Preview of the FA cup final

This Saturday, Liverpool and Chelsea fans will pack Wembley for the final of the oldest footballing competition in the world - the FA cup.  Liverpool has won the FA cup 7 times, while the Stamford Bridge outfit have won 6 times.  Both teams rested key players in their respective midweek fixtures and will be looking to play their strongest available XI on Saturday.

Predicted line-ups

Chelsea - I expect Chelsea to line up in a 4-3-3.  The backline will consist of Bosingwa, Terry, ivanovic and Cole.  The midfield will comprise of Meireles, Lampard and Ramires.  Drogba, Sturridge (NOT Mikel, Mr. Uday Jhala - as Mikel cannot play out wide) and Mata will be the attacking options.

Liverpool - Enrique, Carragher, Agger and Johnson will be the four in the back.  Gerrard, Henderson and Spearing will match the Chelsea midfield.  Bellamy, Downing and Suarez will play up-top.

Analysis

Chelsea definitely have a height advantage, as Liverpool's forward line-up (minus Carroll, of course) is not very good in the air.  However, I do not see that as a problem for Liverpool, as King Kenny tends to play through the middle anyway.  Both teams will rely heavily on their full backs to provide overlapping runs.  In Carragher and Agger, Liverpool have the perfect central defenders to nullify the in-form Drogba.  They are both good in the air and very hard to push off the ball.  However, they are not particularly quick, so I expect Torres to have an impact coming off the bench.

Torres will be playing against his old club and will be hoping to continue the good form he has shown of late.  An interesting match up will be Mata against Johnson.  While Johnson is really good going forward, he can be suspect on defensive positions.  Similarly, Mata is known to switch off when opposing full-backs are making overlapping runs.  I predict that at least one goal will involve the brilliance/fault of the duo.  DiMatteo will be also hoping that young Sturridge tracks back the overlapping runs of Liverpool's signing of the season - Luis Enrique.

Readers of the blog will know that I'm a big fan of Craig Bellamy.  I think he might trouble Bosingwa.  Bosingwa is a very quick full back, but he struggles against players who cut inside.  Bellamy will cut-in towards the middle, onto his favored right food, and try to unleash some shots at goal.  In accordance with that, the overlapping Enrique will be constantly looking for the reverse ball from Bellamy into space.

Tactical surprises

1.  Either manager could possibly switch to a 4-4-2.  But, especially in Chelsea's case, I find that nearly impossible unless they are down a goal.

2.  Play Ramires on the wing - drop Sturridge to the bench - play Mikel in the middle.  Mikel, had an excellent couple of games against Barcelona.  But, I consider this to be unlikely as Ramires' thrusting runs from midfield are an x-factor that would be lost if he were to be played on the wing.  I certainly cannot see Meireles being dropped for Mikel.

3.  Start Torres instead of Drogba.  Torres started the mid-week game, suggesting that the Ivorian striker would be preferred at the weekend.  But, just perhaps, RDM is trying to throw off Dalglish's tactical prediction; playing Torres against Carragher would be fun to watch (as a United fan at least).  But, I personally think it will be more likely that Drogba will soften the defenders up for 65 minutes before El Nino comes on.

Prediction

The game will end 1-1.  And Chelsea will win on penalties.  I must admit, the thought of John Terry lifting any sort of trophy makes me want to gag.  But, I would not begrudge him that because it would mean that Meireles, Ramires and Ivanovic would be involved in winning a final this year.



Also - I predict both United and City will win this weekend.  City will win comfortably despite Newcastle's form of late.  Sigh.

Chelsea-Barcelona/Madrid-Bayern REVIEW

Champions league madness! Both games this week were thrilling and nerve-wracking.  As you might already know - my prediction of a Madrid-Chelsea final came undone.  Surprisingly, however, it was not for the reason many predicted.

Barcelona vs Chelsea

Let me start off by congratulating DeMatteo.  The man came into the Chelsea job with the unenviable task of sorting out the mess left behind by the tactical ineptitude of AVB combined with the paranoia of Abramovic.  Let me also denounce all of those denigrating Chelsea's performance as 'anti-football'.  Let's get this straight - NO ONE beats Barcelona playing Barcelona's game.  No one.  Why would Chelsea try and have 50% possession? It means absolutely nothing.  Chelsea had one goal - to get through to the final of the Champions League.  They were not trying to appease the football purists and why the hell should they be? You lot are a bunch of pedantic morons who consider 'beautiful' football to be more valuable than winning.  If beautiful football is all that matters, why exactly do Arsenal fans ever moan? Surely there has to be a balance between beautiful football and winning.  Anyway, I digress.

