Spurred

Dmitry LONGICH

MATCH TOUR

Chelsea - Tottenham Hotspur. The English Premier League is once again gaining an outlandish pace - in three days most teams will play in two rounds at once. An exception is made for participants in European competitions, but their schedule of envy is even less. Tottenham will have to go to battle with Chelsea just 39 hours after the match in Seville. You can’t hit the dirt in the face - to show a worthy spectacle oblige the status of a principle derby, your own ambitions and a daring winning streak. Puzzled by a draw with Valencia and stubbornly not decreasing the backlog of Manchester United, the Stamford Bridge hosts are unlikely to offer rest tired from the road. The fourth match of the season, Jose Mourinho and Martin Yola, will open the sub-program of the 32nd round and will surely turn out to be no less acute and intriguing than the previous three.

UNEXPECTED INTrigue

Portsmouth - Manchester United. It is already time for the Mankunians to count the tours not from the beginning, but from the end, gradually reducing the distance to the long-awaited triumph and being afraid to jinx it. For circumstances forced to play the same composition in all tournaments of the team of Alex Ferguson, a trip to the very south of England does not seem to be fraught with exclusive dangers. “Portsmouth” this season is very reminiscent of a caterpillar, by some miracle, at first climbing to the very top of a glass jar, and then slowly but surely sliding down. The leader’s visit is a chance to find a motivational clue, try to stop the fall and again revel in Euro cups. United, by the time the meeting begins, will be well aware of Chelsea's accomplishments on this tour and will receive an additional trump card.

DO NOT LOSE FROM THE VIEW

Caught on the periphery of Hiddink’s attention and already slightly forgotten in his homeland, Alexei Smertin, meanwhile, had fully adapted to Fulham. Having sustained competition for an honorable place in the center of midfield, the ex-captain of the Russian national team regained his lost confidence. In a match with “Portsmouth”, Alex got hold of an assist, making a decisive contribution to saving “Fulham” in the last minutes. Four of the last five fights, Smertin spent in full and at the same time has not yet earned a single yellow card.

IMPORTANT WORDS

“Our club has a real mixture of cultures - Senegalese, Chinese, English, Irish, Welsh. The real connection between them is the game of football and the team spirit that defines our future. At the moment we look more like a team fighting for European competitions than for survival. We are on the right track, but in no case should we calm down. On the contrary, we should work even harder now, "Charlton coach Alan Pardew has recently been very convincing not only in the interview.

BEAUTIFUL NUMBERS

Outwardly unimportant match “Middlesbrough” with “Watford” will be 100th in the Premier League for Stuart Downing. The 22-year-old winger of the English national team spends the sixth season with Borough and, despite the slower growth rate, remains one of the most promising British players.

MANCHESTER CITY - CHARLTON

April 6th . City of Manchester, 20.15.

Judge: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).

Injuries : Richards, Hamann / Gibbs, E. Reed.

Disqualifications : no.

Manchester City (Sport Today version): Isaksson - Mills, Disten, R. Dunne, Ball - Sun Jihai, Dabo, Barton, Ireland - Wassell, Mpenza.

"Charlton" (version of "Sport today"): Carson - Young, El-Karkuri, Heydarsson, Thatcher - Ambrose, A. Song, Holland, Cheng, Thomas - D. Bent.

Last five matches : - - - + + / - + = + +

First round match : 0: 1.

Quotes William Hill : the victory of Manchester City - 1.95, the draw - 3.25, the victory of Charlton - 3.3.

Broadcast : NTV-Plus Football, 20.15 (direct).

Everton - Fulham

April 6th . Goodison Park, 10.30 p.m.

Judge : Dermot Gallagher (Oxfordshire).

Injuries : Boyle, T. Cahill / Ballard, Elrich, Elliott, J. Pearce, Montella, Kedryu, C. Jensen.

Disqualifications : no.

Everton (Sport Today version): Howard - Hibbert, Yobo, Stubbs, Lescott - Arteta, Carsley, Neville, Manuel Fernandes, Osman - Johnson.

