Soccer Saturdate Pt 2: Liverpool vs Manchester United

The 2nd part of Soccer Saturdate sees the huge clash between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield, with 2 other matches following suit, one of which sees league leaders Chelsea travelling to the KC Stadium to take on Hull City. and QPR facing off against Everton. I will be providing my bite-sized analysis and my predictions, and if you do disagree with them, do comment and let me know. Have a great week ahead :)

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

Soccer Saturdate: A midweek special

Hi everyone, its a special midweek of EPL fixtures before we see FA Cup action during the weekened. As usual, I will be rounding up this week's matches, with the big one coming from the clash between the 2 pretenders to the fourth spot: Liverpool taking on Spurs. Of course, other games for today include Arsenal taking on Leicester, and potentially 2 matches that involved relegation candidates: Hull vs Villa, and QPR vs Sunderland.

Liverpool (7th) vs Spurs (5th), SingTel TV Ch102, StarHub TV Ch227 0400am (SG)

Form
Liverpool (11-6-7)	Spurs (13-4-7)
Last 5 games: DWWWD Last 5 home games: WDDDW	Last 5 games: WLWWW Last 5 away games: WDLDW

Injuries/Suspensions
Liverpool	Spurs
Injuries: Lucas (thigh)	None

Liverpool will see the return of Adam Lallana after missing the Merseyside derby with an injury, while Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho have recovered from knocks.

Spurs are not only a good steak, their physio has practically nothing to do as well, as they have a full squad to choose from.

Brendan Rodgers have sucessfully stirred things up by claiming that Daniel Sturridge is better than Harry Kane. Well, I think he is only half right there. Experience wise, Sturridge definitely triumphs, but Kane is truly having a blast this season, scoring 22 goals in all competitions to lead all Spurs players. Additionally, Spurs will be in a slightly happier mood after coming from behind to win in their North London derby, whereas Liverpool didnt gave their beloved captain Steven Gerrard a win in his last Merseyside derby, only getting a drab 0-0 draw.

For me, if you look beyond their impressive form of late, Liverpool actually have drawn plenty of games, and that Spurs on their travels have not been spectacular either. However, I sensed that Rodgers might have an eye on this week's FA Cup, and might be tempted not to go full strength from the onset. Thus, I am predicting a Spurs "upset" (well it might not be that much of an upset) and that they will win thanks to their talisman at the moment, Harry Kane.

Prediction: 2-1 win to Spurs

Key Men: Daniel Sturridge, Harry Kane

Sunderland (14th) vs QPR (19th), SingTel TV Chn105, StarHub TV Chn230, 0340 (SG)

Form
Sunderland (4-12-8)	Spurs (5-4-15)
Last 5 games: LLLWD Last 5 home games: LWLDW	Last 5 games: DLLLL Last 5 away games: LLLLL

Injuries/Suspensions
Sunderland	QPR
Injuries: Rodwell (groin), Giaccherini (leg), Cattermole (knee)	Injuries: Onuoha (hamstring), Austin (ankle), Dunne (knee), Faurlin (ACL)

Sunderland will still be without their midfield trio of Jack Rodwell, Emmanuel Giaccherini and Lee Cattermole.

Good news for QPR? Their key midfield anchorman is slowly regaining full match fitness. Bad news? Their leading scorer Charlie Austin will be out for 2 weeks with an ankle injury.

Well, this match could either be a super boring game, or a game where both teams go all out. On one end we have the Black Cats, who have only scored 6 goals in their past 8 home matches, and on the other we have QPR, who became the first team in nearly 60 years to lose their first 11 away games. Judging from what I can see, I'm will be going out on a limb by saying that QPR's wretched away form might just come to an end, but they wont win either. This have the makings of a drab 0-0 draw, since both teams cant score, and Sunderland love to have their games to end in a stalemate (drawing 12 out of their 24 games).

