Friday, February 17, 2023

Premier League Preview: Matchweek 24

Arsenal begins weekend play in an unaccustomed position in the table. The Gunners were knocked from their perch atop the Premier League table by Manchester City on Wednesday. The Gunners now head off to Aston Villa this weekend hoping to regain their confidence after losing to Manchester City for an 11th consecutive time in the league. A loss to their former manager Unai Emery on Saturday would add salt to a wound created by dropping eight of their last nine points in league play as the Gunners fumbled away the first-place position they had held since August. Arsenal fell 3-1 to Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s star-studded lineup proved too much for the young Gunners. Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish all scored versus Arsenal. Bukayo Saka’s penalty kick, meanwhile, accounted for the only Arsenal scoring as the Gunners were kept to a goal or less for a third consecutive match. Aston Villa might be just the right club to give the Gunners’ attack a boost as Emery’s men have conceded seven goals across two consecutive defeats.

Manchester City will defend their newly earned top of the table status when the Citizens head to Nottingham Forest. Forest has shown marked improvement in recent weeks to emerge from the relegation zone, Manager Steve Cooper’s side stumbled, however, at Fulham last weekend and now face a markedly greater challenge in facing the new table leaders.

Manchester United, coming off its Thursday draw in the Europa League versus Barcelona, could have a tricky time at Old Trafford on Sunday against Leicester. The Foxes are in their best form of the season after scoring eight goals in winning their last two league outings.

Liverpool will have the chance to prove it is still a top four contender when the Reds head to Newcastle Saturday to face the fourth place Magpies. Newcastle has remained in the Champions League qualification places despite having drawn five of its last six league matches. The Magpies seem to seldom win but almost never lose, their last league loss coming against Liverpool in August. If Liverpool can repeat its August success over the Magpies, it could mark a turning point in what has been a disappointing season for the Reds. A win would move Liverpool to within six points of Newcastle in the table.

Tottenham Hotspur would welcome a Liverpool result as Spurs are currently only two points behind Newcastle, though having played one additional match. Manager Antonio Conte will be absent when his club hosts West Ham Sunday as he takes time away to recover from recent surgery. The Hammers are now on a three-match unbeaten run after they had fallen into the relegation zone with a run of six losses in seven matches. West Ham’s recent improvement has included 1-1 draws with both Newcastle and Chelsea and a win over Everton which sealed the fate of Everton Manager Frank Lampard.

Brighton and Fulham are sixth and seventh in the table, respectively, both on 35 points and separated only by the Seagulls superior goal differential. The two clubs meet at Brighton’s American Express Community Stadium Saturday in a match which could be pivotal to the chase for European qualification.

Brentford, meanwhile, is just one point behind the Seagulls and Cottagers and hasn’t lost since October. The Bees host a Crystal Palace side this weekend that is still seeking a first win of the new year. The Bees’ Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo both present scoring threats which Crystal Palace fans can only dream about. Toney trails only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane in the chase for the Premier League Golden Boot.

There are no Golden Boot contenders on Chelsea’s squad and the 10th place Blues have the lowest goal total of any club in the top half of the table. Manager Graham Potter experienced similar problems finding goals while managing Brighton and that should be a concern for Chelsea supporters. Stamford Bridge will get a visit from bottom of the table Southampton Saturday as Chelsea should have a golden opportunity to win for just the third time in its last 14 league matches played. Southampton is still without a manager after the sacking of Nathan Jones which followed last week’s embarrassing loss to Wolverhampton. A potential Jesse Marsch appointment collapsed during the week as the Saints will now look elsewhere.

Wolves, meanwhile, have won three of their last four matches under manager Julen Lopetegui which included the remarkable 10-man comeback at Southampton last week. Wolves host Bournemouth Saturday as the relegation bound Cherries’ look for their first win since the second week of November.    


European Results 

There was little surprise when both Premier League sides lost their Champions League matches this week. Neither Tottenham Hotspur nor Chelsea would qualify for next year’s Champions League based on their league standing if the season were to end today. Spurs fell 1-0 to defending Serie A champion AC Milan as former Manchester City player Brahim Diaz scored for the Italian side. Chelsea lost by the same 1-0 score to Borussia Dortmund. Disheartening for Chelsea fans was the sight of newly acquired Enzo Fernandez, the most expensive player in Premier League history, being burned for the Borussia Dortmund goal as he couldn’t match the pace of Dortmund goal scorer Karim Adeyemi. Manchester United had a better day on Thursday, taking a point in a 2-2 draw at Barcelona in the clubs’ Europa League match. Marcus Rashford continued his scintillating goal scoring spree, scoring his 22nd goal across all competitions this season and matching his full season personal best. 
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Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Matchweek 23 Results: The Race Is On As Man City Heads To Arsenal Wednesday!

Arsenal risks its first place standing in the table for the first time since August when the Gunners host Manchester City on Wednesday. The Gunners dropped points for a second consecutive match in a 1-1 draw with Brentford. It was the first time this season that Arsenal has gone two league matches without a victory. Manchester City, meanwhile, took advantage of the Gunners’ misfire to move within three points of Arsenal after the defending league champions smashed Aston Villa 3-1 at the Etihad. Brentford’s Ivan Toney ruined the day for Arsenal fans in the 74th minute at the Emirates when his 15th goal of the season equalized a match Arsenal hoped to have won with Leandro Trossard’s first goal as a Gunner just eight minutes earlier. A VAR review of a possible offside on Toney’s goal yielded no fruit for the Gunners.

