Soccer

Week hiatus

2012-12-03T08:24:00.001+08:00

Sorry guys. Won't be posting for a week. Do comment though

Norwich v Sunderland Preview

2012-12-02T13:41:00.001+08:00

Norwich come into the game feeling really good about themselves, having gone on an 8 match unbeaten run while Sunderland continued their patchy form, grinding a 0-0 draw against lowly QPR. With both teams expected to be near the relegation places come the end of the season, both managers will be desperate not to let the other team gain an advantage.

Norwich's recent resurgence can be mainly attributed to the good form of Grant Holt. Whether Holt can make a positive impact on the game will be very dependant of referee Phil Dowd. Grant's game is largely physical and often borders on a foul. If Dowd decides to penalize his tiny shoves from the off, he will just concede a lot of free kicks for his team. Credit also has to be given to the back five, with Norwich conceding a goal or less in all of their last five games. Mark Bunn has deputized well for the injured John Ruddy in goal and Garrido is both defensively capable as well as being able to join in attack to deliver a good cross. The only concern I have is of Whittaker, who remains culpable at times defensively. He seems to be slow on the turn and has been caught on his heels a few times this season.

Sunderland knows that they need to pick up points in this game, with a tough run of games looming in the horizon. The goals of Fletcher has dried up of late though the rest of the team has chipped in more than at the start of the season. What Sunderland lacks up front is movement though. I don't recall them scoring many from through balls and that is the problem. Thus, their main route to goal is through crosses and they possess a band of players who can really cross well, especially Larsson. Their main claim to points will be achieved only if they regain their defensive solidity, which they displayed against QPR but had been lacking in previous games. Kilgallon getting into the team seemw to have helped them defensively and I will probably select him over Bramble for his physicality which will be needed against Holt.

Predictions:

I fancy Sunderland to start fast in this game but Norwich to attempt to get back by pressing players forward in the second half. The correct score of 2-1 has a good price of 10/1 but what really tempts me is 5/4 for Sunderland to score first. Sunderland to get a 2-0 lead into halftime is only at 18/1 and I guess the odds are not as good as can be. The last one I like the look of is for Kilgallon to score anytime at 16/1 as Sunderland can be a danger at set pieces.

Fulham 0 Tottenham 3

2012-12-02T11:06:00.004+08:00

The scoreline probably made Tottenham look much better than they actually were in the game but I am sure that Andre Villa Boas would not mind. In truth, both teams looked poor in the game and a 0-0 would not have been an unfair result. In the end, it was a mistake from the usually reliable Mark Schwarzer that opened the floodgates for Tottenham. Sandro curled a innocuous looking shot from way out which Schwarzer somehow managed to allow to bounce onto his hands and over him. Granted, the ball was in the bottom corner but it was not with much speed and definitely should have been dealt with. Tottenham never looked back after this gift and Defoe scored a brace in the 72nd and 76th minutes to secure the win for the team.

What interested me more was the positioning of players when both teams attacked. Fulham played with two strikers, Petric and Berbatov, though Berbatov sometimes roamed to the wings during counter attacks. Steve Sidwell started much higher up than he normally does and constantly moved into the box. For Fulham, the winger which is not on the flank of that attack will move centrally but outside the box.

The advantage of this is that when their wide midfielders pass to the fullbacks, the fullbacks are running onto the ball and it is easier to get speed for the cross. This is probably why we saw so many drilled crosses from Fulham instead of high looping ones. In fact, It was only when Damien Duff came on in the 65th minute that we saw the first high cross by Fulham. Also, with the opposite wide midfielder outside the box, Fulham could pick up most of the clearance from crosses and Frei had a chance from such a situation but shot too high in the 12th minute despite having a lot of time. With Sidwell's positioning, there was also a midfield runner onto crosses that posed problems for Tottenham's defence if Sandro did not track him properly. Sidwell did not make use of the chances that came his way though and I really wonder if he is a good enough player for this position. This brings me to the main gripe about the Fulham team, which is that although they have a really defined style of play, they do not seem to have a full set of players to complete it. Players such as Frei, Petric, Sidwell, Kelly and Senderos seemed to not be in tandem with the rest of the team and showed the lack of depth in the team where their Plan A could only be executed if all their first choice players are available. I am interested to see what this team can achieve if Jol manages to strengthen in the upcoming windows and get the players that would fit into the team. For now, he will just have to hope that his team stays fit and players like Ruiz and Kacaniklic return from injury soon to push the team back to the form they had at the end of the season.

Tottenham adopted a different approach to their attack despite similar reliance on fullbacks pushing up. The fullbacks were their main source of width, with the wide midfielders moving inwards parallel to them. Verthonghen and Naughton seemed permanently stationed at the wide berths, playing very very high up.

The difference of Tottenham and Fulham is that the wingers move infield even before the cross is sent in and it is not just the wingers on the opposite side that moves in. For example, if the ball is on the left flank, Bale moves in too before passing to Vertonghen who will deliver the cross. This allowed Tottenham more players in the box when the cross came in. However, Fulham caught on onto this and closed down the fullbacks with two players once they got the ball. As the fullbacks received the ball in a stationary position, it was hard for them to deliver the cross with two players blocking him. Villa-Boas should have done better and told his wingers to stay wider and help provide a passing option for the fullbacks. Another problem was that there were no midfielders to collect loose balls when FUlham cleared the crosses as Sandro and Dembele stayed quite deep and Dembele in particular did not make much impact on the game. Tottenham's formation worked better when they played through the middle instead of to the fullbacks. Defoe and Dempsey were both comfortable with receiving the ball with their back facing the goal and both of them made a few snapshots on the turn that were just wide of the goal. However, the goals came when the passes were played behind the defence for Defoe to run into, with Dempsey slipping in the key pass for Defoe in the 76th minute for the last goal. This was a rarity though, and Dempsey mainly looked to shoot instead of taking the pass. I would think that Dembele would be a better fit in that role and Villa-Boas might want to consider this option in the next game to better utilise the talented Belgium.

This London derby ended a great week for Tottenham, when they picked up 9 points out of 9 and advanced up the table. Meanwhile, Fulham continued slipping down the table and they desperately need to start picking up points again as they are now going to the lower half of the table.

West Ham 3 Chelsea 1

2012-12-01T22:48:00.002+08:00

I only caught bits and glimpses of the match but from what I saw, West Ham playing deep did work well for Chelsea. In the first half, Chelsea dominated and should have been three or four up. Only with Allardyce going all out in the second half, pushing the whole team higher did West Ham's performance really improve. This was shown especially in the last goal, where Diame pressured Cole high up the pitch and caused him to make a mistake. I also heard the commentators mention about Diame changing the match and I felt that Allardyce made a terrible mistake leaving him on the bench.

As to why I missed the match, I was watching the Singapore and Laos Suzuki Cup match and it turned out to be a thriller, with 7 goals. Of course, there will be no review as I am sure most of you will not be interested. I will be catching Fulham v Tottenham or Everton v City and the review should be up when i wake up tomorrow morning(GMT+8 time), maybe 11 hours later hopefully. Do visit and read.

Last note, anyone thinks Benitez is in danger of losing his job yet?

West Ham v Chelsea Preview

2012-12-01T14:26:00.001+08:00

Benitez and Allardyce have a long standing feud from years back and they will definitely try to up one another again in this game. West Ham come into the game in 10th while Chelsea remains in third.

West Ham's form has faltered slightly of late, picking up 2 point out of a possible 18. Confidence does not seem to be running high in the team but they will be consoled by the fact that on loan striker Andy Carroll has opened his account for the season last weekend against Tottenham, albeit it being a consolation goal. They will also be bouyed by the return of Mark Noble, with him being instrumental for starting the team's attacks. West Ham should largely be utilising the tactics they employed to gain a point against Manchester City, sitting deep and trying to catch the opponents on the break. The key players will be Momo Diame and Matt Jarvis. Diame is good at skipping past challenges when the opponents pressure, which Chelsea is likely to do high up the field. Once he gets past that first challenge, he will be able to pass to Jarvis who has the pace and trickery to get to the byline. Chelsea needs to be wary of this as he can deliver a pinpoint cross and the aerial threat of Carroll is well known.

