The 2017/2018 EPL Weekend-Round 3

Manchester United continued their good start to the season with a hard fought 2 nil win at home to Leicester. That’s now 3 wins, 10 goals scored and none conceded. United were once again impressive in a game they would have drawn last season. Leicester defended resolutely and at some point it was beginning to look like it might be one of those days for United. Credit to Mourinho though because he made the correct changes in the 2^nd half and both his subs scored. Mourinho was quick to point out in his post match interview that last season United won their first 3 as well so nothing to celebrate yet. Deep down though he must feel more confident especially due to the manner of this season’s wins. United are more confident, more direct, passing it around well and looking much better. Mourinho decided to start with Martial in place of Rashford. I like Martial because he is very direct, rarely loses possession and has an eye for goal. I however think for now United are better off starting with Rashford and having Martial come on in the second half. Martial is an excellent impact sub. Pogba has been playing a lot better this season mainly because of Nemanja Matic. The calmness and protection provided by Matic has freed Pogba to push upfront and dominate the midfield. I expect him to provide more assists than last season and score at least 10 goals in the league. Mkhitaryan is another player who is playing well evidenced by his 5 assists in the first 3 games. The excellent form of these players has meant some players who would be expected to play have missed out on game time. Herrera for instance is yet to feature this season. There’s also a lot of push for playing time in defence with the likes of Smalling, Lindelof, Rojo and Shaw yet to feature. All this competition for places is good though and Mourinho must be satisfied with his squad. Having re-signed Ibrahimovic, I don’t expect further transfer activity for United.

Chelsea easily dispatched of Everton with an easy 2 nil win in a potentially tricky fixture. Alvaro Moratta and Cesc Fabregas were both on target as the Champions further provided proof that their opening day loss to Burnley was a minor blip. Antonio Conte has made no secret about his desire to strengthen the squad even with the signings of Bakayoko, Moratta and Rudiger. With the anticipated departure of Costa, Conte is looking to get an additional striker, with the defence also in need of reinforcements. Ngolo Kante is the main holding midfielder for the Blues and alongside him it’s either Fabregas or Bakayoko with Matic’s departure. Last season Fabregas and Matic shared that role with each starting depending on the opposition, Matic preferred in games where Conte felt he needed more steel and power in the midfield while Fabregas featured in games Conte wanted a more attacking approach. I feel Fabregas provides a bit more. Conte’s concern has always been that Fabregas doesn’t defend well when the Blues don’t have the ball. His attacking qualities though are world class. I feel this season despite Bakayoko’s arrival, we might see more of Fabregas and Kante than Bakayoko and Kante. Eden Hazard is soon returning to the squad so you feel Chelsea will be kicking on as the season progresses.

Manchester City were lucky to get a 97^th minute winner against Bournemouth in a very eventful match. Sterling was once again the hero coming on a second half sub to stab home the winner. City on paper look to have a very good squad, probably the best in the league, but they are still to gel and find the right chemistry. Guardiola is still not sure of his starting 11. They have a lot of attacking talent and to think that they are still chasing Alexis Sanchez and Kylian Mbappe makes for a scary attacking prospect. If and when Pep gets the right chemistry and mix, City will be deadly.

The weekend’s big match was Arsenal away to Liverpool and it didn’t disappoint, unless you are an Arsenal fan. This is the worst time to be an Arsenal fan. The Gunners put up a really horrible display at Anfield, it was difficult trying to remember the last time they were this bad. They were poor all over the pitch with the exception of Cech who must have been wondering what he was doing in the field. Arsenal wouldn’t have had a worse week. Reduced to watching Europe’s big boys drawn in the champion’s league groups, the Gunners then had to endure the humiliation of being lined up alongside Europe’s second class clubs in the Europa League group draws. For Arsenal to concede four and still have Cech as their best player on the pitch just shows the extent of Liverpool’s dominance. The Reds were all over Arsenal and would even have scored more had it not been for a couple of good saves by Cech. As much as Wenger’s selection of his squad was questionable, the performance by the players was even more disappointing. None of the 10 outfield players can look up and feel proud of their contributions. Wenger decided to start with a back 3 with the Ox and Bellerin as wing backs, a system that has never worked for him. For some strange reason, he also decided to start Bellerin, their first choice right back, on the left wing. He also decided to use the inexperienced Rob Holding in place of established defenders like Mustafi against Liverpool’s attacking trio of Mane, Firminho and Salah. Wenger also decided to start with his record signing and first choice striker Lacazette on the bench. Arsene Wenger still believes he can improve Arsenal but even his staunchest supporters are now doubting him. Arsenal are on a downward trajectory. Having failed to qualify for the Champion’s League this season, a lot of transfer activity was expected. Instead all the news is about Arsenal players wanting to leave the club instead of the other way. Sanchez, Chamberlain, Mustafi, Gibbs are all being linked with moves away from the club. And you wouldn't really blame them. No replacements are forthcoming though. With clubs around them strengthening, it’s hard to see Arsenal competing at all. Arsenal’s minimum target this season should be top four. On current evidence they are nowhere near that. It’s going to take an unprecedented transfer deadline day activity for the Gunners to bring the right personnel in to have a squad good enough  to challenge for any honours this season.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Peter Schmeichel

