Premier League Picks Of The Week 17

Sports - Football - Premier League -  Week 17

The 17th week of the Premier League action saw:

28 goals - most by Man City, Watford, Southampton and Liverpool = 3 each

238 shots - most by Liverpool = 36

76 on target - most by Liverpool = 11

90 corners - most by Liverpool = 13

187 fouls - most by Wolves = 15

25 bookings - most by Southampton = 3

0 red cards

0 penalties

What a match! Liverpool played Manchester United off the park on Sunday. The Reds’ 3-1 win at Anfield was a let-off for the Red Devils, they could and should have been thrashed by much more, they were so bad, 36-6 shots, 11-2 on target! The opening goal was created by Fabinho with a beautiful cross and finished with a lovely take off the chest and shot in by Sadio Mané (24’). The visitors only got back into the game thanks to Alisson’s spill, netted by Jesse Lingard (33’), the hosts bossed it before and after. But it was substitute Xherdan Shaqiri who made the difference, with his brace shortly (= 144 seconds) after coming on (73’, 80’), both times helped by deflections, winning it for the Scousers. The Swiss is only the second LFC player to score at least two goals in their first game against United, the first since Nigel Clough in January 1994. The win extended the unbeaten run for Jürgen Klopp’s men and took them back to the top, a record 19 points ahead of their bitter rivals, whilst José Mourinho’s side’s misery continues, equalling their worst start to a top-flight season after 17 games back in 1990-91 (also 26 points). Even the Portuguese conceded how much better the opposition were in the match and are in general. Full. Stop.
Hence, it came to no surprise when the news broke on Tuesday, of the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager's dismissal. The more of a surprise was his replacement, former United forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

What a team! Manchester City made an easy recovery from their first league defeat last weekend, brushing aside Everton 3-1 at the Etihad in the early kick-off on Saturday. Gabriel Jesus’ brace (22’, 50’) and Raheem Sterling’s header minutes after coming off the bench (69’) were enough to down the Toffees, Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the only response (65’) against the dominant Citizens. The win put Pep Guardiola’s men back to the top of the table, at least for the day, whilst Marco Silva was left disappointed, with his main men Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson firing blanks and missing sitters, wasting the little and few chances they had, seeing them fail and fall down to eighth. 

What a man! Ralph Hasenhüttl was entertaining to watch on the sideline in his first match as Southampton manager and could not have asked for a better start, shocking and beating Arsenal 3-2 at St Mary’s. The surprise result ended the Saints’ 14-game winless streak and the Gunners’ 22-match unbeaten run. Charlie Austin’s 85th minute winning header ended a cracking contest, that saw Danny Ings (20’, 44’) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (28’, 53’) keep the competitive encounter going with a brace each for either side, strong headers and capitalising takes. Juicy footy. The victory took the Saints out of the drop zone, up to 17th, their Austrian boss left apologising to his counterpart Unai Emery after forgetting to shake hands as emotional celebrations took over. Who can blame him after that epic win?!

Eden Hazard scored one (33’) after having assisted the opener (Pedro 17’) to make sure Chelsea ended up 1-2 winners at Brighton on Sunday, leaving boss Maurizio Sarri relieved and full of praise for the 27-year-old. Blues defender Marcos Alonso was a very lucky man to remain on the pitch after fouling Solly March late on, who had pulled one back for the home side (66'), making the last half an hour a tense affair. Tough luck for the Seagulls.

What a goal! Captain Luka Milivojeviç's stunning strike from 25 yards out gave Crystal Palace the lead against Leicester and ended up securing a much-needed win for Roy Hodgson’s side. It's the first time the Foxes haven’t scored on the road in the league this season. Jamie Vardy got so close, the ball coming back from the inside of the post and back to the keeper. It stayed 1-0 at Selhurst Park to make it three wins on the trot for the home side, taking them up to 15th, two consecutive defeats for the visitors, pushing them down to 12th.

Salomón Rondón scored his 40th PL goal for his club, Newcastle’s first second-half goal of the season, at Huddersfield. With that the Magpies edged past the Terriers, against the run of play, to move six points clear of the drop zone. David Wagner’s side are falling further and further after their fourth successive defeat despite all the chances they created (15-8).

