Capital One Cup 13/14: First Round Draw

picture: telegraph.co.uk

With the new season just over a month to go, the draw for the first round of the Capital One Cup was made. Although this competition plays second fiddle to the FA Cup, last years competition proved there is still as much entertainment as the FA Cup provides. It was Bradford City who stunned everyone last season as a mesmerising run saw them make the final having beaten Arsenal and Aston Villa on their route to Wembley. The fairytale was ended by Swansea as the Premier League side ran out comfortable 5-0 winners.

This years first round draw sees relegated QPR travel to Exeter while Football League new boys Mansfield and Newport County will face Tranmere and Brighton respectively. Runners up from last year Bradford face a tricky tie as they travel to Championship side Huddersfield Town.

Teams from the Championship down to League Two will compete from the first round with 14 teams from the Premier League entering at the second stage of the competition. The remaining six teams: Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Swansea will come in at the third stage as they are competing in Europe and to avoid fixture congestion. Wigan Athletic of the Championship will also enter at the third stage due to European commitments following their FA Cup final win. Reading will come in at the second round.

All first round ties will be played the week commencing the 5th August while the final will be held at Wembley on March 2nd 2014.

Keep up to date on EnglishFootball4U as we follow each round of the competition.

First Round Fixtures:

Bury v Crewe Alexandra
Shrewsbury v Bolton
Middlesbrough v Accrington Stanley
Doncaster v Rochdale
Preston v Blackpool
Barnsley v Scunthorpe Utd
Tranmere v Mansfield
York City v Burnley
Notts County v Fleetwood Town
Sheffield United v Burton Albion
Oldham Athletic v Derby County
Carlisle v Blackburn Rovers
Morecambe v Wolves
Notts Forest v Hartlepool Utd
Leeds Utd v Chesterfield
Huddersfield Town v Bradford City
Rotherham v Sheffield Wednesday
Port Vale v Walsall
Gillingham v Bristol City
Bournemouth v Portsmouth
Wycombe v Leicester City
Brentford v Dag & Red
Exeter v QPR
Charlton v Oxford Utd
Southend v Yeovil Town
Millwall v AFC Wimbledon
Swindon v Torquay
Birmingham City v Plymouth Argyle
Stevenage v Ipswich Town
Cheltenham v Crawley Town
Bristol Rovers v Watford
Northampton Town v MK Dons
Leyton Orient v Coventry City
Colchester Utd v Peterborough Utd
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newport County

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Championship 2012/13: Season Review

Moving on from League's One and Two, focus turns to the Championship and a time to reflect on a brilliant season in the top division of the Football League.

The craziness on the final day of the season was one that will take some beating, and as for the play-offs, the level of entertainment will be difficult to match. Automatic promotion, the play-off positions and relegation all needed sorting on the final day of the season with the majority of the sides in the league having something to play for.

The race for the title was settled fairly quickly as Cardiff finally secured promotion after a number of unsuccessful attempts in previous seasons. Under the management of Malky Mackay, the Bluebirds finished eight points clear of second place. It was the battle for second place though that caught the eye throughout the year as it went down to the final moments of the last game of the season. Watford and Hull had it all to play for as the latter at one point were six points clear of Watford. However after a poor run in their final few games, Hull managed to better Watford's result on the final day of the season to finish second and give Steve Bruce another chance to manage in the Premier League.

Malky Mackay guided Cardiff to the Premier League

For Watford and Gianfranco Zola, it was the play-offs. The drama continued for the Hornets as they overcame Leicester in the semi finals to reach Wembley and be 90 minutes away from the Premier League. The drama came as Leicester were awarded a late penalty in the second leg of the semi final which if scored, essentially sent them through to the final. However a heroic double save from Manuel Almunia allowed Watford to break up the field and score themselves sending their fans wild and putting them through to the final. They faced Crystal Palace in the battle for the final promotion spot, with an extra time penalty from Kevin Phillips making sure it was Ian Holloway's men who made a return to the top flight, after an eight year absence. They had beaten Brighton 2-0 over two games in their semi final.

Moving down to the other end of the table, and the fight for survival also went down to the final day of the season. Bristol City had already been relegated before the final day, as six teams went head to head to avoid the drop. Having already been relegated from the Premier League in the previous season, Wolves faced another relegation as they were beaten by Brighton to send them down to League One. They were joined by battling Peterborough United who threw away a 2-1 lead away at Palace to lose 3-2, and saw Barnsley draw at Huddersfield to end their time in the second tier of English football. The results on the final day meant that looking at the final league table, just the seven points separated third bottom Peterborough with tenth place Derby County.

Looking forward to the 2013/14 season, six new teams join the Championship. Coming from the Premier League will be QPR, Reading and Wigan Athletic, with all three teams looking to make an immediate return to the top flight. From League One, Doncaster, Bournemouth and Yeovil will join the division making up the 24 teams.

The fixtures for the 2013/14 Championship season will be released on Wednesday 19th June 2013 at 9am.

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Championship play-off final preview: Crystal Palace v Watford

In the final of the Football League play-off final, it's the biggest prize of them all with the Championship play-off final which sees the winner promoted to the Premier League. Last season saw West Ham score a late winner to beat Blackpool at Wembley. This year will see the return of a former Premier League side as Watford play Crystal Palace on Bank Holiday Monday.

Crystal Palace:
Ian Holloway's men secured a play-off place on the final day of the season with a home win against relegated Peterborough United. Holloway was introduced as manager in November 2012 taking over from Dougie Freedman who made his way north to Bolton. Funnily enough Bolton missed out on the play-offs leaving his former side just ninety minutes from the Premier League. The Eagles overcame Brighton in their semi finals, but will play without top scorer Glenn Murray. The striker ruptured his cruciate ligament in the first leg against Brighton and is set to be out for nine months. Star winger Wilfried Zaha will now be looked upon as the talisman and player to take them up to the Premier League. The England u-21 international will play his last game for Palace as he moves on to bigger and greater things in the form of Manchester United next season. The pacey wide man has just the eight goals to his name this season, but his two goals saw Palace overcome Brighton in the second leg of the tie.

Watford:
Watford were a penalty kick away from missing out on the play-off final as they witnessed a remarkable 90 seconds in the final moments of their semi final. Having seen Manuel Almunia save Anthony Knockaert's late penalty, the Hornets went up the other end and secured their place at Wembley through a strike from Troy Deeney.

We spoke to Watford fan Stephen Fletcher @sfletcherWFC about the semi final and what he's made of the season so far.

Describe the emotions you went through in the final moments of the semi final against Leicester?
Stephen: It is nearly impossible to describe what the 16,000 people packed into Vicarage Road went through in the last minute of that match; I still struggle to comprehend it! When the referee gave Leicester a penalty, we thought our season was finished. A season of hard work finished in an instant by a penalty. It didn't even cross my mind that 20 seconds later I'd be in the biggest crowd eruption of my life, as the Golden Boys booked their place at Wembley, thanks to the unbelievable counter from Almunia's fantastic double save. Talk about going from one extreme to the other; I've never seen anything like it.

