EPL 2016/2017 - The Battle of Manchester

Here we go again for what promises to be a spectacular season in the EPL. The world's best players might be playing in Spain but the elite of managers is here; Guardiola, Mourinho, Klopp, Conte to name a few...

Here is the first prediction; one of the Manchester teams will win it. That means that Leicester won't repeat. Great work last year Ranieri and co but lightning will most probably not strike twice. The Foxes are still a very good team but another sustained run from them looks highly improbable. Arsenal will struggle to last the distance as usual. They need some world-class reinforcements in there and they don't seem to be getting any. Liverpool have an admirable attacking force but their suspect defence is bound to let them down. As for Chelsea, Conte will make them a better defensive team but the legs are getting old and they will rely too much on Hazard to produce.

This leaves the Manchester clubs that will definitely be on the upgrade from last year. Take Man City. The arrival of Guardiola will have brought confidence, energy and more importantly a winning mentality to the squad. The talent has always been there in the last few years but the mental toughness of the players has always been a question mark. Probably Guardiola can rectify that. De Bryune had a great season last year and could yet elevate to newer heights. The old guard Aguero, Toure, Silva have a last big hurrah season in them. Sterling can go back terrorizing defences if given the boost in confidence. And the additions of Stones and Jesus add worth to a deeply-talented squad. Guardiola will have his rough introduction to the EPL, particularly during the winter months when there is no break, but if they can get through this spell unscathed, they have the best squad in the league to last them through.

The club with the greatest overhaul is Man Utd. Cometh at the helm Mourinho, typically their greatest managerial enemy. The Portugese talked about the mystique of the club during his introduction; core fans will have argued that some of the mystique had gone with his appointment; throughout his career, he clearly has shown a disdain for values that the club so cherishes. But he is a proven winner of championships and if the end result is getting back their winning mojo, then realistic fans will view this as a necessary appointment. Then, there's the coming of Zlatan. At 35, maybe his best days are behind him. But he was still a dominant force at PSG over the last few years. It looks like he can carry at the highest level for a couple more years and if he adapts well to the rigours of the Premiership, he could be one of the best free buys ever. Imagine Zlatan and Fellaini towering a bunch of defenders in the opposing penalty area as Man Utd search for a goal... Then, there's Pogba. The ex-Man Utd reject went to Juventus for free and now is back with the club out of the pocket for 89 million pounds? This is indecent. He doesn't (and will never) score like Ronaldo, Messi or Bale or Neymar. What has he won besides titles at a dominating Juventus in a poor Italian league? He's a great midfielder and talent but this could be one of the worst buys in the history of football. But he still enhances the Red Devils midfield by a large margin. Maybe he could be the Roy Keane or Paul Scholes that every Man Utd fan has been looking for since the retirements of the 2 Old Trafford legends. What is for sure, United will be better than last year and Mourinho usually self-destructs on the 3rd year, so things are looking very rosy for this campaign.

It's Guardiola v/s Mourinho again. It's the battle of Manchester again for the supremacy of English football. My feeling is that the Red part of Manchester will be the ones partying in the end. This is going to be a wild ride of a season; thanks for tuning for the weekly fixtures.


Win: Man Utd

Football Preview

A couple of great match-ups dominate the EPL and La Liga this week-end. Chelsea and Man City, the 2 front-runners for the Premier League, at least from the bookies standpoint, clash at Stamford Bridge, while the El Clasico is the un-missable feature in Spain. Here are some picks.

Crystal Palace v/s Arsenal. There is no basis to back the Eagles here. They lost manager Halloway during the week and I can't see the caretaker manager making a marked difference to the squad, particularly that other managers are being publicly sought after. Arsenal lost against Dortmund in the Champions League and will be keen to resume their winning ways against lesser opposition. Arsenal is a Win selection.

Aston Villa v/s Everton. I like the hosts' chances here with the possible return of Benteke in the starting eleven. Everton can be deemed lucky to have scraped past Hull last week and they are certainly a work in progress under Martinez. This could very well end up in a draw and I fancy to nick it if there is to be a winner. So, the Villains are a  draw-no-bet selection.

