Premier League Picks Of The Week 30

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 30

The 30th week of the Premier League action saw:

29 goals - most by Leicester & Tottenham = 4 each
229 shots - most by Huddersfield = 30!!!
79 on target - most by Chelsea = 11
116 corners - most by Liverpool = 13
180 fouls - most by Liverpool = 16
25 yellow cards - most by Swansea & Leicester = 3 each
2 red cards - Anthony Knockaert for Brighton, Jordan Ayew for Swansea
2 penalties - 0 scored

What a game! It could not have been more one-sided at Huddersfield, 30-0 shots, Swansea down to ten men after just ten minutes when Jordan Ayew was sent off for catching Jonathan Hogg with his studs. Keeper and MOTM Łukasz Fabiański was kept busy busy busy, but the Welsh side somehow held on, it ended 0-0 and a point each!!! Swans boss Carlos Cavalhal was full of praise, understandably, the Portuguese called it an epic point, and it was, whilst Tigers manager David Wagner was left wondering WTF?! Krass!!!

Arsenal avoided losing a fourth league game in a row for the first time in over 30 years thanks to PETR ČECH SAVING A PENALTY!!! That's a first for Arsenal! And the Czech keeper's first since 2011! And finally kept his 200th clean sheet after a long long wait, the first goalkeeper to achieve this feat in the PL! It ended 3-0 against Watford at a half-empty Emirates, the Gunners still making the clear win look difficult. Goals from Shkodran Mustafi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan completed the London side's first league win since 3rd February when they beat Everton 5-1 and Arsène Wenger's 700th win in his 1,222nd match in charge of Arsenal. Party time? I think not.

What a team! West Brom's and West Ham's illness and injury list did not help them, both ended up well thrashed, continuing their miserable form! The prior lost 1-4 against Leicester, the latter 0-3 v Burnley, both Alan Pardew and David Moyes not gaining any points nor fans respectively, it especially over-boiling in the London Stadium, more to that below. Not. Nice.
Chelsea got back to winning ways beating Crystal Palace 2-1 in a dominant display at Stamford Bridge and closing the gap to the top four. Former Liverpool defender Martin Kelly was involved in both goals for the Blues, Willian aided by a deflection for the first, the second a ping pong own goal, Patrick van Aanholt's goal too little too late. Unfortunate for Roy Hodgson once again, finally back on track for Antonio Conte.

What a man! Brighton manager Chris Hughton won the PL manager of the month award for the first time in his career and fully deserved it after seeing his side remain unbeaten for the whole of February. Much in contrast to that form, the Seagulls self-destructed at Everton, conceding two goals and seeing Anthony Knockaert sent off for his mad tackle on Leighton Baines, all in the last half an hour after frustrating the hell out of the Toffees. A Gaëtan Bong own goal broke the deadlock, Cenk Tosun doubled the lead with a quality finish and it could have been worse, Wayne Rooney missing a penalty. Sam Allardyce ended up being happy despite that miss, 2-0 winners which took them up to ninth.

Mauricio Pellegrino accused his side of giving up after watching Southampton downed 3-0 at Newcastle on Saturday, Kenedy scoring twice for the Magpies, the first a lovely turn and take after just 63 seconds, and Matt Ritchie adding a third and more misery on the visitors, leaving the Saints just one point above the relegation zone, Rafael Benítez on the other hand with a big smile. On Monday night, the news of the sacking of the Argentinian boss was confirmed during City's easy 0-2 win at Stoke thanks to David Silva's brace, no surprise there, with neither the news nor the result. Not even 48 hours later, Mark Hughes was announced the new boss, a lot of fans not happy with that news it seems...

What a goal! Marcus Rashford's first-half brace was enough for Manchester United to cut open and beat arch rivals Liverpool 2-1 in the Saturday lunch-time kick-off at Old Trafford, widening the gap between the two in 2nd and 3rd place respectively to five points in the Premier League table. It wasn't the visitors' day, the referee helping the hosts with a lot of decisions, more to that below and click here for my full match report.
Son Heung-min's double made it 1-4 for Tottenham at Bournemouth on Sunday, completing the perfect comeback after falling behind in the seventh minute thanks to Junior Stanislas and losing Harry Kane due to injury in the first half. It was the South Korean's sixth and seventh goal in his last four outings. Dele Alli's equaliser and Serge Aurier's header added up to complete Mauricio Pochettino's 150th league win as a manager to see the club up to third one point ahead of Liverpool after their defeat against United mentioned above.

