Post your predictions here:

1-1 with goals by Reyes and Lampard meaning if Everton can beat Liverpool in another good derby, they'll be second (!).

It's a shame that Everton-Liverpool had to coincide with Arsenal-Chelsea as that game is fairly important as well. Everton can move to second with some luck and Liverpool will be looking to move into the top 6 after their amazing comeback in CL versus Olympiakos. (I thought Liverpool was toast personally...great game to keep track of on soccernet)

The Everton/Liverpool game is free on FSW but the Arsenal/Chelsea game is on PPV. Anyone know of a good pub in Houston to watch the game without having to pay an arm and a leg?

This is going to hurt to say, but go Aresenal (sorry, had to edit...what I typed at first did not make sense)!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, Arsenal is having some injury problems right now so I say 2-0 Chelsea.

[This message has been edited by ce1994 (edited 12/9/2004 2:02p).]

I'm going to say 3-2 Chelsea, with goals by Henry and Reyes for Arse, and Lampard, Robben and Terry for Chelsea. Look for at least one Duff assist.

I'm almost sick that this match is pay-per-view. I spent all my PPV money on Euro 2004, and I think the wife isn't too keen on me spending anymore.

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho

Hey ce1994...if you're confident of your prediction, Ladbroke's is paying 900 GBP for a 20 GBP bet if that result occurs (of course Gudjohnsen has to score the first) I would think you'd be rooting for a draw since then ManU could gain points on both Arsenal and Chelsea.

I thought about buying the pay-per-view but I've decided to see if I can squirm into a pub instead. Save your money for either the ManU or Arsenal fixture in April. I have a feeling that the title won't be decided till late and those matches will be intense.

Well, not to sound like an elitist but an Arsenal win puts ManU closer to the top than a draw. I am looking at my team finshing first, not second. Of course the days of ManU doing that consistently are over, but a guy can dream.

It'll be interesting. It looks like Arsenal might have gotten their scoring habits back the past couple games, but the Vieira suspension will really hurt.

As much as it pains me to say, Chelsea will probably win. And I might not get to watch it because of studying for finals.

So ce, is that you grabbing a donut? Somebody's sporting the Red Devil hat:



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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho

Nah, I only have a $5 Beckham shirt I bought in Olympia, Greece as my ManU gear. It is uncomfortable as hell and I hardly ever wear it.

I probably have too much stuff. My wife is capping my purchases until next fall, when they bring out the new logo and the 100th anniversary gear. Then I'm back in business.

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho

2-2 in the second half. C'mon you Blues!!

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho

2-2 draw

Yep. I'm happy with that. Chelsea went flat at the end -- playing for the draw it seemed lke. But Blues stay five ahead, and three ahead of Everton.

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho

At least Arsenal didn't lose, so we're still in it. A friend who watched the game is rather insistent Arsenal should have had a penalty with about 5 minutes left, but I'm not sure about that.

BBRex, an honest question. Do you feel any accomplishments of Chelsea's are cheapened by the way they will win them? Two years ago they were on the verge of financial ruin ala Leeds and then some guy with no attachment to the club comes in and wipes out the debt and makes them the richest club in the world.

Not a bit. Arsenal and ManU. put together great clubs by paying big money to top players. Somepeople want to complain about Chelsea buying talent, but that's more of a complaint about how Chelsea has suddenly found solid financial backing, and, quite frankly, a bit of jealousy.

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho

I realize this probably sounds like sour grapes, but I think there are some differences. Sure, Arsenal and Man U have spent money, but a lot of their success has been built on homegrown talent (Scholes, Beckham, etc.) and some of the shrewdest business deals (Vieira, Anelka, etc.) They both built from hardly anything (it took Ferguson nearly a decade to win his first championship at Old Trafford) to get to where they are today.

I guess I'd like to see Chelsea earn it. And what they earned, based on their actions over several years, was a very large debt that was begining to threaten their existence. They're cheating the game's karma.

I'm not saying you should be upset or anything. If Arsenal were in your financial situation I'd be more than happy to cheer like crazy for all the new signings.

I see what you're saying, a bit. But just from a Chelsea fan's perspective, the club was going to change either way. Zola left. JFH was being shopped around. The club was about to be gutted. So would you rather have all the change be bad or good? There was no keeping the status quo. Besides, the financial problem stemmed some from Bates' decision to build the hotel, etc. and not focus on the game.

[This message has been edited by BBRex (edited 12/13/2004 1:15a).]

I am not at all concerned about what the Russian is doing at Chelsea. It is called capitalism and makes the game better.

Personally, I don't have a problem with what Chelsea is doing simply because that's the way it works in soccer. Big clubs with deep pockets are the only ones that have a chance to consistently compete. Sure some clubs ala ManU can claim that some of their talent is home grown and while that is true, they main reason why they compete is because they can buy a Rooney or a Ronaldo. I will say that I hate the fact that soccer is like that, but I don't blame the clubs that take advantage of the system for doing so.

I don't feel bad about Chelsea, but I do like that Everton is making a run after letting Rooney go. I think that's kind of funny.

Yeah, that is kind of funny. Seems like Everton knew what they were doing when they dumped that weasel.

I agree, it's great what Everton is doing. Surely Moyes is the manager of the year if they keep this up.

Well, ManU drops more points to Fulham (!) so that draw doesn't hurt Chelsea/Arsenal in that regard. I keep waiting for ManU to go on a huge run and just when I think they are, they draw to Fulham.

[edit: after reading the match report, it sounds like ManU was just extremely unlikely as they hit the wood at least three times and barely missed a few others. It took a 30 yard strike from Papa Bouba Diop (I love that name) for Fulham to claim a point. Tough one for ManU. Wasted a golden opportunity to close on both Chelsea and Arsenal]

[This message has been edited by Dre_00 (edited 12/13/2004 4:48p).]

Papa Bouba Diop is dangerous with the ball. Sounds like Arsenal, Manu and Chelsea pretty much stay even.

FSW had the replay last night. To be honest, Arsenal were a bit unlucky. They clearly controlled the play the last 20 minutes and if given 100 chances, Henry scores 99 times in that build-up circa the 75th minute. Van Persie also had a chance that was only a foot or so wide. Great game to watch even when you know the outcome, which is rare.