Several football and race meetings are affected as the freezing weather causes postponements. Read the Rest of this Article…
Browsing Posts published in December, 2009
Arsene Wenger is still mulling over whether to pursue a compensation claim against the Dutch FA. Read the Rest of this Article…
El-Hadji Diouf came off the bench to score against his former club to earn a point from a game between two teams that have forgotten how to win. Read the Rest of this Article…
JOSE MOURINHO should today make his first trip to Chelsea since he was sacked Read the Rest of this Article…
Skysports.com understands Leicester are set to extend the loan stay of Ryan McGivern until the end of the season. Read the Rest of this Article…
THE Reds finally got back to winning ways but has their form improved at last? Read the Rest of this Article…
Craig Bellamy has insisted he has no problem with Roberto Mancini and vowed to stay at Manchester City. Read the Rest of this Article…
Something of a pivotal weekend for the Premier League this week. Chelsea dropped points, United won three points and the big clash between Arsenal and Villa was won by Arsenal. Suddenly, there is a bit of a gap between the top three and the rest. Arsenal have a game in hand over United and Chelsea and if we [...]
Something of a pivotal weekend for the Premier League this week.
Chelsea dropped points, United won three points and the big clash between Arsenal and Villa was won by Arsenal.
Suddenly, there is a bit of a gap between the top three and the rest.
Arsenal have a game in hand over United and Chelsea and if we imagine that they have played and won that game, they find themselves sandwiched between Chelsea and United by a point either side.
Fourth placed Villa would find themselves five points adrift. And therein lies the gap.
I have said from the start that this title would be contested between Chelsea and United and I am not going to change on that score. To see Arsenal up there at this stage is nothing new.
The key test for Arsenal will come around February because February/March is where the wheels have tended to fall off for them in recent years as they have gone from featuring prominently in all competitions to being virtually out of the lot at that point.
With that in mind then perhaps the cruncher for them will come on the 7th February when they take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
As for Chelsea, well, they have been stuttering like mad in recent weeks and have won just one of their last five Premier League games. We now enter January and (in my opinion) their two most influential players – Drogba and Essien – are about to be taken out of the equation for a few weeks as they enter the African Cup of Nations.
If Chelsea can cope without them for a month or so and pick up full points whilst they are away (not totally unlikely – the fixture list has been fairly kind to them) then they will be the team to beat for the remainder of the season.
As before, the clash against Arsenal at the start of February (when Drogba and Essien will be back) could be crucial.
As for us, well, we have had the most horrendous injury list to cope with and, if the truth be told, we haven’t really coped with it. Defeats to in-form Villa and Fulham may not be totally shameful but they were costly and under normal circumstances, we would have been looking for at least two points from those two games.
However, things are coming back together and with the possibility of the long-term injured coming back during the next few weeks, as well as the possibility of a signing in January, it is all starting to look a bit rosier for us Reds.
It’s going to be a cracking second half to the season but I still maintain that come the end, it will all be about Chelsea and United.
We still have to meet each other at Old Trafford and that match could well be the decider because I don’t think it will be won by more than a couple of points by either team.
Personally, I think that Manchester United are totally overpriced at 3.4 to win the Premier League and I have had a bit of that with Canbet.
Sports presenter back at home after he was taken ill during ESPN’s coverage of match between Liverpool and Wolves. Read the Rest of this Article…
Sunday, 27th December 2009 – KO: 16:00 Luckily, due to the fact that it has been a week since our last match, the defensive crisis has had a chance to clear up a little bit and Fergie has confirmed that both Da Silva brothers are fit to play and he is hoping that one of either [...]
Sunday, 27th December 2009 – KO: 16:00
Luckily, due to the fact that it has been a week since our last match, the defensive crisis has had a chance to clear up a little bit and Fergie has confirmed that both Da Silva brothers are fit to play and he is hoping that one of either Vidic or Brown may be fit for this one.
If this is the case then it could mean that either Carrick or Fletcher can be moved back into their midfield position (I would have thought Fletcher more than Carrick).
Anyway, things are starting to look a bit brighter from the point of view of the squad.
What of this game?
Well, our two games against Hull last season both ended in close wins for United (4-3 at Old Trafford and 1-0 at Hull) but it must be said that neither can really be used as a gauge of form between the two sides. The first game came during Hull’s purple patch at the beginning of the season. Towards the end of the season, after a really promising start, they went into freefall and came within a whisker of being relegated and it was on this last game of the season that we beat them 1-0 with an understrength side (it was another Darron Gibson thunderbolt from 30 yards that proved the difference that day).
Fortunately for them, results went their way that day and their Premier League status was confirmed for another season.
And so we meet them again today and we find them second from the bottom of the table – the main reason for this is that they have yet to win away from home and have only picked up two points from their nine away games. Their home form is substantially better (fifteen points from nine games including four wins).
So, being at home and having seen our performances in the last couple of weeks, they might well come into this one with a bit of confidence that they can cause a bit of an upset and possibly catapult themselves out of the relegation zone at the same time.
Personally, I think we will have too much for Hull regardless of who Fergie plays but I think it will be a close game. Only Tottenham (5-1 at the start of the season) have gone to Hull and really turned them over so far this season.
The thing with United at the moment is that we do look dodgy at the back and the strikers are extremely unpredictable. We could win this one 1-0 or 4-3 (just like last season) and neither result would come as a shock.
If we run out very convincing winners (as we have done in some of our away games so far this term) that would also not be a massive shock.
With this in mind, I am going to back United to beat Hull by two clear goals but with a very small stake.
The bet is 2 points Manchester United -1.5 AH @ 2.19 with Paddy Power.