Once Chelsea were 2-0 and a man down, I was sure that it was game over.  Readers of my blog know how I feel about John Terry.  I am absolutely thrilled that he will not play in the final because he is pound-for-pound the most reprehensible man in football - and that coming from me - a Wayne Rooney fan.  Regardless of what he may have claimed later on, there was no 'accidental lifting of the knee'; that was a blatant disregard of an opponent's safety.

Ramires, my second favorite Chelsea player, scored an excellent goal and Chelsea were going through on the away goal rule.  Although the goal was against the run of play, it was emblematic of the Chelsea's combative performance.  After a good tackle, Frankie Lamps played in young Ramires who chipped the on-rushing Valdez to stun Camp Nou.  From that point on, Chelsea played with all 10-men behind the ball.  Other than Messi's missed penalty and his strike that hit the upright, for all of Barca's possession (~80%), they did not create too many clear-cut chances.  Besides, Cech was smothering all shots from distance and all crosses into the box.  With Pique having gone off injured, Barca were really finding it difficult to find anyone to aim at in the box, and Chelsea allowed them to have tons of width.  The fact that Barca do not have a Plan B to complement their admittedly brilliant Plan A, ended up being their undoing.  They huffed and they puffed, but they could not blow Chelsea's house down.

Although my heart goes out to Ramires for picking up a yellow that will see him missing the final, NOTHING compares to how I felt when I saw Meireles being booked.  That guy, above every single Chelsea player, deserves to play in the final.  He was fantastic over both legs - his workrate, distribution and tackling were a pleasure to behold.  And if I can make a bold prediction, it will be his absence that will lose Chelsea the final.  As a United fan, I am reminded of when Darren Fletcher received an unfair red in the semi-final against Arsenal.  His absence is the key factor to why United lost to Barcelona in 2008.  Poor Meireles - seeing him beg the referee to not give him a yellow almost brought tears to my eyes.  Oh, and if you haven't figured it out by now - he is my favorite Chelsea player.  I'm glad he left Liverpool because now I do not feel guilty cheering for him.

Despite Ramires' excellent goal, the highlight of the night was yet to come.  Although Chelsea were winning on the away-goal rule, there was an anxiety present because Barca were one goal away from securing their place in the final.  Cue a certain Mr. Torres.  As soon as he was introduced, I asked myself (and facebook) whether he would score against Barca.  He sure did.  Picking up the ball from a long clearance, he rounded the hapless Valdes to secure both Chelsea's place in the final and his name into Chelsea folklore.

But - please don't start singing 'He scores when he wants'.  Because that shit is demonstrably and laughably absurd.

Projjol "I'm sexy and I know it" Banerjea 

Shoutout to my good friends Projjol 'muscle-man' Banerjea and his beautiful wife Hickie 'she-wears-the-pants' Chatterjee/Banerjea for these recently acquired pictures from the Camp Nou.  

Madrid-Bayern

Madrid were favorites to go through after scoring an away goal.  And once they had gone 2-0 up with two quick goals by Ronaldo (and some brilliant vision by 'Avatar-eyes' Ozil), it looked like Madrid were going to run away with the game.  When i saw Ronaldo score, I was reminded of how he is often criticized as someone who goes missing in big games; especially when compared to Messi.  He had a brilliant game overall - and despite his eventual PK miss - should be proud of his overall performance.  Mourinho has added a dimension to Ronaldo's game that was non-existent during Cristiano's time at Man United - defensive awareness.  Ronaldo tracked back throughout this game and helped keep Ribery/Robben at bay.

Soon, it became increasingly apparent that Madrid's defense was shaky.  The first signs of it was a bursting run by Austrian defender Alaba.  Alaba tore past three players and hit a great cross to Robben who should have scored against his old side.  Madrid gave up a penalty via Pepe, who was lucky not to get sent off, and Robben duly dispatched the PK into the side netting.

