A brace from Nacer Chadli helped Tottenham Hotspur progress to the FA Cup Fifth Round with a 4-1 over Colchester United. The League One hosts had their chances to draw level early in the second half, but Eric Dier’s fortuitous strike killed them off and the rest of the game was fairly comfortable for the… Read more →
League Two teams have played five different numbers of games between them this season, making the table hard to dissect at times. The Football Lab has create a more accurate table that ranks teams based on their average points per game, rather than the number of points they have. This blog also looks at the… Read more →
If this game is anything like the one when these teams last met in September, the neutrals are in for a treat. Wigan clawed back a two goal deficit by scoring twice in the last twenty-five minutes, only to concede a late Uche Ikpeazu winner after Leon Barnett’s red card. Three days later, Port Vale… Read more →
At the moment, it seems hard work for Charlton to get a corner, let alone turn one. They have been in awful form for some time, and the position they were in for the reverse fixture against Rotherham back in September seems a long time ago. The Football Lab saw Charlton be held to a 1-1 draw that… Read more →
Here are The Football Lab’s thoughts ahead of the weekend’s 16 FA Cup Fourth Round ties. Out of form sides Derby and Manchester United go head-to-head on Friday night, struggling League One side Colchester host Champions League chasers Tottenham. The lowest ranked team in this competition is fourth tier Carlisle United, who face Merseyside opposition for the… Read more →
Wednesday night’s match between Manchester City and Everton was always likely to produce goals. Both teams attack, both teams play good football and both Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Martinez have at times been criticized for neglecting the importance of defending. Such cavalier approaches to the game from these sides culminated in a hugely entertaining contest,… Read more →
An improved second half performance from Leyton Orient saw them beat Newport, to secure back-to-back wins under new boss Kevin Nolan. Jay Simpson’s late penalty was enough to hand the O’s a 1-0 victory, in a game in which their opponents rarely threatened. The Welsh visitors did start brightly, however. They shifted the ball well… Read more →
Burnley kept their automatic promotion hopes very much intact with a 4-1 win over fellow challengers Derby at Turf Moor. Richard Keogh’s own goal gave them the lead, moments before Jacob Butterfield responded with a wonderful volley. Derby had been the more prominent side for much of the game but two second half penalties swung it in… Read more →
Carlisle United’s return to Brunton Park did not go to plan on Saturday afternoon. The Cumbrians missed golden chances to secure victory after Jason Kennedy’s early opener against bottom of the table York City, with the visitors grabbing a late equalizer through Luke Summerfield. It was a priceless point for the Minstermen, in their battle to avoid a… Read more →
Fulham are a mess at the moment. On the field, they have only won one game since the end of October and off it, their problems are just as grand. There is a lot of ambiguity about who is running the club right now and the club’s structure seems almost non-existent. Alan Curbishley is there yet nobody… Read more →