EPL Game Week 10

It was a great weekend of exciting soccer. The table made for unusual reading. (1) Arsenal (2) Chelsea (3) Liverpool (4) Tottenham (5) Southampton (6) Everton (7) Man City (8) Man Utd. The bottom four are (17) Stoke (18) Norwich (19) Sunderland (20) Crystal Palace. Holloway parted ways with Palace and Sunderland sacked di Canio. Chris Hughton could be in danger.

I once saw Newcastle promoted and played great soccer under Kevin Keegan with not many famous players. I believed they had just beaten Anderlecht in Europe when the Belgian team's manager told Keegan that he had never witnessed high quality football played at such a pace. The Magpies brought in lots of high quality players and they played some of the most breathtaking soccer but soon the team disintegrated. Palace may be facing this problem just like QPR did last season. Remember Philip Albert, David Ginola, Peter Beardsley, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer? 5 of the best! Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofK3WwdUZHo

Arsenal deserved to be top. Arteta was wrongly dismissed. Palace could have changed the complexion of the match but for Szczesny's jaw dropping saves. Giroud continued his fine form to put the game beyond reach condemning Palace to bottom. 

Chelsea played what I thought was a very good match but the City kept it tight until a misunderstanding between Nastasic and Hart gave a Torres goal. Both Aguero and Torres were outstanding. It must have been Torres best for Chelsea in the EPL.

Liverpool may have convinced many that this could be their year if not very soon in this match. Suarez definitely sealed his place in Liverpool folklore. His hattrick was special, first he dribbled past one and nutmegged another before placing his low shot to the goalie's far right. His second was a powered header that went in like a bullet before flipping a glancing header to complete that hattrick. He almost got a fourth with an overhead kick that the goalie pushed onto the crossbar. When you thought that it was hard to top that, Sturridge made an audacious chip from 20 yards to the goalie's top left corner. Do you remember Kevin Keegan and John Toshack? 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWeYlUNZku0 (Keegan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwdXy90JTVo (Toshack)

Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush? Suarez and Sturridge have that same cutting edge. 

Tottenham no longer attack continuously at pace without being tight at the back and getting the right results. Slow and steady to win the race. The 1-0 win over Hull epitomised it. Andy Townsend has been all the rage.

Southampton have been all good but with a solid defence led by Lovren, even Fonte is looking the part. Lallana and Lambert are even better than before. Credit to manager Pochettino. I really wish to see them sustain the pace. 

Everton proved once again they could hold their own against the best and to win 2-0 away at Villa Park spoke volume. Martinez seemed to have added adventure to their play and now getting more wins. They deserved it. What did they do to Romelu Lukaku?

Man City were not exactly city slickers. They are capable of much better with that kind of squad but I like Pelligrini. Always calm and collected. Joe Hart was in trouble again. What's wrong with him? He lacks competition at club and country level? Or has he been trying too hard? He better recover soon, his place is threatened and the World Cup is coming.

Man Utd Stoke do not normally score two goals so finding the Red Devils trailing at  home was thrilling. It was once again Rooney to the rescue before Hernandez confirmed the deal. 

Everybody should start playing before and be happy before the aliens come. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/5644/mysterious-circles/2013/10/27/4363426/mysterious-figures-at-bayern-munich?ICID=HP_FT_4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgWKtJwkw4o

We are in Game Week 10 now, almost a third of the season. What's coming up? 

Newcastle v Chelsea - Newcastle did well when they hosted Liverpool but were second best against Sunderland to every ball in their derby. Chelsea proved their mettle when they had City beaten. I thought they were impressive against a strong City side. If I were to ask you which is the stronger team, the answer would be too obvious. However, the Magpies can take heart based on their previous 5 meetings from oldest to newest (based on Newcastle) - 2-2 (A), 0-3 (H), 2-0 (A), 0-2 (A), 2-3 (H). Based on current form and strength it has got be be Chelsea to enable them to breathe down the neck of Arsenal and Liverpool with Torres back in fine form. I fancy an away win. 1-2.

Fulham v Manchester United - Fulham was good for two matches beating Stoke 1-0 and then Crystal Palace 4-1 away. After their 0-2 loss to Southampton, they got worse when beaten 4-3 by Leicester City in the CCup. This is terrible form and now meeting an improving Utd side that had beaten Norwich 4-0 in the CCup. Match up their previous record and Fulham have not only not beaten Utd but lost in everyone of their last 5 meetings. Fulham are scoring so they may get a goal here against a poorer Utd defence this season but I pick the Devils to win and Rooney to score again.  I will be utterly shocked if Fulham even pulls off a draw. 1-2.

