Premier League Preview: Top Picks

Article by Paul Glanfield

As the busy month of December begins to wheel into full steam we look at the three biggest games scheduled for this weekend:

1. Man City vs Arsenal

Easy choice as game of the weekend. This has all the ingredients to be an absolute barnstormer with both teams wanting to lay down a marker for their title challenge. For Arsenal this is without a shadow of a doubt their biggest test of the season to date. Even a point here would showcase the Gunners as potential champions elect in my view. City have been pulverising teams in the league at home and Arsenal could easily lose this one 3-0 if they don’t show up absolutely on their game. The disappointing defeat to Napoli will have the usual ‘chokers’ comments coming out in the force ahead of this match given its dramatic effect on their potential Champions League destiny, and whoever that last 16 tie is now against it will fall into a testing fixture schedule for Arsenal not dissimilar to the kind where previous seasons promise has disintegrated over the course of just a few days. The Gunners have a cushion at the top at least and one key positive is league-wise the form is still very very strong and they have rarely looked troubled by any of the lesser sides in the league, sweeping 3 points comfortably into the bag more often than not. Taking that into consideration, a defeat on Saturday would not be catastrophic for the Gunners providing the performance offers no cause for additional alarm.

City look imperious at the moment and a delight to behold with free flowing attacking football practically oozing from every pore of Pellegrini’s side. A draw would be a poor result for City in light of Arsenal’s gap at the top so they will go all out for this, and being brutally honest it will be a surprise if they don’t get it.

Prediction: 3-1

2. West Ham vs Sunderland

An absolutely huge game at the bottom is our second biggest game of the weekend with West Ham and Sunderland doing battle in East London. The Hammers have struggled for form and have slowly seen themselves slide towards the bottom three since the season high point of humbling Tottenham at White Hart Lane. The Irons now sit 4th from bottom level on points with both Fulham and a resurgent Crystal Palace below them. Their opponents still lie 5 points adrift at the foot of the table but the prospect of ending the game just 2 points from safety must have Gus Poyet salivating at the lips after a somewhat frustrating yet strangely positive start to life at Sunderland.

Sunderland can claw their way back into things here and the pressure will firmly be on West Ham to prevent that happening, with the home fans already split on the work being done by Sam Allardyce this season. This should be a frantic affair which both sides will want to win, and hence it is not unimaginable that the game will end in a well fought draw.

Prediction: 1-1

3. Spurs vs Liverpool

Just shading the intriguing potential scenario of Aston Villa drawing level on points with Manchester United at Villa Park is this testing encounter at White Hart Lane. Liverpool will be even more heavily reliant on Luis Suarez than usual in the expected absence of both Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard, whilst Spurs will be hoping arguably their finest half of football of the season in the away win at Sunderland carries over into this fixture. This game represents an opportunity for both sides to lay down a positive marker in their case for the top four, and in truth despite Liverpool sitting four places above Tottenham at present the likelihood may well be that these two are the closest rivals to one another for this season’s fourth Champions League spot come May.

Whilst United and Everton may have something to say about that, Andre Villas-Boas should have plenty of positive words to say to his side ahead of this crucial match given Tottenham’s recent run of impressive victories over the Reds at White Hart Lane with the fixture ending 2-1 to the home side in four of the last 5 league meetings in London, with the other result being the 4-0 victory for Spurs at the start of the 2011/12 campaign. Expect a close encounter here with plenty of energy and fire, and I tip Spurs to just about emerge victorious to cap a fine turnaround in fortunes since the suicidal display at Man City.

Prediction: 2-1 (again)

© e-Football 2013 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football