Benitez knows that the heat is on him coming into the game after two successive 0-0 draws. He might have solved the defensive problems that plagued the team but he left the lone striker Torres very isolated up front during the game against City. This is where West Ham playing deep might actually be favourable to Chelsea. They will be able to push more players forward in support of Torres and not lose the ball everytime they pump it up. It will also be useful for Eden Hazard, who will be able to run at the defenders at speed. Chelsea will need to play Mata in the game in place of Bertrand as Mata has the ability to unlock defenses in a way that others cannot. His carefully weighted passes can win Chelsea the game, but only if Torres and the other attackers make good runs into space.

Predictions:

Benitez's previous approach suggests that he will look to defend first and his stubborn nature means that this is unlikely to change. That is why I am surprised that there are odds of 1/3 for West Ham to score a goal or less. I also like the 8/13 on offer for it being a draw at the 30th minute as neither teams are fast starters in games. With both teams needing the win, I fancy taking on the bet of there being a card between the 75th minute and full time at 1/2. Lastly, there is 8/1 to be taken if anyone fancies a third successive goal-less draw for Chelsea though I will advise punters to look more at a 1-0 scoreline but I can't seem to call which way it will go.

More About Benitez

2012-11-30T18:42:00.001+08:00

Observant readers will notice that I did not list down bad with transfers as one of the minuses of Benitez's appointment, a point often used to deride his time at Liverpool with. There are two reasons for this exclusion. Firstly, he has only been appointed for a year so there is only the January transfer window from him to work with and Roman Abramovic might not even provide him funds to buy players unless there is an injury crisis. Secondly and more importantly, I think his transfer record is not that bad actually. And here is why:

I have looked around the internet and most of the investigations into the topic are of Benitez's net spend. I have instead decided to go a different route and focus solely on Benitez's purchases as some of the money that he made is from selling players already at the club. A look at the table shows that he has spent a total of 226.01 million while 214.975 million has been earned from the sale of the same players. That represented a loss of 11.035 million, not discounting the players that are still in the team. Those players are namely Reina, Agger, Leiva, Skrtel and Johnson. That makes up almost half of the starting eleven for the current Liverpool team. I am sure that Agger alone will make up the 11 million loss and if all five players are sold, it can be said that the players Benitez bought actually turned in a profit for the team.

Moreover, a number of the players that Benitez bought in did a decent job for the club before being sold. One example of this is Luis Garcia, who had performed decently in the attacking roles in the team before being sold for a 2 million loss. Another guy also sold for a 2 million loss, Kyrgiakos, was brought in to temporarily strengthen the center back positions due to injuries and his contract was terminated when he was no longer needed. The losses can be said to have been payment for their services during their prime years and they were moved on when their form dropped. Therefore, Benitez actually was trying to push the team forward using the limited resources available to him.

It is reasonable to say that Benitez did not fare that well in the transfer window though. One thing that points greatly against him is that he has brought in players at big fees, only to sell them not long after after he realised they did not fit well into their plans. Robbie Keane is the prime example here. Signed for 16 million, he only lasted 6 months in Liverpool before being sold back to Tottenham for a loss. Such indecision on the part of Benitez on the players he need is of course frustrating for the fans, who know that the money can be better spent on other players to improve the team. The money is there, just that it was not spent well, although the overall loss was not a lot. This is a major difference from teams that do not have the money to spend and the fans will know that it is not the manager's fault.

I will say that Benitez did a decent job at purchasing players at Liverpool but definitely not a fantastic one. It remains to be seen whether my opinion will change in the coming transfer window, with Chelsea probably needing a few good signings to really challenge for the title.

The Love for the Game

2012-11-29T21:42:00.001+08:00

Watching the professional players play week in week out, most of us will probably be thinking how lucky they are. To be earning such obscene amounts of money for playing the sport we love is a dream that we know will never happen. That is why there is so must outrage whenever players come out and declare their disinterest in the game. Off the top of my head, I can think of three such cases in the Premier League.

The most high profile case will of course be about Manchester City's striker, Carlos Tevez. Tevez refused to warm up during a game against Bayern Munich last year and has repeatedly cited his willingness to retire from the game despite only being in his late 20s. He might have pointed to family issues being the main cause but all signs point to that he is not enjoying the game enough. A player of his ability would not be thinking of early retirement if he truly loved the game.

The second case is the most recent one, with Bobby Zamora being the player we are looking at. In his words, "I'm not a massive football fan, really." He also added that he would steer clear of any football-related jobs after retirement. This has generated fierce backlash from QPR fans and it might be a good thing for him that he is currently out injured.

The third case plants the spotlight firmly on Tottenham's Benoit Assou-Ekotto. He declared that his playing soccer is just a job and he does not feel the passion for the game even though he hates it. The only reason that he went to Tottenham was for the money. His sentiments is perfectly wrapped up by this quote 'Is there one player in the world who signs for a club and says, Oh, I love your shirt?' Your shirt is red. I love it. He doesn't care. The first thing that you speak about is the money.'

In a game awash with emotions, it is no wonder that fans feel cheated when they see their teams' players come out with such statements. To them, a lack of love for the game shows a possible lack of commitment in games. However bad it may be for the referees, fans like to see players who are willing to spill blood for the team, who protest every decision against their team and basically do everything to garner a win. It shows that the players care and that is very vital. This is why there was such a heavy barrage of criticism at Tevez and Zamora, who were deemed to have failed their team in this aspect. Fans would have felt that they did mpt pay so much money to see the players produce such lacklustre performances, and rightly so. They must remember that this does not apply for all players who do not love the game though, with Assou-Ekotto the prime example. Despite his comments about the game, he shows up to training and games with a professional and focused attitude and I have never seen any of his coaches lament him. This probably why his comments have been largely ignored by the fans and they still support him 100%.

I will say that not liking the game is not a doomsday for any player as Assou-Ekotto has shown that it is possible to treat it as a job and still do it well. After all, fans are mostly concerned with performances and Tevez has already won the City fans back after a string of goals upon his return to the team. Fans must also play their part by understanding that players do have reasons not to love the game, with us fans not having to endure those tough and boring training sessions as well as there being an immense amount of pressure during games. It will be good to have every single player love the game, but it is just not possible and we fans have to convince ourselves to live with it.

Missing Matches

2012-11-29T11:42:00.001+08:00

I didn't manage to catch the midweek games as the timings were just too weird for my body to wake. 3am definitely ain't a good time. Looking at the scores, it comes as no surprise that Sunderland and Chelsea both failed to score in their games. Manchester United surprisingly started fast and scored an early goal. Less surprisingly, Arsenal scored early too. Bale was once again deciding matches by himself, assisting one, scoring one and helping Liverpool score as well as getting a yellow card. West Brom shockingly lost by more than a goal. Newcastle continued their poor form as Stoke remained unbeaten at home. Balotelli notched his first this season to ensure City remained on top and Aston Villa climbed out of the relegation zone. All in all, a very happening week.

Everton v Arsenal Preview

2012-11-28T15:33:00.001+08:00

Everton arsenal

Two teams with European ambitions, but only Everton is in one of the spots currently. Arsenal was held to a goal-less draw against Aston Villa while Everton suffered a disappointing last game equaliser against Norwich in their last game. Both veteran managers will be eyeing all three points tonight.

