And this weekend we kick off with a humdinger of match between Arsenal and Liverpool with a lot to offer for both teams, for Arsenal trying to close the gap and stay in touch with second place Manchester City and for Liverpool try to fight for the fourth spot and lower the margin of points with Manchester United and also try to fight for the European Spot. With both teams having a lot to play for, this fixture offers exactly that, with over a 183 matches played between them both teams have won 67 times and also lost 67 times and have drawn 49 times so as the stats suggests it's pretty equal.
The Last five meetings between them, with Arsenal having a slight edge with winning two matches and have drawn two and with Liverpool winning one. And as far as form goes for both teams this season Arsenal are currently performing better than Liverpool. with both teams in their last five matches with Arsenal having won 5 matches and Liverpool having won four. But for Liverpool it is a very crucial match if they want stay in contention to keep fighting for the European spot.
The other Fixtures are between Southampton and Everton. The Saints are playing their best this season and still not giving up on the fourth European spot Ronald Koeman has done a great job to this side but with a major setback with the Saints Goalkeeper Fraser Forester being ruled of the rest of the season with an injured kneecap who leads the EPL with most number of clean sheets the responsibility in between the sticks fall on to Kelvin Davis. And with Everton Slowly finding their feet in the League picking up form with two consecutive wins on the trot, and with Roberto Martinez looking to end the season on a strong note this game could be exciting with added pressure to Southampton if they still want to keep fighting for the fourth spot. With Graziano Pelle having a dry spell in the league and scoring in the International Friendly against England he would be expecting for normal service to resume for him.
The Fixture between Leicester City and West Ham. At home the Foxes should take advantage and try snatch up three points with Nigel Pearson's men struggling this campaign and with only nineteen points this season ,looks like they might just be heading back to the Championship but they should remain confident and fight till the very end. A Valiant Effort against Tottenham last week losing out narrowly. Sam Allardyce will be hoping his men earn his side three points, having started the league brilliantly but somewhere along the way with dismal performances have made them lose the Euro League spot and having won only one game in their last six matches Sam should be looking on to build on that one victory against Sunderland last week, And with Sakho resuming his scoring it should be a positive sign for the Hammers as they try to finish the season on a high note.
The Fixture between Swansea City and Hull City with the Swans playing at home. Their performances at home have always been strong, Gary Monk will be expecting nothing less than three points from his side. Their last six performances they have won three games and lost three and they sit comfortably in eight position. Steve Bruce would be disappointed as well as happy with his side's perfromance at home last week against Chelsea to give away two early goals and show some resilience and come back only to gift a soft winner to Chelsea.Having won two games of their last six performances and fighting to stay away from the drop zone Steve Bruce has to ensure his side does not put up any more dismal defensive displays like against Chelsea as at this stage every point counts.
The Game between West Brom and QPR played at the Hawthorns is going to be a tough fixture for QPR as they perform poorly on the Road and having lost their last five league matches on the trot and with Charlie Austin finding it hard to get back his lost form, this looks like a tough fixture for the Hoops and with the team fighting for relegation they should look at games like these and try to salvage something out of it. With West Brom ever since Tony Pulis took over the reigns his teams performance have been positive they have pushed themselves from the relegation fight and with signings like Darren Fletcher who has had a positive influence on the side, With Berahino and Brown Ideye playing well it looks like the Baggies could snatch up three vital points.
The Other Fixture is between Manchester United and Aston Villa. With the Red Devils finding their feet and consecutively putting up impressive displays and Van Gaal's philosophy finally starting to show it's worth it could well be a tough fixture for the Villans. This season with Manchester United having an impressive Home record having lost only one home game against the saints and with players like Wayne Rooney , Juan Mata , Felliani in good touch you would assume it would be an easy three points for the Red Devils and would close the Gap on Arsenal and Manchester City. With Tim Sherwood trying to get his team out of the relegation battle this fixture could prove to be an uphill task for his side having lost their last game this was the fixture Sherwood would not have been expecting to bounce back after a defeat. But with Benteke and Agbonlahor in good form it would please the manager. The Last time these two sides meet it ended in a draw with the Villains opening the score sheet with a fine curling effort from Benteke only for Falcao to equalise in the second half with a thumping header. Manchester United have won their last four league games on the trot whereas Aston Villa their last four fixtures have won only two. And as history suggests this fixture has always been an easy win for The Red Devils.
The Late fixture on Saturday is between the league leaders Chelsea and Stoke City. With Chelsea heading on course to be crowned Premier League champions they shouldn't take Stoke lightly even though Chelsea has an impressive home record. This fixture could still prove to be tough for them. With the Chelsea attack this season looking terrorising and Diego Costa resuming his normal service getting himself on the score sheet as expected and Hazard continuing to cause problems to opposition defenders weekly, you would expect Chelsea to pick up three points but having said that the past few matches the defence has been shoddy and at Hull they almost paid the price to drop three points. With a game in hand and six points clear of second place Manchester City, Chelsea sit in a comfortable position. Stoke City on the other hand their performances have not been up to par this season as compared to their previous seasons Mark Hughes facing a lot of stick from fans. But they somehow try to come up with points and having won three games out of their last five matches and lost two consecutive matches their form at this point is not good and they have to make sure they don't get thumped by Chelsea. But with Chelsea under par defence they should be vary of Couch's threat aerially.
The early fixture in Sunday is between Burnley and Tottenham at Turf Moor. Tottenham looking to pile the pressure on the top four teams and Liverpool. They are also fighting for the European spot and on Paper it would seem like an easy three points for Spurs but at Turf Moor the Clarets have surprised many with stunning victories like the one against Manchester City at home. Burnley are strong force to break. Sean Dyche and his men will be looking to cause another upset. Both these teams have got something to fight for, Burnley to avoid relegation and the European spot for Tottenham. And with Harry Kane in inspired form he might just prove to be the deciding factor in this fixture.
The other Fixture is none other than the Tyneside Derby between Sunderland and Newcastle United both teams performing poorly in the league currently with Sunderland being abysmal and a new coach at the realm Dick Advocaat this is a baptismal fire for him to encounter his fixture early in his Sunderland Coaching career. Advocaat mission is primarily to get Sunderland out of the relegation zone but i think he also realises the importance of this match. The rivalries it has shared over the years. With Sunderland having won none in their last six matches and Newcastle winning on. A victory for either team in this fixture would not only give the fans the bragging rights but most importantly at this stage for both teams vital three points. This game should be a cracker of a fixture. Stats don't lie even though Sunderland have had a torrid season, at the Tyneside derby they seem to do well winning the last Four fixtures against their rivals.,
The Last Fixture to round up Matchday 31 is between Crystal Palace and Manchester City. Ever since Alan Pardew took charge the team has done well. Definitely not going to get relegated this season having won their last two matches on the trot and with players like Zaha and Puncheon in good form they seem to pose a good attacking threat. City got back to their winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Baggies and with Wilfred Bony opening his account for his new club. It would seem that City would have the upper hand over the Eagles but off late Selhurst park has become difficult for away teams to pick up three points. The Last time City played here they won two nil but with a new coach in Alan Pardew it might be a tricky outing for the Manchester in Blue.
So, that's the round up of the English Premier League Matchday 31 fixtures. Hope you guys enjoy the cracking fixtures this weekend. I know i certainly will. Looking forward to some surprises. Predictions Anyone?
0 comments:
Post a Comment