EURO 2012 Final Group Matches Preview

Two games down and one to go for the teams in Euro 2012. The current standings in each of the groups are as follows:

Group A

Russia, the pre-tournament favourites to finish as group winners, are living up to their billing. They should easily see off Greece in their final group match to seal top spot. Who follows Russia through to the quarterfinals will come down to the other final group match between the Czech Republic and co-hosts Poland. As per the pre-tournament preview, Poland seal that second spot with a comfortable win over the Czechs.

Group B

The Netherlands, my pre-tournament pick as the Euro 2012 winners, are in a lot of strife as the “Group of Death” lives up to its name! They have simply been impotent upfront and farcical in defence. Given the results in this group so far, any team is still mathematically in with a chance of qualifying! Although Germany top the group with 2 wins out of 2, should they lose to Denmark and Portugal defeats the Netherlands, the Germans could face elimination depending on the resulting goal differences!

For the Netherlands, the equation is simple. They need to beat Portugal by a 2-goal margin and rely on their neighbours Germany beating Denmark. Although the Germans only need a draw to qualify, they will not go out to play for a draw and should see off the Danes. Germany have been solid and it just goes to show that friendlies are not a true indicator of form as teams tinker with personnel and tactics.

So will the Netherlands finish second behind the Germans? It will be a hard ask given their poor performances so far. Expect a scoring draw for this one with Cristiano Ronaldo to break his tournament duck and that should be enough to see the Portuguese into the quarterfinals.

Group C

As expected, Spain are top of the group, and after seeing off Croatia in a tight final group match, will finish as group winners. Italy will finish second by putting a couple past Ireland’s shocking defence which is as leaky as a sieve, surprisingly so given that they only conceded 7 goals in 10 games during the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Even Fernando Torres, the £50m striker who could hardly hit the side of a barn for most of the season, put 2 goals past them! The Irish have nothing left to play for except salvaging some pride.

Group D

France should top this group with a win against Sweden who, like Ireland, have nothing left to play for except pride. England and co-hosts Ukraine will battle it out for the second spot with the Ukrainians needing a win to make it through to the quarter-finals. The Ukrainians, led by their star striker and captain Andriy Shevchenko, have been impressive on home soil and cannot be discounted! However, with Wayne Rooney back for England after his 2 match suspension, he will be chomping at the bit to be let loose on the pitch and do not be surprised to see his name on the scoresheet!

So how will the quarterfinals pan out? Let’s have a look:

Quarterfinals

Russia	Vs	Portugal
Germany	Vs	Poland
Spain	Vs	England
France	Vs	Italy

Semi-finals

Germany	Vs	Spain
Russia	Vs	Italy

Finals

Spain

Vs

Italy

Given the Netherlands’ dismal performances so far in this tournament, it has opened the door for Italy to make it into the finals against tournament favourites Spain who will become the first team to win the Euros twice either side of a World Cup! They have played some sexy passing football so far and on that basis, should be deserved winners for playing attractive football!

On a side note, Alan Dzagoev will finish joint top goalscorer on the back of Russia’s run to the semis. Joint with whom you ask? The German with the not so German name, Mario Gomez!

 

Euro 2012 Prediction

The tournament is just about to get underway in a couple of hours and so here are my predictions!

Group A

Russia topped their group in qualifying for Euro 2012, conceding only 4 goals in 10 matches, and they will top this group as well.

Behind them will be co-hosts Poland who go into Euro 2012 with the second youngest squad at the tournament. Despite their youthfulness, they have players who will offer more of a goal threat than Greece or the Czech Republic, who are heavily reliant on the creativity of their captain Tomas Rosicky and the goals from Milan Baros who is under an injury cloud.

Poland will look to their captain Jakub Blaszczykowski and striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored 22 goals in the German Bundesliga, to carry on the form that helped their club Borussia Dortmund to the title last season.

Greece will set out to defend, something they did well in the qualifiers having conceded only 5 goals in 10 games. However, as New Zealand showed at the 2010 World Cup, three draws do not get you into the next round! Just like the Greek economy at the moment, this team will be at the bottom.

Group B

The so-called “Group of Death” featuring the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and Denmark. Given the quality of players across the board, this is also the glamour group. From one of the greatest players in the world in Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, to the Netherlands’ Robin van Persie, both of whom are coming off barnstorming domestic seasons. As the chants go, “He scores when he wants”!

van Persie has a bit more star support in the likes of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder however! The Dutch also have Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who finished as top goalscorer in the German Bundesliga with 29 goals for Schalke. Then there’s a German team playing dynamic, free-flowing football and currently averaging three goals per game. Oh, and a young rising star in Denmark’s Christian Eriksen.

