Morocco in FIFA world Cup Semis - History in the making

Ever felt privileged to be part of history in the making? Yesterday I felt being that privileged one "watching" history in the making. The quarter final match between Portugal and Morocco was the venue of this historical event being penned down in the history. 

Noone could image that an African country, and a Muslim country, ever to make it to the semis of the FIFA World Cup Soccer? Well, it was yesterday that all myths were broken. The 1:0 win be favorites Portugal in the quarters led them to the semis - a great feat for the Moroccans and the Africans.

Ass per FIFA, "What a journey it has been. Group F had been widely viewed as Qatar 2022's toughest, containing as it did the teams that finished second and third at the last FIFA World Cup."  The lone goal in the later part of the first half was a maestro. And thereafter even calling ‏Cristiano Ronaldo in the early second half could not turn the sides and Morocons finished semifinalists. Wow

Watch the highlights of this memorable historic FIFA match ever:

Let us now wait and see whether the resilient Moroccans continue to make history till the final of the FIFA World Cup soccer at Qatar 2022. 

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Man United and City move Three Points Ahead - Continue with six points differential

When Manchester United and City played their matches today, no one had any doubt that there would be any set backs.

The Red Devils took on the Sunderland right in their home and earned three more points beating the Sunderland 3-1.

The Citizens too moved ahead and earned three more points when they beat Newcastle 3-1.

It seemed both Manchesters wanted to finish their matches with same score. Now as of today, the Red Devils have crossed 40 and are still on the top of the world with 42 points, followed by the Citizens with 36 points, clinging to their second position. However, the differential continues to be six as before.

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However, Chelsea seems to have been left much behind with 29 points though still at the third position. The Blues are now threatened by Everton with 27 points and Tottenham and West Brom each with 26 points.

Days ahead are getting tougher - wont't you say so?

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Italy vs Spain: Who will win UEFA Euro 2012 Final | Kiev 1 July 2012

The UEFA Euro 2012 football final between defending champion Spain and Italy is just  day away now. The final between the two will be played after a colorful closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine.

UEFA Euro 2012 Final, Olympic Stadium, Kiev: Italy vs Defending Champion Spain [wallpaper courtesy: OleOle ]

The defending champion Spain should be thankful to their stars as the Portuguese gave them the toughest resisitance on earth during their semi final match. With two teams remaining goal-lee in the prescribed time, could not decide even the extra time. It was only in the penalties that Spain won 4-2. By all accounts and analyses, Spain played a rather dull and boring game, unworthy of a world and defending champion.

On the other hand, Italy stood true to their traditions of never losing a major tournament and stunned Germany by a 2-1 win. Germans, which were highly and hotly favourites, with no one taking side of the Italians, looked rather over confident rather than presenting a game of some worth. The paid the price for the dullness and inactivity and lost.

Now who will win?

Well Spain, though marched into the finals by mere luck and chance, have not lost 19 matches they have played since 1-0 loss to Switzerland in 2010 World Cup. They also have players like Iker Casillas, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Santi Cazorla, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos and David Silva featured in the Euro 2008 finals, playing for them tomorrow's final - this is something unique as hardly any other player has played two Euro finals.

On the other hand, Itlay has not won many games, but they haven't lost in any major tournament either, something that over-awed the Germans and made them lose in semis. Italy has Mario Balotelli, who not only became the second Italy player to score twice in one Euro match, he also became the only player to have scored three goals in a single European Championship tournament, equal to Antonio Cassano's national record at all Euro finals he has played. It was Balotelli who scored the decisive two goals to oust the Germans from Euro 2012 race.

So who then?

Well Italy lost to Spain in a penaltry shoot out in the quarters of Euro 2008 - but that was four years ago. Today, Italy has the best defensive record in qualifying, conceding only two goals in eight games. and remember, Spain barely made it to final against Portugal in the semis, while Italy beat Germany with two solid goals.

Let us keep our fingers crossed then, with Italy as favourite and watch the UEFA Euro 2012 final between defending champion Spain and Italy, scheduled for Sunday, 1 July 2012 at 18:45 GMT

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Watch Germany vs Italy live stream free - EURO 2012 Semi Final, 28 June

While the first semi final of Euro 2012 is being played between the defending champion Spain and Portugal Wednesday evening, Germany gets ready for its semi final against Italy on 28th June at National Stadium, Warsaw Poland.

