EPL 2015/16 - Game Week 22

Arsenal are in pole position albeit by goal difference. It is their title to lose. We are at the toughest period of the league from Christmas through the New Year. There are clearer signs of who could be champions, the top four and the relegation candidates. The January transfer window opens. How will teams do business for a game changer? 

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has just won the Ballon d'Or for a record fifth time. There has never been a more dominant player ever! Messi voted for team mate Luis Suarez who was to my surprise not even in the top three while Cristiano Ronaldo voted for team mate Karim Benzema. That made him the best of all time as nobody has won four let alone five and he is only just 28! He has beaten all records and he made it look so easy yet remain humble and for the love of the game. 

(EPL Best Goals!):
https://www.facebook.com/premierleague/videos/1251003694924043/?pnref=story 

Tottenham v Sunderland - Tottenham are fourth and impressive. Who would thought they could boast the best defence. They have lost only two matches and conceded only 16 goals. Then along came Leicester to conquer them at White Hart Lane. Credit to the Foxes. They just need to a little bit more clinical and they could be fighting for the title. If they continue this way and show even more fireworks, who is to say they can't be champions if not now then someday soon. Sunderland look like quite a certainty for relegation this time after flirting with it for several seasons now but then Big Sam must have done something great to inspire them to an unlikely 4-2 away win at Swansea.   

In the past eleven ties, Tottenhma won eight and lost none but Sam Allaryce has a good record against Spurs. Their lat five matches are too contrasting with Spurs having WWDDL and Sunderland LLWLW. There is some hope in that Spurs has not won in their last two and slowing down a bit. Spurs need to watch Jermaine who scored a hattrick and Dutch winger Jeremain Lens. No doubt the Black Cats will make it hard but Tottenham should triumph at White Hart Lane with Harry Kane and Dele Alli to make the impact. 2-1.

Manchester City v Crystal Palace  - City are third but have already lost five matches. They are a different team without Aguero and Kompany. They are a certainty to be top four and possibly champions. At least they have more guts to play than their neighbours. Alan Pardew and Palace are having a great season in seventh position but just got their own medicine of being bamboozled by Chelsea recently. City have a dominant record against Palace having won nine and lost one in ten meetings. Problem is City never appeared to me to be able to run themselves into the ground and Palace could. Can Alan Pardew spring a surprise here? Surely they will need something special. The thing here is that City could not find a way past Everton (0-0) and that was two points lost while Palace slumped to an 0-1 away defeat to Aston Villa. If the Citizens could not get past Everton, can they get past Palace? City have won their last six home matches against Palace. 2-1.

Chelsea v Everton - The defending champions are still a long way home. They did show why in that 3-0 away win at Palace just like good old Chelsea should be. Guud Hiddink may have found they way forward. With such display they could win all their way to top four but it is not so easy and it may be too late to win the title. Everton have scored 36 goals, even more than Arsenal and just slightly behind Manchester City and Leicester but have a porous defence having conceded 29 goals - the sixth worst. But still they are a better team than their Red neighbour. However, the last time they had beaten Chelsea in the league at Stamford Bridge was more than 20 matches ago but they won 3-1 at Goodson Park in September and in their last match have beaten Manchester City 2-1 in the League Cup. They are not going to roll over for Chelsea. While Chelsea were held 2-2 at home by WBA, Everton held Manchester City 0-0 away. Lukaku should find the net. 2-2.

Bournemouth v Norwich - Both sides are in an almost similar position and a few points above relegation. Norwich in 15th and Bournemouth in 16th. Their recent form were not too bad so there remains some hope. Both have been capable of shocking the big boys but against teams at a similar level they have sometimes been found wanting. However, both sides also slumped to 3-1 defeats - Bournemouth at home to West Ham and Norwich away to Stoke. A draw here would not be surprising but I am going for Bournemouth to win. 1-0.

Southampton v WBA - The Saints are 13th while WBA are 12th with two points separating them. In between two losses front and back they hammered the Gunners into a 4-0 submission. The Baggies registered two wins-in-a-row now. The Saints are still suffering in poor form but recovered with an impressive 2-0 win over Watford which is welcomed relief having lost their last three matches while the Baggies were unbeaten in their last three winning two and last holding Chelsea 2-2 away. It is noteworthy that in their last five head-to-head ties they have only produced three goals. Previous scorelines were most often 0-0 or 1-0. 1-0.

