Weekend Preview

West Ham v Chelsea

(Courtesy of DavidKenny - Flickr)

It’s getting to the point that there are no easy games for Chelsea anymore. Both teams will go into this match smelling blood, with neither of them having won any of their last 3 games. Chelsea’s run goes further back than that even and looking at their form of 4 draws and 2 defeats from the last 6 games the size of Benitez’s task becomes immediately evident. The 0-0 draw against City was respectable enough for Rafa but the same score line against Fulham was unacceptable, even if it was a derby, and you get the feeling that there will be a full-scale riot among the Chelsea faithful if their team fail to win again tomorrow. West Ham’s poor form has really come as a result of some difficult games; a draw against Stoke is not disgraceful given the Potters’ defence and defeats against Tottenham and Manchester United would be harsh to criticise, especially given the performance in the latter. The Chelsea of old would have gone into this match without too much concern, no disrespect to West Ham, but this is now going to be a very tough game for them and, with such low confidence I can’t see them getting the win they so desperately want and need. 1-1

Arsenal v Swansea

Only a point and a position separating these two sides, who are currently travelling in different directions through the league. Some impressive performances from Michael Laudrup’s Swansea have seen them get draws against Chelsea and Liverpool and wins over Newcastle and West Brom in recent times and as a result The Swans sit in 8^th place. Spanish midfielder Michu has kept up his good from the early part of the season and with help from good performances from Wayne Routledge, amongst others, Swansea have been firing on all cylinders. Arsenal, on the other hand, must be frustrating watching for Gunners fans, who have seen their side thrash Spurs 5-2, albeit against 10 men for the majority of the game, and then draw 0-0 with Aston Villa. A mid-week point away at Everton was by no means terrible but Wenger will really need to get a win here if he is to convince anyone that Arsenal deserve a place in the top 4. A slight decline in form of Santi Cazorla might not have helped, but the little Spaniard will need Giroud, Walcott and Podolski to pitch in consistently rather than the sporadic performances that we have seen of late. Although Swansea are performing well and Arsenal not so well the Gunners are due a good performance and I think it might come here in front of a demanding home crowd. 3-1

Tottenahm fans will want Gareth Bale to keep his good form up.
(Courtesy of Jan S0L0 - Flickr)

Fulham v Tottenham

Two weeks ago these two sides were a point apart and suffering very different runs of form. Tottenham had gone 3 games without a win and things were looking quite bleak for Spurs’ Champions League aspirations. Fulham on the other hand were 5 games unbeaten and looking up the table at a potential Europa League spot. What a difference a fortnight makes; Fulham are now in the bottom half of the table and 6 points off Spurs, having suffered poor defeats at the hands of Sunderland and Stoke, and more recently a decent point at home against Chelsea. Spurs are looking much brighter; good wins against West Ham and Liverpool have propelled them up into 5^th place amid poor results from teams around them such as Everton and Arsenal. Tomorrow’s game should be straightforward for Andre Villas-Boas and his side, high on confidence they go to Craven Cottage where they find a Fulham team who don’t have a win in 6. Things very rarely are straightforward in football though and AVB’s men will need to put in a good display to come away from West London with all 3 points. If Bale and Defoe are on their game then Spurs should be safe. 0-2

Liverpool v Southampton

Liverpool have only won 1 of their last 6 games; a 3-0 win at home against Wigan 2 weeks ago, and they will see a similar opposition in Southampton tomorrow. But these days Southampton are no pushovers, and with a 4-game unbeaten run under their belts Adkins’ men will hoping that they can continue their good form tomorrow. It won’t be easy though; Luis Suarez makes a habit of tearing through poor defences and if there is one aspect of The Saints that is poor it is their defence. Admittedly they have only conceded 3 in their last 4 games but they have not been facing the most devastating attacking forces in the land and they still have the worst defence in the league, by 5 goals. Liverpool will be hoping that this weak spot on their opponents could be the key to a home win tomorrow and God knows they could do with one. The Kop seems to be buying into the rebuilding plan that Brendan Rodgers has laid out but they will only be patient for so long, especially if Rodgers cannot even manage to get The Reds into the top half of the table by the end of the season. I’ve been surprised many times by underdogs so far this season but I’m going to have to go for a home win here, while Liverpool aren’t on top form Gerrard and Suarez should prove too big a task for the away defence. 3-1

David Moyes faces a tough
challenge tomorrow
(Courtesy of illarterate)

Man City v Everton

Man City will be looking to continue their unbeaten run with a victory over Everton tomorrow. The Toffees have been on very indifferent form of late; having drawn 6 of their last 8 matches in the league, and David Moyes will be looking to inspire his team to try and find the form which saw them performing so well at the beginning of the season. With recent poor performances, such as a draw against Norwich and a defeat to Reading, Moyes has seen his side slip down into 6^th place and in danger of slipping even further if his side can’t pick up any points tomorrow. This is something they will find difficult to do, given that they are facing the best home record in the league and a strike force that is finding goals from everywhere. Combine that with the fact that Roberto Mancini’s side have only conceded once in the last 6 games and there are very few positives that Moyes can take into tomorrow’s match. Mancini’s men have to be favourites to come away from this with all 3 points. 2-0

