Funny quotes from liverpool vs Arsenal clash

"Arsenal were pretty solid for about 52 seconds"

"Arsenal to bid £40,000,005 for Martin Skrtel."

Liverpool set pieces efficiency

There were two set pieces within the first 10 minutes for Liverpool, and two goals, both created by Gerrard and scored by Skrtel.

So continues the curious case of Liverpool’s set pieces. How can a side known for being weak at defending set pieces be so prolific at scoring from them?

With 22 already notched, Liverpool have now scored more goals from set pieces (including penalties) than any other Premier League side this season (as of the end of the match). More than a third of the Reds’ 63 league goals this season have come from set pieces.

By contrast, they have conceded seven goals from set pieces, approaching a fourth of their 30 goals against, and that’s not counting penalties.

Week by week, Steven Gerrard continues to provide strong evidence that he is the Premier League’s finest set piece taker; today’s two assists today won’t have done that reputation any harm.

Liverpool demolished Arsenal in a 5-1 drubbing

Liverpool showed why they are on second on the goals list and why their attack in one to be feared by stunning leaders Arsenal with four goals in the opening 20 minutes on the way to a resounding 5-1 victory at Anfield.
Martin Skrtel and Raheem Sterling scored twice each, and Daniel Sturridge added one goal for Liverpool, who moved within five points of Arsenal with the victory.

Luis Suarez, who leads the Premier League with 23 goals this season, did not score but assisted on one goal and hit the woodwork with a first-half volley. Mikel Arteta scored Arsenal's lone goal, a penalty, in the second half. Arsenal entered the match two points clear atop the table, but fell to second and Chelsea won later Saturday.
The hosts needed less than a minute to make the breakthrough, Skrtel poking in Steven Gerrard's first-minute free kick from the left. Skrtel then made it 2-0 in the 10th minute, scoring from a corner with a fine header into the top corner. Arsenal looked shocked, and Liverpool continued to tear Arsenal apart with incisive attacking play. Suarez hit the post in the 13th minute with a powerful volley, and Kolo Toure steered the rebound wide with the goal gaping.
Sterling grabbed Liverpool's third in the 16th minute following a giveaway by Mesut Ozil, and Sturridge made it 4-0 four minutes later after another Ozil mistake. After halftime, Sterling tucked in Liverpool's fifth in the 52nd minute, finishing off his own rebound after Wojciech Szczesny had initially saved.
 The only blot on Liverpool's big day came in the 69th minute, when Arteta converted a penalty after Gerrard had fouled Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the box. Sterling came close to completing his hat-trick in the 86th minute, but Szczesny saved one-on-one to keep the score at 5-1.

Shots: 22-11
On target: 12-6
Passing: 78%-87%
Possession: 42%-58%

EPL vs Serie A vs La Liga vs Bundesliga part 2

In the previous update , we look on the basis of worldwide viewership and the overall worth of the football clubs to demarcate leagues.
Now we will look into the quality of player's aspect to rank the leagues.
The quality of a player is of course subjective, but over the course of three different surveys, the Premier League trails behind its rivals.

It fares well in the The Guardian’s list of the best 100 players in the world from last year, contributing 29 players compared to 26 from La Liga, 18 from the Bundesliga and 17 from Serie A.
 But the Premier League suffers with the statistical analysis of Opta and Football Observatory published in The Daily Mirror, which sought to find the top 50 players in Europe’s leading five leagues broken down into the best 10 strikers, attacking midfielders, defensive midfielders, central midfielders and full-backs.
The Premier League comes in at the bottom of the five leagues with just seven players represented, compared to 14 from La Liga, 11 from Serie A, nine from the Bundesliga and eight from France’s Ligue 1.
The best way to judge that is by reviewing their votes for the FIFPro World XI team of the year since it began in the 2005-06 season.
 Once again, it makes for sorry reading for the Premier League which has only been represented in the FIFPro World XI team of the year 18 times, compared to La Liga, which has had a player in the team 52 times. Serie A has contributed 13 players, and the Bundesliga has only been represented on three occasions.
The great success of the Premier League is that it manages to be the best league in the world without the best players.
The power and enduring appeal of the Premier League is not in the quality of its football but rather in the excitement it provides and its inherent competitiveness.
At this stage of the season, the gap between the top five in the Premier League is by far the smallest of any of the leading European leagues.
 Just 10 points separate Arsenal in first and Everton in fifth position, while in La Liga this gap is 17 points, in the Bundesliga it is 20 points and in Serie A it grows to a mammoth 24 points.
The Premier League is far from perfect, but when you take into account its global audience, sponsorship appeal, wealth generated through television rights and competitiveness, it can still call itself the most popular and powerful league in the world.

