Is Arsenal doing a clear out?
By · CommentsWe do see quite a bit of Arsenal in recent Barclays Premier League news. From the looks of it, Arsenal is struggling to hold on to their players.
First, left back Gael Clichy has left. As usual, it is the big money boys, Man City making the deal. He joins Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor. For bigger pay packet? Perhaps. Better chance at winning silverware? Hard to say for now.
The one rumour that would not die down. That’s right, its about their captain Cesc Fabregas. Seems like Barcelona is still bitter about how Arsenal poached him, when he was 16. Now, Barcelona is doing whatever they can, to bring back their prodigal son. Barcelona already have such a strong midfield. Why the heck do they still want Cesc Fabregas?
On the other hand, he is a key player at Arsenal. It is hard to say, who can step up to take that slot, should Cesc Fabregas leave. From the looks of it, Arsene Wenger might be resigned to losing him. Should the right offer come in, Arsenal will probably cash in. The thing is, only Barcelona want him. Hard to force a big bid from the Catalans.
The other player subject to transfer links, would be Samir Nasri. A number of their title rivals are checking his availability. Samir Nasri is on his last year of contract, which means he can leave for free next summer. Arsene Wenger might be forced to sell again.
If selling means weakening your own team, but strengthening your title rivals, that is a big issue. Who in the right mind will keep doing that? Just look at Man United. How often do they sell players to their title rivals? Almost never. If left with no choice, Alex Ferguson would send his players out of England. Some examples are Jaap Stam, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gabriel Hienze.
Some problems with the current Arsenal team
1. This Arsenal team lacks depth. Any injury to key players like Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas will see them struggle for results.
2. Arsenal only know one style of play, that is to pass opponents to death. There is no alternative style of play, when that fails. Sometimes, you must grind results to win.
3. Lack of experienced players is another problem. When it comes to the crunch, these guys tend to suffer mental breakdown. They don’t have any older, wise heads to inspire and provide calming influence on the field. You need someone in the simliar to former captain Patrick Vieira.
4. Your goalkeeper Manuel Almunia sucks big time. Clubs that win silverware, must have a solid and stable backline to begin with. This guy makes defensive cock up ever so often. Defenders don’t have confidence in him and it affects them too. Players have to keep watching their backs, in case they need to bail him out.
No doubt, Arsenal is a very prudent club, that manages their finances quite well. Seriously, does Arsenal need to sell players, in order to survive? (Aspiring investors can learn a thing or two from Arsene Wenger) With this way of management, Arsenal will always have funds, even if they don’t win silverware and the prize money that comes with it.
Arsene Wenger is probably saved by the fact, Arsenal make the Champions League almost every year, under his management. Last season, they nearly blew it by finishing 4th. It is the one thing Arsenal can use, to retain and sign players.
6 years without even a smell of silverware is like an eternity, for a big club like Arsenal. No wonder players and fans are losing patience. Arsenal must start winning again. There is no other way about it.
what Aston Villa have to do this summer
By · CommentsNow that Barclays Premier League has ended, we are in the off season. In the summer, we will mostly be looking at which club signs or release which player.
This time, we look at Aston Villa first. As we know, Aston Villa is the big club in Birmingham, some say Midlands too. Right now, they have problem retaining their better players and strengthening the team. For a club of Aston Villa’s stature, they have been under performing for way too long.
It’s a shame really. Prior to last season, Aston Villa were challenging Champions League spot for past 3 seasons. However, lack of squad depth and late season poor form did them in. They had to settle for 6th spot and Europa football for 3 straight seasons instead.
Martin O’Neill is one of the better managers of Aston Villa in recent times. He might have felt that Aston Villa could not advance further and chose to leave. 6th place finish seems to be a bottleneck for Martin O’Neill. The double loss of Gareth Barry and James Milner to Man City might have been the last straw, to break the camel’s back. After all, those two players have not been properly replaced. If you noticed, Aston Villa uses a lot of wing play nowadays, without much penetration through the middle of the field.
