Achilles), goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (ankle) and Kieran Gibbs (ankle) are all still out.

Possible starting XIs:

Birmingham: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Bowyer, Ferguson, Gardner, Fahey, Jerome.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Squillaci, Clichy, Sagna, Koscielny, Arshavin, Song, Nasri, Fabregas, Van Persie, Chamakh.

Chelsea will hope to take advantage of Aston Villa’s poor recent run. Gerard Houllier’s side has lost five of their last six Premier League games, the only exception the 2-1 home win over West Brom.
Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Bolton was welcome; it was their first win and clean sheet in seven games since they beat West London neighbours Fulham at Stamford Bridge in November.
When the teams met at Villa Park in October, they drew 0-0. But in the last clash at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won 7-1 last season, when Frank Lampard scored four goals, including two penalties.
That win took Chelsea to within a point of leaders Manchester United and they went on to steal the title.

But they begin the New Year in fourth place, albeit just four points adrift of pole position.

Villa’s Premier League record at Stamford Bridge is not great. In 18 visits, they have won four, but the most recent was in May 2002.
Since then they have played there eight times and lost six. The fixture usually has a surprise; on Boxing Day 2007, it ended 4-4 and three players were sent off.

Chelsea are still without Yuri Zhirkov, Yossi Benayoun and Alex, while they test John Obi Mikel, who missed the Bolton win. But Branislav Ivanovic is banned after collecting his fifth caution of the season on Wednesday.

Villa test Luke Young, Ashley Young and Emile Heskey while Houllier could consider a recall for Richard Dunne and John Carew. Habib Beye and Andreas Weimann are both missing through injury.

Chelsea (probable, 4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Ferreira, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Essien, Lampard; Malouda, Anelka, Drogba.

Aston Villa (probable, 4-5-1): Friedel; Lichaj, Cuellar, Collins, Warnock; Delph, Albrighton, Downing, Bannan; Agbonlahor.

Referee: Lee Mason.

Oh, you got a new username.
No wahala, we're good. Next time just ask nicely and I'll take care of whatever you want.

No rice and chicken sha. . .na Honeywell wheat meal I dey serve Nairalanders tomorrow.

@Emibros
If someone stole your Christmas turkey, go find a live wire to wrap around your ballz.

If Bolton's missing team list hurt you so much, is there a crime in politely calling my attention to it? I would've apologized and put it up.

But no, you had to say Cristalz is a fool and demand like an arrogant prick for the team list to appear.
I was in a nice mood last night, so all I did was delete your post.

If your head was screwed on right, what you shoulda done today is ask politely for Bolton's team list. But no, you have to keep feeling like the king of the swamp and yapping like you pay me.

'Cos of your crappy attitude and your false allegations about me being ''biased or sentimental'' or whatever, I'm not including Bolton's team list. When it's 8.45pm tonight, look out for it yourself.
If you cannot wait till then, find the nearest crocodile-infested stream and put yourself in it.

When you apologize for calling Cristalz a fool, a pathetic, jobless admin, a sentimental(your spelling sucks, BTW) mod and whatever other name you intended to type but couldn't spell. . .I'll consider whether or not you deserve an apology for the missing Bolton squad list.

Can't blame 'em, can you?
This is as close to the feeling of lifting a trophy as they're gonna get this season.

aieromon:

#nowplaying
Eminem - Just lose it

Arsenal will travel to Wigan on Wednesday full of confidence after a morale-boosting 3-1 win over London rivals Chelsea on Monday night.
Midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott were instrumental in the victory, both scoring as they ran Chelsea's defence ragged and moved up to second in the Premier League table.
Arsenal have struggled in recent years to beat other sides in the 'Big Four' but Monday's victory may just give Arsene Wenger's side the self-belief they need that they can compete with the best.
The highlight of their victory was the manner in which it was achieved, with Arsenal holding onto the ball for long periods and tearing apart the Blues defence with incisive passes and creative movement.
The Gunners have been in terrific form of recent, winning five of their last six matches in all competitions with their only loss a close defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The likes of Samir Nasri, who has scored four goals in his last six league games, and Walcott have been driving Arsenal of late and will ensure Wigan's defence will need to play to the best of their abilities.
Arsenal will also take heart from their impressive away record, which has seen them win four of their last five Premier League away matches.
Left-back Kieran Gibbs (sprained ankle) is in line for a return to the squad but goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (foot) and Thomas Vermaelen (achilles) are longer-term absentees.