“Fulham” (version of “Sport today”): Niemi - Foltz, Bocanegra, Knight, Rosenor - S. Davis, Brown, Smertin, Buba Diop, Radzinsky - McBride.

The last five matches : - + = + = / - - = = =

First round match : 0: 1.

Quotes William Hill : the victory of Everton - 1.7, the draw - 3.2, the victory of Fulham - 4.5.

Broadcast : RTR-Sport, 23.50 (recording).

Chelsea - Tottenham

April 7th . The Stamford Bridge, 15.45.

Judge : Rob Styles (Hampshire).

Injuries : Robben, Essien / L. King, Dervit, Assou-Ekotto, E. Gardner, Huddlestone.

Disqualifications : no.

Chelsea (Sport Today version): Czech - Jeremy, Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, E. Cole - Ballack, Makelele, Lampard, D. Cole - Shevchenko, Drogba.

Tottenham Hotspur (Sport Today version): Robinson - Shimbonda, Dawson, Ricardo Rocha, Lee Yoon Pio - Lennon, Zokora, Jenas, Malbranck - Keene, Berbatov.

Last five matches : + + + + + + / + + + + +

First round match : 1: 2.

Quotes William Hill : the victory of Chelsea - 1.36, the draw - 4.0, the victory of Tottenham Hotspur - 7.0.

Broadcast : RTR-Sport, 0.25 (recording).

ARSENAL - WEST HAM

April 7th . Emirates Stadium, 18.00.

Judge : Graham Pull (Hertfordshire).

Injuries : Henry, Van Persie, Walcott, Gilberto Silva, Aliadiere / Upson, Ashton.

Disqualifications : no.

Arsenal (Sport Today version): Lehmann - Ebouet, Gallas, Kolo Toure, Clichy - Gleb, Fabregas, Diabi, Rosicky, Jungberg - Adebayor.

West Ham (Sport Today version): Green - Nill, Ferdinand, Collins, McCartney - Boyer, Reo-Cocker, Kouachi, Etherington - Tevez, Zamora.

Last five matches : + + + - - / - - - + +

First round match : 0: 1.

Quotes William Hill : the victory of Arsenal - 1.4, the draw - 4.33, the victory of West Ham - 5.5.

BLACKBURN - ASTON VILLA

April 7th . Ewood Park, 6 p.m.

Judge : Martin Atkinson (Yorkshire).

Injuries : Reed, Savage, Oyer / Sutton, Delaney, Carew.

Disqualifications : no.

Blackburn (Sport Today version): Friedel - Emerton, Khizanishvili, Samba, Warnock - Bentley, Mokoena, Dann, Pedersen - McCarthy, Derbyshire.

Aston Villa (Sport Today version): Sorensen - Bardsley, Mellberg, G. Cahill, Bouma - Agbonlahor, Petrov, McCann, Barry - Maloney, Young.

Last five matches : - - + + - / - = - = =

First round match : 0: 2.

Quotes William Hill : the victory of Blackburn - 1.83, the draw - 3.2, the victory of Aston Villa - 3.75.

MIDLESBRO - WATFORD

April 7th . Riverside, 18.00.

Judge : Chris Foy (Merseyside).

Injuries : Bates / M. King.

Disqualifications : Pogatets, Morrison, Cattermole / no.

Middlesbrough (Sport Today version): Schwarzer - Abel Xavier, Woodgate, Hoot, E. Taylor - Lee Don Guk, Boateng, Ewell, Downing - Viduka, Yakubu.

"Watford" (version of "Sport Today"): Foster - Chambers, Demerit, Shittu, Stuart - Smith, Mahon, Francis, Kabba - Priskin, Boise.

Last five matches : - + = - - / = - = - -

First round match : 0: 2.

Quotes William Hill : Middlesbrough win - 1.61, draw - 3.5, victory of Watford - 4.5.

READING - LIVERPOOL

April 7th . "Madeisky Stadium", 18.00.

