LeeDixon

The first FA Cup semi-final of the weekend is an intriguing fixture pitting together the two Merseyside giants with Everton holding a live chance of inflicting real pain on an out-of-form Liverpool side. These are strange times for the Reds. The Carling Cup is in the trophy cabinet, but league results have been woeful this year and this proud team find themselves 33 points off Manchester United in the table - that sort of total has kept teams safe in years gone by! Damian Comolli has taken the flak for this poor state of affairs by receiving his marching orders this week. Andy Carroll's last-minute winner at Blackburn in midweek earned Liverpool a first victory in five games but that's not enough to suggest they've turned a corner. By contrast, Everton arrive in fine fettle -...

Spurs are going through something of a mini-crisis at the moment. They lost back-to-back matches in the league which not only meant their title challenge is now well and truly over, it also means that for the first time in months and months they're actually looking over their shoulder to see how Arsenal are doing. That third place isn't safe just yet. Ironically they played a lot better in the first-half against Manchester United despite going into the break 1-0 down than they did in going 2-0 up against Arsenal. They'll feel better about life after their midweek win against Stevenage but even then, they weren't particularly convincing. Everton are playing to type at the moment. Organised, hard-working, disciplined, hard to beat. And I don't think there's a huge amount in it between...

Manchester City's win over Tottenham just over a week ago raised plenty of talking points, none more so than whether Mario Balotelli should have still been on the pitch to win and convert the penalty that won City the match. I think I was one of the few who wasn't so sure whether his alleged stamp on Scott Parker was deliberate. It may well have been of course but I think there was enough uncertainty to give him the benefit of the doubt. Would that have been the case if it involved another player? I guess we'll never know but there's no doubt that City will miss Balotelli and his goals for the remainder of his ban. The former Inter Milan man is a huge talent; at times he seems to find the game of professional football effortless and appears to just stroll through matches and still be...

There were always going to be a few doubters when Andre Villa-Boas was appointed Chelsea manager given his age and limited experience of being in charge of a big club. But I've seen enough of him and this Chelsea side to suggest they're already very close to being at their best and that a strong season lies ahead of them. [u]Match Odds [/u] The Opta stats suggest that Chelsea have a tougher task than their quote of 1.38 suggests. After all, Chelsea have won only one of the last nine Premier League meetings against Saturday's opponents, drawing six of the remaining eight encounters, so that would suggest Everton certainly don't mind playing the Londoners. But on the other hand the hosts have won nine of their last 10 Premier League games at home, drawing the other. So they're obviously...