English Premiership is here!

Well the English Premiership is finally back in action this weekend and we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the betting especially with some world cup performances still fresh in our minds:

Chelsea and Manchester United remain the favorites and big-spending Man city are also proving surprisingly popular despite an average 2009 season.

Here is the pre-season betting as listed on World Sports Betting:

Premiership selections

Some VERY interesting match-ups this weekend with all eyes on the Chelsea vs Manchester United fixture probably going to be a humdinger and in all likelihood a decider for the Premiership. With Rooney not expected to take the field its got to be in Chelseas favour.

Our other left field pick is that Birmingham will beat Liverpool...

Our picks for the weekend

• Chelsea to beat Manchester United (2-0/3-0 with Anelka as the first goalscorer)


• Arsenal to beat Wolves (3-0)


• Aston Villa to beat Bolton (2-0 with Milner as first goal-scorer)


• Portsmouth vs Blackburn - No prediction


• Hull to beat Stoke (1-0)


• Spurs to beat Sunderland - 2-0 / 3-0


• Man City to beat Burnley - (3-0)


• Birmingham to beat Liverpool


• Fulham to beat Wigan - 1-0


• Everton to beat West Ham - 2-0 / 3-0

Happy punting!

Planning to take a punt this weekend?

BWIN Sports Betting & Gaming Click Here

Liverpool are in trouble

It is one of the most anxiously awaited fixtures of the 2010 English Premiership season and one of those match ups which brings out the best and worst of fans.

That's right - it's the Manchester United vs. Liverpool derby match up ... and we have bad news for Liverpool fans - your side is on a hiding to nothing.

We have gone high on goals with predictions of 3/0 or 4/0 and higher in favour of Manchester United.

Our reasons for this are simple – Liverpool are in diasrray and one gets the sense that they are more worried about stuff that is happening off the field while United are keeping a very keen eye on the prize – especially after Chelsea got bumped out of the Champions League earlier this week.

Expect Manchester United to be absolutely clinical this afternoon.

We got nice odds of 7/1 and 10/1 on these picks so we’re quite happy with the risk and reward trade off.

Planning to bet on this fixture?

BWIN Sports Betting & Gaming Click Here

BWAHAHAHAHAH

… assuming you are not a Liverpool fan of course!

What is the difference between Liverpool and a wonder bra? Liverpool has all the support but no cups!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA gotta admit that’s funny. I wonder if they are going to win tonight?!

At the moment it looks like it has settled into a two-horse race with Manchester United and Chelsea now slugging it out for the English Premiership. So maybe Arsenal third, Aston Villa fourth, Spurs fifth and Liverpool a lowly sixth?!

Spurs vs Blackburn

Fancy a punt on the English Premiership this weekend? This looks like it could offer some value for money:

BWIN Sports Betting & Gaming Click Here

Tottenham host Blackburn this afternoon in an English Premiership match at White Heart Lane. Spurs are sitting 4th on the log with a positive goal difference of 23 while Blackburn are sitting an uninspirational 12th with a negative goal difference of -15.

Spurs are obviously the favourites to win and you can get 5/1 odds on them winning 2-0 with World Sports Betting.

But if you think Spurs have the ability to score more than 2 goals you are being offer 70/1 on 3-0 and 100/1 on 4-0 / 4-1 or higher…

EPL picks

Another big weekend of Premiership soccer is here with the Arsenal vs. Manchester United game likely to be a season -defining moment for these two powerhouses.

It has been a good premiership season with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all pushing eachother hard – been quite enjoyable from a punters perspective as well with some nice upsets and some really competitive fixtures.

I’m slightly in favour of Manchester United but its tough to rule out home-ground advantage for The Gunners. We’re calling either 1-1 or 1-2 to United

Here are our picks for the weekend:

Saturday fixtures
Birmingham vs Tottenham – Draw (1-1)
Fulham vs Aston Villa – 0-1 or 0-2 to Villa
Hull vs Wolves – 1-0 to Wolves
Liverpool vs Bolton – 2-0 or 3-0 to Liverpool
West Ham vs Blackburn – 1-0 West Ham
Wigan vs Everton – 1-1 or 1-2
Burnley vs Chelsea – 0-2 or 0-3 to Chelsea

Sunday Fixtures
Man City vs Portsmouth – 1-1
Arsenal vs Manchester United – 1-1 or 1-2 to United
Sunderland vs Stoke – 1-1

What a day in the EPL!

