The Good, The Bad and The Rugby!

The Good:

Champion Tiger Woods and Legend Jack Nicklaus

Tiger Woods has returned to winning ways this week by winning the Memorial Classic at Muirfield Village. He also equalled Jack Nicklaus' record of 73 career tournament wins; it was ironic that he collected the trophy from Nicklaus himself as this is his tournament! Maybe now Tiger can set about chasing down Jack's all-time record of 18 major titles. At the time of writing, Tiger is 11-2 favourite for The US Open with www.paddypower.com so who knows? Rory McIlroy is 10-1 second favourite, and could also go in to the tournament at the Olympic Club San Francisco as a winner; he is one shot back in The St Judes Classic going in to the final day. 

Also this week, Maria Sharapova is back on the winning trail after thrashing Sara Errani 6-3 6-2 in the French Open final at Roland Garros on Saturday. This completed Maria's career Grand Slam of all the majors and puts her in a unique group of ten women in the history of tennis to achieve this feat.The men's final this afternoon looks to be a fascinating affair as well, as Rafa Nadal takes on Novak Djokovic. Djokovic is trying to achieve the 'back to back' Grand Slam which has not been achieved in the men's game since Rod Laver did so in 1969. I am watching the game as I write, and Djokovic is one set down having lost the first 4-6. 

FOOTBALL'S BACK! Woohoo! Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine started on Friday. There have only been four games so far, and there has been drama to say the least; Good attacking, poor defending and shocking goalkeeping, bad refereeing, penalties missed, a game of two halves and that was just on the first day! If the rest of the tournament lives up to the first couple of days it should be a fantastic tournament. So far, the hysteria in England has been minimal to say the least but I don't doubt it will start to build over the next 24 hours and will probably be somewhere near near fever pitch come 5.00pm tomorrow. 

The Bad:

Timothy Bradley beat Manny Pacquaio last night for the WBO welterweight title. Most seem to have said that it is controversial to say the least. Even though Pacman landed 94 more punches than Bradley, two judges scored the fight 115-113 for Bradley. Amir Khan, who is a potential opponent for both men and was ringside for the fight, said he had Pacquaio winning eight rounds to four. Although it is possible Pacquaio is unlikely to fight Khan as they are stable-mates, but if Khan beats Danny Garcia in July he may well go on to fight Timothy Bradley later in the year. 

Czech Republic full back Theodor Gebre Selassie has said he heard racist abuse aimed at him in the game against Russia on Friday. He said 'It was nothing extreme. I've experienced much worse and personally, I'm ready to put it behind me' but no player should have to contend with this and UEFA should get on top of the matter straight away. They have begun disciplinary proceedings against the Russian Football Union so hopefully the matter will be dealt with appropriately. There were also disturbances involving Russian fans outside the ground which are also being investigated. 

The Rugby:

Although England, Ireland and Wales put up spirited displays in the southern hemisphere this weekend, they lost to South Africa, New Zealand and Australia respectively. Well done to Scotland for beating Australia earlier in the week. The conditions were very much a leveller, but who saw that coming? The Scots were put under immense pressure in the second half and showed tremendous defensive fortitude, and Greig Laidlaw showed a lot of bottle stepping up to slot the last kick of the game through the posts for the win. The respective tours continue over the next few weeks, and most would be not be surprised if they don't win too many games between them. From what I have watched so far, all the southern hemisphere teams are bigger and stronger man for man and they all play a completely different brand of rugby.  Their game is played with a much more progressive, fluid, stylish and aggressive manner and until we start to try and meet them toe to toe on this front things will remain much the same.

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Euro 2012 preview

So the time for talking is nearly over as Euro 2012 begins on Friday. According to FIFA's world rankings, seven of the top ten teams in the world will be there so it is not going to be easy for anyone. There are almost two 'groups of death', and it is certainly quite tricky to try and pick who will get to the knockout stages. 

Will this be England's starting XI?