Like Arsenal, Wigan Athletic are also in form and are unbeaten in three matches - with their last defeat coming coincidentally against the Gunners.
Wenger's side were 2-0 winners in the Carling Cup quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium with the goals coming from Nicklas Bendtner and an Antolin Alcaraz own goal.
But after that defeat, draws against Stoke and Everton lifted spirits among Roberto Martinez's men before they produced an important 2-1 win at Wolves in Molineux.
The win saw Wolves drop to the bottom and lifted Wigan out of the bottom three to 16th.

Martinez will be hoping his side can repeat the form they showed in September and October as they went on a six-match unbeaten streak.
Midfielder Tom Cleverley - on loan from Manchester United - has been in a rich vein of form recently and, with three goals in his last four games, is providing useful support to top scorer Hugo Rodallega.
Emmerson Boyce (gashed leg) and Franco Di Santo (ankle) could make a return to first-team action but the likes of James McCarthy and Victor Moses will not return for at least the next fortnight.
Wigan will hope for a repeat of their clash last year at the DW Stadium, as they overturned a two-goal deficit to snatch a 3-2 win thanks to an injury-time winner from Charles N'Zogbia.

Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is a doubt after missing Monday night's 3-1 defeat by Arsenal with a knee problem, while Alex, Yuri Zhirkov and Yossi Benayoun remain sidelined.
Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti indicated on Monday there will be few, if any, changes against Bolton.
After Monday night's emphatic loss to Arsenal, nothing short of a win will be expected from his squad on Wednesday night.

Bolton on the other hand are short on numbers for the trip to the reigning Premier League champions and will be forced into at least one change.
The Trotters had just 19 fully-fit first-teamers available for their Boxing Day win over West Brom but have now lost South Korea winger Lee Chung-yong to the Asia Cup.
Defender Gretar Steinsson is also doubtful with a knee injury while Tamir Cohen remains on compassionate leave.
Joey O'Brien, Sean Davis, Ricardo Gardner and Jlloyd Samuel are all still sidelined.

Chelsea: Cech, Turnbull, Bosingwa, Hilario, Ivanovic, Ferreira, Cole, Terry, Essien, Lampard, Mikel, Ramires, McEachran, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba, Anelka, Bruma, Sturridge, Kakuta, Van Aanholt.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish hopes his players' professionalism will hold them in good stead ahead of their clash with Manchester United.
McLeish's side have not played for more than two weeks after their matches against Newcastle and Everton were postponed because of the freezing conditions in England.
But McLeish said the disruption to their schedule would not have an adverse effect on their game come Tuesday.
"Due to our home game against Newcastle last weekend having been postponed due to adverse weather conditions we have now not played for a fortnight," McLeish said.
"The professionalism of these players is second to none and, after the initial disappointment, they insisted on getting back to Birmingham for a training session.
"This will of course now lead to a fixture backlog and that will be a challenge but after what this group of players have shown in terms of their attitude, dedication and professionalism I certainly wouldn't back against them."

Birmingham have slipped to 17th on the Premier League table after their Boxing Day fixture against Everton was postponed, but they will not be overawed against their big name opponents on Tuesday having already defeated reigning champions Chelsea earlier this season.
The Blues have conceded only four goals more than their opponents on Tuesday, but their return of 17 goals from 17 games will be of real concern to McLeish.
McLeish has few injury worries heading into the match, with Alexander Hleb and James McFadden his only first-choice players who are unavailable.

Manchester United come into the match after a comfortable 2-0 win over Sunderland on Boxing Day in a game Sir Alex Ferguson admitted they had struggled to get into top gear.
But the veteran manager believes his side is close to finding their best football.
"We're coming to good form," Ferguson said. "In the last few weeks we've played some very good stuff and they're getting that consistency - particularly defending."
"We're really looking solid at the back and these are good signs for us, and it's an important time to get that."

Paul Scholes and Antonio Valencia are still out with injury, but Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov will be a certain starter after he scored the winning double against Sunderland. Nani may be available as he struggles to recover from a hip problem, and Darren Fletcher's involvement will hinge on his recovery from a cold.

Krayola:

Abandon the scum from Manchester and move to Catalunya!

Be more sensible and switch to Manchester!

Do I really have to go to church tomorrow??
After all this food, one should sleep in the following morning.

Ensure you become the next Osama in 2011.

Merry Christmas, Arsenal followers.
Wish y'all everything beautiful this season. . .as long as it is according to the will of Manchester United.

Hiya, Diva.

Merry Christmas, Chelsea peepulz.
Wish y'all beautiful things always. . .as long as it is according to the will of Manchester United.

