Premier League - Swans back to league business NEWS
After winning the first major trophy of their 101 year history with the capture of the Capital One League Cup at Wembley last week, Swansea return to Premier League action this weekend, secure in the knowledge that they will play in Europe next season come what may.
Its only right, before discussing the Premier League matters, to congratulate Swansea for their League Cup win at Wembley last week. Michael Laudrup's team played fantastically well on the hallowed turf and were deserved winners of the trophy based on their performances throughout that competition, which included their superb despatching of Chelsea.
I for one hope that Swansea are able to resist the inevitable advances for the services of Laudrup from Europe's bigger teams and that he can lead his squad into the Europa League where I'm sure they will perform with distinction.
Full marks to Bradford and their fans too. They just ran into a team on the top of their game on the day, but their fans never stopped singing and waving those amber and claret flags, making the atmosphere at Wembley one of the best I can recall in recent years. The efforts of Swansea and Bradford have gone a long way to reinvigorating the League Cup, which is good for football.
Back in the Premier League The battle for European football as well as survival moves on with the major winners from last week being Wigan, who moved out of the bottom three with their impressive 3-0 win at Reading, and Newcastle who came from behind to beat Southampton 4-2.
Of course, when there are winners, there are also losers. Reading would have fancied turning over Wigan so the manner of the defeat at home will have hurt as will the fact that they let slip a chance to move out of the bottom three, where Aston Villa have now become resident with Wigan moving out. QPR's loss to Man Utd keeps them rooted to the bottom of the table with time running out for a Lazarus like rise from the dead.
Southampton's defeat at Newcastle sees them now just three points above the relegation zone, with Sunderland only two points above them and in danger of being dragged back into the melee. The last 11 games are sure to be thoroughly absorbing with plenty of twists, turns and surprises to come.
At the top end of the table Utd look unassailable, still 12 points ahead of neighbours City, who gave Chelsea hope before surging to beat them 2-0 at the Etihad, with strikes from Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez.
On last Sunday's Radio5 Live's 606 phone in there was an endless parade of Chelsea fans ringing in to complain about Rafa Benitez, his negative tactics against Man City and his players. The club confirmed his interim status this week be announcing he would be leaving the club in May but Benitez's remarkable response might just bring on a swifter exit, as he criticised the club and the fans. He's still at the helm at the time of writing, but that could change - this is Chelsea after all.
The odds are now on a Stamford Bridge return for the Special One, Jose Mourinho, who still looks certain to leave Real Madrid this Summer. In a side note his team looked in good shape during the week beating Barcelona 3-1 at the Nou Camp with an ominous, for Man Utd, double from Ronaldo. Tuesday's Champions League last 16 second leg at Old Trafford looks set to be a cracker.
One of the other highlights of last week's fixtures was another match-winning performance from Spurs' Gareth Bale whose late 25 yard strike stunned West Ham and took Tottenham into third place ahead of Chelsea.
Bale has been a one man highlight reel this season and Ledley King was right to describe him as one of the best three players in the world on current form, up there with Ronaldo and Messi, in terms of how he is playing at the moment. He has dominated certain games and is probably a shoo-in for the Player of the Year awards.
Can Spurs keep him if Real Madrid come calling with a £50m plus bid at the end of the season? Can they afford not to keep him if they want to realise their ambitions? Bale may not want to go, particularly if Spurs do qualify for the Champions League. He will look carefully at how Luka Modric has struggled for regular football at Madrid and perhaps prefer to be the big fish in Tottenham's comparatively small bowl. Whilst a huge bank balance may be nice, bale is young and professionally ambitious. He will want to play every week and enhance his burgeoning reputation.
Spurs play North London Rivals Arsenal this week and after the week Gunners manager Arsene Wenger endured leading up to the Aston Villa game he will have been mightily relieved to have got a win. Arsenal weren't entirely convincing in beating Villa 2-1 courtesy of a Cazorla double but three points put a positive spin on what had been up to that point, a bleak week. They'll need to up their game, whilst containing Gareth Bale this week, if they are to have a chance of another win.
Everton's surprise defeat at Carrow Road saw them drop even further behind Arsenal and their chances of snatching the last Champions League spot look ever slimmer. They'll be battling Arsenal, Liverpool and West Brom for the last Europa League spot which would still represent an admirable achievement.
