EPL Game Week 17

EPL was pure magic over the weekend. Manchester City 6 Arsenal 3 and Tottenham 0 Liverpool. Going into the Christmas period, table positions may just change. Man City was irrepressible, Arsenal lost twice in a row, Tottenham back to bad, Chelsea struggled and Liverpool was master class. I'll bring you the next games in Game Week 17 and later 18 and 19. Meanwhile in Europe, Man City drew Barcelona in the knock out phase, Man Utd got Olympiacos, Chelsea will meet Galatasaray and Arsenal drew Bayern Munich. City and Arsenal got no luck or do Barcelona and Bayern Munich worry about who they got this time? 

 Last week, there were some cheer for English players. Seamus Coleman and Gareth Barry scored for Everton, Jordan Henderson played his best in a Liverpool shirt and scored and so did Raheem Sterling for Liverpool and Danny Welbeck grabbed a clever brace added by Tom Cleverly for Man Utd.

 This week, I celebrate the unstoppable genius of Luis Suarez:

 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=644867002222561&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater

Liverpool v Cardiff - Liverpool played like the home team at White Hart Lane. They were without their skipper Steven Gerrard. The soccer dished out by Liverpool was fast and furious. Plenty of quick one-twos, solid teamwork, they were hungry and many players shone. Even Jon Flanagan scored like a veteran striker. Raheem Sterling was so quick he ran the Spurs defence ragged. Jordan Henderson so often underrated was actually outstanding. Luis Suarez was out of this world. His first goal was a solo one-two by himself and the second was such a great flick. He has now scored 17 goals in 11 appearances and his recent performances suggested he is right up there with Messi and Ronaldo. Watch:


Liverpool have now scored 3/3/5/4/5 = 20 goals in the last 5 matches. With Suarez so red hot can Cardiff stop them? Cardiff scored 3 goals and conceded 7 in the last 5 matches. Cardiff could surprise but with Liverpool on song, it will be hard to stop them now. In fact, they seemed to be better without Gerrard. 3-0.

Palace v Newcastle - Palace have been doing rather well these days and they gave Chelsea a hard time even though they have lost 1-2 but the Magpies have been playing with a new purpose and maturity. With home ground advantage they could frustrate the visitors. It will be close but Newcastle has the ability to get a winner. Expect Loic Remy pop up and score. 1-2. 
Fulham v Man City - Fulham's revival in the 2-0 win over Villa was short-lived. Everton thrashed them 4-1. If you have seen how City torn Arsenal apart with the Gunners being the team with the best defence and with the best away form, Fulham can only hope that City's poor away form comes back and that they have duly played their best match of the season. Yaya Toure and Fernandinho dominated the middle of the park while Aguero and Nasri created all kinds of troubles. Looking at Fernandinho you can imagine how Brazil would fare in the World Cup. Add Paulinho and Coutinho and you will understand the talents at Brazil's disposal. Watch: 


But City have shown in their 3-2 away win over Bayern Munich could have been the change they were looking for. Aguero may not be back in time from injury but City have a deep squad. Man City have signalled to the league their potential and fired a warning about their form in Europe. Easy win for City. 0-3.
Man Utd v West Ham - Danny Welbeck was outstanding. Was Utd very good or simply Villa being bad? Perhaps a bit of both. They will surely be more threatening with RVP and they do not have a lot of margin for any more losses. Fortunately, their Christmas run in is more favourable than others. West Ham's problem is a lack of fire power. Andy Carroll was a big mistake. So this is as straight as it gets. Man Utd back to scoring and the Hammers that have problem scoring. 2-0.

Stoke v Villa - Stoke is in 13th while Villa is in 11th position. Stoke played two 0-0 matches and in between was that brilliant win over Chelsea. Villa drew twice before an impressive 3-2 win at Southampton. Between them, they drew 4 times 0-0 and 1-1. In their last meeting, Villa won 3-1 away. Scoring is not their forte so expect a low score draw. 1-1.

Sunderland v Norwich - Between them in the old records, they are almost equal. The Gus Poyet effect seemed to have died down leaving Sunderland in a trail of LDLLD. Norwich improved some what to LWLWD. With a little luck the home team can win but when you are struggling, things get harder. Will the inspiration from the Cup win over Chelsea rub off and fire Sunderland up? Home win. 2-1.

WBA v Hull - The Baggies have lost 4 matches on the trot. Steve Clark became the latest casualty to get the sack even though he has done a great job over the years. With their confidence low, it will be tough to beat even Hull. I propose a draw here. 2-2.

Southampton v Tottenham - The Saints stopped their rot of 3 losses to remain unbeaten for 2 matches.  Tottenham was recovering well with two away wins but got crushed badly by Liverpool at home. They may wallow in sorrow or come back strongly but Southampton at the St. Mary's are no slouch. It will be close as either side could win by a goal. Even Man City could not win here. AVB has been finally sacked by Tottenham. Morale is not good but the highly regarded Tim Sherwood is taking over temporarily but is of no immediate help as they lost to West Ham in the Cup. Draw. 1-1.

Swansea v Everton - Swansea have never beaten Everton in their last 4 match up. For that matter, very few teams could beat Everton. Unless Everton suffer from a sudden loss of form, it will be their game to win. 1-2.

 Arsenal v Chelsea - I think Arsene Wenger miscalculated by getting Arsenal to take the game to Man City. You can't blame him for they are the table toppers, have the best defence and are the best in form for away games. If they had won, it will be a big psychological boost but they were completely torn apart by City's perfect attacking prowess. They lost the midfield as Wishere was restricted, Ramsey could not show the same fiery form and Ozil looked ordinary. The Gunners need a home win to stay at the top or they will not only be dislodged but it could be go downhill and struggle after Christmas. While Giroud was awful with his misses, Walcott's comeback with a brace was splendid especially that second goal from an angle that beat City's giant goalie Pantilimon. History does not favour Arsenal as they have lost to Chelsea in their last 3 matches. Do they have the character to bounce back with a win? Chelsea are chasing close by but have not impressed me. The Gunners must win in this type of match to show their title ambition. There is no better time for Arsenal to beat Chelsea as their nemesis Didier Drogba is no more. 2-1.

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