BY STEVE AYOO
It’s almost hard to believe that
the Barclays English Premier League is back. I mean wasn’t it just yesterday when
we saw Gerrard slip, Moyes’ turbulent career at United come to a crushing end,
Suarez dazzle, Raheem Sterling comes of age, Arsenal celebrate fourth place ‘title’
and eventually Manchester City lift the title? Ok maybe it’s just me who is
still struggling to come to terms with the happenings of - for lack of a better
word – last season.
And so, last weekend, two clubs
underlined just why they are on top of bookmakers’ list as title favorites.
Manchester City struggled but eventually edged Newcastle United 2-0 while
Chelsea had its new boys banging the goals as they collected a 3-1 win over
promoted side Burnley. Manchester United learned preseason and the EPL are like
water and petrol while Liverpool began their Suarez-less era with a nervy 2-1
win over their feeder club Southampton.
So what’s going to happen this
weekend? Here’s you first 2014-15 season dose of Thesteifmaster EPL
predictions. 36 to go…
Chelsea 2 0 Leicester (Saturday, 1700hrs)
Chelsea began their 2014-15 title
hunt with a comfortable 3-1 win over Burnley last weekend. The Blues had the
three points in the bag even before half time with Diego Costa opening his
account in Premier League kit before Andre Schurrle and Branislav Ivanovic also
netted. Chelsea’s new boys, Costa and Cesc Fabregas were particularly remarkable,
the former proving he was no Fernando Torres after slotting his first goal home
in his maiden Premier League appearance for Jose Mourinho’s men while Fabregas
looked to have picked from where he left three seasons ago with two assists. No
more goals came in the second half. Chelsea face another promoted side,
Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. The Foxes drew 2-2 against
Everton in their first Premier League match since their relegation into the championship
almost 10 years ago. Nigel Pearson’s side will be a tougher proponent as
compared Burnley but Chelsea’s quality at the moment makes them formidable
especially against such lowly opposition. A comfortable win and a clean sheet
for Thibaut Courtois.
Everton 2 1 Arsenal (Saturday, 1930hrs)
Everton were forced to share spoils
with Leicester last weekend after Chris Woods’ 86th minute strike
drew the game 2-2. The Toffees are now without a win in their last 6 matches,
five of which were in preseason against opponents you would have expected them
to stick their boots in. Roberto Martinez’s side last win came on the last day
the Premier League against Hull City. Record signing Romelu Lukaku played the
full match but did not put his name on the scoresheet. Arsenal left it late
against manager-less Crystal Palace with Aaron Ramsey scoring at the death for
a 2-1 win. Ramsey then saw himself receive a red card in the midweek 0-0 draw
in a Champions League qualifier match against Besiktas. This match will be a test
for the two clubs and perhaps give us an early indication of who can finish
where. However, with Everton at home, they will be keen to reward the fans with
a win after such a long wait. My guts tell me Lukaku will be up for the
challenge and score the winner here.
Sunderland 1 1 Manchester United (Sunday, 1800hrs)
Different manager, different
season, different tactics, different captain, same ole same ole Manchester
United. United fans thought this was the season they were going to remind all
ye naysayers who have been celebrating their horrific fall last season who’s
the real boss in English football. After all, they had appointed a manager who
led a team to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup, a man whose reputation as a
no-nonsense manager is known to many, a man who has won titles wherever he has
gone. Admittedly, it’s early, almost amateurish to judge the performance of
Louis Van Gaal and indeed Manchester United on one loss but the 2-1 defeat
against Swansea was a confidence batterer, even more so given it happened at
Old Trafford. The Dutch coach knows only so well saying, "When you have
preparation, win everything, then lose your first match, it cannot be worse…We have built up a lot of confidence. It will be smashed because
of this."
Very well put given that the Red Devils had a 100% record in preseason winning
all their matches which included games against Liverpool, Real Madrid, Inter
Milan and AS Roma. But that was that. United have a chance to right the wrong
when they face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday evening. The Black
Cats drew 2-2 with West Brom in their season opener and will fancy themselves rocking
United’s ship before it steadies. The two met four times last season with Sunderland
winning thrice to United’s once and that was in the league at home to
Sunderland. Will Van Gaal’s first step of steadying the ship begin here? A hard
fought draw I expect.
Manchester City 2
2 Liverpool (Monday, 2200hrs)
It’s not always common that you
find two clubs who will no doubt be involved in the Premier League title dogfight
clash this early in the season. Liverpool pushed Manchester City to the bitter
end during last season’s title run with the Manchester club just about edging
in after the Merseysiders slipped towards the end. Liverpool have since lost
the services of Luis Suarez but reinforced the squad by signing close to a full
team as they seek to remain steady after the departure of the Uruguayan. The
likes of Lazar Markovic, Emre Can, Javier Manquillo, Alberto Moreno and
Southampton trio Adam Lallan, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert have all been
brought in to bolster a squad that will be stretched to the limit with added responsibilities
of Champions League football. Mario Balotelli is also on his way but he will
unlikely be ready to face his former employers after completing his £16m move from AC Milan. That leaves Liverpool
with Daniel Sturridge as the main man up front heading into this early title
decider match. The English forward continues to hit the heights for Liverpool
and scored over the weekend in the 2-1 win over Southampton. The No. 23
alongside young Raheem Sterling are Liverpool’s new ‘SAS’ and looks like they
are already in business after they both scored with Sterling setting up
Sturridge for the winner. Man City are awash with world class players and are
widely expected to mount yet another serious title charge. Liverpool are in the
mix, though not in equal terms. The two already met during the preseason with
Liverpool winning on post-match penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time. City
will be favorites to win this match but expect the Reds to give it a real go. A
scoring draw on a Monday night isn’t so bad.
And That’s
thesteifmastertake!!
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