Premier League Picks Of The Week 14

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 14

The 14th week of the Premier League action saw:

266 shots - most by Tottenham = 28
37 goals - most by Arsenal & Tottenham = 5 each
223 fouls - most by Swansea & Liverpool = 17 each
42 yellow cards - most by Chelsea, Saints, Swans, Arsenal, Hammers, Sunderland, Stoke & Man United = 3 each
3 red cards - Agüero & Fernandinho for Man City & Pereyra for Watford
3 penalties -  3 scored (Kane for Spurs, Baines for Everton & Wilson for Bournemouth)

Thumbs up, happy Pardew 👊🏻😉👍🏻

Jolly, chatty Mourinho 😑😑😑

Taxi for Forster ⚽️😱🙈😱⚽️

What a game! There were plenty of goals and talking points again this weekend, but the clash at the Etihad gets my vote. It had a little bit of everything. Gary Cahill's own goal opened the scoring for City. Kevin De Bruyne was made to pay for his miss right in front of goal when stubborn Cesc Fabregas levelled the score minutes later. Willian's counter break, run and take and Eden Hazard's whack made it 1-3, another counter, winner and devastating statement that crushed Pep Guardiola's men, mourning all their earlier misses dearly. And the mayhem at the end that saw Sergio Agüero sent off for his outrageous scissor tackle on David Luiz and Fernandinho walk off with him for his chokes and push on Fabregas just topped it all off, the latter lucky not to end up in the books too for his cheekiness. Although, I am sure the FA will pull up, question and punish both sides for the teams clashing as they did, either way, Antonio Conte's men ended up on top of it all, with or without outstanding class or quality.

What a team! And Leicester's downfall continues. Their defeat at Sunderland sees Claudio Ranieri's side hover two points and two places above the relegation zone having taken just 13 points from the opening 14 games, 14 places and 16 points worse off than at this stage last season. David Moyes will be a much happier man seeing his side record their third win in four games thanks to Robert Huth's own goal and non-other than Jermain Defoe, plus great late saves by Jordan Pickford, taking the Black Cats up to 18th, one point behind West Ham in 17th.

What a man! Alan Pardew was all smiles and thumbs up to chairman Steve Parish, thanking his boss for backing him up against the pressure and scrutiny of the board and lack of form, and paying him back with a win, a comfortable and confident 3-0 against Southampton. The win takes the Eagles up to 14th with a nice little three-point cushion to the relegation zone. Claude Puel's side meanwhile crumble down to 12th continuing their poor away form with a win rate of just 14%.

What a goal! Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cracker to make it 1:4 for Arsenal destroyed any hope the Hammers had of a comeback after Andy Carroll had headed one back. And man of the match Alexis Sánchez's cheeky step, tip and tap dummy up and in (looked offside but) sealed the thrash 1:5 and his 14-minute hat-trick nicely. This confident win sends the Gunners shooting up to second place, three points and two goals behind the high-flying Blues.

What the hell?! That's what Jürgen Klopp must have thought seeing his side give away a two-goal lead at the Vitality Stadium. The Reds led comfortably at half-time, 2-0 up thanks to Sadio Mané and Divock Origi, in total control and dominance. After the break, Bournemouth hit back from the spot, Callum Wilson converting the penalty. Emre Can restored that two-goal cushion but super-sub Ryan Fraser turned the game around, scoring in the 76th, providing for Steve Cook to equalise two minutes later, and helping in the buildup before Nathan Aké netted the winner in stoppage time. Breathtaking and mind-bending stuff! It was only the 23rd time in 1,062 occasions that a team that was 2-0 up ended up losing = 2.1%, nearly unique! Unglaublich! Click here for my full match report.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Man City 2:2 Chelsea - 1:3
Crystal Palace 0:1 Southampton - 3:0
Stoke City 1:2 Burnley - 2:0
Sunderland 1:2 Leicester - 2:1
Tottenham 2:1 Swansea - 5:0
West Brom 0:0 Watford - 3:1
West Ham 1:3 Arsenal - 1:5
Bournemouth 1:2 Liverpool - 4:3 or click here for my full match report
Everton 2:3 Man United - 1:1
Middlesbrough 0:0 Hull City - 1:0

My worst prediction week yet!!!