And it was a delightful day for Watford against Cardiff, youngster Domingos Quina making it 3-0 with a lovely turning curler (68’). It could have been double that score if it weren’t for Neil Etheridge’s solid and exemplary display and saves. The Welsh side hit back late on though and got one beautiful curler of their own back to make it 3-1 (Junior Hoilett 80’). Bobby Reid’s back-heeler was deflected, but poked back in (was it offside though?), making it two goals in two minutes and 3-2 (82’). Too little, too late.

Robert Snodgrass’ opening goal from 20 yards put West Ham ahead at Fulham (17’) in the evening kick-off on Saturday. Michail Antonio doubled the Hammers’ lead from close range (29’), the Cottagers unable to defend and keep control at the back. Or the front. They didn’t offer much after that, an easy win and crucial three points for the Hammers, the Cottagers remaining slumped and dumped at the bottom of the table.

What the hell?! How did Dele Ali miss that last-minute chance for Tottenham against Burnley?! Super sub Christian Eriksen made up for it though, to his team mates' relief, scoring the winner moments later in added time, finally breaking Sean Dyche’s men’s resistance, who failed to record a single shot on target at Wembley. Mauricio Pochettino will be a very happy man, being the first Spurs boss to record 100 PL wins in 169 games (10 matches quicker than a certain Arsène Wenger), and a club-record total of PL points after 17 games = 39.

Bournemouth suffered their sixth defeat in seven at Wolves, who won for the third time in a row in the top flight for the first time since March 1980. Worrying times for one, down to tenth, relieving and encouraging for the other, up to seventh.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Man City 1:0 Everton - 3:1

Crystal Palace 0:1 Leicester - 1:0

Huddersfield 1:1 Newcastle - 0:1

Tottenham 4:1 Burnley - 1:0

Watford 3:1 Cardiff - 3:2

Wolves 0:2 Bournemouth - 2:0

Fulham 2:2 West Ham - 0:2

Brighton 1:1 Chelsea - 1:2

Southampton 2:2 Arsenal - 3:2

Liverpool 2:1 Man United - 3:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Gillette Soccer Saturday, MOTD, Twitter and Sky Sports match coverage.

Late Kane Pen Drama Draw At Anfield

Sports - Football - Premier League - LIV 2:2 TOT

The officials took centre stage at Anfield, sad but true, as everything happened in the last ten minutes plus added time, including two controversial penalties, three goals, Liverpool and Tottenham separating on 2-2 and a point each in the end of the late Super Sunday clash.

And it started oh so well for the home side when star man Mohamed Salah opened the scoring after just two minutes and 43 seconds, pouncing on Eric Dier's poor back pass and giving the Reds the lead.

It was the Egyptian's 20th league goal in 25 games, the fastest in over a century for LFC, the fifth fastest ever to reach that tally after George Allan (18 games in 1896), Fred Pagnam (23 in 1915), Ronald Orr (24 in 1909) and Frank Becton (25 in 1896).

Spurs dominated possession and play throughout looking more like the home side, Liverpool holding and defending well, getting some chances on the counter, until the craziest final ten minutes commenced.

Substitute Victor Wanyama's thunderbolt from 25 yards out levelled the score seconds after he came on when keeper Loris Karius thought he had punched the ball well clear.

The German stopper conceded a penalty five minutes later, bringing down Harry Kane in the box, slightest if any contact visible, but the fall was oh so well choreographed.

Referee Jonathan Moss consulted his linesman, who was clearly heard saying he had no idea if Dejan Lovren touched the ball beforehand, replays confirming the top striker was offside anyway.

But the spot kick was still given despite all. Kane sent a weak penalty down the middle, Karius saved it, justice was served as far as the Kop was concerned.

Tense finish, but that was not all.

Into added time, Salah made it 2-1 and 21 league goals for him, all on his own, moving past four Tottenham defenders and keeper Hugo Lloris, a magnificent move and finish.

The Reds thought they had bagged it, including boss Jürgen Klopp who ran down the sideline in celebrations.

HOWEVER, the game is never over until the final whistle has been blown.

94' the final minute of added time, Virgil van Dijk failed to clear the ball, instead caught Erik Lamela in the box, who fell into the defender and then down as if hit by a bullet, well rehearsed in drama group by the looks.

Again, referee Moss took ages talking with his assistant after ignoring and waving the penalty appeal off originally, replays showing the Dutch centre back tried to pull away his leg, but the Argentine winger made sure he fell into him.

