EPL 2013/14 Mega Thread - Previews, Reviews and General Discussion/Banter

[stew42]

Wtf is going on at Manchester this season?!?! Both losing matches they shouldn't be.

At least Arsenal are staying strong, despite the first week hiccup. :)

Ha, you think Manchester have it bad? Try Fulham losing to Cardiff #JolOut #lifeandtimesofapissedoffFulhamsupporter

[MajorLazer]

We're on a roll down at Villa Park.

Watch out for us!  8)

[Tominator]

Manchester United are in some serious trouble - they were absolutely terrible defensively, lacked spark offensively, and were completely outplayed

How's this for a stat: Manchester United have not scored a goal from open play (in the Premier League) since Gameweek 1

- fired blanks against Liverpool and Chelsea
- scored from a penalty and an FK against Crystal Palace
- scored from an FK against Manchester City
- scored from an FK against West Brom

[Tominator]

GAMEWEEK SIX PREVIEW (remaining matches)


Stoke v Norwich
Should be another good game between a side who offer a lot defensively (Stoke) and a side who offer a lot attackingly, but have yet to fire this season (Norwich). The home ground advantage will help Stoke, who are traditionally hard to get past, but don't be surprised if Norwich find a goal.

KEY PLAYER: Marko Arnautovic

MY TIP: 1-0 Norwich


Sunderland v Liverpool
Sunderland's first game without Paolo di Canio, it will be interesting to see how the team responds. Liverpool were out of sorts last week, but Luis Suarez is back and all eyes will be on him.

KEY PLAYER: Luis Suarez

MY TIP: 2-0 to Liverpool


Newcastle v Everton
Everton remain the only undefeated team in the competition, while Newcastle will be keen to atone for last week's shock loss to Hull. Newcastle have shown good signs but are yet to fully click as a unit, but if Ben Arfa, Remy and Cisse can all fire on the same day, then Everton will need to be on their guard.

KEY PLAYER: Romelu Lukaku

MY TIP: 2-1 to Everton

[Tominator]

Wow...

I was drafting the GW 6 Review, done about 6 games, and the Internet crashed, FF didn't save my work :(

Sorry lads, this Review might be a bit crapper than usual  :-\

[My Chumps]

:(

We forgive you Tommy, excellent work for 5 weeks is impressive enough!

[Vinny]

No worries man, been awesome in previous weeks! ;)

[Nige]

Yeah, take it easy Tomma! Your efforts have been stellar to date.  8)

[Tominator]

GAMEWEEK 6 REVIEW


Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea

Good game with a fair result. Gylfi Sigurdsson put Tottenham ahead after 19 minutes with a great finish, after some great play from Christian Eriksen in the lead-up. They could have made it 2-0 but Branislav Ivanovic made a goal-saving tackle to deny Paulinho a tap-in. Paulinho hit the woodwork on the edge of half-time, which could have given Tottenham a handy lead at half time. After the break, Jose Mourinho brought on Juan Mata, who gave Chelsea a spark, and would provide the vital assist for John Terry's goal just past the hour mark. Fernando Torres and Jan Vertonghen came to blows several times late in the game, resulting in Torres' being controversially sent-off with 10 minutes to go. But while Tottenham had the extra man, they could not score. The fiery pre-game build-up between the managers in the press, spilled over after the game, with a reluctant handshake from Mourinho, who later labelled Vertonghen a "disgrace", for allegedly staging to give Torres a red card. Mourinho comes across as a bit of a "my way or the highway" jerk IMO.

My prediction was a 1-1 draw, with the key player being Christian Eriksen.



Aston Villa 3-2 Manchester City

No Christian Benteke, no worries? A bizarre result that few would have seen coming. Goals to Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko put City in front twice, and it appeared to be a straightforward result. Leandro Bacuna was fantastic for the hosts, scoring a stunning free-kick and assisting Karim el Ahmadi, pulling Villa level with City. Just when Villa fans started to believe a miracle was possible, a miracle occurred. Brad Guzan's long kick out slipped past the two centre backs for Andres Weimann and he calmly prodded it under Joe Hart, to give Villa a shock win and send their fans into delirium.

My prediction was 3-0 to City, with the key player being Sergio Aguero.



Hull 1-0 West Ham

A game that will be remembered more for two contentious decisions more than anything. Robbie Brady won a penalty in the 12th minute, despite minimal contact from Joey O'Brien and went on to convert what would be the only goal of the game. With time running out and the Hammers desperate for a goal, a massive appeal for handball was turned down, and West Ham did not get the penalty they deserved. But could the impossible happen? Could Hull survive relegation? They are above Manchester United after all... Who would have guessed that six weeks ago?!

My prediction was a 1-1 draw, with the key player being Kevin Nolan.



Southampton 2-0 Crystal Palace

Cruisy win for Southampton. Palace did well to keep out the Saints in the first half, and very nearly took the lead whenMarouane Chamakh was played in, beat the defence, ronuded the keeper, but instead of having a shot from an angle, he tried to earn a penalty by doing to ground, thus receiving a yellow card for diving. But in the space of four minutes very early in the second half, the game was killed off, with goals to talismen Pablo Osvaldo - his first for the club - and Ricki Lambert - his 200th for the club. Unfortunately, I just don't feel that Crystal Palace are up to the Premier League standard. Akin to Reading last season, they have good players but not enough players of PL quality, and appear destined to be relegated again unless a strong spike in form occurs. They have not found the back of the net for the last three games.