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks

Pictures taken from the BBC match reports

Benteke pen completes 10-man Reds comeback

Sports – Football – Premier League – Crystal Palace 1:2 Liverpool

Substitute Christian Benteke was the unlikely hero, scoring a last-minute penalty, handing ten-man Liverpool a dramatic 2-1 win at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace had lead through Joe Ledley’s finish a couple of minutes after the interval, netting the ball following a bit of ping pong in the box off a corner.

Jürgen Klopp’s men saw the frustrating afternoon go from bad to worse when James Milner was sent off for a second yellow card just after the hour-mark.

However, this setback seemed to spurn on the Reds more than before, making them more possessive and productive with the ball.

But it took a slipup by Palace keeper Alex McCarthy to get the visitor back into the match, handing the ball to Roberto Firmino, who couldn’t miss, to make it 1-1 in the 72^nd minute.

Liverpool took over from then on, covering and creating more, Benteke brought on with ten minutes to go and a point to prove.

In the last seconds of stoppage time, Damien Delaney made contact with Benteke’s ankle, bringing down the striker in the box, referee Andre Marriner awarding the penalty guided by his assistant.

Benteke stepped up to put an end to his 715 goalless minutes in all competitions and made no mistake of converting the winner.

It was a very different victory compared to the Reds’ impressive 3-0 win over Manchester City midweek, showing more evidence of Liverpool’s inconsistency and/or a good case of Klopp’s renowned resistance/comeback philosophy/mentality (aka “Gegenpressing”).

Liverpool ran further as a team than Palace over 90 minutes (113km-111km respectively), man of the match Adam Lalllana covering most of that and passing 92% accurate, good to watch.

Palace have now gone 12 Premier League matches without a win (D4, L8), the current longest winless run in the top flight, frustrating and disappointing for Alan Pardew and his men, especially after a better first half and taking the lead against Liverpool.

Klopp and his men will take more hope and inspiration from the second half display and comeback, and will need it, facing fears rivals Manchester United next in the Europa League.

Crystal Palace Goals: Ledley 48’.

Liverpool Goals: Firmino 72’ & Benteke pen 96’.

Crystal Palace Team: 12 McCarthy; 12 Souare, 27 Delaney, 6 Dann (booked 11’), 2 Ward; 28 Ledley (26 Sako 82’), 15 Jedineik, 7 Cabaye (22 Mutch 70’), 11 Zaha; 10 Bolasie, 25 Adebayor (Gayle 82’). 4-4-2

Subs not used: 1 Speroni, 14 Lee Chung-Wong, 29 Chamakh & 34 Kelly.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 18 Moreno (booked 86’), 17 Sakho, 6 Lovren, 38 Flanagan (10 Coutinho 61’); 20 Lallana, 23 Can, 14 Henderson (booked 10’), 7 Milner (booked 40’, 2^nd yellow 62’); 11 Firmino (4 Toure 88’); 27 Origi (9 Benteke 80’). 4-4-1-1

Subs not used: 2 Clyne, 15 Sturridge, 24 Allen & 52 Ward.

Referee: Andre Marriner

Man of the match: Adam Lallana

Attendance: 24,709

Match Stats: Crystal Palace-Liverpool

Possession: 62%-38%

Shots: 19-14

On target: 5-4

Corners: 6-6

Fouls: 16-12

Liverpool end season victorius at Anfield

Sports - Football - Premier League - Liverpool 2:1 Newcastle

Liverpool came back from behind to end the season on a winning note, beating 9-man Newcastle 2-1 at Anfield, but with Manchester City's comfortable 2-0 win against West Ham at the Etihad, it meant the title went to the blue side of Manchester for the second time in three seasons.

The Reds started the game a shadow of their usual fiery selves, shaky, wasteful and unable to keep the ball long enough to create a threat.

Star man Luis Suarez did have the ball in the back of the net on 18 minutes, the Uruguayan catching Tim Krul off his line with a quickly taken free kick, but too quickly for referee Phil Dowd's liking, who disallowed the goal as the ball was still rolling.

Seconds later, Anfield was stunned to silence when the Magpies took the lead after Martin Skrtel shinned Youan Gouffran's cross from the left into the back of his own net.