Both Robben and Ronaldo were guilty of wasting some free kick chances in the second half, but the game was fairly even at that point.  The best chance of the game came when Alaba played in Robben.  Robben's first time pass found Gomez and the 40+ goal striker was odds-on to score.  He flubbed his first touch and found himself crowded out before he could get a decent strike away.  I thought Kaka's introduction during the 75th minute would prove to be catalytic - but the brazilian 'star' was at his disappointing best.  Extra time was uneventful and the game was finally decided by the lottery of penalty kicks.

Oh Ronaldo.  The kid never misses penalties during the game.  The kid never scores penalties during a shootout.  Neuer had a good game and Bayern were through - thereby denying Mourinho the chance to avenge Abrahomivic's mistreatment of him.  The final will be a brilliant affair and I look forward to it.

Next up, I will be previewing the United-City game.  Thank you for reading.

How can Chelsea beat Barcelona? (1st leg)

On Wednesday, Chelsea play the most important game of their season so far - the first leg of the semi-final against the mighty Barcelona.  Barcelona may go down ass the greatest club team in football history (and, yes, I'm including AC Milan), but surely they are beatable, right? I would like to hope so.  The following is my opinion of how Chelsea can win the first leg at Stamford Bridge.


1.  Play a flexible 4-3-1-2 formation. 
Assuming that both Luiz and Cahill are missing for the game, the back four will pick itself - Terry and Ivanovic in the middle with Ashley Cole and Bosingwa as the full backs.  The midfield will have to be Meireles, Essien and Ramires.  The reason for Lamps' omission would be that the midfield will have to make continuous tracking runs and Lamps would be found wanting in that situation.  Besides, he may have a huge impact on the game coming off the bench. Mata would play the attacking midfielder role and up-top, I would have Torres and Drogba.  My reasoning for my forward selection will be clear later in the post.  Also, the above formation can be used as a potent counter-attacking option by switching to a 4-3-3.

2.  Accept that Barca will score at Stamford bridge.
Let's face it, at some point, Barca will score.  At some point, Messi will sneak past the defense and place the ball beyond a hapless Cech.  Chelsea should NOT set out looking for a clean sheet, because Chelsea cannot keep a clean sheet.  If deMatteo accepts that Chelsea will get scored on, he can focus on Chelsea's strength; offense.  The Stamford Bridge outfit should be aiming for a win - whether it's by one goal of three - there is no way they will not concede an away goal.  And, that is perfectly okay.

3.  Play a deep-line on defense
As Chelsea have found out earlier this season (refer to the Arsenal game), they are poor at playing the offside trap.  Besides, with the foot speed of the players and the incision of their passing, no one should play the offside trap against Barcelona; it just would not work.  By playing a deep-line, Barca should be able to nullify Messi and Iniesta running behind the defense via chipped/dinged passes played by their brilliant midfield.  The flipside to this will be - it will give Barca a lot more time on the ball.

4.  Let Barca have the ball in their own half + Run Ramires Run
Yes, Barca will have possession.  But, as long as Chelsea pressure in their own half, Barca will find it difficult to feed Xavi.  And Xavi is the heart of that team.  Also, this will allow Ramires to drive at the heart of the Barca midfield.  For as talented as Mascherano, Xavi and Busquets are, they are not particularly fast.  Facing the young, dynamic midfielder will be something different from anything they have experienced in La Liga.

5.  Stop Messi
This one is obvious.  But how? In my opinion, it is pointless to man-mark Messi.  With the exception of Luiz and Bosingwa, no defender on Chelsea's defense can match Messi for foot speed.  And, unfortunately for Chelsea, those two are the team's most positionally unreliable defenders.  So, yeah, no man-marking.  It would be preferable to play a stopper-sweeper formation with Terry sitting deep and Ivanovic playing stopper; distributing the ball to Meireles.

6.  Essien to man-mark Xavi
As mentioned earlier, Xavi (along with Busquets) is the heart of that Barca team.  Essien will have to prevent Xavi from running the show.  For one night, he will need to be the hard-tackling, no-nonsense monster that he was before all his injury troubles.  By playing the ball-winning role, Essien can free-up Meireles to distribute the ball into space behind Puyol, or directly to the target man-Drogba.

