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Monday 30 April 2012

Manchester City vs Manchester United Preview

When this fixture was announced at the start of the season, no-one could have predicted that it would hold this much significance going into the final straight of the Premier League campaign. United are just three points ahead of their neighbouring rivals, yet City have the superior goal difference. Whoever wins this match, assuming one team doesn't self implode, will surely be victorious in the race to be champions.

The advantage lies with City. Their home form going into this game is paramount to the rest of the Premier League. They have dropped just two points and conceded ten goals all season whilst playing at the Etihad (form similar to that of United when they won the title last season). In addition, they have averaged 2.5 goals every match at home this year, meaning the Red Devil's shaky defence is set to face a magnitude of pressure from the likes of Tevez and Aguero. The reverse fixture in October saw the red half of Manchester suffer arguably the most embarrassing result in the club's history, losing 6-1 in a confidence-crushing performance.

Mancini's men are unlikely to be under the same burden as United, who looked to be cruising to the title three games ago and now find themselves needing victory today to avert any anxieties about retaining the Premier League crown. However, they can rely on the form of Wayne Rooney to cause the Blues' defence some problems tonight. The England international has scored 13 goals this year, more than any other player in the league, and has netted consecutive braces in the last two games. No team also compares to United when it comes to playing on Monday night either. They have won each of the last eight games played on Monday, conceding no goals in the process (a record going back to the 2007/2008 season).

Team Selections:
City have a full squad to pick from, meaning that his selection will not differ much from the side that defeated Wolves 2-0 in their last game. The ever controversial Mario Balotelli is now back in contention following his three match ban, but he is unlikely to break into the side due to the form of his Argentinian striking team mates. Mancini does have a dilemma about who to choose to play in the centre of the park, with De Jong, Barry and Yaya Toure at his disposal, who have all featured in the last two games. It is probable that Richards will return immediately to the starting line up having being injured for the last few games in replacement of Zabaleta

United are still without long term absentees Vidic and Anderson, whilst Nani is an injury doubt and Evans hasn't trained all week. But Sir Alex will have to have a serious think about his selection after conceding four at home to Everton during the last game. Rafael may be dropped to the bench as the manager looks to tighten up the defence, and may switch to a 4-5-1 formation as a result. This would mean Welbeck, who played exceptionally against the Toffees, would find his place in jeopardy. Giggs, Smalling and Young would therefore look set to come in.

Probable Line Ups:
United (4-5-1): De Gea, Smalling, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Scholes, Young, Rooney
City (4-2-3-1): Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Yaya Toure, Nasri, Tevez, Silva, Aguero

BeeTeeSports Prediction:
I've maintained that City will win this game from the previous article and rarely go back on my word (although I'm starting to regret being adamant about Newcastle getting fourth place). City will not be as rampant as they were in October, but they will certainly be able to expose United's defensive lapses that were evident in previous games. My guess is 2-1 win for City.

Saturday 28 April 2012

Final Day Of The Championship!

We wouldn't call this an anti-climax exactly, but most of the major issues (Championship winners and relegated teams) were already concluded last week. In fact, there are only two significant battles taking place today: the race for the second automatic promotion spot and the fight for 6th place and more importantly, a play-off semi final position.

The Race For Second
The most important games of the day will focus on St Mary's (where Southampton entertain an already relegated Coventry side) and Upton Park, where Hull are the visitors. The Saints have the upper hand already going into the last game of the season, since a point will virtually guarantee them the automatic promotion place that they have held throughout the entire season (unless the Hammers score four goals against Hull). The surprise package of the Championship must have wondered what all the fuss was about when they lost only  once in their first 17 games and cruised to the top of the table with ease. Unfortunately, the extraordinary form of a Reading side (who were languishing in mid-table during the start of 2012) has pushed their hopes of a Premier League return into minor doubt. The pressure will be Southampton today, but they should be able to handle it.
On the other end of the scale, West Ham, a side expected to walk the Championship with their calibre of players, find themselves staring at another play-off adventure. Having been in the automatic positions for a majority of the campaign (like Southampton) and string of costly results which saw them drop ten points during five games in March mean they have a mammoth task today when they play Nick Barmby's side, who sit comfortably in 8th position. The current situation is as follows: West Ham must win and Southampton must lose. If Southampton draw however, Fat Sam's team can still go up if they beat Hull by a four goal margin. This means that playing 4-5-1 today, Sam's preferred formation, will practically be suicide. West Ham must an attacking formation from the off that saw them win 6-0 at Brighton earlier in the month. Overall, it seems incredibly unlikely that Nigel Adkins' side will slip up, but as Allardyce said in an interview prior to today's match "...stranger things have happened"

The Race For Sixth
If you thought West Ham have it hard, spare a thought for Middlesbrough. Two points behind Cardiff and with a goal difference that is inferior by ten, their prospects of a shot at Premier League football seem very distant indeed. On a slightly happier note, Tony Mowbray's travel to Watford to face a team who haven't won this month, and having just come off the back of a win against promotion candidates Southampton, their confidence will surely be fairly high in order to grab the three points which they desperately need to stand any chance at all.
Cardiff have bad memories of the play-offs from last season, where they received a 3-0 thrashing from Premier League bound Reading in front of their own fans. But they can take comfort knowing that they're unbeaten away from home since February when they travel to Crystal Palace, a team in slightly better form than Watford however. The odds are stacked in their heavily in their favour

Being a West Ham fan myself, I decided to be as optimistic as I possibly could and created this table last week. It is set to be an exciting day for football lovers nationwide... Good luck to all your teams!