So how does this group pan out then? Germany is only one of two teams with 100% records in qualifying but the Dutch also had a 100% record until they lost their final match against Sweden having already sealed qualification. The Germans conceded 7 goals in 10 games whilst the Dutch conceded 8 goals in 10 games. On that basis, most bookmakers have the Germans favourite to top this group. However, given their recent defensive frailties in the pre-Euro friendly internationals, I am going to pick the Dutch for top spot and Germany second.

Although Denmark beat Portugal twice during qualifying and ended topping the group, I think Portugal will get revenge here and finish above the Danes.

Group C

Easy group winner to pick here. It is the other team to finish with a 100% record in qualifying, the current European and World Champions, Spain. Ole! Despite the loss of David Villa upfront, Fernando Torres seems to have realised where the goal is just in time!

Italy will finish second, provided they do not play Mario Balotelli who, by all accounts, will be a liability! Defensively, the Italians were very solid during qualifying, conceding only 2 goals in 10 matches and ending up undefeated. Of course, the downside is that they have the ‘calcioscommesse' scandal back home affecting their domestic football.

Croatia will finish third, just ahead of Ireland.

Group D

When I reviewed the England squad announcement in my last blog, I wrote that France would top the group with England behind them. I think that will still be the case provided England does not pick up further injuries. They have already lost Gareth Barry and Gary Cahill, and Roy Hodgson has only called up one adequate replacement in Phil Jagielka. No disrespect to Martin Kelly, and Rio Ferdinand aside, there were easily other choices that Hodgson could have made.

So it would not surprise me if Sweden sneaks into that second spot. Remember, England play Sweden in the second group match with Wayne Rooney still suspended. At least for English fans’ sake, Andy Carroll has also realised where the goals are, much like Torres!

Co-hosts Ukraine will not present much threat to these three teams and will finish last.

Quarterfinals

So therefore the QF matches will be:

Russia	vs	Germany
Netherlands	vs	Poland
Spain	vs	England
France	vs	Italy

Semi-finals

Germany	vs	Spain
Netherlands	vs	Italy

Finals

Spain

vs

Netherlands

Looks like we will have a repeat of the 2010 World Cup final!

Can Spain become the first team to win the Euros twice either side of a World Cup? Given their depth of talent, they possibly could. However, I think the Dutch will get one over Spain this time round!

That's assuming that the Dutch haven't walked off the pitch beforehand of course! This is something that their captain Mark van Bommel has stated they will do in the face of racism and a stance I agree with. Hopefully they do not get punished given the comments from UEFA President Michel Platini.

In this day and age, in such a multicultural society, there simply is NO place for racism.

KICK IT OUT - LET'S KICK RACISM OUT OF FOOTBALL

Euro 2012 England Team Announced

With Euro 2012 on the horizon, new England manager Roy Hodgson has made his first ever England squad announcement and there certainly are a few talking points. Here we go through the 23 players named who will be looking to bring home the Euro 2012 trophy.

Goalkeepers:
Joe Hart (17 caps)
Rob Green (11)
John Ruddy (0)

Scott Carson, currently playing with Bursapor in Turkey, has been omitted and John Ruddy from Norwich brought in. A deserved call-up I say given his performances for the Canaries this season in the Premier League.

Defenders:
Leighton Baines (7)
Gary Cahill (8-2 goals)
Ashley Cole (93)
Glen Johnson (35-1)
Joleon Lescott (14)
John Terry (72-6)
Phil Jones (4)

Cole will of course be the first choice left-back with Baines his back-up. On the right, Johnson is first choice and with Kyle Walker unavailable due to a broken toe, Hodgson has decided to not call up Micah Richards but instead rely on Jones to cover given his versatility.

Cahill and Lescott will battle it out to partner Terry in central defence. The call-up of Terry has surprised a lot of people given the talk leading up to the squad announcement was that Rio Ferdinand was going to be in instead of Terry. This was due to Terry having lost the England captaincy in February after being sent to a trial, scheduled for the 9^th of July, charged with racially abusing Ferdinand’s brother Anton who plays for QPR.

Terry of course will still not be captain as it was the English FA that stripped him of it, leading to former manager Fabio Capello handing in his resignation out of principle.

Hodgson has said that Ferdinand was omitted for “footballing reasons” and this will mean he has never represented England at the European Championships despite having 81 caps and once dubbed the “new Bobby Moore”. Bear in mind that his own manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, recently questioned publicly the 33-year old’s ability to handle the rigours of tournament football.

