Match of the Week: Liverpool v Southampton

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Southampton fans can look forward to seeing two of the most-vital players from last season; but for the opponent. The Match of the Week is between Liverpool and Southampton. 

Liverpool v Southampton
Premier League 1. Round
Anfield Road
17-08-2014 @ 13.40 BST








How are the two teams current form?

Liverpool humiliated Dortmund yesterday with a 4-0 win and have won four of their last five pre-season matches. The Merseyside club looks in great form and is more than ready for Southampton on Sunday.

The Saints have also won four of their last five pre-season matches, but against less prestigious sides. That said, it seems as Southampton will survive without the quartet now playing for Liverpool.

The last ten matches between the two sides have ended in five wins for each club, with Liverpool winning the latest in March 3-0.

What are the probable line-ups?

Adam Lallana will not play against his former club as he is out with a knee injury and is reportedly out for around six weeks. Furthermore, Daniel Agger, Fabian Borini, John Flanagan, Tiago Ilori and Lazar Markovic are all rated doubtful.

Southampton are without Jay Rodriguez who is out with a knee injury. 

Mignolet

Johnson - Skrtel - Lovren - Manquillo

Gerrard

Henderson - Can

Coutinho

Sturridge - Sterling
___________________________________________

Tadic - Pellé - Ramirez

Davis - Wanyama - Taïder

Bertrand - Yoshida - Fonte - Clyne

Boruc

Worth keeping an eye on

Liverpool: Dejan Lovren faced his former club in his first official match for Liverpool. The Croatian central defender will have to prove that he can take a step up playing for one of the biggest teams in England, and he has already scored a few goals in the new shirt. Can he punish his former club?



Southampton: Jose Fonte is the new general in Southampton and the Portugues will have his first real test without his former teammate Lovren next to him. Can he control the Saints?



What to expect from this match?

Liverpool played a fine last season but missed the Premier League trophy in the end. This year they will hope to take it, but now they are missing Suarez. Sterling and Sturridge will have to fill the gap, and it will be interesting to see if the two strikers can break the strong Southampton defense. The Saints was the big surprise last season but like Liverpool they have lost some of the greatest profiles. Tadic, Pellé and Ramirez will carry the attack forward instead of Lallana and Davies, but will get their hands full against Liverpool. I expect Liverpool to win this match.

What are the odds?

Matchbook offers odds 4/11 for a Liverpool victory and 21/5 for a draw. A Southampton win gives a stunning 10 at BETVICTOR. 



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Vermaelen out - Agger in?

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Thomas Vermaelen is set to leave Arsenal and leave Manchester United hanging.

UK media today reports that Arsene Wenger has accepted a £15m bid for Thomas Vermaelen. An offer the French can't refuse. 

The Belgian defender has only one year left of his contract and with only 14 appearances in the Premier League last season, he doesn't seem to have a future for the Gunners with Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny performing solid in the defense. 

Manchester United have been linked with the Belgian for some time, but Vermaelen seems lost for the Red Devils as Barcelona snatch him in front of Vermaelen. 

The Catalonians have been looking to strengthen their central defends this summer, and several players have been trough the transfer rumour mill including Liverpool's Daniel Agger. While Wenger should be happy with the £15m deal, this is bad news for Agger as his exit from Liverpool is on hold; at least for a while.

According to the Mirror, Arsenal are interested in signing the Dane as a back up for Mertesacker and Koscielny, but it is very unlikely Wenger will make an offer for the 29-year-old defender. However, the manager has brought in experienced defenders from rival clubs in the past, and Agger can hope that Arsenal will offer him the exit from Liverpool he so badly wants. 

Other defenders Wenger has brought in from rival clubs:

William Gallas, Sol Campbell, Mikael Silvestre
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New U21 league to save hopeless England?

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Premier League yesterday announced the plans for a European U21-league - But only eight Premier League
teams participate. Can the new league save the future for the English national team?

As it is now, the Premier League clubs have a U21-league for their talents, but the clubs wish to change the system and create both a European U21-league and a reserves-league ranging under League 2.

THE TEAMS

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE U21 TEAMS:
CHELSEA, FULHAM, LEICESTER CITY, MANCHESTER CITY, MANCHESTER UNITED, SOUTHAMPTON, SUNDERLAND and WEST HAM.

CONTINENTAL TEAMS:
ATHLETIC BILBAO, BENFICA, CHELSEA, MÖNCHENGLADBACH, PORTO, PSV EINDHOVES, SCHALKE and VILLAREAL.

The plans for a new youth league sound rather interesting with English teams taking on continental teams. However, according to the plans only eight current Premier League U21 teams will participate in the competition; Chelsea, Leicester City, Manchester City, Manchester City, Southampton and West HAm as well as the Championship sides Fulham and Sunderland. The continental teams will, as it looks now, be Celtic, Athletic Bilbao, Benfica, Mönchengladbach, Schalke, Porto, PSV Eindhoven and Villarreal.

