The 2015/2016 EPL Weekend-Round 14

Leicester went into the weekend looking to reaffirm their reputation this season as genuine contenders as they hosted Manchester United in a very unlikely top of the table clash.
Ironically James Vardy was also looking to break former United legend Ruud van Nilseterooy's record of scoring in 10 successive premier league games. It is a measure of how things have changed this season when Leicester, bottom of the premiership just a few months ago can stand up to Manchester United and be considered favorites to beat them. In deed United's line up suggested they had a special plan to stop Leicester and in Particular Vardy from scoring. United started with a 3-5-2 system, a formation Van Gaal hasn't used this season, with Mcnair, Smalling and Blind in-front of De Gea with Darmian and Young as wing-backs. United also started with 2 defensive midfielders in Schweinsteiger and Carrick in a rather defensive formation. The plan didn't take long to back fire as Leicester and Vardy capitalized on some poor defensive play from United, breaking quickly from the visitors corner kick to put their famed counter attacking play to full effect. A quick ball to Vardy from Mahrez was slotted home as Vardy set a new record of scoring in 11 successive games. United did manage to get a barely deserved equalizer just before the break.  In the second half, United were lacking in ideas and in the end a draw was a fair result. Although the table shows United are just a point behind leaders Man City, there is growing frustration among the fans that this United side is one of the most boring United sides in recent memory. It's hard to argue with these views. Van Gaal appears to have brought toughness and defensive discipline to the side at the expense of attacking play. United do not concede a lot of goals but likewise they score very few. Most fans even preferred the performance in last season's 5-3 loss to Leicester as opposed to this dour draw. This season United have been all about possession football, lots of passes(mostly at the middle of the park) and very few scoring chances if any. Even more frustrating are Van Gaal's comments at the end of matches always insisting that United were dominant and unlucky not to score. How do you score when you do not create scoring chances? No disrespect to Leicester but why would United start with 2 deep lying midfielders. Mata should have started alongside Schweinsteiger or Carrick. The back-line should have been a flat 4 with Smalling and Blind with Young and Darmian as fullbacks. Van Gaal's other fault this season is his insistence of playing Rooney in all the games despite his poor form. His decision to loan out Mark Wilson hasn't gone down well with the fans either. In most of the matches, it is bewildering why Wilson hasn't come in for Rooney even just for the last 15 minutes to try and get the goals.Rooney has been a terrific servant and legend for United but no single person should be bigger than the club. He should be rested for a few games to give others a chance. United also need to shop around for a top striker in January if they are to maintain their title hopes. It won't hurt trying to tempt Vardy or Kane in January..or both. At the moment United look to be right in the mix for a title hunt, but it is more because of faltering rivals than their own making. Things might get worse should City and Arsenal get a good run of results.

Arsenal continued their indifferent form with a draw at Norwich. The Gunners were lucky to escape with a point in the end as Norwich pushed them hard especially in the second half. As if that was not enough, Arsenal again suffered injuries with both Kosicelny and Sanchez limping off. Sanchez in particular looks a big blow to Arsenal with the crucial Champions league match against Olympiakos in Greece on the horizon. His likely replacement, Joel Campbell has had a poor season so far. The Arsenal injuries story is not something new. It looks like every season Arsenal goes through this phase when they are seemingly in a good position then the injuries set in and they start to draw and lose points and with it their title hopes. This season in particular with Chelsea struggling at the wrong end of the table, United still trying to understand Van Gaal's philosophy and Manchesater City's inconsistencies, presented Arsenal with the best opportunity to break their decade long wait for the title. The worst thing that could happen to Arsenal right now is for Ozil, to get injured. The German has been on a terrific run of form scoring and creating chances consistently. Arsenal need to toughen up mentally and hang on through this tough period and hope the injured come back to first team action as soon as possible before their title hopes all but disappear.

Chelsea battled to a dull draw against London rivals Spurs in a match whose highlight was Diego Costa tossing his bib towards Mourinho after spending the entire 90 minutes as an unused substitute.
As with the United-Leicester and Arsenal-Norwich matches, this was another show of how the fortunes of the traditional English football powerhouses have been reversed. Chelsea were more the happier with the point as Spurs dominated the match and created enough to win. For the blues, it was further evidence of improvement albeit marginal as they served up their 3rd clean sheet in a row. However from the display, it will take more than this performance if Chelsea still intend to finish in the top four. It is quite remarkable that Eden Hazard, player of the year last season is yet to score a single premier league goal this season, 14 matches on.