Newcastle v West Ham - The Magpies are abject with four consecutive narrow 1-0 losses. How unfortunate. West Ham are in superb form and have been undefeated for awhile. That Liverpool win was special and Andy Carroll is back. Newcastle need something special to get a result. Old boy Carroll has haunted his old club Liverpool, will he also haunt his old club Newcastle? Besides, Dimitri Payet us back and he cold create problems for the home side. The Magpies need belief but while the Hammers could beat the big teams, they have floundered against weaker ones. West Ham only won once in their last 12 visits to St. James Park but they scored an impressive 3-1 win away to Bournemouth. You should have seen the incredible goals from Payet and Valencia. If Newcastle needed inspiration, their last match performance was huge as they battled Manchester United to an enthralling 3-3 draw. 1-1.

(Newcastle v Manchester United):
https://www.facebook.com/SoccerHighlightsToday/videos/1050645111644746/?pnref=story

Aston Villa v  Leicester City - Villa are propping up the table and a sure bet for relegation. They are struggling and losing by bigger margins to their fellow relegation candidates. Coming from where they are, that 1-0 win over Palace was huge. Leicester should know as they fought their relegation battle just last season. Though still second in the table, they have stopped scoring for the last three matches after losing to Liverpool 0-1 followed by 0-0 home draw with City and 0-0 home draw with Bournemouth. Mahrez even got his penalty saved. Have they ran out of gas? Can they sustain and not drop below top four? Take note that few teams these days could go to White Hart Lane and get a result. The Foxes did and won 1-0. Villa improved a little but gaining a point here and there from draws are not enough. 42% of their last 19 matches ended in a draw with Villa winning 21% and Leicester winning 37%. Leicester without Vardy and resting Mahrez held Tottenham 2-2 in the F.A. Cup. This is a good chance to hold on to their position and may their fairy tale continue as long as possible. 1-2.

Liverpool v Manchester United - Liverpool are in 8th but they scored only a meagre 22 goals (worse 6th team) and conceded 24 goals (also the worse 6th). I watched their Watford match and the West Ham game and they were hopeless. They have less fight than the rest of the other so called smaller teams. They were outplayed by West Ham. Klopp did the right thing to give everyone a chance to show and establish themselves but by now it is clear Liverpool are just very average and they only produce defining matches  at times like how they have beaten Chelsea and trounced City. Unless they turn around a big corner now, they will not make it to top four. Manchester United may be fifth but the way they have been playing have left much to be desired. They will be lucky if they could get into the top four. Liverpool lost all their last 5 matches to United. They say a picture paint a thousand words and there is nothing more apt then a video showing a United fan dozing off during a match. It is a sad state of affair becoming like that. LVG has done nothing better than David Moyes. 

Klopp has to wield the axe at some stage. There is not a better time than now. You do not want to create instability but clearly he has to ring in changes even chopping those who are not good enough or not suitable. Being around for some time or performing well at times is not good enough. I was surprised that Liverpool are thinking of giving a 5 year contract to Simon Mignolet. He is a good shot-stopper but he is poor when dealing with crosses and defending set pieces. Again he made the cardinal sin of a goalie by conceding two goals at the near post against Arsenal. Liverpool's record against United have been rather poor. There must be great motivation and hunger to pull this one over a poorer United. Any thing less or a lackadaisical performance would be disastrous. There is not a better time. They tend to do better against the bigger teams. Though this comes straight after a pulsating 3-3 home draw with Arsenal, there is no bigger game. Firmino was finally in superb form scoring a brace and could have got a hattrick if his deft left foot shot went in after hitting the crossbar. I pick Liverpool only because United have been much poorer and if they could produce the kind of performance versus Arsenal. 2-1.

(Newcastle v Manchester United):
https://www.facebook.com/SoccerHighlightsToday/videos/1050645111644746/?pnref=story

Stoke City v Arsenal - Stoke City are in 10th position and they could surprise Arsenal like they did to Man United. Stoke have lost only once to the Gunners at the Britannia in seven outings, winning four and drawing two. The Gunners lost in their last two visits there. It will be tough for Arsenal as Stoke are unpredictable. Even though Stoke could play really well some of the times yet at other times they were erratic. If Arsenal play like they did Southampton or Newcastle, it will be a Stoke win but Arsenal are stronger this year so they could get a result here plus Ozil and Giroud are in fine form. 1-2.

Swansea v Watford - Swansea (17th) have recovered a little  but slipped back to defeat by United. Watford are 9th! Swansea often found it hard to play Watford even at home. They have even lost to Oxford in the FA Cup. The home side is likely to struggle against a very organised Hornets team with the irresistible Odiaon Ighalo almost scoring at will. Both sides have also surprisingly lost teir last game - Swansea 2-4 at home to Sunderland and Watford 0-2 away to Southampton. Time for Ighalo to score again. 1-2.