Premier League communications director Dan Johnson told Press Association Sport: "We do believe it would be good for the development of young players, but it is not an answer to the B league proposal at all."

Again, the plans look very interesting but with only 8 Premier League sides represented in the competition, and with UEFA already having a Champions League it is hard to see how the new league will benefit England in the future. No doubt that the players will learn from playing against the continental teams, but it will not benefit the national league and is unlikely to help the teams outside the competition.



The World Cup revealed that England have serious problems - not only now - but also for the future. The Premier League simply do not breed enough talents, and it will certainly help that the young players will face continental teams. That said, clubs as Chelsea and Manchester City are not known for letting young players getting a chance, why it would be better to have more midtable teams in the competition.

However, before the competition can even begin UEFA have to accept it. More to come on this later. At the moment, Great Dane Football Blog is looking forward to another chance of seeing the next generation of British football stars.



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Match of the Week: Arsenal v Manchester City

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The Premier League winners from Manchester City takes on the FA Cup winners from Arsenal in this years FA Community Shield.


Arsenal v Manchester City
FA Community Shield
Wembley Stadium
10-08-2014 @ 15.00 UK








How are the two teams current form?

Arsenal won against Boreham Wood and lost against New York Redbull before playing their friendly tournament Emirates Cup last weekend. Here, The Gunners won 5-1 against Benfica before losing 0-1 to Monaco. 

Manchester Citys first friendly this season ended with a loss to Dundee FC, followed up two consecutive wins against Hearts and Sporting Kansas. Last week they played the Guinness International Champions Cup facing AC Milan, Liverpool and Olympiacos. Here, City only won against AC Milan.

The last ten meetings between Arsenal and Manchester City have ended in five City wins. 

What are the probable line up?

Arsenal are definately without Theo Walcott for the Community Shield, as the winger is out with a knee injury. Furthermore, Ryo Miyaichi, Thomas Vermaelen and the new goalkeeper David Ospina are all rated doubtful. 

Manchester City are without Alvaro Negredo, struggling with a foot injury.

Szczesny

Debuchy - Koscielny - Chambers - Monreal

Arteta - Ramsey

Sanchez - Cazorla - Wilshere

Giroud
_________________________________

Dzeko - Jovetic

Nasri - Touré - Fernando - Navas

Clichy - Demichelis - Kompany - Sagna

Hart

Worth keeping an eye on:

Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez is set to make his official debut for Arsenal, and will probably start as a winger. The Chile international should be eager to prove he is worth the money.


Manchester City: Stevan Jovetic has shown great form in the pre-season matches for Manchester City, and could play a decisive part in the match. 



What to expect from this match?

It's been a while since Arsenal last played in the FA Community Shield, and the Gunners are going into it to win. Manchester City won the trophy last in 2012 and are favorite to take it once again. Especially as Arsene Wenger has decided not to bring Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski into play before the season opener against Crystal Palace. Manchester City has not been convincing in the pre-season, but they should be the best team on Sunday.

What are the odds?

Coral offers a 5/4 bet on a Manchester City victory while PaddyPower offers 12/5 on an Arsenal victory. Should the 90 minutes end in a draw, Bet365 offers a 5/2 bet. 


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New season - New faces

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The Premier League sides have spent the summer bringing in new faces to their squads. The same matters for Great Dane Football Blog. 

The summer is coming to an end; the World Cup is over, and the Premier League will soon start. Great Dane Football Blog is also about to return, and this time we have added a new face to the squad. Paul Lipscombe has joined the team and will start blogging when the blog returns on the 3rd of August.

The blog have had a makeover, and some of our usual posts will be replaced by others. Match of the Week and Keep an Eye on will still be a part of the blog, while other sections might change over the season. Furthermore, the site might not be as active as before, but we will do our best to keep it updated!

Hope you will be back to read our work from early August,

All Best,

Harbo

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Taking a step back

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As many of you may have noticed, Great Dane Football Blog has not been as active as usual the last couple of weeks.

Due to university assignments and other work, Great Dane Football Blog has not been updated on a daily basis, and after a long and stressful final year at Uni, I am now taking a break from blogging. However, occasionally there will be posted on the blog.

With the Premier League ending a few weeks back,  I am now taking a look on what needs to be changed on the blog and what can be added. I am, therefore, looking for people with an interest in football, who would like to write on a weekly basis. If you think you can contribute to the output, please contact me on: greatdanefb@gmail.com.

I am more than open to adding a new league to the Great Dane Football Blog.

As mentioned, the blog will not be left without any posts, and especially during the World Cup I will be active once and a while. Until then, take care, keep the beers cold and enjoy the World Cup! See you when another fine season of Premier League starts!

Cheers,

Harbo
Great Dane Football Blog
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