Barry's Blog

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP FRIDAY POOL 1 ULSTER V QUINS Ulster: C Piutau; C Gilroy, L Ludik, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; C Lealiifano, J Cooney; C Black, R Herring, W Herbst; A O'Connor, K Treadwell; I Henderson (capt), C Henry, N Timoney. Replacements: J Andrew, A Warwick, R Kane, M Rea, S Reidy, P Marshall, P Nelson, A Trimble. Harlequins: R Chisholm; C Walker, W Stanley, J Roberts, A Alofa; M Smith, I Prior; L Boyce, E Elia, K Sinckler; G Merrick, C Matthews; A White, D Ward (capt), R Bothma (capt). Replacements: C Piper, M Lambert, P Swainston, M Luamanu, D Lamb, J Lang, T Visser, M Brown. I think that Ulster need a bonus point win here but I don’t think it will be as easy to get as they think. They need to go into this match with the ambition to win the game first and if the game. They do have players like Ludic and Trimble that can make a difference in an attacking sense runs like that yes try to get as many tries as they can I Predict Ulster win no bonus point ...

Friday December 15 (7pm)  (21) Stephen Bunting v Dimitri Van den Bergh Bunting is getting better and I think he can have a run in the competition3-1   (6) Phil Taylor v Chris Dobey Taylor has too much to lose to go out in the first round I say 3-0  (20) Rob Cross v Seigo Asada/Gordon Mathers Cross to win 3-1 Saturday December 16 Afternoon Session (12.30pm)  (14) Benito van de Pas v Steve West This could be close I say Van De Pas 3-2 Mervyn King v Zoran Lerchbacher (28) Robert Thornton v Brendan Dolan/Alan Ljubic A personal one for me as I have met Dolan but he has the quality to win the first 2 rounds if thing go right Thornton should watch out I say Dolan 2-3 Evening Session (7pm)  (19) Joe Cullen v Jermaine Wattimena I say Culen to win 3-1 (12) Jelle Klaasen v Jan Dekker Hard to call 3-2  (1)         Gary Anderson v Jeff Smith/Luke Humphries Anderson to win 3-0  ...

PDC WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 1 Micheal Van Gerwen hit a maximum 180 with the opening three darts of the defence of his William Hill World Darts Championship before beating Christian Kist 3-1 with the third-best first round average in tournament history. Van Gerwen hit the ground running on the opening night of the tournament in some style as he produced a standard-setting 106.17 average to fire out a warning to his rivals that he will not be relinquishing his title easily. Former Lakeside Champion Steve Beaton kicked-off this year's event on his 27th straight World Championship appearance with a reasonably comfortable 3-1 victory over Irish debutant William O'Connor. This was defined by the fact O Connor could not hit 14 doubles in the first set. UK Open finalist Gerwyn Price closed the opening night as he enjoyed his first-ever World Championship victory by overpowering youngster Ted Evetts during his 3-0 straight sets victory. Englishman Ja...

FA CUP THIRD ROUND Liverpool V Everton 1955 Without a doubt this is tie of the round and the trickiest one to call but I have to Liverpool SATURDAY 6TH JANUARY Fleetwood or Hereford V Leicester City 12.45 Leicester should have enough to get by this tie Aston Villa v Woking or Peterborough3pm Villa could find Woking difficult but should breeze past Peterborough Birmingham City v Burton Albion Birmingham should get past this one but it is not as easy as it looks Bolton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town This is a close one and I think it will go to tom a replay AFC Bournemouthv Fylde or Wigan Bournmouth should have enough to get by this tie Brentford v Notts County Cardiff City v Mansfield Town This could be a lot trickier for Cardiff but I predict a shock Coventry City v Stoke City I think Coventry can compete but stoke will have too much Doncaster Rovers v Rochdale Another replay Fulham v Southampton I could see this match going to a repla...

FA PREMIERE LEAGUE NEWCASTLE 0-1 EVERTON ROONEY GETS THINGS CLOSE RANGE Wayne Rooney's solitary close-range goal was enough for the Toffees to win their first Premier League away game since January, and extended the hosts' winless streak to eight games. Newcastle's miserable night was compounded deep into injury time when Jonjo Shelvey was sent off for an ugly lunge on Idrissa Gueye. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42247118 MY OPINION Newcastle will find things difficult this season but this was a result that they should have targeted to get at least a point from and I think frustration at the end of the match destroyed any real hope for them. They might be in a relegation battle. LIVERPOOL 0-0 WBA PARDEW HOLDS KOP Roberto Firmino screwed a side-foot finish narrowly wide before Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross eluded Mohamed Salah in the first half. The Baggies came just as close before the interval, however, with Ha...

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 32 DRAW AND PREDICTIONS  Dortmund (GER) v  Atalanta (ITA) This will be an intreswting tie and I feel it is an even one  Nice (FRA) v  Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS) I think the French side should have enough  København (DEN) v  Atlético (ESP) I don’t know enough about Kobenhagen  Spartak Moskva (RUS) v  Athletic (ESP) I think Spartack Moscow should get by this tie  AEK (GRE) v  Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) Too close to call  Celtic (SCO) v  Zenit (RUS) This depends on whether or not Celtic can get a good performance if they can they should win  Napoli (ITA) v  Leipzig (GER) I think Lepzig should have too much for Napioli but I so want Napoli to win  Crvena zvezda (SRB) v  CSKA Moskva (RUS) I think CSKA should win this tie  Lyon (FRA) v  Villarreal (ESP) Tie of the round withoyut a doubt I think both teams can win the competition  Real Sociedad (ESP)...

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16 DRAW Juventus v Tottenham (13 February and 7 March) This is going to be a real test for Spurs as Juventus know how to play well in Europe Spurs are still learning Basel v Manchester City (13 February and 7 March) This looks like a breeze for Man City if there form is good going into the tie if not Basil could be tricky Porto v Liverpool (14 February and 6 March) If Liverpool are hot here is no hope for Porto while if they are cold things will be more difficult. If Liverpool attack well I don’t think Porto have a chance but they do need both a goalie and a central defender Sevilla v Manchester United (21 February and 13 March) This tie could be a lot more interesting than people think but United should have the quality to get into the next round Real Madrid v PSG (14 February and 6 March) Tie of the round without a doubt two teams with ridicules sums of money and quality in their team a moment of magic will change this match. Shakht...