What the hell?! The referee at Old Trafford missed and messed up a lot. I may be bias, but please, how there weren't any penalties after Antonio Valencia's handball, Ashley Young wrapped himself around Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané was felled down by Marouane Fellaini and how Rashford didn't get booked for his celebrations with the crowd, which would have added up to two bookings a couple of minutes later = red card, is beyond me!!! Aaaaah!!!
It wasn't just one pitch invasion at the London Stadium, but FOUR!!! WTF?! That's taking the mick!!! What the hell happened to the security staff?! Did they forget to do their job?! What about safety of the players and everyone else on and around the pitch?! I understand the fans' frustration, but have you forgotten you are a football fan, as in the sport, the game?! Yes, you can present and demonstrate your frustrations, but please not by disrupting and destroying the game and sport!!!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Man United 2:3 Liverpool - 2:1 or my match report
Everton 1:1 Brighton - 2:0
Huddersfield 2:2 Swansea - 0:0
Newcastle 1:1 Southampton - 3:0
West Brom 1:2 Leicester - 1:4
West Ham 2:1 Burnley - 0:3
Chelsea 1:1 Crystal Palace - 2:1
Arsenal 3:1 Watford - 3:0
Bournemouth 2:2 Tottenham - 1:4
Stoke City 1:2 Man City - 0:2

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and SFR coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 25

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 25

The 25th week of the Premier League action saw:

24 goals - most by Swansea, Liverpool & Bournemouth = 3 each
256 shots - most by Tottenham = 22
68 on target - most by Man City = 10
82 corners - most by Man City = 9
181 fouls - most by Crystal Palace, Newcastle & Burnley = 15 each
22 yellow cards - most by Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Southampton & West Brom = 3 each
0 red cards
5 penalties - 4 scored (Noble for West Ham, Salah for Liverpool, Murray for Brighton, Vardy for Leicester)

What a game! A lot of my predictions went out of the window once again, more to Arsenal's and Manchester United's embarrassing shockers below. Stamford Bridge witnessed a surprise-and-a-half too. Defending champions Chelsea didn't record a single shot on target in the first half. Man of the match Callum Wilson was a constant threat and woke the home side up when the former Coventry striker gave Bournemouth the lead six minutes after the break. Two goals in three minutes by former Hammer Junior Stanislas and former Chelsea centre back Nathan Aké totally downed the Blue ship, where was the defence?! Antonio Conte wasn't a happy man, having a dig at the fact his side had to play on transfer deadline day. I don't think the display nor result cheered the fiery Italian man up... Eddie Howe on the other hand and much in contrast was a very happy and proud man and rightly so, the Cherries unbeaten in six league games and scoring three goals at a top six side in the Premier League for the first time.

What a team! Swansea are flying high, climbing out of the relegation zone for the first time since November (at least for the night, they are still off the bottom after Wednesday's matches) after recording another shock win, this time against Arsenal, 3-1 at the Liberty Stadium. More to that match below.
Manchester City beat West Brom nice and comfortably at the Etihad, widening the gap at the top to 15 points thanks to Fernandinho, an excellent Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Agüero of course and their utter dominance, no surprise there. Pep Guardiola was still shouting and gesturing till the end but surely couldn't have been happier, especially with everyone else around them crashing and crumbling. 15 POINTS!!! FIFTEEN!!!

What a man! Carlos Carvalhal is working wonders at Swansea after seeing the Welsh side record back-to-back wins for the first time this season, shocking Liverpool last week and Arsenal this week, and I believe the Portuguese when he said the win tasted "like honey". Sweet. Arsène Wenger on the other hand is not winning over any fans with this kind of display and only three wins in 13 away league games this season. A top four finish is looking less and less likely for the Gunners. Merde! Ex-Arsenal man Theo Walcott's double that helped Everton beat Leicester on his debut after the January transfer must have added salt to the wound... Putain!

What a goal! Taxi for Petr Čech! What a giveaway it was by the Arsenal keeper to hand Jordan Ayew a tap-in which gave the Swans the lead. Sam Clucas' double either side of that blooper levelled the score just about a minute after Nacho Monreal had given the Gunners the lead and then sealed the win for the Welsh side.
It was a smacker-and-a-half by Emre Can that gave Liverpool the lead at Huddersfield and calmed the nerves. Roberto Firmino doubled the lead from a tight angle before Mohamed Salah made it three goals and three points from the spot for the Reds. Click here for all my match notes.
It was a massive goal for Newcastle against Burnley, especially after their penalty miss, scored by captain Jamaal Lascelles, set up by new signing Kenedy's corner. Clarets keeper Nick Pope saved Joselu's tame spot kick denying the Magpies a breakthrough earlier on. Rafael Benítez's men are the 18th team to win a penalty in the PL this season, Sean Dyche's side and Swansea the only clubs yet to be given one in 2017-18. But the visitors had the last laugh at St James' Park, Sam Vokes levelling the score late on thanks to an evil bounce coming off keeper Karl Darlow, an own goal in the end. More misery on Tyneside. Loved Kevin Keegan's quote in the crowd (see pic). All over the crowd. Wow.

