Soccer Saturdate: Week 26 (the relegation battlers face off)

Hi everybody! How are your Chinese New Year celebrations going so far? With all the angpow collecting, late night mahjong/gambling sessions happening, there are still EPL action happening. This week sees plenty of crucial games happening at the other side of the table, with Hull taking on QPR and Sunderland hosting West Bromwich. Other games include Chelsea taking on Burnley, Swansea hosting LVG's Man Utd, Tim Sherwood's face game with Aston Villa sees them taking on Stoke, Crystal Palace against Arsenal, and the late game with Manchester City taking on my beloved Newcastle. As usual, I will be coming up with my predicitions, do hit the comments if you agree or disagree with them :D

Chelsea (1st) vs Burnley (19th) SingTel TV 103, StarHub TV 228

Form
Chelsea (12-6-6)	Burnley (4-9-12)
Last 5 games: WWDWW Last 5 home games: WLDDW	Last 5 games: WLLDL Last 5 away games: DDLLL

Injuries/Suspensions
Chelsea	Burnley
Injuries: Mikel (knee)	Injuries: Long (ACL), Taylor (calf)

Chelsea have a full strength squad other than Mikel missing out. Burnley welcomes back Stephen Ward after recovering from a fractured ankle.

This match should be a walkover for Chelsea. After all the wrong headlines surrounding Chelsea after the Champions League game, they would seek to be in the papers for the right reasons with a proper display of football. Fatigue might see them not performing at the level that most fans would expect them after the grueling game against PSG, but I dont expect Burnley to put up much of a challenge. Expect Eden Hazard to have an significant impact here in this game.

Prediction: Chelsea 2 Burnley 0

Key Player: Eden Hazard

Swansea (9th) vs Manchester United (3rd) SingTel TV 104, StarHub TV 229

Form
Swansea (9-7-9)	Manchester United (13-8-4)
Last 5 games: DLWDL Last 5 home games: LWDLD	Last 5 games: LWWDW Last 5 away games: WWDDW

Injuries/Suspensions
Swansea	Manchester United
Injuries: Bartley (knee)	Injuries: Carrick (calf)

Gylfi Sigurdsson returns from suspension for Swansea which had caused him to miss the last 3 games, Wayne Routledge is slated to start after being out for 5 weeks with a calf problem. Marvin Emnes is available following a hamstring injury.

Manchester United's Robin van Persie returns to full fitness, along with Phil Jones. Jones had been missing in action due to a knee problem.

Im pretty sure this game was a bitter pill to swallow for Man Utd's fans, and also for Louis Van Gaal. With both managers (Garry Monk for Swansea, LVG for Man Utd) making their full debut, the vastly inexperienced Garry Monk came up tops with a Sigurdsson goal. To be honest, LVG is doing an ok job thus far, just not the typical swashbuckling style fans used to see. Thus, I do feel a little for LVG even though his team is 3rd, but yet have to face critics for not winning with "style". Swansea, though are now a slightly different team with Bony now over at Manchester City. However, with Sigurdsson coming back from suspension, I do expect an entertaining game with Sigurdsson hoping to replicate the same chemistry he had with Bony with their new main striker Bafetimbi Gomis. I do expect Wayne Rooney to once again pick up the slack and pull his team to another labourlike performance, but don't expect them to get another victory. A draw is likely on the cards here.

Prediction: 2-2 draw

Key players: Sigurdsson, Rooney

Aston Villa (18th) vs Stoke (10th) SingTel TV Ch 105, SingTel channel 230

Form
Aston Villa (5-7-13)	Stoke (9-6-10)
Last 5 games: LLLLL Last 5 home games: WLWLW	Last 5 games: LWWDL Last 5 away games: LWWDL

Injuries/Suspensions
Aston Villa	Stoke
Injuries: None	Injuries: Shawcross (back), Bojan (knee), Muniesa (hamstring), Odemwingie (ACL) Suspensions: Cameron

Tim Sherwood would be glad to know that he has nearly a full strength squad at his disposal for his first game with Aston Villa. Nathan Baker, Philippe Senderos & Gabby Agbonlahor might feature at some point in the game, whereas Libor Kozak is still quite some time away from full match fitness. Stoke City will see Jonathan Walters, Erik Pieters, Marc Wilson and Stephen Ireland all returning to give Mark Hughes a much needed boost. Ryan Shawcross would not be fit in time to make it for this match after having injections for his injured back. Geoff Cameron is suspended after getting dismissed in the FA Cup defeat to Blackburn

