Premier League
The big game this week comes at
the Emirates. Arsenal look to recover quickly from a 5-1 thrashing, when they
play a Manchester United side who have their Champions League hopes slipping
away at rapid speed, after dropping more points. The two teams who benefited
from Arsenal and United’s failings last weekend were Liverpool and Fulham, and
they play each other at Craven Cottage. Fulham look to come off the bottom, while
some Liverpool fans are daring to dream of mounting a title challenge, now just
six points off top spot. The goals have dried up for Newcastle lately, and they
will look to put that right, when they host away specialists Tottenham.
Cardiff vs. Aston Villa
 |
| Gabriel Agbonlahor |
Cardiff undid their victory over
Norwich by falling apart in the Welsh derby, and they are three points away
from safety. You might have thought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival would give
them a big boost, but four league defeats from five means they have gained no
momentum from the change of regime. This season, the Bluebirds have been very
poor when defending against counter attacks down the flanks, and that is where
Aston Villa can cause problems. The pace of Agbonlahor, in particular, will be
a threat to Cardiff. If they can break well, Villa might just pick up a fifth
away win of the season. 1-2.
Hull vs. Southampton
 |
| Artur Boruc |
Hull have only lost three times
at home this season, as Spurs recently became another top team to drop points at
the KC. Goals from Long and Jelavic saw the Tigers win 2-0 at Sunderland on
Saturday, which was an important result, after they were without a league win
since the turn of the year. Southampton, on the other hand, are doing well in
both league and cup. They have not been beaten since defeat to Chelsea on New
Years’ Day, scoring sixteen goals in those seven games. Artur Boruc made a
couple of mistakes in their draw with Stoke, but he is one of the Premier
League’s better goalkeepers, and will gain Southampton more points than he
loses. 1-1.
West Ham vs. Norwich
 |
| James Tomkins |
After looking all over the place
at the back in January, West Ham have now kept three consecutive clean sheets,
as the return of centre-backs James Tomkins and James Collins from injury has helped.
Now arguably their best defender, Winston Reid is back in contention, but
Allardyce might be tempted to stick with the pairing that has worked so well of
late. They play a Norwich side who know how to keep a clean sheet themselves.
The Canaries kept three from their last four, and have just become one of just
four teams to avoid conceding against Manchester City this season. You sense
there might not be too many goals in this one. 1-0.
West Brom vs. Chelsea
 |
| Gary Cahill |
Two points from four games, and a
drop from fourteenth to eighteenth, is hardly the ideal start for Pepe Mel as
manager of West Brom. It is surprising that the club sold Shane Long without
replacing him, because the Baggies have been struggling for goals since the
start of the season. Despite Arsenal being top for most of the season, and Man
City’s at times unstoppable attacking play, Chelsea have always been my tip to
win the title. They went top for the first time since August with a 3-0 win
over Newcastle. Eden Hazard will get all the credit for his hat-trick, but
Cahill and Terry are forming a great centre-back partnership, which Roy Hodgson
might want to think about. Chelsea’s defence have only conceded twice in their
last eleven games, so you cannot see West Brom getting any joy trying to break
it down. 0-2.
Arsenal vs. Man Utd
 |
| David Moyes |
David Moyes’s episode at
Manchester United is turning into a horror show, and becoming almost painful to
watch. You want to see British coaches succeed in the Premier League elite, but
by the time Moyes has learnt his lessons, the pressure on him could be too
strong. Against Fulham, United were constantly swinging crosses in, there was
no sense of plan B, and had they won that match it would have papered over the
cracks to some extent. But this match will be a case of which team can recover
from their disaster quickest, because Arsenal lost 5-1 at Liverpool on
Saturday. Their defence is not particularly bad in terms of consistency, but it
still has tendencies to fall apart under pressure from time to time, and lacks
leadership in the big games. Arsenal can end Manchester United’s hopes of a top
four finish with a win here. 2-1.