Liverpool v/s West Brom. I can't believe Liverpool are near evens to land a top 4 spot and in the 9's to win the league. I say lay on both, because in my mind, they are not good enough to finish in the first 4. Granted, it's still early in the season, but the prices are attractive enough to lay at the moment. WBA's visit is a good occasion for the Kops to land another 3 points although if there is to be a shocking result this week-end, it could be with WBA taking the spoils. I'll avoid this one.

Man Utd v/s Stoke. This should end with a home win to get the Red Devils back on track in the league.

Tottenham v/s Hull. Spurs shouldn't take Hull for easy victims as the visitors are a good disciplined side that is hard to break down. I can't see the Tigers winning this but they will definitely battle to get at least a draw from the match. Spurs look to be safe draw-no-bet selection.

Chelsea v/s Man City. History has it that Mourinho has never lost an EPL game at Stamford Bridge. They are in good form and went to thrash Shalke in Germany during the week. Man City finally won on the road last Saturday but this is going to be one of their toughest visits of the season. This is a 6-pointer game and this game will probably be decided with a moment of genius or inattention from either side. With Mourinho's record, it's hard to go against Chelsea as hosts, so the Blues are a strong draw-no-bet selection at current odds.

Finally, the El Clasico in Spain is an intriguing one with the 2 giant clubs under the helm of new management. There is no doubt that Ancelotti and Martino are still working the kinks of their side and won't have their typical A-team. Neymar is still finding his feet at Barca and Bale is far from showing his real weapons at Madrid. Being the hosts and with the return of Messi, the Catalans hold a slight advantage and look good value with current draw-no-bet odds.

Win: Arsenal, Man Utd

Draw-no-bet: Barcelona, Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa

EPL Week 1

My takes on the first week-end of this new EPL season.

Arsenal v/s Aston Villa. Although they will be without Arteta and possibly Walcott, I cannot see Arsenal losing their opener at the Emirates. They should be able to edge this encounter and use it as a confidence builder.

Liverpool v/s Stoke. This is a new era for Stokes under Mark Hughes. It remains to be seen whether keeping clean sheets remains a reference for the Potters. Liverpool will be without Suarez to suspension and will rely on a minorly-crocked Sturridge for ammunition. It will be more a matter of watch and learn on this one but if one really needs a punt, a Liverpool win looks the likelier outcome.

Norwich v/s Everton. This looks to be one of the most even games of the week-end and it would be no surprise if this ended into a draw.

Sunderland v/s Fulham. Same as above. Draw prediction.

Swansea v/s Man Utd. Last year's fixture ended in a draw, although the Red Devils should have won the game in a canter. It's going to be tougher for them this year. At current odds, I am inclined to go with Swansea with a +1 goal advantage so that it would take Man Utd to win by 2 goals for the proposition to fail. I just cannot see Laudrup's team going down by that many goals at home.

West Brom v/s Southampton. Staying on the sidelines on this one as it's hard to assess how the Baggies will do without Lukaku although they now have Anelka in their ranks. Southampton are nursing a few major injuries, so it remains to be seen in what kind of disposition their current team is compared to last year.

West Ham v/s Cardiff. This match can go either way. To avoid.

Chelsea v/s Hull. It would be mad to go anywhere against Chelsea here. Straight win, and it should be a big one too, for the hosts.

Crystal Palace v/s Tottenham. Although most of the summer news about Spurs has been about the departure of Bale, they are still a strong squad. They should have too much firepower for the hosts and should start the season on a winning note.

Man City v/s Newcastle. Straight win for the Citizens.

Win: Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City
+1 Handicap: Swansea.

EPL preview

Here's hoping this weekd-end's selections turn out to be as good as last week's.

Everton v/s Reading. While the title is already decided, the fight to avoid relegation is very much up for grabs. Reading is one of the favourites to go down and my belief at the moment is that they will indeed drop. They have found it hard to find consistent good form all season and unless they can come up with a string of good results, I fear they don't have what it takes to stay in the Premier League. They can score boat loads of goals on their best day, but they can equally concede in multiples. This is a must-three points for Everton if they are to fight for a Top 6 finish. The good news for the Toffees is the return of Fellaini; without him, they lack that sparkle up front. Everton is a Win recommendation.

