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Arsenal v BirminghamAston Villa v ReadingDerby v WiganMiddlesbrough v LiverpoolEverton v Manchester CityChelsea v TottenhamWest Ham v FulhamMan Utd v NewcastleSunderland v PortsmouthBolton v Blackburn
I bow to you, master!
Quote from: Borg on Jan 09, 2008, 07:18: AMArsenal v BirminghamAston Villa v ReadingDerby v WiganMiddlesbrough v LiverpoolEverton v Manchester CityChelsea v TottenhamWest Ham v FulhamMan Utd v NewcastleSunderland v PortsmouthBolton v BlackburnMy predictions:Arsenal 3 - 1 BirminghamAstonvilla 2 - 1 ReadingDerby 0 - 1 WiganM'Boro 2 - 3 LiverpoolEverton 2 - Mancity 2Chelsea 2 - 0 TottenhamWest Ham 1-0 FulhamMan Utd 3-0 NewcastleSunderland 2-1 PortsmouthBolton 3-3 Blackburn :thumbsup:
Barclays Premier League Weekend Preview: Round 22Saturday 12 JanuaryArsenal v Birmingham CityArsene Wenger’s young guns displayed a professional performance at Burnley last week, to knock the Championship side out of the FA Cup. Another midweek cup tie saw the Gunners rescue a point against North London rivals Tottenham, in an exciting Carling Cup first leg fixture. The Emirates boss will now have his eyes firmly set on the Premiership again, where Arsenal have been top for most of the season. The Gunners have shown fluency, confidence and wonderful creativity throughout the season leaving all fans astounded by their achievements. Their home record is also fantastic and despite losing some key defenders to the African Cup of Nations, Wenger should be confident his side can maintain this current form.Sixteenth placed Birmingham City travel to the Emirates, hoping to cause a real upset. Alex McLeish’s side are hovering above the relegation places, with only two points separating them from the drop zone. Their last Premiership performance against Manchester United was reasonable, the result ending in a low 1-0 win for the Premiership Champions. But defeat in the FA Cup last weekend will definitely have dampened hopes in the camp. Still, both the players and manager will know the importance of the league this season and I expect Birmingham to avoid relegation. But anything from this game will be a bonus.Arsenal unexpectedly lost to Middlesbrough a while back, but it doesn’t seem like Birmingham will cause a shock. Alex McLeish has brought some confidence back to the side but in realistic terms Birmingham are a side struggling in the bottom half of the table and should be no real competition for Arsenal.Prediction: 2-0Aston Villa v ReadingMartin O Neill’s Villa side lost late on against Manchester United in the FA Cup last weekend. They showed great stability and played some good football at times. For most of the game, they seemed capable of managing against the big teams. However, they hardly took any shots, which is quite surprising for a team consisting of striking talent such as Agbonlahor, Young and Carew. Villa will have to show more hunger and determination in the following weeks of the League, especially if they are to rise from their current seventh place. Villa are defensively sound and a well organised team so have a realistic chance of breaking into the top six.Reading have enjoyed some good Premiership form over the last couple of months, spurred on from that memorable victory over Liverpool. A recent 2-2 draw in the FA Cup against resurgent Tottenham shows that the Royals really are capable of doing well this season. They are by no means goal-shy and goalscoring hasn’t been their problem this season. It has been more a defensive problem, which is keeping Reading rooted to the bottom half of the table. They are currently seven points adrift of tenth spot so it is unlikely they will shoot into the top ten soon. But if they can stop leaking goals and continue scoring, the future looks bright for Coppell’s side.Aston Villa want to play European football next season and they are only a whisker away from sixth spot at the moment. Villa will be hungry to prove they are one of the best sides in the country and O’Neill’s side will want to bounce back from last weekend's FA cup defeat. Nevertheless, Reading also want to break into the top ten and the Royals have recently been able to get back into games with their wonderful attacking moments. The game should be exciting, but I expect Villa to stay very tight at the back.Prediction: 2-1Derby County v Wigan AthleticBottom side Derby have been very busy during the transfer window, showing their intention to stay up this season. Robbie Savage in particular will add some inspiration to the lacklustre midfield, so Derby should be a better outfit overall and could make a real fight for it until the end of the season. Paul Jewell’s arrival has seen the League’s worst side become more resilient, conceding fewer goals and putting in some wonderful performances. Though the Rams were unlucky against teams like Liverpool, they can now begin to take heart and pride from their performances. The question is, have they left it too late?Wigan are currently out of the relegation zone, albeit by four miserly goals. The Latics have had an on-off season, playing well some weeks and terribly in others. New manager Steve Bruce seems to be having a positive effect on the side and a whopping 3-0 FA Cup victory over strugglers Sunderland shows that the club are moving in the right direction. Three or four wins in the Premiership over the course of two months should see them stay out of the drop zone. But I think the club need