Barclays Premier League - Gameweek #13 - Preview

The Barclays Premier League is gathering momentum. A quick succession of fixtures await us as Christmas approaches. The long sleeves and gloves are out and so is the yellow matchday ball. Here is a preview for all the fixtures on gameweek thirteen.

ASTON VILLA VS SUNDERLAND

Aston Villa’s stunning turnaround in the West Midlands derby on Monday night did little to stop the rumblings at Villa Park. Villa appear relatively safe in midtable at the moment with 15 points from 12 games but squandering of points from winnable positions is beginning to irritate the Villa faithful. The pity is the promise is there, in the form of Weimann , Benteke and others but Villa are unable to convert their potential into results. They now have a very winnable home game against bottom of the table Sunderland but odds are that they will not seal a no nonsense victory. A predictable predicament indeed.

Sunderland meanwhile have been transformed by the arrival of Gus Poyet. The Uruguayan was savvy in his response to Wes Brown’s contentious sending off. The red card was later rescinded but that doesn’t take away the sense of injustice in Wearside as they lost to direct relegation rivals Stoke City last week. The result though has done nothing to take away the goodwill that Poyet has created and the black cats might just snatch a point here

Man To Look Out For - Jack Colback. He appears largely central to Sunderland’s plans both now and and the future. His ability to control midfield can catch out Villa’s weak one.

CARDIFF CITY VS ARSENAL

Word from the boardroom was that Vincent Tan, the notorious Cardiff owner, would sack Malky Makay had he lost successive games to Manchester United and Arsenal. But the bluebirds snatched a late equaliser against United and now go into the match against Arsenal in a rather confident mood. They have beaten Manchester City in the Cardiff City stadium and held United. So their appetite for the big occasion is unquestionable. Even a point against table topping Arsenal would be a credible result

Arsenal are now in cruise mode once more after that jitter at Old Trafford. Back to back wins against Southampton and Marseille (in the Champions League)sees the Gunners perched prettily atop the Premier League and largely in command of their own fate in Europe. The return of key players Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is imminent though neither are likely to make the trip to Wales. Arsenal’s play lacked legs in the Champions League night and Wenger must perhaps give Mesut Ozil a day off

Man To Look Out For - Olivier Giroud. The big striker can use his physique to get at Steven Caulker, the former Spurs star.

EVERTON VS STOKE CITY

Everton’s conceding of a late equaliser in the Merseyside derby was so frustrating for the Goodison faithful , however that is the nature of the beast when you hire Roberto Martinez. The pretty football which has made many Evertonians claim David Moyes was holding them back all along has been hindered by concession of late goals (ironically a problem Moyes seems to be suffering too at Manchester United). The big plus is the effect that James McCarthy and Romelu Lukaku seem to having on this Everton squad which largely looked stagnant under Moyes. A win would get them 24 points from 13 games, almost 2 points per game which is an amazing start.

The fortunate win against Sunderland arrested a free fall at the Brittania stadium . However , Stoke still face familiar problems as they are unable to break down the opposition. Sure, there is a lot more possession than in the Pulis days but it needs to fetch something that they can show. Charlie Adam and N Zonzi have proved inspirational but soon others need to step up.

Man To Look Out For - Charlie Adam. The Scotsman is looking more like the inspirational Blackpool Captain that we once knew.

NORWICH CITY VS CRYSTAL PALACE

Norwich are taking two steps forward and one step back at the moment. After their encouraging win against West Ham, it was back to square one as they lost in turgid fashion to Newcastle last time around. Chris Hughton’s position is under tremendous scrutiny. Should he lose, Palace will be breathing down their necks. It is really easy for Hughton, just play positively.

Palace fans can breathe a sigh (of exasperation or of relief). Tony Pulis is in town. The manager who takes pride in playing long balls. However, the good side of it is he guarantees safety (having never been relegated). Get a win and Norwich and the fans will take to him instantly. Just 4 points separate the two sides before the match. If Palace lose however and the gap widens to seven. Knowing Hughton and Pulis this would probably be an amicable goalless draw

Man To Look Out For - Robert Snodgrass. The former Leeds winger has a deadly left foot and a moment of magic is never too far away as West Ham found out

WEST HAM UNITED VS FULHAM

In the battle of two struggling managers of London, Big Sam’s West Ham take on Fulham in a crucial London derby. Strikerless, toothless West Ham were absolutely awful in their defeat to Fulham’s neighbours Chelsea last week. The crowds in the Boleyn Ground have begun grumbling again and the Hammers need results and they need it now. There is increasing fears of relegation especially with their summer splash Andy Carroll out indefinitely.