How much would it mean for you as a fan to see Watford get promoted?
Stephen: We've had an unbelievable year and promotion would obviously be the icing on the cake, especially to do it at Wembley. We've played some of the best football Vicarage Road has ever seen this year and it would be a fitting end to a wonderful season. We've got a couple of good omens as well, for example, we got promoted through the play-offs in 1999 and 2006, so to do it again this year will mean we get promoted every seven years. Another bit if history we stand to make is that we'd become the first team to get promoted from the play-offs at three different venues in the form of the old Wembley (99), Millennium Stadium (06) and the new Wembley this year. Fingers crossed.

Some people have criticized Watford and Zola for their use of the loan policy this season, what do you make of that?
Stephen: Whilst I understand the criticism of many fans, managers and pundits alike, the key thing is that no rules were broken and we’ve just utilized a system which has allowed us to compete. Most Watford fans like to point to the successful model of our owners, who control La Liga side Granada and Seria A side Udinese, and they’ve achieved success through a great business model and through their acclaimed scouting network. I believe our model for business is much healthier than that of the big clubs who spend tens or hundreds of millions of pounds. Whatever people think of it, two things have been evident to Watford fans this year: the style of football is befitting of the Premier League, and the loanees have a passion, desire and love for the club. 

Will you be making the trip to Wembley?
Stephen: I’ll definitely be at Wembley on May 27^th; it’s going to be an unbelievable sea of yellow in the Watford end. I feel like nothing can happen at Wembley that can match what we saw at Vicarage Road against Leicester, but we will be loud, proud and very yellow.

In three words, describe you season so far?
Stephen: Exhilarating, intense & wonderful

What is the main reason behind such an excellent season?
Stephen: As mentioned above the loaness have come in and Gianfranco Zola has done incredibly well to create a brand new team, a new formation and a new style of play that Watford fans simply haven’t seen before. The passion the players have shown has been matched by their hunger and it has all combined to make it a memorable season. The final 20 seconds against Leicester in many ways summed up our season.

Almen Abdi
picture: watfordobserver.co.uk

Which player should we look out for Watford and why?
Stephen: Though Matej Vydra won the Championship Player of the Year award, for me the player to watch is Almen Abdi. The Swiss central midfielder is arguably one of the best players Watford have had, definitely in the recent years, possibly ever. He’s calm, composed, doesn’t give the ball away easily and is a major goal threat. Xavi may never play in the Championship but Almen Abdi is probably as close as we are going to get.

Danger player for Crystal Palace and why?
Stephen: It has to be young Wilfried Zaha; the £15 million man. Two semi-final legs against Brighton saw the two rivals at a deadlock, and the game didn’t look like going anywhere, until Zaha popped up with two big goals. He is the game changer, and the man we need to stop in the final. 

How do you rate your chances against Palace?
Stephen: The circumstances that saw us reach the final is just what our team needed after we missed out on automatic promotion on the final day against Leeds, and with renewed confidence and the squad absolutely buzzing I think we have a great chance. If we play the game, not the occasion, and play the football we are capable of we will win the game, I have no doubt. 


Predicted line-up?
Stephen: (3-5-2) Almunia; Doyley, Ekstrand, Cassetti; Anya, Hogg, Abdi, Chalobah. Pudil; Deeney, Vydra.

Stephen's score prediction:

Watford 3-0 Crystal Palace

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FA Cup Quarter Finals: Preview

As the season begins to get to the end, we focus on the quarter finals of the FA Cup this weekend. Only recently we saw the first piece of silverware won this season with Swansea beating Bradford 5-0 in the Capital One Cup final last month. The winners of the four FA Cup games will see them play at Wembley in the semi finals. There are three Championship sides and five Premier League teams battling it out for these places as we preview the four ties.

1# Manchester United v Chelsea

picture: chelseafc.tv

The cup so far has seen the big sides in the Premier League avoid each other up until now. The two teams faced each other in the Capital One Cup this season which saw a cracking game see Chelsea come out winners 5-4 after extra time. Both teams were involved in European action in the week but will both be determined to progress to the semi finals. Chelsea were the winners of the competition last season under Di Matteo beating Liverpool, while United have not won the competition since 2005. Victory for Chelsea would relieve some pressure under interim boss Rafa Benitez but at Old Trafford, a victory will be a massive task for the blues. United will look towards dutch maestro Van Persie for inspiration and goals as he looks to add to his goal tally this season.

Prediction: Man United 2-1 Chelsea

2# Manchester City v Barnsley

Barnsley will look to cause an FA Cup shock as they travel to the English champions. Having had an excellent run in the competition this season, the Championship side will want a repeat of their cup run of 2008 where they beat Chelsea at the same stage. City have had a relatively simple route to the quarter finals this season and will expect to get past their opponents. They will be without Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero but will still be expected to put out a strong side that will aim to repeat the club's success in the competition two seasons ago. As the league looks out of their grasp, Roberto Mancini's only other chance of silverware comes in the cup. The most recent tie between the clubs came in 2004 where City handsomely beat Barnsley 7-1 in the League Cup.

Prediction: Man City 3-0 Barnsley

3# Millwall v Blackburn Rovers

picture: bbc.co.uk

In the all Championship affair, the chance of a semi final place for both clubs will is massive. Had these respected clubs lost their fifth round ties then this hame would have seen non-league Luton host Premier League Arsenal. Instead Millwall produced a professional display to get past Luton while Blackburn were involved in the tie of the round as they beat Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates. Rovers under Michael Appleton have not won any of their five games in the league since the shock win having lost four and drawn one,. In the only league game between the two this season, Millwall were the winners as they beat Blackburn 2-0 at Ewood Park back in November. 

Prediction: Millwall 2-2 Blackburn

4# Everton v Wigan Athletic

In the opening cup game of the weekend, these two Premier League sides will battle it out for a place at Wembley. In the previous round, Everton needed a replay to dispatch of League One side Oldham, while Wigan comfortably saw of Championship side Huddersfield 4-1. Wigan will play their second game against a Merseyside club this week having played Liverpool at home in the league last Saturday where they were thumped 4-0. Everton going well in the league, reached the semi finals last season, but came out second best as they were beaten by city rivals Liverpool. This is the 18th meeting in all competitions between the clubs. The last time Wigan beat Everton at Goodison Park was back in 2005 when they won 1-0 in a league game. 

Prediction: Everton 2-0 Wigan Athletic

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FA Cup Fifth Round: Ones to watch

It's that time of the season again where we are down to the last sixteen of the FA Cup. This years fixtures will see seven of the eight games played this weekend with Chelsea and Brentford playing their replay of their fourth round fixture on Sunday.