Although Ferdinand has had better form lately, I do not think Hodgson has made a mistake here as Terry is less injury prone than Ferdinand and will do as good a job, if not better. Besides, the bloke has pleaded not guilty so who are we to condemn the man for something he is yet to be proven guilty of?

Midfielders:

Gareth Barry (52-3)

Stewart Downing (33)

Steven Gerrard (90-19)

Frank Lampard (90-23)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (0)

James Milner (24)

Scott Parker (11)

Theo Walcott (22-3)

Ashley Young (19-5)

I am very pleased to see the Ox included despite being uncapped previously as he has been very exciting to watch this season when playing for Arsenal. Not only does he have pace and power, but he also has better awareness than Theo Walcott so I would not expect him to replicate Walcott’s role in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The Ox will be pushing Young, Walcott and Downing for the starting wingers’ berths should Hodgson employ wingers. Milner can also play on the right wing if need be.

Chances are Hodgson will need the pace on the outside given that England lack pace through the middle however with Gerrard, Lampard, Parker and Barry all in their 30’s. Aside from Parker, whose participation is in some doubt due to an Achilles problem, the others are tried, tested and failed at an international tournament.

Perhaps one of Manchester United’s central pairing of Paul Scholes or Michael Carrick should have been considered. Although Scholes at 37 is older, he has shown in coming out of retirement this season that he still has what it takes to play at a high level. Not only that, he has the freshest legs of the lot having only played for four months of the season! Carrick has had his best season in four years but still did not make the standby list.

It just goes to show that the central creativity will have to come primarily from Gerrard or Lampard given that Parker and Barry are more defensive minded midfielders. Gerrard is a certainty to start pretty much every game given that Hodgson has named him as England captain.

I feel that Downing’s inclusion is disappointing especially given the poor season he has had with Liverpool. Perhaps Hodgson did not bother with statistics and stuck with a player he knew from his short time at Liverpool. 36 EPL games, 72 shots, 0 goals and 0 assists, yet he is on the plane?!

Instead of Downing, I would prefer Hodgson give a chance to either Scott Sinclair or even Nathan Dyer. Both of whom have been in fine form for Swansea this season showing that they can mix it with the big boys in the Premier League. Sinclair has 8 goals and 5 assists from 35 appearances in the EPL whilst Dyer has 5 goals and 4 assists from 29 appearances. These boys are in much better form than Downing. Big mistake my boy Roy.

Forwards:

Wayne Rooney (73-28)
Andy Carroll (3-1)

Danny Welbeck (4)

Jermain Defoe (46-15)

Despite carrying a two-game suspension, Rooney was always going to be included and he will be hoping England have either qualified or have a chance to qualify by the time he gets to put his boots on for the final group match. Needless to say, England’s chances of going deep in this tournament rests largely on this young man’s shoulders.

Defoe is a player I like so I am happy Hodgson has been included. He just knows where the goals are.

I can understand why Hodgson has picked Carroll, because you sometimes just need a big target man to hit the ball to when the passing play is not working and the direct route one football is required. Of course, the better alternative would have been Stoke City’s Peter Crouch who had a better EPL record this season (33 games, 10 goals, 2 assists, and 60 shots compared to Carroll’s 35 games, 4 goals, 2 assists and 88 shots) and is a proven international performer with 42 caps and 22 goals. Another alternate big front man that could be considered is Norwich City’s Grant Holt who knows how to use his size upfront. Not only that, he is the second-highest scoring Englishman in the EPL behind Rooney and 3 goals better than the next Englishman Danny Graham of Swansea. Personally, I would have gone for Crouch given his international experience with Holt my second choice. Carroll would be packing his bags for a holiday if I were England manager!

Welbeck’s inclusion for me is simply not a good choice. Despite making it into Manchester United’s starting XI this season and relegating both Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov to the bench, he is still quite a raw talent. He played 30 EPL games, scored 9 goals, had 4 assists and 80 shots.  There are two players who stand out for me and who should be included above Welbeck.

My first choice is Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge who also played 30 EPL games, scored 11 goals, had 3 assists and 93 shots but bear in mind that whilst Welbeck primarily played as an out-an-out central striker, Sturridge was more a right-sided forward playing off his teammates Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres who were in the central striker’s role.

The alternate would be Aston Villa’s captain, Gabriel Agbonlahor who played 33 games, scored 5 goals, had 5 assists and 59 shots. The lower stats are primarily due to Gabby playing more as a winger which gives him added versatility to the England squad.