Fulham, the nice mid table side, are essentially no longer that. They are hovering in the relegation zone and Martin Jol’s position is close to perilous. After yet another discouraging defeat against Swansea (and with Sunderland and Palace closing down on them), Fulham need some quick wins in the festive season to continue their pleasant stay in the top flight

Man To Look Out For - Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian scored last time these two sides met , in a 3-1 victory for Fulham. He needs to get his mojo back

NEWCASTLE UNITED VS WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Quite what Joe Kinnear thought when he brought in only a sole loan signing in Loic Remy, we’ll never know. But in contrast to the troubles that the big spenders Tottenham and Man City have gone through this season, Newcastle look more content than ever. Alan Pardew is hitting all the right notes too. Dropping of Hatem Ben Arfa, a crowd favourite, has proved a great idea as Yohan Gouffran’s work rate has really helped the team down the right hand side. And Newcastle are gathering momentum after a bad start.

West Brom meanwhile squandered a two goal lead in the midlands derby. Steve Clarke’s side though, are always up for a big game and St. James’ Park , with it 50000 capacity crowd might just fire up the Baggies like Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge seemed to. After two successive draws , a win would propel them up to ninth atleast for a few hours.

Man To Look Out For - Loic Remy. As predicted, the Frenchman scored again last weekend. He will soon have the big clubs circling around him

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS MANCHESTER UNITED

Oh dear, Andre Villas Boas is on the brink at Tottenham. The likeable Portuguese seems to have alienated all his players when he claimed they should be ashamed of their showing in the humiliation at Manchester City. A shrewder, experienced manager would have taken the blame on himself and diverted attention from the team. Instead, AVB let his players face the music creating a bad atmosphere. The importance of a victory over Man United cannot be stressed enough. They did take four points out of six from United last season.

Man United were absolutely appalling against Cardiff last week but turned on the style in a 0-5 demolition of Leverkusen in Europe. Which United will turn up? Michael Carrick’s injury has been a big blow with none of Marouane Fellaini, Tom Cleverley or Anderson really convincing. Instead the manager fielded 40 year old Ryan Giggs with central defender Phil Jones in midfield and they delivered the goods in Germany in midweek. The United fans wouldn’t mind that combination in midfield again. Van Persie’s involvement remains a doubt.

Man To Look Out For - Moussa Dembele. The Belgian has been a thorn in United’s flesh since his Fulham days and another power packed midfield display might just win Spurs this game.

HULL CITY VS LIVERPOOL

Steve Bruce’s side now have an unthinkable home defeat against Crystal Palace next to their names. The wheels are starting to come off slightly after a bright start. The back to back close , heartbreaking defeats in White Hart Lane (in the league and in the Capital One Cup) seems to have deflated the Tigers. And add to that the entire renaming protest , Hull City is really not in a good place and a morale boosting win is needed.

Liverpool meanwhile snatched a draw , just about, in the Merseyside derby. Joe Allen’s amazing miss aside, they created little in the second half before waking up late on to secure a point. The midfield still remains an issue but Rodgers will point out that his side is second in the league. Chelsea, City and United are close enough to strike and a slip up in Hull is unimaginable

Man To Look Out For - Luis Suarez. Who else? The Uruguayan is in a hot streak at the moment.

CHELSEA VS SOUTHAMPTON

Jose Mourinho’s wretched November continued as Chelsea lost to Basel in midweek. Frank Lampard in particular cut a tired figure. It might be a sad thing but Mourinho needs to admit that Lampard can no longer play successive games. Maybe he can look back at the way that the much maligned Rafael Benitez used Lampard last season. And then , there is the whole Juan Mata issue. Chelsea failed to muster a shot on target on Tuesday and Juan Mata’s non selection is really angering the fans.

Southampton’s dream start faced a reality check in the Emirates Stadium last week and it is Stamford Bridge next for the Saints. Lallana and Rodriguez disappointed against Arsenal and they can really exploit Chelsea’s wider areas as Chelsea’s system allows wingers to get in behind them. Rickie Lambert’s big presence is likely to trouble Gary Cahill (or David Luiz if selected). Dejan Lovren is an assuring presence in the back too.

Man To Look Out For - Demba Ba. With Samuel Eto’o limping off in midweek and Fernando Torres not likely to start, the Senegalese gets a rare chance to impress

MANCHESTER CITY VS SWANSEA

Quite what the Citizens will do when on home turf is very clear. The extent of damage caused to the likes of Man United, Norwich and Spurs tells its own story. However, why is this side still lingering in fourth if it is so good? The answer is that they tend to play badly away from home. However, could it just be that they play bad on alternate weeks (that is they struggle to maintain consistency?) Swansea will certainly hope so. The Aguero-Negredo pair is looking absolutely lethal and Samir Nasri found some form against Plzen.

Swansea got a victory in Fulham last week but then again, who doesnt get one these days? Their narrow defeat to Valencia in midweek is nothing to be ashamed of . The fact they are playing Valencia two years on from when they set foot in the Etihad stadium to play their first Premier League game conveys the distance that Swansea have come. That night however, Swansea were too star struck and lost 3-0 to a rampant City. They will be keen to show that they have come far . Even a point will be a credible result but Laudrup is not known for his pragmatism. Expect entertainment.

Man To Look Out For - Alvaro Negredo. While Aguero has all the plaudits, the Spaniard is on a scoring spree and has shunted Dzeko out of the first team picture