Saturday, 22 December 2012

EPL PREVIEW


                                         

It was a good win for Arsenal against Reading on Monday night, they were attacking and Wenger played Walcott in a central striking position. Jack Wilshere signed a new long term contract along with other British players Ramsey, Gibbs, Chamberlain and Jenkinson.  The win will have boosted the confidence in the Arsenal squad ahead of the trip to the DW Stadium. Wigan has been inconsistent in the league and that has always been their challenge in previous seasons. The Latics have won only one in their last seven games and they are already bracing for another fight for Premier League Survival.
                                      
QPR are still unbeaten under Harry Redknapp and won their first game of the season against Fulham last week. They are off the bottom of the League and I am sure Harry will urge his players to make it two wins out of two against Newcastle. The Magpies are having a very poor season compared to their heroics of last season. Injuries to key players such as Cabaye haven’t helped their cause. Striker Papiss Cisse is yet to find his goal scoring form this term while fellow striker Demba Ba’s future is in doubt.
                                          
Man City responded positively to defeat in the Derby with a 3-1 win on Tyneside against Newcastle. Their forward players were in good form but it seems manager Roberto Mancini is yet to realize that his best striking partnership is Tevez and Aguero. The 2012 African Footballer Yaya Toure was back to his combative best.  Reading is rooted to the bottom of the table after a run of six straight defeats. The Royals lack of quality showed on Monday night as they were picked apart by Arsenal and this must be a serious worry for manager Brian McDermott.  Getting anything out this game for Reading will be really tough.
                                      
Tottenham welcome back Gareth Bale after a few weeks out through injury. AVB held a meeting this week with his defenders to sort out why the team concedes late goals. Spurs had a vital win over Swansea and are now fourth on the table. Stoke visit White Hart Lane on Saturday. The Potters are always tough opponents and concede few goals.
                                      
West Brom has taken only one point from their last four games while Norwich is one of the form sides in the League, unbeaten in 9 games, credit must go to manager Chris Hughton for turning around their poor start of the season form. Steve Clark will want his side to get back to winning ways after a poor run of results.
                                     
Liverpool was left stunned at Anfield by a rampant Aston Villa side last week. On Saturday Fulham pay a visit. Young forward Raheem Sterling has penned a long term deal with the club finally putting an end to speculation that he was leaving the club. Fulham has been struggling a bit of late and the loss to QPR tells the complete story, they will need to produce a great away match performance to outclass the Reds.
                                  
Swansea was a bit unlucky against Spurs last week. Michael Landrup’s side is one of the best ball playing side in the league and will stick to their style against league leaders Man United. Fergie’s side is six points clear at the top of the League after winning five games in a row. United are looking strong at the moment with the only downside to their game in defence. The return of Vidic should help shore up the backline.
                                   

Chelsea returns to Premier League action after the disappointment of the Club World Cup. They had a brilliant game against Leeds in the capital one cup on Wednesday. The Chelsea fans have stopped moaning about Rafa Benitez and are getting behind their team. Rafa has been rotating his squad and experimented with David Luiz in midfield in the club world cup.  Lampard is back to the squad but Captain John Terry is still out injured. Chelsea needs to have consistency if they want to challenge the Manchester clubs.  Villa have had a good run of late and had a great win at Liverpool last Saturday. They are playing well and though they don’t have much quality, the team gives their all in every game.


OTHER FIXTURES
Southampton v Sunderland, West Ham v Everton.

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