EPL - Game One Review & Gameweek 2 Preview


Newcastle was surprising resilient at St. James Park but Joey Barton should be sent off. He successfully got Gervinho sent off by hauling the man up from the ground pulling his shirt and when Gervinho raised his hand and touched him lightly, he fell to the ground like in great pain. You just can't raise a hand. Barton made a questionable tackle too. Welcome to the EPL. Before that Gervinho looked good and lively. The Gunners tried but could not impose themselves. With Fabregas gone and Nasri moving, Arsenal need to raise their game. Thanks to Theo Walcott he got the lone goal against Udinense to take it to Italy for the return. The consolation is that Liverpool and Chelsea drew their opening games. Arsene Wenger has been doing all the right things by not blowing away unrealistic money but it is time to get a few quality players.

Liverpool v Sunderland 1-1





Liverpool dominated the first half and should have the game wrapped up by half time. It was pleasing to see their return to short passing and movements. Charlie Adam was commanding midfield left he never left from last season. Andy Carroll has a goal disallowed. He was as usual quite a handful. Luis Suarez was turning and twisting and got a penalty which he completely blasted into row Z, surprising for such a cool finisher. Clearly Kieran Richardson should be given the red card as he was the last defender but was showed a yellow. Adam's low and wicked free-kick just needed an approving nod from Suarez's head to rapturous applause but they allowed Sunderland to come back int the second half as Liverpool fizzled. A bit like our golf game of a one half wonder. It was a promising first half showing but you have to take our chances. Credit should be given to Steve Bruce and his boys and boy did you see Laarson's first time flying volley? Well, no beach ball to blame this time.

Stoke City v Chelsea 0-0

Andre Villas Boas the 39 year old new Chelsea boss got his baptism of fire. Stoke gave them everything typically British. Chelsea had two penalty calls and perhaps one should be given. Credit to Stoke for a good start. I thought Fernando Torres was looking sharp again with some great runs and was surprised he took the field ahead of Didier Drogba.

WBA v Manchester United 1-2



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndYsZ-1yB3A


Vidic and Ferdinand made it together but now it looked like Vidic may be out for two weeks and Ferdinand six weeks. With Rafael out for ten weeks, a make shift defence needed to be patched up. It did not help that David De Gea followed up with the Charity Shield blunder with another howler. It does not give your defenders confidence. It will be interesting to see how wily old fox Sir Alex would be doing. Rooney opened with a classic striker's goal but WBA played really well never once showing that they were inferior and frankly deserved a point. Ashley Young looked like he has been at Old Trafford all his life when he scored a deflected goal classified an own goal. He immediately repaid the faith in him. That is the difference between the Red Devils and the others. Winning yet again when it should have been a draw.

Manchester City v Swansea






Great start for Roberto Mancini and yes Sergio Aguero scored a brace. David Silva is becoming a very important player for them. I pick Dzeko in my Premier Leagues Fantasy team because I thought he would score and he did. I hope they would be bring ore excitement with their calibre. If not for Mancini, City should have gotten Kevin Keegan back as manager so that he could field his team with eleven strikers.


It wasn't a big bang opening day in the EPL. I hope for a bigger things to happen from the second game.


Gameweek Two

Sunderland v Newcastle


The Black Cats will be holding this derby at the Stadium of Light. Derbies are usually scrappy affairs. Both teams showed resilience in their openers. A draw on the cards? Sunderland could edge this one 2-1. Barton could start a fight being alone in an empty room. He better hope to stay on for 90 minutes.


Arsenal v Liverpool


Match of the day definitely. Clashing so early on where both need a result and an impression. Arsenal seems to lack a leader on the pitch. Gervinho is probably suspended giving Barton the chance to make a meal of that incident. Robbie van Persie may be doubtful. Walcott got a goal in midweek in Europe so he should lead the front line. Andy Carroll is due a goal and Suarez shall put to good use his considerable Latin guile again. Watch out for Charlie Adam free kicks. It's too early in the season. 1-1.


Aston Villa v Blackburn


Villa got a point against Fulham and hosting at Villa Park, they could go one up on Blackburn who collapsed to Wolves at home. Unfortunately Ashley Young is now plying his trade at Old Trafford. 1-1.

Everton v QPR

Starting at Goodison Park may be a good thing as their opener was postponed due to riots in London where they were due to play Spurs but Everton are slow starters. Don't think they have added much to their team but they have a good manager in David Moyes. QPR played quite adventurously at home but got whacked 4 times by Bolton. They may get a better result if they become more defensive and adjusting to a new level may take some time. 2-0.


Swansea v Wigan
Swansea was the biggest loser on opening day. Wigan by now are seasoned survivors but they allowed Norwich to come back. Swansea may have to wait longer for a win. 0-1 to Wigan.

Chelsea v WBA


Not an easy job for AVB (Andre Villas Boas) here stepping in at Stamford Bridge. Man U was lucky to get away with 3 points from WBA but I thought they played well. Torres badly needs a goal or would Drogba be preferred being a lot more physical? They should field both and get a 2-0 win. One each from Drogba and Torres.

Norwich v Stoke

Norwich got a point and now welcome Stoke. Norwich is delicate just like their namesake - Canaries. Stoke are like a British bulldog. Tweety bird needs the bulldog to fend the cat but in the cat's absence, the bulldog could be king. 1-2.

Wolves v Fulham

Wolves are actually a very decent team with good players like Ward, Fletcher, Jarvis, etc. Hey, they won away to Blackburn. At the Molineux, they need to hunt in packs like, yes, wolves. If Wolves were decent, Fulham is wee bit more than decent. 2-2.


Bolton v Manchester City

The top two teams for the moment are in rampant mood having both ran out 4-0 winners. Impressive. City will find the challenge different this time as Bolton will battle like rams. Cahill's goal was superb coming from a centre back and midfielder Muamba and striker Klasnic are in fine form. Aguero will be looking to add more to his brace over Swansea with the second one a beauty. Dzeko physical presence becomes important if they hope to breach Bolton's defence but one of the most important player for City is really David Silva. Slight of frame but a giant in midfield and attack. 1-2 to Abu Dhabi City.

Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspurs


Spurs' delayed opener may be a blessing. They were one of the most exciting teams of last season, the most improved lot. Harry Redknapp hope to work his magic again. Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Defoe's speed could trouble a weakened United defence with a shaky keeper. Modric is key to Spurs's midfield but watch out for those thunderbolts from Huddlestone. Captain Dawson will marshal their back line against Rooney and company. In a sense there is no better time to play the Red Devils. 2-2.


Have a great soccer weekend!

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