EPL 2014/15 - Game Week 8

The international break change the fortunes of several national teams. The Germans, World Cup winners lost 0-2 in Poland followed by a 1-1 home draw to Ireland. The Dutch were not better when they were gunned down 0-2 not just by Iceland but by Gylfi Sigurdsson. Meanwhile World Cup failures England maintained their 100% record with Rooney having hit his 43rd goal and almost on their way to France.

Players now return to their clubs to resume normal duty. Luis Suarez is returning to action soon with Barcelona. Will he make the same impact as he did at Liverpool? Will Arsenal and Liverpool bounce back to show some real teeth? Can Chelsea march on or will Manchester City start to regain control? Will Manchester continue their climb back to where they belong? 

We are now into Game Week 8. Watch some of the best goals in September!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=800240846685175&set=vb.266828596693072&type=2&theater

Man City v Tottenham - City are 5 points behind leader Chelsea and looked like the only team most likely to challenge Chelsea to retain their crown. Tottenham are further down in 6th but currently better than Arsenal and Liverpool. City won all 3 matches after a draw with Chelsea. Tottenham are not scoring enough and managed only a goal each in their last 3 matches. Their historical record against City has been dismal. One win and four losses. Last season they were torn apart 6-0 away and 1-5 at home. Pochettino's team plays a high pressing game but Man City can be very clinical. It will be an open and interesting match. City must win to not fall further behind and they will. 3-1.

Arsenal v Hull - The Gunners are having a poor start despite their spending and are on 10 points. The Tigers are surprising just a point behind. There are rumours of Ozil going to Bayern Munich for 30 million pounds and Arsenal going for Julian Draxler or Sami Kheidira. Hull have been scoring 2 goals in their last 5 matches home or away even when they played Man City so there is no problem for them to put 1 or 2 away against Arsenal. The Gunners are blowing hot and cold. They were impressive when they had unbeaten Villa beaten 3-0 in an away game, lost 1-2 at home to Southampton in the League Cup, could not beat Tottenham at home in a 1-1 draw, impressed by beating Galatasaray in Europe 4-1 then lost 2-0 to Chelsea but in the 5 times both teams met, Hull lost every match. Based on Arsenal's trending this term they a due a good game. Last season they won 3-0 away and 3-2 at home. Jack Wilshere is coming of age with his performances for club and country outstanding and Alex Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck are in good form. A home win. 3-1.

Burnley v West Ham - Burnley are one spot above QPR who are last. They could not score in 5 matches but suddenly drew 2-2 away to Leicester. The Hammers are above Arsenal and Liverpool in the table. Do fans at Upton Park still dislike Sam Allardyce as much? If both teams were to turn up in their home kit colours they will look identical - claret and blue. West Ham was once called Thames Ironworks and were originally navy blue but they were said to have copied Aston Villa and so too Burnley as Villa were the most successful team in that era. Burnley are draw specialist at home at Turf Moor will make things tough for their visitors. They have finally scored in 5 matches and conceded goals after three 0-0 draw. 1-1.

Palace v Chelsea - Crystal Palace are finding consistency is difficult thing. They have been one game up and one game down and this should be their up game but they are facing ruthless Chelsea. Chelsea have always beaten Palace but under Tony Pullis revival Palace dented Chelsea's title hopes last season with a shock 1-0 win at this venue. The Eagles flew but Pullis has left the nest. Whether it would be easy for the visitor depends on whether Diego Costa plays. He has scored 9 goals in 7 matches while he failed to deliver for Spain until Monday's 4-0 win over Luxembourg. Chelsea have not conceded a goal in their last 3 matches. It should be another clinical win for Chelsea. 0-2.

Everton v Villa - It is hard to believe a good Everton team in 17th position. They are very good especially last season and have the most settled side. Roberto Martinez was wonderful so what happened? In their last 5 matches they have lost 3 and drew 2. Since winning 1-0 away to Liverpool, Villa have been cursed losing 3 straight matches to illustrious opponents without scoring a goal due to fixture cruelty 0-3 to Arsenal, 0-3 to Chelsea and 0-2 to Man City. In their previous 5 meetings, Villa have not won and lost 3. Everton cannot slip any more. Surely they must win but they need to fix the leaky back line. 2-0.

Newcastle v Leicester - The Magpies could no longer fly and I am no longer sure if Alan Pardew is still around and if so for how long for they have not won for such a long time. The Foxes, after the famous scalp of Man Utd (5-3) crumbled 2-0 to Chelsea and could not beat Burnley at home (2-2). It was like getting a birdie in golf and then played all the bad shots thereafter. The good news for Newcastle is that Leicester have never beaten them in their last 5 meeting since 2002 but on two occasions at St. James Park, Newcastle won. The good news for home fans is that Papiss Cisse has finally scored with 2 goals in their last match while bad news for Leicester is that that top marksman Ulloa with 4 goals in 7 matches has stopped scoring. Ok, Cisse and Ulloa to score. 1-1.

Southampton v Sunderland - The Saints are sitting pretty at third place despite losing 0-1 at Spurs. Their top scorer Pelle has proven to be much better than Balotelli. He just scored Italy's solitary goal away to Malta. He should be adding to his tally for the home side in this match. What a signing he has proven to be by Ronald Koeman! Sunderland have proven to be tough to beat and in their last match was triumphant with a 3-1 win over Stoke. Southampton however, do not have a good record over Sunderland as they have never won in their last five meetings. The tie is quite suggestive of a draw but I am taking the home side to prevail and win because Pelle will score. 2-1. 
 

QPR v Liverpool - QPR are last in the table and Harry Redknapp seems to have lost his plot finally. How is Tony Fernandez going to handle to situation? They have not won in four matches and lost three. Liverpool are frightening different from last season and now hover in 9th position sharing 10 points with West Ham, Arsenal and Villa but are still a better team than QPR. How the visitors can turn into victors away at Loftus Road could be dependent on Daniel Sturridge's return from injury. In the past three seasons when they met, Liverpool won three and lost one. In their last 5 matches QPR conceded 11 goals and scored only 3 times.Liverpool finally won at home against WBA and must look to secure their next victory in order for their season not to slip away. Henderson and Sterling are key and definitely Sturridge if he plays. 0-2.

Stoke v Swansea - When Stoke hosted Swansea in the past they have never lost having won 2 and drew 1. Swansea, after having won 4 in a row have stopped winning for 4 matches drawing their last two. The last 2 matches they played were 3-3 and 1-1. Peter Crouch is highly likely to score as he has scored 4 goals against Swansea in 5 matches. Draw. 1-1.

WBA v Man Utd - The Baggies 3 wins were halted by Liverpool 1-2 narrowly and they were quite in form. Utd have won their last 2 matches at home by 2-1 margin. This was after that infamous 3-5 away hiding from Leicester. Though they are winning and looking better, I am not sure if they  have turned the corner. At the same venue in March, WBA lost 0-3 but if WBA play a tight game they could frustrate the visitors, create anxiety and hope to get a point. But De Gea was in fine form when they last hosted Everton and Utd got Falcao who finally scored and Di Maria who is to me their best player. Away win. 1-2.

(De Gea saves)
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