On standby: Jack Butland, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge, Phil Jagielka, Jordan Henderson

However, Hodgson has named his squad as is and barring any injuries, nothing will change it.

So what will the first XI look like? It depends on who they are playing really as I see Hodgson switching between a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 formation.

Against supposed ‘weaker’ opposition: (4-4-2)

                                                Hart

Johnson               Terry                     Cahill                     Cole

Walcott             Gerrard (C)             Parker                 Young

                             Rooney                  Carroll

If Rooney is suspended during use of this formation, Defoe would be expected to line up instead.

Against stronger opposition: (4-5-1)

                                                Hart

Johnson               Terry                     Cahill                     Cole

                                              Parker

Walcott              Gerrard (C)            Barry                     Young

                                              Rooney

If Rooney is suspended during use of this formation, Carroll would be used as the lone target man.

England’s first match from Group D is a tough one against France, followed by Sweden and then Ukraine.

I reckon France, despite their troubles at the last World Cup, will finish top of the group. So that second match against Sweden is the decider to see who will finish second behind France and I think England might do enough to sneak into the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, that is as far as they will go because Spain will be waiting for them then.

EPL 2011/2012 Final Day Wrap

It's all over and after 90-odd minutes of twists and turns, Manchester City have ended a 44-year wait and are the champions!

Despite Manchester United holding out for a 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland, it was not enough as City pulled off a miracle with 2 goals in stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes to seal a 3-2 win over QPR.

Although QPR lost, they were lucky to not be relegated as Bolton conceded a late penalty to allow Stoke to equalise at 2-2 which consigns the Trotters to the Championship next season.

Arsenal held on to 3rd spot with a topsy turvy 3-2 win over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, mainly thanks to some farcical goalkeeping from Martin Fulop.

Tottenham finished in 4th with an efficient 2-0 win at home over Fulham.

The Arsenal and Tottenham results meant Newcastle had no chance of making a Champions League berth but regardless, the Geordies' 3-1 loss at Goodison Park to Everton kept them in 5th spot and a place in the Europa League next season. Everton's win was marred by a red card to Australian Tim Cahill at the end of the game for put his hands on Yohan Cabaye's neck and constantly inviting him for a fight in the carpark! Shameful scenes for a player who has been a role model for so many Australian kids.

The other games finished as follows:

Chelsea 2 - 1 Blackburn
Norwich City 2 - 0 Aston Villa
Swansea 1 - 0 Liverpool
Wigan Athletic 3 - 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

See you all next season, if not for Euro 2012!

Man City are the Champions for 2011/2012!

Sergio Aguero has delivered the title to Manchester City with a goal at the end of stoppage time!

Amazing scenes at Etihad Stadium as fans pour onto the pitch to celebrate their first title after 44 years!

In a strange shot though, QPR's Djibril Cisse was seen celebrating with his fellow Frenchman Samir Nasri at the end but given that Cisse scored the first equaliser, you could not say he had a conflict of interest could you?!

GOAL!

Dzeko scores with a header from a corner in the 1st minute of stoppage time!

There's four minutes left for City to win the title!

Man City vs QPR substitution

Carlos Tevez makes way for the temperamental Mario Balotelli as Manchester City have resorted to long shots.

QPR also make a change, bringing on Jay Bothroyd for Bobby Zamora. Some fresh legs upfront to hold the ball up...if it gets there!

EPL Match Update

Djibril Cisse equalises for QPR in the 47th minute tilting the title back in Manchester United's favour but then Joey Barton's stupidity, something we have seen over the years, has seen him get a red card in unsavoury scenes at Etihad Stadium.

It's back to the wall stuff for QPR as they try to hang on with 10-men.

GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!! Against the run of play and with poor defending from City, QPR take the lead! Armand Traore skips down the left far too easily and sends over a beautiful curling cross right onto the head of the onrushing James Mackie who was completely unmarked. Mackie flies in and nods it down into the ground. One bounce and it's into the roof of the net!

City respond by bringing on a third striker Edin Dzeko and don't be surprised to see the volatile Mario Balotelli come on soon.

EPL Half-Time Update

It is now half-time and how things have changed in the last few minutes of the first half!

Both Manchester clubs lead 1-0 which means City is still top of the table and on course to end their 44-year wait for the title.

QPR thought they were going to stay up having heard that Stoke had taken the lead against Bolton but two goals in the last 7 minutes of the first half from Mark Davies and Kevin Davies sees Bolton in front 2-1 at half-time. If the results stay this way then as I predicted yesterday, QPR will drop below Bolton into that last relegation spot. As such, the second half should see QPR come out all guns blazing which should open up space for City to exploit.

