A jam-packed week-end of football and golf is looming on the horizon. The Ryder Cup is under-way and based on the odds, Europe are under-dogs. Their current odds look somewhat appealing considering that player-to-player, they don't have anything to envy to the Americans. If the same tournament were to be staged in Europe, it's the same European team that would have started favourites. Home crowds bring in a huge advantage. My feeling is that Europe will retain the Cup but it's just me making a judgement call; there are no certainties and the resullt can really go either way.
Let's get to the week-end's matches.
Arsenal v/s Chelsea. The big London Derby with 2 teams in good form. Got to go with the home advantage of the Gunners here; Arsene's team is getting more confident with every game and Santi Cazorla is an absolute gem of a playmaker. With the upcoming return in a few weeks of Wilshere, the Gunners should get stronger on the field and they just need to avoid getting into a considerable win-less streak, the like of which has wreaked havoc on their title hopes in recent years. They will oppose a Chelsea team whose mental strength will be tested given the weekly distraction of captain Terry's trial and guilty verdict in Anton Ferdinand's race case. I think Chelsea got somehow lucky to snatch victory last week at the expense of Stoke and they would do well to ride their luck again. I think Arsenal is a great draw-no-bet selection.
Fulham v/s Man City. The Cottagers are very good at home and City look vulnerable at the moment. This could be the best time to face the defending champions. Unfortunately for the hosts, they will be missing Berbatov who's brought their attack to life. Man City still have quality but it might pay to side with Fulham with +1 goal Handicap since should City win, it would be by the strict minimum.
Everton v/s Southampton. The Toffees look the banker of the week-end. They have been consistent this year and can hold their own at home against any team, as Man Utd found out. I think Soton can at most hope for a point here, but it should end up in a home win really.
Reading v/s Newcastle. Much of Newcaste's chances will rest on the scoring prowess of striker Ba. Will Pardew finally have full confidence in starting him? I am not sure what is going on behind the scenes at St James Park, but for me Ba is one of the premier strikers of the league and it doesn't make much sense that Cisse starts in front of him. This match is best avoided as the result can go any way.
Stoke v/s Swansea. Great chance for Stoke to get 3 points here against a struggling Swansea team. After having started strong, Laudrup's men have suffered 2 bad defeats in which they failed to score. It doesn't get any easier going to Stoke who have an enviable record at home. A draw-no-bet on the Potters looks safe.
Sunderland v/s Wigan. This should be the Cats' first win of the season. They have been arguably unlucky in drawing a couple of their past games, conceding goals in the last minutes. I will go for the outright win for the hosts.
Norwich v/s Liverpool. This game is too close to call. The Canaries can really prolong Liverpool's misery and I have the feeling if this game ends in a winner, it will be by the minimum margin. To avoid.
Man Utd v/s Tottenham. This looks set to pit 2 attacking-minded teams, so goals could be galore. Last year, AVB's Chelsea were thrased 3-1 at Old Trafford. I think the result could very well be similar again; it's hard to see Spurs going to snatch a win on this travel. Man Utd looks a good draw-no-bet.
Aston Villa v/s West Brom. Although they went to win at the Etihaad over the week, I still have reservations about this Villa team. West Brom are poor travellers. Can go either way this one.
QPR v/s West Ham. If the hosts were not missing their centre-halfs, I would have given them a great chance. With their current injuries, it's safer to go draw-no-bet with them.
Real Madrid v/s Deportivo. Straight win for Ronaldo and co, who should embark on a good winning streak after their much-publicized recent stumbles.
Win: Sunderland, Real Madrid
Draw-no-bet: Arsenal, Stoke, Man Utd, QPR
Handicap +1: Fulham
Showing posts with label Anton Ferdinand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anton Ferdinand. Show all posts
Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Outside reasons
Nadal is looking good and after overcoming Alamagro, will face another Spaniard in Ferrer in the semi-final. He should win that one too and reach the final. The other semi-final will see another duel between Federer and Djokovic. Both needed 5 sets in the previous round and the Serb had to save 4 match points to stave off elimination from local Tsonga. That Nole has an amazing fighting spirit, he's never out.
Nadal to beat Ferrer is a certainty. Nole should logically beat the aging Federer; it's not as certain as with Nadal, but it will bring better returns with some amount of risk.
Interesting developments in football around the non-selection of Rio Ferdinand after the defection of Gary Cahill due to injury. Hodgson was right to dismiss Rio from the original selection since the fresher legs of Terry, Lescott and Cahill give better cover. I have no problem with that. However, after the no-go of Cahill, there is no way that Tottenham's Kelly is a better defender than Rio. So, for pure footballing reasons, Hodgson has no real excuse for not selecting the Man Utd defender. The problem is that the manager shot himself in the foot in the first place by saying that he did not select Rio in the first place for footballing reasons, unaware he might eventually run short of defenders.
The reason he's right to omit Rio is because he and Terry can no longer play together on the same team after the racism scandal involving Anton, Rio's brother. The world knows that and if Hodgson were forthright and simply admit that, then he wouldn't be facing this debate. Being England manager makes him in need of being politically correct, not blunt honest, and this has played against him; if he's to be accused of a wrongdoing, it's of being dishonest in that instance. At this point, having Terry is more important than Rio, and there is no way he's going to include Rio at the risk of causing friction in the squad. Good decision, but poor execution and result. Let's hope England's Euro experience goes the other way round.
Win: Nadal
Nadal to beat Ferrer is a certainty. Nole should logically beat the aging Federer; it's not as certain as with Nadal, but it will bring better returns with some amount of risk.
Interesting developments in football around the non-selection of Rio Ferdinand after the defection of Gary Cahill due to injury. Hodgson was right to dismiss Rio from the original selection since the fresher legs of Terry, Lescott and Cahill give better cover. I have no problem with that. However, after the no-go of Cahill, there is no way that Tottenham's Kelly is a better defender than Rio. So, for pure footballing reasons, Hodgson has no real excuse for not selecting the Man Utd defender. The problem is that the manager shot himself in the foot in the first place by saying that he did not select Rio in the first place for footballing reasons, unaware he might eventually run short of defenders.
The reason he's right to omit Rio is because he and Terry can no longer play together on the same team after the racism scandal involving Anton, Rio's brother. The world knows that and if Hodgson were forthright and simply admit that, then he wouldn't be facing this debate. Being England manager makes him in need of being politically correct, not blunt honest, and this has played against him; if he's to be accused of a wrongdoing, it's of being dishonest in that instance. At this point, having Terry is more important than Rio, and there is no way he's going to include Rio at the risk of causing friction in the squad. Good decision, but poor execution and result. Let's hope England's Euro experience goes the other way round.
Win: Nadal
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