From an English point of view things could have been easier; having a new manager installed the month before the tournament with only a couple of weeks and two games to prepare is hardly ideal. And injuries and suspensions to key players won't help either. To say English optimism is at an all time low would be a huge under-estimation. That said, England might not have been at their best in the first two games, but if they can somehow win their next six games 1-0, England will be European champions on the 1st July. At the moment it is not pretty, but it is functional and we're winning; and winning breeds confidence which in turn would bring a more attractive style of football.  Whoever wins the tournament will not have had an easy ride for sure. The easiest group may be perceived to be Group A, but all the teams in this group are quite evenly matched so even though they're probably not being talked about as winners, it won't be easy for them either. 

One upside for whoever does make it to the quarter-finals is that Groups B and C look incredibly difficult to get out of, and it could well come down to goal difference as to who makes it through. If things go wrong (or right!) in the groups we could see two of the fancied teams going home early. Spain and Holland will be favourites with Germany not too far behind, and after that it is anybody's game really; particularly with Portugal, Czech Republic and Italy losing the weekend before the tournament. 

Future European champions?

I am going to stick my neck out now, and say I think Holland will win the tournament. Why? They won 10 qualifiers in a row, and only lost their last game to Sweden when they were safe. They are likely to start with Robin van Persie who has been electric all year, and if he needs a rest they have Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to come off the bench and he's been pretty handy as well. As well as this, these two will be ably assisted by Wesley Schneider, Arjen Robben, Rafa Van der Vaart, Ibrahim Affelay etc etc! 


Until now I had been quite underwhelmed, but with five days to go I am starting to get excited, almost irrespective of what happens with England. There is something special about tournament football that strikes a chord and I can't wait! I will be there at five o'clock on Friday supporting Greece v Poland (those who know me will know why) and hoping that the tournament can be a festival of football as it is meant to be. 

SPORT SHORTS

British athlete Mo Farrah made his intentions clear as he ran the fastest time (12m 56.98s) in the world this year over 5000m. He says he intends to concentrate on the 10,000m in London as it is run first, but surely there is not much better preparation than winning races. 


Kevin Pietersen 'retired' from international limited overs cricket this week, and will now only feature in the test team for England. It seems like he wanted to pick and choose when he played for England, and this was something that the ECB wouldn't stand for and rightly so. He might be missed in the beginning, but there will be another big-hitting superstar along soon enough; no player can be bigger than the team. 

Red Bull Racing F1 team have been told this week that they must make changes to the floors under their cars to make them compliant with regulations. Team principal had been adamant that his cars were compliant when asked on several occasions previously, but maybe change won't be a bad thing. Despite Mark Webber's win in Monaco, this season doesn't come close to the success RBR have had in the last couple of years.

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Carl 'The Cobra' Froch: Legend?

As the three time super-middleweight champion of the world, one would think so. But going in to last nights fight with Lucian Bute as the underdog suggests that some still still don't rate Froch as highly as others.

Carl Froch floors Lucian Bute

Carl Froch has spent the last three or four years fighting the best boxers in the division all around the world; going in to the lion's den to fight other people in their back yard. Conversely this was Bute's trickiest fight by some way, and his first away from North America so it is no wonder that Froch outclassed Bute. I'd be highly surprised if Bute's team took up the option of a re-match as they would surely not want such a ritual humiliation for their charge for a second time. It is difficult to know where Bute will go now, but surely Froch is well on the path to greatness and a spot in the history books as a British legend. He did spend the early part of his career in the shadows of Joe Calzaghe, but he always called out Calzaghe even though the fight was never made. Why? We shall probably never know, but since then Froch has never ducked anybody and has beaten most. There is a chance that he will get the opportunity to avenge the Kessler defeat, and I would think he could then retire with his head held high and nothing else to prove.

As Froch said in his post-fight interview, he could not have done it without his long-time coach Rob McCracken. He also openly admitted that if he does as he's told he could win like that all the time; all he has to do is 'listen to the guru!' Hopefully McCracken (British amateur boxing's performance director) can work his magic on Team GB's boxers at the London 2012 Olympics which are not too far away.  

SPORT SHORTS

Well done to Mark Webber for winning today's Monaco Grand Prix for the second time. It wasn't the most exciting race that we'll see this season, but hopefully it can be a spring board for Webber to go on to bigger and better things. 

Congratulations to Harlequins for winning their first ever English Premiership Rugby Union this weekend. The club has been through some hard times following the 'bloodgate' scandal of three years ago, but they have shown true character to come back to where they are now. 

