Give Roberto the Ball

Roberto Mancini attacks David Moyes for the ball during Man City and Everton's fixture yesterday..



Mancini lost his cool for a minute yesterday, but good looks.  His players will respect him for this, even though this type of behavior will probably warrant a fine from the FA.  Either way they were down 2-0 and needed to get something going. 

Wednesday's English Action

Chelsea faced Portsmouth today and came out with an easy 5-0 win. Drogba and Malouda obtained braces, with Lampard ending the score sheet.

Portsmouth 0-5 Chelsea
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Premier League
Aston Villa 1-1 Sunderland
Manchester City 0-2 Everton
Blackburn 2-1 Birmingham

FA Cup
Tottenham 3-1 Fulham

EPL Weekend Highlights

Arsenal 3 Burnley 1
   

Everton 5 Hull City 1
   

Manchester United 1 Wolverhampton 0
   

More EPL Highlights

EPL Sunday Highlights

Tottenham 2 Everton 1
   

Liverpool 2 Blackburn 1
   

Sunderland 0 Fulham 0
   

News & Links

Pedro Mendes says Sporting is confident ahead of the Everton showdown ::chuckle:: link

Everton fans really want Landon Donovan to stay...so they made a facebook group link

Mutu's lawyers think they'll beat the doping case...their argument: Cocaine does not enhance performance!! link

English clubs make up 56% of football debt across Europe link

Rumors link Man U with a summer move for David Villa for close to $100 million link

Inter Ultras plan a "hand cuff" protest today against Chelsea on Mourinho's 3-match ban link

The Dream's Europa League Predictions: Round of 32, 2nd Leg

Wolfsburg vs. Villareal

After a 2-2 away draw Wolfsburg have set themselves up for a very manageable 2nd leg fixture at home. Expect Wolfsburg to play a tight well-organized game with the main focus being on not conceding any goals. Villareal will have to go for the win if they will have any realistic shot of advancing to the next round. An early goal off a set piece will give Wolfsburg the advantage and a late equalizer will make it close for Villareal but not close enough. Wolfsburg 1 Villareal 1.

Juventus vs. Ajax

Juve's quality finally showed last week after getting two away goals in a 2-1 win at the Amsterdam Arena. With the return leg being played in Turin, look for a very strong performance from a Juve side coming off of a 2-1 win against Bologna over the weekend. A young Ajax side will most likely be outmatched by the home team and Bianconeri will pass through to the next round with a comfortable 1-0 victory.

Galatasaray vs. Atletico Madrid

Frank Rijkaard's club has the clear advantage after a 1-1 draw in Madrid last week. Another disappointing loss to Almeria over the weekend won't do anything Atletico's confidence. As much as I like Kun Aguero and his Portugal-linked teammates there is slim chance they will be able to advance to the next round. A loss here will most likely mean a coaching change for Atletico in the near future. Not too big of a surprise considering Quique Flores, their coach, is no stranger to late season collapses (Benfica last year). Expect Galatasaray to play well at home and come up with a 2-1 win.

Sporting C.P. vs. Everton (Seam's Dream Matchup)

Its no coincidence that the Dream Matchup has including a Portuguese side over the past two weeks. The importance of this game is HUGE for the Lisbon side and keep in mind the counter for Sporting's current winless streak at the top of our page. Sporting did in fact end up with a decent result in the first leg at Goodison Park losing 2-1, but getting the much needed away goal. I'm just going to be blunt about this... Sporting has been terrible this year and like Poppa has mentioned the streak will continue to grow if they do not come up with a win tomorrow night at home. Having said all that, I still cannot get myself to believe in a team that hasn't even shown a glimpse of hope in months. Everton will win, hopefully not by much. Sporting 1 Everton 2

Since it is very difficult to predict exact scores for all these matchup with aggregate and away goals in mind, here are the my predictions for the teams I believe will advance to the quarter finals.

Ruben Kazan over H. Tel-Aviv

Valencia over Club Brugge

Red Bull Salzburg over Standard Liege

FC Twente over Werder Bremen

Fenerbahce over Lille

Athletic Bilbao over Anderlecht

Marseille over Kobenhavn

Roma over Panathinaikos

Shaktar Donetsk over Fulham

Liverpool over Unirea Urziceni

Hamburger SV over PSV

Donovan Gets on the Scoresheet

US international Landon Donovan scored his first Premier League goal Wednesday against Sunderland. Since arriving in England he has been playing very well, and has been a consistent starter for Everton. He is due back in the States in early March for LA Galaxy's start to the season. Hopefully he can work out a deal to stay in England longer, as better competition could prove helpful, especially for the US's first game in South Africa, against England.