The Slovakian defender now holds the unwanted record of his fourth own goal of the season, taking Liverpool's total conceded to 50 goals in a 38-game top-flight season for the first time since 1914-15.

Gouffran and Shola Ameobi kept working well together for the visitors, pulling a couple of nice stops out of Simon Mignolet, whilst at the other end Suarez and co looked more and more frustrated, not challenging Krul much.

Brendan Rodgers replaced Jon Flanagan with Aly Cissokho after the break, but the frustrating trend of slips and giveaways continued, Glen Johnson being one of the main culprits, and Ameobi not happy with Skrtel's hugs and shirt-rips either.

After the Reds' second change, just before the hour mark, Philippe Coutinho replacing Joe Allen, the game picked up for the home side, and just four minutes later, they were level thanks to Daniel Agger putting in skipper Steven Gerrard's free kick.

That certainly changed the mood at Anfield, and within three minutes, they were ahead after Daniel Sturridge netted another Gerrard free kick.

And things went from bad to worse for Alan Pardew's men when Ameobi was booked and then sent off within quick succession for his protests before the restart. The Nigerian striker went straight down the tunnel after being punished for all his stick and discussions with Dowd.

Newcastle rang in the changes after the dismissal, whilst Liverpool accepted the inevitable, winning here, but with City leading 2-0, the Reds had to concede the title to the Sky Blues.

Raheem Sterling saw his goal disallowed for an obvious offside, before the visitors were reduced to nine men, substitute Paul Dummett seeing red for a stupid lunge on Suarez, the Magpies' fifth dismissal in their last four meetings with Liverpool.

The Reds just ran down the clock after that, ending the game on top 2-1, and the season second on 84 points, five places and 23 points better than last season, their highest finish in five years, and qualified automatically back into the Champions League next season after four seasons away.

Anfield applauded their side and manager, but neither could hide their disappointment after having all their hopes of a first league title in 24 years dashed as Manchester City beat West Ham to be crowned champions. 

Rodgers will have to build around Stevie G. and the SAS/SSS*, especially the back line has to be strengthened after seeing Liverpool be the first team since Tottenham in 1962-63 to score more than 100 league goals and concede 50 goals in the same season.

Mignolet has had a great first season in goal, but the defence has been too shaky and leaked too much and many through. The likes of Skrtel, Johnson, Flanagan, Kolo Toure, and Mamadou Sakho have just not been good enough.

No discrediting the Reds' improvement through, and hopes and chances to challenge at the top again next season, domestically and in Europe. Thanks to BR, SAS/SSS* and Stevie G.! YNWA XxXxX

*SAS/SSS:
*9 - The joint-highest Goal/Assist combinations in the 2013--14 season were Suarez/Sturridge and Suarez/Sterling. (OptaJoe)
*31 - Luis Suarez's goal haul equalled a Premier League record for 38-game season, shared with Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle

Liverpool Goals: 1.: 63' Daniel Agger (5), 2.: 65' Daniel Sturridge (15).

Newcastle Goals: 1.: 20' Martin Skrtel (37) OG.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 38 Flanagan (20 Cissokho 46'), 5 Agger, 37 Skrtel, 2 Johnson; 14 Henderson, 8 Gerrard, 24 Allen (10 Coutinho 59'); 15 Sturridge (21 Lucas 80', booked 89'), 7 Suarez, 31 Sterling. 4-3-3 Subs not used: 1 Jones, 4 Toure, 9 Aspas, 17 Sakho.

Newcastle Team: 1 Krul; 19 Haidera, 27 Taylor (18 de Jong 73'), 2 Coloccini, 6 Williamson, 26 Debuchy (booked 35'); 11 Gouffran (booked 65') (28 Ameobi 78'), 24 Tiote (36 Dummett 82', sent off 87'), 8 Anita (booked 63'), 7 Sissoko; 23 Ameobi (booked 66', sent off 66'). 5-4-1 Subs not used: 3 Santon, 13 Yonga-Mbiwa, 21 Elliot, 37 Satka.