@DK


A very merry Christmas to all my Mancs, quiet/violent, short/long, skinny/chubby, smart/intelligent(we ain't got dull people ) , all of you.  .  .
Wish y'all the blessings of the season.

What is it sef, why are there no responses?
I'll make ice cubes rain down on Europe on Monday night.

United 2 - Sunderland 0

Arsenal 2 - Chelsea 1

Chamakh to score twice, Drogba once (outta tradition).

Merry Christmas

United’s recent fixtures have been affected by the big freeze and this will be the team’s first game for four weekends after the trip to Stamford Bridge was called off. However, the Reds are hitting form: the 1-0 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford extended the side’s unbeaten league run to 16 games this term and Sir Alex will be optimistic of retaining top spot in the Premier League by beating Sunderland, who have enjoyed a fantastic season so far under the guidance of United old boy Steve Bruce.
The Wearsiders sit sixth in the league and only four points off a Champions League spot.
Fit-again Michael Owen could be in line for a comeback having not played since the reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light. Other than that United have no new injury worries – the only absentees are Paul Scholes, John O'Shea, Antonio Valencia and Owen Hargreaves

Experienced duo Bolo Zenden and Steed Malbranque look set for Sunderland recalls in Boxing Day’s trip to league leaders Manchester United.
Steve Bruce’s list of absentees has grown to at least seven for the game at Old Trafford with midfielder David Meyler not expected to be risked due to minor swelling to his knee.
Meyler has joined injured team-mates Michael Turner, Fraizer Campbell and Titus Bramble (all knee) and John Mensah (ankle) on the sidelines while Lee Cattermole is suspended and on-loan Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Bruce will be forced to make three changes to the starting line-up in the absence of Mensah, Cattermole and Welbeck with Zenden and Malbranque  almost certain to take the slots in midfield.
Ahmed Elmohamady will take Mensah’s place at the back – a switch which will see Nedum Onuoha start alongside Anton Ferdinand at centre-half – after replacing the Ghanaian against Bolton.
Mensah is likely to be out for at least another two to three weeks.
Bruce’s headache could get even worse with Kieran Richardson suffering from illness and the Sunderland boss may opt to save him for Tuesday’s clash with Blackpool.

Former Manchester United defender Bruce would ideally like to use Richardson and Jordan Henderson in central midfield with Zenden and Malbranque on the flanks, but he may have little option than to turn to Paraguayan Cristian Riveros.
Bramble will not be fit until at least Tuesday’s clash against Blackpool, with the centre-half only expected to resume full training tomorrow.

With Chelsea's clash against Manchester United postponed possibly until March, the Blues' trip to Arsenal takes on added significance as they could strike another hammer blow to the Gunners' title hopes with victory at the Emirates.

Even in the midst of a blip in form, Chelsea have the run of recent results against Arsenal, who have not even managed to score a goal against them in their last three games. Arsene Wenger's side last won against the Premier League champions in November 2008 and the Frenchman has yet to find a way of stopping striker Didier Drogba, who has bagged 13 goals in 13 games in meetings between the teams.

Much has been made of Chelsea's recent form - a run that has seen them draw their last three games 1-1 and pick up three points just once in two months of football - but Carlo Ancelotti can draw strength from a commanding 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge earlier this season and, if there is any side who he would want Drogba to play in order to kick-start his season, it would be Arsenal.

Cesc Fabregas' comments about Arsenal being "scared" of losing the big games is certainly backed up by recent stats as the club have struggled against their title rivals over the past few years, losing 14 of their last 18 games afaubsr Chelsea and Man Utd. The Gunners are slowly getting back to full strength as Fabregas continues to recover from a hamstring injury, but defensively a lot of the burden has been placed on new-boys Sebastien Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny.

They have struggled more at home than away this season and, facing the current champions, will certainly be keen to end 2010 on a high at the Emirates.

Arsenal player to watch: Samir Nasri. The French midfielder has enjoyed a very successful season to date, and has bagged eight Premier League goals to make him the club's top scorer. Fast and tricky, Nasri's close control of the ball and impressive vision creates opportunities for others and he has shown an added dimension in getting goals himself. For a player with a slight build, he is also deceptively strong and is tough to knock off the ball.

Chelsea player to watch: Didier Drogba. The scourge of Arsenal over the years, Drogba's haul of 13 goals in 13 games against the Gunners is tough to ignore. His power and pace have caused endless problems for various Arsenal defenders and there are no signs that anything will change. He has not been in the best of form since suffering malaria, but a return of seven in his 16 league games this season is still impressive and Arsenal will be all too aware of his danger.
ESPN