Nicolas Otamendi

Phil Jones

Cesar Azpilicueta

Bernard Mendy

Cesc Fabregas

Matt Ritchie

Paul Pogba

Mohamed Salah

Saido Mane

Raheem Sterling

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Mohammed Salah

The 2017/2018 EPL Weekend-Round 2

Manchester United continued their impressive start to the season with another 4-0 win at Swansea. Unlike last week's 4-0 rout of West Ham, they had to wait until the 82nd minute to secure the win as Swansea capitulated and let in 3 goals in a 4 minute spell. For long periods of the game Swansea defended stoically but eventually they gave in as United once again showed some ruthlessness in front of goal that was lacking last season.
Mourinho once again started with the same starting 11 meaning a 4-1-4-1 formation with Matic once again sitting in front of the defence with Pogba and Mkhitaryan dictating play ahead of him and Mata and Rashford providing support to Lukaku from the wings.
Tougher opposition await but this is a very good beginning to the season for United. Another ominous sign for United's rivals is the strength of the bench. With the likes of Herrera, Carrick, Fellaini, Darmian, Smalling, Lindelof, Lingard and Martial on the bench, United do look strong.
Lukaku has slotted into his role with so much ease and it's beginning to look like it was money well spent by United. His sense of awareness, power, speed and eye for goal have been evident so far in the 3 competitive games he has played for United so far. And with service coming from the likes of Mata, Rashford, Pogba and Mkhitaryan, Lukaku looks set to get past if not close to 30 league goals.

Arsenal's past ghosts at Stoke returned to haunt them in the 1 nil defeat. Arsenal had scraped through their first fixture against Leicester last weekend and their luck ran out. Arsene Wenger clearly still has a lot to do if he is to lead this Arsenal side back to the top four and even title contenders. The situation with Sanchez is not helping and the Gunners clearly miss his influence. Arsenal were wasteful in front of goal and when eventually Lacazette did find the net, the linesman's flag cut short his celebrations with a marginal offside decision. Arsene Wenger was left ruing the referee decisions but ultimately the problem lies with his squad. A lot of Arsenal fans were hoping that the squad will undergo a major strengthening this summer but so far only Kolasinic and Lacazette have arrived. It's a bit strange that Arsenal let Gabriel go when defence is one of the areas where they have been short. That Monreal has been playing as a center back so far is further that defence needs strengthening. It was therefore a big surprise that when asked about further signings, Wenger responded that in fact Arsenal need to sell more players as their squad was bloated. With no champion's league football this season, Wenger will need to ensure his side avoid slipping further behind this early as qualifying for the champions league will be the minimum requirement this season.