Man Utd v/s Norwich. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that the Red Devils will not be at full strength against the Canaries. Most of their thoughts will be on the upcoming UCL match against Real Madrid next Tuesday. Ferguson will be keen not to suffer any stupid, last-minute injuries against the visitors, given that the league is already in the pocket. I don't expect a vintage Utd display and while they might have to work for it, it's hard not to see Man Utd win at the end. It might be best to avoid this game altogether, but if you need a go at it, a win on the Mancunians is the selection.

Stoke v/s West Ham. The hosts will be missing defensive lynchpin Robert Huth due to suspension and this might play to the advantage of Andy Carroll for the visitors.Although the Potters have been disappointing of late, they are still a good force to be reckoned with at home. Stoke are a draw-no-bet selection.

Sunderland v/s Fulham. It seems that Sunderland are a team that need to be re-built as Martin O'Neill does not seem to be able to improve them any further. I believe they will end up in the middle of the table. Fulham also will have major questions to answer after a disappointing season, their only highlight having been their recruit ace Berbatov. Home advantage speaks here and Sunderland are the value draw-no-bet of the week-end.

Tottenham v/s Arsenal. Who's the best 3rd player in the world after Messi and Ronaldo? Many will say Iniesta or Neymar. I say Gareth Bale. As he showed against West Ham earlier this week, he can win a match on his own. His current form is spectacular and he's only going to get better. If he leaves Spurs for better skies, Tottenham will certainly a much weaker team. If they cannot control the Welsh wizard, Arsenal look set to have a long afternoon in front of them. As in previous editions, this match looks destined to have many goals. Both sides have potent attacks and quite generous defences. I will side with the home team as a draw-no-bet here.


Win: Everton, Man Utd
Draw-no-bet: Stoke, Sunderland, Tottenham

EPL week-end - Man Utd can crush the league

It does not look as though the internationals that took place on Wednesday will have much bearing over this week-end's matches but it will certainly boost each single player that took part in England's beating of Brazil at Wembley (except maybe for blundering Gary Cahill). That was an impressive performance by the Lions and long may live the the midfield axis of Wilshere and Gerrard. Even with Neymar, Brazil is not the Samba team of old. In particular, when you have David Luiz from Chelsea as your rock at the back, there is a reason for Scolari to worry about his defence.

Man Utd can crush the league on Sunday if their main opponents fail to register full points. Everton are the visitors at Old Trafford and the Toffees inflicted their hosts a blow on opening day of the season by beating them by the minimum score at Goodison Park. David Moyes is one of my contenders for Manager of the Year as he's making them perform at a consistently high level since the start of the season. They are led by the mercurial Fellaini who's building himself a great goalscoring ratio for a midfielder. Man Utd rarely lose both home and away matches to the same team and they will want to make sure that the visitors are no exception to the rule. The Red Devils are in good form and seem to have Rooney back to his near-best. My only concern with them is that they are bound to have an eye on next Wednesday's Champions League game at the Bernabeu. It will not be surprising if Sir Alex Ferguson were to alter team selections on Sunday, given that they have a stronghold in the league and that the Champions League still remains a trophy he covets. Although this game looks to be tight, I do not see Man Utd losing this and they look good value as a Win at current market odds. In addition, whether their main rivals win or not on Saturday, I believe in continuing backing them for the title.

Tottenham v/s Newcastle. Spurs got a big blow recently over the injury of their main striker Defoe who's bound to miss at least their next few games. Adebayor is back from the African's Cup but is not certain to feature. Still, they are still potent in attack with the likes of Lennon, Dempsey and Bale. Newcastle go to White Heart lane on the back of 2 consecutive wins to give some breathing air to manager Pardew. They seem to have replaced the loss of Demba Ba with newcomer Sissoko who beat Chelsea on his own last week by scoring 2 goals on his debut. The Magpies are still missing mazy winger Ben Arfa and although they will play with renewed confidence I find it hard to support them against a strong Spurs team. Spurs are a draw-no-bet selection.