Courtesy: Ronaldo.net

Italy marched into the semi final as luck favoured the Azzurris in the penalties aginst their match with England. But would they be lucky against the Germans too? Remember, Germans are win-less against Italy in the Euros and World Cup.

It may be added that the German-Italy duel would remind many of their duel in the semi finals of the 2006 World Cup, when the Azzuris beat Germany 2-0 in the extra time. Italy then went onto win the World Cup five days later while a German victory of 3-1 victory over Portugal have them finish third.

Although the Germans prevailed upon their group matches and won all of the matches, it took them a while and face tough Greek resistance in the quarterfinal - though they finally won over the Greeks 4-2.

Germany have won three World Cups and are trying to win their fourth European trophy. as for Italy, they have four World Cup trophies and are for their second Euorpean title.

Meanwhile it is learnt that the German coach Joachim Loew has told his team to forget past disappointments and just focus on beating Italy - or shall we say that the German hunt for a first tournament win over the Azzurri has just started?

So who wins Thursday night? Well Germans are favourites - but they have never been able to outscore Italy. So let us watch the match and see who previals and marches into the finals.

Watch the exciting semi final between Germany and Italy on Thursday, 28 June 2012 at 18:45 GMT live from National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland.

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Semi Finals Euro 2012: Portugal vs Spain 27 June

The Euro 2012 has finally came to the semi finals stage with four top teams contesting to lift the cup this year. These include the defending champion Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy.

Getting ready for Euro 2012 semi final: Portugal's midfielder Ronaldo [left] and Spain's defender Ramos [right] 

The first semi final being played on Wednesday, 27 June is between the defending champion Spain and Portugal from Group B, followed by the second semi final between Germany and Italy on 28th June.

Portugal finsished second in Group B behind Germany. They only lost to Germany1-0, while they overpowered Denmark and Netherlands. Portugal then played against Czech Republic in the quarterfinals and beat them 1-0 with a solitary goal by Ronaldo.

The defending champion Spain is almost on a winning spree since they have not lost a single game this Euro. While they defeated Ireland, Croatia and France with clear margin and getting no goal from the opponents, it was only Italy that scored a goal and levelled their match 1-1.

The match thus will be a treat to watch between the defending champions and a team that 'dared' to score a goal against them: Italy. Portugal's Ronaldo will be the main man to take Portugal to final much to the dismay of the Spaniards. 

But would Sergio Ramos of Spain let Portugal beat Spain?

Watch the exciting semi final between Spain and Portugal on Wednesday, 27 June 2012 at 02:45 PM ET at Donbass Arena Donetsk, Ukraine. 

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Watch Birmingham City vs Chelsea: Women FA Cup Final

After the men's FA Cup, now it is the wonen from Birmingham City and Chelsea who enter the field Saturday afternoon to decide who lifts the Women FA Cup Final silverware.

For the final match Saturday today, the ladies from Birmingham City travel to the Ashton gate ground of the Bristol City.

For Blue ladies, Saturday's final is very crucial as last year they were runner up both in FA and Continental Cups.

Chelsea Ladies won their way to the Final after defeating Brighton and Hove Albion Ladies 3-0, Doncaster Belles 2-0 away and last season’s treble winners Arsenal Ladies 2-0 at Brentford’s Griffin Park ground. In Saturday's final, Chelsea Ladies will be aiming to complete an FA Cup quadruple for the club.

Who wins this afternoon - let it remain a secret till the finals whistle blows at Ashton Gate.

The Women FA Cup Final is scheduled for Saturday, 26 May 2012 at 11:15 GMT

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Watch Athletic Bilbao - FC Barcelona: Spain - Copa del Rey Final

Talk of 2011 and it was Barcelona which dominated all major championships of the year. The lifted the silverware of the Spanish Super Cup and the UEFA SuperCup.They even won the FIFA Club World Cup in the last days of the December 2011.

