Tuesday, 26 November 2013

UEFA Champions League Preview: Bayer Leverkusen v Manchester United

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By: TBMU Admin On: 15:02   In:   No comments

UEFA Champions League Preview: Bayer Leverkusen v Manchester United

UEFA Champions League Preview: Bayer Leverkusen v Manchester United

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:56 AM PST

Sami Hyypias men welcome the Premier League champions to the BayArena on Wednesday for a crucial Group A clash, as they look for their ninth home win in a row in the initial stages of Europes premier club competition - a result that would send them top of the pool. With 10 wins from their first 13 matches, Leverkusen have made their best ever start to a Bundesliga season this term, but their 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday was overshadowed by the injury suffered by winger Sidney Sam. Sam has been in electric form for club and country this season, scoring 11 goals, but he lasted just four minutes against Hertha before being substituted with a thigh problem. His absence is likely to give attacker Robbie Kruse - recently awarded the Professional Footballers Australias Player of the Year gong for 2013 - a chance, with the other wing set to be filled by South Korea star Heung-Min Son. Leverkusen lie second in the group, with seven points from four matches, and they have not lost since a 4-2 defeat at United on matchday one. Included in Leverkusens home winning streak in the group stages are triumphs over Real Madrid, Roma and Valencia, while they also came from behind to defeat 2011-12 champions Chelsea 2-1. However, Hyypia will be without defender Roberto Hilbert (knee) and midfielder Stefan Reinartz (heel) for this game at the BayArena. United have won their last three Champions League fixtures against Leverkusen, although they were knocked out on away goals by the Germans in the 2001-02 semi-finals. They are unbeaten in their last 10 matches in all competitions, climbing to sixth in the Premier League after a poor start to the season. New manager David Moyes has finally found his feet at Old Trafford, but they were denied on Sunday when Kim Bo-Kyung headed an injury-time equaliser to give Cardiff City a last-gasp 2-2 draw in South Wales. Wayne Rooney scored twice in the previous fixture against Leverkusen, taking his Champions League tally to 29 goals and cementing his place as Britains all-time leading scorer in the competition. He will be hopeful of adding to that, but may be without strike partner Robin van Persie again after the Dutchman missed the match at Cardiff with toe and groin issues. Midfield enforcer Marouane Fellaini is suspended for this match following his late red card against Real Sociedad on matchday four, but Moyes will hope defenders Nemanja Vidic (concussion) and Phil Jones (groin) can return. Michael Carrick is a certain absentee with an Achilles injury, but forward Danny Welbeck came back from a knee injury when he came off the bench at Cardiff.

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Facts: Rampant Rooney, accurate Aguero, swoonsome Suarez, lethal Lampard