Stoke v/s Reading. The hosts are still going through some rotten form and there is no better way for them to get their season on track than playing at home against a lowly team. The Potters showed some of the defensive resilience they have been renowned for in recent years against Arsenal last week although they lost by the minimum score. Reading have gathered points here and there lately thanks to the late heroics of diminutive striker Le Fondre. The rest of the team will have to pitch in big time for their fair record to continue. I don't see a lot of goals in this one but I see this as a great opportunity for Stoke to start a good run.  They are a draw-no-bet selection.

Southampton v/s Man City. The Saints seem to be warming well to new manager Pochettino although the change looked an unfair sacking of ex-manager Nigel Adkins. Southampton have very good form at home and are led by in-form striker Rickie Lambert. They will pose problems for this City side who will be welcoming back their powerhouse midfielder Yaya Toure and possibly their defensive mainstay, captain Kompany. In Toure's absence, David Silva has been running the show but has not been served by the profligacy of their main strikers in front of goal. The problem with the Citizens this season has been their indifferent level of form. They can be outstanding in one game and capable of playing poorly in the next. They have the ammunition to win this game but even if they do, I don't think it will be by much. Looking at the market, Southampton with a 1 goal handicap lead is the selection.

Aston Villa v/s West Ham. How many more chances does Villa need more to finally register a win? It's bound to come one day, and it could very well come against West Ham on Sunday. Striker Benteke is on fire and is Villa's main hope. They cannot afford to lose against the Hammers or else this must surely be the sack for manager Paul Lambert. The Villains are recommended as a strong draw-no-bet against an average West Ham side.

The other games look capable of ending in any result and going for the draw in them might be rewarding.

Win: Man Utd
Draw-no-bet: Tottenham, Stoke, Aston Villa
+1 Goal Handicap: Southampton.

EPL Preview

Finally, the EPL is back! No offence to the FA Cup, but there are no certainties when punting on the Cup games, and punting can turn out to be a very speculative exercise.

This week-end will be as competitive a fixture as I can remember. There aren't much between the opposing teams and it would be no surprise to see a lot of drawn matches or one single goal settling many results.

Fulham v/s Wigan. This is a battle between 2 teams with some amount of injury problems. I fancy the visitors to get a result here. They are a disciplined side who excel in breaking down an opponent's attack. They are well capable of exposing Fulham's failings at the back, particularly on the counter-attack. I will go for Wigan with a +1 goal Handicap.

Reading v/s West Brom. Reading's best chance of survival this season is to get maximal amount of points at home where they have proved to be prolific scorers. West Brom are one of the over-achieving teams of the year and they have a decent record on the road. They could win this game if they can keep the hosts quiet for a long duration of the game. For safety here, I will select the Baggies with a +1 goal Handicap.

QPR v/s Tottenham. Rangers are a tough team to predict. They can lose silly games at home against the likes of West Brom and Liverpool, then stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. They are a team loaded with problems and lack of depth and cohesion, and I am not certain that even Harry Redknapp can keep them afloat this year. My feeling is that if Spurs are at the very best, they should win this game. They have no injury worries and Gareth Bale could have a very big game here. Spurs is a draw-no-bet selection.

Stoke v/s Chelsea. I watched Chelsea's defeat at home to Swansea on Wednesday. What a woeful performance and the worrying fact is that Benitez had fielded his first team. Torres is not even worth a tenth of his 50 million pound tag. In fact, he's not even worth newcomer Demba Ba. When the Senegalese came on, he enlivened the Blues' attack and created their only chances of the game. Chelsea have to start with Ba to have any chance of winning this game. Still, a full-strength Stoke will make things difficult for them at the Britannia stadium. I believe there's value going with Stoke as a draw-no-bet.

Man Utd v/s Liverpool. It will be surprising if this game does not deliver fireworks; it's between the fiercest rivals in English soccer, even though Liverpool haven't won the league for the past 25 years or so! They will have to rely on Suarez to get something out of this game. The Uruguayan is in tremendous form and will be keen to wreak havoc in the generous Man Utd defence. As they've done all year long, the hosts will rely on Van Persie to settle things and he's been an absolute bargain buy for the Red Devils. He's scored the winner against Man City and it would not be stretching to see him net again in this derby. Man Utd is a draw-no-bet selection; they will particularly not want to lose at home to their rivals and have the attack to outscore them. The hosts just need to stay away from red cards and neutralize Suarez.


