EPL Game Week 32

Goals galore in the EPL. On Saturday night alone there were 32 goals in eight matches. There were several great goals and two were very special. One by Yaya Toure was a beauty and the one by Rooney takes the cake. Arsenal have just made it harder for themselves, Chelsea are in championship form, City are back with games in hand and Liverpool came back in a thriller. Do not forget the bottom dwellers fighting for their survival. Fulham and Cardiff got mauled, Palace and WBA are just a few points higher up but Sunderland have games in hand. We will be reaching the climax soon. How will things stack up this week?

Top goals of the week:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=692011437508117&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater (highlight, right click and click go to:)

Man Utd v Villa - I was not sure if the Red Devils are really back or was it the Hammers being rather poor. Under David Moyes they have broken many new records, negative ones. Was it Moyes fault or Ferguson who hand-picked him and left him an old, thin and depleted squad. When you saw that Rooney goal, it gave some hope to Man Utd fans but with RVP out followed by another 3-0 thrashing at home by their noisy Blue neighbours, what chance do they have when they meet Bayern Munich? 

This time facing Villa may give them an opportunity to stop the rot. In their last 5 meetings, Utd won all of them. Will another new record be broken? Villa thrashed Norwich 4-1, upset Chelsea 1-0 but got walloped by Stoke 4-1. I pick Utd to win. 2-1.

Watch (Rooney's goal):

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=691860944189833&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater
Palace v Chelsea - Chelsea do not put six goals past teams week in and out and Palace are at home but question is can Palace do a Villa? Their last 5 matches results could not have more stark contrast with 2 draws being Palace's best results and they were against fellow strugglers Swansea and Sunderland. Chelsea except for that Villa blip were all conquering including that famous 6-0 romp with Arsenal. Chelsea must be considered strong favourites to land the title. In those 5 matches Palace scored only once while Chelsea conceded only one and scored 16. My prediction will be so obvious. 0-2. 
Southampton v Newcastle - The Saints started brightly and took a 2-0 lead over Tottenham. Not only did they allowed Spurs to draw level, they conceded a last gasp 90+2 minute goal to go down 2-3. Meanwhile, the Magpies did exactly the reverse, scoring in injury time to clinch victory over Crystal Palace. Although Southampton seemed to have conceded goals so easily Newcastle let in 3 at home to Everton and the fact is that the Saints will outscore the Magpies. Home win for me. 2-1.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=692322210810373&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater
Stoke v Hull - You won't believe how good Stoke have been, quietly climbing up the ladder. Hull are no slouch either. Mark Hughes v Steve Bruce both ex Manchester United players honing their skills as managers. Stoke is no easy place to visit sometimes even for top teams and they are in fine form having just destroyed Villa 4-1 away. Another Stoke win is on the card. 2-1.

 Swansea v Norwich - Swansea secured a life saving point against Arsenal. I did not watch the match but it seemed to suggest that Arsenal was bad rather than Swansea being good plus the Swans have a poor record against the Canaries although swans are bigger than canaries. In their last 5 meetings, they never won, drew twice and lost the rest even when at home. Norwich just got boosted with a 2-0 win over Sunderland. I reckon this match to be a draw. 1-1.
WBA v Cardiff - 3 points separate both teams but WBA have a game in hand. I thought Cardiff played really well scoring 3 goals against Liverpool but eventually succumbed 3-6 while WBA went down 2-0 at Hull. Funny thing was when asked what he thought about Liverpool challenging for honours, Cardiff manager and former Man Utd striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: "I couldn't care less". Don't think it was a good way as he could have said anything better than that. For his petulance, WBA shall win. 2-1.
Arsenal v Man City - Arsene Wenger has done wonders for Arsenal and English football. He bought young players and developed and eventually sold them as superstars. In his 1,000th game in charge, it was supposed to be a celebration but instead he got a mauling from Chelsea. The game was once again over in 10 minutes. Man Utd once hit them 8-2, City whacked them 6-3, Liverpool thrashed them 5-1 and now Chelsea mauled them 6-0. His purist attitude needs some rethink and the Gunners need a few good men of steel. Why wasn't Flamini involved in such a game? Arsenal have a soft centre which is Chelsea's strength and they got fully exploited. Injuries aside, he needs a Patrick Viera and seriously prolific strikers. Of course he tried to sign Suarez but failed. 

 Unless something happen elsewhere, it may be better for them to focus on the F.A. Cup with Wigan, Hull or Sheffiled Utd in the way. Besides, the Gunners were hardly impressive at home against a Swansea side that were not winning and they struggled. Meanwhile, City have been impressive as they trounced their Red neighbours at Old Trafford. With 2 games in hand they must be favourites followed by Chelsea who have points in hand. Liverpool must beat them both when they visit Anfield to have chance while Arsenal's hopes are realistically fainting. They should focus on fighting for top 4 now as Everton is breathing down their neck. Can Arsenal spoil City's party? Not likely as their morale aren't that good and Yaya Toure has been fantastic! 1-2.

(Arsenal v Swansea):
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=693450654030862&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater

(Man Utd v Man City):
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=693457027363558&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater

Fulham v Everton - Fulham was whacked 5-0 by City while Everton went to St. James Park and trounced Newcastle 3-0. Felix Magath will have a hard time for the remainder of the season keeping Fulham afloat. Everton are on winning form. 1-2.
Liverpool v Tottenham - Liverpool are on a roll. 5 wins out of their last 5 matches (actually even more wins if you include much earlier matches) while Tottenham had just won the first time after 5 matches. When they last met at White Hart Lane, they put 5 past Spurs without reply. Tottenham have a chance for revenge but Anfield has become a fortress again. Will the SAS maybe even the 4Ses (Suarez, Sturridge, Steven (Gerrard) and Sterling) create mayhem again? This is another must win for the home side if they hope to land the title then go on to beat Chelsea and City. 3-1.

(Cardiff v Liverpool):
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=691849054191022&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater

 (Liverpool v Sunderland) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=693897223986205&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater
Sunderland v West Ham - The Black Cats put out a good struggle against Liverpool but still went down. The Hammers just won again at Upton Park over Hull but they have a poor record against Sunderland having never won in 5 meetings in the past. Sunderland have tough fixtures coming up - Tottenham (away), Everton (home), Man City (away) and Chelsea (away). They must get something from this match. 2-1.

 The table now reads (1) Chelsea P31 Pts 69, (2) Liverpool P31 Pts 68, (3) Man City P29 Pts 66. How will it look after the weekend?

 Have a great EPL weekend!

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