Everton seems to have lapsed back into their customary inconsistent early season form, first losing to Reading then a draw with Norwich. What is different is that they are missing their usual resolute defence. Moyes has committed more men forward, leaving only two central defenders at the back as cover. Thus they will be very susceptible to counter attacks. I suggest that Moyes go slightly more cautious against Arsenal, letting the full backs attack alternately. With 7 men in the attack, there is enough firepower and as Everton does not switch flanks much, having the other full back advance does not help much. Of course, there is the danger of over reliance on the left flank and Baines. That should not be considered that bad a matter though, as Baines has shown that he can change a game on his own, with his two individual runs last Saturday nearly bringing about goals. What Everton should be more worried about is the form of Pienaar. Pienaar seems to be trying too hard to do the spectacular when an easier good pass is there and seems frustrated easily. I reckon he will need a game off to rediscover his form and this might be possible if Mirallas returns from injury in time.

Arsene Wenger is likely to bring in his main players after wrongly opting to rest them against Aston Villa. It will be wise to bring back Walcott and his pace into the team, making use of the previously mentioned weakness of Everton. Walcott might be deployed on the left instead of the right though, to avoid facing the surprising aging but pacy Distin. Arsene Wenger's selections to guard against Everton's attack will be more interesting. It is unlikely that Wilshere and Arteta will be able to deal with the threat of the returning Fellaini effectively and it is in these games that they will regret letting Alex Song go. With Diaby out injured, their best bet will be to deploy Vermaelen there. Another positive from this placement of Vermaelen is that as a central defender, he tends to move towards the opponent to apply pressure and Jelavic will take advantage of that to get behind the defence. Koscielny will be a better bet for the slot beside Mertesacker as he is a more patient defender and thus will be able to play the offside trap better.

Predictions:

I am not entirely convinced by Arsenal so I think that the bet for Everton win or draw at 1-1.40 seems a safe bet. However, more value can be found in Giroud being the last scorer at 7.50. With Baines in red hot form, I am also willing to take him to score anytime at 5.00.

Chelsea v Fulham Preview

2012-11-28T09:52:00.001+08:00

These two teams meet, with both winless in 5 games after such a promising start to the season. Both teams' main problems arise from conceding too many goals though Rafa Benitez seems to have stemmed the leak at Chelsea's end. Both of their seasons are in danger of tailing off and they need the win desperately to get it back on track.

There will be added pressure on Chelsea to win the game so as to add a few points to Benitez. Benitez was booed in the last game by his fans and need the win to gain their favour. It might not be so straightforward against a freescoring Fulham. The focus of Chelsea has seemingly shifted to a more defensive approach, with right back Cesar Azpilicueta declaring, " "As a minimum you have one point, and offensively we have good players so we will have good chances but the first thing is to

defend together, play well defensively and after to do a good job offensively." This underlines the mentality at the club now. Of course, defensive stability is a good thing but too much emphasis on that will undermine the attack, something that Benitez seems to have done. I would advise him to start Moses in place of Torres and the give Marko Marin a start instead of Oscar. Both of these players possess great speed and will be useful to Benitez's tactics that seem more counter-attacking in nature. This is especially so against Fulham, who committs players forward every attack and is prone to leaving gaps at the back. Their center back pairing of Senderos and Hughes is also not the quickest and pace seems a straightforward way to get at this team. The defensive base of Chelsea should stay the same as the previous match, though Benitez might want to consider throwing caution to the winds by sacrificing Ramires for Oscar.

Fulham will know that this will not be an easy derby though history suggests that they are on course to get a point. A look at their past 4 meetings have seen all 4 end up in draws. If Martin Jol wants to eclipse that, he will have to do without the injured Ruiz and suspended Hangeland. I belive that Fulham's best chance of winning the game will come from switching flanks quickly when attacking. Chelsea's match against City saw them close down the short passing routes as the team looked to squeeze towards the ball. If Fulham is able to switch flanks fast and accurately, they will be able to push forward on the wings unopposed. Because of this, Rodallega might well be favoured on the right flank instead of Duff. Rodallega is a more direct player with a kick-and-dash style and it might well pay off here. In central midfield, Diarra has to come in in place of Sidwell as he offers more defensive powers and is more calm with the ball, which will be needed when Chelsea press.

Predictions:

The 6/1 on offer for a Fulham win js delicious but such good odds shouldn't deter you from making the right bet. Draw-Chelsea is only at 3/1 so I will again steer away from that. Looking at the goals market, I like the look of under 2.5 goals at 13/10 as I fancy Chelsea to keep another clean sheet. Another one which looks good is under 3.5 cards, earning 7.20 for every bet of 10. Juan Mata is at 30/1 to score first and after half time and I like the looks of that. I wonder whether they will give me higher odds if I go for Mata to score only after 70th minute. Perhaps 50/1? Sounds good.

Sunderland v QPR Preview

2012-11-27T14:06:00.001+08:00

The two teams which I had predicted to be the two most likely to sack their managers clash in this very vital match. Sadly, only one of the two managers is left to battle, with Mark Hughes getting the sack and being replaced by Harry Redknapp just before last week's games. That should not deter from QPR's precarious position; they are still rooted to the bottom of the table and 7 points away from safety.

A new manager in the team always brings along changes and I expect nothing less from Harry Redknapp. His striking options will be severely limited though, as both Zamora and Johnson are out with long term injuries. He will have no choice but to start Cisse up front in spite of his preferance for the big man-small man combo. It is in midfield where I expect him to ring in the changes. His deployment of two speedy wingers on the flanks brought him success at Tottenham and I expect him to continue the trend with Wright Philips and Taarabt out wide. We should see Park Ji-Sung return to a more attacking central role while the two more reserved midfielders are likely to be Diakite and Granero. All these tactical changes are still secondary to the effect Redknapp will have on each individual. He has already given a big hint in terms of what he wants from the team by saying, "I've got no time for people who lose the ball and stand their with hands in the air." QPR will be playing with more passion in this game, but it remains to be seen if Redknapp can actually mould them into a working unit.

QPR's main threat should come from one Adel Taarabt. He might not be the kind of traditional winger Harry will like, but it is hard to leave a player of such calibre on the bench. Sunderland should have Cattermole and John O'Shea both missing and this should benefit Taarabt greatly. Without Cattermole protecting the defence and the two central defenders, Bramble and Cuellar, not the fastest at closing down, expect Taarabt to have loads of space to launch long shots at goal. Expect this route of attack to produce a goal, either straight from the shot or from the rebound.

In terms of performances, it must be said that Sunderland is not doing much better. After the 3-1 win over Fulham sparked a mini revival, Sunderland can be said to have lapsed back into their usual form, losing 4-2 to West Brom. That is not quite the case though, as their two goals came from 10 shots on target, a big deviation from their other matches where they sometimes only had one shot for the whole game. This is encouraging but I still feel they look slightly toothless in their attack. The loss of Cattermole to injury might tempt O'Neill to shift Larsson to the middle and start McClean but I would advise against that. I noted QPR's weakness against balls into the box and this showed again against Man United. Larsson is Sunderland's best crosser and he needs to stay out on the wing. Fletcher's predatory instincts will serve him well against QPR's disorganised defence and he has a good leap to take advantage of the crosses as well. Craig Gardner should be considered as Cattermole's replacement.

Predictions:

It is always hard to call matches when a new manager is in place but I will call an away win, which at 3.30 looks decent value. For that matter, Taarabt to score two or more pays 29 per dollar, which entices me too. I also fancy an own goal in the match, which is offered at a juicy 1-9.

Chelsea 0 City 0

2012-11-26T10:38:00.001+08:00

The day produced yet another dour 0-0 and this game did not produce much action until the last ten minutes when both teams went in for the kill. The game frankly did not much of note and I really should have watched the other two games available today.