Tim Sherwood would be looking to impress his fans and prove his doubters wrong quickly. As a young and upwardly mobile manager who isnt afraid to say what is on his mind, his brand of management has been seen as either refreshing or naive. Still, I am always for managers who like to push for youngsters with the drive and desire. Back at Spurs, he managed to push for Bentaleb ahead of proven internationals like Paulinho, and also slightly resurrected the career of a certain Emmanuel Adebayor. Thus, I think that he could well be the guy who can get Christian Benteke back firing for Villa again. As for Stoke, they will look to bounce back from that dismal thrashing given by Blackburn. Their defence were simply outclassed by the sheer pace of Joshua King, and I think that their loan signing of Philipp Wollscheid could be a wrong one, as he look simply out of touch in that game. Peter Crouch would provide the aerial threat as usual, but I simply don't see Stoke being able to prevent Tim Sherwood from getting his debut win in his first game in charge.

Prediction: 2-1 to Villa

Key players: Christian Benteke, Peter Crouch

Hull (16th) vs QPR (17th) SingTel TV 106, StarHub TV 231

Form
Hull (5-8-12)	QPR (6-4-15)
Last 5 games: LLLDW Last 5 home games: LLWLW	Last 5 games: LLLLW Last 5 away games: LLLLW

Injuries/Suspensions
Hull	QPR
Injuries: DIam (knee), Chester (shoulder), Rosenoir (hamstring), Snodgress (knee)	Injuries: Isla (knee), Onuoha (hamstring), Fer, Sandro, Dunne, Faurlin (all knee)

Mohammed Diame misses out again for Hull City, having hurt his knee in training.

QPR welcomes back their top scorer Charlie Austin, having missed his team's first away win of the season with a foot injury. Mauricio Isla joins their list of injured players with an injured knee.

The first of 2 potential relegation 6-pointers sees QPR travelling to KC Stadium to take on Hull City, with both teams having won their previous game at Villa and Sunderland respectively. Both teams will be in a buoyant mood, more so for QPR after having clinched an away win at the 12th attempt and doing it without their leading scorer Charlie Austin. Hull City would hope that Nikica Jelavic can bang in more goals after having scored in their previous win. This game would be a cagey affair, with both teams determining to gain a much needed victory over their immediate rival. I do feel that Hull would be able to pull off a victory here and slowly move out of the bottom 5, and that Steve Bruce's experience might prove vital here.

Prediction: Hull to nick it 2-1

Key Players: Nikica Jelavic, Charlie Austin

Sunderland (15th) vs West Bromwich (14th) SingTel TV 107

Form
Sunderland (4-12-9)	West Bromwich (6-8-11)
Last 5 games: LLWDL Last 5 home games: WLDWL	Last 5 games: WDLDW Last 5 away games: LDDWD

Injuries/Suspensions
Sunderland	West Bromwich
Injuries: None	Injuries: Anichebe (groin), Mulumbu (hamstring)

Sunderland will be hoping that all his previously injured players could return in time for this crucial match, with Jermaine Defore, Lee Cattermole, Anthony Reveillere and Emmanuel Giaccherini all battling to be fit. West Bromwich will have Jonas Olsson back in the team. Youssof Mulumbu could return in time after sufffering a hamstring injury in AFCON. Tony Pulis only has Victor Anichebe out definitely.

The 2nd of the potential relegation 6-pointers, both teams would look to ensure that they do well here to steer even more clearer of the relegation quagmire. It seems that Sunderland can only do well against Newcastle (wtf), losing to both QPR and Bradford in their last 2 games, and that they seem to be a different team without Jermain Defoe, thus Sunderland will hope to have him fit in time for this crucial tie. As for West Bromwich, I would say that they definitely looked a better unit with Tony Pulis at the helms. Who would have thought they will wallop West Ham to move on to the quarters of the FA Cup? Who would have thought that their record signing/flop Brown Ideye could bang in the goals 2 games straight? Possibly only Tony Pulis. Their record of late have been impressive, only losing to an even more impressive Spurs. Therefore, I am going with a West Brom win, putting even more pressure on Gus Poyet. He definitely hopes every team he faces is Newcastle.

