EPL Game Week 11

Every time when the World Cup is near, the English press will play up their chances by saying England are going to win it. It puts pressure on the team and the players and after a good win praises would be lavished and if a match ends in a draw when they should have won then the knives are out. 

Recently, solid performances and great goals from and Ravel Morrison and especially Andros Townsend who was outstanding for England and they may be getting carried away. There are young players coming up - Seamus Colemann, Ross Barkley (Everton), Danny Rose, Andros Townsend (Tottenham), Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott (Arsenal) - yes after so many years Walcott is still young at 24. 

Then there are others like Andre Wisdom, Raheem Stirling, Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Jack Rodwell (Man City), Wilfried Zaha, Danny Welbeck, Phil Jones, Tom Cleverly (Man Utd), Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana (Southampton), Ravel Morrison (West Ham). There may be more. England should start building their team now with a few older heads like Steven Gerrard and Rooney still leading. Don't build up the unreal expectations, just go and do the best.

Sepp Blatter was incomprehensible when he said Messi is a good boy while Ronaldo was...he was making some gestures and sound which kind of depicted Ronaldo is arrogant and full of petulance. He is not entirely wrong because Ronaldo showed that on the soccer pitch but when he isn't on the pitch Ronaldo does some charitable works and there was a guy who ran onto the pitch during a match to hug him. Ronaldo spoke to the man who hugged him and later led away by police. He took the trouble to write to the authorities not to charge that man. Blatter may have given the impression FIFA was biased.

Alright, now we knew Arsenal had beaten Liverpool, what does the immediate future holds for Arsenal themselves after their visit to Dortmund and Man Utd at Old Trafford this weekend?

Villa v Cardiff - Villa are in 14th position but only 3 points away from bottom three with Cardiff hovering just a point above. Villa have forgotten how to win since they shocked Man City at the end of September while Cardiff breathed fire like dragons when they hosted Swansea in the Welsh derby. Villa have not scored in 4 matches. When you don't score you can't win. They may just score one now. 1-1.

Chelsea v WBA - 2nd place Chelsea host 11th place WBA. They were completely stunned by Newcastle at St. James Park last week. There is the matter of distraction in mid-week European encounter with Schalke 04 at Stamford Bridge. The energy they saved from travelling may well be lost if the Germans give them a stern test. WBA recovered from their Liverpool thrashing to beat Crystal Palace 2-0 and are still improving. In their 5 meetings before, Chelsea led 3-2 with most scores at 1-0 or 2-1. WBA can give them a good game but Chelsea should prevail. 2-1.

Palace v Everton - Palace are propping up the table with a single win and 9 losses with no draws. Mangerless, Palace have lost home and away and in the last 5 matches by at least 2 goals. Even a potent Tottenham could not break down Everton what chance Palace? Everton to win. 0-2.

Liverpool v Fulham - Liverpool's highly touted duo of Suarez and Sturridge were snuffed out by the Gunners but they are 3rd so you have to give them credit for the way they have played. Fulham have lost 3 on the trot and conceded 9 goals. Except for that Kasami goal which was said to be as good if not better than van Basten goal against Russia years ago, there is little to remember about Fulham this season. This tie has never been a draw. When Fulham won they were 1-0 (x2) but when Liverpool won they were by 2 to 4 goal margins. Liverpool to keep their position. 3-1.

Southampton v Hull - The Saints have been a revelation currently occupying 6th and level on points with Man City. Can they sustain the momentum? Hull is at a surprising 10th. The Saints are unbeaten in their last 5 matches conceding only 2 goals, one to Man Utd and the other was a freak goal direct from Stoke goalie Asmir Begovic. But Hull scored against defensively sound teams like Tottenham and Everton. The Saints will be inspired by the selection of captain Adam Lallana and fellow wing forward Jay Rodriguez to the England squad to face Chile and Germany as the World Cup beckons. Close win for the home team at St. Mary's. 2-1.

Norwich v West Ham - Besides Fulham, Norwich's Chris Hughton may be in danger. The Canaries haven't scored in 3 matches and conceded 11 goals to two Manchester teams. They have not beaten West Ham both times they have met. The Hammers are just 2 points above them and are playing slightly better than Norwich but Norwich have home advantage. Could this be a draw? Possible but I pick a West Ham win. 0-1.

Tottenham v Newcastle - Tottenham seemed to have lost a bit of shine while the Magpies' stocks are rising. You may say Chelsea did not play so well last week but credit to Newcastle who defended stoutly for some 30 minutes maybe and started moving the ball around and by the second half were attacking Chelsea winning with 2 good goals. In 5 previous encounters, they drew twice, Newcastle won once and Spurs twice on both occasions being at White Hart Lane. If Newcastle repeat that performance, it will be tough for Tottenham. Tottenham have a mid-week game with Sheriff while Newcastle rested. Draw. 1-1.

Sunderland v Man City - The Black Cats are up-trending. They have just beaten Southampton in the CCup. Gus Poyet must be doing something right but they are facing a now rampant Man City who put 7 past Norwich without reply last week and followed up with 5 goals past CSKA Moscow. This isn't the tailor who swat and kill 7 flies. However, in their previous head-to-head encounters, they both won twice and drew once. No chance for Sunderland even though they are home unless they play out of their skin as City are in form now. 1-3.

Man Utd v Arsenal - Do not miss this match. Both are topping their table in the Champions League. Utd are picking up a bit but not at their previous level. Arsenal went down to Dortmund at home then Chelsea again in the CCup but got back quickly with an impressive win over Liverpool. Arsenal went to Dortmund and won, a Herculean task and the only English team to win there. This means that the Gunners are impressive away from home. A win for either team will serve as a big boost. Arsenal seems the better team now but Utd can surprise. Utd have lost to lesser team this season so can they handle in-form Arsenal but history favours the Red Devils as they won 3 drew 1 and lost 1 in past meetings. Can Utd up the ante just because it is Arsenal? Or will Arsenal rewrite a new chapter? It could go either way or may be end up a draw. Utd have been conceding goals with a goal difference of 17-13 versus Arsenal's 22-9. They are in championship form. Nobody dared to or dare to think they could go to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund and get wins there. They did. I think Arsenal for once can ace this one. 1-2.

Swansea v Stoke - Swansea played in mid-week while Stoke rested. Swansea's recent form has cause for concern both home or away. While Stoke held Southampton at home last week, Swansea lost to Cardiff away but Stoke are poor away from home winning one and lost 4 matches. In their last four meetings, Stoke win both home matches and Swansea also won both home matches all by 2 goal margins. They never drew. Swansea win. 2-1.