QPR v Aston Villa

Paul Lambert’s much needed win came in timely fashion against Reading this week and he will be hoping to grab more points from lower-placed opposition, there aren’t many that fall into this category at present after all. However a new look QPR, who have now had a bit of time with Harry Redknapp, might not be such a good opportunity. The R’s will be buoyed by their decent away point against Sunderland and will be looking to get their first win of the season tomorrow against an Aston Villa team who have lost 5 of their 7 away fixtures so far this season. After a well organised performance from QPR mid-week I think we can expect to see Redknapp utilise a bit more of his attacking flair this time round, perhaps finally getting the best out of Adel Taarabt, and getting some goals out of a team that have only managed to find the net 4 times in 6 home games this campaign. I don’t think that a home win is completely out of the question, Redknapp’s side will be filled with the kind of optimism that comes from a managerial change and will see Aston Villa as easy an opponent as any. 2-1

West Brom v Stoke

This match sees the coming together of two sides with great home records and poor away records. Unfortunately for Stoke it is they who must try and reverse their poor form on the road. They travel to the Hawthorns to face a West Brom side with the joint-second best home record in the league; 6 wins and a defeat. The Baggies’ confidence will have been slightly knocked by the manner in which they were dispatched by Swansea in the middle of the week, but manager Steve Clarke will be chalking it up to tiredness after fixture congestion and hoping that his side can continue their astounding run which sees them currently occupying 4^th place. Stoke are not having such luck, their home form has been characteristically good but, unfortunately, so has their away form and they are still without a win on the road. A recent run of 3 wins and a draw has seen them move into the top half of the table but the game tomorrow against West Brom presents the Potters with a different challenge and one that, sadly for them, I can’t see them meeting. 2-0

Reading v Man United

Reading will have been very disappointed to come away from Villa Park with nothing on Tuesday and will be hard-pressed to make amends tomorrow. They face a Manchester United side who have been on quite relentless form recently, barring a shock defeat away to Norwich. The Royals can look to this defeat as a sign that Manchester United can be beaten and that, reinforced by many other United games this season, it isn’t too difficult to get the first goal against them, what is difficult is holding onto that lead. McDermott will look to the 2-1 win his side got over Everton 2 weeks ago for some inspiration as to how to topple another big team, when his side played with defensive solidarity and also counter-attacked well, this will have to be their ploy again tomorrow. However, in Man United they face an even bigger attacking threat; the defeat against Norwich was the first time United failed to find the net since the opening game of the season all the way back in August. United manager Alex Ferguson will be slightly worried that his side have not been putting in the kind of imperious performances that he would have hoped for recently; having to come from behind against QPR and only just making it over the line against West Ham mid-week and will be expecting a big improvement from his squad, I suspect he will get it. 1-3

Chris Hughton will be hoping to
keep his side's good form up
(Courtesy of FARE Network)

Norwich v Sunderland

Norwich have been on an incredible 7 game unbeaten run, their best since 1994, which has seen them get wins against Manchester United and Arsenal and a good draw against Everton but simultaneously fail to take advantage of games against Southampton, Reading and Villa, all of whom managed to hold The Canaries to draws. Chris Hughton will be hoping that he can change this tomorrow, with another home game against a team below them in the league, a win could see them within touching distance of the top half of the league, depending on results around them. Martin O’Neill is the favourite to be sacked next and a mid-week 0-0 at home against bottom-of-the-table QPR did nothing to help this. Again being without captain Cattermole and O’Shea will be a massive setback for O’Neill who knows that these two are key to any hopes The Black Cats have of keeping a clean sheet at Carrow Road on Sunday. Not that the Canaries have been prolific scorers at home this season, only 6 goals in as many games means that O’Neill’s game plan will probably involve defending well and using the pace of Stephane Sessegnon to try and grab a goal on the break. This will be tough work though and I have to go with the form books on this one. 1-0

Newcastle v Wigan

Newcastle’s poor run of form has to come to an end sometime surely. 4 straight defeats, including one away to Southampton last weekend, has seen The Magpies slip all the way down into 14^th place and in danger of being dragged into a much unwanted, and given their squad, unwarranted relegation battle. Unfortunately for Alan Pardew having a good squad alone does not grant immunity from poor performances, as the Geordie faithful have all been witnesses to recently. Facing a Wigan team who have lost 3 of their last 4 will give Pardew some hope that this might be the game to give his team their first 3-points since October. Wigan have not exactly been playing badly though, the aforementioned defeats have come against West Brom, Liverpool and Manchester City, by no means terrible defeats, and prior to those The Latics got good wins against West Ham and Tottenham. Roberto Martinez, being well versed in the art of relegation avoidance, will not be looking back at those victories but will be looking forward to when he can get his next one. He might even see Monday’s game as a good opportunity; it has not looked this good to go to St. James’s park since The Magpies were in the Championship and Martinez will not see his team as underdogs in tomorrow’s match, no matter how much he might play down his team’s chances in pre-match press conferences. These two are currently even on points in the league, with 14 apiece, and even is how I think we will find them tomorrow. 2-2