When Fulham and Atletico Madrid walk out onto the pitch in Hamburg on Wednesday for the Europa League Final, it will be a meeting of two unlikely foes. Buy Europa League Final Tickets

Atletico Madrid will be chasing their first European title since the 1961/62 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup while Fulham are in their first European final of any sort.

For Fulham, the final will be there 19th European game this season, one short of the record of 20 set by FC Girondins de Bordeaux in 1995/96. Their record in 18 European games this season reads W11 D4 L3, scoring 30 goals and conceding 16.

Fulham’s journey to Hamburg started last July in the third qualifying round when they played FK Vėtra of Lithuania. The journey to the final has been a memorable one for a Fulham team that has overcome a lot of adversity. In the group stages it took a tense 3-2 win at Basel 1893 to even progress to the knockout stages. There Fulham beat last season’s UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk, before producing a memorable four-goal comeback to stun

Juventus. After overcoming Wolfsburg in the last eight, the semi-final against Hamburg also proved fraught with a road trip of nearly 1,000km required due to the flight ban, before they summoned two goals in the last 21 minutes to see off the visitors in the return.

Atletico Madrid has had their own ups and downs on their travel’s. Atletico started the season in the Champions League play-off round and only just managed to finish ahead of APOEL to even qualify for the Europa League. This will be Atletico’s 17th European game fixture. Their record in 16 European games this season reads W4 D8 L4, scoring 17 goals and conceding 22.

Except for beating Galatasaray 3-2 on aggregate in the first knockout stage with a last-gasp Diego Forlan strike, all their victories have come on away goals; they drew both legs in the round of 16 and quarter-finals. To put that streak another way, Atletico Madrid are playing in a European Cup Final after having won only two European matches since the start of the UEFA Champions League group stage. They beat 2-1 at Galatasaray and then defeated Liverpool 1-0 at home in their semi-final first leg.

Prediction
How can you not vote for Fulham and Clint Dempsey, who will become the first player from the United States to play in a major European final? If Bobby Zamora is fit, I think that Fulham will be to strong for Madrid. Fulham 1 Atletico Madrid 0.

photo credit: nicksarebi

Manchester United will play four games in the United States and Canada as part of a preseason North American tour.

For the first time in club history, Man United will take on MLS opposition, highlighted by their taking on MLS’ best in the 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star Game on July 28 in Houston.

Before the all-star game United will play Celtic at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 16 and then the Philadelphia Union on July 21st and finally the Kansas City Wizards on July 25th.

“Manchester United are among the most recognized and successful clubs in the world, and we are pleased to have them compete against our All-Stars and two MLS clubs this summer,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. “We are proud to once again present our supporters with one of the most compelling All-Star game formats in sports and we believe Manchester United’s North American tour will be a tremendous celebration of the sport following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.”

With this being a World Cup year the United squad will be missing Rooney and Nani but the squad is expected to include such stars as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar, Darren Fletcher, Antonio Valencia, John O’Shea, Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov, as well as promising young players, such as Federico Macheda and the da Silva twins.

“It’s great to be going back to North America,” Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “I enjoyed the last two tours there in 2003 and 2004 immensely. The quality of the facilities is outstanding and there is real enthusiasm in the crowds. It’s especially pleasing to be going in a World Cup year, when interest in football will be at its height

Manchester United North America PreSeason Tour
July 16: Man United v Celtic in Toronto  - Buy Manchester United v Celtic Tickets
July 21: Philadelphia Union v Man United - Buy Philadelphia Union v Manchester United Tickets
July 25: Kansas City Wizards v Man United – Buy Kansas City Wizards v Manchester United Tickets
July 28: MLS All-Stars v Man United in Houston – Buy MLS All-Stars v Manchester United Tickets

The Emirates Cup has quickly become one of the best pre-season touraments and the 2010 edition is shaping up to have some great games.

