Rafa to Juve...Almost

Reports from Goal.com claim that Juventus have come to a verbal agreement with Livepool coach Rafa Benitez.  Juventus will discard current incumbet of the head coach position Alberto Zaccheroni.  Rafa is a great manager, but I am not sure Italy is the place for his type of football.  The slower defensive play in Italy could be considered anti-Rafa.  He will reportedly try and bring Fernando Torres, Martin Skrtel, Dirk Kuyt, and Javier Mascherano with him to Turin.  Man City is also among one of the many suitors preparing monster transfer bids for Fernando Torres this summer.  Juve president Jean-Claude Blanc has said the deal will last 3 years with Benitez.

"O Glorioso" Falls at Anfield

Dirk Kuyt 27'


Lucas 34'


The rest of the goals after the jump

Gerrard, Kuyt Jumped in Lisbon!!

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will miss the Europa League match against Benfica today, along with Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt.  Apparently the two were walking to their hotel room late yesterday afternoon when they were attacked by two die-hard Benfica supporters.  Lisbon newspapers report that the duo were taken to the hospital with a few minor injuries.  A Bola says that Gerrard is definitely ruled out for the showdown, while Kuyt is doubtful.

Seam's Selections: Europa League Round of 16

Atletico Madrid vs. Sporting

Sporting put an emphatic end to their winless streak against Everton in their last Europa League match, beating the Liverpool side and advancing to the round of 16. Atletico defeated Galatasaray in the last round and are hoping that they can forget their poor form in La Liga with a positive result in Europe. Sporting will take their momentum towards a good result at the Vicente Calderon getting a much needed away goal in a 1-1 draw.

Lille vs. Liverpool

After a disastrous loss to Wigan on Monday Liverpool are surely out of the race for the last Champions League spot in England. Since the Europa League is the only competition Liverpool have a chance of success in expect the Reds to go into France and get the win. Torres and Gerrard will play a major part in a 2-0 win.

Juventus vs. Fulham

Key injuries have dampered Fulham's performances lately in the Premier League and Juventus has too much quality to let the Cottagers score on the road. The Bianconeri should score easily and wrap up their spot in the quarter finals in the 1st leg. My prediction is a 3-0 win for Juventus.

Benfica vs. Marseille

The eagles have put themselves in a comfortable position to win the Liga Sagres after a win against Pacos this weekend and both Porto and Braga dropping points. Marseille are currently 5th place in Ligue 1 but only 3 points behind leaders Bordeaux. Both teams are evenly matched so expect this to be a close game. Marseille will pick up the away goal from captain Niang but goals from David Luiz and Saviola will give Benfica a much needed result heading into the 2nd leg in France. Benfica wins 2-1.

Valencia vs. Werder Bremen (Seam's Dream Matchup)

Valencia have been great in La Liga this season with David Villa leading the way as usual. Look for number 7 to have a big game and score twice at home. Werder still has enough offensive talent with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Claudio Pizzaro, and Marko Marin, to pull off an away goal. But having said that Valencia will be up comfortably 3-1 going into the 2nd leg. Goals from Villa and Hernandez.

Remaining Round of 16 Selections

Hamburg 2 Anderlecht 0

Rubin 0 Wolfsburg 1

Pananthiaikos 0 Standard Liege 0

EPL Sunday Highlights

Tottenham 2 Everton 1
   

Liverpool 2 Blackburn 1
   

Sunderland 0 Fulham 0
   

The Dream's Europa League Predictions

With plenty of interesting match ups in the round of 32 the Europa League should prove to have some excitement along with some upsets. Here are some of Seam the Dream's predictions for the most intriguing fixtures this Thursday.

Ajax vs. Juventus

Ajax will face off against a very disappointing Juve (currently in 7th in Serie A). The bianconeri have struggled in all aspects of their campaign this year and hopefully their new coach Alberto Zaccheroni will push for some away goals in Amsterdam. Having said that, Ajax will use their European experience against the Turin side hold them to a 1-1 draw. More.

Villareal vs. Wolfsburg

The defending Bundesliga champions will visit the yellow submarine Thursday night looking for an away goal. Both teams have disappointed in their leagues so far this season and since both teams have problems conceding goals, look for the team with the better attack to take this first leg. In my opinion that will be Wolfsburg and their Bosnian attack of Misimovic and Dzeko to contribute to a 2-1 victory. (Sorry Giuseppe)

Panathinaikos vs. Roma

Roma has been in great form of late and currently stand in 2nd place in Serie A. I expect their current form to carry them into Athens and get a strong result. 2-0 Roma with solid performances from the "Beast" and Jeremy Menez. More.

Atletico vs. Galatasaray

Expect a confident Atletico side after ending Barcelona's undefeated league run this weekend. Look for Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan to get on the scoresheet and give Atletico a solid result, but an away goal from Frank Rijkaard's side will keep the next leg interesting. 2-1 Atletico Madrid. More.

Hamburg vs. PSV

The first place Dutch side from Eindhoven will face some tough opposition against Hamburger SV. Hamburg are coming off a 3-1 victory against Stuttgart over the weekend and if healthy Dutch winger Eljero Elia can play a major role in this first leg. Also look for Hamburg's two strikers with Eredivisie experience, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Marcus Berg, to get some goals. Hamburg wins 3-1.

Hertha vs. SL Benfica (Seam's Dream Matchup)

Here's my personal favorite from all of Thursday night's fixtures. Look for a focused Benfica squad with no league match this weekend to get the win in Berlin (yes it rhymes). Hertha are bound for relegation in the Bundesliga with only 2 wins all season. With really nothing else to play for expect Hertha to put forth a strong effort against the much more talented Lisbon side. Goals from Cardozo and/or Saviola will give the Eagles a big advantage heading back home for the return leg. A sometimes shaky defense will most likely give up a goal to the home side so a 2-1 win will be enough for the Encarnados to be satisfied with the result.

Here are my predictions for the other Europa League matches Thursday night.

Rubin Kazan 2-0 H. Tel-Aviv

Clubb Brugge 0-3 Valencia

Standard Liege 1-1 Red Bull Salzburg

FC Twente 0-0 Werder Bremen

Lille 1-0 Fenerbache

Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Anderlecht

Kobenhavn 0-2 Olympique Marseille

Fulham 1-1 Shaktar Donetsk

Liverpool 2-1 Unirea Urziceni

From American to Indian?

English football clubs are being passed around the globe like a Rolling Stones concert. While Liverpool's fans seem to hate American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillet, another dynamic duo look to swipe ownership away from the Yanks.  Two Indian tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Subrata Roy plan to take over Anfield. Ambani is the seventh richest man in the world and owner of Reliance Industries, while Subrata Roy is chairman of the Sahara Group. The two Asian moguls are putting down £237 million to clear the club's debt, and in trun gain 51% of shares in the club. Roy seems very serious with this deal. Last year he also tried to buy sponsorship on Man City's shirt.



For more go here [GOAL]


We'll follow this story as it unfolds. What do you think about the UK being taken over by foreigners?