EPL vs Serie A vs La Liga vs Bundesliga

When determining the most powerful league in the world, it's important to take many things into consideration.

 With the rise of Bundesliga due to current exploits of BVB and Bayern Munich, the reigning European Champions, and La Liga currently plays host to the vast majority of the current World Cup winners as well as the two most outstanding players of this generation, the English Premier League remains the most powerful league in the world.
The Premier League derives most of its power from the simple truth that more people want to watch it than any other league.
 On average each Premier League game has a global audience of 12.3 million people, Per Football-Marketing.com, which far outstrips La Liga, the Bundesliga and Serie A. In fact if you added together the average global audience for these leagues, La Liga with 2.2 million (via EPFL-Euroleagues.com), the Bundesliga (via 2012's economic report) with two million and Serie A (via Alessandro Baroncelli and Raul Caruso) with 4.5 million, it still wouldn’t overtake the all powerful Premier League.
As reported in The Daily Mirror, the German-based SPORT+MARKT found that the Premier League commands the biggest television audience in the world, giving the Premier League an unprecedented power to negotiate both its centralised television-rights deal and the clubs' individual sponsorship deals.
This worldwide appeal plays a significant role in the Premier League having more teams than any other league in the top 20 richest football teams, a list which is published annually by Deloitte Football Money League.
While La Liga contributes just three teams, and Serie A and the Bundesliga account for four teams each, once again the Premier League comes out on top with six teams, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

more updates coming soon.......

Mata Signing sends rivals in a tizzy

After months of frustuation of being on the bench, Chelsea has finally accepted a bid from rival Man United for their best player of the last two season, Mata.
The bid is rumoured to be about 37 million, thus eclipsing Man U previous trasfer record of Dimtirov Berbator.

As the Blues bid him farewell, the transfer has thrown up some interesting reactions in certain quarters. Both Manchester City and Arsenal have shown their hand, and the thoughts of Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger are telling.
Pellegrini on Mata deal: "I don’t agree that a player can go from one team to another in the same league In January but rules are rules." 
Wenger goes one step further and accuses Chelsea of unfair practises. He commented," I am surprised. Juan Mata is a great player and they sell a great player to a direct opponent. 
Chelsea have already played twice against Man United, they could have sold him last week. 
 I think if you want to respect the fairness for everybody, this should not happen. I can understand completely what Chelsea are doing, and they do not make the rules, but maybe the rules should be a bit more adapted for fairness."
It was a childish reaction to the transfer and one which, predictably, irked Mourinho. The Portuguese retorted :
Wenger complaining is normal because he always does. It's something that we know. We don't do the market, we don't do the rules. We have just to do according to the rules. I'm not concerned with other things. So, normally, he should be very happy that Chelsea sold a player like Juan Mata. But I think it's also a bit of his nature. We have to accept the way he is. But when he says that this is not fair, I think what is not fair is that his team always has the best days to play. Always. 

Perhaps it’s the renewed focus and energy such a transfer will bring to David Moyes’ side which has brought a little bit of jealousy bubbling to the surface.

It's El Clasico

Barcelona and Madrid are squaring off at Camp Nou for the 1st clasico of the season, which could turn out to be a mouth watering clash as Bale and Neymar could show what they are made of.

The Barca attack which was virtually unstoppable in the early stages of the new campaign. They have only scored one goal over the past two matches, and their overdependance on Messi already on the show, however, which should give Real an extra boost of confidence as they arrive to Camp Nou.

While Barcelona are going through a brief lull, los Blancos are coming off an impressive midweek victory over Juventus. It makes for an intriguing rivalry clash as Barca attempt to rebound and Real try to keep their recent hot streak alive.

For Barcelona, the squad is highlighted by the dynamic attacking duo of Lionel Messi and Neymar, who have been able to forge a successful partnership quickly. The Brazilian's willingness to adapt to a playmaking role has helped that process. Of course, while Messi and Neymar dominate the headlines, the midfield is still the foundation of Barca's success. Andres Iniesta and Xavi continue to showcase terrific form, which makes the forwards' job much easier.
They don't represent as big of an advantage over Real Madrid this season, though. The arrivals of Gareth Bale and Isco have bolstered the talent level in the middle of the pitch for Real and that will certainly come in handy for these rivalry matches.
The Blancos will also need a strong showing from Diego Lopez to secure a positive result. For Real to emerge from Camp Nou with a win, the goalkeeper will probably have to outshine all of the aforementioned superstars.

