Normal service resumes this weekend in the Predict360 league and the big showdown is today’s early kick-off between Everton and Manchester City.
There has been little movement in the league table following last weekend’s mix of Premier League and FA Cup action. Both Manchester United’s Moe and Chelsea’s Shivam walked away from last weekend’s predicted FA Cup showdown empty handed, while Everton’s shock defeat to Wigan means Mark remains rooted to the foot of the table.
Rounding off the FA Cup fixtures was Manchester City, and while Darren went for a heavy City win, he was one goal away from picking up maximum points.
In the league, Liverpool’s narrow victory over Tottenham earned Obaydah a point for the right result, but Simon’s punt on the draw means it wasn’t just his beloved Spurs that left Anfield with no points.
But it is now a new week and there is still plenty to play for. Good luck gents…
CURRENT LEAGUE TABLE (after 25 rounds)
Man United (Moe) – 24pts
Liverpool (Obaydah) – 21
Tottenham (Simon) – 20
Man City (Darren) – 20
Chelsea (Shivam) – 16
Arsenal (Ted) – 14
Everton (Mark) – 14
TED TOTSIDIS - @TedTots (Arsenal)
What happened last week? Not only was our defence against Tottenham as leaky as an old rusty bucket, our attackers lacked any conviction and were about as effective in front of goal as that said bucket. The loss essentially has left us with very little room for error for the remaining matches of this season, especially if we're to make it to fourth spot. At this point, I'm resting our hopes on Champions League football on the teams above us losing the difficult matches they have remaining. Well here's hoping.
This week: Off the back of a spirited performance against Bayern Munich mid-week, I'm anticipating that Arsene Wenger will setup the team in a similar way in a bid to maintain our defensive confidence and continue the great effort we put in.
Swansea have been a bit of a bogey team for us, troubling us earlier this season in both the league and cup matches. Today's match will be just as tough as these previous matches but I'm also confident that we'll step up and continue the form that saw us fend off the Bundesliga leaders only a few days ago. Swansea 0 - 1 Arsenal
SHIVAM MANGHNANI - @ShivamLM (Chelsea)
What happened last week? Last week was a turning point in Rafa Benitez's interim reign. I thought we would falter and roll over at Manchester United and that looked the case after the opening 20 minutes. But he corrected his mistakes in the second half; bringing on the brilliant John Obi Mikel and Eden Hazard and really we should have won.
But at last he has found the best starting eleven and hopefully we will use it for most of the season. He started with it on Thursday night and it won us the game with even Torres is scoring! Hopefully this leads to a good end to the season and we get that third place.
This week: West Ham are awful at the moment and if we don't put a few goals past them we should just give up on third. In the reverse fixture, Benitez was out-thought by Sam Allardyce but I can't see it happening on Sunday. Eden Hazard is on fire, Demba Ba and Torres are even looking hungry for goals I really think West Ham could be on the receiving end of a hammering by the Blues.
It is also an ideal game for Frank Lampard as West Ham don't have much pace in their side and our defense should really be untroubled by Andy Carroll/Chamakh/Cole. My only concern is Oscar and his ability to deal with the physicality of the West Ham defence, but I think he will be rested for Moses. Chelsea 4-0 West Ham
MARK SCHUMANN - @MarkSchuey (Everton)
What happened last week? Disaster! What should have been an enjoyable progression into the FA Cup semi final and the immediate urgency to get some Wembley tickets turned to the most painful experience of the season. I have not seen Everton play that badly in years - they just didn't turn up.
This week: Home to Man City. This is a difficult one to predict. Everton are not in good form and Man City must win if they have any hope of catching Man Utd. However Everton have a good record against City. I'm not confident of a win, I think we will lose but I'm going to sit on the fence… Everton 1-1 Manchester City
OBAYDAH AL-NAMER - @LFCArabia (Liverpool)
What happened last week? Another win, another Stewart Downing goal, another Luis Suarez show, and another good performance from the men in Red. They didn't drop their heads or lose belief as they have many times this season and came back to defeat a flying Tottenham team who are close to securing a Champions League spot. All on all, I was a very happy Red.
This week: Liverpool are currently playing the best football of the season, and their performances of late belie their position, but we must believe that we can clinch that vital fourth spot. Liverpool have the easiest run-in compared to other rivals and our starts against Southampton tonight.
Saints are a team struggling to avoid relegation, and while they shouldn’t pose much of a threat, the fact they recently defeated Manchester City should mean Lverpool won’t take them lightly. Suarez and Phillippe Coutinho will terrify the Saints defences, while the in-form Downing will tear them apart with his majestic football skills. Keep winning and that 4th spot might be ours. Southampton 1-3 Liverpool
DARREN BALL - @AbuDhabiDaz (Man City)
What happened last week? Last week saw City ease through to the semi final of the FA cup and earn a trip to Wembley. Barnsley were clearly in a game that the glamour of which the FA Cup brings but the difference between the two divisions was clearly on show in this fixture.
This week: This week sees us take the early game and a trip down the M62 to face the bogey team of Everton. This is one fixture along with Sunderland I never look forward to. However since Tim Cahill has moved on we do a little better against the Toffees. City will probably look for some aerial power to contain the big hair of Marouane Fellaini so Edin Dzeko may get the nod to start. It will be a tough game as always but if Everton play anything like they did against Wigan last week we should be comfortable. Everton 1-3 Manchester City
MOHAMMED ANABTAWI - @MoeAnabtawi (Manchester United)
What happened last week? Last week we were knackered! We should have wrapped it up against Chelsea but we didn’t. The first half was all United and the second half was all Chelski! We were absolutely lucky. David De Gea was wonderful with a few classy saves and I just hope that after a few days with no fixtures this would be the ideal time to rebound and try get ourselves on track.
This week: Reading are in relegation mode and without a manager! Great decision, Reading, sack your manager before heading to Old Trafford! Any managerless team will always face tactical difficulties. This will be an uphill task for Reading as United also look to getting back into winning ways. Cut to the chase Moe! Alright here it is … drum roll please ... sorry Royals fans, but it’s not going to be a pleasant evening. Manchester United 4 – 1 Reading
SIMON THURSTON - @SimonPThurston (Tottenham)
What happened last week? Two uncharacteristic mistakes at crucial times. Other than the opening 25 minutes, it’s fair to say (and all reports I've read confirm this) Spurs were the better side and looking likely to leave Anfield with another three points. Gylfi Sigurdsson striking the post with the score at 2-1 proved crucial, as it would have put the game to bed. However it was not to be, and whilst the result was disappointing, for the lion's share of the game the work rate and attitude were excellent.
This week: Fulham have had an inconsistent, stop-start season thus far, never really putting a run of results together. But they have achieved credible draws at both Arsenal and Chelsea, and when the two teams met at Craven Cottage earlier in the season, were better than Spurs until they were reduced to ten men, and ended up on the wrong side of a 3-0 scoreline.
The Cottagers away form is their Achilles heel, as they don't score many but concede often; something Spurs will look to exploit. Ex-boss Martin Jol is sure to want to prove to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that he was wrong to sack him in 2007, and dent the Champions League-chasing Londoners. But unbeaten in their last eight home league fixtures against Fulham (winning six by a combined score of 15-2), Spurs will feel confident of another three points, a confidence which I also share. Tottenham 2-0 Fulham
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