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 04:16 AM PST

Cardiff 2-2 Manchester United Despite his early yellow card, Wayne Rooney was ultimately the driving force for United in Cardiff, creating 8 chances – 3 from open play, 5 from set-pieces. Peter Whittingham kept Cardiff ticking over, completing 94.5% of his passes in the match and crossing 6 times. Cardiff's Kevin Theophile Catherine didn't have the best of days, conceding 6 fouls – more than anyone else. United's Jonny Evans mopped up a lot of Cardiff's moves, clearing the ball 15 times. No player managed more this weekend. Marouane Fellaini and Tom Cleverley failed to control the game or their tackles, fouling 4 times each. DEBRIEFMoyes' midfield a work in progress STATS ZONE Analyse Cardiff v Man United on your browser Manchester City 6-0 Tottenham Though Spurs had more possession, City were utterly clinical in front of goal. Of their 15 attempts, 10 were on target and 6 found the net. In-form Sergio Aguero was again central to City's attacking prowess. All 5 of his shots were on target, 2 of them goals. Jesus Navas had his best game in a City shirt, creating 4 chances (1 an assist) and scoring 2 goals. Martin Demichelis looked assured too, completing 97.6% of his passes for the Citizens. By contrast, Roberto Soldado had a day to forget, mustering a single shot on goal and making just 28 touches. DEBRIEF Soldado struggles as Spurs' focal point DEBRIEF Nasri silently earning his stripes STATS ZONE Analyse Man City v Spurs on your browser West Ham 0-3 Chelsea Sam Allardyce's side managed a solitary shot on target, from Joey O'Brien in injury time. Surpassing his Premier League goal tally from last season, Oscar had an afternoon to remember. Only Frank Lampard (80) had more touches than him (76) and he made 7 tackles, more than anyone else. Lampard returned to haunt his former club again. He had 7 shots on the day, 4 on target, scoring 2. John Obi Mikel had a comfortable afternoon. No player made more passes than him (64), with the Nigerian completing 93.8%. James Collins offered some form of resistance to Jose Mourinho's side, making 4 blocks and 11 clearances for the Hammers. SATURDAY ANALYSISInsert 'Oscar winner' pun here STATS ZONE Analyse West Ham v Chelsea on your browser Arsenal 2-0 Southampton Although gifted his opener by Saints keeper Artur Boruc, Olivier Giroud had a productive day at the office, scoring with both his shots on target. The Frenchman has scored 7 times from 14 attempts on target this season. Aaron Ramsey was once again influential for the Gunners, attempting more passes than anyone else on the field (66), completing 87.9% of them. Southampton's Victor Wanyama was in combative mood, winning all 9 of the tackles he attempted: no player this weekend made more. Aside from his howler, Artur Boruc's distribution was sloppy, failing to find the target with 16 of his long balls. Known for his passing attributes, Mikel Arteta read the opponents well on Saturday too, making 5 interceptions and 3 tackles – although he did create a Southampton chance with a mistake in his own 'D'. PRESS BOX Five lessons from Arsenal v Southampton SATURDAY ANALYSIS Saints can do it all – apart from score STATS ZONE Analyse Arsenal v Southampton on your browser Fulham 1-2 Swansea Angel Rangel was at the heart of the Swans' action, attempting 103 passes (excluding throw-ins) – the most by any player this weekend. Fulham's right-back Elsad Zverotic also attempted to create chances from the wing but to little avail, only finding the target with 3 of his 9 crosses. By contrast, Jonathan de Guzman was having a greater impact, attempting 14 crosses and completing 91.4% of his passes. Jose Canas rarely missed a beat either, misplacing just 5 of his 76 passes on the day. Dimitar Berbatov was involved in 16 aerial duels on the day, winning 62.5% of them. SATURDAY ANALYSIS Fulham can't afford to carry Ruiz STATS ZONE Analyse Fulham v Swansea on your browser Hull 0-1 Crystal Palace Fundamental to Crystal Palace's win at the KC was their defensive display. Damien Delaney and Daniel Gabbidon made 15 and 14 clearances respectively, keeping the Tigers at bay. 20 of the 29 were headed. Dean Moxey, Daniel Gabbidon and Joel Ward all made 5 interceptions for Palace during the game. George Boyd and Yannick Sagbo each created 3 chances for Hull. Even before his red card, Yannick Bolasie was having a frustrating afternoon for the Eagles, having 4 shots without testing Allan McGregor. Hull's afternoon was epitomised by Ahmed Elmohamady, as he lost possession 31 times and failed to find a teammate with any of his 10 crosses. SATURDAY ANALYSIS Time for Hull to look over their shoulder STATS ZONE Analyse Hull v Palace on your browser Newcastle 2-1 Norwich Alan Pardew appears to have told his side to shoot on sight: Newcastle had 21 shots in the game, 11 of which came from outside the box. Maybe Cheik Tiote shouldn't bother, though – all 4 of his shots were off-target. On the plus side for the Ivorian, he did have 91 touches, completing 90.4% of his passes. The Magpies had Mapou Yanga Mbiwa to thank for some quick thinking against the Canaries. He made 6 interceptions, more than anyone else over this weekend. Chris Hughton's side intercepted the ball just 4 times, compared to Newcastle's 19. However, the Canaries did efficiently score with 1 of their 2 shots on target. SATURDAY ANALYSIS Newcastle need a little patience STATS ZONE Analyse Newcastle v Norwich on your browser Stoke 2-0 Sunderland Of Stoke's 11 fouls, 5 came from Erik Pieters. Sunderland managed 6 between them. Stoke's Glenn Whelan put in a cultured performance, completing every single one of his 64 passes this weekend. Marko Arnautovic frustrated for the Potters, with all 5 of his shots failing to find the target. Peter Crouch turned provider on the day for Mark Hughes' side, creating 4 chances and providing his 3rd assist in 2 games. Jack Colback put in a good shift for the Black Cats, completing 94.1% of his passes. SATURDAY ANALYSIS Sparky's summer signings start to shine DEBRIEF Big clubs set to sniff around N'Zonzi STATS ZONE Analyse Stoke v Sunderland on your browser Everton 3-3 Liverpool All 3 of Liverpool's goals came from set-pieces. Before the game, Everton were the only Premier League side yet to concede from a set-piece this season (excluding penalties). Despite letting in 3 goals, Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was very much a hero for the Reds on derby day. The Belgian made 9 stops, saving 75% of the shots he faced. Liverpool's Jon Flanagan also impressed, winning 8 of his 9 tackles and completing 26 of his 31 passes (83.9%). Romelu Lukaku seems to enjoy playing against Liverpool. All 5 of his attempts were on target, including 2 goals. On the opposing team, Luis Suarez drove Liverpool on, with 3 of his 4 shots on goal finding the target, including a goal from a free-kick. SATURDAY ANALYSIS Lukaku shows why Jose's waiting STATS ZONE Analyse Everton v Liverpool on your browser

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Old Trafford hero Foulkes passes away aged 81

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:49 AM PST

Foulkes was a survivor of the Munich air disaster in 1958 and went on to become a stalwart at Old Trafford, making 688 appearances for the club. The former defender made his debut in 1952 and sits fourth on the club's all-time appearances list, with only Ryan Giggs, Bobby Charlton and Paul Scholes having represented United more. United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward paid tribute to Foulkes, saying on the club's official website: "Bill was a giant character in the post-war history of Manchester United. "He was a very gentle man, who I was privileged to meet on several occasions, including most memorably with his team-mates at the Champions League final in Moscow, 50 years after his heroics in the Munich air crash. "Bill's contribution over almost 700 games and nearly 20 years will never be forgotten. The thoughts of everyone at the club – directors, players, staff and fans – are with Bill's family." Foulkes, who spent his entire playing career at Old Trafford, started in United's 1968 European Cup final win over Benfica at Wembley and was a member of the squad that won four First Division titles.

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Win! Tickets to The Class of 92 London premiere

Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:00 AM PST

The Class of 92, a cinematic documentary detailing the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United footballers (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville) covers the period 1992-99, culminating in United's European Cup triumph, dramatically interweaving and mirroring the highs and lows of its football odyssey with the immense social and cultural changes taking place in Britain at the time. To be in with a chance ofjoining Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Butt and the Neville brothers on the big night, LOG IN first and answer the question. Open to all world residents aged 18 and over. Entries close: 2pm on November 29 2013. Prize is as stated. No cash alternative. Prizes are non-transferable. One entry per person. FourFourTwo terms and conditions apply

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