Moss pointed to the spot, Kane didn't make a mistake of it this time, sending Karius the wrong way and making it 2-2 with his 100th Premier League goal in 141 games and at just 24 years of age.

The England striker joins an elite club, Alan Shearer the only quicker scorer to reach the PL century in just 124 games.

But the way Harry reached that total overshadowed a great contest after three great goals, Mauricio Pochettino ending the happier of the two managers with the point.

Klopp was understandably stumped, miffed by the decisions and lack of explanation and justification.

Football is the only sport where the officials do not, cannot and will not verify and/or explain their decisions, to the players, managers, staff and/or paying fans and public, which is ridiculous!!! Disgraceful!!!

With this draw, Tottenham have won only two of their 26 games at Anfield in the Premier League (8%). They remain fifth, down to just four points ahead of Arsenal in sixth, but just one point behind Chelsea after their Monday night defeat at Watford.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their past 15 league games at Anfield (W8 D7), the second longest current run in the competition, after Manchester City (25 games). They remain third, five points behind Manchester United in second and just one point ahead of Chelsea in fourth.

The Reds travel to 15th placed Southampton next. Fingers crossed the refs won't spoil the show there!!!

Liverpool Goals: Salah 3' & 90'+1'.

Tottenham Goals: Wanyama 80' & Kane 90'+5'.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius; 26 Robertson, 4 van Dijk, 6 Lovren, 66 Alexander-Arnold (booked 42'); 7 Milner (booked 58') (32 Matip 78'), 14 Henderson (c) (5 Wijnaldum 65'), 23 Can (booked 90'+6'); 19 Mané (21 Oxlade-Chamberlain 65'), 9 Firmino, 11 Salah. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 18 Moreno, 22 Mignolet, 28 Ings, 29 Solanke.

Tottenham Team: 1 Lloris (c); 33 Davies, 5 Vertonghen, 6 Sánchez (11 Lamela 71'), 2 Trippier; 19 Dembelé (12 Wanyama 79'), 15 Dier; 20 Alli (booked 69'), 23 Eriksen, 7 Son (18 Llorente 90'+2'); 10 Kane. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 13 Vorm, 17 Sissoko, 24 Aurier, 29 Winks.

HT Stats: LIV 1:0 TOT
Possession: 39%-61%
Shots: 6-4
On target: 2-1
Corners: 3-4
Fouls: 9-4
Yellow cards: 1-0

FT Stats: LIV 2:2 TOT
Possession: 34%-66%
Shots: 9-13
On target: 3-6
Corners: 3-7
Fouls: 15-9
Yellow cards: 3-1

Referee: Jonathan Moss
Man of the match: Mohamed Salah
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 53,213

Click here for my last LFC match report/notes/rant.

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

Premier League Picks Of The Week 10

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 10

The tenth week of the Premier League action saw:

23 goals - most by Liverpool & Man City = 3 each
114 shots - most by Crystal Palace = 19
68 on target - most by Crystal Palace = 9
92 corners - most by Crystal Palace = 11
195 fouls - most by Crystal Palace = 18
29 yellow cards - most by Watford & Stoke = 4 each
0 red cards
2 penalties - 1 scored (Mohamed Salah missed for Liverpool, Luka Milivojevic for Crystal Palace)

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What a game! West Brom against Manchester City started with a flood of goals, three in under 15 minutes! Leroy Sané opened the scoring for the visitors with a vicious strike from 15 yards. Jay Rodriguez levelled the score for the hosts three minutes later lifting the ball past Ederson off Gareth Barry's cross. But seconds later Fernandinho restored the Citizens' lead, seeing the ball deflect off a couple of players and in off the post. Former LFC winger Raheem Sterling made it 1-3 with just over an hour gone after the game calmed down a bit. The home side pulled one back late on, what a massive mistake it was by Nicolás Otamendi, Matt Phillips capitalizing well on it, but it was too little too late for the Baggies. The blue league leaders keep flying high five points clear at the top even after not exactly their best performance.

