Newysports EPL Preview: Week 7 2015/16
Written By: Keegan Pulik
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Tottenham
endured a tricky start to the season, but the last few weeks Spurs have found
some form, winning against Sunderland, FK Qarabag (Europa) and last week
against Palace. New boy Heung-Min Son is starting to show his worth scoring 3
goals in 3 appearances. His goal last week was enough for the Spurs to put one
over Palace, in a game that Spurs looked to have had control over.
A midweek
Capital One Cup match against fierce rivals Arsenal, was always going to be a
good test. Whilst they are now out of the cup, going down 2-1, they will be
slightly concerned that they couldn’t break through the Arsenal defence as
Spurs only goal was an Own Goal by Callum Chambers. Spurs should look to capitalise on City’s turn of form this weekend, if Spurs can hit the front
early City may struggle in trying to pull the game back.
The
undefeated streak is over, it lasted 5 league matches but it all came to an end when
West Ham arrived at the Etihad. Going behind in the 6th minute, City
were stunned and after very poor defence on a corner led to the Hammers second
goal, City almost looked out of answers. A Kevin De Bruyne goal on the stroke
of halftime looked to revitalise City but after coming out for the second half,
they couldn’t break through a desperate West Ham defence.
City dominated every
element of this match is you look at the stats having 19 shots, 72% possession
and 16 corners. Midweek City faced a trip to the Stadium of Light to face
Sunderland. City were there to prove that last weekend was a one off scoring 4
first half goals to seal the win early on. Despite conceding a late goal,
Sunderland were never in this match with any sort of a chance. City will look
to make an example of Spurs this week proving that they can run away with the
title this season.
Keegan's Tip: 2-1
City
Alex's Tip: 2-1 City
Ty's Tip: 2-1 City
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The
comeback kings from Leicester will host their toughest opponents this week when
they welcome Arsenal to the King Power Stadium. Leicester are making a habit of
going behind 2-0 over the last couple of weeks, both in which they have brought
it back. Last week Stoke looked very impressive in the first half, and I truly
did believe that they may have turned their season around. Second half did not
go according to the Stoke script with Leicester hitting back with a Mahrez
penalty after Arnautovic brought down Drinkwater in what was a smart run by
Drinkwater giving Arnautovic no option but to bring him down.
Leicester were
back level by the 69th minute as Jamie Vardy pounced on a loose ball
slotting it past Butland. Whilst this was by no means Leicester’s best
performance of the season, it was enough to leave the Britannia with a point.
Leicester found winning form again in the Cup during the week with a 2-1 extra
time win against West Ham. Going up early, West Ham hit back and forced the
game into extra time but 4 minutes before penalties Andy King sealed the win
for the Foxes.
Arsenal’s
trip to Stamford Bridge was by no means short of any drama, with Diego Costa
getting Gabriel sent off and then a late second yellow to Santi Carzola meant
he also saw red. Whilst the Gunners will feel very hard done by after the
refereeing display last weekend, some fans even going as far as starting a
donation petition to stop Mike Dean from officiating any Arsenal game again.
But regardless of what happened on the pitch in a few weeks’ time everyone will
have forgotten the controversy and will look at the score which read 2-0
Chelsea.
It took a nicely taken header at the back post in the 53rd
minute by Kurt Zouma to put the Blues ahead before a 90th minute
goal by Eden Hazard, who’s shot took a massive deflection, doubled Chelsea’s
lead and sealed the victory. Things didn’t get any easier in the Cup midweek
either with the Gunners facing a trip to White Hart Lane to face fierce rivals
Tottenham. Arsenal walked away from this match with a 2-1 victory with Flamini
scoring a brace. The only notable issue for Arsenal is not one that was on the
field but in the away stands where a number of their supporters were arrested
for tearing down a sign from the stadium. Going up against Leicester this week
will be an interesting encounter for both, Leicester come up against the first
major team and Arsenal will be out for a big win after the loss last week.