Judge : Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).

Injuries : Conwy, Sonco, Mate, Little, Marty / Kewell, Luis Garcia, Fabio Aurelio.

Disqualifications : no.

Reading (Sport Today version): Hahnemann - Halford, Dubbury, Ingimarsson, Shory - Oster, Sidwell, Harper, Hunt - Lita, Doyle.

Liverpool (Sport Today version): Reina - Finnan, Carragher, Hyupya, Arbeloa - Gerrard, Sissoko, Xabi Alonso - Bellamy, Kate, Crouch.

Last five matches : + - - = - / - + - = +

First round match : 0: 2.

Quotes William Hill : victory of Reading - 3.3, draw - 3.25, victory of Liverpool - 1.95.

Broadcast : NTV-Plus Online, 17.55 (direct).

SHEFFIELD UNITED - NEWcastle

April 7th . The Brammell Lane, 6 p.m.

Judge : Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

Injuries : Hals / Moore, Ameobi, Owen.

Disqualifications : no.

Sheffield United (Sport Today version): Kenny - Kilgallone, Lucetti, Davis, Armstrong - Gillespie, Tonj, Jagielka, S. Quinn - Stead, Kazim-Richards.

Newcastle (Sport Today version): Given - Carr, S. Taylor, Oneva, Babayaro - Milner, Parker, Butt, Duff - Dyer - Martins.

Last five matches : + - = - - / + - = - -

First round match : 1-0.

Quotes William Hill : Sheffield United win - 2.15, draw - 3.3, victory of Newcastle - 2.8.

WIGAN - BOLTON

April 7th . JJ Stadium, 18.00.

Judge : Mike Riley (Yorkshire).

Injuries : Kirkland, Boyce / O'Brien.

Disqualifications : none / Ivan Campo, Nolan.

“Wigan” (version of “Sport Today”): Filan - R. Taylor, Hall, de Zeuw, Baines - Valencia, Landzaat, Skoko, McCulloch - Camara, Heskey.

“Bolton” (version of “Sport Today”): Yaaskelainen - Hunt, Meite, Ben Haim, Gardner - Yannakopoulos, Speed, Diane-Faye - Diouf, K. Davis - Anelka.

Last five matches : = + + = - / + - - - +

First round match : 1-0.

Quotes William Hill : the victory of Wigan - 2.5, the draw - 3.1, the victory of Bolton - 2.5.

PORTSMUT - MANCHESTER UNITED

April 7th . Fratton Park, 20.15.

Judge : Mark Clattenburg (Tyne and Wyre).

Injuries : Pedro Mendes, Johnson / Sylvester, G. Neville, Vidic.

Disqualifications : no.

“Portsmouth” (version of “Sport Today”): James - Pamaro, Primus, Campbell, Stefanovich - O'Neill, S. Davis, N. Kranchar, M. Taylor - Kanu, Mwaruwari.

Manchester United (Sport Today version): van der Sar - Brown, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Evra - Cristiano Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs - Rooney, Saa.

Last five matches : + - - = = / + + + + +

First round match : 0: 3.

Quotes William Hill : Portsmouth win - 6.0, draw - 3.4, Manchester United win - 1.5.

Broadcast : NTV-Plus Online, 20.15 (direct).

NOTE : match start time is Moscow time.

TOURNAMENT TABLE

SNIPERS : Drogba (Chelsea) - 18, Cristiano Ronaldo (Man. United) - 16, Rooney (Man. United), McCarthy (Blackburn), Yakubu (Middlesbrough) - 12, Van Persie (Arsenal), Lampard (Chelsea), Johnson (Everton) - 11, Doyle (Reading), Henry (Arsenal), Martins (Newcastle), Canu (Portsmouth), D. Bent (Charlton) - 10.

33rd round. 04/09. Aston Villa - Wigan. Bolton - Everton. Charlton - Reading. Fulham - Manchester City. Newcastle - Arsenal. Watford - Portsmouth.