The EPL Weekend-Round 12

The EPL returned from a two week international break with lots of talking points.

The weekends big match was without a doubt Manchester United trip to Arsenal. Both teams were looking to build some momentum having had largely disappointing seasons. Arsenal had a poor record against United lately having only defeated United once in the last 14 games. The Gunners started the game so well and engineered wave after wave of forays into the United goal area but without making it count. In the first 25 minutes Arsenal had at least 3 good opportunities to score but the wasted their chances. United struggled to impose themselves and the inexperienced defense was looking very uneasy. Van Gaal had opted to start with 3 central defenders with Shaw and Valencia as wing backs. Blackett looked the most nervous and erratic of the 3 center halves.He had a torrid time against Chamberlain who i thought played really well and has been my best player for Arsenal recently. Arsenal however did not make United pay and after the break, United slowly grew into the game.  The first goal was always going to be key and a lot of luck and fortune swung United's way when Gibbs first knocked of Schezny before inadvertently poking the ball into his own net. That provided the games turning point since after that United were able to sit back and hit Arsenal on the counter. Welbeck had a poor game against his former employers and for me he is yet to really convince me that he was a good signing for Arsenal. If he hadn't been around, Giroud would probably have been thrust straight into action and i doubt he would have missed the couple of headers Welbeck missed in the first half. Wilshere got injured and looks set for a spell on the sidelines but crucially for Arsenal, Koscielny and Giroud are back. For United, another injury to Shaw added to their injury woes but they now need to put together a run of wins to solidify their grip on top four.

Chelsea as usual produced a disciplined performance against West Brom, it ended 2 nil but it could easily have been 7-0 had it not been for Ben Foster and some wayward finishing by Chelsea. The Blues are surely on their way to winning the title. They have the most discipline defensively and no other team understands how to defend as a unit more than Chelsea. Even Hazard who last season was criticized by Mourinho for not tracking back has been doing his own share of defensive duties. In Matic they have the leagues best defensive midfielder and with Fabregas and Costa having shaken off injuries, Chelsea only look set to stretch their lead at the top.

Liverpool once again lost, this time against Palace. The Reds are tinkering on having a crisis and Rodgers is now facing questions about the security of his job.
The Reds defense particularly appears too vulnerable whenever the opposition are attacking. Lovren in particular has been having a nightmare of a season and maybe it's time Rodgers tried out the experienced Kolo Toure. Lambert did get his first goal for the club and with Balotelli sidelined he now needs to start showing he is capabhle of leading the line.

Manchester City got back to winning ways in a tricky fixture against high flying Swansea. City had to rely on the power of Yaya Toure to see them through as they kept alive their feint hopes of catching up with leaders Chelsea. City are not the real deal so far but they will feel that as long as they don't let Chelsea get too far ahead of them, they will still have a chance. Their next match against the Saints is absolutely crucial. City are certainly not at their best at the moment but as long as they keep grinding out results, anything is possible.

Team of the week
de gea, kelly, smalling, dummet, robertson, toure, sissoko, jedinak, hazard, rooney, ings
Player of the week
danny ings

The EPL Weekend-Round 11

Another weekend of English Premiership Football bonanza.
Manchester United managed to scrape a win over Palace at Old Trafford.  If the victory was labored, the relief was almost palpable as United got their first win in four games. It is a measure of how much The Red devils have fallen that a one-nil home win over Palace would be celebrated in the manner in which it was. But then again this season has seen reduction in the gap between the 'top' teams and the supposedly 'weak' teams. Anybody can beat anybody as Arsenal, Man City and Spurs found out. United once again had a patched up central defense pairing following injuries/suspensions to Jones,Smalling, Rafael and Rojo. 
Rooney's return relegated Mata to the bench. United defensive problems have been well highlighted this season but lately i think the attack has been more of a problem. United have only conceded 2 goals in their last 3 games- 2 of those games against Man City and Chelsea. During this period, United have only scored twice. This is meagre returns for an attack force boasting the likes of Rooney,Mata,Van Persie,Di Maria, Januzaj. It is worth noting that this has coincided with Di Maria's dip in form. Prior to this period, he was the focal point of most of United's attacking play. Falcao's persistent injuries have robbed Van Gaal of options upfront and you get the feeling when he is fit, he will get plenty of time to prove he is worth his salt. Nobody doubts his abilities but the injuries will deny United the prospect of reaping maximum from his loan spell.
Januzaj's progress has been very slow and for me he shouldn’t be starting games. I would be very surprised if he started the next match against Arsenal especially if Rafael and Valencia are both fit.

At Arsenal, the perennial 'Wenger out' sentiments have started. Swansea were the latest team to expose Arsenal's defensive frailties. The Gunners are really missing Koscielny because i think without him Mertesacker is just not the same player. Monreal has been filling in at central defense and he clearly doesn't relish playing in that position. If only Jenkinson was still around as cover in the right back position then Chambers would deputise for Koscielny as he is a natural center back. As it is Arsenal have to do with Monreal. Welbeck did score a hat trick recently but he has now gone 5 matches without a goal in the EPL. Welbeck will always elicit mixed feelings because he can be exciting and disappointing at the same time. He missed a good chance against Swansea but then did very well to provide an assist for Sanchez. Alexis Sanchez is Arsenal's best player this season by a mile.The amount of goals and assists he has contributed would make every Arsenal fan cringe at the thought of him being injured. Arsenal next play Man United and that is a big game. The Gunners will be hoping they have a few of their players back from injury.