Keegan's Tip: 2-0
Arsenal
Alex's Tip: 1-1 Draw
Ty's Tip: 3-1 Arsenal
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Round
2 was the last time Liverpool left a ground with 3 points, this week could
really be make or break for Brendan Rodgers and his men. Last weekend they
hosted a Norwich side who were full of confidence from a 3-1 win the week
before, and this confidence carried through. Liverpool again, were nowhere near
their best and were far from impressive. Danny Ings scoring 2 minutes after
being substituted into the game almost looked as it that could be the goal that
could lead to better things and that could possibly save Rodgers his job. But
yet again, an error at the back, this time by goalkeeper Mignolet, gave Norwich
the only opportunity they needed to get onto the score sheet. With the match
ending at 1-1, things were looking very bleak at Anfield.
But
look on the bright side, a midweek game against Carlisle will get our
confidence up with a good win. Well, we won, ugly, but we won. That was the
only positive to take out of Thursday morning's Capital One Cup clash with the
League 2 minnows. Rodgers fielded an almost full strength line-up, or very
close to with the likes of Firmino, Ings, Skrtel, Clyne, Milner and Lallana all
starting before Coutinho, Ibe and Origi were all introduced as subs.
You look
at some of the names there and you would put good money on a big win, well no,
a 24th minute goal to Danny Ings was quickly cancelled out in the 35th
minute and from that point on it was all about survival for Carlisle. And to
their credit they did just that taking the Reds all the way to a penalty
shootout, where debutant Adam Bogdan made a few quality saves to hand Liverpool
the victory.
Before I mention the Rodgers saga, from this match Lovren has
sustained an injury suspected to be a broken ankle from what I have read, and
also this week the Reds will again be without Captain Jordan Henderson, and
possibly without Benteke who reportedly had MRI scans on his hamstrings.
I
know this is longer than most but as a Liverpool fan this is a way to vent. If
Liverpool come away with anything less than a convincing win this weekend, it
could very well be the end of the Brendan Rodgers era, with the club reportedly
making contact with Carlo Ancelotti and the ever present rumour of Jurgen
Klopp being etched into every newspaper. Whilst the club has denied Ancelotti
talks, nothing has been said of Klopp. Watch this space.
Villa
last week played host to West Brom, and unfortunately for Villa fans they were
on the wrong end of a 1-0 score line. A 39th minute goal by Berahino
was enough to separate the two teams who were both creating plenty of chances
at either end. Despite Villa have more of the possession, 60%, they weren’t
able to squeeze West Brom out of the game.
Midweek saw them face a
determined Birmingham City side, who were desperate to put in a good
performance to show that they can hold their own with the Premier League sides
once again. This proved to be a good hit out for the Villains with a 63rd
minute Rudy Gestede goal enough to separate the two sides. This week Villa will
have to be on the top of their game going up against a Liverpool side who
haven’t tasted league success in a while now.
Keegan's Tip: 1-0
Liverpool
Alex's Tip: 2-1 Liverpool
Ty's Tip: 2-1 Aston Villa
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West
Ham are fast becoming the giant killers of the Premier League this season,
already having knocked off Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City away from
home and in convincing fashion. Last week they travelled to the Etihad to face
a City side who were yet to concede a goal in the Premier League this season.
This quickly changed as Victor Moses found the back of the net from range early
on into the match and Diafro Sakho capitalising on some very poor City
defending from a corner the lead was soon doubled and City were in a place that
was so very unknown in the league thus far.
Despite a long range goal from
Kevin De Bruyne on the stroke of half time, West Ham came out in the second
half and did enough to hold out the table toppers. The amount of confidence
West Ham will take out of this result is astounding and they deserve to be full
of confidence. Despite all this confidence the Hammers were brought back down
off their perch by Leicester in the Capital One Cup midweek, conceding their
second 2-1 defeat to the Foxes in a number of weeks. Although West Ham were
able to force this match into extra time they weren’t able to get the upper
hand.
Coming
up against West Ham this week is a newly promoted Norwich side who are sitting
in 11th place and coming off the back of some very positive results
as of late. This positive run began after beating Bournemouth 3-1 and has
continued through last weekend and the Capital One Cup against West Brom. West
Brom was always going to be a tricky encounter in the cup but the Canaries were
good enough to overcome the challenge running out 3-0 winners.