With Tottenham leading 1-0 against Fulham and Arsenal drawing 2-2 at WBA, Spurs jump into third and an automatic Champions League spot.

19 goals have been scored across 9 games showing why the EPL is the most watched football league in the world.

The only game with no goals? Swansea vs Liverpool...but then what else would you expect from Liverpool?! ;)

Let's see more goals flow in the second half!

EPL Match Updates

6 minutes left in the first half and the blue half of Manchester are singing and dancing in the stands as they go back on top of the table!

Thanks to an Argentinian, no, not Sergio Aguero, no, not Carlos Tevez, but their right-back Pablo Zabaleta!

Despite QPR putting numbers behind the ball they find themselves a goal down.

EPL Match Updates

Half an hour into the final round of games and Manchester United are back on top of the table!

The Red Devils currently lead 1-0 courtesy of a 19th minute goal from England's talisman Wayne Rooney whilst their rivals City are at a 0-0 stalemate with QPR despite majority of the play being in QPR's own half.

With Stoke leading 1-0 at home to Bolton thanks to a Jonathan Walters goal in the 11th minute At this rate, QPR will be staying up regardless of the result at Etihad Stadium.

Newcastle are 2-0 down to Everton at Goodison Park which means they will be unable to take advantage of any slip-ups by Arsenal who have just hit back to make it 2-2 against WBA.

Tottenham meanwhile took an early lead with a goal in the first minute from Emmanuel Adebayor against Fulham.

Stay tuned for more updates!

English Premier League Final Day Preview

We head into the final day of the most exciting league in the world with the title still up for grabs! Of course Manchester City are in the driver’s seat as a win at home over Queens Park Rangers will see them lift the trophy after a 44-year wait. Defending champions Manchester United travel to Sunderland knowing that even victory there may be inadequate as their rivals boast a superior 8-goal difference.

Mark Hughes will be looking to get one over Roberto Mancini, the man who replaced him at City, as well as keeping his team up in the Premier League. However, City will have what it takes to seal the deal having already seen off their rivals 1-0 in their recent title-deciding derby.

Meanwhile, Arsenal travel to West Bromwich Albion looking to seal up third place and automatic Champions League qualification whilst their bitter North London rivals Tottenham should hang on to fourth spot as they welcome Fulham to White Hart Lane. That will put Spurs into the Champions League qualifying rounds unless Chelsea defeats Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in this year’s Champions League final. Of course, if Spurs win and Arsenal lose or draw, then Spurs will leapfrog their rivals for automatic qualification.

Newcastle United are in with a mathematical chance of claiming either third or fourth should Arsenal and/or Spurs stumble across the finish line but face a difficult task away at Goodison Park against Everton. Looks like the Magpies are bound for the Europa League next season.

As mentioned in my penultimate round preview, Wigan sealed their safety by defeating Blackburn and in turn, condemned Rovers to join Wolves in relegation to England’s second tier league next season.

So that leaves 3 teams fighting for survival - Aston Villa, QPR and Bolton. However, given Villa’s superior goal difference over both QPR and Bolton, the fight will really only be between QPR and Bolton.

At present, Bolton sit in the relegation zone 2 points below QPR but with City expected to beat QPR, the Trotters can leapfrog into safety with a victory away at Britannia Stadium against a faltering Stoke who have nothing to play for.

Writer’s prediction:
1^st Manchester City
2^nd Manchester United
3^rd Arsenal
4^th Tottenham
5^th Newcastle United

Final relegated team: QPR

Spurs will also be in the Champions League qualifying rounds as Bayern Munich will lift this season’s Champions League trophy in their own backyard, thus denying Chelsea a berth. Shame, as that will also most likely mean no permanent manager’s role for Roberto Di Matteo.

See you all soon for Euro 2012!

English Premier League Penultimate Round

Heading into the penultimate round of the most exciting league in the world there are a few sub-plots from top to bottom.

At the top of the table, the two Manchester clubs are fighting it out to see who ends up as this season’s champions. City currently hold onto the top spot by virtue of a superior 8 goal difference over United and have their destiny in their own hands. With United expected to win both their final two games at home to Swansea before travelling away to Sunderland, City know that if they beat both Newcastle at Sports Direct Arena and QPR at home on the final day of the season, they will be crowned EPL champions for season 11/12.