Liverpool's bad season shows no sign of improving. The Reds lost for he 5th time this season against Chelsea and you wonder where Brendan Rogers goes from here. Liverpool's problems lie in the quality of players they have. I think they are simply not good enough and those that performed last season like Henderson were performing beyond their abilities. A lot of the Liverpool players over-performed last season. Sterling at times looked like an equal to Messi and Ronaldo. There was even talk of Real Madrid being interested. This season has brought them back to the level where they actually are. Against Chelsea it was not that the players were not giving their best, they were but their best was simply not good enough. To add insult to injury, the players recruited in the summer are average at best.Their leaky defence has not helped matters and it's about time Rodgers considered dropping the suspect Lovren for Kolo Toure. Lucky for Liverpool, and United, Arsenal and City, top four is still a realistic target with only Chelsea and Saints looking consistent so far.

Manchester City have been going through a torrid run of form and this weekend was no exception. QPR exposed City's defence time and time again. In the end City were lucky to get away with a draw. With the gap between them and Chelsea growing to 8 points, Pellegrini is now under real pressure. This is despite Sergio Aguero's amazing run of form. You wonder where City would be without the Argentine's contribution this season. City have not progressed from last season and it would take a remarkable turn of events for them to catch up with Chelsea. Mangala has not impressed since his expensive acquisition and his cohort Demichelis did not fare any better. City have also been guilty of squandering a lot of chances in front of goal. They are not as clinical as they ought to be.With Silva still out injured, Dzeko joining him, Jovetic unable to show consistency, Toure and Nasri still searching for form, the gap between City and Chelsea will surely increase.

Chelsea continued their good run of form with a deserved victory over Liverpool. Quality-wise i don't think Chelsea are that way ahead of their rivals. Man for man, City and United are arguably better especially from midfield moving forward. The difference is in the confidence, organization and discipline. And that is why Mourinho is a good coach.Unlike Van Gaal, Wenger, Rodgers and Pellegrini, he has been able to have a consistent first 11. When Chelsea plays, you always know it's going to be Terry, Ivanovich, Cahill and Azpilicueta at the back, Matic, Fabregas, Oscar, Hazard, Wilian/Ramires and Costa upfront. With Arsenal, City, United and Liverpool, you are never sure who is going to start. Of course  Chelsea have been lucky to some extent with injuries but playing with the same people around you creates an understanding. Football is a game of surprises but it is hard to imagine Chelsea not winning the title this season with the kind of form and consistency they have shown.

Team of the week
Guzan, Janmaat, Collocini, Collins, Azpilicueta, Matic, Wanyama, Montero, Sigurdson, Aguero, Long

Player of the week
Sigurdson

Have a sporty week ;)

The EPL Weekend-Round 10

Arsenal easily so off the challenge of a Burnley side still struggling to get to grips with playing in the Top league in England. For about 70minutes it seemed like Burnley might hold on for a precious point but with Arsenal throwing everything at them, something had to give in the end. In Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal have a very intelligent player capable of making something out of nothing. He has so far proven his worth and it begins to seem like Arsenal might actually have got him on the cheap. Tougher tests await Arsenal but this was a good routine win, 6 points out of the last 2 games and suddenly Arsenal are looking good in the table. With their injury worries also easing, these are good times for the Gunners. Maintaining this momentum will be key.

Liverpool's problems continue to mount as the season progresses. Much of the recent talk has been aimed at Balotelli but truth be told the entire Liverpool team is under-performing. Newcastle were the latest side to inflict further agony on Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers must be feeling the pressure. And their next two matches are against Real Madrid and Chelsea . Rodgers will no doubt take some of the responsibility but the players need to look at themselves and question their commitment to the course. Even players like Sterling who started the season so well seem to have caught the infection and are now barely recognizable from the team that dominated the league just a few months ago. Going out of the Champion's League might actually do Liverpool some good. They need to start focusing on putting a serious, sustained assault on top four.

The Manchester Derby was the weekend highlight and as much as the predicted goal feast did not materialize, we were treated to an intriguing encounter. United are worse off in terms of points than they were at this stage last season. Yet the fans reaction to the managers is so different. A lot of United fans were already calling for David Moyes' head yet Louis Van Gaal despite statistically trailing Moyes seems to be enjoying majority if not the entire fan support. The reason is most fans believe the team is moving in the right direction. Yes 13 points from the first 10 games is a terrible return especially for a team of United's stature but a lot of fans believe this United side is better than last season's. United's performances against the big boys Chelsea and Man City have brought a lot of hope especially when viewed in relation to the thrashings in the corresponding fixtures last season. However the love relationship between the fans and Van Gaal would be severely  damaged if United fail to collect maximum points against Crystal Palace in their next fixture. United are experiencing an injury crisis with close to 8 first team players out. Di Maria has had two below par performances against Chelsea and Man City and  United will be hoping he quickly returns to his best.
For City, this was a crucial win especially with Chelsea edging out QPR earlier. The gap would have been too big even for City. City were better organised in defence with Demichelis replacing Mangala alongside Kompany. Pellegrini needs to play Demichelis more as Kompany's partner rather than the expensive Mangala.

Chelsea were once again efficient if not impressive. The Blues were actually pushed all the way by Rangers and were lucky in the end to come away with all three points.
But the thing with Chelsea this season is that even if they play badly they still seem to come away with the points. It takes a very brave man to bet against them winning the EPL this season.

Team of the week
Hart, Chambers, Collocini, Kompany, Clichy, Wanyama, Oscar, Toure, Downing, Sanchez, Aguero

Player of the week
Sanchez

Have a sporty week ;)