1# Luton v Millwall

picture: www.standard.co.uk

All eyes will be on this game as it opens the weekend's FA Cup games. Luton have flown the non-league flag throughout the competition having knocked out Norwich City in the last round at Carrow Road, becoming the first non-league side to do this in 24 years. It may have not been the 'big' tie Luton fans and players may have wanted, but a home tie against mid-table Championship side Millwall, offers them another opportunity to produce a shock. Millwall have lost their last three games in the league, are appearing in the fifth round of the cup for the second successive season having fallen to Bolton Wanderers at the same stage last season. Prediction: 1-1

2# Oldham v Everton
League One side Oldham produced one of the shocks of the round three weeks ago as they produced a stunning performance to knock out Liverpool in the fourth round. Their reward for the win sees another Merseyside team face the trip to Boundary Park in the form of Everton. In the time since their memorable victory, former boss Paul Dickov left the club having seen the club's league form see them hover around the relegation zone. Everton have not been dumped out of the cup by a third tier side since facing Oldham back in 2008 where they were beaten 1-0. Everton reached the semi finals of the cup last season and will be looking to repeat the success as they aim to continue their excellent season under David Moyes. Prediction 1-2

3# Manchester City v Leeds United

picture: bbc.co.uk

The last time Manchester City found themselves in the last sixteen of the cup, was two seasons ago when they went on to win the competition. Roberto Mancini's side were beaten by rivals Manchester United last year in the third round but have progressed nicely this season beating Watford and Stoke on their way to the fifth round. Opponents Leeds United produced one of the shocks of the fourth round having beaten Tottenham 2-1 at Elland Road. The last time these two sides faced each other was way back in 2004 where Leeds came out 2-1 winners at Elland Road in the Premier League. With the league title looking unlikely for City, winning the FA Cup is a must for the Premier League side. Prediction: 3-0

4# MK Dons v Barnsley
Two teams you may not expect to be fighting for a quarter final place in the FA Cup. However both MK Dons and Barnsley have produced some excellent performances to make it this far. Home side Dons comfortably overcame QPR in the last round beating them 4-2 at Loftus Road. Struggling in the Championship, Barnsley will welcome the cup tie as they find themselves in a relegation scrap at the bottom of the second tier of English football. Wins over Burnley and Hull City have made this years FA Cup the most successful for Barnsley since 2008 where they reached the semi finals. As for the Dons, they are on their most successful run in the competition since being founded in 2004. They have scored 14 goals so far with Shaun Williams bagging three of them. Prediction: 1-2

As mentioned, Chelsea and Brentford will play their fourth round replay on Sunday, and the winners of this tie will face Middlesbrough on 27th February at the Riverside.

Other 5th Round Ties:

Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers Prediction: 3-0
Huddersfield v Wigan Athletic Prediction: 1-2
Manchester United v Reading Prediction: 4-1

FA Cup Fourth Round: Ones to watch

Having witnessed a number of shocks in the third round, the FA Cup makes it's appearance again this weekend. The last round saw non-league sides Luton Town and Macclesfield fly the flag with shock victories over Wolves and Cardiff respectively. The last round also saw just the one Premier League side knocked out by lower league opposition. Newcastle United fell to Championship side Brighton at the AMEX which saw them continue their poor form this season.

#1 Brentford v Chelsea

picture: hounslowchronicle.co.uk

After being knocked out of the Capital One Cup semi finals this week, Chelsea will want a similar run in the FA Cup. The Premier League side are the current holders of the competition having beaten Liverpool in the final last season. Rafa Benitez has had a mixed spell as interim manager with defeats at home to Swansea in the cup, and to QPR in the league. Benitez will be expected to field a strong team that will be without Eden Hazard who got himself stupidly sent off against Swansea this week. The form of Fernando Torres continues with the striker failing to score since the 8-0 drubbing of Aston Villa in December. They come up against League One side Brentford who currently sit third in the table. The West London side have only lost once in the league since mid October, and have striker Clayton Donaldson to thank with the big man scoring 19 goals in all competitions for them this season. The former Crewe forward scored the winning goal in Brentford's third round replay against Southend.

Prediction: Brentford 1-4 Chelsea

#2 Norwich City v Luton Town

Non-league side Luton Town disposed of Championship side Wolves in the last round, resulting in the Midland's boss then being sacked. The current Conference side are currently battling for promotion from the top tier of non-league football having missed out narrowly in the play offs last season. Paul Buckle's men have a number of games in hand over their play off rivals and will certainly take pleasure in travelling to Premier League side Norwich City this weekend. The Canaries comfortably overcame Peterborough United in the last round beating the Championship side 3-0 at London Road. Chris Hughton's men have since been struggling in the league having not produced a win since 15th Dec where they beat Wigan Athletic 2-1 at home. Goals have been a problem this season, with Robert Snodgrass their top scorer with five goals. Norwich have only reached the fifth round once in the last four seasons, where they lost to Leicester City last season. 

Prediction: Norwich City 3-0 Luton Town

#3 Oldham Athletic v Liverpool

These two sides met in the competition last year in the third round, where Liverpool came out comfortable 5-1 winners. The Premier League side went on to the final last year ending up as runners up to Chelsea. Oldham currently sit 19th in League One fighting a relegation battle so a big FA Cup game has come as a useful distraction for the club and the fans. Striker Jose Baxter will certainly be looking forward to the game as a former Everton player and with 11 goals to his name this season, the forward will fancy himself to get on the scoresheet. Brendan Rogers' Liverpool will once again look for another cup run having won the competition seven times. Rogers' team currently sit in seventh place in the Premier League and have certainly improved over the season. New January signing Daniel Sturridge could not have asked for a better start to his Liverpool career having netted in each of is three appearances for the reds. The former Chelsea man has struck up an excellent partnership with Luis Suarez with the Uruguayan man who has 20 goals to his name this season. 

Prediction: Oldham Athetic 0-2 Liverpool

#4 Brighton v Arsenal

picture: telegraph.co.uk

Brighton reached this stage last season beating Newcastle United at home. The Championship side went on to the fifth round where they were beaten by Liverpool. Gus Poyet's men beat Newcastle again this year in the last round where they secured a home tie against Premier League giants Arsenal. The Championship side are again enjoying another season in the second tier of English football as they fight for a play off place. Striker Craig Mackail Smith is once again proving what a top player he is at this level with 11 goals this season to his name. Arsenal will not find it easy getting to the fifth round. Despite a 5-1 thumping of West Ham in the week, Arsene Wenger's side have been very inconsistent this season. They needed a replay to get past Swansea in the last round and had Jack Wilshere to thank for his late winner. The midfielder has been a much needed return for the Gunners as they aim to secure a Champions League place in the league. 

Prediction Brighton 1-2 Arsenal

#5 Macclesfield Town v Wigan Athletic

Having knocked out Cardiff City in the last round, non-league side Macclesfield Town will be looking for a similar result, this time against Premier League opposition. Two goals in the space of three minutes saw the shock of the round as high flying Cardiff City were dumped out of the cup. Striker Matthew Barnes-Homer is one to watch with the striker having scored 20 goals this season. The Conference side sit ninth in the league as they aim to get back into the football league. They come up against Wigan Athletic who needed a replay to get passed Bournemouth in the third round. Roberto Martinez's side will hope to avoid another cup upset as they were beaten by League One side Swindon in last year's third round. Wigan are again fighting another relegation battle in the Premier League, and a cup run for the Lancashire side would do no harm at all. Watch out for this game as another cup upset  is more than possible in this fixture.