Prediction: 0-0 draw

Key Men: Jermain Defoe (hopefully for the fans watching this game)

Hull (18th) vs Aston Villa (16th), SingTel TV Chn104, StarHub TV Chn229, 0340 (SG)

Form
Hull (4-8-12)	Villa (5-7-12)
Last 5 games: WLLLD Last 5 home games: DLLWL	Last 5 games: DLLLL Last 5 away games: WLLLL

Injuries/Suspensions
Hull	Villa
Injuries: Diame (knee), Snodgrass (knee)	Injuries: Senderos (calf), Kozak (broken leg)

Hull will have both new signing Dame N'Doye & Nikica Jelavic in contention to start the game. Howeer, Mohammed Diame will still be missing in action.

Villa have no major injury concerns, and will be motivated by their 2nd half display against champions-elect Chelsea, although they still lost eventually. Christian Benteke could start this game after being dropped in the previous game due to a poor run in form.

This game is crucial to both teams, with what could well be a relegation battle for Hull, and possibly for Aston Villa if they dont start to pick up points soon. Both teams will aim to improve on their performance, with Hull having lasted till the 92nd minute before James Milner broke Hull's resistance with a truly well taken free kick. 

As for Villa, they will also be heartened by their 2nd half display, having watched the game against Chelsea. They will hope that Fabian Delph can continue his good form that had gotten him raving reviews earlier this season. However, given Villa's poor away form of late (1 win out of 5, losing the other 4), and also Hull's inspired performance against City, I predict Steve Bruce's team to give Paul Lambert more to worry about, and even possibly his last game as manager for Aston Villa (yes, I predict Villa to sack Lambert if they lose this game) by winning this one.

Prediction: 2-1 win for Hull

Key Men: Nikica Jelavic, Fabian Delph

Arsenal (6th) vs Leicester City (20th), SingTel TV Chn 104, StarHub TV Chn 229, 0340 (SG)

Form
Arsenal(12-6-6)	Leicester (4-5-15)
Last 5 games: LWWWL Last 5 home games: WWWWW	Last 5 games: DWLLL Last 5 away games: LWDWL

Injuries/Suspensions
Arsenal	Leicester
Injuries: Oxlade-Chamberlain (groin), Arteta (ankle), Diaby (calf), Debuchy (shoulder)	Injuries: Schmeichel (foot), Wood (ankle)

Arsenal will welcome back Alexis Sanchez after he had missed the defeat to Spurs through injury

Leicester City fans should expect Robert Huth to make his debut for the Foxes after completing his ban for breaching social media regulations.

The last time they met, it was a credible 1-1 draw. How times have changed, with Leicester rock bottom. Arsenal would hope to comeback from their disappointing 2-1 loss to bitter rivals Spurs. To me, the previous match shows how important Alexis Sanchez has now become to Arsenal. They seem to be a different team without his guile, hard work, and that moment of individual brilliance that even Mesut Ozil haven't been able to provide on a more regular basis. 

Leicester City's top brass should have handled the Nigel Pearson sacking incident slightly better, with even Gary Lineker having thought that Nigel Pearson was gone as a result of this somewhat bizarre encounter Pearson had with Crystal Palace James McArthur during last Saturday's game in which they lost 1-0. Leicester City's management took a long time before issuing a statement, saying that he has not been sacked.

With all the ongoing drama away from the pitch, I sense even more trouble for Perason's squad, with the impressive Arsenal home form (5 wins in past 5 games) enabling them to coast through this game without much of a hassle. I felt that Nigel Pearson has lost his plot as a manager (just look at the impressive work Sean Dyche at Burnley) and it won't be long before Leicester starts their search for a saviour to prevent them from relegation doom.

Prediction: Arsenal to win 3-0.

Key Men: Alexis Sanchez

So that's it from me Mr Paokaliao. I sincerely apologize for missing out on the 3 Sunday games last week, and I will do my best to cover the other 6 games on Wednesday. Cheers!