Chelsea looked almost like the side that won the league title last season with a smash and grab victory over Spurs at Wembley. With injuries and suspensions limiting the number of players available for Chelsea, Conte put out a defensive line up meant to contain Spurs and hit them on the counter. Chelsea employed similar tactics last season on a number of occasions with  lot of success. David Luiz was deployed in midfield meaning the Blues essentially had 3 defensive midfielders in Luiz, Bakayoko and Kante. The tactic worked as Spurs for all their possession were limited in the number of chances they carved out. Tottenham's creative engine Christian Erikssen was smothered and even the dangerous Delle Alli was hounded every time he got close to the ball. In Alonso, Chelsea have a consistent performer and it wasn't really a surprise when he delivered an unstoppable freekick to give Chelsea the lead. His second goal left the usually reliable Lloris embarrassed as he let the ball goal go through his legs.
Moratta for me still does not fit into Chelsea's counter attacking system. I would be looking to sign another striker to complement him. He is a different type of player to Costa. The system Chelsea play when playing against tougher opposition is one where they used to leave Costa as a lone striker and because of his strength and ball-holding qualities, he would retain possession and hold up play giving the likes of Hazard and Pedro time to join the attack. Moratta is more direct and used to playing in triangles of passes with players around him. That might not be the case at Chelsea and so he has a lot of adjusting to make.

Liverpool managed a hard earned win over Crystal Palace with Mane once again the key man. It might have been a long day for the Reds had their former striker Benteke brought his scoring boots as he spurned the Eagles best chance. Liverpool for me still look short up front. Yes they do have Firminho, Origi, Sturridge, Mane and Salah. But for me only Origi and Sturridge are really number 9s. The former is however inconsistent and Sturridge on his part always has the danger of injuries lurking. Liverpool need for Coutinho to stay because he is really the creative engine for the team not to mention his goals as well as set piece distribution. It however remains to be season if their resolve will be broken with Barcelona offering what is quite a crazy sum for his services. Liverpool of course could sell him and use the money to rebuild the team. It is no secret they need a goalkeeper as Mignolet can prove unreliable. In Robertson, they seem to have unearthed another wonderful fullback as the youngster has been peerless in his performances so far.  Liverpool's realistic target this season is a good run in the champions league as well as another top 4 position. A domestic cup triumph would bring back smiles at Anfield. They need to make a few signings before end of August if they are to achieve that.

Manchester City scraped a point in their highly charged fixture with Everton. Guardiola will be reasonably pleased by his team's fighting spirit having been a goal down and a man down by half time. City have outspent the rest of their rivals so far this summer and most of the new signings are still finding their feet. They will need to catch up fast. New keeper Ederson who has been brought in as number one choice was culpable for the goal scored by Rooney as the shot was straight at him. Danillo and Bernado Silva put in ok shifts but much is still expected of them.Jesus and Aguero started together for City but none really impressed. Most pundits have City as their favorites but on this evidence they still have much to do if they are to avoid  repeat of last season.



TEAM OF THE WEEK - Butland Alonso Baily Maguire Valencia Mooy Pogba Mkhitaryan Wilian Jese Mane
PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Alonso

2017/2018 SUMMER TRANSFERS

So after the season we just had, what are the potential transfers this summer? Which areas do clubs need to strengthen in? Which players will be dropped?
The transfer period has been abuzz with possible deals and plenty of gossip. There have been transfers already but there's a feeling the real big ones are yet to be seen. We are still watching the curtain raisers in preparation for the main event.
As teams prepare to begin pre-season next week, the transfer period activity is set to go up a notch.
Champion's Chelsea look set to wrap up the reported £35m signing of Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko. The Blues have already completed the signing of former Man City keeper Willy Caballero on a free transfer to fill the gap left by Asmir Begovic. Antonio Conte is keen on strengthening his squad in preparation for the defense of their EPL title as well as next season's Champion's League.
As well as bringing in reinforcements, Conte will be desperate to hold onto his big names, some of whom have been linked with other clubs. The most likely departure looks to be Diego Costa with Atletico Madrid looking the most likely destination. Antoine Griezman's decision to stay with Atletico might have however put some doubt on Costa's departure. Should he leave, it would leave a big hole for Chelsea to fill. Despite being a firebrand with aggresive personality, there is no doubting his ability in front of goal evidenced by his 52 goals in 89 appearances for the Blues. But while the Blues seem prepared to lose Costa, they will be desperate to hold on to Eden Hazard. Real Madrid have been longtime admirers of the Blues winger and it remains to be seen what would happen if they made a solid bid for him. It would take a huge bid to prise Hazard from the Blues and Real Madrid are one of the few clubs who would afford it. Nemanja Matic is also linked with a move away from Chelsea with Mourinho looking to link up with his former player at United. Would Chelsea sell a key player to a direct Premiership rival? 
Chelsea will also be looking to fill the gap left by legendary Captain John Terry who looks set to join Aston Villa after being released. It does look like majority of transfer activity for Chelsea will depend on whether they keep hold of their key players. If they manage to hold on to them then there might not be a lot of activity. However should any of the key players depart, it would potentially set off a series of transfer activity. Departures of Hazard or Costa would even see Chelsea put up a strong bid for Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez.