Yes please! Liverpool down, Aston Villa wins and believe it or not Fulham even managed to give Manchester United carrots.

I missed this last night but I believe that Mark Hughes has been sacked as the Manchester City boss… the year hasn’t really worked out for them in quite the way their big spending backers would have liked.

Just on the subject of managers, I am not totally up to speed on what managers signed what but somebody was saying last night that part of the reason why Rafa Benitez can’t be fired as the Liverpool manager is because he signed a new contract last year and Liverpool would need to pay him out a massive amount if they tried to fire him now?

Weekend premiership picks

The English Premiership looks like it has one or two juicy fixtures on the go this weekend and that includes my Aston Villa team taking on the high-riding Manchester United.

Below are our Saturday and Sunday picks:

Saturday
Birmingham vs West Ham - West Ham to win 1-0
Bolton vs Man City - Man City to win 1-0 / 2/0
Burnley vs. Fulham - 0-0
Chelsea vs Everton - Chelsea 2/0 or 3/0
Hull vs Blackburn - Hull 1-0 / 2-1
Sunderland vs Portsmouth - Draw 0-0 / 1-1
Tottenham vs Wolves - 2-0 / 3-0
Manchester United vs Aston Villa - 1-1 or 2-2

Sunday fixtures
Liverpool vs Arsenal - 1-0 Liverpool

Is football a mainstream sport in South Africa?

This is probably a bit of a facetious post but one of the discussions that came up in one of our office debates earlier in the week is whether or not football was actually a mainstream sport in South Africa.

There is no question that it is one of the more popular sports in South Africa, but does that make it a mainstream sport?

My definition of mainstream is a sport where we are:

A) Competitive internationally (EG cricket, rugby, wheelchair basketball, swimming etc)
B) We have amateur administrative structures in place to see the sport flourish

Despite all the money that has been thrown at football we have rarely been classified as internationally competitive. We have had a couple of players go on to do good things in English premiership and a couple of the major international leagues but they are few and far between.

The standard of the local football league (in my humble opinion) seems to be relatively low and the attendances at a lot of these games are poor considering the size of the supposed soccer base.

Many local fans would go out of their way to spend on supporting international (premiership) teams but don't rush to buy their Jomo Cosmos or Mamelodi Sundowns shirt.

Dunno?

English Premiership predictions

After my absolute debacle in the English Premiership last weekend I am going to have to try and redeem myself.

Let's see if this week brings a bit better luck.

Saturday fixtures:

• Arsenal vs. Tottenham - Arsenal to win 2-0 or 2-1
• Bolton vs. Chelsea - Chelsea to win 3-0
• Burnley vs. Hull - Hull to win 1-0
• Everton vs. Aston Villa - Draw 1-1 or 2-1 to Villa
• Fulham vs. Liverpool - Liverpool to win 2-1 or 3-1
• Portsmouth vs. Wigan - Portsmouth to win 1-0
• Stoke vs. Wolves - Stoke to win 2-1
• Sunderland vs. West Ham - West Ham to win 1-0
• Manchester United vs. Blackburn - Man Utd to win 3-0
• Birmingham vs. Man City - Draw

Weekend Premiership selections

Lots of fun and games in the Premiership again this week and the big United vs. Liverpool clash is promising to be a cracker.

One gets the sense if Liverpool drop points here their championship bid could be seriously dented.

I am probably going to raise the ire of the Manchester City and Liverpool fans but calling it as I see it....

Below are my predictions for the Premiership for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday fixtures

Wolves vs. Aston Villa - Villa to win 1-0 or 2-0 (and money on James Milner as the first goal-scorer)
Birmingham vs. Sunderland - 1-0 Birmingham
Burnley vs Wigan - 0-0
Hull vs Portsmouth - Hull to win 1-0 or 2-0
Tottenham vs Stoke - Tottenham win 1-0 or 2-0
Chelsea vs. Blackburn - Chelsea to win 3-0 or 4-0

Sunday fixtures
Bolton vs. Everton - Everton to win 1-0
Liverpool vs Man Utd - Man Utd to win 2-0 or 3-0 or 3-1
Man City vs Fulham - Either 1-1 draw or 0-1 to Fulham
West Ham vs Arsenal - 2-0 win for Arsenal

League finally acts to reel in clubs

It may have taken a two year transfer window ban for one of the big four Premiersip teams but finally measures have been introduced to curb one of the more controversial aspects of modern Premier League football.

