English Premier League: Pardew Reign Kicks Off
Aside from the crucial matches taking place over at the White Hart Lane and the Emirates Stadium this weekend, the most anticipated fixture is surely that of Newcastle United taking on Liverpool. This will be the first match that Alan Pardew will be taking over as Newcastle's manager, as he attempts to successfully replace the recently sacked Chris Hughton. His appointment is being viewed as a somewhat controversial one, especially given the fact that his last management job in the Premier league was nearly five years ago. It remains to be seen if he can perform better than Chris Hughton, who had guided the team to 12th place before being sacked.
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Liverpool come on the back of a hugely moral boosting 3-0 win over Aston Villa. After a difficult start to the season, it seems that Roy Hodgson's men are finally coming back to form. Liverpool were mightily impressive not only in the win over Aston Villa, but also in their previous matches as well. Newcastle United are set to receive a major fitness boost, with both Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan sufficiently recovering from their injuries. However, Steven Gerrard misses out for Liverpool, as this match comes a week early for him to take part.
Gerrard Houllier has certainly not delivered since taking over Aston Villa from Martin O'Neill, and the club is in a poor run of form that has worsened with the defeat at the hands of Gerrard Houllier's former club, Liverpool. Houllier recently received the dreaded vote of confidence from Aston Villa's Chief executive and even though he took over only recently, Houllier is in the delicate position. He will be hoping that his fortunes will improve when Aston Villa host their West Midland rivals, West Bromwich Albion. Previously, it used to be Aston Villa at the top of the table and West Brom in the bottom half of the table when these two sides met each other. However, this time around it is the exact opposite thing.
Aston Villa currently are in the 16th place, while West Brom are in the ninth position. Even though Aston Villa qualified for the Europa league place last season, they are now just two points from the relegation zone, which will be a concern for Gerard Houllier. Even though West Brom might seem safe, Roberto Di Matteo is not the sort of manager to rest on his laurels and he will be looking to inflict more misery over their rivals.
Every season, it seems to be the same case for Everton, as they start slowly and then perform incredibly well in the second half of the season to finish in a respectable position in the table. It seems to be the case of history repeating itself as they are now in a run of six games without a victory. However, it seems that Everton could not have had a better fixture than this at this moment in time. Hosting Wigan Athletic gives the perfect opportunity for Everton to secure some much needed points. This is because history points out that Everton usually come out better when these two sides meet. In the past few years, Everton have failed to pick up the maximum amount of points from this fixture only once.
Also, Wigan Athletic are extremely poor away from home. Even though Everton will be satisfied to know about this, they will have to be reminded of the fact that they have lost their last two home matches. The defeats against West Brom and Arsenal have raised doubts over their home form. However, Everton looks to be the favourite to win this match, especially given their performance against Chelsea last weekend.
This is the match that pits the wits of two former teammates, Steve Bruce and Mark Hughes. The two managers are at different ends of the spectrum, with Steve Bruce and Sunderland flying high in the table in seventh position and Mark Hughes and the Fulham side struggling just above the relegation zone. Only goal differential is preventing Fulham from slipping into the relegation zone and Mark Hughes will be shrewd enough to know that he cannot expect any gifts from his former teammate. Fulham would have expected more from Hughes when they appointed him at the start of this season.
However, too many draws have meant that Fulham are left desperately struggling for points. Sunderland seems to have turned the corner, with the impressive win over Chelsea being the highlight of their season. The recent 3-2 defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers seems to have occurred after they just seemed to rest on their laurels. Bruce will be hoping for the same kind of performance they put on at Stamford Bridge. Their home form is really good and Steve Bruce will be looking to get some points on the board from away matches too.
Stoke City's season has been fairly up-and-down. They go on a very bad run of form that culminates with a fantastic run of form that would see them go unbeaten for a number of games. Currently, they seem to be in a strong position, as they have gone unbeaten in their last five games. Tony Pulis will be hoping to maintain that against Blackpool. Ian Holloway has done extremely well to get Blackpool to the position they are in after they were branded by most bookmakers to be the favourites for relegation.
However, like Hull City a few seasons ago, they are doing rather well and are currently in the 12th position in the Premier league table. Even though this might seem safe, one look at the table reveals that they are just four points above the relegation zone and Holloway will be taking no chances. While a number of key players are currently injured for Blackpool, they at least do not have any new injuries to worry about. Stoke will be welcoming Jermaine Pennant and Andy Wilkinson back from injuries. Winter is probably the worst time to visit the Britannia Stadium and Pulis will be hoping to take advantage of that.
West Ham United's season seemed to be back on track after they won consecutive matches against Wigan Athletic and Manchester United. However, following the defeat against Sunderland, they are back at the bottom of the table. West Ham United’s season started with much expectation, mainly from their owners David Gold and David Sullivan. However, Avram Grant has failed to deliver when it has mattered and even though the club consistently says that he will not be sacked, it will be difficult to see Grant staying on if West Ham United remain rock bottom by Christmas. Manchester City, on the other hand, seem to have a more stable situation, with Roberto Mancini’s team proving hard to beat even though they do not score enough goals.
Mancini has guided Manchester City to just three points from the top of the table, and with Chelsea and Arsenal both facing tricky trips this weekend, he will be hoping to make the most out of it. However, Mancini will have to do that without the services of Carlos Tevez, who is suspended after picking up a yellow card in last week’s match against Bolton. Aleksandar Kolarov is also suspended for the game after picking up a red card in the same match.
Xavier @ mysportshub.co.uk
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