Manchester City have been relatively active in the transfer market so far. Bernado Silva has been signed from Monaco for £43m, while Goalkeeper Ederson has arrived from Monaco for a world record Goalkeeper's fee of £35m. That has led to the departure of Willy Caballero for Chelsea as Ederson and Claudio Bravo battle for the keeper position. That also puts to rest any remote chance of Joe Hart returning to the club. Pablo Zabaleta has left and it does look like he will be followed out by a few other defensive players like Sagna. 
Bernado Silva's arrival could also lead to the departure of Nolito.
City have continued to be linked to Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez.That has been one of the summer's big transfer rumours and  it's an interesting one to keep an eye on. City though do have a good attacking squad as it is. In attack they probably have one of the best squads in Europe. Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan will both feel like new signings after playing only a handful of games last season. 
In defense though, Guardiola will still have a lot of work to do. Kompany's waning influence mainly because of injuries, John Stones inconsistencies, and the aging Kolarov, Clichy and Sagna means Guardiola will have a lot of rebuilding to do. That is their soft underbelly.

Liverpool have signed Mohamed Salah for £34m but they will need more if they are to again at least compete for the EPL as well as do well in the Champion's League.
They will need at least a big defender to replace the out of favor Mamadou Sakho, cover for Milner and Clyne at the fullback positions, a holding midfielder and another Striker. What Klopp can be assured of is that he will get the financial backing to strengthen the squad. 
Another area Liverpool might look to strengthen is the Goalkeeping position with Karius and Mignolet not yet looking like holding down the position. It's still a puzzle why Liverpool didn't move in for Hart last season. There are some good goalkeepers around and Liverpool should make a move for the likes of Donnaruma and Rui Patricio.

Tottenham will be hoping to go one better in the EPL having been close the last 2 seasons. They will also be looking to do much better in the Champion's League and avoid another early exit like last season. They will need to add to the depth of their squad in order to challenge in both fronts. Spurs have a good squad and what Pochettino has been able to do is to motivate his players while getting his team selections spot on. Spurs have also benefited from the good forms of their key players among them Harry Kane, Delle Ali, Eriksen, Wanyama, and Dier. Whether they can do it again remains to be seen. There has always been doubt that should Spurs suffer injuries to their key men they would struggle but last season they managed well with long term injuries to Rose and Walker as well as Kane. One downside for Spurs last season was the form of their striker Vincent Janssen who returned 2 goals in 27 appearances. The only reason his poor form wasn't highlighted much was because other players notably Son and Alli stepped up and provided the goals when Kane was missing. He will need a big season.

Manchester United have reinforced their defence with Victor Lindelof joining from Benfica. That might spell the end of either Jones or Smalling. Mourinho will be looking to form a solid central defence partnership between Lindelof and Bailly. Luke Shaw will be looking to reclaim his left back position for both United and England ahead of next year's world cup. He is facing a key season. Valencia looks to have secured the right back position and with Rojo, Blind, Darmian, Smalling, Jones, Tuanzebe and Mensah, United have good defensive cover. One player that might move on is Ashley Young who has been a good servant over the years.
In midfield Mourinho is looking to add a defensive midfield partner for Herrera to eventually replace Carrick. United have been linked with Nemanja Matic and Monaco's Fabinho who is also wanted by PSG. Fabinho would be an excellent prospect considering he can cover in defense as well.
Upfront United desperately need to sign a striker to replace Ibrahimovic as well as Rooney who might have played his last match at United. Griezman looked the most likely to come to Old Trafford until his decision to stay at Atletico. United continue to be linked with Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku although the asking price for the former by Real Madrid might prevent any move. 

Arsenal are having difficulties attracting quality talent with no Champion's League football on offer next season. Kylie Mbappe at some point looked to be heading to the Emirates but at the moment Real Madrid and PSG look the most likely destinations. With Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil stalling in signing their new contracts and with City and Chelsea hovering over Sanchez, it is not a good summer for the Gunners so far. However, there has been positive movement in their pursuit of Lyon's Lacazette and should they wrap up the signing, it will be a massive confidence booster at the Emirates.

