Everton boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Reading at Goodison Park which sent the Royals into the Premier League relegation zone.
Phil Jagielka's first goal in an Everton shirt in the 62nd minute condemned Steve Coppell's side to their seventh consecutive defeat, and their ninth on the road this season.
The goal came after Reading failed to fully clear Mikel Arteta's corner and Leon Osman floated the ball back into the penalty area for Jagielka whose header looped over Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann.
David Moyes' side are now three points clear of fifth-placed Aston Villa and four points ahead of city rivals Liverpool, although Rafael Benitez's side have two games in hand.
A hat-trick from John Carew had earlier inspired Villa.to a 4-1 home victory over Newcastle in the day's early kick-off to leave Kevin Keegan still searching for his first win since he returned to the Magpies.
Newcastle looked to be on course for their first win in nine games after Michael Owen's deflected header gave them a fourth-minute lead at Villa Park which they held until the break.
But Wilfred Bouma equalised with his first goal for Villa in the 48th minute before Carew's header put Martin O'Neill's side ahead for the first time in the match three minutes later.
Carew headed his second in the 72nd minute and then added third from the penalty spot after Stephen Carr handled in the area to complete the scoring.
Sunderland boosted their hopes of survival with a 2-0 win over Wigan at the Stadium of Light and gave Roy Keane the bragging rights over his former Manchester United team-mate Steve Bruce.
The Black Cats went ahead three minutes before the break when an unmarked Dickson Etuhu headed Dean Whitehead's cross past Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.
Sunderland striker Daryl Murphy doubled his side's advantage in spectacular fashion in the 75th minute when his 25-yard shot flew into the top-left corner of the net.
West Ham and Birmingham finished at 1-1 after James McFadden equalised for the Blues with his first goal since his move from Everton.
The Hammers took the lead in the seventh minute when Freddie Ljungberg latched on to Carlton Cole's flick from a long throw.to tap home from close range but the visitors levelled in the 16th minute after West Ham defender Lucas Neill fouled McFadden inside the penalty area.
The Scotland international took the spot-kick and placed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Derby suffered their ninth home defeat of the season after Tottenham ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at Pride Park.
Robbie Keane gave Spurs the lead in the 68th minute when he produced a simple close-range finish after Derby goalkeeper Roy Carroll had parried Steed Malbranque's shot.
Younes Kaboul added a second goal nine minutes from time when he seized on Pascal Chimbonda's knockdown to drive the ball home from just inside the penalty area.
Spurs were awarded a penalty in injury-time after Alan Stubbs had handled inside the area and Dimitar Berbatov successfully converted resulting spot-kick.
Middlesbrough striker Jeremie Aliadiere netted in the 11th minute to give his side a deserved 1-0 win over Fulham at the Riverside Stadium.
Gary O'Neil threaded a neat pass down the right and Aliadiere beat the offside trap before he struck his shot through the legs of Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi from a narrow angle.
Meanwhile a scrambled goal from Lassana Diarra gave Portsmouth a 1-0 win over Bolton at Fratton Park.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Prem wrap: Jagielka fires Royals into drop zone
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Carling Cup Preview: Tottenham – Arsenal
Carling Cup Preview: Tottenham – Arsenal
What: Carling Cup Semi-Final, 2nd Leg
Who: Tottenham (11th EPL, 27pts) v Arsenal (2nd EPL, 54pts)
When: Tuesday, 22nd January 2008, 20:00 (GMT)
Where: White Hart Lane, London
In The Balance
North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham go into battle on Tuesday with their semi-final finely poised after the 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Emirates.
Tottenham took the lead against Arsene Wenger’s young guns two weeks ago with a Jermaine Jenas goal after 37 minutes, only for Theo Walcott to rescue a draw with a rather lucky equaliser 11 minutes from time with Tottenham looking to hold on for the win.
Arsenal would have left the happier of the two sides with Spurs assistant Gus Poyet frustrated not to take a lead into the second leg. "We were the better team. We deserved to win but it's a 180-minute game and there are still 90 to go," he said.
Juande Aiming For Cup Glory
Although Juande Ramos wasn’t in charge for either this season’s league defeat or last season’s Carling Cup defeat, he will be looking to help Spurs exact some revenge on the Gunners and end a long run of defeats for the White Hart Lane club.
Spurs haven’t beaten Arsenal in nine years, so a League semi-final would be the ideal time to finally do so.
Manager Juande Ramos had quite a cup record while at Sevilla, and Spurs fans will be hoping he can continue it in North London tomorrow. During his first season at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, he won the Uefa Cup and followed that up the next year with the Copa del Rey and a successful defence of the Uefa Cup.
Assistant manager Gus Poyet meanwhile admits the club are desperate to finally gain a win over their fierce local rivals.
"I hope there will be a bigger game than this - in the final - but for now at this moment it's the biggest game of the season for different reasons" he said.
"It's all about making sure we get to the final - we believe we can and if we do it's going to be a great night for everyone.