But then something bad happened when year 2012 dawned - there stood FC Barcelona stripped of all of its well earned titles of 2011 and as of today, they retain none. Besides, they’ve lost forward David Villa and defenders Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal to injury.

However, they have made a desparate effort in the Spain Copa del Rey to reach its final Friday tonight and ae pitched against Athletic Bilbao. A win tonight is therefore very crucial for the morale deficit Barca to again bring back some of its lost pride.

On the other hand,  Athletic Bilbao are in good shape - they went on to reach final of the UEFA Europa League, defeating Manchester United - but lost Atletico Madrid.Athletic Bilbao are on a five-game winless streak in all competitions and have failed to register on the scoresheet in all of those matches.

The opposing sides may include:

So buck up Barca - if you wanna regain your lost pride and name - lest Athletic Bilbao snatches this chance to away from you tonight.

The final of Spain - Copa del Rey between Athletic Bilbao and FC Barcelona is scheduled for Fridat, 25 May 2012 at 20:00 GMT at Estadio Vicente Calderón — Madrid

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Champions League Final between Chelsea - Bayern Munich : 19 May 2012

The exciting and fateful day finally arrives Sunday 19 May 2012 when Chelsea, the most unexpected team having reached the final of Champions League, meets Bayern Munich for the final show down.

When just before the quarterfinals, when everyone thought that either Real Madrid or Barcelona would make it to the final, the Blues dumped the 2-11 chapions Barcelona to make it to the finals. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, knocked out the Real Madrid to contest the Blues of the Champions League final.

Now that both Chelsea and Bayern Munich have made it to the final and come face to face on Sunday, many look for a surprise outcome of this showdown. However, if the London Blues win the Champions League, the win will grant them an automatic go through to next year's competition. This is something that the Spurs would never like as in such an eventaulity the Spurs, who finished in fourth spot in the Premier League, will be relegated to playing in the Europa League.

For the final, it is unfortunate that the Blues' captain Terry will not be playing on account of his red-card award in the semi final second leg against Barcelona. However, if Chelsea wins, he would be allowed to lift the silverware.

It may be noted that Chelsea knocked Bayern Munich out of the Champions League in the 2004/05 season. And may it also be said that this is the first final since 2007's game between Liverpool and AC Milan to not feature a league-winning side from their home country.

Probable Lineups:

Chelsea: Peter Cech, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Bosingwa, Frank Lampard, John MikelObi, Gary Cahill, Malouda, Salomon Kalou, Juan eyes, Didier Drogba.

Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm, Rafinha, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Thomas Mueller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, Mario Gomez

The match will be palyed at the Munich's Allianz Arena on Sunday, 19 May 2012.

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La Liga Trophy Day: Watch Live Real Madrid v Mallorca

Sunday tonight is a big day for the Real Madrid - for they would finally lay their hands on the La Liga trophy after their wait of four years since 2007-08 at the Bernabeu.

In fact till the match ends, the pleasure of holding the silverware will be on their minds - and would therefore be the driving force behind each Red player to put in their best so that fans even on the other side of the fence hail them as the true deservers.

It is not for certain till now, which teams the Red's manager is going to field: Will the best XI go down the arena to savour the joy of winning the trophy or will a chance be given to those who have toiled hard in training awaiting their opportunities. 

Even though Madrid don't have much to play for, it is not the same for Mallorca, who are just one point behind sixth-place Levante and fifth-place Atletico Madrid for the final two Europa League spots. 

Mallorca's Probable Starting Lineup (4-5-1): Dudu Aouate(GK); Ivan Ramis, Chico, Pedro Bigas, Martí Crespí; Tomás Pina, Jose Luis Marti, Alfaro, Gonzalo Castro, Pereira; Víctor Casadesús

Real Madrid Probable Starting Lineup (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Arbeloa, Albiol, Varane, Coentrão; Alonso, Granero; Callejon, Kaka, Ronaldo; Higuain

The trophy lifting match is being played at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Sunday May 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET / 18:00 GMT

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Watch Manchester City vs QPR Sunday 13 May 2012 - Would Citizens make history for 44 years?

You may have watched many football matches - but do not forget to watch the Premeir League match between the Table Top position holder Manchester City against 17th placed Queens' Park Rangers (QPR) - because on Sunday 13th May 2012, Manchester City may be making history for winning their first league title for 44 years.

