LIVE football commentary returns to Injury Time with the blockbuster Melbourne derby in the Hyundai A-League!

It’s Melbourne Heart up against two-time champions, Melbourne Victory!

Both Melbourne clubs come into the game on the back of impressive wins, with the Heart actually sitting one place above their more illustrious opponents in 4th.

The Heart have been steadily building up form and have been one of the real surprise packages this season, and if you can believe it, if they manage to conjure a win this evening, they’ll move up to outright second on the table. Meanwhile for the Victory, a little bit of pressure was eased last week when they dominated Wellington Phoenix 3-1 at home and if they manage another convincing win of three goals or more against the Heart, the two teams will currently switch spots in the ladder.

Over the past 12-16 months, the Melbourne derby has firmed as the most passionate and intense local rivalry in the league and with both teams currently playing well, let’s hope we get a stunner of a match tonight!

Coverage will begin at 7.45PM AEST, with Gordon D’Mello on hand to take you through all of the action!

We’re LIVE! from Emirates Stadium from 11.30 with all the pre-match info!

What about the teams though? Read on for our summary of both teams.

ARSENAL

Talismen... Cesc and RvP are set to return.

After an extremely controversial transfer market continues to roll on in North London, Arsenal may well be distracted by the ongoing goalkeeping situation that seems to be annoying some at the club. Wenger will need to keep his team focused if they are to defeat a confident Blackpool side.

Last Week

Luckily, but deservedly, coming away with a point from Anfield. Marouane Chamakh’s professional debut was a highlight as was Samir Nasri in midfield. However, there will be some frowns at the side’s inability to break down a 10-man Liverpool defence in the second half.

Team News

Out: The aforementioned Nasri was dealt a blow at Liverpool, minor knee surgery ruling the Frenchman out for five weeks. Laurent Koscielny will serve his one match ban, while young gun Emmanuel Frimpong is also set to miss most (if not all) of the season with knee ligament damage.

In: Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas are due to return providing a massive boost for the Gunners. Alex Song is likely to cover at centre half with Thomas Vermaelen, while Johan Djourou might also return but is still under an injury cloud.

To Win They Must…

Stop Marlon Harewood. The striker proved himself once more in the Premier League last week and likes to play against the Gunners. With a shaky defence, you never know..

BLACKPOOL

They shocked the world last Satuday, and if they go to the Emirates and come close to a repeat performance, we might be witnessing the biggest upset of English Football.

Magic... Can Holloway produce another bunny?

Last Week

It’s hard playing away at Wigan (as Arsenal would know..), but impressively, Blackpool went there with a high spirit and played the way they wanted. They took risks and threatened Wigan’s goal. They got four goals for their efforts. Nuf said.

Team News

Out: Keeper Paul Rachubka will miss six weeks through injury whilst Keith Southern, Louis Almond and Billy Clarke all continue to remain on the sidelines.

In: New summer signing Dekel Keinan debut’s for the Tangerine’s and should give further boost to the side.

To Win They Must…

Break down Arsenal’s passing. It sounds cliche these days, but if Blackpool can get stuck in and really rattle the Gunners early they might have a real chance of getting something out of this one.

The LIVE! commentary of the game is located at the bottom of this page.

Of course, as always, you can email any of your thoughts to gordon@injurytime.net , we’d love to hear from you!

Can Everton pull out another rabbit?

Last time they met?

Manchester United 3 – 0 Everton

Everton

Form (least recent to most recent):

All-Competitions; WWLWW

EPL; WWWLW

Everton look to have fully recovered from their terrible start to the season as they push for more success in qualifying for Europe. The come-from-behind victory against table-topping Chelsea last time out will provide enormous confidence as will a midweek victory in Europe. However, they are missing the inspirational Tim Cahill.

Players to Watch:

Louis Saha – The Frenchman has had the Midas touch of late, well except for that penalty. He hasn’t dropped his head after failures and is looking more and more like the target striker he was at his days with the opposition. The re-born striker will be looking for revenge against his old club.

Steven Pienaar – Pienaar returns from the suspension he got after seeing red at Liverpool, and one thinks the South African will be fired up after missing the win over Chelsea. Fresh after pledging his commitment to the club he loves, the diminutive midfielder will be looking for a big game.

Stat of the Day:

Everton have kept only three clean sheet’s in 2010, however two of those three have come at home.

Manchester United

Form (least recent to most recent):

All-Competitions; WWWDW

EPL; WWWWD

Manchester United are in great form coming into this game, and will fancy themselves being top of the crop by the end of it. Wayne Rooney is in unstoppable form, and their midweek win over AC Milan in Italy will give them confidence. However, will fatigue become a factor?

Players to Watch:

Wayne Rooney – Obvious decision. The talisman has netted an amazing 10 goals in as many games this year and you’d have to be a brave man to bet against him in any match. If he exploit an at times weak Everton back line, he could notch another one to the tally.

Antonio Valencia / Nani -  Both of these lads are fighting for CR7′s old right wing spot, and it seems each week, one outplays the other. A few weeks ago Nani was magnificent against Arsenal, but his crossing was poor at Milan midweek, all for Valencia to replace him after sixty-four minutes and deliver a peach of a delivery for Rooney’s first goal of the game. It’ll be interesting to see who get’s the start.

Stat of the Day:

United are undefeated in the League in 2010 and their last defeat came at the hands of Fulham on December 19th.

My Pick?

I think it’ll be a close game, both in reasonable form and Everton are at home, but I think United will have just a little too much class. I think Everton might take the lead, but United to fight back and take it, but I’d love to be proven wrong! Manchester United 2-1 Everton.