Premier League - relegation battle hots up NEWS
As Man Utd stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points it's the battle at the bottom of the table that is more interesting with at least five teams embroiled in the fight to avoid relegation, and all of those face tough games this weekend.
Before getting into the bones of reviewing the last week and looking forward to this weekend's games its an opportune time to pay tribute to Liverpool's Jamie Carragher who has announced that he will retire as a player at the end of the season.
Carra has been a stalwart at Anfield for well over a decade and he will retire as one of those modern oddities at the top level - a one club player. He started his career as a utility player but was converted into a full time defender and it was as a centre back that he made his name for the Reds, for whom he has made 723 appearances so far, and England, for whom he won 38 caps.
The announcement has surprised some as Carragher had just given two excellent performances at the heart of the Liverpool defence against Arsenal and Man City. He will be badly missed for his experience and organisational skills, as well as his undeniable commitment to the Red shirt of Liverpool. Lets hope he enjoys the remainder of his last season and it brings him and the club some success.
Right, back to the action. Last weekend's games saw leaders Man Utd extend the gap over second placed Man City. Utd won narrowly at Fulham, although the score line flattered Fulham, whilst City were held at home by Liverpool, meaning that the champions are now nine points adrift of the leaders.
Does this mean City have no chance of retaining the title? Probably not. Although it will be a tough ask they did manage to close an eight point gap in the final six games last season, so they have experience to draw upon. However, the big difference this season is that City are not as dominant a team as they were then. They have scored fewer goals, have won fewer games and failed to reach the heights of their title winning season.
Utd have been consistent all season and, in line with all good teams, they seem to win even when they're not at their best. Chelsea's deterioration in recent weeks (they were well beaten at Newcastle) means that Utd have one hand on the Premier League trophy. Should they win their return fixture against Man City the title is as good as their's.
Speaking of Chelsea they really need to be careful. All of Spurs, Everton and Arsenal are breathing down their necks and any further loss of form could seem them slipping out of the top four completely. Both of Spurs and Everton have only lost a single league game out of their last 10 whereas Chelsea have won only two of their last six. Arsenal's form has also been fairly good - their only two losses in their last 10 games have come against Arsenal and, spookily enough, Chelsea.
Whilst the top end of the table is stable with Utd heavy favourites to be champions come May the bottom end is really coming to life as the harsh reality of a relegation dogfight has galvanised the clubs involved. Whilst QPR remain rooted to the foot of the table they have seen a drastic improvement in form and with the acquisition of more new players they appear set to give it a lash for the rest of the season. They've stabilised the defence but now need goals and wins if they are to stay up.
The two clubs immediately above Rangers, Aston Villa and Wigan, are both in a terrible run of results, neither team having won more than one game in their last 10, and that really is relegation form. The difference between the teams is that Wigan have a lots of experience of this kind of fight, whereas Villa have a lot of youthful players who badly need a wise old head to guide them. A lone bright spot for Villa is the form of Christian Benteke, one of the bargains of the season and who is still finding the net regularly.
The other two teams who would probably be regarded as relegation threats, Reading and Southampton, have a little more breathing space thanks to some good recent results, particularly for Reading who have taken 14 points from their last 21 available. Southampton, just above the Royals, have only lost twice in their last 10 outings and one of those games was the narrow defeat at Old Trafford.
With Newcastle winning their last two games the only other team who could potentially be drawn into the fight for Premier league survival are Norwich whose form is so bad as to rival that of Villa and Wigan. They haven't won in the league since mid December although they're still seven points above the bottom three and a couple of wins should see them headed for safety.
Before looking ahead to this weekend's games a quick note about the midweek friendly internationals, which went well for three of the four home nations, and some observations about the players who shone.
England beat Brazil 2-1 at Wembley, their first victory over next year's World Cup hosts, in 30 years. England's goal scorers were tried and tested stalwarts Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, both of whom will surely be on the plane to Brazil should England qualify. However, the star of the show, even amongst the plethora of Brazilian stars, was Arsenal's Jack Wilshere who played his first game in an England shirt for 18 months.