Emirates Cup 2010 will see Arsenal joined by Italian powerhouse AC Milan, Scottish giants Celtic and leading French club Lyon. The event – which will be hosted by Arsenal and sponsor company Emirates Airline – has been scheduled for over the weekend of Saturday 31st July and Sunday 1st August,

Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis said:

“We’re delighted and proud to once again be welcoming three of Europe’s most high-profile teams to Emirates Stadium for an exciting weekend of football. The Emirates Cup has been hugely successful since we staged the inaugural tournament back in 2007 and we’re again looking forward to staging this weekend of football, which is now recognised as one of the world’s most prestigious pre-season tournaments. We have three big teams coming this year in AC Milan, Celtic and Lyon, who all have huge international followings and rich histories. I’m sure all supporters are looking forward to the weekend, which not only offers the opportunity to watch two top quality matches each day, but of course, also provides the teams with a high level of preparation ahead of the forthcoming season.”

Emirates Cup 2010 match schedule:
Saturday 31st July 2010
Celtic v Olympique Lyonnais (2pm Kick-off) – Buy Lyon v Celtic Tickets
Arsenal v AC Milan (4.20pm Kick-off) – Buy Arsenal v AC Milan Tickets

Sunday 1st August 2010
AC Milan v Olympique Lyonnais (2pm kick-off) – Buy AC Milan v Lyon Tickets
Arsenal v Celtic (4.20pm kick-off) – Buy Arsenal v Celtic Tickets

Sounds like a good weekend. With the World Cup finals ending only a couple of weeks before this, I wonder how many of the big names will be playing?

Manchester City will face Tottenham, the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Lisbon on their pre-season tour of the United States.

The club today confirmed they will play in the inaugural New York Football Challenge, a tournament hosted by New York at their new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey from July 22-25.

“The New York Football Challenge 2010 is an important one for us,” said City manager Roberto Mancini. “We have big ambitions for the Premier League next season and this tournament will give us the perfect opportunity to prepare for our season with some highly competitive games, enthusiastic supporters and world-class facilities. It will be fantastic for us to visit the United States, and especially for us to visit New York during our tour of the east coast.”

New York Football Challenge Schedule

Day 1: Thursday, July 22: Red Bulls vs. Tottenham Hotspur – 8:00 PM – Buy NYRB v Spurs Tickets
Day 2: Friday, July 23: Manchester City vs. Sporting Lisbon – 8:00 PM – Buy Man City v Sporting Lisbon Tickets
Day 3: Sunday, July 25: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Sporting Lisbon – 1:00 PM and Red Bulls vs. Manchester City – 3:30 PM (one ticket for both matches) – Buy New York Football Challenge Tickets

You might have noticed the new Manchester United banners that have appeared on the site recently. Well Premier League Tickets Online has partnered up with viagogo, Europe’s leading ticket exchange to offer our readers Chelsea and Manchester United tickets!

viagogo has an official partnership with Chelsea and Manchester United and now our readers can now buy tickets directly these teams ticket holders. Ticket options include game tickets and hospitality.

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It will go down as one of the most memorable Carling Cup semi-finals in history.

Blackburn Rovers, 1-0 down from the first leg jumped out to a 2-0 advantage on aggregate through two goals from Nikola Kalinic.

But Villa got back on level terms when former Blackburn defender Stephen Warnock scored and then Blackburn defender Christopher Samba was sent off for bringing down Gabriel Agbonlahor inside the box. James Milner scored from the subsequent spot kick to make it 3-2 Villa on aggregate.

Villa looked to have put the game away when they scored three more times in the 17 minutes of the second half through Agbonlahor, Emile Heskey and an own goal from Steven Nzonzi.

But credit to Blackburn, they were not done and two goals from Martin Olsson and Brett Emerton made it 6-4 on aggregate before Ashley Young sealed the game for Villa.

Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neil said after the game:

“I thought we started nervously, conceding two goals, and Wembley was a fair distance away at that stage. But we finally got a bit of life into us, fought back brilliantly, and we got back to 2-1. At that point I always felt we would score again, but not in my wildest dreams did I believe the score would end up 6-4. It was 6-4 wasn’t it?”

“I’m just really pleased for the team, which I know is a cliched old phrase, but I’m really delighted for them. They’ve had to fight back, whilst the crowd were obviously getting very anxious and frustrated, and they grew up tonight. We made a lot of mistakes in the game, and even at 5-2 the euphoria of getting into that position meant we lost concentration. But overall I am absolutely delighted, and pleased to get to Wembley, which will give the players an enormous boost of confidence to go on. A night like this, they haven’t come round too often at this club in the last 25 years or so. We should be contesting these kind of games more often.”