Sunday is going to be a different day - a day when the Premier LEague title could be decided on goal difference for the first time. 

Manchester City go into Sunday's final games with a goal difference superior by eight with the teams on level points. They face QPR at home while Sir Alex Ferguson's men travel to Sunderland.

Sunday today, Citizens need to either better Manchester United's result against Sunderland or equal it and avoid a nine-goal swing in order to confirm themselves as Premier League champions.

The possible linup for Sunday's match between the Citizens and the QPR:

So let us all watch this great match Sunday and see if Citizens can make history and win their first league title for 44 years.

The match is scheduled for Sunday, 13 May 2012 at 16:00 GMT

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Watch Europa League Final between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao - 9 May 2012

The game of sports is unpredictable, challenging, exciting and winning with many wonders and surprises.

When the season started last summer, no one would of thought of names like Real Madrid or Barcelona not in the finals. But as the season progressed, it was all surprises and surprises.

Wednesday today, when the Europa League Final is being played - it is a different ball game altogether, or should I say an all-Spanish affair as both finalists are from Spain: Atletico Madrid VS Athletic Bilbao.

And what could else be the honour for the finalists as this is the first time Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao are playing in a European competition. This will also be the the second consecutive season that the final is being played between clubs from the same country. Last year, Porto defeated Braga in Dublin.

Who is going to lift the silverware tongiht? Well this is always the most difficult and touchy question. Keeping the past in view, both teams have lmost won equally with Atletico Madrid having a slight margin of five matches. Both teams have met for almost 150 times, in which Atletico Madrid won 64 times, while Athletic Bilbao triumphed 59 times. And one more first thing: this is the first European final being played in Romania. 

This will be Atletico's seventh European final. They won three of their previous six - so I do not need to elaborate much on the winner - but remember anything can happen in football.

The final is being played Wednesday 9 May 2012 at Bucharest between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. The Kick Off ime is: 18:45 GMT

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Arsenal - Norwich City: English Premier League

The Gunners are standing at a difficult third position in the table top, with the Hotspurs and the Newcastle  just on their heels.Thus the Gunners should be looking for a win to hold off the challenge of Tottenham and Newcastle.

But having won nine out of 10 in the league since February 4, the Gunners have since failed to win any of their last three matches - a form which reflects slackness at this crucial juncture. The only solace they can take form history is that their opponent have not won away to Arsenal since August 1992 and that they have all of their last four games against the City.

As for the Norwich, they will be hoping for their first away win against the north Londoners since 1992.

Gunners' midfielder Abou Diaby will miss the match against Norwich with a calf problem, while Norwich left-back Adam Drury is a doubt for Saturday's trip to Arsenal due to groin problem.

The probable XIs for Saturday match are as under:

Arsenal (probable, 4-3-2-1): Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Ramsey, Song, Rosicky; Gervinho, Benayoun; Van Persie.

Norwich (Probable, 4-4-2): Ruddy; R Martin, R Bennett, Ward, Drury; E Bennett, Howson, Hoolahan, Surman, Pilkington;Holt.

The match is scheduled for Saturday 5 May 2012 at the Emirates Stadium at 12:45 BST / 13:45 GMT

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Battle of Manchesters - 30 April 2012

I came across someone saying on the net: Manchester City to thrash Man United on 30 April 2012? And someone said: Mark my words, they will do the double on Man U this season !!

Well what actually happens Monday night will be worth watching, the Battle of Manchesters, I suppose. 

Bot teams are big names in the sport of football and fans do expect big and wonderful sport for the Cit and United - as it is they who are the trend setters for upholding the name and game of football.

Both teams have already met three times in this season: i.e. Community Shield, FA Cup and English League. But the 6-1 win by the City was something that was never heard off, despite the fact that the United avenged their humiliation in the FA Cup when they bear City 3-2, but that wasn't what City did to them.

Teams Probable Starting Lineups

Manchester City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy; Y Touré, VBarry; Silva, Tévez, Nasri; Agüero.

Manchester United: De Gea; Smalling, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Nani; Rooney, Welbeck.