Perhaps Gerard Houllier has to take some blame, in this season’s poor outcome. It has been years, since Aston Villa had to fight against relegation. The best thing Gerard Houllier did, was to sign Darren Bent. He probably scored the goals that kept Aston Villa up. Besides this, Gerard Houllier should have gone for a midfield enforcer also, to beef up the core centre of the team.
First choice goalkeeper Brad Friedel has left for Tottenham. It is critical that they find a replacement soon. If you ask me, Shay Given is way too good a goalkeeper, to warm the bench at Man City. Should Aston Villa pull this off somehow, that would be one hell of a coup.
Next, Ashley Young is poised to leave also. How many players can resist the lure of Man United and Champions League football? They should not blame the player for jumping ship. (Not everyone is like Alan Shearer, who actually rejected Man United twice.) Their wide positions are better covered, so they might not need to sign a replacement for now.
From what I see, Aston Villa definitely needs to sign central midfielders. Stiliyan Petrov alone can’t do so much. Somebody has to help him out. Nigel Reo Coker is not that good. Perhaps he should be released. Someone like Scott Parker is definitely worth considering. His combative qualities in midfield will boost the team. (It will be hard to sign Scott Parker, since his preference is to stay in London.)
No doubt, Aston Villa will have money in the bank after this big transfer. Isn’t it better to get a decent replacement instead? (Just look at Arsenal. They have spare cash but haven’t won a trophy for 6 years and counting.)
The more important thing at hand, is to get a replacement manager for Gerard Houllier ready. Players would not sign, unless they know who manages this team. Aston Villa might face an exodus of players, if they cannot sort it out soon.
Being a big club is one thing. Getting players to sign and play for you is another. After all, you can’t be living on past reputations all the time. This team actually won the European Cup, way back in 1981. That was so long ago!
Aston Villa have outside potential to be Champions League contender, if they can retain their best players and strengthen the squad. At the moment, they look to be a top 8 contender at best though.
Barclays Premier League potential clearout sales
By · CommentsSeason 10/11 of Barclays Premier League has just ended. We know that West Ham, Blackpool and Birmingham have been relegated. QPR, Norwich and Cardiff are promoted to take their places next season.
This is a known fact. Teams that are relegated can lose up to a potential $60 mill of income. That probably means the relegated clubs must either reduce player wages, or sell players and bank in some cash. We take a look at the 3 relegated clubs are see who might be available for signing.
West Ham are one of the teams with heavier wage bill. They do have more of the decent players also.
Who might have to leave
For Robert Green, his England chances are under threat, if he does not play for Premier League club. West Ham will be forced to reduce wage bill, so he will have to go.
Scott Parker is quite an influential player, who bosses the midfield when on form. He is not likely to play in English League Championship come August. There are clubs who will queue for his signature.
Carlton Cole is not really playing at his best and does seem overrated. Even the other strikers at the club are playing better than him. West Ham now needs players of character who will unite for a cause. Sadly, he is not one of those.
Demba Ba is one of the better strikers at West Ham. My guess is that West Ham will struggle to keep him.
Matthew Upson is one of the players who might be unsettled and unwilling to stay at relegated West Ham. He is somebody who would move for higher wages. If this is the case, it is better to cash out, even if he is the club captain.
Luis Boa Morte, I have no idea why West Ham still keep him. He might not be one of the worst players, neither is he among the best.
Frederic Piquionne is somebody the club will struggle to keep. He is among the better strikers they currently have.
The loanees
Wayne Bridge, Victor Obinna and Robbie Keane will most likely they will go back to their mother clubs. As for whether any of them will be transferred, will be another story.
Out of contract
Kieron Dyer is not longer the same player we know, after he suffered all sorts of leg injuries. Not sure if he can mention full match fitness to help their promotion run next season.
Blackpool is a gung ho club who attacks with wild abandon, even though they are not quite Barcelona.
Who might have to leave
Charlie Adam, their captain is an all round player. He tops in goals and assists. Easily their best and star player. Now that he has tasted Premier League football, it will be hard for relegated Blackpool to match his ambitions. A decent bid from a top 4 club could do the trick.
Gary Taylor Fletcher is one of the better midfielder, who can back up as striker also. Maybe one of the newly promoted clubs might sign him.
Alex Baptiste is a young and decent defender, who sort of stands out among a leaky defence. This guy got potential.