Prediction: 2-1 win for the Baggies

Key Players: Jermain Defore, Brown Ideye

Crystal Palace (13th) vs Arsenal (5th) SingTel TV 102, StarHub TV 227

Form
Crystal Palace (6-9-10)	Arsenal (13-6-6)
Last 5 games: WWLWD Last 5 home games: LWLDL	Last 5 games: WWWLW Last 5 away games: WLWWL

Injuries/Suspensions
Crystal Palace	Arsenal
Injuries: Thomas (muscualar injury)	Injuries: Debuchy (shoulder), Arteta (ankle), Diaby (calf), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Groin), Ramsey (hamstring)

Crystal Palace will likely see the return of their inspirational captain Mile Jedinak, having been out with an ankle injury whilst helping Australia win the Asia Cup. Shola Ameobi is in full fitness, alongside James McArthur. However, Jonny Williams and Yaya Sanogo will miss out, with Sanogo being ineligible to play against his parent club. Arsenal's English midfielder Jack Wilshere is in line to return after being out for 3 months with an ankle injury. Hector Bellerin faces a late fitness test on his ankle. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back in full training  following a groin strain but is unlikely to play any part in this game.

This could be an interesting tie, with both teams wanting to get the 3 points for very different reasons. Palace would hope to slowly inch themselves to Premier League safety, with (I hate to say this) Alan Pardew having steadied the ship with Crystal Palace. The return of their captain Mile Jedinak would meant a fiercer midfield battle between him and Arsenal's midfield maestro Santi Cazorla, who is still being linked with a move back to La Liga. Arsenal would hope to close the gap betwen the current 3rd and 4th teams (Man Utd and Southampton) and put on more pressure not just for the teams ahead, but also the 2 teams behind them chasing for that 3rd and 4th spot (Spurs and Liverpool) in what seems to be the tightest ever fight yet. I am plumping for an Arsenal victory here, with Arsenal turning on the style with a convincing victory here to send a message to the other teams out there.

Prediction: 3-1 victory to Arsenal

Key Players: Mile Jedinak, Santi Cazorla

Manchester City (2nd) vs Newcastle (11th) SingTel TV 102, StarHub TV 227 130am

Form
Manchester City (15-7-3)	Newcastle (8-8-9)
Last 5 games: DLDDW Last 5 home games: WWLLD	Last 5 games: LLWDD Last 5 away games: LLLWD

Injuries/Suspensions
Man City	Newcastle
Injuries: Milner (knee),	Injuries: Dummett (knee), Taylor (Achilles), Cabella (knee), de Jong (collapsed lung), Tiote (knee)

 

(yes, this picture is taken from Newcastle's 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium in the League Cup, im biased that way)

Manchester City should be giving a debut to £25million striker Wilfried Bony, while their inspirational midfield general Yaya Toure should be available for this game. Sergio Aguero is fit after a slight back issue at Stoke last week. Newcastle is near to a defensive crisis, with only 4 senior defenders available for this game. Cabella's injury though minor should see him missing out on this game. 

Why must Yaya Toure come back in this game? Why must Wilfried Bony make his debut here in this game? Why must Newcastle have an injury crisis now? So much questions, but I can only sadly see 1 outcome from this game: An outright victory for City. Such firepower, so much options for them (I would gladly take Stevan Jovetic anytime) I simply pray that Newcastle wont lose anymore defenders and that we emerge from this game with a clean bill of health. I can only hope that Moussa Sissoko would be able to handle Yaya Toure adequately and prevent him from having much of an impact, but even if that was the case, there is still a certain Argentine to handle by the name of Sergio Aguero. I am predicting a easy 3-1 win for City, but as usual I do hope that Newcastle can repeat the heroics that they did against City in the League Cup (where we won 2-0 and Rolando Aarons showed the potential that he could have) Howay the Lads!

Prediction: 3-1 win to City

Key Players: Yaya Toure, Moussa Sissoko

Sunday would see 3 more games taking place, with Spurs taking on West Ham, Everton hosting Leicester City, and the game between Southampton and Liverpool. I would be reviewing them tomorrow, so stay tuned! Have an awesome weekend, and more CNY goodness :D