EPL 2017/18 - Game Week 18

Everyone lost points except Manchester City. No wonder they celebrated in their dressing room at Old Trafford and when an unhappy Jose Mourinho went in and asked them to tone down, it led to a ruckus and a melee ensued. City now 46 points and lead 2nd place United by 11 points, Chelsea are 3rd with 32, Liverpool 4th with 30, Arsenal 5th with 29 and Tottenham 6th with 28. The bottom three consists of West Ham (18th), Swansea (19th) and Crystal Palace (20th).

City dominated United with at least 65% possession. Lukaku have not scored in a while and not only did he not scored here but he gave away City's winning goal. He fumbled a mistimed clearance which hit Smalling and Otamendi scored the winner.

Meanwhile, at Anfield, Klopp named a surprised lineup as his rotation kicked in. He rested Firmino and Mane against Chelsea, Salah and Coutinho against Stoke, Hendrson against Spartak Moscow and then Coutinho and Firmino against Everton. It could have been a mistake when they needed a win here especially when Chelsea and Arsenal dropped points and surely City or United would. 69% possession and domination was not enough. Liverpool created many chances but never converted. Joe Gomez  was very good. Only second best to Mohamed Salah. He was reliable, defended stoutly, he is tall, strong, fast and powerful. He won tackles, passed well and has a great cross. But Dejan Lovren has to do it again! He gave the game away by conceding a penalty needlessly. Calvert-Lewin was moving to the left and there was no immediate danger but Lovren toched him and he fell. Lovren has a great tendency to cause calamity. He has to make silly and simple mistakes. Why can't Klopp play Gomez in the middle and keep James Milner at right back? WHy was Salah taken off so early when he was the main threat? Lovren is simply not good enough and for me he should not play for Liverpool again. Even a cat has only nine lives. Jordan Pickford showed his worth and could end up as England's numero uno at the World Cup. Only Stoke's Jack Butland poses a challenge. Pickford has the longest goal kick in the Premier League and sooner and later he is bound to score a goal. He is also the most lethal with a goal kick picking up his man from way far out. 

David Moyes proved he is the right man for the Hammers as West Ham played and fought their way to an unlikely victory. Based on Chelsea's form it was not possible. The Hammers were compact and shouldered on bravely to get the win. Adrian was far better than Joe Hart. This may pave the way for Gareth Southgate to find a new number one.

The mid-week games brought more harbinger of things to come - Burnley 1 Stoke 0, Crystal Palace 2 Watford 1, Huddersfield 1 Chelsea 3, Newcastle 0 Everton 1, Southampton 1 Leicester 4, Swansea 0 Manchester City 4, Liverpool 0 WBA 0, Manchester United 1 Bournemouth 0, Tottenham 2 Brighton 0, West Ham 0 Arsenal 0.

Leicester City v Crystal Palace - The Foxes are back. They have been unbeaten for awhile and won four on the trot and are deservedly in 8th place. Claude Puel has gotten them back. Not many teams go to the St. Mary's and won 4-1. Roy Hodgson has given Palace hope with 3 draws and 2 wins on their last 5. Vardy, Mahrez and company are back for sure. Palace are also gaining belief and confidence and if they up the ante may get a draw but Leicester are in top gear and at home. Home win. 2-1.

Arsenal v Newcastle - This may indeed by Arsene Wenger's last season. He was a great manager ahead of his time - last time. Both sides are in a slump. The Magpies have not won like in ages. A 0-1 home loss to Everton said it all but they can take comfort in the fact that Arsenal visited West Ham in a London derby and drew a blank. If Bennitez comes up with a good strategy, Arsenal could be further frustrated but Newcastle are in such poor form it takes a brave man to not favour a home win. 3-1.

Brighton v Burnley - Brighton's stock has dwindled and only their early season form has kept them in 12th place. Meanwhile, Burnley's 6th position was no fluke. Sean Dyche has been doing it by building a solid team with minimum budget. This is to me the best manager attributes. The greatest managers build from scratch and punch above their weight with limited resources. I can see them having their best ever season in the top flight. Their dream will flow on. 1-2.