 Prediction: Macclesfield 1-0 Wigan Athletic

Other fourth round ties:

Millwall v Aston Villa (Prediction: 1-1)

Stoke v Man City (Prediction: 1-2)

Bolton v Everton (Prediction: 1-2)

Derby v Blackburn Rovers (Prediction: 2-2)

Huddersfield v Leicester City (Prediction: 0-2)

Hull v Barnsley (Prediction: 0-1)

Middlesbrough v Aldershot (Prediction: 3-0)

QPR v MK Dons (Prediction: 2-0)

Reading v Sheff Utd (Prediction: 2-1)

Man Utd v Fulham (Prediction: 3-0)

Leeds Utd v Tottenham (Prediction: 1-2)

FA Cup Third Round: Ones to watch

This coming weekend sees one of the favourite dates in the football calendar, as the third round of the FA Cup comes to our screens. Below are some of the key ties that were drawn, and games you should keep a look out on.

#1 Mansfield Town v Liverpool

picture: liverpoolfc.tv

The tie of the round sees Liverpool travel to Blue Square Premier League side Mansfield. The non-league side are one of four sides from outside the football league still in the competition. The side from Nottinghamshire have had a relatively simple route through to the third round dispatching of fellow non-league sides Slough and Lincoln City. Mansfield currently sit ninth in the Blue Square Premier and have had a quiet period during Christmas having seen two of their four games postponed due to the weather. They come up against runners up of the competition last season Liverpool who are currently in excellent form winning three of their four games over the winter period. Brendan Rogers men will be strong favourites to win the game which should see new man Daniel Sturridge make his first appearance for the club. With tough fixtures to come for the Merseyside club, Rogers will look to rest some of his names, giving youngsters, Jack Robinson and John Flanagan a run out.

Prediction: Mansfield Town 0-3 Liverpool

#2 West Ham Utd v Man Utd
The last time these two teams met in this competition, Man United ran out comfortable 6-0 winners at Old Trafford back in 2003. Despite this, the Hammers will feel there is a slight chance of an upset on the cards at Upton Park come Saturday evening. The two teams also met in the competition back in 2001 where a Paolo Di Canio goal was enough for his side to progress beating United at Old Trafford. The potential arrival of Joe Cole this week may see the former Hammer play having struggled to play much football over the last few years whilst at Liverpool. Opponents United, are currently flying at the top of the league thanks to new signing Robin Van Persie. The Dutchman has netted an impressive 19 goals in all competitions and has been the obvious difference between his side and rivals Manchester City.

Prediction: West Ham United 1-2 Man United

#3 Brighton & HA v Newcastle Utd

picture: guardian.co.uk

These two sides once again meet each other in the competition having played against each other in last years fourth round. The home side came out shock winners beating the Premier League side 1-0 at the Amex Stadium. Mike Williamson's own goal was enough for the home side to progress to the fifth round. Brighton, are currently ninth in the Championship, three points from a play off place and registered their first win on New Years Day since the end of November with a 3-0 away success at Ipswich. Newcastle will want to avoid a repeat of last years game between the two. Alan Pardew's side's defeat to Everton this week saw his team lose their fifth game in six. The departure of Demba Ba to Chelsea leaves Pardew with just Papiss Cisse and Shola Ameobi as options in attack. However it's defence where Newcastle need refreshing and with the January transfer window now open, Pardew has the opportunity to bring in fresh faces to boost his back four. 

Prediction: Brighton 1-1 Newcastle United

#4 Middlesbrough v Hastings Utd

Hastings United, like Mansfield, are one of the four non-league sides remaining in the competition. The side from Sussex are the lowest ranked team in the cup and play their games in the Ryman League Premier Division, three leagues from League Two. United overcame fellow non-league side Harrogate Town in the last round, beating them on penalties after the two sides matched each other in the first game and replay. They face a tough test as they travel to in form Middlesbrough. The Championship side currently sit in fourth place and enjoyed a successful Christmas period winning three out of four games. Tony Mowbray's men enjoyed a decent cup run in the Capital One Cup this season, which ended, after losing 1-0 to Swansea in the quarter finals. Despite suffering a number of injuries to his side, Mowbray's men will surely have too much for the Ryman side on Saturday. 

Prediction: Middlesbrough 4-0 Hastings United

#5 Luton Town v Wolves

Luton go into the third round as the highest ranked non-league side in the competition. Despite coming desperately close to promotion to the football league last season. Luton have had a mixed season so far, and find themselves in the final play off place in the conference. Like Mansfield, Luton have also had a relatively simple passage through to the third round despatching of fellow non-league sides Nuneaton and Dorchester. Visitors for Luton come in the form of Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Championship side have struggled so far this season after suffering relegation from the Premier League last year. Manager Stale Solbakken has become under increasing pressure over the last month as his side slipped to 18th in the league just six points from the relegation zone. Recent home defeats to Ipswich and Peterborough United are increasing the pressure for him to be sacked. Despite the poor league form, the quality and experience in the Wolves squad should see them safely though, but as always with the FA Cup, Luton may cause a potential upset on the day. 

Prediction: Luton Town 1-2 Wolves

#6 Tottenham Hotspur v Coventry City

The last and only time Coventry City won this competition, was against Spurs back in 1987. An extra time own goal from Tottenham's Gary Mabbutt gave the Sky Blues a day to remember at Wembley for the club and their fans. Since that memorable day, the two sides have rarely met since Coventry's decline into the Football League. The last meeting between the sides came back in 2003 where Spurs beat City 3-0 in the League Cup. Coventry, relegated from the Championship last season, have had a mixed season and sit mid table in League One, five points from the play off's. They have only lost twice in their last ten league games and with the goals from striker David McGoldrick, the Sky Blues will look to challenge for a play off spot in the second half of the season. Tottenham will go into the game as the favourites and have enjoyed a good run of their own of late in the league.  One defeat in nine league games has seen AVB's men rise to third in the league. The goals from Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe have been very important as Spurs look to challenge for a top four finish. 

Prediction: Spurs 3-1 Coventry City

#7 Cheltenham Town v Everton

picture: telegraph.co.uk

The final tie of the round is between Cheltenham and Everton as they battle it out on Monday night in front of the ESPN cameras. The League Two side progressed to the third round having beaten Hereford over two games in the second round. Currently sitting in the play off's, Cheltenham have only won one of their last four league games, so an FA Cup distraction has come at the perfect time for Mark Yates' men. They reached the third round of the cup last season, facing Tottenham at White Hart Lane where they were comfortably dispatched 3-0. Everton will go into the game as strong favourites and will hope for a healthy scoreline as they continue their good form of late. One defeat in their last eight league games has seen the Toffee's reach fifth place and a constant threat to the top four. Despite only scoring six times in all competitions, striker Nikica Jelavic has been well supported from Marouane Fellaini who has hit the net eight times this season. 

Prediction: Cheltenham 0-2 Everton

...and the rest!

