Last week Liverpool and Manchester City showed that they are prepared to keep pace with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the title race. This week features a midweek fixture list that will yet again test both Manchester City and Arsenal, while Liverpool will surely keep their pressure on the Blues and Everton will look to regain their place in the top five. Here are the previews of Tuesday and Wednesday’s matches, including a crucial match for Manchester supremacy.
Manchester United (7) v Manchester City (3)
Both United and City come into this match on the back of strong showings at the weekend. United put in a strong performance at West Ham in their 2-0 win, while City put Fulham to the sword in a 5-0 thrashing. While United look to continue to progress in form and try to gain ground in the race for a top six finish, City are coming into the match six points behind Chelsea with three matches in hand. City are sure to come out swinging even without the services of Sergio Aguero, while David Moyes must abandon his cautious ways and continue to be more assertive tactically if he is to have a go at his clubs city rivals. He will still be without Robin van Persie, so there should be no reason that the changes the attacking setup he relied on at the weekend – Rooney up front and leaving Kagawa in the XI.
Prediction: Apart from Liverpool, no on attacks more ferociously than City and given United’s overall lackluster season when it comes to their home performances, United will have to put in their best performance of their domestic campaign if they are to take anything away from this match. I am hoping for a draw, but I think City will have too much on the day. 2-1 City.
Arsenal (4) v Swansea City (15)
Speculation has been swirling about after Arsenal’s embarrassment at Stamford Bridge that Arsene Wenger may well step down at the end of the season. Whether that is fictitious or fact, the Gunners owe their manager and their home supporters a performance of the utmost quality and given that they are by no means guaranteed to finish in the top four, this is a must win for the north London club considering they play host to City at the weekend. Laurent Koscielny will be unavailable as well and he is added to the list of players who are unfit for selection. Swansea’s poor season continues, but this will be the right time to get back to winning ways and take advantage of a weakened Arsenal side. Failure to garner any results in this fixture will see the Swans gain no ground in their bid to put distance between themselves and the drop zone.
Prediction: The Gunners injury list continues to grow and it could very well be part of their downfall, but this should be a match that they can see out. The Swans are capable of catching teams on the break, but Arsenal are quite strong at the Emirates and that should be enough to see them through. 2-0 Arsenal.
Newcastle United (8) v Everton (6)
Newcastle relied on a last-gasp stoppage time effort from Papiss Demba Cisse to seal the three points last weekend, while Everton dispatched Swansea at Goodison Park 3-2 which kept their European hopes alive. If they are to continue to be in the hunt for the Europa League or even the Champions League, they will have to travel to St. James’ Park and if Everton has any weakness this season, it is certainly their away form. On the up side for the Toffees, Newcastle still remain inconsistent this season and without Loic Remy, they must rely on Cisse and that must be considered a large downgrade for the club.
Prediction: Everton average just one goal per match on their travels, which is a stark contrast from their ability at Goodison Park. Newcastle average just about the same (one goal per match) at St. James’ Park, so this match has draw written all over it. However Roberto Martinez is quite capable of pushing his men forward when they need it most, so I will go with Everton in a 1-0 win.
West Ham United (14) v Hull City (12)
West Ham have dropped in form severely as of late and will be hoping to get back on track when they host a new look Hull City lead by Nicika Jelavic and Shane Long. There is not much between the two sides by the numbers, but Hull certainly are on a bit of a high as of late and have finally found a bit of stability on the whole. Both clubs still have a decent chance to end up finishing tenth come seasons end and while that may not necessarily mean much in the grand scheme of things, both sets of supporters have enormous pride in their clubs, and a high respectable finish in the league is more than they could ask for.
Prediction: Hull on the whole struggle away from the KC Stadium, but with their reinforcements up front and West Ham struggling terribly as of late, I peg Hull to put in another good performance and buck the trend of their away struggles. 3-2 Hull.
Liverpool (2) v Sunderland (18)
Is there any club on a bigger high than Liverpool right now? Conversely, Sunderland are in the relegation zone and despite their squad being decent enough, they have just not been nearly as good as they are capable – truly, the writing is on the wall in this match. Liverpool have no major injury concerns, SAS is still firing on all cylinders and Anfield is one of the most formidable fortresses in the league. On top of all of that, Liverpool could very well end the match with two players having 20 or more goals with just 7 to go. For all their attacking prowess, Pool still struggle at the back and it remains their only weakness, but Sunderland just cannot offer much by way of threatening for 90 minutes.
Prediction: Another rampant attacking performance must be forthcoming from the leagues hottest club right now. 3-0 Liverpool, but it could easily go higher than that if they smell blood early on.