Chelsea v Southampton - Champions Chelsea are still a very good team but their 0-1 defeat by West Ham was a shocker and David Moyes has shown how it can be done. If Morata or Hazard is injured, they may struggle a bit. The Saints were brilliant against Arsenal but were crushed when they at the same home venue by Leicester. Yet Chelsea is in 3rd place and only 3 points behind United. Stamford Bridge's fortress is too much for the visitors. 2-0.

Stoke City v West Ham - Stoke are struggling. They have only bullied Swansea 2-1 in their last 5 matches and conceded 12 goals and scored 4. The Hammers have awaken. Having lost narrowly away to City (1-2), they shocked Chelsea (1-0) and held Arsenal (0-0). How many teams can do this playing back to back against the top teams. I think Moyes can get another win here. 1-2.

Watford v Huddersfield - The Hornets' early season form was very impressive that why they are keeping in 9th position. Huddersfield were the same. See what a few wins can do for you. Everton's poor start and then a few wins later are in 10th versus Huddersfield's 12th. Watford are the stronger side and with home advantage should get a win. 3-2.

Manchester City v Tottenham - Surely the match of the week. City have 18 points more than Tottenham and just crushed Swansea 4-0 away after beating their nearest challenger and neighbour and broken yet another  record with 15 straight wins (versus Arsenal's 14). Tottenham stumbled with a couple of draws against weaker opposition and lost to Leicester before storming back with a 5-1 thrashing of Stoke and a 2-0 win over Brighton. It will have to take something special to overcome City but it is a game that Tottenham must win for prove their title credentials and aspiration. Will the Spurs raise their game? How will Harry Kane, Eriksen, Alli, Son and the rest respond? Can City even falter? 2-2.

WBA v Manchester United - Alan Pardew has reversed some damage as the Baggies have lost once ion 5 matches and have held Tottenham at home and Liverpool away. Liverpool's most awesome attack could not breach their defence. Manchester United, after the City defeat could only beat Bournemouth at home where Lukaku finally scored (1-0) yet again proving that he can only score against the weaker teams but not the top teams. The rest of the league are conspiring to give City more points. WBA may yet again shock United like they did Tottenham and Liverpool. Fair dinkum. 1-1.

Bournemouth v Liverpool - Ah Liverpool. They create plenty of chances but the conversion rate has to be much better. Should they not acquire forwards who put twenty n the net per season and varied their play. Mane has not been the same this season compared to the last. If not for Salah, it would have been a big difference. Henderson has not been as influential as captain and while their defence has been a bit better, Klopp's continued faith in Lovren is misplaced. Lovren would not be in my named squad after so many horrendous blunders and playing alongside him would make me nervous. Liverpool played to home ties and could not win. A win over Everton was given away after Lovren gave away an unnecessary penalty. Calvert-Lewin was drifting away to the left when Lovren appeared to use his hands on him. How stupid can it get? How could Klopp be so patient after Lovren has given away so many points. 

Though Bournemouth has improved they are not what they used to be like as in last season yet when they lost only by 0-1 to United in mid-week, they did make a statement and Liverpool are not going to have a walk in the park. After that awesome 7-0 display against Spartak Moscow, Liverpool have struggled to win. The Reds are in 5th and level on points with 4th placed Tottenham, 4 behind Chelsea, 7 behind United and a massive 18 from City. We are two matches from the halfway line of the season. There is no time and no points to waste. Liverpool cannot afford not to win here. Mane has to be more clinical and less selfish. He made a wrong choice of going for goal when he had two other players including Salah to receive his pass for an empty goal i that Everton match. 1-2.

Everton v Swansea - The Toffees are on a roll especially since Sam Allardyce took over. They have won four of their last five matches, scored 11 times and conceded only once. Swansea are playing okay but lack a cutting edge to win matches often losing by the odd goal just like the Chelsea game (0-1) and are now at the bottom of the heap.  Being away form home at this time with their form and a rising Everton may be asking too much. 2-1.