England's footballers won their first match under Roy Hodgson. Better that than not winning, but if England carry on playing like that, not only will they not go very far in Euro 2012 but it won't be long before fans (and the media) start calling for Hodgson to be sacked. I am not one of them though,. The poor bloke has only has three days training with the team, and the circumstances have hardly been ideal. There should be no pressure for this tournament, and it should be looked upon as a building block for the future; after all there will be several current players that may not be in the squad for the world cup qualifiers in September.  

Luke Donald has retained his BMW PGA championship title at Wentworth today by beating the field by four shots. He carded a solid 68 to enter the clubhouse having defended a title for the first time in his career. Onwards and upwards to major success?

Jessica Ennis set a new British heptathlon record as she won in Austria with 6,906 points. Not bad for a fat lass! Whoever said that was a fool. She is one of the best medal hopes that we have going in to the Olympics; is that the way to try and settle our athletes down? Sad news that heptathlete Kelly Sotherton has announced her retirement following a back operation. 

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Drogba, Di Matteo, David Price, and a bit of disappointment.

Well now the football season has finished, I feel in a little bit of limbo and a bit like it’s time to take stock of all things sports. There is really only one place to start though. 

Cometh the hour; cometh the man!

Well done Chelsea. As much as I don’t want to, I have to doff my metaphorical cap to Roman’s boys for the grit and determination they showed in Munich last night. And their big man for the big occasion stepped up to the plate again. Having scored the goal to take them to extra time and penalties, he then stepped up to take the crucial fifth penalty to wrap it all up. Could Didier's last ever kick of a ball for Chelsea be the most important? What will they do without him when he leaves for Russia in the coming weeks? Or will Mr Abramovich break the bank (or rather make a minor dent in his wallet!) to keep him? It wasn't all about Drogba though. Lampard and Mikel were very good in midfield, and let's not forget that Petr Cech saved three out of six penalties taken against him on the night! I can't ignore the fact that John Terry should have stayed in the stand with his suit on and left his team mates to lift the trophy without him. No class, no morals. Not surprised. He'll get what's due to him after Euro 2012, but that's another matter.

What now for Roberto Di Matteo?

In any normal realm of sport, if a manager wins two out of the four trophies they entered at the beginning of the season, notably one of which the owner has been trying to get his hands on ever since he bought the club in 2003, he might expect to get the job on a full time basis. However this may not be the case for Roberto Di Matteo. I would not say that things looked frosty between Di Matteo and Abramovich, but the Russian did not look like he was about to whip a multi-year contract out of his pocket and say ‘Sign here my friend! You have harmonised this club and made my dreams come true, so I will give you the time and money to rebuild this team…’ Sadly, I won’t be surprised if the Italian doesn’t even get a look in. Pep Guardiola resisted the lure of Liverpool; will he be able to do the same with Chelsea? (And their owners bottomless pockets!?) Time will tell.

Future heavyweight champion of the world?

 Congratulations to David Price on becoming the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion at Aintree last night by beating Sam Sexton. I think Price has the ability to go all the way to the top and could really challenge the Klitschko brothers’ domination of the division. I don’t think he is quite ready to beat them at the moment but a couple more ‘learning’ bouts and he won’t be too far away. Sam Sexton hasn’t been knocked out too often, but the way Price clinically finished Sexton off in the fourth shows he hits accurately and very, very hard!  People may say that he has never really been tested, but if people keep ducking him (namely Tyson Fury) what is he supposed to do? He can only keep beating opponents that stand in front of him. Super-stardom is surely not too far round the corner.

Australian superstar Casey Stoner

 I was disappointed and saddened this week to hear of the intended retirement from MotoGP at the end of the season by Casey Stoner. He is already a double world champion, and could add another before the year is out, and if he sticks to his decision he’ll be retired at the age of twenty seven! Valentino Rossi said after hearing the announcement ‘It's bad news for the world of MotoGP, at the end of the season we're going to lose a great rider and a great rival, but it's his decision.’ As a slight upside, Rossi did say that he intends to continue for another two years at least. Maybe Rossi is a contender for Stoner’s bike; His Ducati has been such a dog to ride that you couldn’t blame him.   

