As the Premier League reaches the "business end" of the season, the most interesting games involve teams fighting at the top or the bottom. With that in mind, these are the 3 matches I'm most looking forward to this weekend.
1. Man City vs Southampton
Southampton's 4-nil victory against Newcastle last week was very impressive, and they will take a huge amount of momentum into the Etihad.
Southampton has been surprisingly successful since their return to the Premier League against City. After taking the lead at the champions in the first match of last season, Southampton lost 3-2. Since then, Southampton took 4 points from their next two matches against City, winning 3-1 and drawing 1-1, both at home. Pocchetino seems to have City's number.
Normally mid-table teams like Southampton don't have much to play for at the tail end of the season. Safe from relegation, the mid-table teams tend to ease off and start their vacation early. The Southampton players do have something to play for, however, because many of them are trying to force their way onto England's World Cup team.
Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, and Rickie Lambert were outstanding against Newcastle last weekend, and they will continue to fight for their place on the plane to Brazil at the Etihad. Lallana in particular has been extremely impressive, and many pundits are suggesting he could even start for England in the upcoming World Cup campaign after winning his first cap just this season.
City was dominant in the first half at Arsenal last week, but Arsenal rebounded to equalize and then took control of the game late. Both sides can count themselves lucky to escape with a point.
For as much as everyone talks about the title being in Liverpool's hands, City also is in a position to control their own destiny. City knows they can't afford to drop points and they will want to keep the pressure on Liverpool, who play on Sunday. Southampton's defense is a little suspect since losing Dejan Lovren to injury, and City may simply have too much firepower for the Saints to handle.
2. Everton vs Arsenal
The most crucial match in the race for the final Champions League position is at Goodison on Sunday. Everton is 4 points behind Arsenal with a game in hand, so much like the City/Liverpool situation, both Arsenal and Everton are in control of their own destiny largely because of this match.
Because they are in the lead, Arsenal will consider a draw to be a good result. But a victory would all but secure 4th place for the Gunners, and furthermore it could allow Arsenal to push on and re-assert their title credentials in the last 5 matches of the season.
Injuries might decide it. Aaron Ramsey is back in the Arsenal squad. And Ross Barkley is a major doubt. Ramsey and Barkley have been their teams' best players this season. Ramsey returning and Barkley missing could be enough for Arsenal to win.
3. West Ham vs Liverpool
Liverpool faces the Liverpool rejects, as Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing will try to prove a point against the media darlings from Merseyside. West Ham will need to stay compact and they will hope to catch Liverpool's defense on the counter to win the game. They will probably be happy with a draw.
Liverpool will want to keep their outstanding run of form going. Brendan Rogers's team has won their last 8 Premier League matches, starting with their 5-1 demolition of Arsenal at Anfield on February 8th. Liverpool are truly playing at a title-winning level at the moment. It is hard to see how West Ham will be able to compete.
For a more in-depth look at all of this weekend's matches, check out this podcast hosted by my friends and fellow Arsenal supporters @judetheiii and @Prany94. They were kind enough to invite me on to ramble about all of this weekend's 10 matches. Give it a listen!
No comments:
Post a Comment