Also on the mind should be the league table as Madrid currently trail table toppers Barca by 3 points and Atletico Madrid lead their rival city by 2 points.

Southampton stunned Liverpool at Anfield

Liverpool’s fairy run came to an end as Southampton secured a 1-0 win at Anfield.
The Reds lacked the creative spark of Philippe Coutinho who was injured earlier in the week. Southampton stunned Anfield when taking the lead on 53 minutes.
Dejan Lovren showed tremendous strength to shake off his marker and power a header on goal from a corner. Steven Gerrard attempted to keep the ball out, but he could only divert it into the roof of the net.

Saints could have doubled their lead moments later, but Simon Mignolet produced a superb save to keep out Osvaldo’s drive. With no Coutinho and Luis Suarez, Gerrard is the focal point for Liverpool and he went close to a leveller, but Artur Boruc kept out his free kick. Southampton should have put the game safe, but Mignolet showed exactly why Reds boss Brendan Rodgers brought him to the club in the summer with a brilliant triple save to deny the visitors a second goal.
Raheem Sterling had a late chance to snatch a point, but his touch let him down when in on goal.

Stats 
Shots: Liverpool 10-12 Southampton 
Corners: Liverpool 6-6 Southampton 
Possession : Liverpool 55.3-44.7 Southampton 
Passes Completed:Liverpool 360-268 Southampton 
Fouls Committed:Liverpool 6-9 Southampton

World Cup Qualifiers : Group B

Czech Republic 1-2 Armenia 

Armenia stunned the Czech Republic as, Karlen Mkrtchyan and Gevorg Ghazaryan scored in Prague. Mkrtchyan put the visitors ahead with a first-half wonder-goal , but Tomas Rosicky leveled for the Czechs in the second half . Czech Republic had lot of chances missed, and Ghazaryan made them pay, combining with Yura Movsisyan before slotting past Petr Čech for the winner in stoppage time. Armenia, who beat Denmark, 4-0, in their last match, moved up to fourth with nine points, one behind second-placed Bulgaria. The Czechs also have nine points, but are third based on goal differential.

Italy 1-0 Bulgaria 

Alberto Gilardino scored the only goal in the 38th minute, as Italy grabbed a nervy win at home to Bulgaria. Italy top the group with 17 points with three matches remaining. Another win at home to the Czech Republic on Tuesday would seal automatic qualification as group winners.

Malta 1-2 Denmark 

An own goal by Malta's Ryan Camillieri in the 53rd minute gave Denmark the win. Leon Andreasen put the visitors ahead in the second minute, but Clayton Failla equalised seven minutes before halftime. With nine points, fifth-placed Denmark remain alive in the race for the playoffs.

World Cup qualifiers: Group A

Scotland 0-2 Belgium 

Belgium took a step forward for a berth in Brazil with a win at Scotland. Steven Defour scored in the 38th minute to give Belgium a 1-0 lead. Kevin Mirallas then made it 2-0 in the 89th minute, freeing himself from his marker before powering his shot into the net. The result kept Belgium atop Group A, five points ahead of Croatia with two matches remaining. Scotland prop up the group with five points. Belgium can clinch automatic qualification with a win or draw at Croatia on Oct. 11.

Serbia 1-1 Croatia

The result was a draw, however Serbia were eliminated from contention. Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring for Croatia in the 53rd minute, only for Aleksandar Mitrovic to equalise 13 minutes later. Serbia's Nemanja Matic was sent off in the 75th minute, and Croatia's Josip Simunic followed five minutes later. Croatia must beat Belgium at home next month to have a chance at winning the group.

Macedonia 2-1 Wales

Ivan Trickovski put Macedonia ahead in the 20th minute, but Aaron Ramsey leveled for Wales from the penalty spot six minutes before the break. Aleksandar Trajkovski grabbed the winner 10 minutes from time.
Surprisingly Gareth Bale, the world's most expensive player, remained on the bench for the full 90 minutes. 

La Liga top 2 spenders

After looking at the EPL top spending clubs in our previous post, lets take a look at La Liga top two spending clubs.

Barcelona - £62 million

Barcelona added only one player in the transfer window, a marquee signing in the form of Neymar for slightly over £50 million. But they have to shell out around £12 million for their own striker Bojan Krkic.