It is bound to get even more interesting in the transfer market for the next few weeks.

The 2015/2016 EPL Weekend-Round 29

Manchester United surrendered their winning run with another lackluster display against West Brom at the Hawthorns. United weren't helped by Juan Mata's early sending off although to be honest there is no guarantee they would have won even with 11 on the field. There was misplaced optimism as a result of United's 4 match winning streak. FC Midtjalland and Shrewsbury were too weak an opposition to warrant any mention. The Arsenal match was a crazy game of football and United were lucky things went their way, Watford on the other hand were very unlucky to lose against United having created the better chances. So in truth, United had been playing poorly for some time now. They just hadn't been found out. United's loss coincided with a few of the senior players returning from injury. Darmian isn't half the player who arrived at Old Trafford in August. He had 2 or 3 good games then but has been on a downward trend ever since. He reminds one of Di Maria's struggles last season. Varela should probably be playing in that position until Valencia is fully fit to return. Varela alongside Rashford, Lingard, Mensah and Love have been among United's better performers in the last few weeks. Rojo at left back also doesn't seem to work. It's hard to recall a worthwhile cross from either Rojo or Darmian in the West Ham game. Smalling was probably the best United defender in the match with his calmness and timed clearances. It would have been interesting to see him start alongside Mensah with Varela on the right fullback position. I have always thought Blind should be a left back, he is too error prone to be a center half, the position LVG likes playing him. Michael Carrick has been a useful and faithful servant for Manchester United for years but it appears it's time for him to move on. He  is too slow and has been getting slower in his tracking back and tackling. He did not help Herrera much. Lingard. Rashford and Martial form a good attacking trio and should be started together more often.
United don't look like making top four especially after this loss. It would take a miracle for them to do so as things stand.

Arsenal got a hard fought draw against Tottenham. Arsene Wenger's approach appeared to suggest Arsenal were more worried of not losing to Spurs than winning. With Coquelin's dismissal, it took tremendous spirit and belief for Arsenal to come back and earn the draw. They would even have won it as Spurs spurned a chance to put clear daylight between them and Arsenal. The big winners were Leicester of course but at least Arsenal didn't fold as many had predicted. Gabriel has been shaky the last few games and he was once again the weak link in defense. Arsene Wenger gambled by starting with Campbell and Welbeck in place of Walcot and Giroud and he was vindicated as Campbell scored the opener while Welbeck put in a good shift too. In deed the gunners fans reacted to Campbell's substitution with a chorus of boos. Mesut Ozil had another anonymous performance as has been the trend lately. Arsenal need for him to raise his game as big games keep coming up.

Liverpool were extremely lucky to get all 3 points against Palace with ten men. Benteke clearly took a dive to win a last gasp penalty and Klopp will have been relieved with the win going into their Europa clash with Man United. Liverpool have been trying to rotate their strikers but none seems to come up with the goods. Benteke doesn't look like a 30M pound striker while Origi doesn't score enough goals. Sturridge spends more time on the treatment table than on the field. Liverpool's bright spot since the turn of the year has been Firminho who has been active either scoring or assisting. The Reds are making a late surge for Europe and it remains to be seen how high up the table they will finish.

Manchester City demolished bottom side Aston Villa in an easy win. City looked best placed to finish in 3rd or 4th place having seemingly given up any hope of winning the title. It does look like there will be changes in personnel when Guardiola takes over and some of the players seem to have switched off already.

Chelsea were held to a draw against Stoke as Hiddink's unbeaten run in the league continued. The Blues probably had one eye on their huge champions league return match against PSG but there's no denying Hiddink has steadied the ship. Chelsea won't qualify for Europe via their league position and their best hope is to win the Champion's league.