to strengthen their squad during the current transfer window.Derby are trying to reassemble their squad and it will take time for the new lads to get used to each other. Wigan on the other hand go into the game on the back of an impressive 3-0 cup win over rivals Sunderland. I think Wigan’s confidence after that game will see them through against Derby.Prediction: 0-2Everton v Manchester CityEverton have had a bad week, having been embarrassed by Oldham in the FA Cup and losing 2-1 to Chelsea in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg. And it won’t get any easier for the Toffees. They have lost some key players in Yobo, Pienaar and Yakubu to the African Cup of Nations. The latter in particular will be a bad loss for the Merseyside club, as Yakubu has been in hot form recently. Where will the goals come from now? But Everton should be able to deal with this crisis. When the strikers were struggling for goals at the beginning of the season, the talented midfielders were able to chip in with the goals. If all goes well this weekend, Everton could end up fourth come Monday morning. But they will have to beat Man City in order to do that.High-flying City broke into the top four once again, due to Liverpool slipping up in the last league game. Sven’s men have been sensational this season, causing shocks everywhere. And they look unstoppable. The Manchester side are almost certainly setting their sights on adding to the squad which can only make them better. The whole team has been brilliant this season and it looks impossible for City to now finish below sixth.It is about time Manchester City lost a game and I think it could have happened here-if Everton had their full-strength squad available. But without Yakubu the Toffees look less of a force. On the other hand, City are fabulous going forward, with Martin Petrov shining in recent performances. Both sides have a good chance of winning, but I think the game will end in a draw.Prediction: 1-1Middlesbrough v LiverpoolWith twenty points to their name this campaign, Middlesbrough are dangerously close to the drop zone. But with Brazilian striker Alves set to join the side, things seem to look brighter for Boro. After selling Yakubu and Viduka in the summer, Boro have struggled to find goals this season. Mido hasn’t really come good but has been sidelined through injury for months, but Tuncay Sanli has recently been important for the side. With Alves, Boro would be more threatening and have that cutting edge to their side. If the Brazilian does join, Boro should be safe from relegation.Liverpool’s FA Cup draw against Luton at the weekend ensured the Reds will have to try again to beat the team they so memorably defeated 5-3 en route to winning the trophy a couple of years back. Should the Reds triumph at Anfield, they could be facing non-leaguers Havant & Waterlooville in the next round. It would be interesting who Benitez would play should that be the case! With speculation about Benitez’s future again dominating the headlines this week, it may not have been noticed the Reds have signed 23 year old centre-back Skrtel, who could make his debut against Boro. On the field, Liverpool’s last league draw against Wigan all but left them out of contention for the title and they must now concentrate on finishing in the top-four, with Man City currently possessing that last Champions League spot.Liverpool should be stronger than Boro and it is against teams like this that the Reds seem to be most comfortable. Liverpool have a very good team and I can’t really see where the problem lies in the team. However, I’m sure purchasing a world-class winger would help the Reds going forward. Apart from beating Arsenal earlier this campaign, Boro haven’t done anything special so I don’t expect a shock this time.Prediction: 0-3 West Ham United v FulhamWest Ham managed to get a replay against high-flying City, after a 0-0 draw during the FA Cup tie. The Hammers have been quite impressive this season, managing to uphold their good performances despite injuries. The side can’t be expected to finish in the top six this season due to the quality of the teams currently above them; nevertheless I wouldn’t put it beyond them. Alan Curbishley has done a good job at the club and a few transfers this January could see them go a long way.Struggling Fulham recently appointed a new manager to try and turn their fortunes around. But the board will probably also have to spend heaps of money on signings during the current transfer window if they are to patch up their below-par squad. Fulham’s second half performances this season have been incredibly terrible and if such movement continues for the rest of the season they will certainly go down. They are definitely in trouble, with low confidence and lack of results also a problem for the club. The Cottagers will have to turn things around and quickly if they are to stay up.I can see this game ending in a stalemate. West Ham have been fairly good over the season but they have also been inconsistent. Fulham will be looking to climb out of the drop zone as soon as possible and it is these games where three points would help them a lot.Prediction: 1-1Manchester United v Newcastle UnitedA defeat to West Ham in the festive period has been quickly forgotten by United, having beaten Birmingham in their last league game and then defeating Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Alex Ferguson’s side are only two points behind