Manchester City were the weekend big winners as they took advantage of their rivals dropping points with a clinical 3-1 win over the Saints to return to the summit of the table. The only negative was Aguero limping off with another injury. Kevin de Bruyne had another wonderful display and there is no doubting his impact has been positive in Manchester. He is the reason we are not noticing Yaya Toure's lack of impact in matches as well as Silva's absence with injuries.City have been inconsistent at times this season but they still look the best bet to claim the EPL title. Once they get their act together and go on a winning run you feel the rest of the premiership title challengers will be reduced to challenging for the top four positions.

Liverpool got a much needed win over struggling Swansea. While Klopp's Liverpool are not dominating and running over teams, the progress has been steady and most Reds fans are satisfied with the direction the club is taking. This game against Swansea is the type that Liverpool of a few months ago would have drawn, but they have done well to put themselves in a good position to challenge for top four. One key positive has been the upturn in Emre Can's form. Often deployed in defense by Brendan Rogders the German has been a revelation in midfield for Jurgen Klopp. His performances have been crucial for Liverpool under Klopp. Tougher challenges and questions await Liverpool but for now it's all looking good for the Reds and Klopp.


Team of the week
Pantillimon Otamendi Smalling Walker Kolarov Stanislas Bolasie Ozil  Barkley De Bruyne Vardy

Player of the week
Vardy

The 2015/2016 EPL Weekend-Round 13

The EPL is so unpredictable this season, what with Leicester topping the league and defending champions Chelsea languishing in 15th place. The top scorers chart has unfamiliar names like James Vardy and Ighalo while the more established marksmen like Costa and Rooney struggle to score.

And so this weekend the excitement continued. Manchester United kicked off the weekend fixture with an away assignment at promoted Watford. This is the kind of a game that would have been a guaranteed 3 points for United a few years ago but things have since changed. United had to do without Rooney, Martial and Carrick all out wiht injuries and illness. Memphis Depay who has fallen out of favor recently was nanded a rare start and he did not disappoint scoring the games opening goal. Watford rallied to equalize late in the second half courtesy of a penalty only for Schweinsteiger to ensure United came away with all three points forcing Deeney to slide the ball into his own net. Cruel for Watford but for United there was a sense of deja vu with United famed for late goals during Fergie's era. United look in good shape but injuries continue to pile as the games come thick and fast. Valencia joined the list of injured players and the absence of Rooney and Martial highlighted United's lack of alternative forwards, a situation which might come back to bite them against stiffer opposition.

Arsenal came up against West Brom looking to continue their recent run of good form. The Gunners were dealt an early blow with an injury to the influential Coquelin and his replacement couldn't have endured a worse day, he gave the foul that led to West Brom's equalizer, scored an own goal and then went off injured in what turned out to be a frustrating day for Arsenal. The Gunners peppered the Baggies goal in the second half bad a combination of wayward finishing and dogged defending by the hosts ensured West Brom collected maximum points. The Gunners even missed a late penalty with Carzola ballooning his spot kick skywards.
Arsenal's famed injury problems look to be back with Coquelin and Arteta joining an already growing list of injured players. With City losing to Liverpool, Arsenal missed a perfect opportunity to ascend to the summit of the table and they now turn their attentions to the Champion's League where their slim hopes of progression are hanging by the thread. It will be interesting to see how Arswenal manage without Coquelin given his replacement Flamini is often unpredictable blowing hot and cold.

Manchester City against Liverpool was the weekend's big game and it did not disappoint.  Few would have predicted the result. City were thrashed and well beaten by a well organised Liverpool side.
The scoreline was shocking but what was even more surprising was the manner in which City defended. Every Liverpool attack looked like it would result in a goal. The forward duo of Firminho and Coutinho cut to shreds the City back line time and time again. Mangala has never been comfortable at City since his big money transfer and he was left chasing shadows. His partner Demichelis did not fair any better and this display further added weight to the argument that when Kompany misses from the City line up, the struggle. The only City players who left with their reputations in tact were Aguero who was returning from injury as well as Hart whose saves ensured the scoreline was kept low.
City have lost in a similar manner this season, against Spurs and they bounced back brilliantly to the top of the table. A similar response will be expected. Pellegrini will hope Kompany returns to his side sooner and he also needs to reinstate Otamendi to the starting line up as he is a better defender than Demichelis and Mangala. City also need for Silva to return to the side.

Chelsea returned to winning ways with a narrow 1 nil win over Norwich. In truth the scoreline flattered Norwich as Chelsea missed several opportunities to make the scoreline comfortable.
Eden Hazard was back to his best as he bossed the left wing with a number of intelligent runs. All round this was a much improved performance by the Blues as they showed much more desire and hunger for the 3 points. Similar displays will surely ensure they earn more points and improve their league position. They next face an on form Spurs side in a match likely to show exactly where Chelsea are.

Team of the Week
De Gea, Walker, Terry, Skrtel, Rose, Coutinho, Dembele, Kane, Firminho, Barkley, Lukaku

Player of the week
Coutinho