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KEEP LIFE SIMPLE
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Friday, December 14, 2007
Its Blockbuster Sunday! Fixtures BIRMINGHAM CITY V READING (ST ANDREWS, BIRMINGHAM) DERBY COUNTY V MIDDLESBROUGH (PRIDE PARK, DERBY) MANCHESTER CITY V BOLTON WANDERERS (CITY OF MANCHESTER STADIUM, MANCHESTER) PORTSMOUTH V TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (FRATTON PARK, PORTSMOUTH) SUNDERLAND V ASTON VILLA (STADIUM OF LIGHT, NEWCASTLE) WEST HAM UNITED V EVERTON (UPTON PARK, LONDON) WIGAN ATHLETIC V BLACKBURN ROVERS (JJB STADIUM, WIGAN) FULHAM V NEWCASTLE UNITED (CRAVEN COTTAGE, LONDON) LIVERPOOL V MANCHESTER UNITED (ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL) ARSENAL V CHELSEA (EMIRATES STADIUM, LONDON) Predictions BIRMINGHAM CITY 2 READING 1 Birmingham were unlucky not to get a point away from St James Park against Newcastle. Reading are on a high after a 3-1 victory over Liverpool, but they are poor travellers. Against Birmingham who are slowly rising up the table under new manager Alex McLeish, the hosts should be able to get three points. DERBY COUNTY 0 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 Derby remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Against fellow relegation strugglers Boro, this will be a important match for both teams. For Derby, a win will still leave them stuck in the bottom three. For Boro, a win pushes them up the table significantly, away from the dropzone. Given Boro's confidence-boosting win over Arsenal, they should get all three points against a perilous Derby side that just can't score. MANCHESTER CITY 2 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 City have a 100% win record at home this season, but they are not exactly clean-sheet specialists either. Against a rejuvenated Bolton side fresh from a 4-1 thrashing of fellow strugglers Wigan, City should still edge it, but expect Bolton to push City to the limit. PORTSMOUTH 2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 Portsmouth have had four 0-0 draws in their last five home games. Their run of goalless draws at home should end against Spurs, who are poor travellers, and have a notoriously poor record of keeping clean sheets, conceding goals whereever they go, including several really laughable ones. Spurs with their prolific strikers should at least get a goal, but Pompey will continue their unbeaten run at home. SUNDERLAND 1 ASTON VILLA 1 Sunderland, defeated by Chelsea 0-2 in their last Premier League match, are steadily slipping towards the relegation zone. Roy Keane will no doubt give his players a big wake-up call. Against Villa who succumbed to two consecutive home defeats previously, Sunderland may see this as an opportunity to get important points on the board. WEST HAM UNITED 1 EVERTON 1 These two sides just met three days earlier, when Everton beat West Ham 2-1, also at Upton Park, to reach the semifinals of the League Cup. The sides were evenly matched until Yakubu's late winner, and the same scenario should happen in this Premier League encounter. WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 BLACKBURN ROVERS 3 Wigan hit a new low after a crushing 1-4 defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Bolton. Against a Blackburn side looking to get back to winning ways, they probably shall be spared no mercy and remain stuck in the bottom three. Roque Santa Cruz will want to prove himself if he starts the match, as he missed several golden chances to score during Blackburn's 0-1 home defeat against West Ham. Blackburn should be able to nick three points easily. FULHAM 1 NEWCASTLE UNITED 2 Newcastle are slowly moving in the right direction. A creditable 1-1 draw with Arsenal was followed by a last-minute 2-1 win over Birmingham City. As they start getting points on the board, the Magpies will grow in confidence. Against Fulham, who are notoriously known for collapsing in the second half after a splendid first half performance, the visitors could fancy their chances, as Fulham also have one of the worst defensive records in the league so far.  LIVERPOOL 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 1 On current form, both sides look very hard to beat. Liverpool have not managed a win against the Red Devils in the league for over six years, and last season was the same. Liverpool dominated the match from the first minute, United's Paul Scholes got himself sent off, and United were desperately clinging on for a draw. Until John O'Shea scored a 91st minute winner. That result proved a catlyst for the Red Devils to clinch the EPL title for the first time in four years. Similarly, a result for either Liverpool or Manchester United here will do them a world of good for the race to the title. A victory would be morale-boosting, confidence-boosting and table position-boosting. Neither side want to lose this, expect a rather tight game. The most likely outcome is a draw. ARSENAL 1 CHELSEA 1 A fiery London derby, a fiery top-of-the-table clash, beautiful, exciting football, aka joga bonito, what more do you expect from a fixture? Arsenal's steamroll to pole position in the league thus far took a huge blow at Tyneside and Teeside last week. Held by a 1-1 draw by struggling Newcastle United, they were defeated 1-2 by Middlesbrough, who are still in relegation trouble. 5 dropped points meant that their potential six-point gap over 2nd placed Manchester United was cut to just one point. Should they lose this game, they will certainly surrender top spot. The scoreline probably would be lesser than Arsenal's 2-2 draw with United at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season, as both side's key attacking players are either injured or facing fitness doubts. Arsenal's Francesc Fabregas, the team's key playmaker, has not fully recovered from injury. Robin van Persie has only just returned to the starting line-up and may not be fully sharp. Chelsea hitman Didier Drogba has just had surgery on his knee, which means he will miss the match. His physical presence will be missed, and Chelsea have struggled to score goals without him. Of the Blue's other strikers, none seem good enough a replacement for him. Kalou is more of a supporting striker than a targetman, often supplying the final pass for his strike partner. Shevchenko still hasn't settled in the Chelsea jersey, scoring a paltry two league goals this season. Pizarro is not exactly renowned for being a world-class finisher. This should end as a draw too. Joel at 12/14/2007 05:47:00 PM :: link |