Newcastle VS Botlon Wanderers - preview

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will make a late decision on striker Peter Lovenkrands.
The Dane limped off with a thigh injury after scoring in the 2-0 win at Birmingham last time out, but was due to train on Friday.

Nile Ranger and Shefki Kuqi are on standby if Lovenkrands fails to make it.
Midfielder Danny Guthrie will miss out with a hamstring problem, while Shola Ameobi (fractured cheekbone) hopes to resume full training wearing a protective mask next week.

Defenders Steven Taylor (hamstring) and Ryan Taylor (ankle ligaments) both return to the squad after lengthy lay-offs, but Stephen Ireland and Dan Gosling (both knee), Alan Smith (ankle) and Hatem Ben Arfa (broken leg) remain on the sidelines.

Striker Daniel Sturridge returns to the Bolton squad having missed the last two games as he has been cup tied.
Jussi Jaaskelainen will return in goal ahead of Adam Bogdan who was used for the FA Cup ties, while defender Gretar Steinsson could be available after being out for the last month with a knee injury.

But the Magpies game is too soon for fellow full-back Jlloyd Samuel despite a reserve run-out this week following a six-month lay-off with a ruptured thigh.

Newcastle             -0.5   2.160

Bolton Wanderers          1.800

FT.HDP on 12BET.com

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West Bromwich Albion VS Wolverhampton Wanderers
                                                                   20 Feb 2011 8PM (GMT+8)



12bet.com West Bromwich Albion host neighbours 12bet.com Wolverhampton Wanderers who have lost their last four on the road.

 

West Brom team news

West Brom will be without midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu for their derby match against Wolves. 12bet.com
Mulumbu has a minor hamstring strain, picked up during last Saturday's match against West Ham United.
Head coach Roy Hodgson 12bet.com said he had no other injury concerns ahead of the match.

Wolves team news

Full-back Ronald Zubar is Wolves' only fresh injury doubt. Zubar suffered a swollen ankle during Wolves' 2-0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend - a result which pushed them to the bottom of the table.12bet.com
If Zubar is ruled out, then Kevin Foley is the obvious candidate to replace him.
12bet.com Stephen Hunt is unlikely to have recovered from the calf injury which saw him miss the defeat against the Gunners.
But fellow midfielder Dave Edwards could be back in contention after recovering from a groin problem. 12bet.com

 

Squads

West Bromwich Albion:  12bet.com Carson, Cech, Ibanez, Morrison, Barnes, Brunt, Reid, Myhill, Fortune, Dorrans, Shorey, Thomas, Zuiverloon, Meite, Odemwingie, Fortune, Tchoyi, Scharner, Thomas, Cox, Vela, Tamas, Olsson, Jara.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: 12bet.com Hennessey, Hahnemann, Zubar, Foley, Stearman, Berra, Elokobi, Hammill, Henry, Milijas, Jarvis, O'Hara, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake, Fletcher, Craddock, Ward, Jones, Edwards.

WBA-vs-Wolves   FT.1X2      www.12bet.com
1.95
3.89
3.29

Chelsea vs. Everton (4th Round FA Cup Replay)


Time: 12:30PM GMT (7:30 AM EST)

What could have been more dull than the first half of the original 4th round match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park? I don't know, but I expect this one to give that a run for its money. Chelsea aren't going to deploy Fernando Torres here, so they might actually score. The winner of this match gets to play Reading at home in the 5th round. Now that's a prize worth fighting for.

Pick: 1-0 Chelsea.

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Road to the final 

The 12bet.com UEFA Europa League comprises three qualifying rounds, a play-off round, a group stage and five knockout rounds.

Qualifying
In matches in the three qualifying rounds and the play-offs, clubs play two matches against each other on a home-and-away basis. The club which scores the greater aggregate of goals qualifies for the next round, with 12bet.com away goals and then penalties used to determine the winner in the event of a draw.

