EPL 2018/19 Game Week 31

Last week Crystal Palace surprising lost to Brighton (1-2). West Ham too crashed at Cardiff (0-2). Brendan Rodgers got Leicester City to play his way and his changes brought a 3-1 win over Fulham. Jamie Vardy became more involved, had a lot more touches and two goals. Newcastle's come from behind win was a Rafa Benitez masterclass. They were two goals down by the 31st minute and remained so by half-time but came roaring back to win 3-2! Meanwhile, Tottenham maybe showing signs of fatigue and for the second time despite leading through their talismanic striker Harry Kane were defeated 1-2 by a spirited Southampton side and boy did you see that screamer from James Ward-Prowse that sealed victory. Manchester City cruised to a 3-1 win over Watford with a controversial first goal. Liverpool fought and had Burnley beaten 4-2 still breathing down City;s neck. Chelsea was fortunate when Eden Hazard scored in 90+2 minutes to level 1-1 with Wolves and finally Arsenal ended Manchester United's unbeaten run by 2-0. Unai Emery was brave to play an attacking line up and game. So did Solskjaer played the wrong 4-4-2 formation? He will learnt that soccer fans are a fickle lot. Love and adore you when you are winning. Blame you when you lost. 

Only City and Liverpool have been the most consistent. One of them should win the title. Tottenham in third seemed to be losing steam of late and are just one point ahead of Arsenal while the Red Devils are in fifth. Chelsea are a point behind United but have a game in hand. Wolves in seventh are a more distant thirteen points behind.The question is among Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, who will be the two to finish top four and qualify for the Champions League? At the bottom, Huddersfield at rock bottom with fourteen points seems doomed. Next, Fulham three points ahead looks equally likely to go down. Cardiff are eleven points more in eighteen. Burnley have two points more like Southampton so they are not out of the woods. Crystal Palace and Brighton are just three points ahead. It could still change but as many may agree, the last three at this moment are likely to go down. After this week, it shall be international week as the European qualification Group matches kicks off. 

In the Champions League, after Manchester United's heroics when they reversed 0-2 home defeat with an unlikely 4-1 away win at PSG to qualify for the last 16, Juventus did the same after 0-2 down at Atletico Madrid when they trounced Altletico Madrid in the return leg with a Cristiano Ronaldo hattrick! This is prove that even at 34, Ronaldo continues to confound and inspire matching Lionel Messi for the number of hattricks in Champions League history. Amazing! Manchester City having won 3-2 at Schalke went on with a incredible 7-0 thrashing of Schalke at the Etihad! This must be at the highest level! Arsenal takes on Rennes hoping to reverse a 1-3 defeat at the Emirates and did so emphatically with a 3-0 win. 

Liverpool travelled to Munich to take on mighty Bayern Munich at the great Allianz Arena after a 0-0 draw at Anfield. There will be haters, doubters and many criticisms. The Reds came up with a timely reminder to all that they belong to the top even in the Champions League and in this match they ticked all the boxes and nobody does it better plus no matter what the questions, the Reds answered. They said Liverpool could not handle the pressure, can they even do it away from home? To take on mighty Bayern Munich at their own game and stadium, does Jurgen Klopp even know what he is doing? Blah, blah, blah. History recorded that Bayern Munich do not lose at home in Europe and the last time it happened, it was Real Madrid some six years ago. The last time Bayern did not make it to the quarter-finals was in 2011. It was so deeply satisfying. Liverpool was not overawed nor intimidated.

Klopp has built a very good team that can get even better and become great again. Whether they are going  to be EPL Champions or European Champions or they may yet end up with nothing to show this season, anything is now possible not just this season but into many seasons to come. Even the legendary Franz Beckanbauer was singing praises on Klopp. Even when Captain Jordan Henderson suffered an early injury setback, even when Bayern equalised, the entire team battled. Bayern have great players - Neuer, Hummels, Martinez, Alcantara and Lewandowski but they had no answer. Even Germany's best team could not stop them at home. Salah did not score but made the great great cross with the outside of his left foot right onto Sadio Mane's head for the third goal. Virgil van Dijk was once again imperious - with an assist for the first goal by Mane and scoring one himself for the lead. Sadio Mane got two and was sensational. This will surely not only boost their morale but give them the confidence and belief that anything is possible. 