Below them Arsenal and Tottenham are favourites to finish third and fourth respectively to claim the final UEFA Champions League places given their remaining fixtures - Arsenal welcome Norwich at the Emirates Stadium before travelling to West Bromwich Albion whilst Spurs travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa before welcoming Fulham at White Hart Lane. Newcastle will try to claim one of those spots for themselves but face a tough assignment this round against City. However they will the Geordies will go into the match full of confidence on the back of a 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge thanks to two sensational goals from the signing of the season Papiss Cisse. Chelsea too are in with a mathematical chance to claim fourth spot but seem to be more distracted by their upcoming FA Cup Final appearance against Liverpool as well as travelling to Munich at the end of the season to take on Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final.

At the other end of the table, the incentive for those involved in the relegation battle is massive given the drop of £30 million in revenue for clubs that get relegated from the richest league in the world.

Although Wolverhampton Wanderers were struggling under Mick McCarthy, ever since they sacked him they have been in free fall and have already claimed the wooden spoon.

In my season preview last year, I mentioned that Wigan Athletic, Wolves and Blackburn Rovers would be involved in a relegation battle and right now there are five clubs still involved, Aston Villa, Wigan, QPR, Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn.

Of these five clubs, I would expect Wigan to stay up given their scintillating form in the past several weeks claiming some massive scalps like Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, and thrashing Newcastle last week. They face Blackburn at Ewood Park this round which will seal their safety in the EPL for another season and send Rovers down to the Championship. Even if Wigan fail this week, they end the season at home to cellar dwellers Wolves which should be an easy win.

Aston Villa should do enough to stay up although they do face a difficult test at home to Spurs before travelling to Carrow Road to take on Norwich who are in good form.

So the final relegation spot will be between QPR and Bolton. QPR welcome Stoke City to Loftus Road before travelling to Etihad Stadium to face a very difficult test in City fighting for the EPL crown as mentioned earlier. Bolton welcome WBA to Reebok Stadium before finishing the season at Britannia Stadium against Stoke. Given these clubs’ remaining fixtures, I would say Mark Hughes’ men will be going down. However, if the club can hang on to their players like Bobby Zamora, Adel Taarabt, and Djibril Cisse, QPR will be definite favourites to come straight back up next season.

EPL Title Decider

vs

In my season preview last year, I mentioned that Manchester City’s buying power under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour would see them break into the EPL’s traditional “Big Four” and that Manchester United remained the favourites for the title with the bookmakers.

Now with 3 matches remaining for the top two in EPL season 2011/2012, where the Premiership Trophy ends up all comes down to the Manchester derby as United travel to Etihad Stadium to take on their rivals City who are yet to lose at home this season.

United currently lead City by 3 points but with a worse goal difference leading into this match. City then travel to Sports Direct Arena to take on Newcastle, who were thumped 4-0 by Wigan this weekend, before welcoming struggling QPR at home. For United, they welcome Swansea City to Old Trafford before finishing the season at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland. Will United see the light at the end of the season then?

With both teams expected to win each of their final 2 games, this match has become one of the biggest and most eagerly-anticipated matches in the Barclays Premier League history.

The equation is simple, City need to win this derby to leapfrog above United in the table on goal difference and to have any chance of claiming the Premiership Trophy. A win or draw for United would almost guarantee the Red Devils a record 20^th league title.

Given the form of Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, the United backline could be in for a torrid time. It will also mean Mario Balotelli, available after serving his three-match suspension, should sit out. Roberto Mancini would be foolish to bring Balotelli into this high intensity match given his temperament and ill-discipline. The Red Devils would certainly be riling Balotelli up to see red! However, Mancini has been noted to do foolish things!

Sir Alex Ferguson will most likely employ a five-man midfield to stifle City’s attacks with Wayne Rooney playing the lone striker’s role. United certainly have the experience for these sorts of matches with the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. I had asked in my season preview who would step up to replace Scholes as their creative playmaker and Ferguson answered that by bringing him out of retirement! Giggs is set to make his 908th appearance for United and 36th against City.

Writer’s prediction: There certainly will not be a repeat of the 6-1 thrashing City gave United at Old Trafford of all places! However, Manchester City will remain undefeated at Etihad Stadium with a 1-1 draw and this will see Manchester United being crowned EPL champions for a record 20^th time at the Stadium of Light!

Manchester City vs Everton 24th September 2011– Lineups Announced

The lineups are announced are as the Toffees travel to Etihad Stadium to take on The Citizens.

Roberto Mancini puts out an unchanged 4-2-3-1 lineup from their 2-2 draw at Fulham last week. Watch out for the attacking trident of David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri behind their spearhead Edin Dzeko to cause all sorts of trouble behind Everton’s defence. If they turn out to be impotent today then Mancini has the luxury of calling upon Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli to add another dimension off the bench.