7.  Get Drogba on Pique and Torres on Puyol
Both of Chelsea's strikers have found some form recently and will need to be on top-form to score against arguably the best central defensive partnership in Spain.  Pique (for any gossip queens reading this - he is the lucky bastard waka-waka-ing Shakira) has blossomed into a brilliant defender.  His reading of the game and his distribution has earned him comparisons to the legendary Beckenbauer.  However, his one weakness is a physical battle.  That is exactly what Drogba can provide; Drogba should isolate himself against Pique in every dead-ball situation.  Also, Drogba is the best in the world at holding-up the ball (and winning cheap fouls) and this will give Chelsea the chance to get a breather/some possession.

Similarly, Puyol is an excellent defender.  His achilles heel is a slight lack of speed.  This can be capitalized on by El Nino.  As for picking Torres, I believe that this is just the sort of game that he would thrive in.  He is a big-game player and will have a point to prove while playing against many of his spanish compatriots.  Besides, I would argue that the alternative - Sturridge - has a poor work-rate and would not be able to handle the big occasion.  He would be best as a good option off the bench; where he can play without pressure.

8.  Capitalize on set-piece situations
Barcelona are fast in every sense of the word.  However, they also have a lack-of-height throughout their team (with the exception of Pique and Busquets).  Chelsea should be looking at making the most of every corner and every set piece.  Similarly, they should be wary of Barcelona taking short corners, as they will be hesitant to cross the ball into the box.  Also, while on defense, they should leave Mata and Bosingwa at the half-way line.  This will force Barca to stay vigiliant against the counter attack; given Mata and Bosingwa's speed.  And, let's be honest, neither of them can defend corners.

9.  Play narrow while defending
If Chelsea play narrow and force Barca to play wide, any balls crossed into the box would be comfortable dealt with.  Moreover, it would force a certain dani Alves into overlapping positions.  Dani Alves is excellent going forward, but his positional awareness on defense is suspect.  In other words, having Alves in Chelsea's half may provide the best counter-attacking possibilities for Torres and Mata to exploit.

10.  If needing a goal, get Lamps on for Essien, Malouda/Kalou on for Mata and Sturridge on for Torres.
This one explains itself.  Also - only use Mikel if someone is injured.  The guy is pants.


What do you guys think? Anything you would add/subtract from the list?

Round up of Week 32

Sunderland 0-0 Tottenham
The game ended 0-0 and that is about all you can say for a dire, tactical game where neither side deserved to win.  With Arsenal and Chelsea winning this weekend, Harry will need to inspire his team to some form in the last 6 games if he is to finish above Arsenal and/or win a Champions league spot.

Liverpool 1-1 Villa
Suarez had a good game overall and Gerrard's crosses were devastating.  However, Chris Herd's early goal had the home fans in a nervous mood.  Especially given that it was a result of some uncertain goalkeeping by their debutante, Doni.  It is fair to say that he did settle down after a shaky start.  Liverpool dominated the game from a possession (~70% to 30%) and shots (24 to 5) standpoint.  The telling statistic was that only 5 out of their 24 shots were on target.  King Kenny often cites bad luck as the villain of the season, but it is clear that the Anfield club are in dire need of an out-and-out striker.  I continue to be baffled by the decision to leave Maxi out of the game entirely.  To add insult to injury, Liverpool end the weekend a point behind their local rivals Everton - who they will be playing very soon in the FA cup.

Chelsea 2-1 Wigan
Most fans will talk about the decision that went United's way this weekend (more on that later), but on Saturday a key decision fell in the favor of another big club.  Ivanovic was clearly offside when he scored Chelsea's first goal.  Wigan can be proud of their performance at Stamford Bridge as they went toe-to-toe on possession and shots on goal.  However, the deciding factor in the game came late in stoppage time.  When the in-form Torres (what?)  showed brilliant technique to volley a pinpoint Drogba cross only to see it hit the far post.  Juan Mata was perfectly placed for a tap-in and Chelsea won the game.  I had earlier predicted Chelsea to end in 5th, but with Spurs showing shaky form, Chelsea have a strong shout to pip them for that final champions league spot.  Currently they are 3 points behind spurs and even on points with Newcastle United.

