Premier League Predictions - 27th-29th April 2013

Here we are with another round of Premier League fixtures meaning another round of predictions. Manchester United confirmed their 20^th title on Monday night with a win against Aston Villa, but there are still key games left to decide European spots and in the battle for survival.

This weekend, there is Stoke vs Norwich, Reading vs QPR, Arsenal vs Manchester United and Aston Villa vs Sunderland. Here are my predictions for this weekend (with explanations too!).

Saturday

Man City 3-0 West Ham
Everton 2-1 Fulham
Southampton 1-1 West Brom
Stoke 1-1 Norwich
Wigan 1-3 Tottenham
Newcastle 2-1 Liverpool

Sunday
Reading 2-3 QPR
Chelsea 2-0 Swansea
Arsenal 2-2 Man Utd

Monday

Aston Villa 2-1 Sunderland

Saturday

Man City 3-0 West Ham – City’s home form has been impressive all season long and I don’t think this Saturday against West Ham will draw up any exceptions. West Ham has been on good form, unbeaten in their last five games, but I think this run will end against the former champions.

Everton 2-1 Fulham – A disappointing loss against Sunderland last week will be the fuel Everton will use to produce a win this weekend. Prior to last week, Everton hadn’t lost since February and I think they will recapture this form. Fulham need Berbatov to get on the score sheet if they are to have any chance of winning. They haven’t scored a goal themselves since they played QPR at the start of the month (own goal vs Aston Villa). Everton should win though as they are unbeaten at home in 2013.

Southampton 1-1 West Brom – In recent games, Southampton have been good at home but only been able to produce wins against the bigger sides. A point this weekend will take them past the magic 40-point mark which will most likely grant them Premier League football next season. There isn’t a lot West Brom can still go for this season as they no longer can achieve a European spot, but they shouldn’t sit back as Southampton will be tough opposition.

Stoke 1-1 Norwich ­– Both sides won last weekend so they’ll hope to repeat this form this weekend. With the threat of the drop still in sight, this game should be a good one. Both sides lack a frequent goal scorer though so it should be close. If Stoke still had the home form they had in 2012 this year, this result would be going Stoke’s way, but with only one win at home in all of 2013, a draw is a more likely result.

Wigan 1-3 Tottenham – Wigan are usually impressive at this time of year against the bigger teams. With Tottenham though still looking to earn Champions League qualification, I think their push for survival will be halted this weekend. Tottenham will be high in confidence after picking up a win against Manchester City last weekend so I think another win is on the cards for them this weekend.

Newcastle 2-1 Liverpool – The loss of Luis Suarez for Liverpool is a big one, as he has helped his side get out of a lot of trouble. This is therefore a great opportunity for Newcastle to pick up all three points this weekend. Having won five of their last eight league games, Newcastle could reach the magic 40-point mark this weekend with a win, increasing their chances of survival. They’ll be hoping Cisse will be able to find the net for them this weekend.

Sunday

Reading 2-3 QPR – This fixture will be one of the best games to watch this weekend, in a ‘Go hard or face the drop’ match up. If either one of these sides loses this weekend they’ll be the first side to be relegated from the Premier League this season. A draw wouldn't be enough to keep both sides up for another day (till the result of the Aston Villa game), but I think QPR will be able to find a win, meaning Reading will be the first side to be relegated.

Chelsea 2-0 Swansea – Chelsea have been undefeated in the last six games at home in the Premier League and Swansea have failed to pick up an away win the Premier League in 2013. Chelsea still need to secure their Champions League spot too so a win this weekend will take them one step closer. Swansea has failed to win in their last five games but they have drawn their last two games, so progress is being made. However, I don’t think they will be able to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal 2-2 Man Utd – Manchester United secured another Premier League title with a 3-0 win against Aston Villa last Monday. Unlucky for Arsenal fans then as they will have to give Robin van Persie and the rest of the Manchester United squad the guard of honour when they walk out onto the Emirates pitch this weekend. Manchester United has stated that they are aiming to break the Premier League points record so don’t doubt that they will hold anything back this weekend. Like Tottenham and Chelsea though, Arsenal are still looking to secure a Champions League spot for next season, so I think a draw will be a most likely result.