Bojan was with AS Roma for two years—the second of which was actually spent at AC Milan—but under the terms of the initial agreement, the Spanish side had to fork out to bring back the one-time wonderkid if Roma decided they didn't want to keep him for a longer period. It's turned out to be a costly deal for the Catalan side, but they will hope the addition of Neymar is enough to propel them to another La Liga title.
One thing they will rue, their inability to sign a Centre Back as their defence could be the weak link.

Real Madrid - £144 million

Having broken their own world record for a transfer fee (which they break again and again) following the capture of Gareth Bale from Spurs.  His £85 million deal makes up the vast expenditure from last season's La Liga runners-up, but they also doled out huge fees on Spanish duo Asier Illarramendi and Isco, both of whom will have big expectations on their shoulders to wrest back the league title from Barcelona this season.
 Casemiro and Dani Carvajal were lower outlays, and Carlo Ancelotti will be hopeful that he now has a balanced squad with enough depth to challenge on all three fronts.
And, let's be honest, if he hasn't, then question marks will be raised over one man above all others.

EPL top 3 spenders

The Premier League outspent the rest of Europe this summer with expenditure in excess of £610 million.Let's take a look at top 3 spenders of EPL. 

Chelsea - £69 m

Chelsea have improved his squad to the tune of nearly £70 million. Andre Schurrle was the big signing at just under £20 million for most of the summer, but the capture of Willian for a whopping £33 million from under the noses of Spurs and Liverpool ends up accounting for almost half of the Stamford Bridge club's total outlay. 

Can Mourinho mould his bloated, attacking midfield-heavy squad into one that can challenge for the Premier League title once more? 

Manchester City - £102 m

Manchester City have been amongst the biggest spenders in the Premier League, but they were pipped to that particular title this time around. However, They crashed through the £100 million barrier, with Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho at £35 million, Ex Sevilla teammates Alvaro Negredo and Jesus Navas , Floreintina Stevan Jovetic and Martin Demichelis, a late signing off Atletico Madrid, will provide depth in defence. 
New manager Manuel Pellegrini will be expected to take his new charges and go one better than Roberto Mancini managed last year when the league was won by rivals Manchester United. 

Tottenham Hotspur -  £107 m

Despite comfortably surpassing the £100 million mark, Spurs have actually barely spent anything at all. Eight senior departures have been offset by seven signings, with an eclectic mix of attackers expected to really push Andre Villas-Boas' men toward the top four this season. 

They will have a huge task on their hands to manage that given the competition, but the likes of Roberto Soldado at £26 million and Erik Lamela at £27 million will give them a big opportunity to do so. 

Of course, the world-record sale of Gareth Bale gave them the funds to do such business—but has it also robbed them of their most potent weapon? 

Is £55 million enough for Bayern?

Having won the treble last season, Germany's finest Bayern Munich in pursuit of remaining the best shelled out over £50 million.
They brought in the best coach in world football and spent more than £50 million to strengthen their squad, primarily spending on Mario Gotze from rivals Borussia Dortmund and also bringing in Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola's job will be to repeat the success the club attained last year, and they have certainly added more than enough quality over the last few months to claim the best squad in the league once more.
 But is it good enough to conquer Europe again?

Liverpool defeats Man U 1-0

It doesn't come any bigger than this in the Barclays Premier League with Liverpool Vs Manchester United squaring of at Anfield. 

Liverpool made one change of including Martin Skrtel in place of Kolo Toure and he didn't disappoint. From Man united front Wayne Rooney was injured and Kagawa was suprisingly was not even on the bench.
 It started with both sides in attacking mood, but Liverpool were the one who tasted first blood as corner kick from Gerrard was headed superbly into the nets by Daniel Sturridge the birthday boy who has now 3 goals in as many matches in the league this season.
After some flurry of attack tempo game turned to normal.
After the first half, Second half saw lot of counter attacking football which sadly yielded little. Both sides created lots of chances but couldn't score.
Liverpool back four was superb as they didn't allow United to really test Mignolet who has now three clean sheets in three matches.
It was an amazing game of attacking football where Liverpool stood up to huge United pressure in second half and recorded their third consecutive victory.

Squad

Liverpool: Mignolet, Johnson (Wisdom), Skrtel, Agger, Jose Enrique, Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson, Aspas (Sterling), Coutinho (Luis Alberto), Sturridge.
Subs: Brad Jones, Alberto, Sterling, Ibe, Kelly, Flanagan, Wisdom.