Looking ahead to this week Everton have probably the easiest tie of that bunch with them hosting Reading whilst Liverpool travel to Wigan, not a nice place to go at this stage of the season and West Brom visit Chelsea. As discussed Arsenal will take on Spurs in the North London derby.
Here's our full preview of all the games coming up: -
Saturday 2 March
Chelsea v West Brom - 3pm ko at Stamford Bridge. Rafa may still be in charge but after his heavily publicised criticism of the Chelsea fans he's sure to get a hostile reception at Stamford Bridge, which can't be helpful to a team trying desperately to hold on to a top four place and a Champions League spot. Whilst the merits of Benitez's appointment are up for debate, the Chelsea fans never gave him a chance and they must share some of the blame for the club's recent travails. In terms of this game they need to win and are fully capable of despatching West Brom provided they play well, which has been a bit of a problem at Stamford Bridge lately. The Blues can recall Gary Cahill should they wish as well as several other first-teamers rested against Middlesbrough in Chelsea's FA Cup win. West Brom are unable to play on-loan striker Lukaku against his parent club so they'll hope Shane Long is fit after ankle trouble. Despite all the adverse attention due to Benitez's indignant outburst I still feel Chelsea will rouse themselves for this game and take the points.
Everton v Reading - 3pm ko at Goodison Park. A match up of two teams who will be bitterly disappointed to have lost last week. Since then Everton have despatched Oldham to earn an FA Cup quarter final berth so they will feel they have put last weekend's late defeat to Norwich behind them. Reading on the other hand have had a full week to ruminate on their lacklustre display in losing at home to Wigan. Reading will also not be cheered by the news that Marouane Fellaini and Victor Anechebe are available for recall, whilst their main strike threat, Russian Pavel Pogrebnyak, is out suspended. I can't see the Toffees slipping two weeks in succession and Fellaini's return alone should give them the required improvement need to win.
Man Utd v Norwich - 3pm ko at Old Trafford. With Real Madrid at Old Trafford on Tuesday in the Champions League and sitting on a 12 point lead in the Premier League it's likely that Man Utd boss Alex Ferguson will take a calculated gamble by not fielding his strongest XI for the visit of Norwich, even though the Canaries handed Utd their last league defeat at Carrow Road. Utd will certainly rest league top scorer Robin van Persie who picked a hip injury in bizarre circumstances last week when he backed into a photographers pit at Loftus Road. He'll be OK for Real Madrid apparently but surely rested here. Ryan Giggs is fit and available for what will be his 1000th game for the club and what a fantastic servant he has been for Utd throughout the 22 years (to the day) of his career so far. I say so far as he has also signed a one year extension to his contract which will see him play on until May 2014 at the earliest. Its fair to say that even with perhaps a less strong team for Utd the occasion of celebration for Giggs may overtake Norwich, who I expect to be plucky but ultimately unsuccessful in their attempt to do the double over the champions elect.
Southampton v QPR - 3pm ko at St. Mary's Stadium. After losing at home to Man Utd last week Rangers travel to the South coast for a real six-point battle. Southampton also lost last time out, 4-2 at Newcastle after taking the lead at St. James', so that is a huge clash for both teams, at least one of whom will almost certainly be back in the Championship next season. Rangers will be without striker Bobby Zamora but Loic Remy should return to bolster their scoring chances. Southampton will have Jason Puncheon and Gaston Ramirez available for selection but Ricky Lambert will probably be the Saints key player. Whilst QPR have stiffened up in defence I fancy Southampton will still be able to find a way through to win this game and ease South coast nerves.
Stoke v West Ham - 3pm ko at the Britannia Stadium. Given the robust nature of some of the players who will be on display at the Britannia this game could perhaps be marketed under the WWE label. I've spoken before how Ryan Shawcross often uses his arms and hands more than his feet and last Saturday we saw more examples of Stoke's physical approach with both Huth and Nzonzy lucky not to be sent off for a forearm to the face and a slap respectively (the FA have subsequently suspended Huth). West Ham are also a tough team with the likes of Andy Carroll so quality passing football is unlikely to be on the menu. The Hammers will be without their two influential midfielders, Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble, so will hope Joe Cole maintains his current good form. I suspect the Shawcross v Carroll match will be a draw after a points decision, but that the game overall will be settled in Stoke's favour.
