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Wigan v Arsenal
Things are
not looking good for Wigan as they enter this game against Arsenal; their
north-London opponents now have two wins on the bounce and seem to have some
kind of belief back after a run which saw them get only 6 points from as many
games. Wigan themselves have suffered a change of fortunes too, unfortunately
in the opposite direction, they have now gone 4 games without a win after a run
which saw them get 3 wins from 5 games and The Latics now sit in 18th
position. Manager Roberto Martinez will be hoping to get some points from games
like this as he faces not only The Gunners but Everton and Manchester United
too over a tough Christmas period. Arsene Wenger will be confident of a win at
the DW stadium today after two comfortable wins in recent weeks and, with his
attacking force on good form, he should be given his wish. 1-3
Man City v Reading
If ever
there was a game that Man City should win this is it. Reading have lost their
last 6 games in a row and have conceded 17 goals in doing so, giving them the
worst defensive record in the league. Roberto Mancini’s men recovered from
their home defeat against rivals Man United with an accomplished victory away
against Newcastle last weekend and should be going into this match without any
worries. Captain Vincent Kompany could return after his groin injury, although
with a home game against bottom of the league Mancini might be inclined to give
his main man a bit of extra rest. The only positive for Brian McDermott’s men
going into this game is that there are no expectations on them whatsoever. With
The Royals dreadful recent form and the fact that they are facing a Man City
side that is back to form after their recent blip I can see no outcome other
than a home win. 4-0
Newcastle v QPR
Here we see
two teams travelling in opposite directions; QPR on their way up with a win and
three draws under new manager Harry Redknapp, and Newcastle who are on their
way down having only managed 3 points from their last 7 games. Harry Redknapp’s
installation as manager at QPR has given credence to the theory that getting a
new manager in will give your team renewed confidence and a good run of form
will follow (this theory being fiercely contested by Rafa Benitez at Chelsea).
The Rs are performing with a belief that has seen them climb off of the bottom
of the table and get to within 5 points of safety, something that seemed
unthinkable a month ago when Mark Hughes was still in charge. Newcastle, apart
from a comfortable 3-0 win against Wigan a fortnight ago, seem unable to buy a
win, they have not only been losing but also performing poorly. This is
something that will be a massive worry to manager Alan Pardew, who saw his team
perform so fantastically last season. This is a classic case of a team
stagnating; sure The Magpies lost no key players over the summer, which was the
main concern, but they also gained none and it is perhaps this more than
anything else which is to blame for the stark contrast in form between last
season and this. Today’s match is a tough one to call and consequently I think
there will be nothing separating these two teams. 1-1
Southampton v Sunderland
The Saints
have found a new lease of life recently; with 3 wins 2 draws and only 1 defeat
from their last 6 games. The catalyst for this was a massive away win over
fellow strugglers QPR just over a month ago, sparking a run which has seen
Nigel Adkins’ side move all the way out of the drop zone. Adkins, however, will
be well aware of the fact that another bad run could see his side right back in
the danger zone and it is home games like this that they should be taking advantage
of if they are to make a serious go at survival. Martin O’Neill will also be
looking at this game as an opportunity to get some much needed points after a
poor run which his Sunderland side get only 4 points from the last 6 games. The
fact that Southampton have been performing well recently and The Black Cats not
so leads , me to believe that the side from the south coast will get the win today
and leap frog their opponents. 2-1
Tottenham v Stoke
Spurs are on
a fantastic run which has seen them win 4 of their last 5 games and move all
the way up into 4th place, a position that manager Andre Villas Boas
will feel that his side thoroughly deserve. Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe have
been the protagonists in this Lillywhite revival but Spurs showed only last
week that they could get all three points without their Welsh winger sensation
with an efficient win over Swansea. Stoke have been massively over-performing
recently and see themselves in 9th place on a 7 match unbeaten run.
This is largely thanks to their defence, the best in the league, which has only
conceded 13 goals in 17 league games. Tony Pulis’s side’s good form however has
been mainly at home, and their mediocre away form, only 1 win from 9 games,
leads me to believe that they are going to struggle against a rejuvenated
Tottenham side at White Hart Lane today. 2-0
West Brom v Norwich
Since their
phenomenal start West Brom have been performing in fits and starts in the
league, and are currently on a 4 game winless streak in 7th place.
On balance 7th place is quite impressive for novice manager Steve
Clarke but he will be disappointed having spent a couple of weeks up in third
spot recently. Their recent poor form is worsened by the fact that they have
not exactly been losing to superstar opposition; defeats against Swansea and
Stoke and a draw at home to West Ham will have been seen as well below par for
The Baggies. Clarke will be hoping that today his side can find the form that
they had at the beginning of the season and perhaps climb a few places back up
the league. Norwich on the other hand have been performing fantastically; a 10
match unbeaten run has seen The Canaries move up into 8th place only
4 points off of 4th. Chris Hughton will be saying publicly that they
are not expecting a win today but will be secretly seeing it as a possibility
to spring another surprise and gain some more ground. Despite Norwich’s great
recent from I can see West Brom’s home form this season being too much for
their opponents. 2-1
West Ham v Everton
Upton Park today
sees two sides who have been on indifferent form recently, Everton are unbeaten
in 5 but 4 of those have been draws, and West Ham have only managed 4 points in
the same amount of time. Some credit should be given to the East-Londoners
though, that 5 game run saw them face 3 of the top 4 and West Brom and
Liverpool, on reflection 4 points might be considered a decent haul. David
Moyes’ Everton’s results have also come against reasonably distinguished
opposition; beating Tottenham and getting good draws against Man City and
Arsenal, so today’s match should be a reasonably close affair. The Toffees are
without talisman Marouane Fellaini and so will be missing a big part of their
smash and grab repertoire. As a result I think West Ham have a good chance of
grabbing a decent point today. 2-2
Liverpool v Fulham
Fulham have
been on such woeful form recently that it is almost impossible to see them get
anything at Anfield today. Never underestimate Liverpool throw away a certain win
though; last week’s home defeat against Aston Villa was nothing short of a
disgrace and Brendan Rodgers will be praying that there is no repeat this week.
Fulham themselves have not exactly been setting the world alight, with only 1
win the last 9 games, so Martin Jol will be hoping that his side can be the
next side to cause an upset in front of the kop. Liverpool’s inconsistencies aside
I can’t see Fulham’s poor form, especially away from home, changing. Home win. 3-1
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