From next season a quota system will be introduced, meaning clubs will have to submit a list of 25 players, at least eight of which need to be ‘home-grown’.

What’s home grown you may ask? Well in this case it’s any player who has been registered for at least three seasons at an English or Welsh club between the ages of 16 and 21. Then any player on top of the squad limit of 25 has to be 21 or under.

I have to admit I feel it is about time these measures were introduced. The size of some Premier League squads is ridiculous as clubs stockpile players, both young and old, to try and safe guard against failure - especially since the advent of the transfer measure.

While it won’t prevent clubs signing 16 year olds from abroad (without tapping up, of course!) it should at least encourage youth development and see young British players given their chance. Given the amount of money piled into academies at the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool, who have two of the largest squads in the Premier league , we have seen precious little come from it.

Part of this surely must be because there are just too many players. Youngsters barely get a look into the first team which surely stunts their development. I know you can argue if they’re good enough they will play, but sometimes players need match time to develop, rather than endless training sessions and reserve matches.

It should also give the sides a more, er, ‘English’ feel. Liverpool, for example, have the highest percentage of expatriate players – a staggering 90%. Regardless of the talent in the Reds ranks, that percentage is too high for an English club. Boss Rafa Benitez is, unsurprisingly, dis-pleased at the speed of which proposals are being introduced as that will mean urgent squad trimming at Anfield.

I understand the success and global appeal for the Premier League means the clubs have every right to harvest the world’s best talent but surely the academies principal responsibility is to bring through young domestic based players?

It will be interesting to see the movements amongst the Premier League elite over the coming year and, in the long term, whether it will benefit young players or simply reduce the quality of the league overall.

English Premiership Predictions

Another weekend of the English Premiership is here.

After Manchester Uniteds shock loss during the week, we expect Fergie to have read them the riot act and I wouldn't be surprised if they bounce back hard.

Arsenal were good last weekend and Portsmouth are probably not relishing their trip to take on the Gunners.

For the Sunday game we're backing Chelsea to trip up against Fulham for a draw and for Monday we're betting with our hearts not our heads to say Villa will trip up Liverpool

These are the picks for the Saturday through to Monday games and recommended score-lines:

Saturday
Wigan vs Manchester United - United Win: 2-0
Arsenal vs Portsmouth - Arsenal win: 3-0 / 4-0
Birmingham vs Stoke - Stoke win: 1-0
Man City vs Wolves - Draw: 1-1
Hull vs Bolton - Hull win 1-0
Sunderland vs Blackburn - Draw: 1-1

Sunday
West Ham vs Tottenham - Spurs win 2-1
Burnley vs Everton - Everton win 1-0
Fulham vs Chelsea - Draw: 1-1, 2-2

Monday
Aston Villa - Win 1-0 or 2-1

Predictions for the season

By Tom Mallows

The waiting is over, are you ready?

The 2009/10 season is upon and with the World Cup at the end of it it promises to be an exciting year. But what will happen in the Premier League? Well I'm going to get my crystal ball out and make a few bold (if almost certainly inaccurate) predictions:

First off I reckon Burnley and Wolves will stay up. Burnley have an excellent manager in Owen Coyle who I believe has a David Moyesesque ability of getting the best out of his players. They have a small squad so injuries could prove crucial but I believe they will do enough. Wolves are reaping the rewards for being patient with boss Mick McCarthy. He has built this side slowly over the past 3-4 years, bringing youngsters in and seeing them develop. After missing out on the playoffs last year previous regimes would have got rid, but by giving McCarthy the time to build a side they will be ok this season.

Players to watch:
Burnley's Chris Eagles and Wade Elliot
Wolves' Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly.

The sack race:
Paul Hart. He is on to a loser with crisis club Pompey who are rapidly becoming the new Leeds. I reckon he will be gone by October but whoever comes in will not have enough to save them.

Relegation

They will be joined by Hull and Birmingham. The Tigers collapsed spectacularly last year and I believe that poor form ill continue now the novelty of the Premier League has worn off. Birmingham I feel are still haunted by relegations past and are desperate to lose that yo-yo club tag. But I have to say I have been under whelmed by the players they have brought in so far and fear for Boss Alex McCleish, Another one who could be gone before the clocks go back.