Firstly, on Chelsea. I must admit that I was a bit puzzled by the continued presence of Ivanovic at center back. I had wanted to see Cahill playing there and Ivanovic at right back instead as that is probably his best position. However, Azpilicueta did not disappoint in the match and his quick thinking allowed him to make a few crucial interceptions, justifying his place in the team. I was a little surprised that Chelsea's trio of Hazard, Oscar and Mata did not run at the City defence that much. When they got the ball, they tended to carry it and drift infield, waiting for the full backs to overlap instead of taking on the defender themselves. The only occasion when any of them tried to dribble past was when Hazard ran at the City defence in the 60th minute in the box and City had to send three players to stop him. I thought this would change when Moses came on for Hazard in the 70th minute, but Moses and his direct running did not put off the City defence by much.

Lots of people will be interested in how Benitez's arrival has changed the team. To that, I will say 'not much'. The starting line up was pretty much the same and Chelsea's attack played generally in the same way. The defence looked more structured though and this was the main reason for the clean sheet. There seemed to be a well defined plan, which was to squeeze the space available for City's attackers. The holding midfield duo of Ramires and Mikel were tasked to move close to whichever City attacker was holding the ball and block his passing routes. This worked very effectively and City's main chances only came when they caught Chelsea being under-manned at the back. There is also the question on whether Rafa Benitez has revitalised Torres. The answer to that is a no too. Torres played like he had been all season. The problem is not a lack of trying, is just that he has lost the sense of where the ball is and lots of pace. This was most obvious in the 43rd min, when Torres had a one step head start against Kompany but still lost out in the chase for the ball. Kompany is not the slowest defender about but he is definitely not the fastest either. Sadly, it seems that the bad performances for Torres is set to continue unless he manages to adapt to his deficiencies.

Mancini surprised me by springing a 4-4-2 in the match and not changing to 3-5-2 at any point of the game. Normally, Mancini will revert to a 3-5-2 when trying to win a game. Instead, his substitutions were very uncreative. He sent on Tevez for Dzeko in the 68th minute and Balotelli for Aguero in the 85th. That reeked of a lack of ideas and not what I had come to expect from the unpredictable Mancini. I have to say that the idea to start Dzeko nearly paid off though. In the 41st minute, Dzeko headed the ball to Aguero in the penalty box and Aguero had loads of space but headed weakly straight at Cech. Dzeko was in the tea, for exactly such a purpose: to hold up balls and compete in the air. Mancini showed a bit of ambition in the match from the off though. In previous games, the duo of Toure and Barry saw Toure moving up to support the attack while Barry stayed back. This game, they both moved up in tandem like in the 12th minute, where they were passing the ball around near the edge of the Chelsea's penalty box.

A bit about the referee. City's main tactic for defending was to press Chelsea hard once they lost the ball. This inadvertently led to City's players kicking through the legs of Chelsea but the referee allowed most of that. Only in the 76th minute did the first yellow card for such offences come out, to Kolarov. I have to congratulate him for being consistent with his decisions though and he never gave most of such offences from the start.

Swansea 0 Liverpool 0

2012-11-26T01:10:00.000+08:00

This match turned out to be a pretty disappointing affair, with the pretty football of both sides failing to produce anything of note. Both managers should be pretty satisfied with the point as that is just what their teams' performances deserved.

It was a game with not many clear cut chances and no one managed to take advantage of the half chances and settle the game. Both teams played with narrow midfielders and this restricted the speace the game was played in. Swansea in particular was very disappointing in the match. Despite having more of the ball, their main chances only came in the form of long shots. The lack of movement in front of them offered the players no chance to play a ball to penetrate the Liverpool defence, and this was reflected by Hernandez and Michu having two and three long shots respectively just in the first half. It is surprising that Swansea did not deliver in more crosses from the flanks as the towering presence of Michu posed quite a few problems the few times that the wide midfielders stayed wide and put in good balls. Of course, injuries have hampered the course of Swansea. Key player Ki Sung-Yueng only came on in the second half and even then, he did not seem fully fit and made a few stray passes in the defensive third which Liverpool failed to capitalize on. Tremmel, Vorm's replacement also did not fare that well in this game. Although he made a few good saves, he lacked in one important aspect. He made 5 long clearances out of panic when under moderate pressure and all 5 of those were claimed by Liverpool players. If Vorm was playing, I suspect that he would have calmly distributed all 5 of those and it would have allowed Swansea to keep possession better. The one bright spark for Swansea came in the form of Hernandez, who was very willing and able to take the Liverpool defence on though it seems like he was shouldering too much responsibility at the same time.

Liverpool's starting line-up showed Rodgers' willingness to play different players in differing situations and also the injury problems the team is facing. Downing started as left back with Enrique in front of him and Henderson as the attacking midfielder. Henderson and Downing had pretty poor performances, with Henderson being practically anonymous in the game. When defending, it was Gerrard and Allen protecting the defence while during attacks, Gerrard was the one pulling the strings. Henderson was nowhere to be seen and it must be a relief for Liverpool fans to see Shelvey come off for him though it was too late by then. Liverpool did have more sights on goal than Swansea. The marauding runs of Glen Johnson proved difficult to handle for the Swansea players all night and he was a constant threat on the right flank. In the 23rd minute, he even popped up in the middle to play a one-two with Enrique, getting himself clear and his shot at goal was only saved by Tremmel's trailing leg. Suarez was also lively throughout the game and he fashioned two or three half chances for himself though all were easy takes for Tremmel.

In the end, Brendan Rodgers failed to outwit his former club and the two very similar teams will have to wait another game for their next win.This game will have left both managers with a lot to ponder over before the midweek games. With the games coming thick and fast, the probable fatigue will give both the managers chance to rotate their players and this might actually work out as the current teams they are putting out seem to need just that little bit more inspiration.

Chelsea v Man City

2012-11-25T14:58:00.002+08:00

Chelsea host Man City with a new manager trying to bring them to displace City at the top of the table. The current form of the teams say that this is not that possible though, as Chelsea has not won in 4 games in the league but City still remain unbeaten. This match will be hard to preview as Chelsea has a new manager who will change the team according to his style and Mancini is well, Mancini. Instead, I will look at the key individual battles on the pitch.

Torres v Lescott
Kompany is rated doubtful for the game after injuring himself against Real Madrid and if he does not make the game, Lescott will be essential for the team. His partner Nastasic is only 19 and young and inexperienced so Lescott will be expected to marshall the defence against the threat of Torres. However, Lescott has only provided his best performances alongside Kompany and it remains to be seen if Lescott can provide the requisite leadership. Much will depend on the form of Torres to see whether the defence is really tested. In his best games this season, Torres has shown that he has the close control to get past defenders as well as good ability to hold up the ball. He has not shown that form much though and I rate this battle as an unknown.

Hazard v Zabaleta
Zabaleta has been in good form these two years for the team and his non-stop running is a valuable asset for the team. However, in the game two weeks ago against Tottenham, he seemed to be unable to control his emotions against Adebayor when Adebayor teased him with the ball during dribbling. Hazard is probably going to do likewise and will torment the defender whole night long with his trickery. Zabaleta might be unable to control once again and Hazard could be looking at earning a penalty for him team during the match. Zabaleta is a good defender but I expect Hazard to just come out on tops today.

Mata v Barry
Mata might start on either flank or in the middle but at some point of the game, he will definitely drift into the center. He has been the creator-in-chief for Chelsea this season and his performance will be instrumental to his team's chances. Barry is not the best tackler and his position at the base of the midfield is more to dictate play. I believe that Mata's quick feet and thinking will allow him to get past Barry on more occasions than not. In return, Mata is not the best at closing down opponents and when City is attacking, Barry will have time on the ball to think and pick out a perfect pass, which will bring the battle to City's attackers versus the Chelsea's defence.

Mikel v Tevez
Tevez contributed two goals and an assist in City's 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa and he is certainly on a good run of form recently. Playing in the hole behind Aguero, he has been showing the more creative side of himself. Another hard runner, he is slippery enough to move all over the pitch to get rid of his marker. In this situation, Mikel will not be enough to deal with him alone but if Ramires also starts, I believe that they can deal with the threat of Tevez together.