Out of contract
Marlon Harewood and David Vaughan will probably move on, as they reached the end of their contracts.
Birmingham is quite an ordinary team, filled with workhorse like players, with little flair.
Who might have to leave
Ben Foster could be one of the higher wage players. He might be forced to leave against his will, to keep club expenditures down.
James McFadden is hardly getting playing time, due to long term injury last season. He might want to seek a new start elsewhere.
Nicola Zigic will probably consider leaving, as playing in English League Championship might harm his chances playing for Serbia.
Barry Ferguson is one of the better midfield enforcers in the league. There will probably be clubs, tempting Birmingham with checks.
Out of contract
You have to look at Sebastian Larsson. This guy is a free agent. One of the few players with attacking flair. He got good set piece ability also, which could be an asset for teams. I would love to see my favourite Newcastle sign him.
Lee Bowyer is another player who is out of contract. This guy is probably one of the few attacking midfielders Birmingham have. As long as he keeps his temper in check, he could be an asset.
Kevin Phillips, their oldest striker will probably leave the club also, to help reduce the wage bill.
The loanees
David Bentley, who is on loan from Tottenham, will probably go back to his mother club.
Barclays Premier League 10/11, season wrap up
By · CommentsThis season of Barclays Premier League has ended. After all the matches, everything is finalized.
Full time scores
Aston Villa vs Liverpool 1 – 0 (1 – 0)
Bolton vs Man City 0 – 2 (0 – 1)
Everton vs Chelsea 1 – 0 (0 – 0)
Fulham vs Arsenal 2 – 2 (1 – 1)
Man United vs Blackpool 4 – 2 (1 – 1)
Newcastle vs WBA 3 – 3 (2 – 0)
Stoke vs Wigan 0 – 1 (0 – 0)
Tottenham vs Birmingham 2 – 1 (0 – 0)
West Ham vs Sunderland 0 – 3 (0 – 1)
Wolves vs Blackburn 2 – 3 (0 – 3)
Man United are champions for a record 19th time. They wrap up the season by beating Blackpool at home. As a result, Blackpool are relegated to English League Championship. The best home record in the league with 18 wins and 1 draw. Not only that, Man United have a Champions League final against Barcelona to look forward to.
Chelsea are still second, despite a defeat at Everton. Their late season recovery was nothing short of remarkable. It actually took them back into the title race. However, their hopes ended after losing to Man United. Yet again, Chelsea lose to Man United, just like in the Champions League. They were let down by their mid season slump as the recovery came too late.
Man City winning at Bolton, meant that they will finish 3rd, ahead of Arsenal. They will enter Champions League group stage for the first time. Just a week ago, Man City won FA Cup, after defeating Stoke in the final. That was their first trophy in over 35 years.
Arsenal are 4th and will play 1 round of Champions League qualifier in coming August. Since losing Carling Cup final to Birmingham, Arsenal seemed to lose a lot of steam and could not really recover. From challenging 4 fronts, Arsenal end up empty handed again.
Tottenham beat Birmingham with a last gasp goal. This confirmed their 5th spot and earned them a Europa spot next season. It also meant that Birmingham are relegated to English League Championship.
Liverpool must win to have any chance of getting 5th. Tottenham have to lose at home as well. Their loss at Aston Villa meant that they finish 6th. Considering the bad start Liverpool had, it is quite an achievement.
Wolves and Blackburn are the only teams facing off each other, in the fight for survival. A win for either will ensure survival. In the end, Blackburn won 3 – 2 at Wolves. At one stage, Blackburn was 3 – 0 up.
Blackburn survive for another season. Wolves barely survived. A 3 – 2 defeat, rather than 3 – 0, would have made a difference.
Wigan won their match at Stoke and survived. Among the bottom 6, Wigan has the strongest current form. Only Man United and Chelsea beat them in recent matches. Maybe the fact that FA Cup runner up Stoke had nothing but pride to play for, made things just a bit simpler.
Birmingham had a tough game at Tottenham, againt a team that lost just 1 home match all season. Birmingham won just 2 away matches all season. It will be a tall order for Birmingham to win this.