leaders Arsenal and cannot afford (m)any slip-ups for the rest of the season if they are to win the title for the second season running. The Red Devils definitely have the players to win the league. They have matchwinners in Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo, Nani and many others and I expect this quality to tell come the end of the season. But the game against Newcastle could be a potential banana skin for the title-contenders.Managerless Newcastle travel to Old Trafford in a state of shock after Sam Allardyce’s sudden departure. The boss simply didn’t have enough time to show his quality as a manager and in the end he paid the price for some rubbish performances. The search is now on for yet another manager. As for the players, they will know they haven’t given 100% for the club so far and they will have to pull their socks up, because a new manager will surely want to get rid of some lazy Newcastle players. The club is in turmoil at the moment, despite being in a respectable eleventh position in the league.Man Utd should take full advantage of their opponents’ problems in this game. The Red Devils are by all means the better side and should beat Newcastle. But some Magpies players may be trying to impress the future coach.Prediction: 3-0 Sunday 13 JanuarySunderland v PortsmouthRoy Keane’s Sunderland side are languishing in the relegation zone but only on goal difference. The Black Cats have spent over forty million on players this season and will add to their squad during January. However, this investment has to prove worthwhile and Sunderland will need to stay in the league. They haven’t been as bad as other teams this season and have shown some great spirit in many games, but some results have also harshly gone against them. Nevertheless, Sunderland have enough time and quality to save themselves.Eighth-placed Portsmouth could find the next month the most difficult of the campaign as they are missing several players who have gone to the African Cup of Nations. Harry Redknapp’s side have done well so far this season and aren’t far off the much coveted sixth spot but will have to maintain their form for the rest of the season to achieve this goal. It seems unlikely Portsmouth will be as threatening without some key squad members and we will have to see how they play against Sunderland to get any indication of whether player-shortage is affecting them.Portsmouth are without quite a few players so won’t have their strongest team out. Sunderland could use this to their advantage and I expect them to cause a shock here.Prediction: 2-1 Sunday 13 JanuaryBolton Wanderers v Blackburn RoversSpeculation regarding star-striker Nicolas Anelka dominated the newspaper headlines this week and this won’t be healthy for the Bolton team. Now the striker has sealed his move to Chelsea, there could be some adverse reaction to his departure as he was the side's star player throughout the first half of the campaign. Leaving aside the Anelka factor, Bolton have recently done well in the League and have climbed out of the relegation zone. But without Anelka you can’t really see them staying in the Premiership unless they make some shrewd purchases that make an immediate impact.Championship side Coventry humiliated mighty Blackburn Rovers last weekend as they were thumped 4-1 in the FA Cup tie. The result will have infuriated Mark Hughes as his side have no realistic chance of winning any silverware this season. Confidence may also be low amongst the squad after that crushing defeat. But Blackburn have recently got back on track in the league as they chase a top six spot for the remainder of the season. The loss of Robbie Savage to Derby could also be a problem, with aged midfielder Tugay and recovering Reid their only decent options in central midfield now. Rovers may look to add to the squad during January.Blackburn have been better than Bolton this season and I think Rovers should win this local derby. It will be a tight, frustrating game but I expect Blackburn to nick a win!Prediction: 1-2 Monday 14 JanuaryChelsea v Tottenham HotspurChelsea’s late win over Everton in the Carling Cup tie in midweek showed the damaging force of the Blues. Their title credentials will now be thoroughly tested over the next month as they play without some of their key African players. Avram Grant is trying to sign some new players to deputise for absentees, and has succeeded in bringing in Nicolas Anelka. But surely they will need to sign players other than him. The midfield will be severely weakened and with vital players missing through injuries, Chelsea could struggle this month.Spurs showed great determination, spirit and force in their 1-1 midweek cup draw against bitter rivals Arsenal. The team are clearly on their way up and Juande Ramos is performing miracles at White Hart Lane. The whole squad is now ‘clicking’ and I think Spurs could possibly challenge for a top six spot this season. They will need to continue their recent good form but they have the talent and quality to do it. But Dimitar Berbatov will have to stay if they are to achieve this unlikely feat.I think there could be another shock on the cards here, but Chelsea have an outstanding home record which will impede Spurs, who have been loking good recently and are returning to their best. Chelsea though have vital players missing and could struggle to find fluency in this game. I predict a draw, but Tottenham do have enough to win it.Prediction: 1-1