Luiz v Aguero
As stated before, City has started to play long balls from the back behind the opponent's defence for Aguero to run on to. I believe that they will stick with this tactic for this match. The loss of Terry might be advantageous in this case. His replacement Luiz has a bit more pace than him and will be able to catch up with Aguero or at least keep pace enough to pressure him. One possible concern for Chelsea is that Luiz likes to dribble out of defence and Aguero tends to press the opponents heavily as shown in last season's game against Wolves. Benitez will have to ensure that Luiz has the 'Safety First' mentality against such quality opposition.

Predictions:
Chelsea at home should be able to nick this match, breaking City's unbeaten record. The first goal will be very important though. A value bet is for a penalty to be offered at 11/4 and yes to a red card being shown is also worth it at 7/2. I will go for a jugular bet for the last tip that Chelsea will wrap the game up by half-time with a 3-0 score at 80/1.

Swansea v Liverpool

2012-11-25T11:26:00.001+08:00

Brendan Rodgers once again faces his old club for the second time this season. Swansea has already beaten Liverpool this season, winning 3-1 in the Capital One Cup. The fire is stoked even further, with Ashley William's new book labeling Suarez as one of the worst divers he has ever faced. The two clubs are separated by just a solitary point and both will be looking for the win to push higher up the table.

taken from: mirror.co.uk

Swansea will once again miss Vorm and Graham. They have coped well without them though, with Tettel and Shechter deputizing reasonably. Shechter might start on the bench in this game though, with Ki Sung-Yueng expected to regain his place after coming back from injury. Michu will likely to be pushed forward to the striker position which I think is the most sensible option as these two players are the two best performers of the team. Another dilemma for Laudrup is as to whom he plays on the wings. The options are Hernandez, Dyer and Routledge. My choice will be to opt for Dyer on the right and Routledge on the left as those two are more likely to track back than Hernandez. With Johnson and Enrique as Liverpool's fullbacks, expect the Swansea wide midfielders to need to keep moving back into their own half and more defensive discipline by the players is surely needed. In this aspect, Michu might be the most important. Rodgers will want to pass the ball out of defence and Michu as a hard worker might be able to capitalize if Agger and Skrtel are sloppy in their passing.

Liverpool looks like they are reaching their peak after they hit top gear in the second half against Wigan, scoring three goals in the process. It will be interesting to see who Rodgers chooses for the match, with him opting for Enrique in the wide left position and Wisdom as right back. This match I hope he opts of Johnson as right back and Enrique as left back and Suso in the left wide position with Sahin coming in to play in the middle. Swansea is expected to press heavily and Sahin will be able to keep the ball much better. This game will see a big battle for possession and a trio of Allen, Gerrard and Sahin might help the team get the advantage. Liverpool's main player will of course be Suarez. Top scorer in the league over Robin Van Persie, Liverpool will look towards him for the goals. In the possible heavy rain today, he might not be able to control the ball as well as he normally does and the pair of Williams and Chico should be able to stop him.

Predictions:
This should be an interesting game, with both teams featuring similar line ups and style. In the pouring rain, we saw a few goalkeepers spill the balls yesterday including one comical mistake by Ai Al-Habsi and I expect this game to produce quite a few goals. Total goals over 3.5 is only at 7/4 so I will stay away from that. I also fancy the 2/1 on offer for under 9.5 corners while Michu to score first at 13/2 is even more appealing. Yes, definitely the Michu bet will be quite a steal. The last promotion I have is for Swansea to score in both halves, available at 3/1.

Everton 1 Norwich 1

2012-11-25T09:55:00.001+08:00

This match is the typical game of two halves. Everton dominated the game in the first half but Norwich forced their way back into the game in the second half. The 1-1 draw ensured that Norwich continued their good run but I am not so sure that Everton will be happy with their point as they arguably deserved more.

Coleman was dropped from the squad and Jagielka moved to right back in his absence. Coleman had come in for a bit of stick from the fans after conceding an unnecessary penalty against Reading and Moyes might have felt that he was not in the right mood to play in the game. Also without Fellaini due to suspension, Moyes tweaked his standard formation slightly. He deviated from his 4-4-1-1 and most of the time, the formation looked more like a 4-4-2, with Naismith right up there beside Jelavic. This attacking move paid off in the 11th minute. Everton was very patient in their play, passing the ball around till they found space to work in. Hitzlsperger spotted Oviedo's run and sent a nice chipped pass over and Oviedo chested the ball past Whitaker too easily before sending a reverse pass to Naismith. Naismith was unmarked and easily smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Everton still really missed the presence of Fellaini though. No one seemed to be able to get on the end of crosses and most of Everton's later attacks came resulted in shots from outside the box by Osman who had picked the ball up after Norwich defenders headed the crosses away. The other source of attack for Everton came from Baines, who made two good runs from near the half way line straight into the penalty box but had his shot saved by Ruddy. One approach they did not utilise much was the runs of Jelavic. Jelavic constantly made runs between and behind the central and side defenders but there was a lack of Everton players who noticed his run and no one provided him the pass that would set him clear on goal. He cut a frustrated figure in the end and I am sure that he will be yearning for the return of Fellaini who works so well with him.

Norwich also went for a quite attacking approach from the off. Their primary tactic was to send long balls to the big target of Grant Holt. With Snodgrass playing narrow, there were 3 players(including Grant and Hoolahan) around the ball when it was pumped forward. When Everton attacked, they tended to leave only the two central defenders at the back and against the long balls of Norwich, Distin and Heitinga had no one to head their clearances to. Thus, Hoolahan and Snodgrass were always able to pick up the loose balls. From there, the midfielders will try to chip the ball over Everton's high line for Holt to run onto. This resulted in the high offside count of 9 but the move came off finally in the 58th minute when Holt timed his run to perfection but Howard managed to pull off a lucky save. The second half saw Norwich vastly improved only because of their extra pressing and they broke the rhythm of Everton's passing. They managed to get on the ball more and the extra pressure paid dividends through a Bassong header from a free kick right at the death. I will have to say that I do not agree with the free kick though. It seemed that Baines did not foul the player but the Norwich player slipped instead. Bad refereeing once again.

Everton will feel they deserved the win after the number of chances they had but they will be rueing those that they missed, especially when Jelavic and Naismith were clear on goal but Naismith fluffed his pass/shot. In the end, Hughton's brave approach showed snatched a point for his team instead.

Sunderland 2 West Brom 4

2012-11-25T01:36:00.000+08:00

West Brom secured a deserving 4-2 victory over Sunderland and Sunderland's win over Fulham proved to be a false case of optimism for the fans and they resumed their by now usual booing of the team at both half time and full time. In the end, the result and performances in the match showed that their positions in the table are rightly justified. Since I did not notice any new or interesting tactical points in the game, I will go through the goals first in chronological order.

In the 30th minute, Zoltan Gera found a bit of space outside the box and fired in a shot into the goal. Cuellar was slow to close him down though I will say that it is not his fault as the holding midfielders should really be covering that zone. The second goal came in the 43rd minute and this time it was through a mistake by Simon Mignolet. A through ball by Brunt was floated too close to the goalie and it looked like it was going to be an easy take. Unexpectedly, he did not claim it well and the ball was taken away from him by Long who dribbled into goal. The blame should all be put on Mignolet but Long must also be complimented for chasing after a seemingly lost cause and his good close control ability to take the ball away from Mignolet without fouling the goalie. West Brom went into the second half cruising and seemingly headed for a comfortable win.