Matt Jarvis and
Kyle Lafferty both scoring before an own goal sealed the 3-0 win. The trip to
Anfield was a positive one for Norwich, despite their dreadful record at the
ground, Norwich were able to overcome a 1-0 deficit to capitalise on a mistake
from Mignolet falling to Russell Martin who finished with a cheeky chip. This
week Norwich will want to push further up the table and further away from the
relegation zone, and coming up against a good West Ham side.
Keegan's Tip: 2-2
Draw
Alex's Tip: 3-1 West Ham
Ty's Tip: 2-0 West Ham
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Southampton
face a Swansea City side that will be desperate to get back into the winners
circle this weekend. Last week Southampton came up against a good Manchester
United side and despite a Graziano Pelle brace, they weren’t able to stop
United. Whilst they were by no means out of the game still being able to create
13 chances on goal, finishing was the biggest area they struggled with last
week.
Finishing was not an issue in the Cup midweek coming up against
Championship side MK Dons. Running out 6-0 winners, with Jay Rodriguez, Shane
Long and Saido Mane all scoring braces to seal a confidence boost that they
desperately needed coming into this clash with Swansea. The Saints will be
wanting to seal all three points this week to further the gap from the
relegation zone. Currently sitting in 16th with 6 points only 3
points outside the relegation zone, they will have it firmly in their mind that
they are not that far outside of it.
Swansea
have looked good for the majority of this season so far. Last week they were
held to a 0-0 draw with Everton in what was a game where chances were few and
far to come by and the chances that both sides had weren’t able to capitalise
on. Midweek they faced a trip to the KC Stadium to face Hull City. This was
always going to be a very close match with Hull only being relegated last season,
they are desperate to be in the top flight again and this was their chance to
prove they can stand up to the level in the Premier League still. And that they
did with a 41st minute goal to David Meyler enough to seal the
victory for the Tigers and leave Swansea to pick up the pieces heading into
this weeks’ game against Southampton. This will be a decent game although there
will be plenty of chances made I see the two cancelling each other out.
Keegan's Tip: 1-1
Draw
Alex's Tip: 1-0 Southampton
Ty's Tip: 2-1 Southampton
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Stoke
are still yet to win this season and may be starting to become slightly
desperate for one. Last week they looked very good in the first half where they
were ahead 2-0 within 20 minutes. A calmly finished goal from Bojan opened the
scoring in the 13th before Jonathan Walters pounced on a dreadful
mistake from Wes Morgan to slot home the second in the 20th minute.
Things looked very cruisy for the Potters.
The second half was never as cruisy
though as Leicester came out in search for goals. And a clever run from
Drinkwater gave Arnautovic no choice but to bring him down inside the box,
whilst the referee took his time to call it, there really was no doubt in
anyone’s mind that it was a penalty. By the 69th minute Stoke’s two
goal cushion was gone, and to add insult to injury Leicester fans began
chanting “Are you Villa in disguise” reference to the week before.
From this
game though Stoke have a lot of positives to look forward from, attacking in
the first half was great, and defensively they were sound, it is just holding on
to the lead when they have it. Midweek they travelled to London to face Fulham
at Craven Cottage where a 33rd minute goal to Peter Crouch was
enough to separate the two sides. Whilst Fulham are by no means the team they
were a few years ago, it is still a positive result for Stoke one of which they
will be take a lot of confidence out of heading into this weeks’ clash with the
Cherries from Bournemouth.
If
you told Bournemouth fans at the start of the season, that they would have 2
quality wins, playing good football, holding their own and out playing
Liverpool at Anfield and that they would be sitting 14th between
Liverpool and Chelsea they would’ve thought you’d be having a laugh. But that
is now their reality as they head into week 7 of their debut Premier League
season.
Last week they really did have potential to run all over Sunderland
going up 2-0 within the first 10 minutes. Callum Wilson continued his scoring
ways this season opening the scoring in the 4th before a superbly
taken volley from outside the box from Matt Ritchie, if you haven’t seen this
goal, do yourself a favour and find it, it has been all over Facebook and was
on Fox Sports News all of Sunday.