Aldershot v Rotherham (Prediction 1-2)

Aston Villa v Ipswich Town (Prediction 2-0)

Barnsley v Burnley (Predcition 1-2)

Blackburn v Bristol City (Prediction 3-0)

Bolton v Sunderland (Prediction 1-1)

Charlton v Huddersfield (Prediction 2-0)

Crawley Town v Reading (Prediction 1-2)

Crystal Palace v Stoke City (Prediction 2-2)

Derby v Tranmere (Prediction 2-1)

Fulham v Blackpool (Prediction: 3-1)

Hull v Leyton Orient (Prediction 3-0)

Leeds v Birmingham (Prediction 1-1)

Leicester v Burton Albion (Prediction 4-0)

Macclesfield v Cardiff City (Prediction 0-2)

Man City v Watford (Prediction 4-0)

Millwall v Preston (Prediction 1-1)

Notts Forest v Oldham (Prediction 2-1)

Oxford Utd v Sheffield Utd (Prediction 0-2)

Peterborough Utd v Norwich City (Prediction 1-3)

QPR v West Brom (Prediction 1-1)

Sheff Wed v MK Dons (Prediction 1-2)

Southampton v Chelsea (Prediction 1-0)

Southend v Brentford (Prediction 1-1)

Wigan v Bournemouth (Prediction 2-0)

Swansea v Arsenal (Prediction 2-1)

Capital One Cup: Quarter Finals

The fourth round of the Capital One Cup saw some of the best League Cup games in its existence. The eight games saw a total of 37 goals scored in some enthralling encounters.

The stand out game of the round saw Arsenal make a remarkable comeback away at Reading in front of the Sky cameras winning 7-5. It all looked rosy for the home side after 35 minutes, as Brian McDermott's men lead 4-0 through Jason Roberts, Noel Hunt, Mikele Leigertwood and a Laurent Koscielny own goal. Despite an awful first half display Arsenal went in at the break with one goal to their name and a slither of hope as Theo Walcott chipped home after through on goal.

picture: ozsportsreviews.com

The second half of the game started as the first half finished. Arsene Wenger brought on Olivier Giroud who made an immediate impact to head home a Walcott cross and to make the scoreline 4-2. As the half came to a close, it looked like Reading had withstood the Arsenal comeback but in the 89th minute Koscielny made amends for his own goal as he headed home another fine Walcott corner. It was the winger though that completed a remarkable game as his 95th minute shot crept over the line despite the efforts of Nicky Shorey to stop the strike.

The equaliser took the game to extra time, and the 30 minutes did not disappoint as the Gunners went ahead for the first time in the game as Marouane Chamakh drilled home from outside the box. Chamakh's goal had looked like it was to be the vital goal to take Arsenal through but Reading had other ideas. As extra time neared the end, Pavel Pogrebnyak popped up to head home their fifth from a Chris Gunter cross. The game looked set for penalties but it was Walcott again who blasted home from six yards after Andrey Arshavin's cross was blocked to complete his hat trick. Chamakh lobbed home in the dying moments to end a remarkable game and one that will be remembered for a long time.

The drama on Tuesday night continued on Wednesday as Chelsea faced Manchester United at Stamford Bridge for the second time in four days. Like Arsenal, this game was in front of the Sky cameras and didn't disappoint either as Chelsea won 5-4 after extra time. Goals from David Luiz, Daniel Sturridge, Eden Hazard, Ramires and Gary Cahill were enough to overcome a reletively inexperienced United side whose goals came from the boots of Giggs (2), Hernandez and Nani.

picture: theguardian.co.uk

The cup wasn't completely dominated this week by the goal fests but with a shocks too as both Wigan and Sunderland were beaten by lower league opposition. Sunderland fell down to Championship side Middlesbrough 1-0 at the Stadium of Light as Scott McDonald's goal was enough for them to win the Wear-Tees derby. Wigan were embarrassed at home as League Two Bradford City beat them 4-2 on penalties to take them to the quarter finals. Both Liverpool and Spurs were eliminated from the competition as Brendan Rogers side were beaten by his former side Swansea 3-1. Spurs were beaten 2-1 away at Norwich with Spurs' Clint Dempsey missing a penalty in the dying moments of the game to end their involvement in the competition.

The quarter finals saw the 'bigger' teams avoid each other and will see Chelsea travel to Leeds who have already deposited of Everton and Southampton in the competition so far. Bradford's reward is a home tie to Arsenal while Middlesbrough face an away trip to Swansea. In the final tie of the quarter finals, Paul Lambert will face his former side as his Villa team will travel to Norwich City.

All games will be played the week commencing the 10th December whilst Chelsea's game at Leeds will be played on 19th December due to their commitment to the Club World Cup which they will play in after their Champions League success.

Quarter Final ties:

Bradford v Arsenal
Leeds United v Chelsea
Swansea v Middlesbrough
Norwich City v Aston Villa

Deadline Day: A Summer of Transfer Madness

We saw a huge amount of activity last week as the transfer window came to an end on Friday. We look at the winners and losers of the window and round up which players made the biggest moves to and from England on the final day.

Deadline Day Winners:

picture: Manchester City

Unlike their rivals, Manchester City left it to the final day to make any moves. Roberto Mancini had only brought in Jack Rodwell in the window before the last day, with the former Everton youngster moving for £12million. The midfielder was joined by a number of players on the final day, as Mancini left it late to improve his squad. Brazilian full back Maicon made the move to the Etihad from Inter Milan for around £3million. The new arrival was joined by another defender with Fiorentina centre back Matija Nastasic moving to Manchester in a part exchange deal which saw Stefan Savic go in the opposite direction. Other arrivals brought in by Mancini included winger Scott Sinclair moving from Swansea, and Benfica midfielder Javi Martinez who cost the club £16million. Moving out of Manchester, winger Adam Johnson went to Sunderland, midfielder Nigel De Jong went to AC Milan whilst striker Roque Santa Cruz went to Malaga on a season long loan.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

As well as City, Tottenham Hotspur had a successful last day as new manager Andre Villas Boas took advantage of the window. AVB had previously completed the permanent signing of Emmanuel Adebayor who had spent the previous season on loan at White Hart Lane. The Portuguese manager had already captured Gylfi Sigurdsson and defender Jan Vertonghen earlier on in the summer. The surprise move of the summer was American Clint Dempsey who had looked set to move to Liverpool. Spurs had taken advantage of the Merseyside club's inability to match the asking fee for Dempsey who made the move across London for £6million. Dempsey joins his former Fulham team mate Moussa Dembele who also joined Spurs the previous day for a fee of £15million. Moving out of Spurs, Luka Modric made the expected move to Real Madrid for £30million which also saw Rafa Van Der Vaart return to Hamburg where he played before moving to Spurs.

Deadline Day Losers: 

picture: liverpoolfc.com

It was a deadline day to forget for Liverpool and Brendan Rogers. Despite managing to bring in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini earlier on in the window, Rogers was unable to strengthen the squad much to many fans annoyance. Having let £35million man Andy Carroll leave on loan to West Ham the previous day, Liverpool were expected to replace the striker. American Clint Dempsey had been linked with the reds all summer but having fallen short of the valuation of the midfielder, Liverpool missed out meaning he made a last gasp move to Spurs. Having failed to sign another striker during the window, it leaves Rogers with only Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini as options in attack. Deadline day at Anfield saw midfielders Charlie Adam and Jay Spearing leave, with the latter on a loan deal to Bolton Wanderers. Adam, who had only spent a year at Liverpool, made a £4million move to Stoke City where he signed a four year deal.