This weekend, teams that played in Europe may be knackered but the show must go on. Some matches are postponed due to the Cup games.

Bournemouth v Newcastle - 12th place Cherries host 13th place Magpies at the Vitality Stadium and an away win will put Newcastle level on points with their host but ahead on goal difference and they should be quite safe there. Based on current form especially their 3-2 win over Everton last week after trailing 0-2, it is possible. Bournemouth finally returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win away to Huddersfield after quite a slump. With Bournemouth at home this could work out to be a draw. 1-1.

Brighton v Cardiff - Postponed.

Burnley v Leicester City  - The Clarets are just two points above relegation at 17th. The Foxes should really be better than their current 10th. So Burnley must surely have to generate greater motivation to stay afloat by getting results. After an impressive 2-1 win over Spurs, they have lost their last three, conceded nine goals and scored only three. After a 1-2 defeat by Watford, Brendan Rodgers got a 3-1 home win over Fulham.  Jamie Vardy and James Maddison appeared to have been liberated by the new boss but Leicester need to be more consistent. Burnley is a tough physical team but only if Sean Dyche devise a plan to keep it tight which was once their forte. 1-1.

Watford v Southampton - Postponed.

West Ham v Huddersfield - The Hammers are one of the most improved sides comparing points and positions of last season  and Pelligrini should be given credit. However, they have not been that consistent - beating an in form Newcastle 2-0 and then visited Cardiff and lost 0-2. Hosting the Terriers who are rock bottom and so often beaten, they ought to get three points here. Unfortunately, Huddersfield seem certain for the drop. Declan Rice has been a revelation and with the youngster called up for England duty he is set to grow and play a key role. 2-0.

Wolves v Arsenal - Postponed.

Tottenham v Crystal Palace - Postponed.

Fulham v Liverpool - Scott Parker face an extremely tough challenge to try to keep Fulham's hope alive even as they are hosting Liverpool at home. After the international break, they will host Manchester City. Liverpool will play ahead of Manchester City as City are involved in the F.A. Cup so a win will put them on top with two points more. This is a match played between two key games - Bayern Munich and then Tottenham at Anfield. Klopp must refresh his team and he should be fielding Xherdan Shaqiri for a change. Fulham have lost six straight games and ten of their last eleven. Liverpool can't afford any thing less than three points which can at least help to add some pressure to the title challenge. Their 4-2 performance over Burnley in quite treacherous conditions was exactly what is needed especially after going down to a controversial goal which should not have stood. Fulham have the worst defensive record in the league this season - conceded 68 goals in 30 games. Liverpool have one of the best attacks and in sheer numbers only second to City and you saw how they even brushed aside mighty Bayern Munich, we ought to expect goals and they need it as who is to know if the title may be decided on goal difference. Liverpool need to show their strength early as the Londoners are fighting for survival. You cannot take those teams fighting relegation for granted so Liverpool must exert themselves early and take full points. With Virgil van Dijk so dominant and imperious and Sadio Mane at his goal scoring best and adding a new record as the Liverpool player with the most away Champions League goal after his brace against Bayern Munich, you must believe he can score again and again. Mane now has 16 goals in the Premier League and fast catching up with Aguero and Kane. 0-3.

Everton v Chelsea - Wolves showed once again they could compete with and handled the big boys until Sarri made his changes and where Eden Hazard's importance shone brightly. Sarri is stubborn and he will need Hazard again to provide something special. Chelsea looked a bit flat at times and lacking ideas and seemed prone to counter attacks. Everton were leading Newcastle 2-0 by 65 minutes and crashed 2-3. Everton is at best inconsistent but they are truly capable of making life difficult. The Toffees are in 11th position and should be doing much better really. Chelsea are 6th with 57 points and a game in hand over Manchester United in 5th just a point more so this is an important match. Chelsea have just returned with an impressive 5-0 away win over Dynamo Kyiv and are purring again. Wolves nearly had Chelsea beaten so Everton could also aim for something big here. If Eden Hazard could replicate his last goal the visitors might have a narrow win unless they are exhausted by their trip to Kyiv. 1-2.