Wilshere was nothing short of superb and, now that he's somewhere near his best, it's clear that the England midfield needs to be built around him. Lampard, who played well when he came on, accepts his part as a squad player and even he eulogised Wilshere. It was good to hear Lampard confirm that he wants to play in Brazil next year and that ambition will surely mean he doesn't leave English football at the end of the season when his Chelsea contract expires.
Down in Cardiff Wales beat Austria 2-1 and it was none other than Gareth Bale who inspired his team mates to only their second win under Chris Coleman. The Tottenham flyer is in a rare streak of form and seeing him tease defences causes me to have two thoughts. One, what could Wales achieve with two or three more quality players to support him? Second, and in the nicest possible way, why couldn't he have been born English? The thought of him Rooney and Wilshere together whets the appetite.
Well done to Scotland and new manager Gordon Strachan for their victory over Estonia. Strachan should prove an excellent appointment and, whilst it may be too late to make a difference for the current World Cup qualifying campaign, his presence should ensure the Scots have a better shot at the Euro's in 2016.
Looking ahead to this weekend's fixtures every game seems to have some angle that suggests it will be at least dramatic if not exciting and dramatic. Here's BritEvent's preview of the ten games coming up: -
Saturday 9 February
Spurs v Newcastle - 12.45pm ko at White Hart Lane. The lunch-time kick off on Saturday sees perhaps the game of the whole weekend, although Sunday's clash at Old Trafford is also a contender. However the game should be rated this has the makings of an absolute cracker with the Gareth Bale inspired Spurs hosting a rapidly improving Newcastle. Bale gave another masterful performance at West Brom last week and his thunderous strike to settle the game highlighted just one element of his world-class game. All the media talk was about whether Spurs can afford to turn down the inevitable massive offer from Real Madrid. The real question is - can they afford to consider life without him? Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is being feted for his January purchases as they seem to have made an immediate impact. Moussa Sissoko was excellent against Chelsea last week and he looks an absolute bargain. The key to this game is whether the Magpies can shackle Gareth Bale. I'd suggest not and that Spurs will edge it.
Chelsea v Wigan - 3pm ko at Stamford Bridge. Just what Chelsea need, another team fighting like tigers to avoid relegation. Rafa Benitez will hope for a better result than his team achieved against Reading. The Blues will have Eden Hazard available again after suspension and with the squad they have they shouldn't have trouble dispensing with the challenge of Wigan. However, Stamford Bridge is not a fortress for Chelsea at the moment, it being more a place of dissent and unrest as the fans continue to decline to support Benitez. Conversely the fans won't stop cheering Frank Lampard and there's now even talk of him being offered a one-year deal for next season. Wigan were similarly placed last season when they travelled to Stamford bridge and narrowly lost 2-1 after putting up a magnificent performance. I can see something like that happening in this game, with a very similar Chelsea win.
Norwich v Fulham - 3pm ko at Carrow Road. A meeting of two teams who are somewhat stumbling along of late after earlier purple patches which suggested they could have successful seasons. They are stuck together just below the table's mid point and neither has ambitions beyond keeping out of the relegation scrap below them, aiming to attain that all important 40 point total which supposedly guarantees safety. Both teams can be attractive to watch but equally both don't win enough to stop their own fans being nervous. Dimitar Berbatov looks as though he'll miss his second straight game and that will be a blow for Martin Jol. Norwich have given some great performances at home this season, including wins over Man Utd and Arsenal, so they will be favourites. As Fulham are an improved side away from home I can see a low scoring draw in this game.
Stoke v Reading - 3pm ko at the Britannia Stadium. An interesting clash this one. Stoke are usually strong at home and they've lost only once there all season, whilst reading have a terrible away record. However, in terms of relative form Reading are on a hot streak whilst the Potters are stone cold with only one win in ten. Reading's excellent results in January were rewarded with manager Brian McDermott receiving the Manager of the Month Award and super-sub Adam Le Fondre earning the Player Award for his five Premier League goals off the bench. I'm going against the form book in thinking that Stoke will return to their habits of old - a narrow home win, probably by the odd goal.