No-one may have been as unlucky or as unfortunate as Liverpool in the window, but Arsenal may feel they could have done slightly better over the summer. Having already brought in Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski, Arsene Wenger was keen to bring in an additional midfielder. Having lost Alex Song to Barcelona, and with Jack Wilshere still injured, Arsenal had been close to capturing playmaker Nuri Sahin on loan. But having failed to come to an agreement, Sahin moved to Liverpool leaving Arsenal finding themselves one Abou Diaby injury away from having to play youngster Francis Coquelin.

Premier League round up:

picture: stokecityfc.com

Fulham were heavily involved in transfer activity this summer seeing players come in and out of Craven Cottage. Bulgarian front man Dimitar Berbatov made the switch on deadline day making the move from Manchester United for a fee in the region of £4million. He was joined by Kieran Richardson who moved from Sunderland for £3million. Stoke City were also busy in the window and captured the services of free agent Michael Owen. The 32 year old had been released from Manchester United in June and signed a one year deal with The Potters. Tony Pulis had looked set to bring in Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone on loan but having failed to reach an agreement, Pulis brought in Blackburn man Steven N'Zonzi, paying £3million for his services.

Other Deadline Day movers:

Yossi Benayoun: Chelsea - West Ham (season long loan)
Danny Rose: Tottenham - Sunderland (season long loan)
Gaston Ramirez: Bologna - Southampton (£12million)
Hugo Lloris: Lyon - Tottenham (£11.8million)
Stephane Mbia: Marseille - QPR (£4.5million)
Bryan Oviedo: FC Copenhagen - Everton (£5million)
Christian Benteke: Genk - Aston Villa (£7million)
Pablo Hernandez: Valencia - Swansea (£5.5million)

Football League round up:

picture: examiner.co.uk

Blackburn Rovers sealed one of the biggest deals of the window by capturing Jordan Rhodes who moved from Huddersfield Town for £8million. It looked likely that Rhodes would stay with the Terriers, but with Leon Best out through injury, Steve Kean needed a replacement. Fellow forward David Goodwillie moved out of Ewood Park though going to Crystal Palace on a season long loan. Palace were again involved on deadline day as they captured defender Damien Delaney who moved on a free transfer from Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys were the talk of the Championship on deadline day as they were in talks with Peterborough United duo George Boyd and Paul Taylor. Both were transfer listed at London Road and it was the latter of the two that made a permanent move. Despite on going talks, Boyd rejected the chance and remains at Peterborough for the forthcoming months.

picture: pnefc.net

In League One, Sheffield United were involved in transfer activity on deadline day as they brought in Dave Kitson from Portsmouth and saw midfielder Stephen Quinn move out as he went to Hull City. Promoted from League Two last year, Paolo Di Canio's Swindon saw many comings and goings during the window. The Italian brought in striker Adam Rooney from Birmingham City, with Paul Caddis moving in the opposite direction. Despite financial worry, Portsmouth were able to make deadline day moves as they saw Darel Russell, Josh Thompson and Johnny Ertle all make their move to Fratton Park on free transfers.

In League Two, Southend striker Kane Ferdinand made the step up to the Championship as he went to Peterborough United for £200,000. Another mover out of League Two was Wycombe forward Stuart Beavon who moved to Preston North End for an undisclosed fee. Beavon had scored 25 times for Wycombe last season. Despite losing Beavon, Wycombe had previously brought in striker Jo Kuffour who moved from fellow League Two side Gillingham on a free transfer.

Other Deadline Day movers:

Jay Bothroyd: QPR - Sheffield Wednesday (season long loan)
Craig Noone: Brighton - Cardiff (£1million)
Billy Sharp: Southampton - Notts Forest (season long loan)
Andrea Orlandi: Swansea - Brighton (undisclosed fee)
Nicky Maynard: West Ham - Cardiff (£2.5million)
Iain Hume: Preston - Doncaster (season long loan)
Martin Taylor: Watford - Sheffield Wednesday (undisclosed fee)
David Stephens: Hibernian - Barnet (Free transfer)

Capital One Cup: Third Round Draw

Having witnessed many upsets in the first round, the Capital One Cup the theme of David beating Goliath continued in the second round of the competition. 

picture: sportinglife.com

The second stage saw the entrance of 13 Premier League sides with only Fulham and Stoke City failing to progress. The Cottagers were beaten 1-0 away to Sheffield Wednesday thanks to a Gary Madine penalty whilst Stoke were beaten at home by Swindon Town in extra time 4-3. The League One side had gone into half time two goals to the good, but were pegged back in the second half after Jonathan Walters and Kenwyne Jones had made the game level. Despite throwing away the lead, Swindon's James Collins grabbed a late winner in extra time to take Paolo Di Canio's men to the third round where they will play Burnley. 

The upsets continuted in the second round with plenty of Championship clubs falling victim to lower league opposition. The most notable game involved Leicester City who were comfortably beaten 4-2 at home to League Two side Burton Albion. Midlands rivals Birmingham City and Coventry went head to head, and it was the Sky Blues who came out on top beating their opponents 3-2 after extra time. Both Blackburn and Bolton were knocked out after both sides were beaten away to League One opposition. Blackburn were beaten 2-1 by MK Dons whilst Bolton came away from Crawley also losing 2-1. 

With the third round upon us already, the remaining seven Premier League sides enter the competition. Winners from last year Liverpool will travel to West Brom who comfortably beat them 3-0 on the opening day of the season. Coventry's reward for beating Birmingham in the last round is a trip to the Emirates where they will face Arsenal. Both Manchester clubs both have home fixtures in the third round with United facing a tricky test against Newcastle United. Rivals City have a slightly easier task as they come up against Paul Lambert and Aston Villa. 

Having comfortably come through their second round tie against Leyton Orient, Everton face a difficult game as they travel to Championship side Leeds United. The Toffee's came away 5-0 winners in their second round game, and have got off to a flyer in the league. Neil Warnock's men have also had a good start in the Championship having taken seven points from their first four games. 

All ties will be played the week commencing the 24th September 2012.

Third Round Fixtures: 

Man United v Newcastle United

Man City v Aston Villa

MK Dons v Sunderland

West Brom v Liverpool

Crawley v Swansea City

QPR v Reading

Norwich v Doncaster Rovers

Bradford v Burton Albion

Preston v Middlesbrough

Arsenal v Coventry City

Southampton v Sheffield Wednesday

Chelsea v Wolves

Carlisle v Tottenham Hotspur

Swindon v Burnley

West Ham v Wigan Athletic

Leeds United v Everton

Capital One Cup: Second Round Draw

As the football season begins to get into full swing, eyes drew to the second round of the Capital One Cup. The first round games threw up some cracking games and some excellent entertainment. Seven Championship teams fell at the first hurdle with last years runners up Cardiff losing to League Two side Northampton Town the shock of the round. Derby were involved in a ten goal thriller at Pride Park which ended 5-5 after extra time. Their opponents Scunthorpe came out the eventual winners 7-6 on penalties and will face Norwich in the second round.

picture: thisisscunthorpe.co.uk

Other Championship casualties included Brighton, who were well beaten 3-0 by Paolo Di Canio's Swindon Town. Paul Benson struck early on in the second half for the Robins, and an Alan Navarro brace soon after booked them a second round tie against Premier League side Stoke City. Bristol City also crashed out losing 2-1 to League Two side Gillingham Town at Ashton Gate. 