Everton vs. Crystal Palace
 |
| Tom Ince |
After recent defeats at Champions
League rivals Liverpool and Tottenham, Everton will now find it difficult to
get fourth, but they have won each of their home games since Boxing Day. Even
with a number of players, including new signing Lacina Traore still injured,
they should beat Crystal Palace. The Eagles have lost more away games, ten,
than any other side in the Premier League, including five of their last six,
although four of those defeats were against sides in the top five. A positive for them was that two debutants
scored in the win over West Brom, most notably youngster Tom Ince. Ince was
very highly-rated at Blackpool and this could be a chance for him to work his
way towards the plane to Brazil. 2-1.
Man City vs. Sunderland
 |
| Fernandinho |
After looking like an unstoppable
attacking force in January, Manchester City have been found out by Chelsea and
Norwich, who both managed to keep a clean sheet against them. The absence of
Fernandinho has had a lot to do with that, he has that ability to break up play
and pass it short to the more creative players, which City have benefited from
greatly. Sunderland fell to a home defeat to Hull, which was a result nobody
quite expected, given their recent run of form. Adam Johnson had a rare poor
game, up against Maynor Figueroa, and he will get much less time on the ball
when playing his old club. Man City should resume their habit of winning at
home. 2-0.
Newcastle vs. Tottenham
 |
| Emmanuel Adebayor |
Goals are now becoming
Newcastle’s problem, and a major concern for Alan Pardew. They have not scored
in six of their previous seven games. Loic Remy will complete the last of his
three match suspension, and his return could be key for Newcastle. They have
had sixty-one shots in their last three matches, but not scored in any of them,
which tells you a lot about their finishing. Their visitors, Tottenham, are
very strong away from home, with just two defeats on the road this season. They
kept themselves three points away from fourth place after victory over Everton.
With Emmanuel Adebayor looking back to his best under Tim Sherwood, Spurs will
get a tightly-fought victory. 0-1.
Stoke vs. Swansea
 |
| Peter Odemwingie |
If you had offered Stoke fans
four points from Manchester United at home, and Southampton away, they would
have taken it gleefully, particularly after a run of four defeats. Both Peter
Odemwingie and Peter Crouch netted in the draw at St. Mary’s, and if either of
them can build on that, it could resolve Mark Hughes’s need for a clinical
striker. Swansea beat Cardiff 3-0 in their first game without Michael Laudrup,
but it is questionable whether Garry Monk will be able to build on that, and do
a better job than Laudrup long-term. When a new manager comes in, it is common
for the players to perform better, but complacency could soon be a danger for
the Swans. 1-1.
Fulham vs. Liverpool
 |
| Daniel Sturridge |
There is a thirty-point gap
between these two clubs, with the side bottom of the table up against the side
occupying fourth place, who just beat Arsenal 5-1. Even though Fulham rescued a
draw against Man United, the stats do not look good for them. They can take
some hope from the fact that Liverpool are not as strong on the road as they
are at home, and have only won twice away since September. Fulham, much like
they did in their draw at Old Trafford, may have to spend long spells soaking
up pressure. If they push forward and try to press Liverpool, the chances are
they will get completely beaten for pace, so it will need to be a disciplined,
team effort from the Cottagers. Much of this depends on whether Liverpool score
in the first half. If Fulham are chasing the game in the latter stages, they
could get caught out on the break. 0-3.
Championship
On Tuesday night, the Lancashire
Derby takes centre-stage, but Burnley and Bolton need three points for more
reasons than simply local pride. Down south, Brighton and Leeds’ play-off
chances will be tested in a clash at the AMEX, and a bit further west there’s a
key relegation clash. Yeovil, currently six points off safety, have what you’d
think will be a must win game against Millwall, who languish just outside the
drop zone.
Brighton vs. Leeds
 |
| Oscar Garcia |
Both teams had their play-off
ambitions restored after a narrow win. Brighton saw off Doncaster late on
thanks to a goal from Leandro Ulloa, his first since Boxing Day. But they are
still frustratingly inconsistent. If you look at their last nine league games,
it reads: won three, drawn three, lost three. Four of their next five opponents
are, like themselves, just a few points off the play-offs - big games for Oscar Garcia's side. That starts with
Leeds United. The Whites ground out a 2-1 win at Yeovil, in blustery conditions
at Huish Park, and the result keeps them just five points off Reading, with a
game in hand. You might have thought Ross McCormack would struggle as the lone
striker, without target man Matt Smith playing in front of him. However, four
goals from his last two games suggests it has not been a problem, and a player
of his quality could help Leeds pick up a result down at the AMEX. 1-1.