My prediction was a 2-0 win to Southampton, with the key player being Adam Lallana.


Fulham 1-2 Cardiff

The chorus of fans calling for Martin Jol's head grew after Cardiff took three points at the Cottage. After a few weeks of good form, without getting good results, Malky Mackay's men now have another win to show for it, after stealing it in injury time. Bryan Ruiz's curling strike for Fulham was the equaliser right on half-time, cancelling out an early header from Steven Caulker which opened the scoring. The game was scrappy and appeared destined for a draw, but enter Jordan Mutch. His stunning strike from outside the box, similar to Ruiz's but better, was "too mutch" (see what I did there) ;) for David Stockdale, and gave Cardiff their first away win in the PL in over 50 years.

My prediction was a 1-1 draw, with the key player being Darren Bent.



Manchester United 1-2 West Bromich Albion

Wow. I watched this game and was in shock. Manchester United are in some serious trouble - their defence was shambolic, and was without Rafael, Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic. A warm round of applause was heard when Shinji Kagawa started, and despite his good first half, he was subbed off at half-time for exciting youngster Adnan Januzaj, who does look to be a player to watch over the next few years. But this is worrying for Kagawa - he just does not seem to rate highly on Moyes' list. Anderson hit the bar in the first half with a header from Kagawa's cross, but that was as close as United got to scoring. Their midfield was well beaten by West Brom's Stephane Sessegnon and Morgan Amalfitano, with the latter scoring to take the lead. Wayne Rooney equalised shortly after, with a free kick, but United were just not sharp and lacked the killer threat. Robin van Persie was good when he came on as a sub, but  could not change the game, and West Brom took the lead once again hen youngster Saido Berahino struck one from the edge of the box, to give the Baggies their first win at Old Trafford since 1978. Full credit to West Brom, but United need to sign some players in January - there is no denying that.

My prediction was a 3-1 win to United, with the key player being Wayne Rooney.



Swansea 1-2 Arsenal

Another good game with another fair result - Swansea were good but Arsenal were better. Aaron Ramsey is in the form of his life and scored again to prove that, while he also provided the assist for German teenager Serge Gnabry to score his first goal for Arsenal. Arsenal's midfield play was intricate and exquisite, with the likes of Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, and Jack Wilshere dominating. Gnabry was very impressive in a dour first half, running through the defence of Swansea, and teed up Olivier Giroud just before half time, but he could only fire wide. Swansea responded in the last half hour, but despite a late goal to Ben Davies, the Gunners held on for three points and take a lead of two points at the top.

My prediction was a 2-1 win to Arsenal, with the key player being Mesut Ozil.

[specky92]

Too mutch love it! Ozil was almost too good for us at times and then sometimes he just doesn't look interested, Gnabry was really good for us, creating some spark, runs past defenders with the ball. The gunners game was the only one I watched,  :-\

Awesome work Tominator, was a brilliant read,  :)

[T Dog]

Great work again Big Tom...actually having my best scoring week so far.. ;D
Still have Ben Arfa and Coleman to play...how dumbs that...who do I support in this game?... :o

[T Dog]

Hull City's Brady out til 3/11..Hernia...... :-\

[Tominator]

GAMEWEEK SIX REVIEW (continued)


Stoke 0-1 Norwich

A game that many people predicted to finish 1-0, but with Stoke winning and not Norwich. Stoke had been playing reasonably well and were hard to get past, but Norwich found a goal through Jonny Howson midway through the first half, albeit a shot that Asmir Begovic should have saved. If anything, it was a frustrating game to watch, as both sides created chances but were very wasteful, and besides Howson's strike neither side really looked like scoring. But with pressure mounting on Chris Hughton, this win fo rNorwich came at a good time.



Sunderland 1-3 Liverpool

The first game back for Luis Suarez showed that he hadn't missed a beat. It was the first time the Suarez-Daniel Sturridge partnership had come into effect and it proved to be deadly, with Suarez scoring twice and Sturridge scoring one as well (his 5th in 6 PL games this season). Liverpool took a commanding 2-0 lead at half-time and could easily have had more, if not for some good saves from Kieran Westwood. Sunderland's best chance was when Sebastian Larsson hit the crossbar from a first-half freekick, but Emmanuel Gierrachini pulled one back early in the second half to give Sunderland fans a glimpse of hope. However, it was not to be, and Suarez scored his second on the stroke of injury time, to maintain Liverpool's great start to the season.



Everton 3-2 Newcastle

Romelu Lukaku is a beast. Chelsea have had much-publicised trouble with finding a good striker, but they may have loaned out their most prolific one. Lukaku was at his best again, scoring two and assisting the other, to prolong Everton's unbeaten start to the season, the only team yet to lose a game. Ross Barkley was also dominant in midfield, scoring a goal himself. It was a free-flowing game, with both sides having 50% possession and over 15 shots. But Everton went into half-time with a 3-0 lead and looked like running away with the game. To Newcastle's credit, they pulled back two goals through Yohan Cabaye and Loic Remy, but Everton managed to - deservedly - get the three points

[My Chumps]

Excellent work yet again Tommy.

Just thought I'd mention though that Sturridge also got both assists for Suarez's goals; that partnership is looking awesome  8)

[T Dog]

Keep it going Big Tom.. ;D

Anyone know how serious Rooneys shin injury is?
Its him or BA on the bench this week