Sunderland v Arsenal - 3pm ko at the Stadium of Light. Arsenal appear to have an embarrassment of riches in midfield with Wilshere, Ramsey, Arteta and Cazorla in the engine room and with Walcott having his best season by far there are grounds for optimism at Arsenal even if they are still a bit shaky at the back. The continued absence of Thomas Vermaelen doesn't help in that regard, although the signing of Monreal from Malaga appears to have been a masterstroke. Steven Fletcher and the newly acquired Danny Graham will test whichever back four is deployed by Arsene Wenger. I can't see Sunderland having too much possession but similarly they'll be an organised and hard to break down outfit, perhaps frustrating the Gunners. I still fancy Arsenal though to keep up their fight for a top four finish.
Swansea v QPR - 3pm ko at the Liberty Stadium. This could be a dangerous game for QPR as they seek to build on the solid start to Harry Redknapp's career at Loftus Road. Swansea have shown great attacking intent and flair and have a League Cup final to look forward to later this month. As mentioned above Rangers have improved under Harry but they need wins not draws and the Liberty Stadium is a difficult place to visit and leave with three points. It doesn't help Rangers that new signing Loic Remy will probably miss the game with a groin strain. QPR will put up a valiant struggle but I still see the Swans winning the game.
Southampton v Man City - 5.30pm ko at St. Mary's. This game has shock result written all over it from where I'm sitting. New manager Mauricio Pocettino has his team playing positively and they really gave Man Utd a scare at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago, although he's yet to taste victory. City on the other hand were lucky not be beaten by Liverpool last time out and they are looking anything but champions in the making. However, the good news for City manager Roberto Mancini is the return of Yaya Toure from Africa Cup of Nations duty and hopefully the return of skipper Vincent Kompany after an injury lay off. Toure changes the dynamic of the City midfield although he may be slightly jaded after being away. Without Baoltelli the goal scoring emphasis lies more heavily on Aguero, Dzeko and Tevez and it was the small Argentine Aguero who responded last week with that fantastic equaliser against Liverpool. City have to win and they will.
Sunday 10 February
Aston Villa v West Ham - 1.30pm at Villa Park. Villa badly need three points and they will eye this game as an opportunity to rediscover that winning touch against a West Ham team that don't win often when away from Upton Park. The returning Andy Carroll proved to be a bit of a handful for the Swansea defence last week and he'll be licking his lips at the chance to get at the young, callow Villa defenders. Carroll will no doubt be eyeing up a possible place in next year's World Cup as there are still gaps in the England squad in terms of its strikers. Aston Villa's Christian Benteke will have similar ambitions with Belgium and he's had a great season so far, finding the net eight times in a poor team. With a team who can't seem to win at home against a team not too hot away from home something has to give. I'm going for West ham purely because they have more nous and experience.
Man Utd v Everton - 4pm ko at Old Trafford. I've been looking forward to this game ever since Everton won the first meeting of the two sides at Goodison Park. On that night Marouane Fellaini was nearly unplayable and he's reproduced that form quite a few times this season. It was just last weekend that he rescued Everton with two late goals against Aston Villa. He can look quite clumsy at times but he's mightily effective and a real danger at set pieces with his strength and heading ability. Utd will hope that they can deal with the threat of the Belgian better this time. Alex Ferguson welcomes back Ashley Young from a stretch on the physio's table and they have virtually a full squad from which to choose. With a Champions League last 16 game just three days away Utd could be a little distracted and they may even try and keep something in reserve. That might be a mistake and, should they do so, I can see the Toffees emulating last season's 4-4 draw.
Monday 11 February
Liverpool v West Brom - 8pm ko at Anfield. It looks like Peter Odemwingie will be recalled to the West Brom squad for their visit to Anfield after he was the subject of an unspecified club sanction after his attempts to force a move to QPR during the transfer window. One suspects that Albion have realised that they will need all their available resources if they are to get anything out of this game against a steadily improving Liverpool outfit. Liverpool were very impressive against Man City last week and would have emerged winners had it not been for a moment of madness by Pepe Reina and a marvellous piece of opportunistic finishing by Sergio Aguero. City tried and failed to disrupt Liverpool's fluent passing game and Brendan Rodgers blueprint for success appears to be coming along nicely. Of course, as Luis Suarez go so do Liverpool and his 17 goals this season have been instrumental in putting the Reds into a position where they can challenge for a European place next season. I can't see West Brom denying a Liverpool win.
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