Huddersfield vs. Nottm Forest
 |
| Adam Clayton |
Unlike the aforementioned Bolton,
Huddersfield are looking strong at home, having won half of their matches at
the John Smith’s stadium. Thanks to Adam Clayton’s late strike, they picked up
another home win against Wigan, which ended a sequence of four straight defeats. Nottingham
Forest dropped two points at Blackpool, in a match where they scored with their
only shot on target. Having been 1-0 up for most of the second half, they let
their lead drop after a lapse in concentration, when defending deep at the end.
Billy Davies’s main problem is that his side find it difficult to see wins out.
In five of their eight away draws this season, and on three occasions since the
turn of the year, they had the lead in the second half but still dropped
points. With Huddersfield’s decent attacking options, that could be a
problem. 1-1.
Sheff Wed vs. Wigan
 |
| Benik Afobe |
Wigan have games in hand, but
given they have only won twice on the road, forthcoming away trips to Brighton,
Forest, Ipswich and QPR will not give Rosler too much confidence of rebuilding
momentum. Neither will a game against Sheffield Wednesday, who stretched their
run to eleven games unbeaten in all forms with a great win at Reading. Their
position of seventeenth in the table, bears no accuracy on the threat they will
pose to their Greater Manchester visitors. Benik Afobe looks capable of
replacing Connor Wickham, albeit providing pace rather than Wickham’s type hold
up play - the Arsenal loanee scored, and won the penalty for Chris Maguire. Wednesday’s
momentum, or Wigan’s proven quality? A draw is the best bet. 1-1.
Watford vs. Birmingham
 |
| Olly Lee |
In twenty-four games this season
under Zola, Watford had four clean sheets. In eleven games under Sannino, they
have already kept five. It does not take a genius to guess what the new
manager’s priorities are. Watford looked well organized in their draw at
Leicester. Ahead for most of a match away to league leaders, inevitably they
were going to have little of the ball, yet they still reduced the Foxes to just
three shots on target. Birmingham put in a similar performance at Charlton, and
came away with a fifth away victory since mid-November. A midfield trio of Lee,
Huws and Adeyami worked hard to deny space for their opponents going forward.
Federico Macheda’s brace means he has now scored three times for Birmingham in one
hundred and twenty minutes of game time. Macheda could give Blues a much-needed
cutting edge in front of goal, but Watford have only conceded once at home
since Sannino took over, and they may keep another clean sheet. 1-0.
Yeovil vs. Millwall
 |
| Marek Stech |
Yeovil’s 2-1 defeat to Leeds on
Saturday perhaps summed up their season. They put their opponents under a lot
of pressure towards the end of the first half, missed a penalty, and ultimately
did not have the experience and leadership to hold onto the win. Goalkeeper
Marek Stech may be partly at fault for the goals, but in both cases the defence
were ball-watching, and showed no intention to block the ball or close down.
This is a vital game for the Glovers, against a Millwall side who let in three
or more goals in a game for the twelfth time this season, when they lost 3-1 at
Burnley. On the other hand, from four games against fellow bottom five teams,
they have only conceded once. That goal came actually against Yeovil at home,
on the opening day of the season. The Lions’ defence should be prepared for
this relegation clash, while midfielder Ed Upson returns to his old stomping
ground. 0-1.
Bolton vs. Burnley
 |
| Kieran Trippier |
When these teams played each
other on the opening day, you would have expected them to be in opposite
positions this season, yet Burnley are competing for promotion while Bolton are
flirting with a second relegation in three seasons. Burnley won 3-1 against
Millwall on Saturday, thanks partly to two goals from Danny Ings, but credit
must go to right-back Kieran Trippier. He picked up another two assists to earn
himself the man of the match award, and is arguably one of the most underrated
players this season. The Clarets have a tough run of fixtures coming up, with
three away trips in the next four weeks, and their only home games will be
against Forest and Derby. Bolton threw away a two goal lead at home to
Bournemouth last time out, and they have still only won twice at home this
season. 1-2.
