Premier League predictions

This week’s midweek Premier League schedule boasts four games that could have tremendous significance in both the race for the title and Champions League football.

For the first time in five months, Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City side go into a league encounter knowing not even victory is good enough to wrestle away the lead from rivals Manchester United, as his side take on Chelsea at the Etihad.

Defeat or even a draw for Tottenham at home to Stoke will incredibly leave the door open for Arsenal to take third place if Arsene Wenger’s men beat Everton away – though that’s a big if as the Toffees look to bounce back from consecutive disappointments.

The final game sees QPR face the Premier League’s best mid-table side, Liverpool. Though the Reds still hope to finish in the top four, there is a point where wishful thinking becomes completely delusory. Come on Cisse!

Last week’s score: 5 (very minor improvement)
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Barclays Premier League
Wednesday March 21, 2012

Manchester City 3-2 Chelsea (19:45)

Very interesting encounter this one, and not to mention the battle of two Robertos. Chelsea of course are rejuvenated though if you ask me, this is false. Their four consecutive victories (away at Birmingham and then home to Stoke, Napoli and Leicester) were all easily winnable games – and I suppose you would have to be honest and say Abramovic therefore changed manager at the right time.

We could very well see Carlos Tevez return to action for City and if he does, I expect a good showing from him.

All conjecture aside, he is a fantastic footballer and what’s more, a massive egotist. Offer any such player the chance to win his side the title, there’s no doubt he’ll give it a good shot.

Given a full squad for each side, this game would be decided by a simple difference: Man City are good and Chelsea are not. But with the absence of Joleon Lescott (confirmed) and Vincent Kompany (possible), Di Matteo’s side will be able to compete.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————– Tottenham 1-1 Stoke City (19:45)

Returning to the scene of Fabrice Muamba’s shocking collapse will be a new and probably horrible experience for Spurs players.

Not to mention that Spurs all-but confirmed third position in the Premier League is now seriously under attack from in-form Arsenal.

Stoke are one of the worst sides Tottenham could face at the moment because Pulis’ men will do everything they possibly can to prevent a free-flowing game – denying Redknapp’s men the ability to play with the sort of tempo that will both free up creative players and create space.

I expect quite a poor game really – a blunt attack against a steely defence. Hard-earned away point for Stoke for me.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————– Everton 2-1 Arsenal (20:00)

This is a huge game for both sides. Victory could give Arsenal third whilst defeat would be catastrophic for Everton leading up to the FA Cup quarter-final replay with Sunderland.

Bar the occasional absolute hammering, Everton vs Arsenal is often close. A case in point being that the sides could only be separated by a wonderful Robin van Persie volley earlier this season.

Everton’s Johnny Heitinga will come up against his Dutch international teammate. Last season, that would have caused me to shudder, but Heitinga is much-improved and I look forward to seeing him up his game in this one.

A draw seems likely but I just have a sneaking suspicion about Nikica Jelavic. His all-round play against Sunderland was really impressive.

All it lacked was a goal and even then, he was not far away. For Everton to win, he has give Arsenal’s defence a hard time from second one. I expect him to, and to be the Toffees’ match-winner.

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QPR 2-2 Liverpool (20:00)

I’d love to slag Liverpool off, and believe me I do, but to follow up consecutive Premier League defeats with a thrashing of your local rivals and victory in an FA Cup quarter-final is a fantastic response. Were Liverpool to add that trophy to this season’s Carling Cup success, that would constitute an excellent year regardless of league position.

QPR are looking desperate with such an horrific run-in, but if they can catch Liverpool cold, they may have a chance.

Dalglish’s men would be excused for being a bit off the pace, with QPR’s Premier League status massively at stake, and the Reds with only the  pointlessness of Europa League football to aim for.

Djibril Cisse will start against his former side and we know what that often means in football, but QPR’s defence has been sub-standard all year and with Liverpool’s new-found attacking impetus, there will be chances for either side. QPR to nick a goal early and hold on for the point.
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By Chris Smith

San Siro humiliation could save Arsenal’s season

There is no denying that Arsenal’s response to the 4-0 San Siro embarrassment has been first-rate. They swept the floor with Tottenham in similar fashion to Manchester City earlier this season, and to follow it up with the incredibly uplifting victory at Anfield is really beyond all expectations.

The Gunners now begin a vital part of their season. To all intents and purposes, the Champions League dream is dead in the water, but was it ever alive anyway? Arsenal’s folding against Milan reflects the side’s tendency to crumble under the spotlight.The bottom line is Arsenal are not brave enough to win the Champions League and if it wasn’t Milan, it would only have been Barcelona, Madrid, Munich. Perhaps if Arsenal had made it further in the competition, their probable exit from the competition would have hit them harder a-la post-Birmingham 2011.

Whether this fleeting suggestion crystallises into bold prediction remains to be seen but that wretched night in Milan may prove the saviour of Arsenal’s season. In the blistering 19 days that has flown by since, Arsenal have gone from seeming hopeless in their quest for fourth to looking good to battle Tottenham for third.

Saturday’s win over Liverpool ends the Reds’ push for Champions League football, leaving them ten points adrift of Arsenal. If the Gunners beat Newcastle in their next home game, the Magpies’ will be equally stranded, nine points behind. This month Chelsea face Manchester City and Tottenham in the same week, not to mention that they’ve just sacked their manager and have two potential sources of doom hanging over them with both Napoli and Birmingham to play.

Chelsea’s other Premier League fixtures this month are Stoke (h) and Villa (a) and of the four games mentioned, I predict they will get a minimum of two points, a maximum of seven (I predict five). Compare this to Arsenal’s next four: Newcastle (h), Everton (a), Aston Villa (h) and QPR (a) . I have them to take a minimum six points and a maximum of twelve (I predict nine). All that speculative mathematics aside for a second, the bottom line is that a successful domestic month for Arsenal, and they could give themselves a real opportunity going into both sides’ clash at the Emirates on April 21.

Which brings us to Tottenham who really do have a great run in. Chelsea are the only side in the current top eight that Redknapp’s men will face and Spurs have taken 23 points from a possible 30 against these sides this season. So they look good for third. But the evidence of uncertainty at White Hart Lane is there for all to see.

Surely, the inevitability of Redknapp’s exit will continue to effect the players negatively.  Spurs have been great this season and deserve the acclaim of finishing third, but in just one week, Arsenal have clawed back six of ten points, so it is by no means a sealed deal. To be within striking distance of a team that has been so consistently impressive is an achievement in itself given Arsenal’s disastrous start.

What is imperative is that the Gunners keep their dignity and do not allow themselves to be humiliated as has so often been the case. Exit from the Champions League is all but confirmed but the game can still be used as a positive. If Arsenal can beat Milan, they will take great momentum into a crucial set of fixtures. It is likely that Ibrahimovic will again terrorise Arsenal’s defence after a 14-minute hat-trick at the weekend against Palermo but Arsenal have to show the sort of character that has got them through the last two big games.

All too often the Gunners have been crushed as unrealistic expectations have crumbled before their eyes. If (when) Arsenal are knocked out of the Champions League, the whole club will not only be geared in the direction of finishing fourth, they will be in a great place to achieve that aim.

A good March and Arsenal could have real breathing space, something I think even the most ardent Wenger-hater would accept as positioning the club well to push on in the summer. Things have come to a head for the Frenchman this season. At times, he has looked out of touch and the end of the road really has been in sight, but for me, I feel all supporters would accept fourth place as long as that was backed up by significant transfer activity, the sort of deals that would allow Arsenal to challenge for titles once again.

By Chris Smith