Monday

Aston Villa 2-1 Sunderland – Both sides are still fighting for survival, so finding a win is vital. Aston Villa could send QPR and Reading down this weekend with a win and with Benteke finding the score sheet quite often in the last few games, this is looking likely. Sunderland will hope to continue their good start under new manager, Paulo Di Canio with another win but I think the likes of Weimann, Benteke and Agbonlahor will be too much for them to handle.

Twitter - @ConorJPorter

Other blogs - http://www.letstalksport.org.uk/ & http://nflmad.wordpress.com/

Email - conorporter@live.co.uk

Premier League Predictions - 20th, 21st & 22nd April 2013

Another weekend is approaching so another weekend of Premier League action is on the horizon. Some of this weekend’s fixtures include Norwich vs Reading, QPR vs Stoke and Swansea vs Southampton on Saturday, and Tottenham vs Man City and Liverpool vs Chelsea on Sunday. Here are my predictions for this weekend’s action.

Saturday
Fulham 1-2 Arsenal
Norwich 1-1 Reading
QPR 1-0 Stoke
Sunderland 1-2 Everton
Swansea 3-2 Southampton
West Brom 2-1 Newcastle
West Ham 1-1 Wigan

Sunday
Tottenham 2-2 Man City
Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea

Monday
Man Utd 3-0 Aston Villa

Twitter - @ConorJPorter

Other blogs - http://www.letstalksport.org.uk/ & http://nflmad.wordpress.com/

Email - conorporter@live.co.uk

Premier League & FA Cup Predictions - 13th-17th April 2013

Another weekend of Premier League and FA Cup fixtures just around the corner means another round of ‘Porter’s Predictions’ for you guys to enjoy. This round will also include the midweek fixtures too. Aren’t you lucky people!! Anyways, this load of Premier League fixtures include Aston Villa vs Fulham, Newcastle vs Sunderland, Arsenal vs Everton and Fulham vs Chelsea.

The FA Cup is at the semi-final stage which means games are now being played at Wembley. This weekend, Wembley will play host to Millwall vs Wigan and Chelsea vs Manchester City. Here are my predictions.

Premier League

Saturday

Arsenal 3-0 Norwich
Aston Villa 1-1 Fulham
Everton 2-1 QPR
Reading 1-3 Liverpool
Southampton 2-1 West Ham

Sunday

Newcastle 3-1 Sunderland
Stoke 1-2 Man Utd

Tuesday

Arsenal 2-1 Everton

Wednesday

Man City 3-0 Wigan
West Ham 2-3 Man Utd
Fulham 2-2 Chelsea

FA Cup

Saturday

Millwall 1-2 Wigan

Sunday

Chelsea 1-2 Man City

Twitter - @ConorJPorter

Other blogs - http://www.letstalksport.org.uk/ & http://nflmad.wordpress.com/

Email - conorporter@live.co.uk

Premier League Predictions - 6th, 7th & 8th April 2013

As I do every week, here are my predictions for this weekend’s Premier League fixtures. The likes of Aston Villa, Southampton and QPR put up good fights against their opponents last weekend. Hopefully those teams mentioned and the rest of the Premier League teams will do this again to provide us with some exciting football games to watch. Some of the key games to watch this weekend include Reading vs Southampton, West Brom vs Arsenal, Tottenham vs Everton, QPR vs Wigan and Manchester United vs Manchester City. Here are my predictions.

Saturday
Reading 0-2 Southampton
Norwich1-2 Swansea
Stoke 2-2 Aston Villa
West Brom 2-3 Arsenal

Sunday
Liverpool 3-0 West Ham
Tottenham 2-1 Everton
Chelsea 4-0 Sunderland
Newcastle 2-2 Fulham
QPR 1-2 Wigan

Monday
Man Utd 3-1 Man City

Twitter - @ConorJPorter

Other blogs - http://nflmad.wordpress.com/ & http://www.letstalksport.org.uk/

Email - conorporter@live.co.uk

Premier League Predictions - 30th, 31st March & 1st April 2013

Did you miss me? I missed you guys and gals!The Premier League is back after the international break with some exciting fixtures kicking off the run-in to the end of the season. Some of the fixtures this weekend include Sunderland vs Manchester United, Swansea vs Tottenham Hotspur, Everton vs Stoke, Aston Villa vs Liverpool and Fulham vs QPR. Here are my predictions for this weekend’s fixtures.