In the end, Tottenham won with a last minute goal and condemned Birmingham to English League Championship. They have the worst current form among the bottom 6 clubs. Birmingham are also the lowest scorers among them. The home defeat against Fulham a week ago was very costly.
Blackpool had to play at Old Trafford, where no away teams won this season. They got the worst defence and goal difference among the bottom 6. This meant that Blackpool had to win, no matter what.
At 1 stage, Blackpool were leading 2 – 1. However, their defence could not hold out and Man United scored. The match ended 4 – 2 win for Man United. Blackpool are relegated, along with Birmingham and West Ham.
Next time, we will see which 3 clubs will promote to Barclays Premier League next season.
This round of Barclays Premier League matches will wrap up the season. These are the more significant matches.
The chase for 3rd place
Both Arsenal and Man City are looking to finish 3rd and qualify automatically for Champions League. There is no home advantage, since both are playing away.
The equation for Man City
- beat Bolton by any scoreline
- draw against Bolton, if Arsenal don’t win
- if Arsenal lose to Fulham, any result against Bolton will do
The equation for Arsenal
- beat Fulham and hope Man City don’t win
- draw with Fulham and Man City lose (both teams level on points, Arsenal with better goal difference)
The chase for 5th place
Just further down the table, Tottenham and Liverpool are fighting it out for 5th spot, to play in Europa league. Tottenham has home advantage in their match.
The equation for Tottenham
- beat Birmingham by any scoreline
- draw against Birmingham, if Liverpool don’t win
- if Liverpool lose to Aston Villa, any result against Birmingham will do
The equation for Liverpool
- beat Aston Villa and hope Tottenham City don’t win
- draw with Aston Villa and Tottenham lose (both teams level on points, Liverpool with better goal difference)
Battle to stay up
This is 1 of the tightest relegation battle in years. On the last weekend, there are 5 clubs still facing relegation threat. Other than Wolves, the rest all play away.
This is how the teams are ranked right now.
15. Blackburn, scored 43, conceded 57, GD -14, Pts 40
16. Wolves, scored 44, conceded 63, GD -19, Pts 40
17. Birmingham, scored 36, conceded 56, GD -20, Pts 39
18. Blackpool, scored 53, conceded 74, GD -21, Pts 39
19. Wigan, scored 39, conceded 61, GD -22, Pts 39
The last round of fixtures to decide their fate.
Wolves vs Blackburn
Tottenham vs Birmingham
Man United vs Blackpool
Stoke vs Wigan
The equation for Blackburn to survive
- beat Wolves by any scoreline
- draw with Wolves and 2 or less among Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan win
- draw or lose to Wolves and none of Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan win
- lose to Wolves and only 1 or none among Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan win
- regardless of result with Wolves, any 2 among Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan to draw or lose
How Blackburn will be relegated
- draw with Wolves. Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan all win
- lose to Wolves and any 2 among Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan win
The equation for Wolves to survive
- beat Blackburn by any scoreline
- draw with Blackburn and 1 or none among Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan win
- lose to Blackburn and 1 or none of Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan win
- regardless of result with Blackburn, any 2 among Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan to draw or lose
How Wolves will be relegated
- draw with Blackburn. Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan all win
- lose to Blackburn and any 2 among Birmingham, Blackpool or Wigan win or draw
The equation for Birmingham to survive
- beat Tottenham by any scoreline
- draw with Tottenham. both Blackpool and Wigan lose.
How Birmingham will be relegated
- lose to Tottenham. either Blackpool and Wigan get something from their match.
The equation for Blackpool to survive
- beat Man United by any scoreline
- draw with Man United. both Birmingham and Wigan lose.
How Blackpool will be relegated
- lose to Man United any scoreline.
The equation for Wigan to survive
- beat Stoke by any scoreline
- draw with Stoke. both Birmingham and Blackpool lose.
How Blackpool will be relegated
- lose to Stoke any scoreline.
These are just the standard outcome. There are some exceptional cases, which could make things more complicated.
Barclays Premier League season 10/11, the last round
By · CommentsThis Sunday will be the last round of Barclays Premier League. All things will be known by the time, the league matches end.
As of now, we know the following.
Man United are champions.
