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Premiership - Week 32 - Top Half in need of 3 points
By Joe, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Google+: Joe Bexpert
Chelsea Coach Ancelotti is having a tough time to get the best out of his strikers, the combination of Drogba and Anelka are looking like their old self while £50 million man, Fernando Torres hasn't score yet, but that can change against Wigan on Saturday. Arsenal will travel up to Blackpool on Sunday and Liverpool will host Manchester City on Monday evening.
Chelsea vs. Wigan
The Blues must be still fuming about the 1-0 home defeat in the midweek to Premiership rivals Manchester United in the last 8 of the Champions League. All said and done, the in between game before taking on Man United again for part two of the Battle of Britain, Wigan will be visiting Stamford Bridge on Saturday with a kickoff at 15:00 BST. It will be interesting whether Fernando Torres will get that starting line up call and if he does, it could be that he will partner up with N. Anelka as coach Ancelotti will want to rest Drogba. Chelsea might be in a rueful disposition as they might have the depth in the squad but the formation tactics might have becoming instable to the way they play. Against Manchester United, they look like their former self but in the 1-1 Stoke City, they struggled with Torres, Drogba and Anelka, 4-3-3 formation. It is evident that Chelsea will dominate the midfield and it all depends on how to push the ball forward, the width or the middle. Two different ways of playing depending of which striker is on the field.
The Latics are struggling at the bottom half of the Premiership and they are finding wins hard coming through the last phrase of the season. Wigan might have got a point off against Spurs last weekend but this weekend other London club might be one too much for them to muster. They are scrapping for points and it is likely they will be trying to push for a point here and a hopefully Rodallega can provide some hope to the team.
Week in and week out, the question still looming around Chelsea is when will Fernando Torres score for the Blues? The Premiership and Champions League race are in dire straits and they need their record signing Spaniard to show the reason why they bought his service for, awkwardly Torres has only brought more yellow cards than goals until now and with Wigan on the visit, he will be hoping to open the bank account here.
Blackpool vs. Arsenal
One target, 39 points is what Blackpool boss Ian Holloway have set his men to meet if they want to avoid relegation. Many punters had the promoted club favourites to go back down and with the recent results, things are going that way. Blackpool are currently 17th in the league and a point above the relegation zone and that will certainly not make Holloway sleep lightly at the moment. With Arsenal to visit on Sunday, there might not be much sleep anyways, they are a point for four games and the defeat last weekend to Fulham saw the team for the first time, tired and sluggish in their approach. It isn’t how you start but how you end and hopefully the pools from the north will show some fighting spirit.
Arsenal doesn’t want to win the Premiership and by that we have good evidence in how not to win the title rather than wanting to win it. The Gunners from North London saw the title slipping away slowly after drawing their third consecutive games to 10 men Blackburn last weekend at the Emirates. Any wins from those game could give them the advantage to chase league leaders, Man United, at the top as Arsenal have one game in hand but 7 points away from the Red Devils. Many have questioned the goalie not up to the task, the midfield strain without Cesc Fabregas and strikers not hitting the target against team they are expected to beat. Yet they go another season without silverware well that could still change with a win against Blackpool. Arsenal will be without Djourou.
The return of Fabregas should give hope for Arsenal to start winning once again and close the gap between them and Manchester United. With the captain on the field from the start, the gunners are usually successful rather than without him, but how long will Fabregas last on this ever lasting potential team who can’t win trophies. Blackpool will start with a fury but doubt they will manage to control the game that Arsenal will except to be demanding.
Liverpool vs. Manchester City
The Anfield faithful are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel but maybe not too much light is shine upon when it means some silverware at the end. Even the European competition for next season is not in sight as they are five points away from spurs in sixth place so there is a lot to work on in the post season. Having said that, Liverpool does have a few games to salvage the situation as they walk on with hope, until the end and a win over Manchester City at Anfield on Monday evening could put them in a prime spot to challenge for a Europa League and maybe, just maybe Champions League spot. Coach Kenny Daglish will have to do without Geln Johnson, Daniel Agger, Martin Kelly and Steven Gerrard as they are all injured and that does mean their team is hampered with key players in each position as they are still getting to know each other. Luiz Suarez and Andy Carroll should get the nod to partner once again at the front while Lucas will be the vital midfield chain to hold off any attack from City.
Manchester City were surprised over the 5-0 win over Sunderland last weekend but that must be expected from the owners and once the City owners are expecting a win over Liverpool, doing the double over the Reds. That feat would valid one outcome is that the Champions League spot is virtually beyong the home team and shifting era of City getting into the prestige tournament from there on. That is what money can buy and if that is the case, the Manchester City's owners have done the job well in their second year. The Sky Blues will bring their best crop to Anfield but they will be once again without Micah Richards and Jerome Boateng. Defender K. Toure is still out with a suspension.
Tides are turning and it is the home team that has seen them going back in time rather than advancing, and that is what the visitors are doing in time. Two teams with two different routes at the moment but both are more than happy to see through this season end in a high, Liverpool to challenge for a european spot while City to keep that champions league spot and an added bonus of the FA Cup silverware. Either way, City looks to have a squad read to challenge while Liverpool will have to make good use of what they have left.
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