"I won't have to say anything to the players, it's a perfect night for them to be involved - everyone will be desperate to play in this game."
You’ll Not Win Anything With Kids
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger on the other hand is looking to dispel the now famous Alan Hansen adage that ‘you don’t win anything with kids.’
The Frenchman is insisting he will keep the faith with the young players, who have got the club to this stage of the competition and will resist the temptation of bringing in a few more experienced heads to ensure the Gunners make the final.
"We have made decisions that will stand for the second leg. I'm convinced we can do it" he stressed.
Wenger says he is as bemused by Tottenham’s lack of success against his side as the Spurs contingent are.
"The result in the first leg continued our long unbeaten run against Tottenham, and I don't know why it should be that they haven't beaten us for more than eight years.
"They have always had good teams in that period, but we have been fighting for the championship a lot in that time so we always have a high focus. Maybe after a while it becomes psychological as well.
"We will go there positively, looking for the win, and they will be too, so it is set up nicely" the Arsenal boss added.
FORM GUIDE
Tottenham
Match Result Date Championship
Tottenham - Sunderland 2 - 0 19/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Reading - Tottenham 0 - 1 15/01/2008 FA CUP
Chelsea - Tottenham 2 - 0 12/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Tottenham 1 - 1 09/01/2008 CARLING CUP
Tottenham - Reading 2 - 2 05/01/2008 FA CUP
Aston Villa - Tottenham 2 - 1 01/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal
Match Result Date Championship
Fulham - Arsenal 0 - 3 19/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Birmingham 1 - 1 12/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Tottenham 1 - 1 09/01/2008 CARLING CUP
Burnley - Arsenal 0 - 2 06/01/2008 FA CUP
Arsenal - West Ham 2 - 0 01/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Everton - Arsenal 1 - 4 29/12/2007 PREMIER LEAGUE
TEAM NEWS
Tottenham
Tottenham midfielder Steed Malbranque returns from suspension, but Tom Huddlestone begins his three-match ban following his red card in Spurs’ FA Cup third round draw with Reading.
Ledley King was rested at the weekend to protect his knee and could return for the White Hart Lane clash.
Didier Zokora is on international duty and Chris Gunter is cup-tied. Gareth Bale (foot), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) and Anthony Gardner (ankle) are all out, while Darren Bent (knee) has been out recently and would be likely to miss out if he was fit.
1st leg line-up: Cerny, Chimbonda, Dawson, King, Lee, Lennon, Jenas, O’Hara, Malbranque (Boateng), Berbatov, Keane (Defoe)
Squad: Cerny, Robinson, Chimbonda, Lee, Stalteri, Dawson, King, Kaboul, Rocha, Huddlestone, Malbranque, Jenas, Boateng, O'Hara, Tainio, Lennon, Berbatov, Defoe, Keane, Rose, Taarabt.
Arsenal
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed William Gallas will lead the side for Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Tottenham.
Philippe Senderos (nose) has joined Johan Djourou (groin) on the sidelines, so Justin Hoyte or Gilberto are set to fill in at centre-back.
Theo Walcott is set to return, having not been involved at all in the win over Fulham on Saturday, while Abou Diaby and Nicklas Bendtner should also both feature after being unused substitutes at Craven Cottage.
Striker Robin van Persie (thigh) is not yet match fit, while Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Alex Song are all away at the African Nations Cup.
1st leg line-up: Fabianski, J.Hoyte, Djourou (Sagna), Senderos, Traore, Walcott (Randall) Denilson, Silva, Diaby, van Persie (Eduardo), Bendtner
Squad: Fabianski, J Hoyte, Gallas, Senderos, Traore, Diaby, Denilson, Gilberto, Eduardo, Walcott, Bendtner, Mannone, Sagna, Rosicky, Randall, Gibbs, Lansbury, G Hoyte.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tottenham- Robbie Keane
Fresh from scoring his 100th goal for the club at the weekend against Sunderland, Robbie Keane will be looking to get back on the goal-scoring trail immediately and do his bit to fire Spurs into a Wembley final. The Republic of Ireland international will look to profit from an under-strength Arsenal back four and cause the Gunners all kinds of problems with his strike partner Dimitar Berbatov.
Arsenal- William Gallas
Gallas may well be asked to provide the experienced head along with midfielder Gilberto Silva as Arsenal look to win at White Hart Lane and kept up their unbeaten run against Spurs. The French defender said last week that the youngsters at the club inspire him. On Wednesday it could well be Gallas’ turn to inspire them and lead them to a place in the Carling Cup final.
PREDICTION
Expect a full-blooded English Cup tie at White Hart Lane with two fierce local rivals both going all-out to reach the final. I just have a sneaky suspicion that this could be the night when Tottenham get that long awaited win over their North London rivals and book their ticket in the final. There should be plenty of drama in N17 and goals aplenty.
Tottenham 1 Arsenal 2