Manchester United 2-0 QPR
I recently wrote a blog about how the data shows that United does not get any more/less penalties than other teams.  However, this is the exact sort of game that rivals fans cite when they state the opposite.  My initial reaction to seeing the 'tackle' was - "Ashley Young dived."  The replay showed that although there was some contact, it was obvious that Young was going down before the contact was made.  Therefore, I would still maintain that it was a dive.  What made it worse was the fact that Young was blatantly offside when the ball was played, so it should have been a non-issue in the first place.  I firmly believe that diving should be punished retrospectively and I hope FIFA/UEFA/FA will implement that rule starting next season.  Once Derry was sent off, you knew United were going to win.  Rooney put away the penalty and United dominated the rest of the game, topping off with a Scholesy beauty.

It must be said that even with 10 men, QPR did not give United a ton of clear cut chances.  There were a couple of exceptions, of course.  In my preview, I had predicted that Taraabt  would be found wanting on his defensive duties.  That prediction almost came through as he allowed United's right back, Rafael to waltz into the 18 yard box and Scholesy played him a delicious dinged pass that landed in his stride.  Rafael tried to chip the goalkeeper but Kenny pushed the ball onto the post.  Another great opportunity was a vicious strike from my man-of-the-match, Michael Carrick, who managed to strike the upright.

It's a luxury to be able to criticize your team when they are sitting pretty on top of the league, but that is exactly what I will be doing - Rooney and Welbeck had poor games.  Despite a well-taken penalty, Rooney's overall performance was disappointing.  His passing and distribution were erratic and he was involved in an ugly tackle towards the start of the game.  Welbeck is young and a hard-working forward, but he is currently experiencing a drop in form.  Chicharito has also been struggling with second-season-itis.  Would Fergie please bring Berbatov out of the wilderness for the last few games? Today's game was begging for Berba's control and vision up-top and home games against Villa, Swansea and Everton would be perfect opportunities for Berba-type games.

Either way, with United sitting 8 points clear, the title will be staying at Old Trafford.

Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City
The much-hyped game of the weekend was rather disappointing overall.  I was surprised that Tevez did not start and that Benayoun did.  Also, why Wenger keeps picking Walcott is beyond me.  Yes, he has scored in a few games, but he is surely better coming off the bench in big games? With Clichy continuously showing walcott to the outside, and matching him for pace, Walcott was completely nullified.  Oxlade-Chamberlain, on the other hand, is capable of coming onto his left foot and creating a moment of magic.

I was also baffled by Arsenal's decision to constantly cross balls in the air.  With RVP coming deep, when the ball was sprayed to the wings, Arsenal were trying to aim for either Benayoun, Walcott or the on-rushing Rosicky.  Kompany, at least 6 inches taller than all of them, had no trouble heading out crosses.

I was a little disappointed with the Arsenal players' constant rolling around trying to get players carded.  I cannot count how many times the likes of Sagna, Santo and Walcott fell to the floor as though they had been shot.  Only to jump up like bunny-rabbits once the foul had been called.  Having said that, NOTHING excuses Balotelli's first tackle on man-of-the-match Alex Song.  That was a career ending tackle.  Luckily for Song, Balotelli caught him towards the top of the shin-guard... any higher... and that was a broken leg at best.  Balotelli was at his frustrating best in this game - yelling at teammates and shooting when a pass was a better option.  Eventually he did get sent off and deservedly so.  This sending off is his 4th of the season and with the widely-expected retrospective ban for his tackle on song, I am expecting that Balotelli will be missing for at least 5 games.  In fact, I am going to argue that he might has played his last game in a Citizens shirt as I expect him to move on in the summer.

Because you are an asshole

For the record, what a magnificent goal that was by Arteta.  Mikael Arteta was the player signed by Wenger to replace Nasri.  He is an intelligent player who sits deeper than Nasri did and is a very good passer of the ball.  During his time at Everton, he did not score a lot of goals, but when he did - they tended to be memorable ones.  That strike was deserving of winning any game.

After City went a goal down, Mancini finally put Tevez on, but by then it was way too late and Arsenal should have had a second right at the end.

Week 31 - round up

What a weekend of football!

