Saturday Premier League Preview (10 December 2011)

The streets of Manchester were wet on Wednesday evening, but this time it could not solely be blamed on the rain. Whereas for Manchester City the writing has been on the wall for a while, United fans looked on in disbelief as their side, humiliated at the hands of FC Basel, became the first team in Champions League history to be eliminated in the group stages after contesting the previous final.

It was a far happier day in London this week as both Chelsea, after an impressive victory over Valencia, and Arsenal went through as group winners. So, despite the league table suggesting that England’s finest reside in Manchester, the boys from London are offering some fightback. All this adds new tasty dimensions to an already irresistible Premier League.

Saturday Premier League Preview (10 December 2011)

Saturday Premier League Preview (10 December 2011)

Arsenal fell to a meek defeat against Olympiakos in midweek in what was a largely redundant fixture from their point of view. The Gunners had already sealed their progress as group winners and thus had the luxury of resting several of their regulars.

This will give them a boost when they take on Everton at the Emirates on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger’s side continued their excellent recent form as they blew past Wigan 4-0. Certainly the regular inclusion of Thomas Vermaelen has boosted their cause, but the injury to Andre Santos means Vermaelen may well be asked to fill in at left back and Everton might look to exploit any uncertainty that may cause.

Everton failed to capitalise on Stoke’s Europa League commitments and succumbed 1-0 at home in a game short of quality in front of goal. They seem to be struggling to get any sort of rhythm together and I can see them failing to contain their in-form opposition. Arsenal win.

Bolton were on the receiving end of an onslaught last week at Spurs, and relied on the heroics of goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen to keep the score respectable. Owen Coyle will point, with some justification, to the unwarranted early sending off of defensive talisman Gary Cahill.

It was a cruel blow to a team already fighting for their lives, and they now find themselves above Wigan only on goal difference at the foot of the table. The FA’s decision to overturn Cahill’s ban makes him available when they host Aston Villa to the Reebok.

Clearly something isn’t working at Villa. They have now failed to find the net in their last three games, nor have they really looked like it. It’s a poisonous combination mixing poor results with poor performances, so McLeish will be desperate for some respite in this one. Draw.

I had a feeling that Liverpool, recent tormentors of Chelsea, would struggle against the less illustrious side in West London, Fulham. Indeed they did, but their cause was not helped with Lucas, so important of late in front of the Liverpool defence, being ruled out for the season after suffering an injury in the Carling Cup.

This was compounded when his replacement, Jay Spearing, was contentiously sent off with 20 minutes to go, and Fulham capitalised late on through Clint Dempsey.

Kenny Dalglish has other issues as he struggles to keep Luis Suarez on a leash, with the Uruguayan following up his FA investigation into alleged racial abuse of Patrice Evra with another relating to his rude hand gesture towards the Fulham fans.

Defeating QPR now takes on a little more significance. Neil Warnock’s side conceded late to draw 1-1 with West Brom, but were unlucky not to be two goals to the good by that point after Shaun Wright-Phillips’ cracking strike was chalked off for offside.

QPR will sense an upset in this one, especially with Liverpool’s jittery home form, but I think Liverpool will come through – the minimum requirement given the form of the sides above them. Liverpool win.

Manchester Utd’s players were clearly shell-shocked when the final whistle blew in Basel. Going out at the first hurdle of such an eminently winnable group will bring as much shock as it does embarrassment but, as Roy Keane put it, they really got what was coming.

In reality it isn’t a total surprise, especially given that Ashely Young’s late equaliser saved Utd from defeat at home to their Swiss counterparts. Perhaps we should cast our eyes back to the 6-1 thrashing by neighbours Man City, a wound that seemingly hasn’t healed properly.

It is now eight games since they scored more than a solitary goal in a game, a statistic in stark contrast to their rip-roaring early form. Their last outing at Aston Villa was less than inspiring even if they did control the majority of the game.

With Javier Hernandez, scorer of four in Utd’s last eight, stretchered off and Vidic badly injured in Basel there is plenty to chew on at Old Trafford.

Wolves are the visitors fresh from overcoming then-managerless Sunderland in dramatic fashion. Wolves showed plenty of character at Molineux as Sebastian Larsson hoodwinked the referee with a theatrical dive to win a penalty with side up 1-0, only to see it saved and flung up the field, eventually finding its way to the back of the net via Steven Fletcher.

The Scot struck again not long after as Mick McCarthy’s men, after a sequence of eight defeats in ten, sealed a much-needed 2-1 win. It will be fascinating to see how Utd react, and how Wolves approach the game given Utd’s recent shortcomings, but I can see Utd putting a small band-aid on their wounds with a win. Utd win.

Newcastle were a bit hard done by against Chelsea last week. David Luiz’s calamities continued and he should have been punished with a red card instead of a yellow when he fouled Demba Ba after just four minues, with the striker clean through on goal.

After that Chelsea controlled the first half, with the in-form Tim Krul coming to his side’s rescue on numerous occasions, including stopping a Frank Lampard penalty awarded for a foul on the lively Daniel Sturridge.

Newcastle missed a host of second half chances and were killed off late on by Sturridge and Salomon Kalou. Newcastle have now relinquished both their home and away unbeaten records, but have other worries as the heart has now been ripped out of their defence after the injuries to Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor.

They travel to Norfolk to take on a Norwich side recently dismantled by Man City. Paul Lambert has called on his charges to forget about the manner of the defeat, and that’s exactly what his side need to do in order to build on their impressive return to the top-flight.

He will at least be encouraged by his side containing City at 1-0 at half time at the Etihad Stadium. Draw.

Swansea lost a fluctuating encounter at Ewood Park last week, and are now without a win in their last four. They looked impressive for 20 minutes until Yakubu opened the scoring for Blackburn.

They welcome a Fulham side fresh from defeating Liverpool at Craven Cottage. Fulham rode their luck at times, with Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson hitting the bar for Liverpool, but overall they matched their opponents and reaped the benefits of Jay Spearing’s sending off to get an important win.

Martin Jol will be looking to create a bit of momentum but given their usual away struggles and Swansea’s tight home defence, I see this being a draw.

West Brom were somewhat fortunate to take a point against QPR, and now they welcome the Premier League’s basement boys Wigan. Peter Odemwingie’s return was a big boost for Roy Hodgson and it will be interesting to see if he can build a good understanding with Shane Long up front.

Wigan were obliterated by Arsenal last week and their lack of organisation and defensive frailties continue to haunt them. Whilst they’re capable of playing attractive football, their concentration over 90 minutes will likely be their undoing this season. West Brom win.

What do you think about these predictions for Saturday’s games? Leave us your thoughts below, on Twitter at @sportingopinion or to the author on Twitter @bensanjay.