Happy New Premier League Year
So, SWP made a happy return to Stamford Bridge overnight and AVB has his Spurs sitting above former club Chelsea after the first EPL action of 2013.
If you love an abreviation, you've just got to love the Premier League.
We’re just past the half-way mark and perennial favourites Manchester United are two wins clear atop the table with plenty of interest surrounding Champions League qualification places given a number of clubs are circling ahead of the run home.
At the foot of the table, it’s not looking too rosy for QPR fans… but never fear – Honest ‘arry is on the scene and he’s got more lives than a lucky cat that just sprung a genie from a bottle and asked for an extra nine lives with its first wish.
The win away at Chelsea is a big one – for the Rs and for the Blues. It shows that the lads from Loftus Road have got the wherewithal to win against top teams (something not all relegation battlers seem to have) and it also proves that Rafa Benitez still hasn’t got his adopted side firing on all cylinders.
Current top six: United, City, Spurs, Chelsea, Everton, Arsenal
(Prediction – City, United, Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Newcastle United)
Shock horror… Manchester United are clear on top and look destined for Alex Ferguson’s 800th Premier League title come late-April.
What can you say about the Red Devils that hasn’t been said before?
They’re a bunch of spoiled little pricks and eternally favoured by referees? Nup, heard that one… Ferguson’s an old soak with a short temper and more superannuation than the average pension-aged Scot. Heard that one, too… Most Australians that follow United only do so because they’re clueless/without imagination and David Beckham was the only soccer player they could positively identify when they needed to pick a team… nothing new there, either.
But like them or loathe them, the Reds are hard to beat. And you can’t argue with a +26 goal difference at this stage of the year. They’ll be hard to chase down in the next 17 matches, but the road to Premier League glory is rarely a flat one, so expect a few ups and downs in the coming weeks.
Of the chasers, City have the squad (other than during this month’s African Cup of Nations, perhaps) and the others are likely to be just as happy with Champions League qualification, so will be fighting for third and fourth.
Everton look the odd one out – certainly in terms of pounds spent on players – and will be particularly hard pressed to keep their run going given a relatively shallow squad.
Spurs are looking reasonably assured and, for the sake of their fans’ psyche as well as the manager’s reputation, have to finally take a chance to finish ahead of London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea. Expect big changes at the Emirates Stadium and Stamford Bridge if this transpires.
The next eight: West Brom, Liverpool, Swansea, Stoke, West Ham, Norwich, Fulham, Sunderland
(Prediction – Liverpool, Fulham, Everton, Sunderland, Wigan, Stoke, West Ham, Swansea)
After a stunning start to the season, West Bromwich Albion might just be on the slide – or at least showing signs their stay in lofty company is on its way to an end.
While Liverpool continue to dodge along in a fashion that must be killing diehard Scousers out there, fans of unfancied Swansea and Stoke City may be sitting back, quietly chuffed with their club’s performance so far.
Swansea are playing good stuff, too. Stoke not so much, but they (hopefully) are beyond the long ball game that saw them stay up during a tumultuous first couple of seasons back in the top league.
West Ham and Norwich have done enough so far to get themselves beyond the relegation dogfight, but Norwich have a worrying habit of shipping goals and may be expected to slide down the table as the weeks tick past.
Sam Allardyce’s West Ham don’t gift as many goals as the Canaries, but they probably don’t score as many as they need to, either… who’d have thought that the case of an Allardyce side?
Andy Carroll hasn’t exactly set the world on fire and given that Kevin Nolan leads the West Ham goal scoring with five, the Hammers will have to defend for their livelihoods in the run home.
Fulham and Sunderland have disappointed so far but it would seem unlikely they get sucked in to the relegation battle – both should have enough wins to get beyond 30 points in the next month and can start planning another campaign in the top flight.
Bottom six: Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Southampton, Wigan, Reading, QPR
(Prediction – Southampton, West Brom, QPR, Norwich, Aston Villa, Reading)
Alan Pardew, you are a goose. A big old goose that should have known better than to take on the poisoned chalice that is managing the gang from St James’s Park (or whatever it is now…)
Demba Ba looks set for Chelsea in January and losing your number one striker is not cool – especially when you’re lugging a -12 goal difference around with you.
Mike Ashley took a big swipe at ruining the club a few years back and a stint in the Championship was the end result, but he's left a big stink hanging over the place and the last couple of months in the league have been decidedly dodgy.
There’s also a Europa League tournament to contend with – and it’s a notoriously difficult thing to compete on more than one front when you’re hovering just above the drop zone.
This correspondent plumped for Villa to go down at the end of this campaign, and if their performance this festive season is anything to go by, the prediction might be a beaut.
There’s just nothing to like about the midlands outfit right now. ‘Must win’ doesn’t quite cover next start at home to Southampton and the WBA derby match the following round. Lose one – or both – and things start to look really nasty.
In honesty, the eventual bottom three will probably come from the current bottom five – but it’s still a raffle at this point in time.
As state previously, QPR have the right man in charge for the dogfight and can’t be ruled out of a late surge. Remember, the darkest hour comes before the dawn. Unless it’s daylight savings… or something like that.
Tips: It’s a full weekend of FA Cup action – and while there will doubtless be a number of upsets along the way, it’s never an easy thing to pick.
Of the Premier League outfits in action, Newcastle have a tough trip to the other end of the country to tackle Championship team Brighton & Hove Albion. Bookies can hardly split the two, so consider a nibble on the underdogs – especially if you can get them with a start.
Swansea are over $3 to win at home against Arsenal with some agencies and given recent form – and Swansea’s record against the Gunners – this looks a decent bet.
Another all-Premiership contest is the one between Southampton and Chelsea. Saints will be close enough to $5 for the win and might just be capable of the kind of romantic result the FA Cup is known for, so if you've got a sheckle or two up your sleeve this one is worth considering.