Sunderland came out in the second half more determined and more attacking in nature. John O'Shea went off and on came McClean to the left midfield while Adam Johnson moved to the right. Larsson moved to the right of defence and Bardsley moved to the middle. I at first thought that this was a move to prevent O'Shea from being sent off and to make the team more attacking but it was actually because of a muscle injury to O'Shea. Everything worked out though, as Larsson enjoyed venturing forward from right back and posed a much bigger threat than Bardsley had. Sunderland also contributed more players into the box, increasing the pressure with Colback and Gardner popping up during crosses. The pressure only paid off in the 73rd minute, with Sunderland gaining a free kick which Gardner hit and scored via a deflection off Fortune in the West Brom wall.

West Brom restored their two goal lead just 6 minutes later. Gera put in a good pass to Ridgewell, who shielded the ball from Johnson who slid in. The referee gave a penalty even though the contact was minimal and it seemed like Ridgewell was looking for the penalty. Johnson should not have been so rash in the challenge though and Lukaku scored from the spot. It was a good penalty with lots of pace and showed Lukaku's confidence. He took the penalty at such a critical time of the game despite him just coming on 10 minutes ago and there being way more experienced players like Brunt about. In the 86th minute, Jones made a good block on a Johnson who looked like he was ready to wheel away in celebration when the ball struck the side netting. His team was celebrating seconds later though, as Sessegnon fired in the rebound from an acrobatic save after a header from the resulting corner. Sunderland poured men forward in search of that vital equalizer and at one point, even Cuellar was up in the box challenging for a header. It backfired in the end, with Fortune scoring in the 94th minute in a 2v1 situation.

Now on to the positives and negatives for both teams. First up is Sunderland. Sunderland will be glad that they managed to score more than a goal once again, suggesting that their goal scoring problems might finally be resolved. The performance of Sessegnon was also inspiring, and he weaved in and out of West Brom's defence quite a few times. He has returned to the livewire that he was last season and this will be important to Sunderland's season. The performances of their finishing right and left backs Larsson and Rose were also quite good. Larsson provided a good threat out wide while Rose managed to deal with the double threat of Odemwingie and Jones. There are quite a few negatives from this game for Sunderland though. Even when they started pushing players up to pressure West Brom, they managed little penetration and had to rely on two set pieces to get the goals. West Brom was rarely troubled by Sunderland in open play and O'Neill might look towards a tactic that was employed by the team in the opening stages. In the first 30 minutes, the front four of Johnson, Sessegnon, Fletcher and Larsson changed positions constantly and popped up all over the place. It was surprising that this stopped after the goal and it led to the lack of penetration by the attack. The other negative was Mignolet's blunder though I am sure that he will shrug that off as he has shown his quality consistently. One more negative is that they lost two players to injury, as both Cattermole and O'Shea came off during the game. Sunderland will miss their quality in the games coming up, and more importantly will miss their leadership as they are two of the most experienced and vocal members of the team.

West Brom can find lots of bright lights from the game, with Long, Gera and Yacob putting in spectacular shows. I was particularly surprised by Yacob's impressive performances and it seems like in Mulumbu's absence he has really stepped up to the plate. I must also admit that I doubted Clarke's decision to start Gera but it paid off not just with the goal but also with the many chances that he created for his team mates. It must also be said that West Brom did not get complacent even after they got the 2-0 lead and they worked hard to get behind the ball each time they lost it. The negatives were still present though. Odemwingie did not play a very good game and it proves that he is not very consistent. The player I am more concerned with though is Boaz Myhill. He flapped at a few shots, including a Gardner free kick that was right at him in the 45th minute. His passing of the ball was also dismal and the sooner Foster gets back from injury, the better for West Brom.

Stoke v Fulham

2012-11-24T18:26:00.003+08:00

Stoke is a team often derided for their negative tactics while the focus on attack of Fulham has been really praised of late. The previous year saw a 2-0 win for Stoke but the current Fulham team that they will be facing will be a different proposition altogether.

taken from: zimbio.com

Stoke's only new injury concern is Andy Wilkinson, who had to be substituted at West Ham. That could be especially troubling as the only other left back, Marc Wilson is already on the treatment table. The potential replacement, Ryan Shotton is more commonly used as a right midfielder and might have a bit of problem adapting. Look out for Damien Duff to test him throughout the night and it will be especially difficult for him as Etherington sometimes does not track back. Fulham's Reither also like to advance forward and Shotton might be overwhelmed. One thing that might work in his favour is that Duff likes to cut inside and Shotton's favoured right foot might actually be an advantage on that left flank. Stoke's home form will give their home fans a lot of optimism though. As mentioned before, they are yet to be beaten at home and it will be very interesting to see whether Fulham, the second highest scorers the league, can even break through their defensive solidity.

Fulham will be missing five of their first team players today. Ruiz and Kacaniklic are the two important ones nursing injuries. They are two of the most creative sparks in the Fulham team and their presence will be deeply missed, especially Ruiz who had been in red hot form. It will be interesting to see whether Berbatov does as well as he had this season without these two as the other players might not be on the same wavelength as him and unable to react quick enough to his clever passes. He might cut out a very frustrated figure tonight. Hangeland will also be suspended after his red card and Senderous is expected to take his place. Fulham has been the second highest placed team in terms of ariel duels won, with the other being Stoke of course, and the absence of Hangeland might buck that trend. Despite Senderous being just as tall, he is sometimes soft in his tackles and is not as physically imposing. Hangeland will be a big miss in the center of the defence especially against Peter Crouch and Jon Walters and I expect them to out muscle Fulham the whole night. The one good news for Fulham is that Chris Baird is ready to start again, relegating Karagounis to the bench. Karagounis showed decent ability on the ball against Sunderland but it was his under hit pass to Hangeland that caused Hangeland to slide in and get his red card. Such mistakes are disastrous and it will be a comfort for Fulham's fans to see the more assured presence of Baird back in the lineup.

Predictions:
I expect Stoke to finally break Fulham's scoring streak and ensure that Fulham lose their first two in a row this season so place a bet on total Fulham goals under 0.5 at 13/8 and Stoke to win with a clean sheet at 13/5. Crouch to score is at a pathetic 5/4 so I would not fancy taking that on. Instead, I fancy taking the goal scorer-scorecast option, which provides a return of 40/1 if Crouch scores and Stoke wins 2-0.

Sunderland v West Brom Preview

2012-11-24T10:42:00.000+08:00

This match pits two teams that secured big wins last weekend against each other. Sunderland secured a valuable 3-1 victory over Fulham while West Brom beat Chelsea 2-1 to catapult into the Champions League spot. Both teams have different motivations to do well in this match, with West Brom looking to continue their unexpected charge at the European players while Sunderland will be aiming to pull further way from the relegation zone.

taken from: www1.skysports.com

Sunderland scoring more than once in a game has not happened for a long long time before last week and the three goals will have been a good motivation for the players. Martin O'Neill will be worried though, as they did it against ten men and even so, looked really uncomfortable during the game. O'Neill should start the same eleven that started last week although seeing that they are playing at home, I will play Gardner instead of Bardsley as well as Vaughan in place of Colback to try and garner a bit more attacking edge. Watching Sunderland, their attacking performance only truly improved when they started playing with more width. When they played narrowly, they seemed to only drift in front of the back four of Fulham and moved along the width of the pitch. With both teams employing a rough 4-2-3-1 formation, there is just one obvious difference in the make up of the teams. Long likes to run down the flanks to chase through balls from his team while Fletcher prefers to stay in the middle and wait for balls closer to goal. With Fletcher employing such a tactic in the team, they have a prime target for crosses. They do have the pair of wide midfielders in Larsson and Adam Johnson who can deliver a good cross and this tactic will work well if O'Neill tries it out. At the back, Sunderland will be faced against the formidable Shane Long, who has been a really consistent performer this season. The duo of John O'Shea and Carlos Cuellar do not inspire confidence in me despite their obvious defending skills as they tend to be sloppy in their passing, something that Long will definitely punish and he will chase down every loose ball.