Hull v Sunderland - Hull played Tottenham twice in a row losing 0-1 in the League and held 2-2 before losing 8-7 through penalty kicks. It showed that the Tigers can play and are a determined side. They are really doing rather well in 10th place! Will they be drained after an exhausting match, extra-time and penalties? They will be playing an improved Sunderland who rested well after playing like men possessed against Newcastle. In four previous encounters, the record is against Hull. Sunderland won all with identical scoreline of either 4-1 or 1-0 (both home and away). It will be their first draw. 2-2.

Manchester City v Norwich - City bounced back from that 1-2 defeat by Chelsea with an away win at Newcastle in the Cup. Norwich gave Man Utd their biggest win in the Cup, 4-0. History, form and home advantage strongly suggest a City win. Out of 5 encounters, Norwich won only once. Their match up tended to produce many goals - all 5-7 goal thrillers - 3-2, 4-3, 5-1, 6-1. The Canaries are leaking goals.  Chelsea put 3 past them. Arsenal and then Man Utd put 4 past them. Norwich must be hoping Joe Hart returns at goal for City so they could get a gift. 4-1.

Stoke v Southampton - Stoke put up a good show away to Man Utd. They played Birmingham away to a 4-4 draw before winning on penalties. They are both scoring and conceding. Southampton are on song. I am excited for them to hold on to their winning streak and form. The Saints have won 2-0 in their last five matches except that away 1-1 draw with Man Utd. This is impressive. Their two previous head to head meet were 3-3 and 1-1. It could be another draw but Southampton rested while the Potters laboured to penalty  kicks win. An away win for The Saints. 1-2.

WBA v Palace - After the flogging by Liverpool, it is a relief to meet Crystal Palace. WBA's record is DWDDL, Palace is LLLLL and at the bottom. Caretaker manager Keith Millen face an uphill task. Anyone should feel for them. Gus Poyet and the Pope have helped Sunderland last week. So who can help Millen? 2-1.

West Ham v Villa - West Ham had Burnley beaten 2-0 in the CCup. Actually the Hammers and Burnley have almost identical kit colours of claret and blue. The other team that sports claret and blue are Aston Villa which is their next opponent. While the Hammers toiled in Cup action, Villa had a good rest but their results have not been pretty except that they have a better head to head record against West Ham, having won 3, drew 1 and lost once. I am going against the grain to pick a home victory. 2-1.

Arsenal v Liverpool - Match of the day bros! Must watch! It will come on your screen at 0030 hours Sunday morn. No distraction from any kind of dinner or outings. The top teams are fighting and we will get a better glimpse of their mettle after the match. A draw will not be good as Chelsea is lurking. The Gunners had just lost 0-2 to Chelsea at the Emirates in the CCup while Liverpool flogged WBA 4-1 with four impressive goals. In a match of such magnitude, they shall come as equals. In five previous meets, there were 2 draws with Arsenal leading 2-1 in wins. Arsenal had a mid week exertion while Liverpool rested. I do not see an advantage for the home team so I think it will be a draw. Ozil and Ramsey to score for Arsenal and of course Suarez and Sturridge for Liverpool. 2-2.

Everton v Tottenham - Everton continued to impress with their ethics and results. Tottenham are holding up their fortress carefully winning 1-0 and 2-0. Only two places and a single point separated them. Tottenham do not seemed to like playing Everton as their last 5 matches report suggested. They have only won once, drawn once and lost thrice. But I am confident this Spurs side have greater resilience. They may be a little tired with that adventure with Hull in the Cup but Tottenham were using different players and resting some. No serious adverse effect. A draw would be the most likely result. 1-1.

Cardiff v Swansea - Based on the pretty soccer, Swansea should win but like most sports, soccer is not easy because we need consistency. With consistency you can be great. Even a good passing team like Swansea can sometimes find it just hard to maintain form and have been scoring less goals of late.Cardiff went to Carrow Road and drew 0-0 while Swansea hosted West Ham and drew 0-0. Swansea may not travel as well. Draw. 2-2.