SPORT SHORTS  

Nineteen days until Euro 2012 starts, and a few surprises when the England squad was announced this week. No Aaron Lennon? No Micah Richards? Only four strikers when Rooney is banned for two thirds of the group games? We'll have to wait and see, but I'm not sure my self. COME ON ENGLAND! 

England have taken the upper hand in the first test match of the summer at Lords this week. With a 155 run lead after the first innings, the number one test team in the world will take some catching. Also, well done to England captain Andrew Strauss on his century; he'll be glad that the the proverbial hairy primate is no longer on his back!   

Well done to West Ham United for their win over Blackpool in the N-Power championship play-off final.  The return of three former Premier League teams makes for an interesting season next year.

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Boxing bad news; Again!

I am sure most will be aware that boxing has been making headlines this week for the wrong reasons; again! To be honest, it is not too often that boxing makes headlines for good reasons, which is a shame because boxing does a lot of good things. The amount of boxers you hear of that say ‘I would have been in prison or dead if it wasn’t for boxing’ but nobody ever mentions the good side of the game. 

Lamont Peterson v Amir Khan

 So to the first of the controversies; Amir Khan v Lamont Peterson is off after Peterson tested positive for synthetic testosterone which is a banned substance. Peterson’s camp has maintained that the substance was taken due to a medical condition, but there is really no defence. The test that found the testosterone was by the Voluntary anti-doping Association (VADA), i.e. not a mandatory test! Bearing this in mind, if there was nothing to hide surely they would have declared this with Nevada State Athletic Commission and sought some kind of exemption due to the medical condition. I certainly feel sorry for Khan as he was definitely seeking redemption. He knew that something wasn’t right in the first fight, but could never say anything really. I heard Johnny Nelson (former WBO world cruiser-weight champ) say this week ‘you can’t say anything at the time because you either look like a cry baby or you get sued when the tests come back negative.’ From one side Khan now has some justification for the fight in December, but on the other hand is now unlikely to prove in the ring that he is the better fighter. Perhaps the worst part for Khan and Golden Boy Promotions is that they were not informed on April 12^th when the results were discovered, and they could have perhaps rescued the show by finding another opponent, but it was left to nearly a month later until a week before the fight when nothing could be done. They should not expect a Christmas card from Oscar de la Hoya or Richard Schaefer any time soon!

David Haye and Dereck Chisora

 

And now to the second controversy; Dereck Chisora v David Haye. The main issues seem to come from the British boxing board of control (BBBoC), and the fact that they feel they have been undermined by what has gone on. If they did not want the boxers to seek a license from another board, they should have not just suspended Chisora’s license, (and told him he could get a license from another board!) they should have banned him. Full stop. Then this could never have happened. As they didn’t, Frank Warren was entitled to seek a license from another board, and the fact that it was the Luxembourg Boxing Federation is irrelevant; Warren said this week that they had a number of offers from various boards.

I’ll be honest, I think Chisora should have been banned. To do what he did to the Klitschko brothers in the build-up to his fight with Vitali in February was disgraceful. To disrespect two of the longest standing world champions in such a way was childish to say the least. If I had been in Frank Warren’s position I would have sacked Chisora there and then, but perhaps he could see this fight coming a long way off. Forty thousand paying fans at Upton Park was too much to turn down. Having been to several Frank Warren shows over the years, I would not be surprised if the fight is a damp squib. Certainly the shows I have been to have been more hype than talent in the main. There has been the odd exception of course.  We'll find out on July 15th, one way or the other. 

SPORT SHORTS

•  The Premier league concludes today and all is to play for at the top and bottom. The key fixtures are Sunderland v Man Utd and Man City v QPR. Man Utd must win to have a chance of taking the title, but if Man City beat QPR that result is irrelevant. A point should be enough for QPR, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Owen Coyle will be the biggest Man City fan today. A City win means Bolton can escape the drop at the expense of QPR if they beat Stoke, and lets face it, Stoke look like they've been on holiday for about six weeks already. I'm not sure it's as cut and dry as some Man City fans think. We'll see later on. 
• Golf's unofficial 5th major, The Players Championship at Sawgrass, concludes today with the much maligned Kevin Na in the lead; although he is only one clear so all to play for. Brian Davis and Martin Laird lead the British charge although they are both six back. As we have seen, errant shots can easily bring bogeys so they are in with a chance. 
• Roy Hodgson is to name his first England squad this week for Euro 2012, and the main issue (Ferdinand or Terry, or both?) looks like it might resolve itself as Sir Alex Ferguson has questioned whether Ferdinand is up to the task. For the record, neither would be in my starting line-up. More to follow in due course.