West Brom's confidence should be at an all time high after beating Chelsea and besting their in terms of play for parts of the game. McAuley should return to the starting line up while Foster is still a doubt for the game. West Brom's weakest point this season has been their two deep lying midfielders, Yacob and Mulumbu. Those two can be imperious on their day but their passing accuracy has been inconsistent at best. Sunderland might want to press heavily to take advantage of this, with Cattermole being particularly effective in making interceptions. Besides Long, West Brom's other trump card comes in the form of Odemwingie. Playing as the right winger, he has proved a constant thorn for the opponents and has already scored 4 goals this season. He will be coming up against Rose, who has not proved to be the best defensively although Rose has the pace to catch up with him. West Brom's one main advantage is that they have a stronger bench to call upon, with the possibility of bringing on Lukaku to bully the Sunderland defence once they tire. With the players having to follow the runs of Long whole day long, it will not be surprising to see Sunderland's defenders being tired at the end of the game and that will be when Clark can start making game changing substitutions.

Predictions:
A low scoring affair seems to be on the cards though I can't be too sure about it. Thus, I suggest going for under 3.5 goals at 4/11 although the pickings are slim. More decent value can be found at Lukaku scoring last for 7/1, while West Brom scoring last is also good enough for me at 11/10. I will say that I expect West Brom to edge this game narrowly and I fancy a punt at Draw/West Brom, which is available at 21/4. Good value I will say.

Home v Away

2012-11-23T22:09:00.001+08:00

I have always been intrigued by how some teams manage to play so well at home and then capitulate away from their stadium. To me, the widely accepted explanation that the fans are the twelfth man, spurring their team on to victory, seems too inadequate in my opinion. The cheers of fans can only do so much to a player, if they do not have the quality or form they just cannot beat their opponent. Similarly, the boos for the opposing player will not bring them down that much, they know that they are playing for their own fans and team. Sometimes, the boos might even spur the opponent own as some payers relish such a challenge. I set out to look at the home and away form of the Barclays Premier League teams from last season.

Before I looked at the statistics, I had some guesses in place. Firstly, the difference in performances is because of the in-built mindset that is anchored in players and managers that it will be a more difficult game once they are away from home. Thus, the team is set up in a way to avoid defeat and the players have little confidence in themselves to win the game, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. This can be observed in teams that visit the Etihad Stadium, with most of them being too fearful of City's attack to put up a good fight. If teams had taken the game to City like they would at home, perhaps City would not have had such a long unbeaten record. The second reason that I had is that teams are more used to playing in their own stadiums. Traveling to different stadiums entail different conditions such as the type of grass. The type of grass can cause the ball to travel slightly slower or faster and this is especially troubling in today's game, where accuracy and precision is emphasized as any mistake will definitely be pounced upon by the opponents. Thus, teams that play a style with lots of passes will probably be more disturbed by the prospect of traveling away from home.

Looking at the statistics of the 2011/12 season, Fulham topped the list for more goals scored at home than away while Wolves and West Brom are the only teams that scored more away than at home. If we were looking at the Fulham of this season, I would say that the statistics would support my point that passing teams will score more at home. However, the Fulham of last season relied more on defensive superiority and counter-attacks as is West Brom of last season, who I can say scored more away due to the willingness of home teams to attack, leaving holes behind and leaving them susceptible to counter-attacks.

Moving on to the goals against category, those in the top four of conceding more away than at home include Swansea, Newcastle and Arsenal, while I will discuss more about QPR later on. Swansea, Newcastle and Arsenal all played very pretty passing football last season and they persisted with it away from home too. The problem there is that teams at home are more likely to play a high pressing game and more likely to intercept stray passes of the three teams in dangerous positions higher up the pitch. This possibly caused them to concede the high number of goals they did away relative to at home. On the other end of the spectrum, Bolton, Fulham, Wolves and Man United all conceded more at home than away. There is no real reason that I can think of for this, except that those teams are set up much more to attack at home due to pressure from the fans and manager.

The points won at home see some obvious deviations too, with the lowest being Bolton at 44% and highest being QPR at 70%. This is the only place where the fan support reason might be arguably acceptable. For most of the season, QPR's fans were very loud and vocal in their support of their players. More often than not, they also taunted the opposing players, something most obvious in the match against Chelsea. This might have contributed slightly to the results they got at home and the more deflated performances they had away.

Other interesting points that I picked up from the home v away table was that Aston Villa recorded the most draws away from home and I guess this should be attributed to Alex McLeish's negative attitude away from home and his setting up of the team defensively. The other interesting point is that while generally, the home form is better than away form for most teams, the second highest occuring score line last season is actually 1-2, with 1-1 being the most common. Nothing much to read into here I guess, just that it is out of the ordinary.

My conclusion is that home form is generally better due to the fan reason as well as the two reason that I came out with. There are some additional points I might like to add on to the point about differing conditions at home after I see the statistics though. Seeing that passing teams are not the main and only ones that are affected, I have thought of two other conditions that are different when playing away. The two main ones are the size of the pitch and proximity of the stands from the pitch. Pitches have to fall into a certain size category but they are different at least by a little bit while the proximity of the stands will affect a player's perception of how far up they should hit the ball. Thus, teams that play longer balls will also be affected by the home and away difference. Overall though, it seems that there is no real trend to how being at home or away affects the kind of styles that teams employ. I would say that it is more of the injuries, form of a team as well as the unpredictable happenings on the pitch that eventually determine a result. Well, if you always know who would win, watching the matches would not be so fun.

Footnote: I have just got my phone stolen so I might not be able to post on weekdays anymore unless I find the money to get another phone. I will try to do some scheduled posts or borrow someone else's phone to post though so stay tuned. On another note, do try and advertise this site to your friends if you like what you read and click on the ads on the page. Many Many thanks. Oh and do comment!

Blog Posts

2012-11-22T23:50:00.001+08:00

Anyone got anything they want me to give my opinion on? Do have a few ideas but will work on those when I get home during the weekends as those will need more research. Any comments are welcome, especially on what matches you would like me to preview.

The Second Coming of Benitez

2012-11-22T14:54:00.001+08:00

The appointment of Rafa Benitez sounds like a good move, albeit a shock one. A short deal for him only till the end of the season shows that Abramovich's true target is Pep Guardiola, who has proclaimed his availability at the end of the season.

Firstly, the circumstances surrounding Di Matteo's firing are curious at best. True, he did suffer successive defeats, with the 3-0 humiliation at the hands of Juventus particularly hard to stomach. Then again, his team is still third in the league and has a chance of progressing to the next round of the Champions League. He has also won the top prize that Abramovich desired, the Champions League trophy, showing that he can get the best out of the players at his disposal. Moreover, he has delivered the brand of attractive football that the owner desires, especially in the first few games of the season. With the impending acquisition of Falcao, I am sure that Di Matteo would have been able to transform the team into a true powerhouse.

With all these being said, the fact is that he has already been sacked regardless of whether it is the right or wrong decision. What should be more pressing is to investigate the plus and minus of Benitez's appointment.

Merits:

- The obvious merit is not one that is specific to Benitez. A new manager always bring a breath of fresh air to the team, new ideas and players are more motivated as they will need to fight for their places. Players bored of the usual routine will be more energized. This might not last long though, as Mick McCarthy at Ipswich can stand witness to, with his team falling 6-0 to Leicester after winning two out of his first three games in charge.

- Benitez was widely criticized for rotating his team too much but at Chelsea, this could work to their advantage. The fringe players he have available at his disposal is much stronger this time round, compared to that of Inter Milan and Liverpool. With the likes of Luiz, Moses, Lampard and Bertrand on the bench, Benitez can call upon different kinds of players for different styles he want to employ yet not compromise the quality of the team. This will provide the team with tactical variety. For example, to provide true width, Moses can be called upon and to provide more defensive cover, Bertrand can be employed on the left flank.

