Liverpool (5th) vs Manchester United
(4th), SingTel TV Ch 102, StarHub TV Chn 227, 2130
Form
|
|
Liverpool
(16-6-7)
|
Manchester
United (6-8-5)
|
Last 5 games: WWWWW
Last 5 home games: WWWWD
|
Last 5 games: WLWWW
Last 5 away games: DDWLW
|
Injuries/Suspensions
|
|
Liverpool
|
Manchester
United
|
Injuries: None
|
Injuries: Van Persie (ankle)
Suspended: Evans
|
Midfielder Lucas
Leiva's fitness will be assessed ahead after he returned to training this week
following a groin problem sustained six weeks ago, but he may not be ready to
go straight into the squad. Striker Mario Balotelli has recovered from the bout
of illness which saw him miss Monday's win at Swansea.
Midfielder Angel di
Maria is available for Sunday's match at Liverpool having served a one-match
suspension for his dismissal against Arsenal. Striker Robin van Persie is still
out with an ankle problem and defender Jonny Evans is suspended. Left-back Luke
Shaw (hamstring) and centre-half Marcos Rojo (groin) are doubts for the
Barclays Premier League match.
Here we have: 5th
vs 4th, with both teams in superb form. Liverpool having won their past 5
league games, and undefeated in their past 13. Who was the last team to win
against them? A certain team called Manchester United. That game was one of the
most comprehensive defeats Liverpool had faced all season, in which that game
marked the start of the experimentation of the 3-4-2-1 formation, which at
first was deemed unlikely to succeed. Louis van Gaal's Man Utd come into this
game having played one of their most convincing match, a 3-0 thrashing of
fellow CL spot challenger Spurs. That game marked the swashbuckling style of
late apparently, with Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney particularly impressive.
With Angel di Maria back from suspension, will LVG put him back into the
starting line-up and risk destroying the momentum from last week? Stay tuned to
find out in this match guaranteed to have your fair share of action and controversies.
This game is too close to call, but I think that Liverpool will shade it, with
the Kop faithful perhaps being the 12th man. A 2-1 win to Pool.
Wayne Rooney will seek to carry on his fine run of late, whereas
Jordan Henderson will be leading
from the midfield if Steven Gerrard starts from the bench.
Prediction: 2-1 win
for Liverpool
Key Men: Wayne Rooney,
Jordan Henderson
Hull City (15th) vs Chelsea (1st),
SingTel TV Ch 102, StarHub Ch 227, 0000 (Monday)
Form
|
|
Hull
City (6-10-13)
|
Chelsea
(19-7-2)
|
Last 5 games: WWLDD
Last 5 home games: WLWWD
|
Last 5 games: WWDWD
Last 5 away games: WDWDW
|
Injuries/Suspensions
|
|
Hull
City
|
Chelsea
|
Injuries: Jelavic (knee), Brady (calf),
Chester (shoulder), Rosenior (hamstring), Diame, Snodgrass (both knee)
Suspended: Huddlestone
|
Injuries: Mikel (knee)
|
Record signing Abel Hernandez is set to return to
Hull's starting line-up after the Tigers lost Nikica Jelavic for six weeks.
Jelavic faces an extended spell on the sidelines after knee surgery. Tom
Huddlestone is suspended after his sending-off against Leicester last week.
Premier League leaders Chelsea have an almost
fully-fit squad. Only John Obi Mikel (knee) is out, with the midfielder likely
to return to contention following the forthcoming international break.
This game could be slightly trickier than paper,
with Hull having an impressive home form of late that has enabled them to life
themselves slightly clear away from the relegation zone, but not totally out of
it yet. Chelsea would seek to bounce back from the disappointment from their
previous 2 matches (knocked out of CL by PSG, and a draw against Southampton)
with a win here that can see them back to being 6 pts clear at the top. Hull
would hope to get something out of this game to go 6 pts clear from 18th spot
Burnley. This could be one of those games where Chelsea might find themselves
slipping, but I doubt Chelsea will go 3 matches without a win. Im going for
Chelsea to win, but just. A 1-0 victory to the Blues.
Having broken his run of poor form, do expect Diego Costa to provide the attacking
threat. With Nikica Jelavic out, Abel
Hernandez (their record signing) wiill be tasked to bang in the goals for
the Tigers.
Prediction: 1-0 win
to Hull City
Key Men: Diego
Costa, Abel Hernandez
QPR (19th) vs Everton (14th), SingTel
TV Ch 103, StarHub Ch 228, 0000 (Monday)
Form
|
|
QPR
(6-4-19)
|
Everton
(7-10-12)
|
Last 5 games: WLLLL
Last 5 home games: LLLLL
|
Last 5 games: LDLLW
Last 5 away games: LWLLL
|
Injuries/Suspensions
|
|
QPR
|
Everton
|
Injuries: Dunne,
Fer, Faurlin, Isla (knee), Furlong (calf), Barton (knock)
|
Injuries: Mirallas
(knock), Oviedo (hamstring), Hibbert, Pienaar (both knee)
Suspended:
Barry
|
QPR are hoping to have
midfielder Joey Barton back after he missed his team's last three league games
through suspension. But he sustained a knock in training this week and is
doubtful for the encounter at Loftus Road. QPR coach Chris Ramsey will make a
late decision on Barton, while Mauricio Isla (knee) and Darnell Furlong (calf)
are also doubts
Midfielder Gareth Barry will
have to drop out of the Everton team to face QPR at Loftus Road on Sunday.
Barry started the 5-2 Europa League defeat to Dynamo Kiev on Thursday night but
he has one more game to serve on his two-match domestic suspension after
picking up 10 yellow cards this season. Aiden McGeady (knee) will be in the
squad along with Aaron Lennon, who was cup-tied in the Europa League.
I sensed that Everton can now
finally start to move out of the relegation fight after battling on the
continental front as well. However, that would probably come in the upcoming
games, not this one. Why? With QPR being the fresher of the 2 teams, this game
could see QPR coming up with the goods to emerge victorious here. However, both
teams find themselves in less than impressive form, and this game could be one
cagey affair with rare moments of creativity. Everton would need to start
translating their decent European form into picking up points in the league. I
am going for a 1-1 draw here.
Charlie Austin
would seek to carry on his good league form and show Roy Hodgson what he has
missed out on, with Romelu Lukaku also
looking to start scoring league-wise.
Prediction: 1-1 draw
Key Men: Charlie Austin, Romelu Lukaku
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