What a cracking weekend of football we all just witnessed, the bragging rights well and truly were handed back to Manchester United where they demolished a poor Liverpool team. Tottenham continued their good run of form against a strong Swansea side, Chelsea kept their perch at the top although a poor refereeing performance at Stamford Bridge perhaps gifted them the win. Arsenal answered their critics with an excellent win over Newcastle. The Southampton title challenge party seems to have eaten too many mince pies and the team is in remission to recover.
So what does game week 17 have in store, nearly halfway through the season. Well there is a tough battle between Southampton and Everton, two teams with very different starts to the season and desperately searching for stability. We see a Tyne-Wear derby which will prove to be an interesting encounter. Arsenal will travel to the ground where they had been hammered last season. They return to Anfield, hoping to destroy the memories of the past. We see Manchester United visit Aston Villa hoping to carry on their recent good form and cement their top 4 status into the New Year. So let us look ahead to what matches greet us this weekend and which ones to look out for.
Saturday 20th December:
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
Aston Villa v Manchester United
Hull v Swansea
QPR v West Brom
Southampton v Everton
Tottenham v Burnley
West Ham v Leicester
Sunday 21st December:
Newcastle v Sunderland
Liverpool v Arsenal
Monday 22nd December:
Stoke v Chelsea
So let us crack on with the highlights, only two this week to watch out for. The first is Newcastle v Sunderland, a match which is looking to be hard to predict and provide a shock result. Alan Pardew has an awful record in this match up, winning only 1 of 7 and loosing 3. Sunderland come into this match with 5 unbeaten meetings at St James' Park, and will be hoping to continue this excellent run when they visit on Sunday. With both teams having less than respectable form of late, Sunderland struggling to score goals and get the 3 points, and Newcastle losing their last 2, this will certainly prove to be a tasty encounter win which both teams will somehow have a lot extra in the tank to grind out a good result. Whether this will be Newcastle or Sunderland it is hard to tell, but one thing for certain is that this will prove to be a tasty encounter. Sunderland are without a win in 6 games, drawing 5 of them but struggling to get any better. Newcastle have won 4 of their last home games, so both teams have the states to fight for.
With their goal seeming to be cursed, Newcastle will be hoping to shut out a Sunderland team who have only scored 2 in their last 5 matches. Yet with changes in personnel in the goal, it will be hard to try and find some consistency. However these stats mean nothing due to the fact that in this occasion, Sunderland always seem to become a better team. They bring an extra spark and excitement to the occasion which Alan Pardew seems to struggle with. The Sunderland players almost seem to know how much the occasion means to the fans more and therefore want to fight for it, something not seen by the Geordies for a while. One thing is for certain though, Jack Colback will not be a man enjoying himself having moved for free across from Sunderland and will expect a lot of abuse. He will be hoping to cement a good performance early on in order to silence the boo boys. This match will provide 3 points for one team, and will definitely not be a boring draw.
The second match I have chosen is Liverpool v Arsenal, and Arsenal fans will be praying that this trip is not as embarrassing as last year. We all still remember that 5-1 hammering with even then surprise Arsenal fans calling for Wenger's head. However a year on this is an Arsenal team that certainly doesn’t go down without trying, and will be hoping to exact some much needed revenge on a very vulnerable walking wounded Liverpool side. Liverpool will come into this with false pretences feeling that their 3-1 to Bournemouth is a sign that their season is back on track. If anything, this is far from the truth and they are still the poor side which could get their back royally handed to them by an excellent Manchester United side. Liverpool's spark from last season has all but gone, with talisman Suarez realizing that Anfield would not feel the grace of any titles anytime soon, with Sterling acting burnt out, no matter how much a new haircut may change the thoughts. Sturridge is still injured, the defence is shaky and non-existent and they still rely on an old man who really should have retired last season rather than keep kidding himself that he is worth anything through scoring set pieces and lucky long range goals.
Arsenal come into this match off the back of that 4-1 drubbing against Newcastle and will be hoping to carry that on and get their spot, fourth place back for Christmas. If not, you can guarantee what will be top of their wish list for Father Christmas. Wenger has waved his magic wand over the summer and although the results have been inconsistent, you can't deny the magic that Sanchez has weaved on the team, giving them hope once again. If he brings his shooting boots he will look to the Liverpool defence and know that if he left without grabbing a hat trick it would be a disappointment. Liverpool are all over the place as a team, with they being not a good spine, and although they may try and copy Spain's use of a false number 9, the results are just not working. Brendan Rodgers has really lost the plot, with no back up plans and getting lucky results against Mickey Mouse teams giving him false hope. Their position of 11th in the league is maybe too kind on Liverpool considering just how bad they have been. Even their own faithful who are so biased against them, Carragher and Sousness are starting to feel it. This was evident through Sousness' expression when he heard Chelsea were drawn against them in the Capital One Cup. Change really has to happen in Liverpool over the January transfer window with the disease that is Mario Balotelli being shipped back off. This will allow the squad to be focused on equally rather than just one individual. One thing is for certain though, this will be an entertaining match and hopefully one Arsenal fans will remember.
