Portugal’s qualification bid suffers yet another setback

Carlos Queiroz’s side could trail by seven points on Wednesday

There is now a distinct possibility that the reigning world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo will not be in South Africa next summer after Portugal drew 0-0 at home to Sweden.

Carlos Queiroz’s side have won just one of their first five qualifiers and find themselves four points behind Denmark and Hungary in Group 1 and that margin is likely to widen on Wednesday when they host Albania and Malta respectively, while Portugal aren’t in action.

Posted: March 30th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Everton must beat Blackburn to keep top four dream alive

Blackburn/Everton, 8pm, Sky Sports 2, Free Bets, Best Odds

It was said that there was no way Everton could finish in the top four this season, especially without Yakubu and Mikel Arteta but the Toffees have taken advantage of Aston Villa and Arsenal’s recent stumbles and closed the gap. However last night’s unforeseen twist - Arsenal actually winning a game - has heaped pressure on David Moyes’ side who surely now need to win at Ewood Park to keep their hopes of Champions League qualification alive:

Worrying signs for Everton

» Everton haven’t tasted victory in any of their last four meetings with Blackburn, winning just one of the last seven.

» The Toffees have triumphed on just one of their last six visits to Ewood Park and haven’t even managed to score in the last two.

» The two sides have met twice already this season with struggling Blackburn winning on both occasions. Everton were therefore responsible for 33% of Paul Ince’s wins as Rovers manager.

Posted: March 4th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 2 Comments