Opta Match Stats: Liverpool-Newcastle

(Attack)
Attempts: 13-8
On target: 5-2
Blocked: 5-3
From outside the box: 7-3
From inside the box: 6-5
Shot Accuracy: 62.5%-40%

(General Play)
Possession: 66.2%-33.8%
Duels won: 52.6%-47.4%
Aerials won: 56.6%-43.5%
Interceptions: 11-16
Offsides: 3-2
Corners: 6-2

(Distribution)
Total Passes: 673-333
Long Passes: 79%-15.6%
Passing Accuracy: 89.9%-78.4%
Pass. Acc. Opp. half: 83.9%-63.6%
Total Crosses: 22-12
Successful: 22.7%-25%

(Defence & Discipline)
Tackles: 15-19
Won: 80%-94.7%
Clearances: 25-26
Fouls conceded: 8-16
Yellow Cards: 1-3
Red Cards: 0-2

Referee: Phil Dowd
Attendance: 44,724
Man of the match: Raheem Sterling

10-man Newcastle hold Liverpool to a 2-2 draw

Sports - Football - Premier League - Newcastle 2:2 Liverpool

Ten-man Newcastle fought out a point against Liverpool after the Reds came back twice form a goal down at St James' Park.

Yohan Cabaye opened the scoring for the hosts with a fine dipping shot from 30 yards past Simon Mignolet.

It was end-to-end stuff with both sides coming close before last man Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa saw red for bringing down Luis Suarez.

Red skipper Steven Gerrard netted the resulting penalty confidently, recording his 100th league goal.

Brendan Rodgers' men looked to take advantage of their extra man, right-back Glen Johnson pulling a scrambling save out of Tim Krul.

However, sub defender Paul Dummett - who was brought of after the sending off - restored the Magpies' lead with a far-post shot off Cabaye's free kick.

The visitors were shocked and shaken and piled on the pressure, Suarez seeing a shot parried by Krul before being cleared.

But the Reds finally broke Alan Pardew's men's stubborn defence when Suarez broke through and crossed for Daniel Sturridge to head in the leveller from close range.

Liverpool continued to press and dominate, Suarez clipping the bar before seeing his injury-time free-kick saved - but they failed to force a winner as Newcastle were relieved by the final whistle.

Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool

Newcastle Goals: 1.: 23.min Yohan Cabaye (4), 2.: 56.min Paul Dummett (36.).

Liverpool: 1.: 42.min Steven Gerrard (8) penalty, 2.: 72.min Daniel Sturridge (15).

Newcastle Team: 1 Krul; 26 Debuchy (booked 86.), 13 Yanga-Mbiwa (sent off 40.), 6 Williamson, 3 Santon; 4 Cabaye (8 Anita - 78.), 24 Tiote; 11 Gouffran (booked 68.), 7 Sissoko (36 Dummett - 45.), 14 Remy; 10 Ben Arfa (28 Ameobi - 78.). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 9 Cisse, 21 Elliot, 23 Ameobi, 25 Obertan.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 4 Toure (booked 71.), 37 Skrtel, 17 Sakho (6 Luis Alberto - 63.); 2 Johnson (31 Sterling - 83.), 14 Henderson, 8 Gerrard (booked 47.), 20 Cissokho; 12 Moses; 15 Sturridge (booked 84.), 7 Suarez. 3-4-1-2
Subs not used: 1 Jones, 5 agger, 24 Allen, 34 Kelly, 38 Flanagan.

Opta Match Stats: Newcastle-Liverpool

(Attack)
Shots: 14-23 
On target: 4-7
Blocked: 3-2
From outside the box: 12-10
From inside the box: 2-13
Shot accuracy: 36.4%-33.3%

(General Play)
Possession: 37.7%-62.3%
Duels won: 45%-55%
Aerial duels won: 44.1%-55.9%
Interceptions: 16-11
Offsides: 0-2
Corners: 3-13

(Distribution)
Total passes: 328-556
Long passes: 12.8%-7.4%
Passing accuracy: 76.2%-87.4%
Passing accuracy opp. half: 61.5%-79.4%
Total crosses: 14-31
Successful crosses: 14.3%-32.3% 

(Defence & Discipline)
Tackles: 21-15
Tackles won: 85.7-80%
Clearances: 38-31
Fouls conceded: 8-10
Yellow cards: 2-3 
Red cards: 1-0

Referee: Andre Marriner
Man of the match: Steven Gerrard
Attendance: 51,703