Surprise package - al la Fulham last season.

Hmmm I'm going for West Ham. They have not spent a lot of money but Zola comes across as an astute coach and with the benefit of a full pre-season with his players, I believe they can push for a Europa League spot.

Get those passports ready
The usual suspects will again buzz around the top six. I feel Spurs will do better this year after the nightmare start last time round. Villa will continue to improve and Everton will be as consistent as ever, though doubts remain over the depth of their squad, especially with the extra games in the Europa league this season. However the trump card is Man City who I believe will join the pack but fall just short of a Champions League spot this time round.
5th City
6th Everton
7th Villa
8th Spurs

Champions?
Well I feel Arsenal will just be happy to maintain that flow of Champions League cash and bag 4th. Liverpool I don't feel have strengthened their squad enough and still rely too heavily on Torres and Gerrard. If either of them gets injured I don't feel they have enough back up. Man United also have had a 40 goal hole blasted into their side with the departures of Tevez and Ronaldso. Owen Obertan and Valencia are good, but not good enough to make up the gap. Second place for me. That leaves Chelsea, who would have made a decent fist of things last season if it wasn't for that nightmare winter under Scolari. Ancelotti seems like a canny boss who should get the best out of his talented, if aging players. They are my tip for the top.

1st Chelsea
2ndMan United
3rdLiverpool
4th Arsenal

Agree? disagree? Please leave your comments below, all I can say is my predictions last year proved wildly wrong so you have every right to question my guesses this time round!

English Premiership - Outright

The English Premiership kicks off next weekend and the following odds on offer from World Sports Betting to win the league outright:

• Chelsea - 2/1
• Manchester United - 2/1
• Liverpool - 3/1
• Arsenal - 8/1
• Manchester City - 10/1
• Tottenham - 100/1
• Everton - 200/1
• Aston Villa - 200/1

Yeah I am a little biased toward Aston Villa Must say that I am very surprised that shorter odds weren't offered for either Villa or Everton and I reckon they don't present the worst value around.

The league I think is going to be far more open than people have given consideration to and while I don't have the highest expectations around for them to actually win the league, I think that these odds are various generous.

I put a few bucks down on each of them.

Football using dirty money?

By: Tom Mallows

There were some interesting reports in the English press this week suggesting that football has now become the top target for money launderers seeking to wash their dirty cash.

They cited a report from a unit of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which said "Football clubs are indeed seen by criminals as the perfect vehicles for money laundering," because football is "an obvious candidate to examine money laundering through sport,” due to its global scale.

It believes the massive money that flows in and out of tax havens, huge and irrational transfer payments, inflated agent fees and betting networks can all help criminals wash their cash clean. With the rewards of success and the price of failure so massive the report also says that clubs are less likely to report money laundering for fear of tarnishing their image and losing lucrative corporate sponsors.

The report also mentions an on-going investigation involving a club in Italy where "Proceedings for money laundering, insider trading, extortion, unfair competition and other offences are ongoing."

It is perhaps no surprise given the vast sums of money that are changing hands in football. Only this summer Spanish football giants Real Madrid broke the world transfer record twice, splashing out £56 million on Kaka and then £80 million on Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now I am not suggesting in any way that those transfer deals are dodgy, but it is an example of how vast sums of money can change hands across vast distances very quickly.

The desperation of clubs to compete may also lead to them forgetting their morals when it comes to the true source of their transfer kitty. Similarly those clubs who over-stretched themselves and face financial oblivion will be less choosy when it comes to picking a new owner who promises riches to bail them out and push on for success.

This was shown at Man City a few years ago when Thakasin Shinawatra took over at Man City, despite been wanted in his own country for corruption and human rights charges. He has since sold up and moved on.

The Premier League may have introduced a ‘fit and proper persons’ test, which will attempt to weed out any unscrupulous prospective owners, but should that go further with a full and proper investigation of football’s finances?

Whenever there is a large amount of cash there will be people looking to make a quick buck and football is no exception. I just hope the powers that be can nip any corruption in the bud as it would be a shame to see such a global sport irreversibly tarnished by crime.

If you can’t beat them, join em?