Saturday
Sunderland 0-2 Man Utd
Arsenal 2-0 Reading
Man City 3-1 Newcastle
Southampton 1-2 Chelsea
Swansea 1-2 Tottenham
West Ham 0-1 West Brom
Wigan 2-1 Norwich
Everton 2-0 Stoke

Sunday
Aston Villa 1-3 Liverpool

Monday
Fulham 3-0 QPR

twitter - @ConorJPorter

Other work posted on: nflmad.wordpress.com & http://www.letstalksport.org.uk/

Email: conorporter@live.co.uk

Premier League Predictions - 16th & 17th March 2013

All Premier League teams are back in action this weekend. Some of the ties include a Saturday early kick-off between Everton vs Manchester City, Aston Villa vs QPR, West Brom vs Stoke and Manchester United vs Reading in the Saturday Evening game. On Sunday, there is Sunderland vs Norwich and Tottenham vs Fulham. Here are my predictions for this weekend’s action (Kick-offs at 3pm unless stated).

Saturday

Everton 2-2 Man City (K.O. 12:45pm)
Aston Villa 1-1 QPR
Southampton 1-2 Liverpool
Stoke 1-1 West Brom
Swansea 2-2 Arsenal
Man Utd 4-1 Reading (K.O. 5:30pm)

Sunday

Sunderland 1-0 Norwich (K.O. 1:30pm)
Tottenham 2-1 Fulham
Chelsea 2-1 West Ham (K.O. 4pm)
Wigan 1-1 Newcastle (K.O. 4pm)

Twitter - @ConorJPorter

Email - conorporter@live.co.uk

Other blogs and sites I contribute to: http://nflmad.wordpress.com/ & http://www.letstalksport.org.uk/

Premier League & FA Cup Predictions - 9th &10th March 2013

This weekend’s football action is a mixture of Premier League and FA Cup with some exciting ties lined up that could provide some upsets.

Premier League fixtures include West Brom vs Swansea and Reading facing off against fellow strugglers Aston Villa on Saturday and Liverpool vs Tottenham on Sunday.

In the FA Cup, Everton play against Wigan and Man City host Barnsley on Saturday. Also, Millwall play against Blackburn and Man Utd host fellow Premier League side Chelsea on Sunday.

Here are my predictions for this weekend’s fixtures (Kick-offs at 3pm unless stated).

Premier League

Saturday

Norwich 1-2 Southampton
QPR 2-1 Sunderland
Reading 1-1 Aston Villa
West Brom 1-1 Swansea

Sunday

Newcastle 2-0 Stoke City
Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham (K.O. 4pm)

FA Cup

Saturday

Everton 3-1 Wigan (K.O. 12:45pm)
Man City 4-0 Barnsley (K.O. 5:30pm)

Sunday

Millwall 1-0 Blackburn (K.O. 2pm)
Man Utd 3-2 Chelsea (K.O. 4:30pm)

Premier League Predictions - 2nd, 3rd & 4th March 2013

This weekend’s Premier League fixtures include Chelsea vs West Brom, Southampton vs QPR, Swansea vs Newcastle and Wigan vs Liverpool on Saturday, Tottenham vs Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday and Aston Villa vs Man City on Monday night. Here are my predictions for this weekend’s action (all kick-offs at 3pm unless stated).

Saturday

Chelsea 3-1 West Brom
Everton 2-1 Reading
Man Utd 3-0 Norwich
Southampton 2-1 QPR
Stoke 2-2 West Ham
Sunderland 1-1 Fulham
Swansea 3-2 Newcastle
Wigan 1-2 Liverpool (K.O. 5:30pm)

Sunday

Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal (K.O. 4pm)

Monday

Aston Villa 0-3 Man City (K.O. 8pm)

twitter - @ConorJPorter

Premier League Predictions - 23rd, 24th & 25th February 2013

Back to normal business this weekend with Premier League fixtures including, Fulham vs Stoke, Man City vs Chelsea and West Ham vs Tottenham.

Last time out, Southampton pulled out a surprise 3-1 win against Man City, Arsenal only managed a 1-0 win away at Sunderland and West Brom defeated Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield. Liverpool also played an additional fixture a week later against Swansea, which they won 5-0.