What a team! Just when Arsenal looked to be on top of their game after taking Everton apart 5-2 last week, they were humbled by Swansea, in the first half. The Swans took the lead when Sam Clucas slotted one in against the run of play halfway through the opening half. And it could have been worse if it weren't for Petr Čech's stops, denying Jordan Ayew, who came closest to double the Welsh side's lead. But the Gunners hit back and completed a great turnaround after the break, thanks to two goals in seven minutes by Sead Kolašinac (51') and Aaron Ramsey (58'). It's the third successive game the Londoners have fought back from behind, ending manager Arsène Wenger's 800th Premier League game on top, remaining fifth in the league table, level on points with Chelsea in fourth.
Newcastle definitely don't like Mondays after losing their 10th consecutive top-flight match on this miserable opening day of the week. Burnley deserved the win thanks to Jeff Hendrick's second league goal of the season, sealing a nice fifth anniversary present for manager Sean Dyche, who has been linked with the vacant Everton job. I don't think he'd be that stupid: Burnley are sitting high and happy in seventh, whilst the Toffees are stuck in the bottom three, more to their defeat below.

What a man! Super sub Anthony Martial won the early kick-off on Saturday for Manchester United, beating two Spurs defenders to slot the ball home off Romelu Lukaku's headed cross with 81 minutes on the clock, just over ten minutes after coming on. Too easy. With this victory, the hosts have won their last six league games at Old Trafford, conceding zero, keeping them second in the league table. The last time they recorded such a strong league run at home was March 2010 under Sir Alex Ferguson. The weather was just as dire as the entertainment value and quality of the match though. The first half saw the visitors on top, the home side were poor, but took more control after the interval, José Mourinho's substitution(s) proved to be crucial. Harry Kane and Victor Wanyama were ruled out due to injury and certainly missed, both scorers in Tottenham's win over the Red Devils the last time the two sides met in an emotional farewell at White Hart Lane. The result put an end to Mauricio Pochettino's men's unbeaten run on the road this season, recording their second defeat in the league, keeping them in third place, local rivals Chelsea and Arsenal closing the gap to just a point. The London side definitely don't like this ground, having lost 21 of their 26 Premier League trips to Old Trafford. (After this match, Manchester City will surely not be all too worried though, neither side looking half as threatening and lethal as the league leaders.)

What a goal! Both West Ham goals impressed, from nice team play to top quality individual effort! Javier Hernández broke the deadlock with a nice finish and André Ayew doubled the Hammers' lead with a stunner driven from 20 yards out. But a spot kick by Luka Milivojević and late late late late late Wilfried Zaha goal grabbed a point back for Crystal Palace (90'+7!!!), who had also hit the woodwork twice and pulled numerous saves from Joe Hart. It ended a point each for Roy Hodgson and Slaven Bilić, but very different feelings, the fourth point of the season for Palace, denying West Ham a first Premier League away win in six attempts.
Eden Hazard made it three in three for Chelsea, as many goals as in his previous 17 games, to beat Bournemouth 0-1 at the Vitality Stadium. Clinical. Asmir Begović was beaten from a tight angle on the side the Bosnian keeper should have had covered. The Cherries fought hard, but just could not find a breakthrough. Cruel.
And what a run and goal Leicester's opener was against Everton! Jamie Vardy banged the chance in from close range after the Foxes broke and ripped through the Toffees, Demarai Gray with the run past Tom Davies and two more Evertonians, followed by a Riyad Mahrez cross, top top top counter attack. Jonjoe Kenny's deflection added to the visitor's misery, awarded to Gray, who was on fire and involved again with a fine run and shot. The Claude Puel era is up and running, it was certainly a Super Sunday for he Frenchman. Not sure caretaker David Unsworth will get nor want the job at the Merseyside club permanently at this rate, watching his side nowhere near competing, moulding in 18th.

What the hell?! Only Jürgen Klopp knows why Mohamed Salah took the spot kick for Liverpool. James Milner and Roberto Firmino left watching as Huddersfield keeper Jonas Lössl denied the Egyptian from the spot. It just added to the frustrations, the last league win difficult to remember. It was over a month ago to be exact, 2-3 at Leicester, felt like years ago! A slice of luck saw Daniel Sturridge capitalize on Terriers captain Tommy Smith's misplaced header to give the Reds the lead and relieve them of a lot of pressure!!! Firmino doubled the lead with a strong header off a corner. Georginio Wijnaldum made it three with a rifle of a shot, past four defenders, the 150th PL goal under Klopp. What was I ranting about again? The Reds turned on the style at Anfield in the second half, finally!!! Something/someone finally clicked and turned the switch on, and keeping only their fourth clean sheet in ten league games will boost the confidence more, too. The win takes Klopp's men up to sixth, three points behind the top four. It was the first league meeting between the two sides since February 1972 and there was a lot covered in the buildup to the match about the close friendship between the two managers, Klopp and David Wagner. History. The last time the Terriers beat the Reds was 1959 under non-other than Bill Shankly before his LFC era! History-and-a-half.