Relegated side Wolverhampton Wanderers needed a penalty shoot out to get past Aldershot Town at Molineux. Michel Rankine had cancelled out a Sylvain Ebanks Blake goal in the second half and after the first 13 penalty kicks had been successful, Wolves keeper Carl Ikeme kept out Jordan Robert's penalty to give the Championship side a second round tie away at Northampton Town.

All Premier League sides come into the second round bar the clubs competing in Europe meaning there are 13 top flight clubs playing for a third round tie. Everton are involved in one of the stand out games playing at home to League One side Leyton Orient. Morecambe's reward for dumping Blackpool out of the cup, is a trip to the North East where they will play Sunderland. 

Both Wigan and Fulham will have to play to their best if they are progress as they both travel to a Championship club. Having been dumped out of FA Cup by Swindon last season, Wigan face a tough task in playing Nottingham Forest. Fulham face newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. 

All ties will commence the week beginning the 27th August 2012

Second Round Fixtures: 

Aston Villa v Tranmere Rovers

Burnley v Plymouth

Carlisle v Ipswich Town

Coventry v Birmingham City

Crawley v Bolton

Doncaster v Hull City

Gillingham v Middlesbrough

Leeds United v Oxford United

Leicester City v Burton Albion

MK Dons v Blackburn Rovers

Norwich v Scunthorpe

Notts Forest v Wigan Athletic

Preston v Crystal Palace

QPR v Walsall

Sheff Wed v Fulham

Stevenage v Southampton

Stoke City v Swindon Town

Sunderland v Morecambe

Swansea v Barnsley

Watford v Bradford

West Ham v Crewe Alex

Yeovil v West Brom

Reading v Peterborough

Everton v Leyton Orient

Northampton v Wolves

2012/13 Championship: Season Preview

With eyes firmly fixed on the Premier League beginning this weekend, we turn to the Football League and the Championship. All 72 teams begin their seasons this weekend and will all be aiming for a good start. Cardiff and Huddersfield kicked off the season on Friday night where the Bluebirds clinched a late goal to claim their first three points.

picture: zimbio.com

We begin with the three relegated clubs from the Premier League. All of them will be big  favourites to make an instant return. Bolton Wanderers failed to stay up last season, failing to get a needed win against Stoke on the final game of the year. Owen Coyle's men look big favourites to go up having kept the likes of David N'gog and Martin Petrov in their ranks. The signings of Matt Mills and Keith Andrews will add further strength to the squad. Blackburn and Wolves will also look to make an immediate return, with Rovers boss Steve Kean adding Danny Murphy, Nuno Gomes and Leon Best to his squad. Since finishing bottom of the Premier League, Wolves brought in new boss Stale Solbakken who will look to regain the players confidence for the new season. Newly promoted Huddersfield Town made the jump via last seasons play off's having beaten Sheffield United in a close penalty shoot out at Wembley. Striker Jordan Rhodes looks set to remain with the Terriers and after scoring 40 goals last season, his goals will be important if they are to remain in the Championship. Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday join Huddersfield in the Championship having gained automatic promotion from League One last year. Wednesday boss Dave Jones had brought in a wealth of players including injury plagued keeper Chris Kirkland from Wigan, and defender Anthony Gardner who made the move from Crystal Palace. 

The chase for the play off's will be hotly contested this season with a number of clubs eager for one of the four places up for grabs. Cardiff City will be amongst the positions as will the likes of Leicester City and Leeds United. Nottingham Forest have been recently taken over by new investors and immediately brought in a new boss and new players. Defenders Greg Halford and Danny Collins made the move and were joined by West Brom striker Simon Cox who will add to their strikeforce, who last season struggled to find the net. New boss Sean O'Driscoll will be eager to get off to a good start as they begin their campaign against Bristol City. Watford are another side who have new owners as they were taken over by Italian Giampaolo Pozzo. He immediately brought in new manager Gianfranco Zola, who has since brought in a number of players including former Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia.

picture: posh.footballblog.co.uk

Down at the bottom of the division, the relegation battle with be contested by a number of clubs. Bristol City and Barnsley escaped last season and will once again become favourites to go down. The newly promoted sides will also find themselves down at the bottom, if they don't get a good start to their campaign, As mentioned, Jordan Rhodes will be critical to Huddersfield if they are to stay up and with Charlton, striker Bradley Wright-Phillips will also need to be hitting the net regularly if the Addicks are to remain a Championship side. Having finished in a very respectable 18th place last season, Peterborough United will want to improve their position this season. The Posh were relegated straight away the last time they achieved promotion, but boss Darren Ferguson brought in experience and quality to his squad meaning they comfortably stayed up second time around. Despite being placed on the transfer list, key players Paul Taylor and George Boyd will begin the season as Posh players, and alongside experienced midfield man Grant McCann, Posh will continue to be difficult opponents, especially at home.

2012/13 Premier League: Preview Part 2

As promised we look at the second half of teams in the Premier League and look at their chances this year as well as the transfer activity they have been involved in.

Queens Park Rangers: 

picture: blogs.soccernet.com

After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Rangers have been one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market. Manager Mark Hughes has brought in a number of players which include South Korean Park Ji-Sung from Manchester United and Junior Hoilett who made the move from Blackburn Rovers. Pre season has been very productive for the London side who have gone through unbeaten winning four and drawing two in their six games. With a squad full of Premier League experience, Rangers will want a higher finish in the league this season and want to establish themselves as a Premier League club.

Prediction: 19th

Reading:

Reading return to the Premier League after a four year absence from the top flight. They achieved automatic promotion last season finishing top of the Championship ahead of Southampton. Boss Brian McDermott has worked wonders at the Berkshire club and has significantly strengthened the squad during the summer transfer window. Chris Gunter has made the move from Nottingham Forest and is joined by forward Pavel Pogrebynak who chose Reading ahead of Fulham who he spent the second half of last season at. Left back Ian Harte is a set piece specialist and has gathered a number of goals and assists since he joined the Royals back in 2010. Strikers Jason Roberts and Adam Le Fondre scored a number of critical goals last year and they will be key if they are to remain in the top flight. 

Prediction: 16th

Southampton:

picture: saintscorner.tumblr.com

The Saints joined Norwich last season in achieving two successive promotions in two seasons. Having looked the favourites to win the league, the Saints were pipped to the title by Reading who they will join in the Premier League this season. Southampton open their campaign away at Manchester City, and will follow up with a trip to Arsenal and a home game against Manchester United. Manager Nigel Adkins paid £7million for Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez who scored 15 league goals for his former side last season. He joins a strong Saints front line with main man Rickie Lambert and fellow forward Billy Sharp expected to score the goals that will keep them in the league. 

Prediction: 20th

Stoke City:

Stoke had a busy season last year competing in four competitions and collecting plenty of air miles. Having finished runners up in the 2010/11 FA Cup, they achieved a place in the Europa League. The Potters made it comfortably past the group stages but their journey came to an end having lost to Valencia 2-0 on aggregate in the round of 32. Tony Pulis's men only managed four wins in the second half of the season meaning they finished in 14th place. The signing of Peter Crouch at the start of the season was a great acquisition by Pulis, and the frontman rewarded his manager by scoring one of the goals of the season against Manchester City. So far Pulis has only brought in three players in the window, Michael Kightly made the move from Wolves, and is joined by defender Geoff Cameron and midfielder Jamie Ness from Rangers. 