David Moyes looks to have named a very defensive 4-5-1 formation with Phil Neville, Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini in central midfield. Being primarily defensive midfielders, Neville has converted to one since his days as a full-back for Manchester United, they will look to drop back and stifle the Citizens’ attacking threat. Seamus Coleman and Leon Osman will look to provide some impetus down the flanks and swing in some crosses for Timmy Cahill who is a definite threat in the air. Having named 6 midfielders in his line-up, Moyes has some attacking options off the bench with strikers Louis Saha and Denis Stracqualursi, and wingers Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Royston Drenthe.

Look for Man City to be up 1-0 just before half-time which will then result in Moyes bringing off the likes of Neville or Rodwell for Saha to lead the line with Cahill playing off him.

Once Man City go 2-0 up, expect Aguero and Nasri to come off with an eye on their midweek clash away to Bayern Munich.

Writer’s prediction: Man City to go top of the EPL temporarily (Man Utd travel to Stoke later in the day – and if Stoke play like they did in their last game, expect the Red Devils to run riot at Britannia Stadium) with a 2-1 win

EPL Season 2011/2012 Preview

Here we are, about to get another season underway for arguably the most exciting domestic league in the world!

The Contenders

This year sees a definite shift in the make-up of the “Big Four”, traditionally comprised of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. Without a doubt, Manchester City’s buying power under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour has seen them overtake Arsenal who look to be on the decline.

Despite losing several experienced players, like Edwin Van der Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes through retirement and Wes Brown and John O’Shea through sales, Manchester United remain the favourites with the bookmakers for this season. Sir Alex Ferguson has spent wisely on plugging the holes left by those gone, bringing in David de Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young. Only question is, who will step up to replace Scholes as their creative playmaker? Anderson, Michael Carrick and Darren Gibson failed to inspire last season so it remains to be seen how Ryan Giggs can often perform in his advanced years on the inside having been a wing wizard for the majority of his career. Had Ferguson managed to bring in someone like Wesley Sneijder, they definitely would be a formidable foe. There still is time left in this transfer window!

Look for Liverpool and Chelsea to be in the running this year also. Liverpool have transformed under Kenny Dalglish who has looked to strengthen his squad with mainly English players with an eye on keeping in line with EPL squad rules requiring 8 out of 25 players to be home grown players. Gone are the days of Liverpool being a two-man team, heavily reliant on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Proven performers in the EPL, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing have been brought in to take the burden off Gerrard in midfield whilst upfront, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez are quality. Strikers usually have a harder time in their second season once the defenders are used to their style of play so it will be interesting to see how Suarez copes. Jose Enrique has just been bought to fix their problematic left-back position which will allow Glen Johnson to shift back to his more familiar right-back slot after King Kenny used him to plug that hole last season.

Chelsea have spent more money this off-season on bringing in their new manager Andre Villas-Boas, or as some say, Jose Mourinho II. Thus they will be relying pre-dominantly on their ageing squad with a spine that has an average age of 32 years – John Terry (30), Frank Lampard (33) and Didier Drogba (33). If Torres can find his form again, then that will of course help The Blues’ cause who will have to cope without key midfielder Michael Essien for six months. Promising youngster Daniel Sturridge is ready to step in after his performance on loan at Bolton last season (8 goals in 11 starts) should Torres fail to sparkle.

The new addition to the Big Four, Manchester City, have again splurged this summer, adding Sergio Aguero, Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic. Although they should finish in the top four, it is hard to see them challenging for the title this season. It remains to be seen how good their squad harmony really is when their club captain wants to leave, when there are such large disparities between wage earners and when unwanted players are still at the club because they are unable to be sold or loaned out. Roberto Mancini’s tactics are far too defensive for my liking especially with the amount of firepower he has at his disposal. It remains to be seen whether The Citizens’ mentality is as strong as United’s or Chelsea’s when coming up against the “lesser” clubs in the league.

The Notables

Arsenal have gone six years without a trophy and that drought looks set to continue as the club weakens its squad rather than strengthening it. Arsene Wenger really needed to splash the cash on some decent defenders to shore up his leaky defence that let in 43 league goals last season. A team that lets in that many goals cannot be expected to win the coveted title. Going by his pre-season performances, £10.5 million Gervinho is an excellent signing but will most likely be utilised out wide. Back-up for the likes of Robin Van Persie and Marouane Chamakh looks to have instead arrived in the shape of 19-year old Costa Rican striker Joel Campbell who has already scored 2 goals in 6 full internationals.  Where Arsenal will now have weakened the most though is in their midfield with the protracted transfer of their club captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona near conclusion. Another key player Samir Nasri looks to be on the way out and it would be sheer folly on Wenger’s part if he did not take cash on a player who has only one year left on his contract and refuses a contract extension. Given the level of debt Arsenal have from the building of their home ground Emirates Stadium, surely they cannot afford to not accept bids on Nasri.