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

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 live match coverage.

Spurs Thrash LFC 4-1 At Wembley

Sports - Football - Premier League - THFC 4:1 LFC

Harry Kane scored two and set up one as Tottenham downed Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley in the Super Sunday afternoon kick-off.

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The super striker didn't even take four minutes to rip through the Red back line and round keeper Simon Mignolet to break the deadlock.

Eight minutes later, the 24-year-old set up Son Heung-min to double the score, the Red defence just lagging behind.

Mohamed Salah pulled one back for the visitors just over halfway through the first half, putting away Jordan Henderson's through ball.

But just before the interval Dele Alli's volley from the edge of the area made it 3-1.

Kane sealed the deal just over ten minutes after the break after Mignolet flapped and failed to clear a free-kick, the rebound of Jan Vertonghen's shot falling to the Ballon d'Or nominee to make it 4-1.

Liverpool's defence was just over-stretched. All goals were due to leaks, massive gaps, lack of physical presence, speed and any kind of cover.

Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren were nowhere near good enough, too slow, too sloppy, clueless, Joe Gomez and Alberto Moreno unable to cope.

It said it all when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was brought on for Lovren with just over half an hour gone.

But the visitors were unable to get back into the game, despite Salah's and Philippe Coutinho's best attempts and dominance in possession.

Spurs stopper Hugo Lloris showed the opposition how it's done with some great stops, quick reaction, strong and solid presence. Something the Reds are missing!!!

Their Belgian stopper has made 13 errors leading to goals in the league since making his Liverpool debut in 2013, three more than anyone else.

The London side's boss Mauricio Pochettino was very happy for his fans, in front of Diego Maradona and Kobe Bryant, "Wembley starts to feel home" with a Premier League record crowd of 80,827.

Tottenham are up to third on 20 points, level with United in second, four points ahead of Chelsea in fourth, after their second consecutive win at their new home.

LFC manager Jürgen Klopp took "100% responsibility" pointing out the "bad, bad, bad defence. Their desire was better than ours."

Sad but true. It was no contest. The Reds are left slumbering in ninth on 13 points, trailing the top by 12 points.

Liverpool have conceded 16 goals in the league this season, their worst defensive record after nine top-flight games since 1964-65.

They have struggled most on the road, conceding 15 goals, the most in the league this season.

Next on the fixture list: A little break as the Reds are out of the League Cup, until they host Huddersfield at Anfield on Saturday.

The Tigers are high-flying after beating Manchester United 2-1 in a very convincing, strong, organised and confident display.

Again, something the Reds are missing!!!

Tottenham Goals: Kane 4' & 56', Son Heung-min 12' & Alli 45'+3.

Liverpool Goal: Salah 24'.

Tottenham Team: 1 Lloris, 4 Alderweireld, 6 Sánchez, 5 Vertonghen, 2 Trippier, 23 Eriksen (15 Dier 81'), 29 Winks, 20 Alli, 24 Aurier, 10 Kane (18 Llorente 88'), 7 Son Heung-min (17 Sissoko 69').
Subs not used: 3 Rose, 13 Vorm, 14 Nkoudou, 33 Davies.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet, 12 Gomez, 32 Matip, 6 Lovren (21 Oxlade-Chamberlain 31'), 18 Moreno, 7 Milner, 14 Henderson, 23 Can (booked) (16 Grujic 83'), 10 Coutinho, 9 Firmino (15 Sturridge 77'), 11 Salah.
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 17 Klavan, 29 Solanke, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Match Stats: THFC 4-1 LFC
Possession: 36%-64%
Shots: 14-12
On target: 6-7
Corners: 3-5
Fouls: 2-8
Yellow cards: 0-1
Red cards: 0-0

Referee: Andre Marriner
Man of the match: Harry Kane
Ground: Wembley
Attendance: 80,827

Click here for my previous LFC match report. 

All pictures, quotes, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, MOTD2, Twitter and SFR match coverage.

Week 31: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

WOW!