Wednesday 25 April 2012

The Title Race Is On...Again!

Remember when Man City were cruising towards Premier League earlier in the season? Remember when Man United stole the lead and went eight points clear? If you do recall the former or latter, you'd be struggling to figure out how we're in the position we are in now. United lead City by just the three points after a few fatal slips and a sudden ressurgance in form by Mancini's side, in which one Carlos Tevez was the catalyst (you wouldn't have been expecting anyone to say that a few months ago). Now, the blue and red halves of Manchester certainly have an interesting few weeks on their hands, starting with a potential title decider at the Ethihad next week.

United are probably in the worse position at this point. Their confidence should have taken quite of a knock after the 4-4 thriller against Everton (in which they were 4-2 with only ten minutes left). Dropping five points in the last three games has allowed City to within touching distance on their Mancurian counterparts, and this can partially be blamed upon sub-standard defending, which was certainly evident on Sunday (there was no defender within a few miles of Fellaini when he volleyed in number three).

City on the other hand, have conceded twice in the last five games, while their goalscoring abilites have proved as impeccable as ever; the net buldging 12 times in this month alone. It seems that Mancini's tactic of saying "No... we have no chance... the title race is finished" in every post-match interview has done wonders in messing with Sir Alex's mind. With all of their attacking players in outstanding form, it seems as if the title is now destined for Eastlands. But both teams have challenging fixtures after the Manchester derby. City need to visit Newcastle (who BeeTeeSports backed to win fourth place in the last article) and United play Swansea at home, who defeated their local rivals 1-0 last month.

MAN CITY REMAINING FIXTURES
United (H) - Win
Newcastle (A) - Loss
QPR (H) - Win
PREDICTED: 86 PTS

MAN UNITED REMAINING FIXTURES
City (A) - Loss
Swansea (H) - Draw
Sunderland (A) - Win
PREDICTED: 87 PTS

Man City will completely batter the Red Devils on goal difference, but I'm agreeing with Mancini and sticking to what I said earlier in the season: Sir Alex's side will be able to win the title (and if I fail in my prediction, feel free to post as much laughter in the comment box as you want...)

Saturday 14 April 2012

The Race For 4th

With both Manchester clubs set to finish in the top two and Arsenal looking seemingly comfortable for third place, the three-way battle for the final Champions' League place is one of nerve-racking intensity. Tottenham, Chelsea and surprise package Newcastle are all in the running for fourth, with just two points separating the clubs before kick-off today (Saturday). BeeTeeSports analyses the chances of these clubs for grabbing the all important European qualification place.

Tottenham
Spurs under Harry Redknapp were challenging for the title at one stage in the season, but the North Londoners have been on a horrendous run of form, picking up just one win in the last eight Premier League games. Redknapp's side debatably have the strongest squad out of the three sides in contention (as I have mentioned in a previous article about Spurs being championship contenders, how long ago was that.?..) but there seems to be a lack of effort and drive that was evident earlier in the season. To be fair, their off-the-field problems didn't help them (I wonder how Harry's dog plans to spend his/her millions of pounds) but that shouldn't really be an excuse. They now have a run of fixtures until the end of the season with teams fighting relegation (excluding Fulham), so if they manage to find some winning consistency, then fourth place should belong to Spurs, but it could be difficult for them...

REMAINING FIXTURES:
QPR (A) - Draw
Blackburn (H) - Win
Bolton (A) - Draw
Aston Villa (H) - Win
Fulham (A) - Draw
PREDICTED: 68 PTS

Chelsea:
Like their London counterparts, a string of poor results has cost Chelsea dearly, although they now seem a rejuvenated side under the guidance of Roberto Di Matteo. One loss in the last 11 games has completely changed their destined slump to mid-table wilderness, and even better news, Fernando Torres is starting to look like him old self! (We actually mean it, unlike MOTD presenters who say "We are starting to see signs of the old Torres" whenever he makes an accurate pass). However, Chelsea's remaining games are the hardest of the three teams, and they still have an extra competition to deal with in the form of Europe, which is likely to take priority. With this in mind, it will be quite hard for the Blues to finish with a flourish

REMAINING FIXTURES:
Arsenal (A) - Loss
QPR (H) - Draw
Newcastle (H) - Draw
Liverpool (A) - Win
Blackburn (H) - Win
PREDICTED: 65 PTS

Newcastle
If you offered fifth place to a Toon fan before the season began, I'm fairly sure they would have bitten your hand off. The magnificent chemistry that the Newcastle team have with each other is something to be envied by most teams in the Premier League. Pardrew has made one of the signings of the season by bringing in Senegalese strike Papiss Cisse to St James' Park, and he has already repaid him with 10 goals in 9 appearances. With five wins on the bounce propelling them into Champions League contention, the Toon army are set to face a difficult run of fixtures. But on the plus side, they have no prior engagements to deal with (unlike Spurs and Chelsea). Acknowledging all the positives, it looks like Champions League football next season for Pardrew's side.

REMAINING FIXTURES:
Stoke (H) - Win
Wigan (A) - Win
Chelsea (A) - Draw
Man City (H) - Win
Everton  (A) - Loss
PREDICTED: 69 PTS