I only got to watch the Manchester United game in it's entirety - as I was busy with other things all weekend.  I did, however, catch some highlights of the other games.  So other than the United game, the following will not be in-depth analysis:

Manchester City, surprisingly dropped points against Sunderland.  I had predicted that City would win this one but only managed a 3-3 draw.  City fans will be disappointed with the final result but should be pleased with the fact that their side came back from 3-1 down.  Balotelli scored a blinder (although his performance was marred by an on-field argument with his team mate, Kolarov).  Kolarov, himself, scored an excellent goal to tie the game up.  Sunderland fans will be thrilled by their team's performance.  This was not one of the games that I expected City to slip up in, and I think that that might be it for the premier league race...

Chelsea beat Villa 4-2 with Torres being involved in all the goals.  However, the big talking point was the news that Villa's captain Stilyan Petrov (who I had predicted would have a big impact on this game) was diagnosed with leukemia.  My best wishes go out to 'Stan' as he seems to be a stand up dude and definitely a very talented player.  This season has been tough for football players - Abidal, Muamba, Petrov and Bryan robson have all dealt with serious health concerns and the legendary Gary Speed unfortunately took his own life.  Here's to hoping Petrov gets better soon.

Liverpool lost to Sunderland 2-0.  Liverpool are slowly turning into a laughing stock, I'm afraid.  With Carroll's diving and Reina's red card, luckily Daglish had to answer more about those silly events than his team's abject performance.  Liverpool had a strong shout for a handball, but cannot claim that they deserved any points from this game.  Here's to hoping that they can finish out the season strongly and win the FA cup.

Tottenham beat Swansea City and, in my opinion, are back on track for that 3rd place finish I predicted.

Arsenal lost to QPR.  This was the most surprising result of the weekend.  Not surprising, however, was that Adel Taraabt was involved.  Taraabt is one of the most naturally gifted footballers in the premier league.  His attitude and work ethic leave a lot to be desired, however.  I'm guessing he'll be moving away from QPR this summer as I still believe that they will get relegated - and, frankly, they deserve it after the way they treated Warnock.

Manchester United beat Blackburn 2-0.  At one point, United had 81% of the possession but had only one shot on target.  That is how resolute the Blackburn team was - until the 80th minute.  They stacked up two banks of four and gave United tons of time on the ball.  However, as soon as the ball was played anywhere near the penalty box, it was clear that the Blackburn players were ready to throw their bodies on the line.  When Valencia finally scored (with a shot/cross) that took Robinson by surprise, Blackburn lost their resolve and let in another well-placed goal by Ashley Young.  David de Gea, United's goalkeeper, yet again turned out a man-of-the-match performance as he made three brilliant saves to keep United in the game.  United are now 5 points clear of City and might be as many as 8 clear by the time City play Arsenal this Sunday.  Squeeky bum time.  It was interesting to see how United lined up - they played a 4-3-3 consisting of the expected back 4 - Rafael, Evans, Rio and Evra, a midfield trio of Carrick, Scholes and the unexpected Jones, and a forward line of Chicha with Valencia and Rooney shunted to support from the inside forward position.

The reason United played three in the middle was so that Jones could challenge Yakubu in the air; that ploy worked well, especially as the Yak had dominated United in the fixture at Old Trafford.  However, as Rooney was played out left, United lost some of their creative edge and definitely lacked the width.  poor Evra was playing as an auxiliary left winger for most of the game.  Valencia was undoubtedly the greatest threat in the entire game and whipped in cross after cross that nobody could get to.  Left backs must have nightmares of coming up against Antonio - he is simply the best winger in the league.  Finally, Fergie threw on Welbeck, Giggs and Young and it restored the balance and threat of 4-4-2 that United seemed to prefer.    Chicharito's performance was marred by terrible first touches and some erratic passing.  Both Welbeck and Chicha are having disappointing ends to their season and Fergie might be ruing his decision of banishing Dimitar Berbatov.

Next up - preview of week 32.

Week 31 - preview

Aston Villa vs Chelsea
I expect Chelsea to take the three points in this one.  Aston Villa has been poor all season - especially against the big clubs and are now dealing with the injury to their main striker, Darren Bent.  Gabby Agbonlahor can be a serious threat on his day, but luckily for Chelsea, his days are few and far between.  If Aston Villa are to take anything in this game, both Stiliyan Petrov and Charles N'Zogbia will have to boss the midfield.  This may prove difficult has Chelsea will play three in the middle - in a 4-3-3 formation - likely to be Ramires, Essien and Meireles.  It will be interesting to see how Chelsea's manager, Robert deMatteo will rotate the front three after a successful (but tiresome) excursion midweek in the champions league.  It's likely that Drogba will start with Sturridge making way for Malouda and probably Kalou - after his goal in the aforementioned game.  Torres will certainly play a part - probably off the bench.  This a game that requires a fit John Terry, or else Emile Heskey will boss Luiz/Cahill in the air.  I predict 0-2 win for Chelsea.