Team of the week

Ospina
Bellerin
Morgan
Daniels
Lovren
Silva
Antonio
Payet
Mahrez
Kane
King

Player of the week

Mahrez

The 2015/2016 EPL Weekend-Round 16

Manchester United had a week to forget. The week started with a disappointing draw against high flying Leicester, that was followed up with what was arguably their lowest point of the season when they were dumped out of the Champion's League away to Wolfsburg. Just when things couldn't get any worse United lost to Bournemouth leading to increased pressure on Van Gaal and his players. That teams like Leicester and Bournemouth no longer fear United is a worrying trend for the United faithful. The ease with which they were exposed is even more disturbing considering this is supposed to be the best defense in the league. Although Van Gaal has had to contend with a number of injuries to his squad, you would still expect them to get a result against the so called lesser teams. Van Gaal did not help his case either choosing not to play the experienced Young for reasons best know to him instead choosing to select the inexperienced back line featuring Varela, McNair and Borthwick. Maybe he underestimated Bournemouth but he should have been told the Cherries were fresh from beating defending Champions Chelsea in their previous match. United's display was lethargic and lacking in any pace especially in the second half.  United desperately need their first team players to come back from injury to stop the slide. It's now 5 games without a win with only a handful of goals scored. The dropped levels of performance even seem to be getting to the likes of Martial who had a poor game by his standards. The injury crisis has exposed a lack of depth in this squad and it is still a mystery how Van Gaal did not choose to buy an extra striker in the summer having let a number leave the club. Despite the indignity of having to play in the less fancied Europa cup, United need to start making things happen fast otherwise the gap between them and Arsenal and Manchester City(and Maybe Leicester) will only widen.

Arsenal continued their good run of form with a deserved win over Aston Villa who look set to be relegated. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal's player of the season so far continued his amazing record of providing assists as Giroud once again provided the goals for Arsene Wenger's side. The Gunners had a recent injury crisis of some sort but they look to have ridden the storm and are now in a good position going into the busy holiday schedule. Their morale has also been boosted by their impressive win against Olympiacos which saw them advance to the knock out stage once again having looked dead and buried early on in the group stage. With key players such as Chamberlain and Sanchez returning from injury, these are good times for Arsenal and they need to back it up with a colossal performance against fellow title favorites Manchester City in their next match.

Manchester City were perhaps a tad lucky against Swansea with a Yaya Toure winner in injury time. The Citizens have been inconsistent this season and have only remained in the title hunt due to poor form among their title rivals. City rely a lot on their talisman captain Kompany and they always seem to struggle when he is not playing. Injuries to their other key players, Aguero and Silva have not helped matters and the feeling is that if they can get their key men fit playing, the rest of their rivals would offer little resistance. They next face Arsenal in a key game that might have huge ramifications in deciding the destiny of the title this season.

Chelsea's bad form shows no signs of slowing down as they succumbed to another defeat this time to Leicester. Jose Mourinho this time must fear for his job as the Blues sit only a point above the relegation places after 16 games. The performance was woeful and Leicester were fully deserving of the three points. What is more worrying for the Blues is the manner of their play. None of the players look interested and it's so easy for teams to play against them. The games they have lost have not been due to bad luck but rather their poor play. It leads one to think that Mourinho might have a point when he says some of the players are 'betraying' him. It borders on sabotage. Mourinho has done everything to try and stem the tide of bad results. He has dropped players, criticized them, praised them, talked tough, changed the system but nothing seems to work. Chelsea next face Sunderland in what has now become a key relegation fight and a defeat for them might just be the final straw for Abramovic.

Liverpool inconsistent season continued with another lucky draw against West Brom. Klopp has steadied the ship somewhat but looking at The Reds first 8 games of the season when they were under Rodgers and the next 8 games when they have been under Klopp, there isn't any difference in terms of results. If Klopp is to turn this Liverpool side into a top four team and eventually a title contender then a few things are clear. The size of the task is enormous. Liverpool need to go into the market and acquire genuine quality players all over the pitch. The forward position for instance, there is Sturridge, Benteke, Ings, Origi and Firminho who is not really a number 9. Sturridge when fit has the potential to fit into any top side - but his fitness and injury issues look like they will never end. The other four would struggle to get into any topside. Liverpool have so many average players and that's where the problem lies. From the January window on wards Klopp and Liverpool need to slowly and systematically replace it's squad with quality so as to build a team that can challenge. This current squad is good enough for Europa league places.

Team of the week
Hart, Shawcross. Olsson, Nyom, Baines, Wijnaldum, King, Ramzey, Ozil, Giroud, Vardy

Player of the week
Olsson

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