Tottenham have spent more time trying to retain one of their key players Luka Modric who wants to join Chelsea than strengthening their squad. Despite having some quality strikers at his disposal, Harry Redknapp seems to think that he needs to replace Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane with other options but alas, that has failed to materialise and Keane is about to join David Beckham’s LA Galaxy. Best The Spurs can hope for is another Europa League spot again at season’s end.

The Rest

Bookmakers have set the three promoted clubs, Swansea, Norwich and QPR, as the favourites for relegation this season. Wigan and Wolves are down there as well although chances are Blackburn could be involved in a relegation scrap come the end of the season. Although Newcastle have brought in some Gaelic flair to their squad and have key playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa back this season, I would expect them to be involved in the relegation battle. Mike Ashley buying Newcastle has been the worst thing ever for The Magpies. Owners like Ashley and Venky’s of Blackburn are a blight to the game. What clubs need are people like John Henry of Liverpool who know their place and support their managers.

Well, enjoy the season all and good luck to whomever you support!

English Premier League Final Day Preview

Heading into the final day of the most exciting league in the world and with the title decided already, the focus shifts to the other end of the table where five teams are battling relegation.

With a drop of £30 million in revenue for clubs that get relegated from the richest league in the world, the incentive to stay up is massive.

Blackburn Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham, Blackpool, and Wigan are the teams fighting for their lives in the following matches:

Wolverhampton Wanderers  v  Blackburn Rovers
Tottenham Hotspur  v  Birmingham
Manchester United  v  Blackpool
Stoke City  v  Wigan Athletic

Both Blackburn and Wolves are on 40 points, with the other three teams on 39. There are various permutations to what could happen but here is my prediction.

As Wolves have a far less superior goal difference to Blackburn, a draw would not do them any good if two of the other three teams win. Given their current form coming off two wins and with Blackburn having only drawn their last two, I am going for a Wolves win at the Molineux.

Despite having supported Blackburn when my idol Alan Shearer wore their colours, I would love to see them go down as I believe the new owners, Venky’s, have made poor decisions ever since taking over in late 2010.

Regardless of the outcome of that Wolves vs Blackburn match, I reckon the two teams joining West Ham in the Championship next year will be Birmingham and Blackpool.

Although Wigan at present are below Birmingham and Blackpool by goal difference, 2 and 1 respectively, they will have too much for Stoke come Sunday. Roberto Martinez’s men are on a three match unbeaten run, coming off draws against Everton and Aston Villa, and an excellent comeback win over West Ham which put the nail in the Hammers’ coffin. Stoke on the other hand, are coming off two losses to Manchester City in the FA Cup Final and the penultimate match of the season. Tony Pulis’ men have nothing to play for and will be looking forward to their holidays before starting their journey in the Europa League next season.

Wigan came away with win at Sheffield United four years ago, saving themselves from relegation and sending the Blades down. Although that was under Paul Jewell, some of the players still at the club will have that invaluable experience to call upon.

Even a draw would be enough to save Wigan as I am predicting losses for Birmingham and Blackpool.

Birmingham will be travelling to White Hart Lane to face a team eager to confirm their place in the Europa League next year as Spurs are only one point ahead of Liverpool in that fifth spot. Van der Vaart, if fit, will send the Blues packing.

There was talk that Sir Alex Ferguson would rest his stars for next week’s Champions League final vs Barcelona but he has declared a number of first-teamers will be playing against Blackpool. Ferguson has revealed that Edwin van der Sar, Anderson, Paul Scholes, Patrice Evra and Premier League joint-top scorer Dimitar Berbatov will be among those who feature at Old Trafford on Sunday. With this being Van der Sar’s final game before retiring and with Berbatov gunning to get ahead of Carlos Tevez in the race for the Golden Boot, the Red Devils will be sending the Seasiders straight back into the Championship.

So there you have it folks! Birmingham and Blackpool to join West Ham in the Championship, whilst I reckon Swansea will be strutting their stuff in the EPL next season along with QPR and Norwich. Oh, and Berbatov to win the Golden Boot ahead of Tevez, just.

See you all next season!