City vs Sunderland
Obviously, City are favorites to take all three points here - especially now that Kompany has been declared fit for Saturday's game.  Although City have been struggling up front as of late, I think the presence of Tevez will galvanize the team into putting a couple of goals past Sunderland.  Having said that, Martin O'Neill's side has been performing well with Sessegnon and the-man-who-could-not-hit-the-side-of-a-barn Nicolas Bendtner scoring goals for the mid table side.  If Sunderland are to get anything out of this game, they will have to utilize the width afforded to many teams by City.  City tend to operate through the middle and their three man central midfield is often susceptible to good wing play.  That is, of course, if you can get past Yaya Toure.  I have a feeling Kieran Richardson will have a key role to play in this game and may provide an assist.  I predict a 2-1 win for City.

QPR vs Arsenal
QPR are in trouble - there's no doubt about that.  They are currently in the relegation zone and I honestly believe they are going to stay there.  Arsenal are going to trounce QPR and it may end up being a case of how many can they score.  With Joey barton and Taraabt in the wilderness and Cisse suspended, I cannot see QPR scoring any goals.  The only chance QPR may have is if the Arsenal players take the game for granted.  Van Persie will run riot in this game and I expect at least a goal and an assist from him.  Walcott may also have a good game and be able to utilize the slow wing backs of QPR.  Personally, I would like to see the Ox start.  4-0 to Arsenal.

Newcastle vs Liverpool

Tale of two sets of strikers

Definitely the pick of the games of Round 31.  In august if you had told me that Newcastle would be 8 points above Liverpool and would be equal on points with Chelsea, I would have told you to lay off the peyote.  Let's think about this - Newcastle SOLD all their stand out players from last season - Andy Carroll (in January), Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton.  Meanwhile, Liverpool bought the first two on that list, Downing, Henderson, etc. I cannot state this enough - almost every pundit picked Newcastle for relegation this season and they are currently sitting in sixth place.  If Alan Pardew does not win manager of the year, I will cry.  Liverpool will have to deal with the mercurial brilliance of Cisse and Demba Ba.  I expect ex-united boy Gabby Obertan to have a field day against Martin Kelly and whip in crosses for fun.  Liverpool's away form has been good and I think Downing is starting to find his feet.  Carroll will get a villain's welcome at St. James' Park and it will be interesting to see how he handles the anger directed towards him.  Although newcastle's defense is good in the air, they are fairly leggy, so Suarez may have a big role to play in this game.  His direct running may be the source of Liverpool's goal in the game.  At the other end, I expect big Demba Ba to score.  Game ends 1-1.

Tottenham vs Swansea City
The Spurs train has been somewhat slowed by the Redknapp nonsense and they are also feeling the effects of having been a part of the Fabrice Muamba situation.  They will need all their mental strength to beat my favorite promoted side, Swansea City.  The Swans are a pleasure to watch and are a credit to the premier league.  They are the Athletic Bilbao of the premier league - a side built of small-time players who play the game like it should be played.  I expect Saha to start the game alongside Van derVaart with Bale and Lennon on the wings.  Scotty Parker will play in the middle with the croatian maestro Modric conducting play.  Possession will be controlled by Swansea City and Spurs will win the game from a goal against the run of play.  1-0.

Rovers vs United
Rovers have had a tumultuous season and are currently in the relegation battle.  However, they are the only premier league team (other than City, of course) to beat United at Old Trafford this season.  This sets up a revenge game for the united players and I expect them to be excited to set things right.  United will set up as follows - De gea, Jones /Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Young, Scholes, Carrick, Rooney, Chicharito.  Ferguson will drop Welbeck to the bench after a poor showing in the Fulham game and I expected Chicharito to exploit the slow Rovers defense.  Valencia will be a handful and Rovers will probably (and they would be stupid not to) double-mark him, allowing the United right back to bomb forward on the overlap.  While it often works, both the United right backs are very young (19 years) and are defensively suspect on the counter attack.  Therefore, this game will be decided on United's right (Rovers' left).  I expected United to win 3-1.  Chicharito double and a midfielder's goal

Season review/predictions - United and Chelsea

In the next few posts, I will attempt to briefly review the 2011-2012 season for the big six - United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, City and Arsenal. This post will address the first two.

