Saints defeat Burnley 3-2 and Complete Comeback (Blog 5)

After being down 2 goals in under 30 minutes today, Southampton rallied and showed true character in a come back defeat of Burnley at Saint Mary’s. Stuart Armstrong, Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond all added goals after the 40th minute mark to complete the comeback in the 67th minute. This match will prove to be crucial for Southampton as they try and close in on their goal of finishing in the top half of the table (currently in 13th) and are only 6 points away. Something has changed within the locker room for Southampton as they have again started to play better after losing 5 premier league games in a row. The only bright side for the club as of recent is making it to the semi-final of the FA cup, which will be played April 18th against Leicester City (domestic tournament featuring all different levels of English teams). Burnley currently find themselves in 16th on the table with 33 points but should be safe from relegation. They are 7 points clear of bottom three and have been playing well, just are not putting together complete performances.

Yesterday West Brom surprised Chelsea 5-2, powered by two goals and two assists from Matheus Pereira. Chelsea received a red card in the second game and fell apart from the back- you can’t expect much more with only 10 men on the field. Finally, Newcastle came away with a huge result against Spurs in a 2-2 draw. Newcastle currently find themselves only 3 points away from the relegation zone so this was a crucial point for the magpies.

There are some interesting matchups coming up during the week but all focus turns to next weekend where West Ham and Leicester will battle for 3rd place. Look for the fast Leicester counter attack from Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho to power a victory over the hammers. Finally, Tottenham and Manchester United will face off Saturday evening which could prove to be decisive for Spurs and their campaign to finish top four.

Premier League Update: March International Break (Blog 4)

Multiple times each English Premier League season, the league takes “international breaks” to resume play for countries. This week has been World Cup Qualifying for the 2022 event- all European teams were playing, which included many premier league stars. It is a very interesting concept to analyze how an individual may play for their professional club and then assume a totally different role for your country. Often different positions, different tactics and “new” teammates are some of the challenges international players face.

Currently 8 games remain for each Premier League team and Manchester City find themselves 14 points clear of rival Manchester United. At the moment it looks pretty certain City will reclaim the title but now attention to shift to the bottom for the relegation battle. If the season were to end today Fulham, West Brom and Sheffield would be returning to the Championship (England’s Second Division). Sheffield United and West Brom seem to be locks to go down but Fulham is only two points away from Newcastle, at 17th. Fulham have had a few impressive outings this season but have some strong teams remaining including Aston Villa, Arsenal and Chelsea. Newcastle are currently ailed by injuries and have been struggling as of recently. They will play Tottenham, West Ham and Liverpool in their last 8 games so they will not have an easy task either.

This weekend for Gameweek 30 will be headlined with a top 3 matchup between Manchester City and Leicester. Expect City to dominate tempo and pick apart Leicester from the back. Sunday afternoon Villa will travel to Fulham in a huge relegation battle matchup. Aston Villa are a clear, better team but Fulham will be looking to take points away from the match. There is still plenty of room for in the final 8 weeks of the season so the table should be shaken back up after this weekend!

Liverpool come up short again; Reds fall to 6th on the Table (Blog 3)

Richarlison leading from the front with an early goal set the tone Everton needed to pull off a historic victory at Anfield on Saturday. After the 2-0 win, Everton will go undefeated against Liverpool for the first time since the 2010-2011 season. The result is crucial for Carlo Ancelotti’s men and will be a great motivator to continue their climb up the table. The Toffees currently find themselves in 7th with 40 points and a double game-week coming up.

What has gone wrong with Liverpool? A string of poor goal keeping from Alisson? Injuries? Fatigue from Champions League? Liverpool have been under fire for weeks now after multiple uninspired showings, which has resulted in one win and four losses in the last five games. This team arguably had one of the best premier league campaigns ever last year and as of recent, quite the opposite. In the next week they will face off against last place Sheffield United and fifth place Chelsea. Everyone will expect a positive result at Sheffield but Chelsea will be a true test of their leadership, will to fight and character. Look for a dormant Mohammad Salah to bag a goal or two and Goal keeper Alisson to have an emotional outing, after news of his father unexpectedly passing this week.