Prediction: 9th

Sunderland:

Martin O'Neill brought in a breath of fresh air for Sunderland last season replacing former boss Steve Bruce. Bruce was sacked midway through last year having only won two games in 13. The Black Cats finished in 13th place last season, and fans will want a significant improvement this year. The development of James McLean was something positive to take from last year, with the winger making the Republic of Ireland squad at the end of the season for Euro 2012. Sunderland only mastered 45 goals last season with Nicklas Bendtner their top goal scorer with only eight league goals to his name. If they are to improve on this total this season then O'Neill will need to bring in a centre forward to give them a greater threat upfront. 

Prediction: 11th

Swansea City:

picture: thesun.co.uk

Brendan Rogers took Swansea to an impressive 11th place finish last season and excellent performances throughout the year, saw him snapped up by Liverpool. His 'Tiki Taka' style of play saw Swansea beat Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal at home and eliminated any thoughts that his team would be favourites to be relegated. The loan signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson was a masterstroke by Rogers as the Icelandic starred in many games scoring important goals. Striker Danny Graham scored 12 league goals and with Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer aiding him out wide, Graham will want to better his tally this season. With Rogers off to Liverpool, former Juventus man Michael Laudrup took the reigns at the club and has so far brought in Spanish defender Chico and Spanish striker Michu from Rayo Vallecano during the window.

Prediction: 13th

Tottenham Hotspur:

Tottenham ended last season in fourth place having been title contenders mid way through the season. Due to Chelsea's Champions League final win, Spurs will be playing Europa League football though this year and not in the Champions League. Harry Redknapp was sacked at the end of the season and was replaced by Portuguese man Andre Villas Boas. Striker Emmanuel Adebayor was the top goal scorer for Spurs last season and scored 17 league goals in his loan spell. The Togo man has since gone back to parent club Man City and a deal to keep him at White Hart Lane has yet to be agreed. AVB has so far only brought in two players during the window, snapping up midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, and defender Jan Vertonghen who signed from Ajax. 

Prediction: 6th

West Bromwich Albion:

Roy Hodgson's decision to become England manager has meant that WBA will start 2012/13 with Steve Clarke at the helm. Clarke spent the last season and a half as the number two to Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool, and was also Jose Mourinho's number two when the 'special one' was manager at Chelsea. Clarke's first competitive game as West Brom manager will be against former team Liverpool as they face each other at The Hawthorns on the opening day of the season. On loan last season, keeper Ben Foster signed permanently for the Baggies from Midland rivals Birmingham City. Swedish frontman Markus Rosenberg has also been brought in from Werder Bremen and will offer a further attacking threat alongside Shane Long and Peter Odemwinge.

Prediction: 17th

West Ham United:

picture: tbhr.co.uk

West Ham made an immediate return to the Premier League coming up through the play-offs. Sam Alladyce's men looked likely to achieve automatic promotion but poor performances in vital games meant they needed to go through the play-offs to get promoted. Alladyce has been busy in the transfer window so far bringing in eight players including goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and former Wigan man Mohamed Diame both on free transfers. West Ham will be looking to get off to a good start as they face Swansea, Aston Villa and Fulham in their first three games. Led by Kevin Nolan, goals shouldn't be a problem with Ricardo Vaz Te, Nicky Maynard and Carlton Cole all available to play up front. The experience of Matty Taylor and Mark Noble in midfield will help the younger players in the squad and guide the team through the season.

Prediction: 12th

Wigan Athletic:

Wigan made yet another remarkable escape last season avoiding relegation and finishing in 15th place above Aston Villa and QPR. This season will be their eighth successive season in the Premier League and will be manager Roberto Martinez's fourth in charge of the Lactics. The Spaniard turned down the chance to manager both Liverpool and Aston Villa to remain with Wigan. Martinez has been relatively quiet in the transfer market so far only bringing in just the two players. Fraser Fyvie has joined the club from Aberdeen and is joined by defender Ivan Ramis who decided to join Wigan when it looked like he was going to fellow Premier League side West Ham. 

Prediction: 18th

Capital One Cup: First Round Draw

With the fixtures for the new season set to be announced next week, the newly named Capital One Cup first round draw has taken place today. Formerly known as the Carling Cup, the competition was renamed after the company Capital One, a credit card company, agreed a four year sponsorship deal with the Football League.

picture: blogs.bettor.com

The draw has thrown up some excellent ties which sees relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers host League Two side Aldershot Town. Blackburn and Bolton, who were also relegated alongside Wolves last season, will enter the competition in round two. Other ties that catch the eye include Fleetwood Town, who were promoted from the Conference last season, host Championship side Nottingham Forest. York City, who also gained promotion to the Football League face a trip to Doncaster Rovers. Runners up in last season's final Cardiff City, start with an away trip to Northampton Town. League Two side Barnet face a tricky tie with an away tie to Championship Birmingham City who reached the Championship play off's last season.

Having suffered poor league form last season, it was Liverpool who claimed victory in last seasons competition. The Premier League side needed extra time and penalties to overcome their Championship opponents Cardiff City. Winger Joe Mason opened the scoring for the Bluebirds before Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel equalised with a scrambled effort.

Dirk Kuyt thought he had won the game in extra time for Liverpool, after scoring an excellent goal from 25 yards. But after indecision in the Liverpool box, Cardiff defender Ben Turner poked home to take the final to a penalty shoot-out. It was the Premier League side though, that came out victors winning 3-2 in the shoot-out.

Teams from the Championship to League Two will compete from the first round with 13 Premier League teams coming into the competition in the second round. The remaining seven teams are all competing in Europe this season and will therefore not enter the competition until the third round to avoid fixture congestion.

Fixtures below:

Derby County v Scunthorpe United
Rochdale v Barnsley
Port Vale v Burnley
Notts County v Bradford City
Hull City v Rotherham United
Fleetwood Town v Nottingham Forest
Carlisle United v Accrington Stanley
Doncaster Rovers v York City
Crewe Alexandra v Hartlepool United
Bury v Middlesbrough
Chesterfield v Tranmere Rovers
Sheffield United v Burton Albion
Blackpool v Morecambe
Leeds United v Shrewsbury Town
Preston North End v Huddersfield Town
Oldham Athletic v Sheffield Wednesday
Cheltenham Town v Milton Keynes Dons
Ipswich Town v Bristol Rovers
Stevenage v AFC Wimbledon
Exeter City v Crystal Palace
Yeovil Town v Colchester United
Birmingham City v Barnet
Bristol City v Gillingham
Northampton Town v Cardiff City
Plymouth Argyle v Portsmouth
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aldershot Town 
Walsall v Brentford
Millwall v Crawley Town 
Torquay United v Leicester City 
Dagenham & Redbridge v Coventry City 
Peterborough United v Southend United
Swindon Town v Brighton & Hove Albion 
Watford v Wycombe Wanderers 
Charlton Athletic v Leyton Orient 
Oxford United v AFC Bournemouth

The first round fixtures will take place the week beginning August 13th. The final will be held at Wembley on 24th February next year.