By Tom Mallows

So the first major transfer of the summer has been completed - in double quick time. I have to admit I thought the Gareth Barry saga would drag out across another close-season, but I suppose when you are offered 100k a week it won’t take you long to make up your mind.

The Barry move is only to be the start of a summer of lavish spending from Man City who have had a wallet full of Arab cash burning a hole in their pocket since last September.

But opinion appears to be divided as to whether what they are doing is good for football. On one hand people would like to see the top four face competition. The same four teams have comfortably shared the same spots in the Premier League table in the past few years to the detriment of the league. Any club who is looking to challenge that exclusive club should be applauded.

Recent financial results have shown the worryingly high level of debt the top four carry and if the Champions League umbilical cord was snatched away from them it would be interesting to see whether they could survive. Some would be happy to see them pay for their irresponsible fiscal policy.

But on the other hand is City’s lavish, some say reckless, spending just adding to the problem? Some of the fees they have spent – or are prepared to spend – are beyond the reaches of many small countries let alone football clubs.

If, for example, City oust Arsenal from that top four spot, hooray! Someone different people will say. But what then? City will just become the another one of the villainous ‘big four’ selfishly hogging the Champions League honey pot and buying whoever they want – another Chelsea in other words. Is that good for the Premier League?

We need to curb this cycle of reckless, obscene spending not add to it before it spirals out of control. The more clubs who gamble with big money the harder they will fall when things go wrong – imagine Leeds and times it by ten.

What happens if owners get bored and decided to call their money in? After all football clubs appear to be the latest fashion accessory at the moment, but don’t forget things go out of fashion.

We need to get back to the old adages of hard work, organisation and good skillful management. Otherwise the so-called ‘best league in the world’ will be decided purely on the size of your wallet, if that is not already the case!

The Premier League – A ticking financial time bomb?

By: Tom Mallows

We have all done it – or at least those who don’t have a subscription TV service anyway. You want to watch the big game and can’t make it to the nearest pub to watch it so you go online. There you will find hundreds of sites offering live streams for virtually every game - including ones that aren’t on live TV in your country.

It is this growth of online streaming that could see the Premier League bubble finally burst. This is because the one thing that caused the explosion in popularity in the game and sustained it over the past 17 years has been TV money. Each TV deal runs into billions of pounds and has allowed clubs to spend lavishly and push the league to the top of the tree in terms of entertainment.

The TV companies knew they were onto a winner and so knew they could get away with pushing subscription prices up. The football clubs were also aware of this and so each TV deal grew and grew. More money meant more profit both for the TV companies and the football clubs.

But with the rapid growth of online streaming, and the improvement in internet technology, how long will it be before customers cancel their subscriptions and turn on their laptops?

After all why pay when you can get more choice online for free?

It is similar to what happened with the music industry and file-sharing. The record companies did their utmost to shut sites such as Napster down to try and counter this new threat and maintain their healthy profits. Similarly the Premier League battles to shut streaming sites, but as one closes another opens up - the internet is too big a space to manage.

So what effect will this have on the Premier League? Well first off the TV companies will lower their offer when they next come to the negotiating table. Without the broadcasters' millions the foundations on which many a club's shaky financial structure is built will be removed. You only have to look at the fate of clubs in the Championship and below who recently dropped out of the Premier League. The likes of Charlton, Leeds and Southampton couldn’t sustain their spending without TV money. Even those with billionaire owners beware – watch them drift away when it looks like your club is no longer a profitable business venture.

To try and arrest the economic slide, the clubs will then seek to maximise their revenue by selling an individual product rather than as a League. Clubs like Manchester United will seek to negotiate their own TV deal, perhaps using their own TV channel to stream games online. This is fine for the ‘big four’ but what about those in the bottom half of the league with smaller fan bases?

I can only really see a maximum of eight clubs earning enough money from an individual TV deal to survive. But how exciting is a league with just eight teams?

To preserve the Premier League the excessive and irresponsible spending has to stop either now or at the administrators' request when the TV deal finally implodes. If not it seems a safe football bet that the self-styled ‘greatest League in the world’ could go bankrupt.

Sports Trader premiership picks

Aston Villa and Chelsea go head to head this weekend in a fixture that could ultimately make or break the Championship runs for both these sides. If either side loses today, they'll effectively lose any real chance of staying in touch with Manchester United.

Sports Trader makes its picks for the weekends and picking three high profile draws in the top 6.