Man Utd: De Gea, Jones (Valencia), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Cleverley, Young (Nani), Giggs (Hernandez), Welbeck, Van Persie.
Subs: Anderson, Smalling, Lindegaard, Hernandez, Nani, Valencia, Buttner.

City beats Hull 2-0

After suffering shock loss against

Cardiff City, Man City again struggled for a hard fought 2-0 victory against Hull City.
 Manchester City struggled initially as Hull had better of them as they had goal ruled offside of Danny Gragam and Robert Koren had a good shot saved, but a header from substitute Alvaro Negredo and superb free-kick from Yaya Toure sealed the three points.
City saw plenty of the ball in the first half but failed to convert the dominance into goals, so Pellegrini threw on Negredo at the break.
Negredo came close to making an instant impact but headed wide after being picked out superbly by David Silva. Having served notice of his aerial threat, Negredo duly grabbed his second Premier League goal of the season by nodding home Pablo Zabaleta’s cross on 64 minutes.
Hart was forced to make saves from Graham and Stephen Quinn as Hull went in search of a leveler, but their challenge was snuffed out in the final minute when Toure curled home a brilliant free-kick from the edge of the box.

Stats 
Shots: Manchester City 12-7 Hull City 
Corners: Manchester City 7-4 Hull City 
Possession: Manchester City 58.2 percent-41.8 percent Hull City 
Passes Completed: Manchester City 427-272 Hull City 
Fouls Committed: Manchester City 15-14 Hull City

Big matchups of UCL group stages

Mouth Watering Clashes of Champions league group stages 

Arsenal vs. Borussia Dortmund 

Arsenal fans were in for a disappointment as they were placed in "Group of Death" to deal with BVB, Napoli and Marseille.
 It's a tough group in general and Dortmund will be the favorites to win Group F, but Arsenal could give them a great run and even take it in the end. The Gunners have looked good early in the season, and with their style, they can get on the counter and snatch a goal very quickly.

The issue will be whether or not Arsenal will be able to handle Dortmund's attack, which has brilliantly coped with departure of Mario Gotze. Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus are still there, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has wasted little time in bedding into Dortmund. Both teams play a very attractive brand of football, so this one will be entertaining for the neutrals. 

Real Madrid vs. Juventus 

The winner of Group B will almost certainly be either Real Madrid or Juventus.
There's a combined 11 European titles between Madrid and Juventus—nine and two, respectively. There's also Carlo Ancelotti facing off against Juve, a club he's no stranger to from his time as manager from 1999-2001 and subsequent tenure at AC Milan.
Just thinking about the battle in midfield is enough to make your mouth water. With Madrid, you've got Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric, Mesut Ozil and Isco. Juventus feature Paul Pogba, Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal.
Cristiano Ronaldo could prove the difference, as the reigning Italian champions lack an attacker who can change a game like Ronaldo can. Juve have gotten better with the additions of Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez, though, and they're much more prepared for a deep European run.

Spur sign Ajax star Christian Eriksen

It is turning out to be the best transfer window for Tottenham as they have signed Ajax star Christian Eriksen in an effort to bolster their midfield and prepare for Bale departure late in the transfer window.

He's coming off his most production term to date, in which he tallied 13 goals across all competitions. The 21-year-old Danish international had flashed terrific potential since the early stages of his career.
After being transfer targets for many big club but choosing to stay at Ajax, Now he's ready for the bigger challenges. Eriksen possesses a terrific combination of vision and creativity, which when paired with his pinpoint passing ability, makes for a potent playmaker.
If he continues to progress as expected, the deal will likely end up looking like a bargain for his new club over the long haul. Furthermore, he should be able to make an instant impact. Unlike some young players, who arrived to big clubs a couple years away from making serious contributions, Eriksen is ready to hit the ground running after starting the new season in solid form.
He will still have to improve defensively if he's going to play a box-to-box midfield role. But that's usually something that comes with experience for young players, and Eriksenis no different. 

He's ready for the opportunity.