It really was a goal of the season contender.
Apart from spectacular finishes Bournemouth will take a lot of positives from
the game but they will also have in the back of their mind of what could’ve been,
we have seen them score plenty of goals this season against West Ham, so they
are capable of getting a lot of goals in a match, and they will have realised
that they had a big opportunity to do the same last week against an ordinary
Sunderland side.
Wednesday morning saw them travel to lowly rated championship
side Preston North End, where they ran out winners but only after a penalty
shootout. They will be disappointed having to go all the way to penalties in
this match but they will take confidence that they now have two wins in a row
heading into a game against a very desperate Stoke side. This match will really
be determined on what side we see of Stoke, if they play like the first half
last week, we may be looking at their first win, or if we see a Stoke side that
compares to their second half last week which we’ve seen most the season, in
which case they will probably lose again.
Keegan's Tip: 0-0
Draw
Alex's Tip: 2-1 Bournemouth
Ty's Tip: 2-1 Stoke City
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United
as much as I hate to say it, are serious title contenders. Last week again they
were very impressive against a determined Southampton side who were looking to
kick start their season. Going behind early on, United didn’t let that faze
them with the youngster Anthony Martial continuing his scoring ways with a
brace, and Juan Mata scoring with just over 20 minutes remaining the result
looked to be in the bag for United. Despite a late surge by Southampton and
Pelle scoring his second, United were able to hang on for another good win.
Midweek United faced Championship side Ipswich which had the potential to be a
very even game with Ipswich sitting high up in the Championship table. Wayne
Rooney put United ahead in the 23rd and it wasn’t until the 60th
when Andreas Pereira doubled the lead. From that point forward the game was
done and dusted but to put the final nail in the coffin, substitute Anthony
Martial scored in the 90th to finish off a convincing win for the
Red Devils. I said a few weeks ago that I believed the fee paid for Martial was
ridiculous, and to a certain degree I stand by that, although this kid has
proven to be an amazing talent and is holding his own in the Premier League. He
has shown that if required he can step into the frontline in the absence of
Rooney and Van Gaal will have no issues with what the kid produces. For me,
definitely one of the signings of the summer.
Sunderland
are still yet to win, and things probably won’t be changing this week when they
travel to Old Trafford. Last week they
went up against a Bournemouth side who were full of confidence and that showed as they
quickly ran out to a 2-0 lead within 10 minutes. Sunderland have struggled all
season in creating chances and it continued last week only creating 8 shooting
opportunities.
Defensively, after the first 10 minutes, they did well to
restrict Bournemouth from really making the game a blowout that it probably
should’ve been. Although, Pantilimon could do nothing about the second goal by
Matt Ritchie, defensively questions will be asked on the marking from the
corner. Things only got worse as they faced Manchester City in the Capital One
Cup midweek where they were steam-rolled by a rampant City side who were up 4-0
within 36 minutes. If Sunderland don’t win within the next 2 or 3 weeks, they
will be relegated, I honestly can’t see anything changing for the Black Cats.
They will lose this week and for them it will be more limiting the damage more
than anything.
Keegan's Tip: 4-0
United
Alex's Tip: 3-0 United
Ty's Tip: 3-0 United
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Yet
to win this season, Newcastle are looking like this could be another ordinary
season. Last week they came up against a Watford side who were full of
confidence after defeating Swansea in the week prior to the clash in Newcastle.
Going down 2-0 within half an hour it took until the 62nd minute for
Newcastle to get on the score sheet with Daryl Janmaat scoring to make it 2-1.
Despite having more possession, Newcastle never looked as if they were in
control.
The misery continued midweek as Newcastle bowed out of the Capital One
Cup against Championship side Sheffield Wednesday. Whilst this takes away any
real chance Newcastle had on success this season it now allows them to focus
entirely on rebooting their Premier League season. The road to survival kicks
off this week against defending champions Chelsea.
