Premier League – Round 9 – Who’s head is clearest?
By David, BettingExpert.com | Published
The big Manchester derby is this time a crunch tie, hotter than ever, and carrying loads of significance for supremacy in the Premier League. And it will all boil down to ability of resisting the massive pressure which the clash will be gathering as the days go by and Sunday draws near.
Wolves – Swansea
The Premier League seems to be a routine victim of clubs recording sequences of four or five straight defeats in a row. Wigan and Wolves lost the last five. Bolton had six in a row before winning at Wigan in the last round. West Bromwich were close and Everton are on their way there.
It is quite clueless as to how McCarthy lost the team after a very good start to the season. Nonetheless there were positives to take from both their last two games. They improved from the previous displays and if they would have been slightly deserving a draw against the Magpies then they would surely have deserved so much more in the Sunday derby against rivals West Bromwich. They were unprepared for the Baggies’ main weapon on the day though, the counter attack, and from that perspective they may have been justly beaten.
Welsh side Swansea once again lost on the road, making it their fourth defeat in the top flight. All in all that is not a bad sign for a team of their calibre at this level.
Verdict: 1
It was 27 years since Wolves went five games without a point in the Premier League. The determination is part and parcel of the package at the moment but to get things going they do need a poorly travelling team like Swansea.
Bolton – Sunderland
One win in eight games say the ruckus up north is not over yet for Bruce. Suspensions to Larsson and Bardsley back predictions that the worst is yet to come for the manager. Niall Quinn’s new role is no coincidence. Somebody wants Bruce off and he simply cannot get his team to speak for him on the pitch at the moment.
Bolton have climbed out of the mud, a huge pile of rubble that kept on coming unceasingly – six defeats on the trot for the Trotters. Coyle kept his cool though he lead his team out. Whether that will be a definitive exit from the struggle will be defined by this game.
Verdict: Bolton -0.75
Two managers said to be on the verge battle for their jobs at the Reebok Stadium. It is not just home advantage that pushes for backing the Trotters but also a sense that they have a more pervading psychological stability, making them more capable of dealing with this emergency. The worst looks to be behind Bolton whilst it seems to loom in the horizon for Bruce.
Liverpool – Norwich
Great result against United but they did betray a sense that they are still some way off from producing the pace needed to stay in touch with the boys fighting for the big prize this season. Suarez had already thrown in the towel a few days before the match with United but that might as well have been pre-tactics.
With Norwich, though, I would not expect Liverpool to have any problems. They have faced tougher opponents and worked their way into better fortified boxes. The Canaries will simply come at you and forget all about the gaps at the back.
Verdict: Liverpool -1.5
I don’t imagine Lambert fearing Anfield enough to opt for a change in strategy. After all they performed well at Stamford Bridge and at Old Trafford by staying true to their game. The Reds’ in slow but sure growth with a week’s preparation for the game should be their toughest test yet and the score ought to show for that.
Arsenal – Stoke City
Arsene still has to get his plans right. He has been giving too much confidence to Walcott and the youngsters has not been repaying that. He is probably playing him out of position. In my view he is the kind of striker who is good at standing on the opponents’ defensive line, ready for through balls and one-on-one’s with the keeper. His finishing skills are dubious though and his aerial ability absent. As a wide forward he can sometimes outrun full-backs but he rarely raises his head to see where he ought to put the ball from there. Wasteful.
With such choices Wenger may once again field a team unable to put a scratch to the opposing team. The game with Stoke will be one constructed on those lines of thought by Pulis.
Stoke can be really solid and non-porous. They will be tough and with the philosophy matured in the past season are now also able to get quality men running with the ball at Arsenal. Wenger will not be able to complain about a team showing nothing but rugby-style physicality.
Verdict: Under 2.5
Arsenal come from a win at Marseille but their problems are all but over. This is a dangerous match for them with the draw being at high risk. They will be helped out by Stoke’s Europa League fixture but Pulis will be happy if his tired players can seal it tight at the Emirates. They have the quality to punish the Gunners even if they get only a handful of chances. It is a game very much in the home side’s hands. Whether they can work around the Stoke wall and find the gaps they need. They are simply not convincing enough to back them doing that at the moment.
Manchester United – Manchester City
This fixture used to present itself with no real story to tell until the ‘richest club in Manchester’ became a title lost by the Red Devils to their city rivals.
The build up to the derby has itself been a laborious one with the two clubs seemingly unfocused in midweek Champions League encounters. Both favoured heavily by the bookmakers’ odds they still had to struggle to repay that trust.
Manchester City were annoying to watch, unable too often to be incisive in front of goal whilst well cognizant of the fact that the inability to take three points would have significantly cut down their hopes of qualifying.
City rivals United were not much better even though facing one of the weakest sides in the competition this year. Otelul Galati proved themselves much more than how pundits had defined them, closing their backline well and applying constant pressure on Ferguson’s men.
Verdict: X
The excellent athletic condition of Otelul Galati stretched the first team of United and the trip from Romania should have helped to pile on misery on those tired legs. City have always suffered a complex of inferiority with respect to their cousins and despite looking slightly better on physical terms, as well as in terms of quality now that Rooney seems to have fallen victim to daddy’s illegal vices, these games are often played on a psychological level. City are not mature enough to win that battle. Yet they can hold United to a draw at the moment.
Write a comment
Please read our debate etiquette before commenting
| 
|