Twitter: @Footyshekkeer
So what does game week 17 have in store, nearly halfway through the season. Well there is a tough battle between Southampton and Everton, two teams with very different starts to the season and desperately searching for stability. We see a Tyne-Wear derby which will prove to be an interesting encounter. Arsenal will travel to the ground where they had been hammered last season. They return to Anfield, hoping to destroy the memories of the past. We see Manchester United visit Aston Villa hoping to carry on their recent good form and cement their top 4 status into the New Year. So let us look ahead to what matches greet us this weekend and which ones to look out for.
 |
| Aston Villa going in 1-0 up at half time against Spur [Image from flickr by Ben Sutherland] |
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
Aston Villa v Manchester United
Hull v Swansea
QPR v West Brom
Southampton v Everton
Tottenham v Burnley
West Ham v Leicester
Sunday 21st December:
Newcastle v Sunderland
Liverpool v Arsenal
Monday 22nd December:
Stoke v Chelsea
So let us crack on with the highlights, only two this week to watch out for. The first is Newcastle v Sunderland, a match which is looking to be hard to predict and provide a shock result. Alan Pardew has an awful record in this match up, winning only 1 of 7 and loosing 3. Sunderland come into this match with 5 unbeaten meetings at St James' Park, and will be hoping to continue this excellent run when they visit on Sunday. With both teams having less than respectable form of late, Sunderland struggling to score goals and get the 3 points, and Newcastle losing their last 2, this will certainly prove to be a tasty encounter win which both teams will somehow have a lot extra in the tank to grind out a good result. Whether this will be Newcastle or Sunderland it is hard to tell, but one thing for certain is that this will prove to be a tasty encounter. Sunderland are without a win in 6 games, drawing 5 of them but struggling to get any better. Newcastle have won 4 of their last home games, so both teams have the states to fight for.
With their goal seeming to be cursed, Newcastle will be hoping to shut out a Sunderland team who have only scored 2 in their last 5 matches. Yet with changes in personnel in the goal, it will be hard to try and find some consistency. However these stats mean nothing due to the fact that in this occasion, Sunderland always seem to become a better team. They bring an extra spark and excitement to the occasion which Alan Pardew seems to struggle with. The Sunderland players almost seem to know how much the occasion means to the fans more and therefore want to fight for it, something not seen by the Geordies for a while. One thing is for certain though, Jack Colback will not be a man enjoying himself having moved for free across from Sunderland and will expect a lot of abuse. He will be hoping to cement a good performance early on in order to silence the boo boys. This match will provide 3 points for one team, and will definitely not be a boring draw.
The second match I have chosen is Liverpool v Arsenal, and Arsenal fans will be praying that this trip is not as embarrassing as last year. We all still remember that 5-1 hammering with even then surprise Arsenal fans calling for Wenger's head. However a year on this is an Arsenal team that certainly doesn’t go down without trying, and will be hoping to exact some much needed revenge on a very vulnerable walking wounded Liverpool side. Liverpool will come into this with false pretences feeling that their 3-1 to Bournemouth is a sign that their season is back on track. If anything, this is far from the truth and they are still the poor side which could get their back royally handed to them by an excellent Manchester United side. Liverpool's spark from last season has all but gone, with talisman Suarez realizing that Anfield would not feel the grace of any titles anytime soon, with Sterling acting burnt out, no matter how much a new haircut may change the thoughts. Sturridge is still injured, the defence is shaky and non-existent and they still rely on an old man who really should have retired last season rather than keep kidding himself that he is worth anything through scoring set pieces and lucky long range goals.
Arsenal come into this match off the back of that 4-1 drubbing against Newcastle and will be hoping to carry that on and get their spot, fourth place back for Christmas. If not, you can guarantee what will be top of their wish list for Father Christmas. Wenger has waved his magic wand over the summer and although the results have been inconsistent, you can't deny the magic that Sanchez has weaved on the team, giving them hope once again. If he brings his shooting boots he will look to the Liverpool defence and know that if he left without grabbing a hat trick it would be a disappointment. Liverpool are all over the place as a team, with they being not a good spine, and although they may try and copy Spain's use of a false number 9, the results are just not working. Brendan Rodgers has really lost the plot, with no back up plans and getting lucky results against Mickey Mouse teams giving him false hope. Their position of 11th in the league is maybe too kind on Liverpool considering just how bad they have been. Even their own faithful who are so biased against them, Carragher and Sousness are starting to feel it. This was evident through Sousness' expression when he heard Chelsea were drawn against them in the Capital One Cup. Change really has to happen in Liverpool over the January transfer window with the disease that is Mario Balotelli being shipped back off. This will allow the squad to be focused on equally rather than just one individual. One thing is for certain though, this will be an entertaining match and hopefully one Arsenal fans will remember.
Article contributed by: Beyond 90 Minutes
Twitter: @Footyshekkeer
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