Chelsea v Liverpool (1600 GMT): The Blues, hoping to gain ground on Manchester United, host the Reds, hoping to gain ground on the top four, with Fernando Torres making his Chelsea debut against his former club
The first half hour of Torres' Chelsea debut passes with little incident besides being played in by accident from ex-teammate Maxi Rodriguez, from which the Spaniard can only blast wayward and over, 20 yards out
The game lacks consistency as both teams adjust to new personnel and formations - three at the back, Glen Johnson at left back, Dirk Kuyt upfront for Liverpool, three up front and no width or pace for Chelsea
The home defence looks out of sorts throughout the game and the best chance of the half, perhaps the season, falls to Liverpool but Rodriguez can only hit the bar from three yards out
The Blues' rearguard disarray, amplified by a lack of creativity throughout the team, continues and allows Raul Merieles to tuck away Steven Gerrard's cross, missed by three Chelsea players
With Torres withdrawn just after the hour mark, the Reds hold out to win their third game in a row, also keeping their third continuous clean sheet and overtaking Sunderland in the table
West Ham United 0-1 Birmingham City: The managers may have met three times already this season - one draw and a victory for each - but both sides are in a relegation scrap and will take a win by any scoreline
Robbie Keane has his debut goal for the Irons against Blackpool and the flair of the travelled Irish intentional and teammate Victor Obinna stand out in a sloppy first half
The Hammers have much of the play but create few good chances while City players do little of note beyond Nikola Zigic's temporary removal for a cut to his brow
Having not made a chance in the first hour City look like they're playing for a draw, taking off Cameron Jerome for Sebastian Larsson, but the Swede swings in a free-kick from which Zigic heads in the winner
What are these?
~RS~a~RS~International~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~18~RS~){kind=small}
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~18~RS~)
E-mail this to a friend
Bookmark with:
What are these?