Chelsea should be runner up. All they need is a point in the final match to confirm. It is virtually impossible for Man City to overtake them. (Man City need to overcome a 12 goal gap first)
Man City and Arsenal will battle it out for 3rd place, to qualify for Champions League automatically. Currently, Man City lead by a point. The loser will have to settle for 4th spot and will need to play 2 Champions League qualifying matches next season.
Tottenham and Liverpool will fight for 5th place, to qualify for Europa league next season. Although Tottenham is 1 point ahead, Liverpool have a better goal difference.
West Ham finish bottom and are already relegated.
Wigan, Blackpool, Birmingham, Wolves and Blackburn face a battle for their Premier League lives. 2 out of 5 will be relegated at the end of the day. They are just separated by 1 point. With such a close call, anything counts, regardless whether it is goals for, against or goal difference.
For current 7th placed Everton to 15th placed Sunderland, they do not have much to play for except pride. The only thing I can think of, is to finish higher and get more prize money.
The fixture list is as shown below.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Liverpool must win, to have any chance of taking 5th spot from Tottenham.
Bolton vs Man City
Man City need a win, to hold off Arsenal and grab 3rd spot.
Everton vs Chelsea
Fulham vs Arsenal
Arsenal must win, to have any chance of overtaking Man City.
Man United vs Blackpool
Blackpool need a result to have a chance of staying up. Defeat means definite relegation.
Newcastle vs WBA
Stoke vs Wigan
Wigan need a result against Stoke. Defeat means definite relegation for Wigan.
Tottenham vs Birmingham
Tottenham need a win to confirm 5th spot. Birmingham need a win to confirm survival.
West Ham vs Sunderland
Wolves vs Blackburn
This is a direct face off between 2 relegation candidates. The winner will stay up, while the loser will almost definitely go down.
We will go through the permutations of how the match results will affect the relegation battle in the next posting.
Barclays Premier League season 10/11, week 37 round up
By · CommentsTime flies past without us noticing. We have already seen 37 weeks of Barclays Premier League matches played. This coming Sunday will be the last round, that concludes season 10/11. Before that, let’s look at what happened last weekend.
Here are the results of Saturday matches.
Blackburn vs Man United 1 – 1 (1 – 0)
Blackburn were still facing possible relegation, while Man United need something to win their record 19th league title. Man United did most of the attacking, as expected.
However, Blackburn took the lead midway through the first half, when Brett Emerton pounced on defensive error to score. Despite attacking pressure from Man United after that, Blackburn still held a lead at halftime.
In the second half, both teams had chances to score. Blackburn almost caught out Man United a second time, heading against the crossbar with the keeper beaten.
That was to prove costly. Just minutes later, Javier Hernandez latched onto a through pass and surged into the penalty box. Paul Robinson made a desperate attempt to take the ball off him. He brought down the Mexican and conceded a penalty instead. Up stepped Wayne Rooney to level the scores.
For the last 10 over minutes, Man United simply passed the ball without attacking to run down the clock. What a boring way to end the match. Man United would not care a bit. The point against Blackburn, gave Man United their record 19th title. Blackburn are virtually safe after gaining a point.
Blackpool vs Bolton 4 – 3 (3 – 2)
What a thriller between these 2 teams. Nothing too surprising, since both teams like to play attacking football. Sometimes that can be a killer, resulting in thrashings.
This is a roller coaster match, with both teams taking turns to lead the match. In the end, it was Blackpool captain Charlie Adam who won the match for them.
It is a significant win for Blackpool. Even though Blackpool is still in the bottom 3, they are trailing 17th placed Birmingham by goal difference only.
Sunderland vs Wolves 1 – 3 (1 – 1)
Sunderland is really suffering from a slump. That is not helped by having almost all forwards out injured either. Their early season good form, meant that they are safe from relegation. However, Sunderland have too few points, to challenge for Europa spot. There is nothing much to motivate the players for this match.
On the other hand, Wolves are scrapping for survival. Problem is, Wolves are terrible when playing away. They won only 2 times out of 18 matches. With Sunderland suffering key players injuries and poor form, Wolves do have a chance of getting something from the match.