This is going to be a big match and fans from both sides and even the neurals will be excited to to see the two giants face to face at Etihad Stadium. As for statistics, United tops English League standings with 83 points from the acquisition of 35 matches, while City is just three points short at 80 points from 35 matches. Who wins does not matter here since when big names clash, they otherwise make ripples and make headlines.

Monday, 30 April is that day!!

The match is scheduled for Monday, 30 April 2012 (19:00 GMT Kick-off) at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester

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UEFA Champions League Semi Final: Barcelona Vs Chelsea - Free Live Streaming

Chelsea is travelling to Barcelona for a Tuesday night duel that may take the Blues to the Champions League final - or it may provide an opportunity for the defending Champions for a comeback they need to make back-to-back finals. What do you say?

Hold on Barca!! Chelsea has something for tonight

For Barcelona - the defending champions, just one goal is needed as they trail it from the first leg. Therefore Barca must win tonight by at least two goals to advance to the final.

But there are other factors that also needed to be kept in view: Some say that history is not on the side of Barcelona in its semifinal series with Chelsea. Only twice in nine series has a team come back from a 1-0 loss in the first leg to go through to the final. And only four out of 23 times has a team lost the first leg of the semifinals and advanced.

Chelsea won the first leg, but Barcelona still managed to out-shoot the Blues, 19-4, in London. Chelsea will have to keep its shape in the second leg or it will be under total siege. And for this, Roberto di Matteo insists that Chelsea will not simply sit back in Tuesday night's second leg of the Champions League semi-final with Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

Well we wait and see how each of the two teams go into the field and devise what means to realize their options to succeed.

The match is scheduled for Tuesday 24 April 2012 at 18:45 GMT

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Barcelona FC vs Real Madrid: An important La Liga for both

Like an important match being played in the English Premier League between Arsenal and Chelsea, which would decide which team will and which will not secure a coveted top four slot, the same is the situation when Barcelona meet Real Madrid Saturday night.

In fact Saturday night's match is the final league game of the season in which Barcelona and Real Madrid are meeting - and the match will decide the league in either favour.

A win for Real Madrid means they’re up four points on Barcelona and can afford to lose another game before the season is out. A win for Barcelona means they only trail by one point, and will still have to hope that Real Madrid lose or draw one more game so that they can win down the stretch.

If Barcelona lose on Saturday, they’ll have to hope they can beat Chelsea and advance on to the final against Madrid - but that is long thinking, won't you agree?

On the other hand, Real Madrid also stand at the defining phase of the present season. The El Clasico against bitter rivals, FC Barcelona sandwiched between two Champions League fixtures against Bayern Munich will decide whether there will be celebrations at Cibeles this year or not. 

And one last thing: who is favourite for tonight? When two big teams like Barcelona dn Real Madrid are in the field one can never be too certain. Although Real Madrid is leading La Liga this season, but Barcelona is being considered by many as the favorite - mainly because Barca has won La Liga the past three seasons, and secondly they have Lionel Messi - the magic goal scorer.

Barcelona is probably banking on Messi to give them the winning edge - but many now seriously believe that the Barca will have to find alternatives other than the mighty man Messi, because in his absence their side could crumble and find no one to goal.

Watch the match tonight which is scheduled to kick off at 18:00 GMT

The links for the free live streaming are given as herein under:

Link#1    Link#2    Link#3    Link#4    Link#5

Disclaimer - jahojalal.com contains only links to other websites on the Internet. We do not host or upload any video/media files, therefore jahojalal.com is not responsible for the legality of the content of other linked sites. If you have any legal issues please contact appropriate media file owners/hosters. 

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Arsenal vs Chelsea: The decider for Top Four Spot - watch live online

Saturday this weekend something is important at hand: Arsenal vs Chelsea - a match the outcome of which will decide which team will and which will not secure a coveted top four spot.

But before that the Blues have bad news - their man Didier Drogba will not be there due to knee injury - this injury amy also even  prevent him from Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona.

In fact there is much too at stake this Saturday when both the Gunners and Blues march into the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal, which has lost against Wigan their last time out, will need a win at all costs to solidify their third place position, with Tottenham lurking five points behind with a game in hand. 