Draw-no-bet: Man Utd, Stoke, Tottenham
+1 Handicap: West Brom, Wigan

EPL Wednesday

Aston Villa obliged with the win, albeit with a late goal from Benteke. Here are my views on some of today's matches.

Stoke v/s Newcastle. Difficult to go with the Magpies here with their recent poor run. They will get central defender Collocini back but will still be missing their creative midfielders Ben Arfa and Cabaye, the latter gone for a long time. I see Stoke either winning or drawing this, so a draw-no-bet on the hosts is the recommendation.

Tottenham v/s Liverpool. The Kops have enjoyed some good results of late, led by the sparkling form of Suarez. I think however that they will be found wanting against a strong opponent like Tottenham. Bale, Lennon and particularly Defoe look set to pick holes in this rather exposed Liverpool defense. I like Spurs as a draw-no-bet as well.

Man Utd v/s West Ham. The hosts will be disappointed if they can't get full points here. Hammers' manager Allardyce used to have a good record against Fergie's teams but that was in the early part of the past decade. This current Man Utd team seems to make things difficult for itself by going behind and relying on its potent strike force to storm back. There is no doubt that their Achilles heel is their porous defence. Van Persie has been quiet in the past couple of games and this could be his wake-up game. Man Utd for the win is the selection.

Wigan v/s Man City. Wigan is beset by injuries at the moment and Man City will not find a better time to play the Latics. Obviously, City is still huffing and puffing at the moment but they have too much depth in the squad to be upset here. Man City looks a safe draw-no-bet.

Win: Man Utd
Draw-no-bet: Stoke, Tottenham, Man City

Football Wednesday

Both Manchester teams faltered spectacularly as my recommendations to follow these 2 teams went dismally awry. Man Utd losing to Blackburn had more the kamikaze look that the Red Devils fans have been accustomed to in small parcels over the years, even more so this year. Man City losing to Sunderland 24 hours later pours cold water on the actual mental strength of the cash-rich club and on their ability to last the whole way to the top. Could a day of thinking over extending their lead at the top gotten to the heads of the players so that they come up with a no-show? Time will tell. But when players lose a match that their manager considers as must-win, serious doubts will rightly be raised.

The fact that the pursuing teams are also dropping points shows again that there is not much that much of a gulf in class  in between clubs in the top flight, as in previous years. Tottenham is one such pursuer who seem to genuinely think they have a shot at the title. I think their title challenge will eventually peter out but I see them with a good chance to get maximum points as they host West Brom on Wednesday. Spurs have a Gareth Bale in top form as the Welsh wizard seems to be scoring goals for fun lately. His more advanced position in the Spurs setup means that he is a more direct threat to the opposing goal and he seems to have taken heart to his new role. Tottenham have been playing brilliantly of late. West Brom will prove a tough nut to crack, like all teams managed by Roy Hodgson. But it's hard to see the Baggies getting out of London with 3 points with the form that Spurs are in. I recommend the hosts as a draw-no-bet.


Draw-no-bet: Tottenham

Wednesday football

Barcelona cosily dispatched Rayo in their safe haven of Nou Camp. A few things of note as I watched the game; Rayo tried to go mano-a-mano with Guardiola's men, trying to pressurize and hurry them off the ball. That can work well for half an hour, but after that, the legs are no longer there to stifle Barca's relentless attacking prowess. But credit to the visitors for giving it their all though. The other thing is the return of Alexis Sanchez for the Blaugrana. This guy can run at speed with the ball, no doubt. Gareth Bale, Nani, Sanchez, players of the same class level, in my opinion.

Today sees the last leg of the Carling Cup being played; yesterday Chelsea got dumped by Liverpool adding to the woes of Villa-Boas. With the Terry racial issue, the non-commitment of Drogba and the club's poor form, things are certainly not rosy at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal were eliminated by Man City, but that's no surprise there, it was more a case of boys playing against men.

Man Utd host Crystal Palace and the unsurprising word from Old Trafford is that the youngsters will play. Well, I think they will be surrounded pretty securely by the likes of Berbatov, Rafael, Smalling etc, who bring top-class experience with them. The visitors have a more important League game on Friday, so there is every chance that they will not be fielding their strongest team for tonight's game. With this in mind, the hosts look to have the upper hand and are recommended as a draw-no-bet. They will either win this game in 90 minutes or draw it out.