Southampton continued their strong run against Chelsea whilst Tottenham underlined their Champions League potential and qualification with a fine win at Swansea. Ok, with his team selection Blues interim boss Rafael Benitez did show his priority lies in adding another European trophy to his CV rather than staying in the top four of the league. Andre Villas-Boas will appreciate Rafa's preference as his side sit in third, two points clear of their London rivals. But no disregarding Mauricio Pochettino's work. Nigel Adkins' replacement has done a brilliant job in getting the Saints, an already very promising side, to excell themselves and reach their full potential. So far so good.  

OMG!

It was a game of two halves at Villa Park. Aston Villa dominated most of the first half and took the lead when Gabriel Agbonlahor's lay-off found Christian Benteke, who fired home gratefully. But Liverpool came back strongly from the restart, Jordan Henderson levelling the score two minutes into the second half with a nicely taken chip past Bradley Guzan. And with half an hour to go, Steven Gerrard netted the winner from the spot after Nathan Baker had clumsily brought down Luis Suarez in the box. The home side had plenty of time and chances to get something out of the game, but after Andreas Weimann's high-blast miss and Gerrard's breathtaking clearance of Benteke's header off the line, it just wasn't Villa's day. Paul Lambert can draw positives from this game but after such a positive start he was still left picking up the pieces in the end. The Scotsman needs to work on the back line especially to avoid his side to drop more goals and points like this in the relegation battle.


TOP!

Manchester United are breaking one record after the other: At Sunderland Sir Alex Ferguson's men recorded their 25th win of the season, after only 30 games, which has never been achieved before in top-flight history. The Red Devils are unbeaten in 18 games, winning 50 out of 54 points, remaining 15 points clear of local rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with eight games remaining. The big Manchester derby is next on the fixture list, but one feels it will be more pride than any point in the title race to play for. Roberto Mancini's men have been nowhere near the quality and challenge they were last season which brings to mind the question of what will happen over the summer, who will stay and who will go...

FLOP!

Adkins has taken on a job-and-a-half at Reading. They were taken to pieces by Arsenal at the Emirates. The 4-1 thrashing was The Royals' sixth consecutive defeat, that is 18 points dropped, leaving them bottom of the table on goal difference (two goals worse off than Harry Redknapp's QPR) and seven points form safety. Brian McDermott's sacking this late on in the season will make Adkins' job nigh on impossible. The former Saints manager will have to drag and pull the team together and make them fight. Meanwhile, Arsenal remain in fifth, closing the gap to Chelsea in fourth down to two points, keeping them in the race for Champions League qualification.

HERO!

Dimitar Berbatov's double ended up sinking QPR to their second consecutive defeat, leaving them down in 19th, seven points from safety with seven games to go. It was the fourth consecutive Premier League game the Bulgarian scored in for Fulham and takes his tally to six in his last six games. The striker capitalised on two Christian Samba mistakes and a Clint Hill own-goal made it 3-0 to the home side. Adel Taarabt and Loic Remy reduced the deficit to one and got the Rangers' hopes up. Fulham's Steve Sidwell was sent off late on too, but QPR were unable to grab a late goal and Martin Jol's men held on for the win, keeping the Cottagers in tenth, three points clear of West Ham in eleventh and one point behind Swansea in ninth.


ZERO!

All the media attention went to a certain temperamental Italian and his antiques this week, to the relief of some other (usual media favourite) managers (Benitez & Co). Sunderland's sacking of Martin O'Neill hours after their defeat against United and hiring of Paulo Di Canio may seem for some to be a very late and pointless shocker with only seven games remaining. However, the move grabbed all the media attention, distracting and taking pressure of any other internal problems and leaks and if all fails and the Black Cats go down after all, the board can cover their backs and say they tried and did everything they could to keep the side up. Nice cover-up indeed.

My Predictions => Actual Results:
Sunderland 2-1 Man United => 0-1
Arsenal 1-2 Reading => 4-1
Man City 2-1 Newcastle => 4-0
Southampton 1-3 Chelsea => 2-1
Swansea 1-1 Tottenham => 1-2
West Ham 1-1 West Brom => 3-1
Wigan 0-0 Norwich => 1-0
Everton 1-1 Stoke => 1-0
Aston Villa 0-0 Liverpool => 1-2
Fulham 2-2 QPR => 3-2