This Saturday, Fulham host Stoke in the early kick-off, Reading play against fellow strugglers Wigan and QPR host Premier League leaders, Man Utd. On Sunday, Man City will play against Chelsea and Southampton will travel to St James Park to play Newcastle. One Monday fixture concludes this week’s Premier League, as West Ham will play Tottenham at Upton Park.

Here are my predictions for this weekend (All kick-offs at 3pm unless stated).

Saturday

Fulham 1-0 Stoke (K.O. 12:45pm)
Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa
Norwich 1-2 Everton
QPR 1-3 Man Utd
Reading 3-3 Wigan
West Brom 2-1 Sunderland

Sunday

Man City 2-2 Chelsea (K.O. 1:30pm)
Newcastle 1-2 Southampton (K.O. 1:30pm)

Monday

West Ham 1-2 Tottenham (K.O. 8pm)

twitter - @ConorJPorter

FA Cup and Premier League Predictions - 16th, 17th & 18th February 2013

Special edition of predictions for you guys and gals this weekend as it includes FA Cup 5^th round, FA Cup 4^th round replays and Premier League predictions. Aren’t you all very lucky! Here are my predictions for this weekend (All kick-offs at 3pm unless stated).

FA Cup 5^th round

Saturday

Luton 1-2 Millwall (K.O. 12:45pm)
Arsenal 3-1 Blackburn
MK Dons 2-1 Barnsley
Oldham 2-3 Everton (K.O. 6pm)

Sunday

Man City 2-1 Leeds Utd (K.O. 2pm)
Huddersfield 2-1 Wigan (K.O. 3:55pm (Don’t ask me why!))

Monday

Man Utd 4-2 Reading (K.O. 8pm)

FA Cup 4^th round replay

The winners of Chelsea vs Brentford will travel to the Riverside to play against Middlesbrough on the Wednesday 27^th February

Sunday

Chelsea 4-2 Brentford

Premier League

Sunday

Liverpool 2-1 Swansea 

twitter - @ConorJPorter

Premier League title could be decided before or on Manchester Derby day

They think it’s all over. It could be now! Manchester United is currently 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League and ahead of their rivals, Manchester City. I believe that United will win the title if City fails to decrease this lead by half in the five games running up to and including the Manchester Derby on 6^th April.

This Derby game will be at Old Trafford so have no doubt the United fans will be rubbing the points difference in the City fans faces, just like City did when they defeated United 6-1 back in October 2011.

This time last season, City was sitting on the top of the table, five points clear of United but United had a game in hand.

City’s home record was impeccable too having won all 14 league home games at this point of the season, scoring 42 goals and only conceding six.

This season has been a different story though as they won nine, drawn three and lost one game at home, scoring 29 and conceding 11.

Their away form has taken a slight hit when compared to last season too. City’s current away record of winning six, drawing five and losing two games is a marginal decrease from last season’s record at this point of winning seven, drawing three and losing three.

However, a lot of fans of the Premier League will say the main reason for the separation between the two clubs is one man, United’s summer signing of Robin Van Persie, but I don’t believe this is the case.

United’s home and away record this season is more-or-less the same as what it was at this point last season.

So if you removed £22.5m Van Persie from the United squad, would the likes of Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck be able to step up to fill his place?

The answer is clearly yes as shown from how United performed last season when they didn’t have RVP at all.

Granted, City would definitely be performing better this season if they were able to persuade RVP to come to them last season.

But they don’t have him and most of their strikers have failed to match or improve on their goal scoring records from last season.

Sergio Aguero has only scored nine goals this season in the Premier League. He has a lot of goals to find if he is to match his 23 goals he scored last season.

Carlos Tevez has scored seven goals this season, improving on his last season Premier League goal scoring record of four. However, I still don’t think this is good enough for a striker of Manchester City.

Edin Dzeko is City’s top goal scorer this season with 11 goals, three shy of his tally last season of 14. But it’s a similar situation as Tevez as I still don’t believe this is good enough.

City’s defence has been better than United’s defence this season, having only conceded 24 goals compared to United who have conceded 31 goals.

But without a striking force getting the goals, this means a lot of draws have occurred this season for City, eight in total.