Manchester United
It has been a typical United seasons - some soaring highs (8-2 win against Arsenal, 3-3 draw with Chelsea, etc.) and some prostate lows (6-1 thrashing by City, both games against Bilbao and the general lack of performance in European competition). However, most United fans would agree that winning the premier league would count as a massive success.

Compared to last season, when United's away form was abject, this season has proved to be a success in games away from home. I think that may have to do with the tactical set up rather than just a chance event. Last season, United relied on a tight defense to keep the point total ticking. This season, in the absence of Nemanja vidic, United's play has been based on attacking football relying on the creativity of Giggsy, Carrick, Scholes, Rooney, Nani and Valencia. Carrick has finally recovered the sort of form that he was in when he first signed for United in 2006.

In order to win the premier league, United has to navigate a couple of tricky fixtures - Blackburn, City and Sunderland away. However, I still predict them to do the job and win the league by 2 points.

Player of the season - Johnny Evans. Despite his fault in the City thrashing, Evans has been the best defender at United this season. His reading of the game is exceptional and he has added an ability to carry the ball forward - much like Rio used to do. His composure has also improved.

Signing of the season - David de Gea. Most people would give this one to phil Jones. However, I think De Gea has proven all his critics wrong in the latter half of the season and is probably the biggest reason why United are still in this title race - let alone in sitting pretty on top of the league.

Flop of the season - Anderson. Anderson came to United as one of the most sought-after young talents in Europe. After a great first season, Ando has regressed into an injury-prone, erratic and somewhat disinterested player. His only saving grace is that United are really short in midfield.

Villain of the season Patrice Evra. His celebration in front of Luis Suarez, after the win at Old Trafford, was unwarranted and pathetic - especially from the club captain. In my opinion, he was not vilified enough for the same.

Chelsea
Predicted by many, at the start of the season, to be the only real challengers to Manchester City, Chelsea has had a topsy-tuvy year to say the least. From the annual manager firing to the re-emergence of the old guard, Chelsea are the only english club still in the Champions league and long may that continue.

The problem for Chelsea is the same problem they have faced for the last 5 years: The shadow of a certain Mr. Mourinho. Unfortunately, despite the attempts of Andres villas-boas (AVB) to erect a new style of football at the club, the direct style of Mourinho is instilled in the likes of Drogba, Terry and Lampard. Honestly, I enjoyed watching Chelsea play under AVB - Chelsea had a fluency to their game that was refreshing to watch. Particularly their performance in the QPR game - where despite being down to 9 men - they bossed the match - gave me belief that Chelsea were headed in the right direction. Obviously, what they were missing was a trust in the manager which lead to nervousness within the ranks. Given Chelsea's fixture list (tricky games against Liverpool and Arsenal), I predict they will be unable to climb out of 5th place, but will reach the final of the champions league - this may be counter-intuitive, but I think they may be capable of beating Barcelona but will lose to Madrid in the final... After which Di Matteo will be replaced with Bielsa (manager at Athletico Bilbao) in the summer.

Player of the season - Raul Meireles - Sure he may have an erratic game. But, Meireles has become an indispensible portion of the Chelsea machine since he signed from Liverpool. His distribution is fantastic and he has bulked up to add more of a physical presence. It is because of Meireles that the drop in form of Mikel and Essien has not been more disastrous for Chelsea.

Signing of the season - Juan Mata - One of my favorite players in the premier league. Skill, vision, speed - he has everything. Probably the key to a certain Mr. Torres rediscovering his form.

Flop of the season - No prizes for guessing this one - Fernando torres. Although his performances have improved lately, Torres' goal-scoring ratio is outrageously poor for a player of his ability. It is hard to understand what is going on - and it is incorrect to simply blame Chelsea - his performances started dropping before the 2010 world cup. Let's not forget THAT miss against United...

Villain of the season - John Terry - you know - the nicest guy in football.