EPL: The Big Teams Faces Easy Fixtures Aside From Arsenal And Villa
Game to Watch: Arsenal vs. Aston Villa
Player to Watch: Cesc Fabregas. Will he make his comeback against the critical Villa clash?
Team to Watch: Manchester City. It has been a hectic week for the Eastlanders and it will be interesting to see how their new manager, Roberto Mancini, does.
Chelsea’s recent form in their away fixtures has been way below par, with their latest away victory coming from the Emirates against Arsenal. Playing against an in-form Birmingham side away from Stamford Bridge doesn’t help the Blues at all. Undefeated in the last nine games, Birmingham will certainly look to improve it that count to ten. However, Chelsea should certainly not surprise anyone and pick up an easy win.
Totteham has impressed everyone immensely this season with their consistency. However, Fulham is also very consistent lately, maintaining a run of going seven games undefeated. Coming off a huge win over Manchester United last weekend, Fulham will certainly be looking to cause another upset against the Spurs. Tottenham knows how important this game is though in their pursuit of a Champions League berth and will certainly look to dismantle Roy Hodgson’s team. How this game will run is questionable and interesting as it is a clash of two in-form teams.
It will be the first game that Roberto Mancini is in charge of Manchester City and fortunately for him, he gets to verse a struggling Stoke side which has managed to only pick up two points in the last four games. The biggest talk of the game will be how the players will react to the new manager. While some were unhappy over Mark Hughes dismissal, some were also happy about Mancini’s arrival. Regardless of the much turmoil at the Eastlands, the Citizens should easily get past Stoke City.
It couldn’t be worse for Rafael Benitez and his players. On a typical day or any other season, Liverpool would easily dismantle the Wolves. However, the Wolves are in-form with three wins in the last four games and Liverpool is not, as they lost to a struggling Portsmouth side last weekend. One good news may be that Albert Aquilani is back to strengthen the Reds midfield. Because Liverpool experienced another loss (their 7th already this season) last weekend, it is unlikely that the Merseyside team will come out and fail again. Despite Wolves excellent form, Liverpool should run all over them.
This is certain to be the best game of the weekend. Aston Villa are enjoying an excellent season, placing fourth coming into Boxing Day. Arsenal has the same points as the Villans, but is ranked just above because of gold difference. Aston Villa is coming to the Emirates Stadium with the best form in the entire league, with four wins out of four games. However, the Gunners are just as good with three wins and a draw in their last four league fixtures. The key to this game will most likely be the performance of Cesc Fabregas, if he does play. The skipper has been out for a couple games due to a minor injury and is currently expected to be back. The Spaniard should certainly provide that extra edge for the home side to pick up all three points.
Hull City vs Manchester United
Manchester United has been far from impressive recently, mostly because of their faltering defense. Similarly, Hull has been just as poor recently, going against Arsenal and Aston Villa. However, it has been quite different for Hull when playing at the KC Stadium, as they maintain a streak of six unbeaten games in the Stadium. Hence, the Red Devils will certainly need to step up their game after the poor match against Fulham last weekend. As long as the Manchester side is able to hit the back of the net a few times, they should cruise through the 90 minutes as although Six Alex Ferguson is currently going through a defense injury crisis, Hull’s attacking force has been less than impressive.
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