What the hell?! Christian Eriksen put Tottenham ahead against Manchester United with only the sixth touch of the match, 10.44 seconds in! David de Who? The Red Devils (tried to) hit back from the restart, but Spurs held solid, what a start it was at Wembley! But, as it turned out and replays showed, Harry Kane was in the opposition's half on kick-off, the goal shouldn't have stood. VAR anyone? The England top striker kept mocking, beating and running United's defense into bits. Defender Phil Jones' own goal off Kieran Trippier's cross doubled Mauricio Pochettino's side's lead, United boss José Mourinho fuming on the sideline. Not so fuming I bet you when seconds later Antonio Valencia fouled Dele Alli in the box but nothing was given. That's what the English midfielder gets from all his diving... Who wants to be a ref, ey?! It could have been 7 or 8 for Spurs after that, if it weren't for the Spanish stopper that has saved United so many times. It stayed 2-0, three big points for the London side in the race for the top four, their opponents nowhere near them on Sunday, chasing shadows. Mourinwho?

My Predictions - Actual Results
Swansea 1:3 Arsenal - 3:1
West Ham 2:2 Crystal Palace - 1:1
Huddersfield 1:2 Liverpool - 0:3 or my match notes
Chelsea 1:0 Bournemouth - 0:3
Everton 1:1 Leicester - 2:1
Newcastle 0:0 Burnley - 1:1
Southampton 1:0 Brighton - 1:1
Man City 4:1 West Brom - 3:0
Stoke City 2:0 Watford - 0:0
Tottenham 2:2 Man United - 2:0

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and SFR coverage.

Crazy Six-Goal Draw At Arsenal

Sports - Football - Premier League - AFC 3:3 LFC

Three goals in 388 crazy second-half seconds saw Arsenal come back from two goals down, but Liverpool grabbed a third to make it 3-3 and a point each in a gob-smacking encounter at the Emirates on Friday Night Football.

The Reds bossed the Gunners around in the first half and could have been three or four goals up at the break.

Despite losing captain Jordan Henderson early on due to a suspected hamstring injury, James Milner replacing him, the visitors dominated.

But only Philippe Coutinho's first headed goal for the club separated the two sides at half time, both Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah missing a couple of sitters.

The great Egyptian doubled the visitors' lead after the interval with a deflected strike after another one of his great individual runs, recording his 15th league goal of the season.

It looked like Jürgen Klopp's side were going to crush the home side, such was their command.

But suddenly Arsène Wenger's men woke up!

Alexis Sánchez headed in Hector Bellerin's cross from close range before Simon Mignolet failed to save Granit Xhaka's powerful strike from 25 yards.

A couple of minutes later Mesut Özil clipped the ball over Mignolet off Alexandre Lacazette's cheeky back heel to make it 3-2 and turn the game on its head.

Liverpool were gob-smacked. Frozen, zoned-out defence + slow, insecure keeper = three goals conceded in 388 seconds, their confident two-goal lead out the window.

It was end-to-end stuff after that goal-rush, both sides looking to add more to the scoreboard.

The Reds had the final say thanks to man of the match Roberto Firmino's powerful finish, Arsenal keeper Petr Cech could only slow it down but not stop it from bouncing over the line.

So, 3-3 it ended, the point keeping Liverpool in fourth and Arsenal in fifth, a point between the two.

Under Klopp, the Reds have lost 43 points in the league from winning positions, the most of any team in Europe.

There is no doubt in their strike force, the "Fab Four", but it's the back that crumbled and leaked too much once again.

But hey, we're used to goals galore between these two sides!

There have been 27 goals scored in the past five Premier League meetings (10 for Arsenal, 17 for Liverpool), an average of 5.4 goals per game!

Liverpool have scored 54 away goals in all competitions in 2017, their most in a calendar year since 1982 (66).

And since Klopp's first Premier League game in October 2015, the Reds have seen 279 goals in their games (174 scored, 105 conceded), more than any other side.

I don't know whether to cheer or cry or both, because we're so awesome and useless at the same time (front and back respectively, contrast).

Something/someone has to change in January to make sure these insecurities don't end up costing and make us drop out of the top four!

Arsenal Goals: Sánchez 53', Xhaka 56', Özil 58'.

Liverpool Goals: Coutinho 26', Salah 52', Firmino 71'.