Sunderland v Fulham - 3pm ko at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland have lost their last three league games and are now far too close to the relegation zone to be comfortable. Admittedly two of those games came against Arsenal and West Brom, teams near the top of the table and they performed creditably in those losing efforts. However, that will be scant comfort if they end up being relegated. Fulham played well in beating Stoke last week; they were tight at the back, offering few chances and they took their own opportunity, with Dimitar Berbatov again showing his class with a top-notched volleyed goal. It's a well-worn cliche that Fulham are not the same team away from the Cottage but that's because there's more than a touch of truth to it. With both Steven Fletcher and Danny Graham expected to start I fancy the Black Cats to roar back to winning ways.
Swansea v Newcastle - 3pm ko at the Liberty Stadium. Will Swansea have come down from the high of their 5-0 Capital One Cup win over Bradford last week? Swansea were irresistible at Wembley and already there is speculation that one of Europe's bigger clubs will come calling for manager Michael Laudrup now that he has firmly established his credentials. He will be keen that his charges can quickly get back to earth and the week-to-week demands of the Premier League as they still have the opportunity to finish in the top six or seven, which would give them, along with the league Cup, a fantastic platform to develop from next season. It won't be easy for the Swans as the visitors, Newcastle, have won three of their last four games as they pull away from the lower end of the table. The outcome of this match depends very much on how Swansea react to their Cup success. If they take confidence from it and look to build on it I fancy they'll win. If they've partied too hard or feel, perhaps understandably, that with a trophy and survival guaranteed their season's ambitions are met, they could come unstuck against the magpies. As it is, I think they'll be somewhere between those two realities, metaphorically hungover, but capable of a draw.
Wigan v Liverpool - 5.30pm ko at the DW Stadium. Wigan moved out of the bottom three thanks to their superb 3-0 win away at Reading, a bonus result in that it added to the troubles of a fellow struggler. At this point last season Wigan went on a great run of results which saw them avoid relegation and it may be possible that something similar is happening now. Even Reading fans were moved to comment on how well Wigan played at the Madejski so Liverpool beware. The Reds will be fresh after a week off but they'll need to be on top of their game if they are to go home to Liverpool with any kind of result. Its the time of year that Wigan traditionally hit form so I fancy them to continue in that vein with a win.
Sunday 3 March
Spurs v Arsenal - 4pm ko at White Hart Lane. The North London derby is definitely the game of the week with fifth placed Arsenal, 2-1 conquerors of Aston Villa last week, visiting White Hart Lane to take on fourth placed Spurs, both clubs intent on finishing in the top four to secure that all important Champions League spot. At first sight Spurs must be considered firm favourites for this game as they've been better than their rivals this season and they have the league's form player, Gareth Bale, a man capable of winning any game on his own. In fact Spurs' recent performances have been such that both manager Andre Villas Boas and Bale won the awards as manager and player of the month for February respectively. A defeat for Arsenal would seriously hamper their chances of finishing in the top four so they'll be sure to compete fiercely, as a Europa League spot is no consolation for a club that needs the allure of the Champions League more than most, given their pay structure. Wenger is now bullish, claiming his team can actually achieve a top two finish, a statement which appears, a quite fantastical statement, probably designed to pump his team full of confidence. I believe they'll lose narrowly at Spurs to give a little perspective to Arsene's vision.
Monday 4 March
Aston Villa v Man City - 8pm ko at Villa Park. City were good value for their 2-0 win over Chelsea last week, a result which just about keeps them in the hunt for the Premier League title. Villa pushed Arsenal hard at the Emirates only to concede a late winner to Cazorla, the defeat pushing them back down into the bottom three. Villa manager Paul Lambert remains upbeat about his team's chances of avoiding the drop and with games remaining against all of QPR, Wigan, Reading and Sunderland they do have winnable matches left. However, each of those teams will be viewing Villa in a similar way. One positive for Villa is the presence of Christian Benteke, a strong goal-scorer, who will surely attract attention from bigger clubs should Villa be relegated. In truth I just can't see Villa taking points from a Man City team determined to scrap right until the end to defend their title.
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