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FA Cup final preview

The FA Cup

Albeit at a somewhat strange time of year and kicking off at a strange time of day, the FA Cup final is upon us; and even if a little nervous I am quite excited. It has not been a vintage season for Liverpool by any stretch of the imagination, but we are yet to be beaten in a cup game this season so I may as well look on the positive side! I am also happy that ESPN are giving the showpiece game of the English season the coverage it deserves by beginning at around eight o’clock in the morning.

As any football fan will know, there is history between Liverpool and Chelsea. And as the history is relatively recent there are some wounds that have not quite healed yet; and most of the wounds are Chelsea’s.  Even though Liverpool have beaten Chelsea twice this season I think they are definitely favourites in my mind, and they certainly will be with the bookmakers. That said, Liverpool have been Chelsea’s bogey team in recent years and despite having a generally bad season that trend has continued. Could this be where the trend changes….

Who are the game changers for Chelsea?

Fernando Torres will be the name on the lips of most fans discussing the match over a pre-match pint for many reasons; he used to play for Liverpool; his £50million price tag; his distinct lack of goals… until recently! He has looked a lot better on the ball of late, and his hat-trick against QPR will have done his confidence no harm whatsoever.

Didier Drogba may be getting on in footballing terms, but he can still be the attacking battering ram up front that we have seen over the years. With seven goals in seven appearances at Wembley he has the pedigree. If he wants to play he can so let’s see which Didier turns up.

Juan Mata is one player in the Chelsea midfield who is more than capable of finding a killer pass when needed. In their recent games against Barcelona his role was sacrificed for the benefit of the team, but I expect him to be pulling the strings today. Liverpool midfield beware!

And for Liverpool?

Steven Gerrard has done it before, and despite the fact that I don’t think he’ll be back to 100% strength and fitness until he has a pre-season behind him, we have seen the odd sign since he came back that he can still do it. Since returning from long-term injury he’s played a slightly deeper role, but I for one am hoping we can see Super Stevie G a bit more on the front foot today.

Luis Suarez may not have scored thirty goals this season, but some of the goals he has scored have been absolutely sublime. He does things with a football that continue to tie defenders in knots, and I think he would have been a lot more prominent this season if he hadn’t spent a fifth of it sat on the bench suspended.

Pepe Reina is unlikely to get on the score sheet (unless it gets to 10-10 on penalties….oh crikey!) but some of his saves can turn the flow of a game on a sixpence, and he is the best goalkeeping distributor of the ball I have ever seen. He has unerring accuracy when kicking the ball from his hand and can spot a sixty or seventy yard pass in the blink of an eye.

Form

Liverpool had a very good start to the season and have got steadily worse, whereas Chelsea have been exactly the opposite. Since installing Roberto Di Matteo as ‘Interim first team head coach’ (I think this is his title??) Chelsea have gone from strength

to strength. And beating Barcelona to get to the Champions league final will be a massive confidence boost. Conversely, the latter half of this season will be a time to forget for Liverpool. The only real highlights have been beating Everton and winning the Carling Cup. Already having won two games at Wembley this year could be a plus point.  Head to head is a different story though. Liverpool have won the last four games in all competitions, and Dalglish is unbeaten in his last thirteen games against Chelsea. I hope the tide doesn’t turn today! Also, Dalglish is bidding to win his 28^th major honour as a player and manager and Chelsea have only won 21 in their entire history.

As a final point, I hope the referee and his assistants have a good game and there aren’t any contentious issues. There have been a few in LFC v CFC games in the past, and I think Phil Dowd has been involved in a couple when Liverpool beat Manchester City earlier in the competition. Fingers crossed!