Group stageThe 38 play-off round winners join the ten losers from the UEFA Champions League play-offs. 12bet.com The clubs are split into 12 groups of four teams, playing home and away against each of their pool opponents between September and December. 12bet.com Two sides from each section advance, proceeding into the round of 32 alongside eight third-placed teams from the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Knockout phase
From the last 32 until the semi-finals, clubs play two games against each other on a home-and-away basis with the same rules as the qualifying and play-off rounds applied. 12bet.com In the last 32, group winners and the four third-placed sides from the 12bet.com UEFA Champions League with the best records are seeded, guaranteeing they will play the second leg at home. Teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn together. From the round of 16 onwards the draw is free.12bet.com

Final
12bet.com  The final is decided by a single match, which this season will be played in Dublin on Wednesday 18 May.

Visit http://www.12bet.com/ for UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

 

Newcastle sign free agent Kuqi 

 

Newcastle United have confirmed the signing of Finland international striker 12bet.com Shefki Kuqi until the end of the season.

The 34-year-old, who was a free agent after his contract with 12bet.com Championship side Swansea was terminated by mutual consent last month, could go straight into the squad for Saturday's Barclays Premier League trip to Blackburn Rovers, one of his former clubs.

He has been drafted in to provide back-up to strikers Leon Best, Peter Lovenkrands and Nile Ranger following the £35m departure of Andy Carroll to Liverpool, Xisco's loan move to Deportivo la Coruna and Shola Ameobi's fractured cheekbone.12bet.com

Physical Presence

We needed another option up-front, because we're a little light there due to the temporary loss of Shola, and 12bet.com Shefki will provide us with something different," Pardew told the club's official website.

"He's match fit and knows the 12bet.com English game well having been in the country for the best part of ten years. 12bet.com He is ready straight away and that's what we wanted.
"Shefki is a good, honest pro who will give us a strong physical presence from the bench." 12bet.com

English Premier League action on www.12bet.com

Juventus beat 2-1 at Palermo; Napoli loses 2-0

ANDREW DAMPF, AP Sports Writer 

Published: 04:47 p.m., Wednesday, February 2, 2011

 Juventus forward Alessandro Matri reacts after missing a scoring chance during the Serie A soccer match between Palermo and Juventus, in Palermo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. Photo: Antonio Calanni / AP

ROME (AP) — Juventus' winless streak reached four matches with a 2-1 loss at Palermo on Wednesday that dropped the struggling 27-time champion into eighth place in Serie A. 12bet.com

Former Juventus striker Fabrizio Miccoli put Palermo in front seven minutes in with a shot under the legs of Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, then Giulio Migliaccio doubled the lead in the 20th with a header off a corner.

12bet.com Juventus argued for a penalty to no avail despite a clear handball by Palermo defender Cesare Bovo in the 34th, and Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio took his anger out over the missed call to cut the lead in half two minutes later with a shot that went by four defenders.

"There were fouls that were not awarded and a penalty not given that was devastating," said Juventus coach Luigi Del Neri. 12bet.com "We want respect. It's not that they need to give us all the penalties, but at least the clear ones."

Second-place Napoli lost 2-0 at Chievo Verona, 12bet.com which scored goals through Davide Moscardelli and Gennaro Sardo. AS Roma was held to a 1-1 home draw by Brescia, which equalized in the 69th through Brazilian striker Eder after Marco Borriello had put Roma ahead.

AC Milan, which drew 0-0 with Lazio on Wednesday, 12bet.com holds a five-point lead over Napoli, with Lazio seven points back and Roma nine points behind in fourth.

Five-time defending champion Inter Milan, which has played two fewer matches, is 10 points back entering its game at Bari on Thursday. 12bet.com

Also Wednesday, it was: Cesena 1, Catania 1; Fiorentina 1, Genoa 0; Parma 0, Lecce 1; Sampdoria 0, Cagliari 1; and Udinese 1, Bologna 1.

Juventus, which is 13 points behind Milan, has not been able to overcome a series of injuries that have decimated its attack, taking out Fabio Quagliarella, Simone Pepe and Luca Toni.

Juve signed Alessandro Matri as the transfer window closed Monday, and the former Cagliari forward played from the start but his best chance unluckily hit Bovo's heel in the 48th.

Juventus also lost 2-1 to Udinese at the weekend, and was eliminated 2-0 by Roma in the Italian Cup quarterfinals last week following a 0-0 draw with Sampdoria.

12bet.com "We deserved more, but now we've got to start over," said Del Neri, who is in his first season with the Turin club. "We've got to make it clear that there needs to be more attention paid to Juventus right now by the refereeing department."

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