With five games to go before the Manchester Derby on the 6^th April, in my eyes, City need to half the points difference between them and United if they still want to be in title contention.

It won’t be easy for City, as they have tough games against Chelsea, Everton and a newly reformed Newcastle side.

United’s run of games before the Manchester Derby seems to come cross a lot easier, with ties against QPR, Norwich and Reading.

With all this taken into consideration though, United seem to have the upper hand so I think United will win the title if they stay on their current form and not allow their point lead ahead of City to decrease.

City’s manager Roberto Mancini recently admitted he feels his side now has a 10% chance of winning the Premier League and he must make changes to his squad if he is to make this 10% achievable.

But United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson is not the type of manager to admit that the job is done until the final whistle on the last day of the season.

And he’s right to think so as any City fans will tell you too, thanks to Aguero’s 95^th minute goal on the last day of last season, anything is possible and nothing should be written off early.

twitter - @ConorJPorter

Premier League Round-Up - 9th, 10th & 11th February 2013

What a weekend of Premier League action which has provided us with some unexpected score-lines. Here is a round-up of all the Premier League results from this weekend.

Saturday

Tottenham 2-1 Newcastle – Two goals by Gareth Bale was enough to see off Newcastle United at White Hart Lane and keep Tottenham Hotspur on track towards earning a Champions League spot.

Chelsea 4-1 Wigan – Chelsea end their four-match winless streak with a 4-1 thrashing of Wigan at Stamford Bridge with Frank Lampard increasing his goals tally for the club to 198.

Norwich 0-0 Fulham – Norwich and Fulham could only produce a 0-0 draw at Carrow Road, meaning Norwich’s winless streak has extended to nine games.

Stoke 2-1 Reading – Stoke City earned themselves their first win of 2013 with a 2-1 win at the Britannia against an in-form Reading side.

Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal – 10 men Arsenal were able to defeat Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light thanks to a first half goal by Santi Cazorla.

Swansea 4-1 QPR – QPR’s five-match unbeaten run was ended by Swansea as they managed to defeat them 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium.

Southampton 3-1 Man City – Southampton pull off a surprise win at St Mary’s when they defeated Manchester City 3-1, putting a dent in City’s title hopes.

Sunday

Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham – Aston Villa have moved out of the relegation zone thanks to a 2-1 win against West Ham at Villa Park.

Man Utd 2-0 Everton – Manchester United open a 12-point gap at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win against Everton at Old Trafford.

Monday

Liverpool 0–2 West Brom – A headed goal by Gareth McAuley was the catalyst that allowed West Brom to collect all three points at Anfield with a 2-0 win against Liverpool.

twitter - @ConorJPorter

Premier League Predictions - 9th, 10th & 11th February 2013

There were some great games last weekend including Newcastle winning 3-2 against Chelsea from 2-1 down, Reading defeating Sunderland 2-1, Aston Villa drawing 3-3 with Everton, Wigan drawing 2-2 with Southampton and Manchester City drawing 2-2 with Liverpool.

This weekend should provide just as good action including match ups of Tottenham vs Newcastle, Norwich vs Fulham and Stoke hosting an in-form Reading side on Saturday. On Sunday there’s Aston Villa vs West Ham and Manchester United vs Everton. We finally conclude this weekend’s action with a Monday night game of Liverpool vs West Brom (All kick-offs at 3pm unless stated).

Saturday

Tottenham 3-2 Newcastle (K.O. 12:45pm)
Chelsea 3-0 Wigan
Norwich 1-1 Fulham
Stoke 2-2 Reading
Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal
Swansea 3-2 QPR
Southampton 0-2 Man City (K.O. 5:30pm)

Sunday

Aston Villa 2-2 West Ham (K.O. 1:30pm)
Man Utd 3-2 Everton (K.O. 4pm)

Monday

Liverpool 3-1 West Brom (K.O. 8pm)

twitter - @ConorJPorter

Premier League Predictions - 2nd & 3rd February 2013

The transfer window is over so now it’s time to focus back on this weekend’s Premier League action. Last time out, Arsenal and Reading came back to draw 2-2 after going 2-0 down to Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, QPR and Sunderland could only manage 0-0 draws against Manchester City and Swansea respectively and Newcastle were able to defeat Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park.