With this win, Wolves live to fight another day. Wolves move out of relegation zone.
WBA vs Everton 1 – 0 (1 – 0)
Here are the results of Sunday matches.
Chelsea vs Newcastle 2 – 2 (1 – 1)
Arsenal vs Aston Villa 1 – 2 (0 – 2)
Birmingham vs Fulham 0 – 2 (0 – 1)
Birmingham are still trapped in a relegation battle. They are known for their strength at home. Fulham are safe and have nothing to play for. They cannot qualify for Europa via league position. These guys are known for poor record.
It is surprising to see Birmingham lose this one at home. Ironically, they were caught out, due to poor defending of set pieces. This is a Birmingham strength. Normally, you will hear of Birmingham scoring from set pieces, instead of conceding them.
With this defeat, Birmingham are still 17th. The problem is, they only lead by goal difference now. Right now, Birmingham must be looking over their shoulder nervously.
Liverpool vs Tottenham 0 – 2 (0 – 1)
This match is quite significant for both teams. They are fighting it out for 5th spot, to qualify for Europa league next season. In the end, Tottenham won and leapfrog Liverpool into 5th spot. It is rare to see Liverpool struggle to score under Kenny Dalglish.
Wigan vs West Ham 3 – 2 (0 – 2)
This is a relegation battle for the clubs involved. The stakes are very big, as the losing team will be relegated.
The match started with both teams looking to attack one another. It was West Ham who drew first blood, Demba Ba scoring in the 12 minute. Wigan looked to fight back and level things, only to be caught out again. Dembe Ba scored a second in the 26 minute. West Ham lead 2 – 0 at the break. Wigan looked dead and buried at this point.
Wigan made 2 halftime changes. It was to prove vital later. The comeback was started, when Charles N’Zogbia scored a free kick in the 57 minute. Subtitute Conor Sammon scored the leveller in the 68 minute. That was his first Wigan goal. The score remained 2 – 2 for quite a while. Deep into injury time, Charles N’Zogbia scored with the last kick of the match and Wigan won 3 – 2. Who would have expected West Ham to lose, after leading 2 – 0?
That score meant that West Ham are relegated. Wigan has 1 last chance to escape the drop.
In a later posting, we will take a look at the last round of matches and analyze the relegation battle.
Man United moving towards record 19th title
By · CommentsWhat a difference this 1 week makes. We have virtually decided the title winner of Barclays Premier League this season. Two weeks ago, Chelsea beat Tottenham with last minute winner. Arsenal also beat Man United, blowing open the title race.
On last Sunday, Stoke hosted Arsenal. Arsenal has virtually no chance at the title. They are now playing for 2nd spot. Who would have expected Stoke to beat Arsenal 3 – 1? Arsenal defended real bad and paid the price.
The potential title decider was Man United against Chelsea. With only 3 points between them, anything can happen. What a start for Man United. Javier Hernandez caught Chelsea defence off guard and scored in the first minute. They continued wave after wave of attacks on Chelsea goal, without adding to their tally. It took almost 30 minutes, before Man United scored again. This time, Nemanja Vidic rose unmarked and headed home. Chelsea did attack, but could not find a way past Edwin van der Saar. 2 – 0 to Man United at the break. Game over for Chelsea, it seemed at that point.
In the second half, Chelsea did take the game to Man United more. Midway through the second half, Frank Lampard scored from a rebound, making the score 2 – 1. However, Man United still managed some chances. Man United could have have killed the match by scoring a third goal. They didn’t and we had a nervy ending to this match.
A 2 – 1 win for Man United, gives them a 6 point lead over 2nd placed Chelsea with 2 games left. As it stands, Man United will win the title, by getting something against Blackburn (away) or Blackpool (home). Their record breaking 19th league title awaits. This is regardless of Chelsea winning their last 2 matches. It is very unlikely that Man United can lose both matches. If they did and lost the title, they deserved it for not killing off their opponents.
That’s it for now. Next time, we will look at the other end of the table and see how the relegation battle develops.
Premier League title race heats up
By · CommentsWhat a twist to the Barclays Premier League title race. Chelsea are back and within striking distance of Man United, after last week’s matches. Just 3 points separate the two teams. With just 3 rounds left to play, anything could be possible.