Gunner striker Robin van Persie insists that they must beat Chelsea to keep their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League alive, since the Blues are seven points below the Gunners, with a game in hand, and a second successive loss at the Emirates Stadium could be a disaster for the Gunners European hopes

On the other hand, the Blues are hoping to qualify for next season's Champions League, and a win over their London rivals Arsenal would put them in a very favorable position to do so. So it is more important for the Gunners to win over the Blues for this season's move up.

And if the Gunners win, the Blues will come under extreme pressure to take down Barcelona - something that is asking too much at this time, because this is the only way out for the Blues to qualify for next season's Champions League. In the absence of Didier Drogba, Juan Mata and John Terry will have to produce something unusual to help the Blues in their quest forward.

We really need to watch this match being played on Saturday 21syt April 2012 at the Emirates Stadium, scheduled at: 11-45 GMT

The links for the free live streaming are given as herein under:

Link#1    Link#2    Link#3    Link#4   Link#5   Link#6 

Disclaimer - jahojalal.com contains only links to other websites on the Internet. We do not host or upload any video/media files, therefore jahojalal.com is not responsible for the legality of the content of other linked sites. If you have any legal issues please contact appropriate media file owners/hosters.

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Barcelona vs Chelsea: UEFA Champions League Semis - Watch Live Online

With the meeting of  Bayen Munich  and Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semifinals first-leg, the war of the words gets intense between Barcelona and Chelsea, who take on each other Wednesday night tomorrow 18th April in last four of the competition.

Barcelona's Dani Alves has thrown in the spanner by labeling the Blues to be 'lacking courage' and having fears facing them in the crucial match just a day ahead. While Andres Iniesta admits his Barcelona team are about to face Chelsea players with Champions League revenge on their minds. As reported,  Iniesta  is quoted as sating that he is anticipating another tough night against Chelsea this week but is hoping for a similar outcome to their last visit to Stamford Bridge.

The Blues on the other hand are equally charged, specially after routing the Spurs 5-1 on the weekend. Frank Lampard has described the prospect of confronting Barcelona as the ultimate challenge of Chelsea's recent recovery. Lampard says that he expects Barca to win every game they play... but we can beat them. This is good omen that the Blues are voicing their confidence as reply to Barca's claims of fear and lack of courage. As for Messi, Lampard is quite optimistic to tackle Barca's hot scorer, when he says that the prospect of stifling the threat posed by Lionel Messi is daunting - but the Argentinian has not scored in six meetings with Chelsea in the past, although he arrives at Stamford Bridge with 63 goals to his name this season.

The question is will Chelsea take the revenge of 2009? Well one could say yes seeing their fitness and aggressive state with their match against the Spurs. More so, Blues' return to the semifinals after a three-year absence is portrayal of their revival under interim coach Roberto Di Matteo following Andre Villas-Boas' dismissal last month.

With these words, expectations and optimism by each team, let us wait and see till Wednesday night who tames who and how.


The match is scheduled to be played on 18th April 2012 at 18:45 GMT at Stamford Bridge Stadium, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London.

You may watch the live streaming of this crucial and exciting semi-final match between the Bacras and the Blues from the links given as herein under:

Link#1 Link#2 Link#3 Link#4 Link#5 Link#6 Link#7 Link#8  Link#9 Link#10

Disclaimer - jahojalal.com contains only links to other websites on the Internet. We do not host or upload any video/media files, therefore jahojalal.com is not responsible for the legality of the content of other linked sites. If you have any legal issues please contact appropriate media file owners/hosters.

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FA Cup Semis: Tottenham vs Chelsea -15 April 2012

FA Cup or the Football Association Challenge Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world, first held as far back as 1871–72. Entry to this famous football competition is open to all teams that compete in the Premier League, the Football League and in steps one to five of the FA National League System, as well as selected teams in step 6.

Manchester City is the current holder of the Cup, which they won in 2011 by beating Stoke City 1–0.

But this time, Manchester City does not figure out in the Final of the Cup which is scheduled to be held in May 2012. Already Liverpool has qualified for the final after evicting the Everton Saturday by 2-1. In the second semi final, Tottenham Hotspurs take on Chelsea Sunday 15 April 2012.