Tonight also sees Europa League action and Tottenham host Greek outfit PAOK. The first leg game ended draw-less, with Tottenham fielding one of their most inexperienced teams ever for a European game. This time, the stakes are different as failure to win will most certainly eliminate them from the competition. Harry Redknapp is a master at these kinds of encounters and he will certainly be fielding a competitive team to get the 3 points. I recommend Tottenham as a draw-no-bet as well.


Draw-no-bet: Man Utd, Tottenham

No way for Wales

A few races of note over the week-end as well as the European qualifiers, but nothing to really crow about in the world of racing or football.

So You Think won the Champion stakes race at Leopardstown beating the good filly Snow Fairy by half a length. After this race, it's hard to have a gauge of the real ability of SYT. If he had won by much more, as was expected, he would have possibly confirmed being the best in the world from the 10-12 furlong distance. The fact that he struggled to win more convincingly could be attributed to his 2 month lay-off, or that Snow Fairy was at the top of her game, which is not far from the truth after 2 conditional outings. Still, deep down, SYT connections and supporters, like myself, will no doubt have been disappointed with the manner of the win.

England is expected to beat Wales today for the Euro qualifiers and I certainly think they will. Wales is a sad sight in international football and I wish it was otherwise. Sad because over the years, they have produced world-class players of the likes of Neville Southall, Ryan Giggs and Gareth Bale along with decent players like Hartson, Speed, Bellamy, but never been able to make them work as a team. The closest that they came to being competitive were a few years ago when Mark Hughes was at the helm. He produced wondrous results such as beating Italy but came just short at the end. Had he continued and not gone back to club football, maybe the success of the Welsh team would have continued. But I don't see much hope of them being a premier team for now or years to come. To become that, they would need a first-class manager, not a newcomer who's learning the ropes of management. But again, which first-rate manager would want to manage the team, one has to ask. It's too bad because a talent like Gareth Bale would benefit heaps playing European Championships and World Cups. England to win is the recommendation.

Win: England

Leaders steer clear

Strangely enough, this was a pivotal week-end in the 3 major European leagues namely EPL, La Liga and Serie A. The leaders ran away while most, including myself, were expecting some sort narrowing the gap at the top. The recommendations on Man City and Bayern were good, Arsenal and Wolfsburg were drawn and voided, and the Real Madrid one was a losing shocker to say the least.

In the EPL, Man Utd played comeback kings yet again and are forging their way towards the title. If I thought they looked good to win it in last Friday's blog, today I feel only a meltdown of catastrophic proportions can stop them this year. In Ferguson's rule at Old Trafford, no such catastrophe has ever happened and I don't think it will happen, even for a team that is still considered not-vintage material. There might be some blips on some of their away games, but things seem to indicate they will prevail at the end, considering the miserable opposition from the Gunners.

La Liga is over, in my opinion. Barcelona have won it this week-end, and consider any remaining short odds on offer for them as interest returns come the official season end. Deserving champions they are too. Going to beat Villareal with key men missing and not conceding any goal shows the deep talent of this squad. Madrid have the Copa del Rey and possibly 2 semi-final matches against the mighty Blaugrana to prevent a complete stream-rolling from their arch-rivals.

This week will be dominated by the Champions League match-ups. Tomorrow, Inter welcome Shalke, and Real Madrid welcome Tottenham. Missing Ronaldo and Benzema was clearly the reason Madrid could not score against a resolutely defensive Gijon team. Even if these 2 are still missing for tomorrow's game, they will have chances to score against a depleted Spurs defence. Plus, let's face it, even though they did it over the week-end against Wigan, Spurs are not famed for clean sheets. Their main weapon is their multi-faceted offense with the likes of Bale, Van der Vaart, Lennon etc. For statisticians, Redknapp is 0-5 against Mourinho during the latter's Chelsea days. Advantage to the Spaniards on this one, they will take advantage of Spurs' inexperience and injury problems; I recommend Real Madrid as a draw-no-bet.

Draw-no-bet: Real Madrid