Barca guide to UCL group stages

BARCELONA

History: Four-times winners, having featured in seven finals. Coming to the end of a glorious era with three triumphs between 2006 and 2011.
2012/13: Took La Liga by storm by winning it by record margin, despite former boss Tito Vilanova’s demoralising battle with cancer. Had a nightmarish Champions League as they were humiliated 7-0 by Bayern Munich in a remarkably one-sided semi-final.
Status: Faded greats needing to reassert themselves, potential to be hamstrung by over-dependence on Messi and defensive frailties.
Coach: Gerardo Martino is a legend in Argentina, with Newell’s Old Boys, but a relative unknown in Europe.
Main Man: Lionel Messi, who else? The side struggled without him at times in last year’s competition.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP 

AC Milan 
They have won the most number of aEuropean Championship. Having coming third after a bad start in the previous season, They have to beat PSV Eindhoven to get a place in the group stages .
Managed by Massimiliano Allegri, who hasn't always had it easy since taking the reigns in 2010, the Rossoneri have plenty of artillery with the likes of Mario Balotelli, Stephan El Shaarawy and Ricardo Montolivo.

Ajax Amsterdam 
Ajax finished seven points ahead of PSV Eindhoven last season to secure their third straight Eredivise title. They have some very good players if they can hold them till the end of transfers, but challenging Barcelona may be too much for them.

Celtic 
Celtic strolled to the Scottish Premier League title last season. Their Champions League run was impressive too, qualifying ahead of Benfica in a group that included Barcelona, before succumbing to Juventus in the knockout stages.
The Hoops made a lot of friends during last season's Champions League, and manager Neil Lennon is already to looking forward to continuing some of their new friendships: 

Prediction: Winner (group), Runners-up

Bayern Guide to champions League

BAYERN MUNICH 

History : Five-times European champions, bettered only by Real Madrid and Milan. They have lost as many finals as they have won.
2012/13: German and European Champions. Bested Borussia Dortmund to the domestic title and demonstrated their class against the same opposition in the Wembley final to end 12 years of pain.
Status: Favourites to win it all. Last year’s exceptional squad, with addition of Pep Guardiola, Gotze and Thiago Alcantara, could, in principle, refine recent achievements.

Coach: Replacing Jupp Heynckes , Pep Guardiola must feel the pressure of previous season triumphs but Pep has a starry resume of his own winning it all and many times with Barcelona.

Captain: A star performer for club and country, Philipp Lahm has shown himself to be one of—if not the—finest full-back of his generation.

 CL group 

CSKA Moscow
If the current Russian champions have any hopes of qualifying for the next round, they will be hoping to take at least something from Bayern when they travel to Moscow.
Seydou Doumbia, the Ivorian forward, is a tricky striker who's likely to lead the line forCSKA, while adequate support from goalscoring winger Ahmed Musa and Alan Dzagoev, the highly coveted Russian playmaker, should give Guardiola plenty to think about when this unknown quantity come up against his defending champions.

Manchester City 
A side that should appear a little easier to grasp is English Premier League side Manchester City, who entered the group in the third pot, but will undoubtedly pose the greatest threat to Bayern's hopes of winning the group.
Yet the side that completely capitulated to fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in last season's tournament seems to be long gone, as new coach Manuel Pellegrinihas arrived along with a host of new stars.
FC Viktoria Plzen 
The final side in Group D are Czech Republic champions Viktoria Plzen who join this company of clubs as something of a minnow. Yet despite the odds that will be firmly stacked against them, Viktoria will be able to attack each game with a whimsical lack of pressure and truly throw everything they have at each game.

 Prediction: Winners

England's squad for qualifiers announced, some surprise inclusion and omissions

Roy Hodgson has announced England squad for FIFA World cup qualifying matches.

England is second behind Montenegro in Group H with four matches left to play, with the fixtures on Sept. 6 and Sept. 10 pitting England against Moldova and Ukraine, respectively. 

Ross Barkley and Andros Townsend are the chief surprise names, despite both having enjoyed positive starts to the new season. Also uncapped goalkeeper Fraser Forster is in the squad following Ben Foster's injury.
Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge ,who returns to the squad having been injured for the friendly game against Scotland in mid-August.
Manchester United's Wilfried Zaha and Arsenal's AlexOxlade-Chamberlain have both been omitted, having featured against the Scots.
Elsewhere, Rickie Lambert retains his spot after scoring on his debut for England, while Wayne Rooney is also included after starting his first game of the season Monday night.

Squad: 

Goalkeepers 
Joe Hart (Manchester City), John Ruddy (Norwich City), Fraser Forster (Celtic)

Defenders Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton),Leighton Baines (Everton), Ashley Cole (Chelsea)

Midfielders 

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)(c), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), James Milner (Manchester City), Ross Barkley (Everton), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Andros Townsend (Tottenham), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)

Forwards 
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United).