Martin O’Neill’s side will now meet either Manchester United or Manchester City in the final at Wembley on February 28 and are one step away from lifting their first trophy since the 1996 League Cup.

28 February: Carling Cup Final Tickets:

We have partnered with different ticket brokers to offer Soccer Ticket Online readers tickets to the game. Their prices are listed below:

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Our sister site, Soccer Tickets Online is giving away two tickets to the Manchester United v Sunderland on 3rd October at Old Trafford.

To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize simply enter your name and email on the Man United Ticket contest page. Participants must over 18 years of age.

Welcome back to the Premier League Blackpool! We have tickets to every Blackpool game, both hone and away this season.

Blackpool 2010-2011 Schedule

August
14 Wigan (H) – Buy Blackpool Tickets
21 Arsenal (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
28 Fulham (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

September
11 Newcastle (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
18 Chelsea (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
25 Blackburn (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

October
2 Liverpool (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
16 Man City (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
23 Birmingham (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
30 West Brom (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

November
6 Everton (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
10 Aston Villa (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
13 West Ham (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
20 Wolverhampton (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
27 Bolton (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

December
4 Man Utd (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
11 Stoke (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
18 Tottenham (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
26 Liverpool (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
28 Sunderland (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

January
1 Man City (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
4 Birmingham (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
15 West Brom (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
22 Sunderland (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

February
1 West Ham (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
5 Everton (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
12 Aston Villa (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
26 Wolverhampton (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

March
5 Chelsea (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
19 Blackburn (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

April
2 Fulham (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
9 Arsenal (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
16 Wigan (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
23 Newcastle (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
30 Stoke (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

May
7 Tottenham (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
14 Bolton (H) - Buy Blackpool Tickets
22 Man Utd (A) - Buy Blackpool Tickets

We have tickets to all of Wolverhampton Wanderers’s games in the Premier League this season both home and away.

Wolves 2010-2011 Schedule

August
14 Stoke (H) – Buy Wolves Tickets
21 Everton (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
28 Newcastle (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets

September
11 Fulham (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
18 Tottenham (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
25 Aston Villa (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets

October
2 Wigan (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
16 West Ham (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
23 Chelsea (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
30 Man City (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets

November
6 Man Utd (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
9 Arsenal (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
13 Bolton (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
20 Blackpool (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
27 Sunderland (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets

December
4 Blackburn (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
11 Birmingham (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
18 West Brom (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
26 Wigan (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
28 Liverpool (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets

January
1 West Ham (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
4 Chelsea (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
15 Man City (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
22 Liverpool (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets

February
1 Bolton (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
5 Man Utd (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
12 Arsenal (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
26 Blackpool (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets

March
5 Tottenham (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
19 Aston Villa (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets

April
2 Newcastle (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
9 Everton (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
16 Stoke (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
23 Fulham (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets
30 Birmingham (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets

May

1 Portsmouth (A) - Buy Wolves Tickets
9 Sunderland (H) - Buy Wolves Tickets

We have tickets to all of Birmingham City games in the Premier League this season both home and away.

Birmingham City 2010-2011 Schedule

August
14 Sunderland (A) – Buy Birmingham City Tickets
21 Blackburn (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
28 Bolton (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets

September
11 Liverpool (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
18 West Brom (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
25 Wigan (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets

October
2 Everton (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
16 Arsenal (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
23 Blackpool (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
30 Aston Villa (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets

November
6 West Ham (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
9 Stoke (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
13 Man City (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
20 Chelsea (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
27 Fulham (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets

December
4 Tottenham (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
11 Wolverhampton (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
18 Newcastle (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
26 Everton (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
28 Man Utd (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets

January
1 Arsenal (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
4 Blackpool (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
15 Aston Villa (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
22 Man Utd (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets

February
1 Man City (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
5 West Ham (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
12 Stoke (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
26 Chelsea (A) – Buy Chelsea v Birmingham City Tickets

March
5 West Brom (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
19 Wigan (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets

April
2 Bolton (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
9 Blackburn (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
16 Sunderland (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
23 Liverpool (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
30 Wolverhampton (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets

May
7 Newcastle (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
14 Fulham (H) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets
22 Tottenham (A) - Buy Birmingham City Tickets