- The third advantage is that Benitez allows the players to all start on a fresh slate and prove themselves again. Players such as Oriol Romelu and Piazon, who have been largely ignored this season, perhaps have the chance to prove their worth and stake a place in the team. A more important aspect is perhaps the revitalisation of record signing Fernando Torres, whose best spell in England came under Benitez. Benitez might just be the man needed to light the fire in Torres and mould him back into the world class striker he was.

Demerits:

- Chelsea fans have taken a liking to Di Matteo and they are unhappy about his dismissal. That Benitez is his replacement only serves to make things worse as Chelsea had a fierce rivalry with Liverpool during his reign. As quoted from a Chelsea fan commenting on Chelsea's facebook post on Benitez, "oh no... Benitez??? R u sure Roman???"

- Roberto Di Matteo had also managed to win the players over during his time in charge. This might seem an easy thing to do at most clubs but it is an altogether different thing at Chelsea. Both Andre Villa Boas and Carlo Ancelotti were victims of dressing room unrest and Benitez seems to be the kind of manager who will not yield to player pressure. Normally, manager is bigger than the players but at Chelsea, the players have the backing of the owner and Benitez will have to make sure that the Chelsea players are handled appropriately.

- Seeing that Benitez has only been appointed as an interim manager, it is obvious that Abramovich is looking to appoint Pep Guardiola at the end of the season. However, will Abramovich's actions harm the chances for the deal? No manager will really want to go into a club that fires a manager after every bad run. Guardiola knows that he might need some time to transform the team into the tiki taka style that he prefers but at Chelsea, he cannot be sure that he will be afforded that time. Abramovich might think that his firing of Di Matteo shows resolve in getting Guardiola, but the effects could just be the opppsite.

Whether Benitez succeeds or fails this time round in England is open to debate. What I'm sure is that it will be interesting to have such a divisive figure back again.

Manchester City v Real Madrid

2012-11-21T23:15:00.001+08:00

The last time these two teams met, it was a thrilling affair with Real Madrid coming from behind to win 3-2. This time round, the stakes are even higher for the teams, with progression into the next stage what they are fighting for.

With 2 points and rooted to the bottom of the group, City know that their future in this cup is out of their own hands. Indeed, they might not progress even if they win both their games. Therefore, this is a must win match and the onus will be for them to attack since the game is at the Ethihad Stadium. As such, the injury to Clichy might be a blessing in disguise as his replacement Kolarov is more attack minded. The good news for City is that the trio of Tevez, Aguero and Silva has hit top form just at the right time, all three netting in the 5-0 rout at the weekend. For this match, I would advice them to play a 4-4-2 formation, with two holding midfielders. Before anyone accuses me of being defensive, I have to say that having a good defence wins matches is more in line with my thinking than always score more than your opponents. Against a formiable team such as Madrid, not getting the basics right would be sucidal. With a 4 man defence and proper full backs, City would be less susceptible to counter attacks through the wings, with the dangermen Di Maria and Ronaldo situated there. A duo of holding midfielders would neutralize the lateral movements of Ozil and not allow him to space to work in. My choice would be to play Javi Garcia(a Madrid youth academy product) and Yaya Toure. The two of them would provide the height and air superiority City needs. Of course, during attacks, both have the ability to join in. Three slots of the attack picks itself and for the last left wing spot, I will opt for Nasri, who has shown that he can compete at the very highest level at his best.

Real Madrid also needs to win the game as it will ensure that they qualify. Playing at Ajax is never easy, which City can stand witness to and Mourinho will not want to travel there needing a result. Mourinho should continue with his usual formation. For the duo in front of the defence, Alonso picks himself and I will choose Modric ahead of Khedira. City's recent plays have come from long balls floated behind the defence for Aguero, bypassing the midfield and a ball winner in the center will be obselete. Instead, Modric will allow Madrid to keep the ball better and together with Alonso, provide the main attack route of the team. It is obvious that City's defenders have always been asked to press their opponents high up the pitch. This results in huge gaps appearing between the defenders, something Alonso can capitalise on with his range of passing. Ronaldo and Di Maria sprinting on the flanks and Modric bursting through the middle gives Alonso a chance to try a long through pass, similar to the first goal Tottenham scored against Arsenal. Another avenue Real Madrid might try to take is to test City with balls into the box. It os unfortunate that Higuan is sidelined, as he would provide a much better target than Benzema, who is amazing but more suited to another style. That should not deter Madrid from trying, as City has been really weak in this area.

Predictions:

Mancini will be sweatimg bucketloads after seeing Di Matteo get sacked despite achieving much more in this competition. His eagerness to take this match though might hurt his team instead. I will bravely call for a 4-2 madrid victory, which can fetch odds of more than 1-40. I also like the idea of Madrid scoring in both halfs, which can fetch upwards of 1-2.3. My last piece of advice will be to have a hefty bet of the second half seeing more goals than the first, with some bookmakers giving odds as good as evens for this.

Shock

2012-11-21T18:35:00.001+08:00

Chelsea has sacked their manager, Roberto Di Matteo which comes as a shock to me in spite of their 3-0 defeat at Juventus. I will comment more on this after they have released the name of their new manager.

Juventus v Chelsea Preview

2012-11-20T23:44:00.001+08:00

The Champions League Group E has turned out to be a really tight affair and it comes as a slight surprise that neither of these teams are top of the group going into the match. Instead, Shaktar is top with 7 points while Chelsea is just behind on goal difference while Juventus lags by a point.

Chelsea's old duo of Lampard and Terry will not be available for the match while a third one in the form of Ashley Cole is rated doubtful. All three have ready made replacements in Ramires, Luiz and Bertrand, showing the depth in the squad and the injuries should not trouble them much. Chelsea should stick to their 4-2-3-1 formation for the game. Di Matteo has put on record that he might drop Torres and play Sturridge instead, a wrong decision in my opinion. Sturridge has not shown enough to convince me that he plays for the team. Even though Torres might never hit the goal figures he used to, his ability to bring team mates into play is better than the best Sturridge has ever produced. With so many goal scoring midfielders in the team, such a skill is surely very valuable. Seeing that Chelsea's next game is a very winnable one against Nordsjaelland, they do not actually need to win this game, just not losing is fine. As such, a wise move would be to play Romeu and Mikel as the double defensive pivot, freeing Ramires to play higher up, where he can be tasked to keep an eye on Pirlo. His energy will be able to lessen Pirlo's impact on the game. This will likely mean dropping either Oscar or Hazard and I will choose the latter given his current form.

Juventus is also likely to play their tried and tested formation, a 3-5-2. Looking at Chelsea's narrow midfield, the best bet Juventus has is to attack through the flanks. For this, I will say that Giovinco will play a big part with his natural speed. With the wingbacks occupying Chelsea's fullbacks, there will be space between the fullbacks and centerbacks. This is the position that Giovinco likes to run into. In this game, he should get a lot of chances in the area and hopefully his suspect finishing would not let the team down. I would also nominate Lichsteiner and Isla to play on the two flanks. Despite being at home and having the incentive to go on the attack, Juventus has to be wary of Chelsea's deadly attack. The two wing backs were converted full backs and would be more defensively able compared to other options such as Asamoah and Giaccherini. They also have the energy needed to motor up and down the field the whole day.

Predictions:

Both teams know that a loss might spell the end of their Champions League adventure and they will be out to prevent that. As such, they might both settle for a draw so I am surprised that there are odds as nice as 6.50 for draw-draw. The 2.10 dangled for under 2.5 goals looks tempting too. The 3.40 put up for Chelsea draw no bet is also worth it as the game just might swing their way if Juventus gets anxious in front of their fans and start attacking too much, making them susceptible to counterattacks. In any case, the likely scenario is a draw so not much chance of losing money there.