Arsenal Team: 33 Cech; 24 Bellerin, 6 Koscielny (c), 18 Monreal (20 Mustafi 45'), 30 Maitland-Niles; 10 Wilshere, 29 Xhaka; 17 Iwobi (booked 58') (23 Welbeck 78'), 11 Özil, 7 Sánchez (14 Walcott 89'); 9 Lacazette. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 13 Ospina, 31 Kolasinac, 34 Coquelin, 35 Elneny.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 12 Gomez, 6 Lovren, 17 Klavan, 26 Robertson; 14 Henderson (c) (7 Milner 13'), 23 Can; 11 Salah, 10 Coutinho (21 Oxlade-Chamberlain 84'), 19 Mané (5 Wijnaldum 80'); 9 Firmino. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 20 Lallana, 29 Solanke, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

HT Stats: AFC 0-1 LFC
Possession: 52%-48%
Shots: 4-8
On target: 0-4
Corners: 3-3
Fouls: 4-4

FT Stats: AFC 3-3 LFC
Possession: 54%-46%
Shots: 11-14
On target: 4-9
Corners: 7-8
Fouls: 9-11
Yellow cards: 1-0

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Man of the match: Roberto Firmino
Ground: Emirates
Attendance: 59,409

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Twitter and SFR coverage.

Liverpool Thrash Sorry Arsenal 4-0

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 4:0 AFC

Liverpool thrashed Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield, no competition, full stop.

The Reds were in total control from kick-off to the final whistle and could have scored more against the Gunners in the Super Sunday clash.

The first goal was great, a nice header from Roberto Firmino with 17 minutes gone, off a cross by Joe Gomez, who did well down the right.

The second was a superb counter attack, Sadio Mané finishing off nicely with a curled effort after a quick run on the left and Firmino picked him out spot-on.

Jürgen Klopp's men were dictating nearly everything and Arsène Wenger had to make changes after the break.

But neither Francis Coquelin nor Olivier Giroud or Alexandre Lacazette made any difference, the first brought on at the start of the second half, the other two just past the hour.

Shambolic stuff followed after the interval, just before the double-change was made by the visitors.

Hector Bellerin gave the ball away off an Arsenal corner for Mohamed Salah to pounce on it, with a clear run on goal, and slot it home to make it 3-0, a cool finish past Petr Cech.

No one was left back by the Gunners. And it didn't get any better, they just didn't wake up.

The Reds were left free to dance and prance all over them, sub Daniel Sturridge making it 4-0 with just under a quarter of an hour to go, heading the ball in with plenty of time and space.

Cech has conceded 30 goals against Liverpool, more than any other side in the Premier League.

It was 10-0 in shots on target. It was the first time since 2014 Arsenal didn't get any attempts towards the goal.

This no-show performance by Arsenal was even worse than the 5-1 thrashing I attended with my boyfriend (who is an Arsenal fan) back in February 2014.

Liverpool were just hungrier, more organised, sharper and quicker, pressing, squeezing and squashing anything and everything out of their opponents, not giving them any breathing space or chance whatsoever.

Klopp had raised eyebrows by letting out-of-favour number one Loris Karius start ahead of in-form-ish keeper Simon Mignolet for a clash that is not exactly known and remembered for its lack of goals. Quite the opposite.

But apart from the odd shaky reaction to pass backs and not the best kicks, the German stopper didn't get anything to deal with or worry about.

Arsenal were just embarrassing. They didn't offer or form any kind of counter, opposition, cover, defence, form or even will!

Wenger in? Wenger out? Definitely shaking all about!

Meanwhile, this very convincing win will take Liverpool into the international break and transfer deadline day very confident and comfortable up to second place in the league table, two points behind high-flying rivals Manchester United.

Liverpool Goals: Firmino 17', Mané 40', Salah 57', Sturridge 77'.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius, 12 Gomez, (booked), 32 Matip, 6 Lovren (booked), 18 Moreno, 23 Can (16 Grujic 83'), 14 Henderson, 5 Wijnaldum, 11 Salah, 9 Firmino (7 Milner 80'), 19 Mané (15 Sturridge 73').
Subs not used: 52 Ward, 17 Klavan, 29 Solanke, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Arsenal Team: 33 Cech, 16 Holding (booked), 6 Koscielny, 18 Monreal, 15 Oxlade-Chamberlain (9 Lacazette 62'), 8 Ramsey (34 Coquelin 46'), 29 Xhaka (booked), 24 Bellerin, 11 Özil (booked), 7 Sánchez (12 Giroud 62'), 23 Welbeck (booked).
Subs not used: 13 Ospina, 14 Walcott, 20 Mustafi, 31 Kolasinac.

Match Stats: LFC-AFC
Possession: 49%-51%
Shots: 18-8
On target: 10-0
Corners: 4-3
Fouls: 6-9
Yellow cards: 2-4

Referee: Craig Pawson
Man of the match: Sadio Mané
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 53,206

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

All pictures, stats and facts are taken from the BBC match report, SFR & Twitter match coverage.