Hotspurs won their last and eighth FA Cup title in 1991. And since then, they have been close and played five semis but never reached the final. Therefore today's semi final is very crucial and important to the Spurs after their last semi final against Portsmouth in 2010.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have won the FA Cup five times before, losing twice in the finals. For the Blues, the match Sunday evening is important to give them a winning edge not only to enter the final, but also over awe Barcelona they are expected to meet next week in the Champions League.

As for the hot favourite for Sunday's semi, nothing can be said for sure as both teams are meeting in FA Cup semi for the first time, although something that should not be the deciding factor to know which side is favourite. As for the records, both have met eight times before and winning four matches each. Of the four matches played recently, three have ended in draw. However, many analysts believe Chelsea to dominate the Spurs - why, well no one is very sure of.

The likely probable XIs from both sides for Sunday's semi final are as under:

Tottenham: Friedel; Walker, Gallas, Nelsen, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Modric, Parker, Bale; Van Der Vaart; Adebayor.

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Terry, Cahill, Cole; Mikel, Lampard; Ramires, Mata, Sturridge; Drogba.

Venue / Kick off time: Wembley Stadium on Sunday April 15 2012, at 18:00 BST / 17:00 GMT.

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Real Madrid vs CSKA Moscow: UEFA Champions League

While Napoli takes on Chelsea tonight, another interesting match will also go on almost the same time between Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow at 19:45 GMT.

This will be Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League last 16 2nd Leg clash against CSKA Moscow and perhaps they will be taking it not very seriously as even a goal-less draw will take Real Madrid into the QFs.

Like Napoli, Real Madrid too are in the top fo their form and have perhaps the best fighting teeam in the Euorpe. This makes them stand out as the main contenders for the coveted UEFA trophy this year. Ronaldo's presence in Real Madrid has been a good omen as he has shown tremendous game so far. Although Real Madrid had a narrow win of 3-2 over Real Betics, they seem confident and resilient to thrust forward.

As for CSKA Moscow, they seem quite dormant so far as they have yet to win any game in the five league games played so far. Their best was a 1-1 draw with Dinamo Moscow in the Russian Premier League at home lately.

Who wins tonight? Well Real Madrid are the heaviest favourites tonight as Mourinho's troops have a 100 per cent record at home in Europe this campaign, having scored three or more goals in their three matches in Madrid thus far. Even the conditions at Bernabeu seem more in-tune with Madrid's game. But one can never be sure of the Russians, who will have the services of star play maker Keisuke Honda available following his return from a thigh problem last weekend. But what do you say when even the CSKA coach Leonid Slutsky is playing down his team's chances!!

The match between Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium @ 19:45 GMT.

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Watch Chelsea vs Napoli Online Wednesday Evening

In the on going Champions League Round of 16, 2nd Leg, we shall have a chance tonight to see Chelsea and Napoli clashing. And how do you expect them to meet?

Well, both teams are at their best and at their full strength too, which makes tonight's match deadly and bloody. Knowing Napoli's aggressive play, one can visualize how both teams are going to charge on to the other.

As for Napoli, many believe they are at their peak performance during this season. Although they had a poor start, they soon recovered and now seem to be on the winning spree as they have won over Inter and Parma, and almost dismantled Cagliari 6-3, which marked their 6th straight win. Napoli is at the top end of the league table: currently 4th, just 2 points behind Lazio. As one of the most in-form teams in Europe, they will be seen giving a tough time to Chelsea later Wednesday. 

As for Chelsea, they have had two wins in a row and seem excited and confident to meet Napoli. But Chelsea certainly needs to fare better for their future in the tournament. They need more goals and more wins. This is not something that cannot be achieved, but if they make early gains over Napoli, the night will be theirs. However, they would be hoping that a change in the dugout will bring about a shift in fortunes following their 3-1 defeat to Napoli in Italy three weeks ago.

However, all odds are in favour of Chelsea, while Napoli will enter the arena with full cylinders burning and full throttles on, and have more than likely chances to win over Chelsea.

The match will be played at Stamford Bridge at 3.45 p.m. ET. (19:45 GMT).

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