Saturday fixtures:
Aston Villa v Chelsea Villa Park - Draw
Arsenal v Sunderland - Draw
Stoke v Portsmouth - Stoke win
Bolton v West Ham - West Ham win
Middlesbrough v Wigan - Middlesbrough win
Man Utd v Blackburn - Manchester United win

As you can see we're hedging our bets here... We think Villa and Chelsea will draw as will Arsenal and Sunderland.

Man Utd should carry on their winning ways against Blackburn.

Sunday 22 February
Fulham v West Brom - Fulham win
Liverpool v Man City - Draw
Newcastle v Everton - Everton win

Liverpool and Man City.... hhhhmmmmm we're probably not making too many fans with our negative views around Liverpool but they've had some scares in the last few games with last gasp goals. No Gerrard today, so we're going for the draw.

Everton should carry on their winning ways at Newcastle.

Monday 23 February
Hull v Tottenham - Draw

Another draw on the cards here.

Happy hunting....

Torres sinks Chelsea...

From the Liverpool FC official commentary....

Fernando Torres struck a last-gasp double to claim a sensational 2-0 victory for Liverpool against 10-man Chelsea.

The Reds produced a dominant second-half display against the Blues and deservedly claimed the three points when El Nino grabbed his first Anfield goals of the season on 89 and 94 minutes.

It means Rafael Benitez's men move up to second place in the table and are now two points behind leaders Man United who still have a game in hand.

The Reds had gone into the match with the Londoners hoping to send out a message that they were still very much a part of the title race.

Vice Captain Jamie Carragher had urged his teammates to make a statement of their intent and they duly set about making life uncomfortable for Luiz Felipe Scolari's men.

A lightning break after just 60 seconds almost provided the perfect start but for once Steven Gerrard failed to make the most of an opening on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area.

Amidst the backdrop of snowfall both sides showed a keen appetite for the contest and in the early exchanges there were some thunderous challenges, but little in the way of actual attempts at goal.

Xabi Alonso went some way to altering that stat with a stinging 25 yarder that Petr Cech managed to tip over the bar at full stretch, but it remained an evenly matched contest throughout the half.

The Reds looked the more likely to make a breakthrough with a series of long range efforts that will have caused some concern for the visitors, particularly when Javier Mascherano's thunderbolt was spilled by Cech. Sadly for Rafa and co there was no red shirt close enough to take advantage.

The game needed a goal and it could so easily have arrived on the half hour mark when Jamie Carragher crossed from the right for Torres, but the Spaniard's turn and shot was brilliantly blocked by a Chelsea defender.

As the half finally came to close the Reds could claim to have edged it and with a touch of luck they could have gone in ahead.

Albert Riera evaded two challenges and forced a smart save out of Cech with Ashley Cole lucky to see the rebound smash off his knee and wide of the far post.

A second-half onslaught at the Kop end was the order of the day and Dirk Kuyt went close to an immediate breakthrough when he stabbed an effort wide following Alex's mistake.

Mascherano then floated a pass to Gerrard inside the area but despite a superb knockdown from the skipper, Torres saw his goal-bound effort well blocked.

The Reds were turning the screw and could easily have been awarded a penalty on 56 minutes when John Terry appeared to bring down Kuyt, but referee Mike Riley refused to point to the spot.

Tensions were reaching fever pitch and Liverpool were handed a huge advantage just shy of the hour mark when Frank Lampard was shown a straight red card for a high tackle of Alonso.

The dismissal inspired a crescendo of noise inside Anfield with the Reds surging forward to chants of 'attack, attack; attack, attack, attack'.

Gerrard saw his free-kick deflected to safety by the Chelsea wall and Mascherano headed Carragher's cross just over before Alonso's curler cannoned off back off the crossbar.

The home side were camped inside the Chelsea half and must have thought they had finally scored on 72 minutes. A corner from the right fell at the feet of Torres and as the striker turned he unleashed a fizzing effort at goal that was somehow hacked clear on the line.

Substitute Yossi Benayoun twice came close late on before El Nino saved the day with a sublime near post header from Fabio Aurelio's pinpoint cross.

And it got better four minutes into injury-time when the Spaniard lashed home the loose ball after Benayoun was challenged in the penalty area.

It means Liverpool have completed their first league double over Chelsea since 1990 - the last time they won the title.