its about time i light this section up
recent results
Tottenham 2 - 0 Portsmouth
Middlesbrough 1 - 0 Derby
Newcastle 2 - 0 Fulham
Reading 2 - 1 Birmingham
Aston Villa 0 - 1 Sunderland
Blackburn 3 - 1 Wigan
Bolton 0 - 0 Man City
Everton 1 - 1 West Ham
but tonight two games out shine all of these put together as the return of the SuperSunday has arived in a couples of hours Man U take on Liverpool as Chelsea play hosts to Arsenal what a cracker
Terry Compares 'Weak' Arsenal With 'Winners' Chelsea
Chelsea stopper John Terry admits that rivals Arsenal can be mesmerising at times, but he'd rather win ugly with Chelsea...
Despite Chelsea trailing second-placed Arsenal by two points in the Premiership table, skipper John Terry thinks the Gunners are weak, whilst Chelsea are more resilient.
"When it doesn't go well," Terry told the Mirror, "sometimes you need a scrappy goal, a deflection from inside the box, everybody hurling themselves at the ball.
"Ourselves and Man United, we've got that, but Arsenal don't seem to get goals like that. It's a weakness in them."
The Blues skipper doesn't see much point in Arsenal's creativity if they can't put matches to bed.
"When Arsenal really turn it on, they're exceptional," Terry admitted. "They can cut teams open.
"When [Emmanuel] Adebayor is flying and [Cesc] Fabregas is bombing on from midfield with those fantastically timed runs of his, they have got goals in them. But there have been plenty of times when they haven't been able to kill games off.
"They've created a hatful of chances and they haven't been able to produce that final punch. OK, so we don't always play pretty football.
"Well, that's because we don't have to. It's all about winning games. That's what it comes down to."
"Fans want to see nice football but more than anything they want to see you picking up points and trophies," he said. "If you lose one game, maybe they will say: 'Yeah, but we played well so I'll settle for that'.
"But you lose two or three games and that goes out of the window; suddenly, the pressure is on the players, the manager and the club.
"So we know that we can match anybody. We can pass anybody off the pitch. But there are also times when we need to go forward, hit Didier [Drogba], hit Nico [Nicolas Anelka], and pick up the second ball.
"At the Bridge, teams come and sit back and you can only do so much passing. In the end, you need to turn them around and squeeze them in their half and put the pressure on them. You do what you need to do to get the job done."
Chelsea will certainly look to “get the job done” on Sunday. They host Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal knowing that victory will propel them above their London rivals.
while in the other game
Benitez: I'll Beat Fergie's Record
As the two teams prepare to clash at Old Trafford, Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has declared he will win his first league title with Liverpool in better time than Sir Alex Ferguson did with Manchester United...
Spirits are high at Anfield and confidence is through the roof. The Reds have won seven in seven, are through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League and are one of the more likely teams to win the competition, and have daylight between themselves and local rivals Everton in the race for fourth place in the Premier League table.
This, after a season that could only be described as absolutely miserable up until midway through February. Rafa's side were languishing in the league, being surpassed by the likes of Everton and Manchester City at various times throughout the campaign. The misery was compounded following an uninspired performance that saw Chelsea eliminate them from the Carling Cup and the FA Cup humiliation we have all come to know as 'the Barnsley effect'.
A Spine
Of his side's stuttering league form since his appointment as manager — which proves to be his only genuine weakness — Benitez had a point ready to fire back at his critics, and it's one sure to get people talking in the lead-up to his side's Grand Slam Sunday derby with fierce rivals and Premier League leaders Manchester United.
"[Sir Alex] Ferguson needed seven years to win his first Premier League," he said. "We are in the fourth year and I'm disappointed because we could be closer this year, that's clear. But now we have a spine, a group of young players that we can progress with.
"We had the plan of how to play before but we didn't have the options we have now. Now I have confidence we can win the title before seven years.
"If you analyse each of our players you will see we have some good players. If you talk about enough players in the squad for winning the title compared with United, Arsenal, Chelsea, you say OK, we are closer, but how close? I don't know exactly how far away we are, but we are closer."
Understanding
The main factor in Liverpool's recent run of form has without doubt been the incredible goal-scoring form of summer signing Fernando Torres.
With club talisman Steven Gerrard playing a more advanced role behind the Spanish starlet, Benitez appears to have found an invaluable forward pairing of sorts, which the Reds have lacked for all too long.
While Dirk Kuyt being played on the wing leaves something to be desired, Ryan Babel is always improving, and Xabi Alonso's pairing with Javier Mascherano is one of the most accomplished in European football.
Finally, the Reds are getting the balance almost exactly how Benitez will have no doubt been visualising since his arrival. The former Valencia coach understandably only had good words for his dynamic duo of Torres and Gerrard, who will no doubt look to cause Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic plenty of problems early on Sunday afternoon.
"Torres has improved in the last months and his understanding with Gerrard is much better," explained Benitez.
"He needed time to settle. So he's more dangerous now. And I think Stevie is really happy playing in a more forward position and also because he has found a player he can pass the ball to without watching him.
"The understanding between the two is really good. He can pass the ball to someone and knows he will create a chance. When you know when you pass the ball and you can create something, it makes a huge difference."
An arguably equally crucial factor regarding the side's success is the consistency. Not only has Benitez found a formula that works, he is allowing the same plays to play together consistently and gain a cohesive understanding.
Benitez has of course long been criticised for his squad rotation, and with many now doing their best to point to the team's good form and simultaneous lack of rotation, Rafa is refusing to concede defeat on the issue.
As stubborn as he has been successful, the Spanish tactician insists he has only abstained from rotating due to the less congested fixture calendar, which strongly suggests it will be business as usual come August, though of course many a Liverpool fan will be hoping for decidedly better results.
"We have less games so we can keep more or less the same team," concluded Rafa.