 

Manchester City capitalized with its romp over suddenly struggling Aston Villa on Sunday. Rodri, Gundogan and Mahrez all tallied in the first half against a Villa side which has now given up seven goals in its last two matches. Ollie Watkins scored the second half consolation goal for Villa. Manchester City has now responded to its own recent slump in form and multiple allegations of financial impropriety by positioning itself to take control of the Premier League title chase once again. The Citizens possess the superior goal differential which would nudge them past Arsenal with a win on Wednesday. 

Manchester United is also creeping closer to the Gunners after a 2-0 win over managerless Leeds on Sunday. Marcus Rashford continued his dream season with his 12th Premier League goal and 24th score across all competitions. Alejandro Garnacho responded to recent criticism of his performances by manager Eric ten Hag by knocking home the Red Devils’ insurance goal. The Red Devils drew to within five points of Arsenal though they have played two more matches than the Gunners. 

Manchester United also put five points between themselves and fourth place Newcastle after a league leading 11th draw by the Magpies in a 1-1 decision at Bournemouth. Miguel Almiron’s goal in first half stoppage time earned the point against Newcastle Manager Eddie Howe’s former club. The draw was a fifth in the last six league matches for Newcastle which has managed to improve its advantage over Tottenham Hotspur for the final Champions League place during that run.

 

Spurs lost for a third time in six matches in a 4-1 defeat to suddenly dangerous Leicester. The Foxes have scored four goals in each of their last two matches, both victories which have helped to quell potential relegation battle concerns. Each four goal outburst by the Foxes featured four individual scorers for manager Brendan Rodgers’ suddenly robust attack. Spurs, meanwhile, suffered the heavy defeat just a week after a 1-0 triumph over Manchester City, continuing a trend of inconsistent performances which have maddened club supporters. Fifth place Tottenham Hotspur now trails Newcastle by two points and has played one more match than the Magpies. 

Brighton and Hove Albion are four points behind Spurs with two matches in hand after the Seagulls drew 1-1 with rival Crystal Place in the M23 derby. A Pervis Estupinan goal which would have provided all three points for the Seagulls was incorrectly ruled out by VAR. The Premier League’s referee association apologized to both Brighton and Arsenal (for an incorrect ruling on Brentford’s equalizing goal) after a rough weekend for officials. 

Fulham rebounded from a three-match winless run by thumping Nottingham Forest by a 2-0 margin at Craven Cottage. The Cottagers eased back ahead of Brentford into seventh position in the table by inflicting the first defeat of 2023 upon Nottingham Forest. 

Chelsea and West Ham tortured supporters for 90 minutes plus stoppage time in a dreary 1-1 result at London Stadium. Joao Felix scored his first goal for Chelsea in the 16th minute. West Ham’s Emerson equalized in the 28th minute. That was it. Futility for the balance of the match was such that neither side had a shot on target in the second half. 

Sean Dyche, after an exhilarating win over Arsenal, witnessed a more common Toffee performance on Monday when the new Everton manager saw his club fall 2-0 at Liverpool. A dreadful Everton attack, which had defeated Arsenal on a corner headed in by defender James Tarkowski, managed just a single shot on target at Anfield this week. Liverpool had gone three matches without scoring before seeing Mohamed Salah and Cody Pakpo find the net against their crosstown rival. The momentary elation over the derby victory does little to alleviate the gloom of a season which has Liverpool ninth in the league table. Everton, meanwhile, occupies the relegation zone with co-inhabitants Bournemouth and Southampton. 

Southampton is back in the manager search business again after the club mercifully sacked Nathan Jones after a short but odious stint as Saints manager. Jones took over in November after the sacking of Ralph Hasenhuttl. The Welsh manager, having previously succeeded only at Luton, presented an odd choice and soon proved his doubters correct. Jones lost seven of his first eight league matches in charge of the Saints. After throwing his players under the bus and claiming supporters were contributing to his lack of success, Jones was on shaky ground entering the weekend match with Wolves. Redemption teased momentarily as the Saints took a 1-0 lead and Wolves went down to 10 men. Unfortunately for Jones, his club collapsed against an opponent with a more accomplished manager in Julen Lopetegui. Wolverhampton scored twice, despite being a man down, to take all three points in a 2-1 victory. Jones ran quickly down the tunnel after the ignominious defeat, failing to acknowledge players or supporters after the match. He was sacked the next morning, ending the shortest managerial tenure in Southampton’s history. 

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Premier League in Europe

Champions League

The Champions League commences Round of Sixteen play this week with two Premier League participants travelling to the continent. Tottenham Hotspur visits defending Serie A champion AC Milan on Tuesday. The Italian side is fifth in recent table standings, the same position Spurs currently holds in the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur Manager Antonio Conte this week questioned his players ability to play under pressure. It should be telling how his players respond to their poor performance of the weekend and the questioning by the manager. Chelsea is at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. Dortmund is third in the Bundesliga, just three points behind table leader Bayern Munich. Chelsea, meanwhile, have been shambolic in dropping all the way to ninth in the Premier League table. New manager Graham Potter has his hands full in trying to assimilate a multitude of expensive new players into a coherent style of play. Critics of Potter will highlight that Chelsea are suffering some of the same goal scoring issues which afflicted Potter’s Brighton teams.

Europa League

Manchester United heads to Barcelona Thursday for a classic match between two of the biggest names in world football. Both sides have had their struggles in recent years but seem on the upswing. Barcelona’s financial problems forced the legendary Lionel Messi to PSG. The Spanish club has retooled, however, and currently leads rival Real Madrid by 11 points at the top of the La Liga table. Manchester United has emerged from the controversial departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to climb to third in the Premier League. Supporters are thinking titles could be in store under Manager Eric ten Hag who has been getting elite goal scoring from star Marcus Rashford since the World Cup break.












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