Football Fantasy

Serie A is becoming more and more interesting, and with Lazio continuing their winning streak, could we see a surprise winner for the scudetto? Lazio are currently first in the table with a four point lead on second placed Inter Milan. While we're just nine games into the season, maybe Lazio can manage second place? We'll just have to see if their good form continues, or whether they'll die down into the midtable. 1. Mutu returns for Fiorentina After a nine-month doping ban, there was doubt whether Mutu would even continue his football-playing career. But the Romanian returned in great form for Fiorentina, playing a full 90 minutes away against Catania. Although the match ended 0-0, there were some sparks of action, like when Mascara hit the woodwork from a free kick, and when Mutu had a great header parried by Catania keeper Andujar. Yet Mutu's return couldn't mask the way that Mihajlovic's side played, and Fiorentina weren't playing well enough to earn thr...

With Manchester Citys loss at Wolverhampton, the predicted Big Three has emerged in the Premier League. Will Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United continue pulling away going forward? Thats the question that starts this edition of the EPL Talk Podcast, where myself, Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna the continued early season successes of last years promoted sides before breaking down this weekends Match of the Week: Tottenham Hotspurs visit to Old Trafford. Also, we walk through all the leagues action, talk Ballon dOr while looking around Europe before considering the mid-week action for Premier League sides: Mondays match between Blackpool and West Bromwich Albion as well as the fourth round of UEFA Champions League. Related posts: English Premier League Review Show, Week 5: EPL Talk Podcast English Premier League Weekend Review Show, Week 4: EPL Talk Podcast English Premier League Weekend Review Show #2: EPL Talk Podcast Watch Free Live Soccer Football Matches Online Here

Roy Hodgson finally saw his Liverpool side climb out of the bottom three with a hard-fought win at Bolton. It certainly wasnt easy for the Hodgsons men as the hosts frustrated Liverpool for long periods only to be undone by some Fernando Torres magic late on. Torres delightful flick in to the path of an on-running Maxi Rodriguez demonstrated that while he is still lacking in form he can still be a match winner for Hodgson. In fact you could argue that with his assist today, coupled with a winning goal against Blackburn last week, the Spaniard has already earned Liverpool six points. However the former Atletico Madrid man is still a million miles away from his best. Had it not been for his piece of individual brilliance, then mass criticism of Torres would have been the reaction from most pundits. So often at the Reebok Stadium, the 27-year-old would miss place a pass or see his touch let him down. This is the reason why he is not getting anywhere near the number of goals that you would...

Well, well, well what do we have here? A big three? Thats sure what it looks like atop the English Premier League, with a Carlos Tvez-less Manchester City falling off-the-pace after losing in Wolverhampton. While none of Chelsea, Arsenal, or Manchester United were dominant, each picked up three points to gain some distance at the top of the league. Myself, Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna will discuss that, the rest of the leagues matches, results from around Europe, as well as Whatever you want. This is your pre-show open thread, and as you can tell from our previous shows, the podcast is much better when you take part. Use the comments section, below, or email richardfarley@gmail.com and we will get your thoughts on Monday mornings now. Related posts: Pre-Show Open Thread: EPL Talk Podcast Pre-Show Open Thread: EPL Talk Podcast, Weekend Review Year End Review Show: EPL Talk Podcast Open Thread World Soccer News | Video | Podcast | Gallery | Live Streaming

Brighton boss Gus Poyet praised his players in the wake of a comfortable 3-0 success over 10-man Peterborough.Poyet said: "We showed the correct attitude and desire. We set out to win the game from the first whistle and I am very pleased that we managed to do that."I don't feel the sending off changed an awful lot because we were already the dominant team and ahead by that time. I didn't get a clear view of the incident so it wouldn't be right to comment without seeing the DVD, but I understand our player took a kick from behind."We had 15 shots on target and scored three goals in an away match, but it was still an opposition player in their goalkeeper who was man of the match. That shows we could probably have won even more comfortably." Football Betting Tips, Odds, Asian Handicap, Picks, Preview & Prediction

In an announcement that is sure to thrill managers of several Premier League clubs, Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has revealed his ambitions of playing in the Premier League. The German midfielder has a contract with the Bavarian club until the summer of 2012, but claims he would be interested in a switch to England. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Schweinsteiger spoke of his admiration for several Premier League clubs and even gave English fans a glowing reference. He said: For me, in England the fans are better. When the team give their best, they are not booing. Its more like they are fans more with the heart. I love the atmosphere in English stadiums. When we played last year in Manchester it was fantastic. My brother is a big fan of Man U and he always says, Go to Man U, go to Man U. I say, I cant, I cant. But I dont know what will happen with me, I have a contract to 2012 and well see. Signing Schweinsteiger would certainly be an incredible coup for any E...

By all accounts it has been a rollercoaster week for Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton. Afteran impressive win away to West Ham, bookmakers suspended betting on Hughton been the next Premier League manager to lose his job. The pressure was heightened after the Toon were dumped out of the Carling Cup by Arsenal , but today Hughtons side were in stunning form as they brushed aside Sunderland to record a stunning 5-1 win over there local rivals. A hat-trick from Kevin Nolan and as well as a brace from Shola Ameobi was easily enough to guide Newcastle to victory, but perhaps more importantly for Hughton, the win could go a long way to saving his job. Hughton himself received the backing from the Geordie faithful during todays game and was delighted with the crowds support. He said: It means a lot and Im always grateful to hear that. They are a spirited group of fans. All of the decisions on contracts will be made by the club. But we will enjoy today and so will the supporters. The most i...