SPORT SHORTS

• Ronnie O'Sullivan is looking like an unstoppable cue-wielding juggernaut at the snooker World Championships, and although he has still to beat Matthew Stevens in the semi-final, six frames in a row yesterday should have sealed the deal. This should have been the final really, and Lord knows Matthew deserves it. He's done well to get back to playing at this level after some time in the wilderness following a tough time in his personal life. Good Luck to all players left in. 
• West Ham and Blackpool have the upper hand in the Football League Championship play offs, but neither game is beyond doubt. I feel sorry for Cardiff fans as they seem to be the perennial play-off losers. Maybe next year? 
• This week has seen the first 'in-season' testing session for some time which is good news as it gives teams a chance to make their cars go faster. F1 should be the pinnacle of horse-power, design and aerodynamics and the FIA and their regulations have spent a few years slowing the cars down! 

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English football season climax

This time of year is normally quite sad, because as exciting as it is, the football season is coming to an end. At least this year we'll have Euro 2012 and the Olympics in London to get us through the summer!

The Football League season came to a conclusion yesterday, with Southampton taking the final automatic promotion place to the join Reading in the Premier League next season. 
And although Wolves will be playing in the Championship next year, all is still to play for in the fight to beat the drop. I have to make special mention of Wolves and their manager Terry Connor who put on a fantastic display yesterday, even though they were only playing for pride. I think Mick McCarthy, Terry Connor, the players and the fans of Wolves have been treated despicably by the board of their club and even though things have not always gone right for them on the pitch they will go down with dignity. 

Swansea v Wolves

Terry Connor should never really have been put in the position of trying to drag Wolves out of the mire, and Wolves should have made sure they had a manager in place before sacking McCarthy. If rumours are to believed, there were managers that turned down the position on the salary alone; if the Wolves board had put their money where there mouth is, they might have had a fighting chance. 

So, any three from five for relegation from the Premier League. Although Aston Villa would seem to be in the box seat, three points and three goals from six games in April is definitely relegation form. I think they are up against it personally. They are not helped by the fact that the teams around them seem to have hit very good form at just the right time. 

Wigan have had just about their best month in their entire history according to manager Roberto Martinez; they have beaten Newcastle United, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool in recent times and if it wasn't for a poor display by the match officials they would have beaten Chelsea as well. Massive credit to chairman Dave Whelan for sticking by his manager, and also for Martinez for sticking to his principles. 

Mark Hughes has got Queens Park Rangers playing some good football recently, and they have beaten Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool in the last month or so. The form is there, but the trouble has been keeping eleven players on the pitch, and they will need eleven players to take points from Chelsea, Stoke and Man City.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle said recently that he believes his squad would have been in the top ten if they'd stayed fit all season, which may be the case as they play an attractive game; but they will need to show heart with grit and determination to stay up. They are well capable of beating Stoke and West Brom though, so they are in with a real chance. 

Blackburn on the other hand are three points from safety at the moment, and I think if they are to even have a hope they will need three wins from three games. Unfortunately they have to play Tottenham, Wigan and Chelsea so the writing may already be on the wall. Albeit Blackburn have been in the bottom three for most of the season, Steve Kean deserves a lot of credit. Few football managers have ever had to work in the face of such adversity and vitriolic abuse from the supposed supporters. These fans should be ashamed of themselves, and I wonder if any of think that if they had got behind the manager and his team a bit earlier, would they still be in this position. 


Good luck to all, and I hope the climax to the season is as exciting as it promises to be. 

SPORT SHORTS

• I am enjoying the World Championship snooker at the Crucible so far. The highlight has been Stephen Hendry's maximum in the first round, as well as him getting through to the quarter finals by beating defending champion John Higgins 13-4. 9/1 for the title anyone?
• I think playing midweek fixtures in the Premier League three and four days before the cup final is not ideal for either team. I hope the occasion is befitting of the history of the FA Cup, and I also hope unashamedly that Liverpool win. 
• Not long until the cricket season starts; England have not been on a great run of form. Will they still be the number one test side in the world after the summer?
• The Premier League title could well be decided tomorrow in the Manchester derby. I think the score will be Man City 3-1 Man Utd. The game is at the Etihad Stadium, and I don't think Man Utd's defence can live with Aguero, Tevez and co.

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