Game-week 26 will start early Saturday morning when West Ham pay a visit to Manchester city, a clash of top four sides. Yet again, look for City to hold the ball and score brilliant team goals while dominating the tempo. The Hammers stand their best chance by winning the ball back and taking some possession away from City; something every team has failed to do thus far this season.

Monday night Southampton will travel to Everton, which is an interesting matchup of two teams fighting for different things. The Saint’s newest addition Takumi Minamino (on loan from Liverpool) could be crucial as he attacks down Everton’s weaker right side, played by Captain Séamus Coleman. Look for rapid counter attacks from Southampton and expect a goal from the hungry striker Danny Ings.

Foden & City Roll Liverpool 4-1 in Decisive Week (Blog 2)

Dubbed as the “Stockport Iniesta”, Phil Foden showed his worth Sunday by contributing a goal and an assist at Anfield to take down the champions. After multiple mistakes from Liverpool goal keeper Alisson, Manchester City move 5 points clear of Manchester United. After the match, City manager Pep Guardiola went on say Liverpool “are one of the best teams I have ever faced”. Cheeky comments about a team with only two wins in their last six…

Manchester City will look to continue their 15 match unbeaten streak when they face Tottenham Hotspur at 12:30pm EST on Saturday.

Tottenham bounced back with a decisive 2-0 win over West Brom after two weeks of disappointing play. The goals came from forwards Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son, who find themselves reunited in the lineup together for the first time time since January. According to Football Reference, Kane and Son have combined for a 52.4% chance of winning when both are featured in the starting eleven. On the contrary, Tottenham pose a 53.3% loss rate and an 86.7% chance of a result other than a win without them (Football Reference, 2021). It has become glaringly obvious what is going on in North London- Kane and Son need help, Mourinho’s tactics are out of date and they have a lot of work to do in order to finish higher than 8th on the table. Their upcoming match against Manchester City is the final of two meetings this season- Spurs were victorious by a score of 2-0. Look for City to dominate possession and control the tempo from the opening whistle. Tottenham will have their best chances moving forward on a counter attack; Best of luck getting by John Stones and Ruben Dias otherwise.

There are a few interesting match ups this weekend but my favorite will be early Saturday at King Palace Stadium where Liverpool travel to Leicester. Both in the top four of the league and both are coming off of disappointing performances. Each side will need three points this week to keep up with second place United.

Manchester City Shine in Game Week 20 (Blog 1)

After today’s only fixture between Tottenham and Liverpool, Game Week 20 of 38 has come to a close. All teams at the top of the table are coming off of a double game week meaning they played twice- fatigue is starting to play a part. Manchester City shined yet again in a 5-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion where they looked nearly perfect and ride an unbeaten streak in all competitions dating to November 21st. Two goals came from midfielder Ilkay Gündogan followed by a trio of scores from João Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling. Manager Pep Guardiola may be well on his way to capturing his 3rd premier league title in his 6th year with the club.

Drama this week resides in the city of Manchester, where cross town rival Manchester United started the week in first, then went on to lose to relegation candidate Sheffield United 2-1. Uninspired play and poor defending lead to this crushing defeat from a Sheffield side, who only had 1 prior win coming into Wednesday. The Red Devils will look to bounce back next week when they face off against a resurging Arsenal squad on Saturday. After the shocking performance at home by United, Manchester City now have moved to the top of the table by a point. These next few weeks will prove to be the most crucial for every team; If anyone can catch the Cityzens, that is.

Looking toward Game Week 21, the matchup between Liverpool and West Ham is very interesting as they now find themselves in the top 5. Before Liverpool’s victory today, they had failed to score in over 30 days and yet again look confident in front of goal. West Ham have been nothing but brilliant as of recent and have won four games in a row. Look for Mohammad Salah to get back on the score sheet and bounce back in a big way.