Chelsea
have been ordinary all season currently sitting 15th but seemed to
have turned the corner when they defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA
Champions League, backing up with a 2-0 win against a solid Arsenal side. Whilst
the game has been marked by controversy, with Diego Costa blatantly trying to
get someone sent off, in which he succeeded when Gabriel was sent off.
Whilst
his attempts to get someone sent off were successful he was also successful in
receiving a 3 match ban by the FA Match Review Panel, which was rightly done as
they were a number of incidents where he could have been sent off. The second
half there was less controversy, and Chelsea hit the lead through a header from
Kurt Zouma at the back post from a free kick before a last minute goal to Eden
Hazard which took a major deflection and wrong footed Petr Cech as it hit the
back of the net.
Capital One Cup saw Chelsea come up against Football League
minnows Walsall. This was never going to be a concern for the Blues, and they
took the opportunity to play some of the younger players and reserves. Running
out 4-1 victors no one can be overly surprised at this result. Heading into
this week as they face a pretty bad Newcastle side, they will be confident knowing
they should get all three points.
Keegan's Tip: 3-0
Chelsea
Alex's Tip: 2-0 Chelsea
Ty's Tip: 4-0 Chelsea
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Watford
have hit some early form, now having two wins on the trot over both Swansea and
Newcastle. Last week saw an early 2-0 lead with a brace coming from Odion
Ighalo within the opening half an hour. From this point on Watford looked
comfortable against a very ordinary Newcastle side. Despite conceding, Watford
didn’t look to be out of the match and were always going to run out victors.
Watford did not play midweek having already been eliminated from the Capital
One Cup, so they will go into this week well rested and completely focused on
the task ahead.
After
a good start to the season Crystal Palace have been halted the last couple of
weeks losing 1-0 to both Manchester City and Tottenham. Last week a 68th
minute goal by Spurs new boy Son was enough to put one over on Palace, but
despite the losing form, they turned around with a 4-1 win over Charlton
Athletic. Dwight Gayle got on the scoresheet with a Hat trick, two of which
were penalties but nonetheless a hat trick is a hat trick. The task was also
made that bit easier when Charlton had a man sent off. This week Palace will
want to get back to their winning ways in the Premier League with a good win
over a confident Watford side.
Keegan's Tip: 2-1
Palace
Alex's Tip: 2-2 Draw
Ty's Tip: 2-0 Palace
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West
Brom have had a decent start to the season sitting in 12th after 6
matches. Last time out they got one over against Aston Villa who have been
slightly disappointing so far this season. One goal was enough to seal the
victory with a Saido Berahino strike in the 39th minute being the
ultimate difference between the two sides.
Capital One Cup was a different form
for the Baggies going down 3-0 to the Canaries of Norwich. Despite the
disappointing result, West Brom will have their head held high as they have hit
some impressive league form currently picking up 7 points from their last three
outings. Attacking is West Brom’s strongest element and is something they will
have to do well to get over Everton this week.
2
wins, 3 draws and a loss leaves Everton currently sitting up in 6th
position. In my honest opinion I believe that Everton are a dark horse team
this season along with Leicester and West Ham and could push to finish in the
top five, and they have shown their worthiness of a top 5 spot with some
outstanding performances to date.
Last week though was a match where they was a
lot of sparring but there was not a lot of impact blows. Against a good Swansea
side, Everton were held to a 0-0. Everton may have a feeling of what could have
been with the match’s best chance falling to Romelu Lukaku but was cleared off
the line by Swansea’s defenders. Midweek saw a trip to Reading where they went
behind in the 37th minute, despite going behind they hit back soon
after half time with Ross Barkley and Gerard Deulofeu both finding the back of
the net in what will be a confidence building win heading into this weeks’ trip
to the Hawthorns.
This match will be won in the midfield, both midfields’ will
have to step up and supply their strikers with good service to get the win.
Both midfields have some quality in them and both have plenty of attacking
outlets so this game looks like it could be very exciting to watch.
Keegan's Tip: 2-0
Everton
Alex's Tip: 2-1 West Brom
Ty's Tip: 2-0 Everton