Dortmunds Golden Boy Will Be Looking To Lift His Side To The Bundesliga Summit. Yesterdays halloween-themed matches were full of surprises, and Sunday promises to be just as mental with first-placed Mainz hosting second-placed Borussia Dortmund, and Hoffenheim taking on surprise package Hannover 96, who, with a win, could move into Champions League contention. Mainz v Borussia Dortmund Thomas Tuchels Mainz side hold a two-point lead over their opponents, and a nine point lead over Bayern Munich, albeit with a game in hand. With a win, they will put themselves give ahead of second place, and twelve away from the reigning champions. That kind of breathing space is golden. If Mainz can pick up one or two reinforcements in January so that their squad is deep enough to last all season, then they can use this win as a springboard to a genuine title challenge. For Dortmund, the story is the same. If they defeat Mainz, theyll go one point ahead of the leaders at the top of the league. Jurgen K...

Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong is adamant team-mate Gareth Bale is not going anywhere in the January transfer window. Bale cemented his star status at Spurs with a stunning hat-trick during their 4-3 UEFA Champions League defeat to Inter Milan in Italy earlier this month. That display put the Welsh international on the radar of several top clubs in Europe, prompting speculation of a big-money January move for the 21-year-old. But manager Harry Redknapp has since made it clear Bale is not on the market, and Bassong has reiterated that stance by insisting the winger is staying put. "He is such a good player and the way he was out there was just amazing," Bassong told The People. "He's not going to leave though, I'm positive. He's staying with us."Everybody was already talking about Gareth Bale before he scored that hat-trick."But he has to keep working and I'm sure he is going to be a top, top player." Improve Tottenham host European c...

Life in charge of the worlds wealthiest football club was never going to be easy for Roberto Mancini. Ever since arriving at Eastlands last December, there has always been the sense that the Italian is a couple of bad results away from the chop. Well after Citys back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Wolves these bad results have arrived. Im not saying that Mancini will be getting sacked on Monday morning, but with City eight points adrift of Chelsea after just ten games; you have to feel that Mancini desperately needs to see an immediate improvement in results. But this wont be easy. After a tricky trip to Poland to take on Lech Poznan in the Europa League, City face the tough task of a visit to the Hawthorns and an inform West Brom side. After that comes the biggest game of all as Manchester United make the trip across to Eastlands. By all accounts that is three very tough games for Mancini to navigate, and if City were to have fallen further away from Chelsea at the end of the Man...

Revenge Of The Sith: Novakovic Hits Three. ?The Bundesliga just gets crazier and crazier. Some really shocking results in the DFB Pokal in midweek where HSV, Mainz, Leverkusen, Werder Bremen, Freiburg and Dortmund were all knocked out have led to a mental Saturday afternoon of football. Things never seem to go as planned in the Bundesliga, and this weekend was no different. A state of normalcy in German football would be a state of anarchy anywhere else in Europe, thats for sure. Lets get to the results. FC Koln 3 2 Hamburg SV Wow. Frank Schaefer is certainly kicking it up a few notches at Koln. Zvonimir Soldo, the tyrant that he is, kept the animal that is Milivoje Novakovic locked up in the FC Koln dungeon for reasons unknown. The only explanation I can put together is that Novakovics fury and bouts of terror might have been too much for the tacticians liking. Frank Schaefer, however, obviously recognized the beasts potential, and unleashed him. Hamburg SV were hamstrung and then ...

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho says every manager in the world will want to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United .While the Special One has been strongly tipped to fill the enormous void left by Fergusons departure he still doesnt envisage it coming any day soon and is only driven by more success at Real Madrid .Mourinho told the Sunday Mirror: Football without Alex Ferguson? Im not sure that will happen any day soon. The man lives and breathes football and Manchester United is his club.His hunger and desire to win the biggest trophies remains so I cannot see the day he considers walking away from football approaching.Like Real Madrid , the Manchester United job is special and only a special manager is good enough to take the job on if and when it does become available.Of course, jobs like that dont become available every day so the interest will be vast. Like Madrid, its a job everyone will want. Click here for the best Man...

So far there have been three matches played this weekend, and all three of them have been pretty exciting. Genoa - Inter Milan ended in a 1-0 win for Inter, Roma - Lecce was exciting and finished 2-0 for Roma, and AC Milan - Juventus was the shock result, a 2-1 win for Juve. Roma - Lecce Roma - Lecce was an extremely enjoyable match. Both sides went out to score goals, and there were plenty of opportunities for everyone. Roma were more dangerous though, Vucinic was having the game of his life as he waltzed around players to create chances for himself and his teammates. Both sides had their crossbars hit after the first half, and although no goals were scored, it was a very entertaining match. In the second half Roma finally found the back of Lecce's net with Burdisso heading in a cross by Riise. But neither side stopped there, and Vucinic finished off one of his many opportunities to give Roma a two goal lead. But in the build up of the goal, a very strange event happened which res...