Last week scores
Chelsea vs Tottenham 2 – 1
Arsenal vs Man United 1 – 0
Man United were looking good, having remained unbeaten in the league for 2010. They took that good form all the way till Feb, where they lost their first match of the season against Wolves. Before that, Man United were unbeaten for 23 league matches this season.
After taking down Man City and Wigan, Man United started March with 2 straight defeats, against Chelsea and arch rivals Liverpool. They went unbeaten with 4 wins in 5, until Arsenal beat them.
Man United have not been able to put a strong winning run, giving their rivals some chance of catching up. However, Man United still have the best home record. They won 16 of 17 matches, drawing 1 against WBA. Chelsea will need to do something nobody has done this season, by winning away at Old Trafford.
At first, we thought Chelsea were long gone, after a mid season slump. After the season low of losing at home to Liverpool, Chelsea turned things around. In the next 10 matches, Chelsea won 8 and drew 2. Among the top teams, Chelsea is definitely the in form team. This included a win against Man United.
Maybe losing the Champions League match against Man United is not such a bad thing. They can concentrate and go on all out assault in the league title race.
Even though Arsenal is out of the title race, their win against Man United still have significance. They threw a spanner in the works, keeping the title race alive for 1 more week at least. Without this result, Chelsea have no more chance. This result will boost Arsenal chances of getting 2nd place (they will need Man United to beat Chelsea). For Arsenal to run out of steam at this stage, is really a waste.
When Man United host Chelsea this weekend, a win for either team will be very significant. Man United win will virtually seal their record 19th league title. Chelsea will go level on points and can overtake Man United on goal difference with a win. This is gonna be 1 hell of a match.
Chelsea vs Tottenham statistics
By · CommentsThis Barclays Premier League match is a London derby, with a lot at stake. Neither team can afford to lose at this late stage of the season. Chelsea has an outside chance for the title. Tottenham are chasing Champions League football, as well as holding off Liverpool for 5th spot.
Historical stat analysis
We look at their head to head record in Barclays Premier League, in the past 3 seasons.
Season 2007/2008
Jan 12, 2008 – Chelsea Tottenham 2 – 0 (1 – 0)
Mar 19, 2008 – Tottenham Chelsea 4 – 4 (1 – 2)
Season 2008/2009
Aug 31, 2008 – Chelsea Tottenham 1 – 1 (1 – 1)
Mar 21, 2009 – Tottenham Chelsea 1 – 0 (0 – 0)
Season 2009/2010
Sep 20, 2009 – Chelsea Tottenham 3 – 0 (1 – 0)
Apr 13, 2010 – Tottenham Chelsea 2 – 1 (2 – 0)
Season 2010/2011
Dec 12, 2010 – Tottenham Chelsea 1 – 1 (1 – 0)
Chelsea used to have upper hand against Tottenham. In recent years, Chelsea seem to lose the edge. However, Tottenham have not won away, even though they have a decent home record against Chelsea.
Current form
Chelsea – 34 matches played, 20 win, 7 draw, 7 loss
Tottenham – 33 matches played, 14 win, 13 draw, 6 loss
Chelsea have the second best home record behind Man United. In 17 home matches, they won 13, losing only 2 of those.
They certainly have firepower (35 scored). The only 2 occasions Chelsea lost at home, was because they could not score. Sunderland and Liverpool are the teams that shut out Chelsea successfully.
Yet again, Chelsea have the second best defence (10 conceded), after Man United. Their stingy defence has allowed them to keep 11 clean sheets. After losing to Liverpool, Chelsea have won 5 straight.
Tottenham are so so when playing away. Their goals record of 22 scored, 24 conceded is rather average. It is the weakest among the top 5. As of now, Tottenham have 2 clean sheets away from home.
This team is quite effective in their attacks. They found the net in 14 of 17 matches played. Tottenham have not won for 3 away matches. Their last away win came against Sunderland.
Prediction
Chelsea is quite strong at home, despite the mid season slump they went through. Tottenham is not that strong playing away. Expect the trend to continue. Chelsea to win 1 – 0, goalless at the break.
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