This weekend, QPR will play against Norwich in the Saturday early game, Wigan will play against fellow strugglers Southampton and Manchester United will travel to Craven Cottage to play against Fulham in the Saturday evening game. On Sunday, West Brom will host Tottenham and Manchester City will play against Liverpool. Here are my predictions for this weekend (Kick-offs are at 3pm unless stated):

Saturday

QPR 3-2 Norwich (K.O. 12:45pm)
Arsenal 3-1 Stoke
Everton 2-0 Aston Villa
Newcastle 0-2 Chelsea
Reading 2-3 Sunderland
West Ham 1-3 Swansea
Wigan 2-2 Southampton
Fulham 1-3 Man Utd (K.O. 5:30pm)

Sunday

West Brom 1-3 Tottenham (K.O. 1:30pm)
Man City 3-2 Liverpool (K.O. 4pm)

twitter - @ConorJPorter

Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool - Match Report

Theo Walcott celebrates his goal
for Arsenal against Liverpool (AFP)

Two goals in two minutes gave Arsenal a fighting chance to win against Liverpool at the Emirates, but the game ended 2-2 as neither side was able to find a winning goal.

An early goal by Luis Suarez gave Liverpool the lead, and Jordan Henderson doubled it when he scored 15 minutes into the second half.

But two goals in two minutes by Oliver Giroud and Theo Walcott put Arsenal back into the game. Neither side was able to find a winning goal though, meaning the points had to be shared.

Liverpool got off to a strong start, as five minutes into the game, Suarez put his side ahead after his shot took a slight deflection from Arsenal's Bacary Sagna, past Wojciech Szczesny to the back of the net.

Arsenal had several chances throughout the first half to equalise, with Theo Walcott and Oliver Giroud having two chances each in the space of ten minutes after the first goal.

Walcott's shot ten minutes in was cleared, giving Liverpool a chance to counter-attack. Suarez obtained the ball and lofted it towards fellow striker 

Daniel Sturridge, whose shot went wide of the left post.

Podolski provided further opportunities for Arsenal to score, but these were cleared for corners which Arsenal were unable to develop further.

Liverpool had another opening to go further ahead when captain Steven Gerrard had an opportunity to score. However, his chance was stopped and cleared on the line by Podolski.

And in the second half, their second goal came as Henderson's persistency at goal during an attack paid off. His initial shot was deflected, but the ball came straight back to him, allowing him to slot it into the back of the net.

Not long after this, Arsenal earned a free kick just outside Liverpool's penalty area. Jack Wilshere crossed the ball over to Giroud who headed the ball past Liverpool's Pepe Reina into the net, reducing Liverpool's lead to one.

Two minutes later, the game was level thanks to Walcott. His belting shot from the right to the left bottom corner of the goal put Arsenal back into contention to win the game.

Arsenal had a chance to take the lead for the first time through Podolski just a minute later. His shot from a Santi Cazorla pass though went just over.

In the last ten minutes, Giroud had two opportunities to give Arsenal the win, one of these being a header which was deflected over the bar for a corner. The other was a cross by Podolski but he missed the ball completely and missed the chance to give his team the win.

This made the final score 2-2.

Arsenal now have only managed to achieve four points out of a possible 15 in their last five league games, raising further questions of Arsene Wenger's management this season.

Liverpool have earned 10 points out of a possible 15 in their last five league games, putting them in good form for their next game against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on the 3rd February.

As for Arsenal, their next game is against Stoke City at home on the 2nd February. They haven't lost against Stoke since May 2011 but their last two meetings have ended in draws.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool will need to start winning consistently soon if they wish to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Match Facts

Arsenal

Line up - Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs (Santos - 37’), Wilshere, Walcott, Ramsey, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud

Unused Subs - Mannone, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Diaby, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain

Scorers - Giroud 64', Walcott 67'

Yellow Cards - Cazorla 25', Giroud 85', Mertesacker 90'

Red Cards - None

Liverpool

Line up - Reina, Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Wisdom, Gerrard, Henderson, Downing, Lucas, Suarez, Sturridge (Jose Enrique 71')

Unused Subs - Jones, Skrtel, Allen, Sterling, Shelvey, Borini

Scorers - Suarez 5', Henderson 60'

Yellow Cards - Gerrard 73'

Red Cards - None

twitter - @ConorJPorter