The goals dried up in front of a volatile West London crowd as leaders Chelsea dropped their first points of the season in a goalless draw with QPR. With Julio Cesar debuting in goal with a man of the match performance, the constant brilliance of Eden Hazard was this week not enough while Torres looked lively but couldn’t get past the former Inter keeper.The below par performance raised what I think will become a repetitive question for Chelsea fans; who will score when Torres misfires? Even with such a hefty price tag; Torres is the only out-and-out striker on Chelsea’s books this season. Sure, advanced midfielders like Hazard and the ageing Lampard will chip in with the odd goals, but there is no different element up front for Di Matteo. Sturridge with his late cameo looked lively but won’t be expected to score the goals Didier Drogba scored through his successful stint at the Bridge. Romelu Lukaku could have had a breakout season and letting the youngster leave on loan creates more questions than answers. With the Ivorian long gone, pressure falls on Torres’ shoulders for the majority of the goals leaving little to change tactically if Chelsea comes across quality defensive performances like at Loftus Road.With a huge midweek game against Italian champions Juventus, expect some tired legs come the Stoke clash at the Bridge. Stoke have a good record against the big teams and I don’t expect this game to be pretty, but I still expect Chelsea to grind a victory here.My Prediction: Chelsea 1 – Stoke 0
Manchester United (Last Week #5, This Week #2)
United strolled back into the top four this week with a strong second half performance and a 4-0 victory against a very lacklustre Wigan side. Dutchman, Alexander Buttner was a huge standout on debut scoring and getting an assist to his name while Patrice Evra watched on from the bench. Goalless at half time United came out and took the game away from the visitors by the hour as Paul Scholes marked his 700th game with a well-taken goal. Alongside the Dutch debutant was also youngster Nick Powell who capped of his first appearance at Old Trafford with the goal of the game drilled home as Al Habsi tried helplessly to keep the powerful shot out.
Performances by the new boys will only give Sir Alex more selection headaches as more and more of his deep squad impresses. Patrice Evra, who has started 111 of United’s last 118 league games, now has competition for his place and now may have more bench time in his future as the thirties gradually gets the best of him. Obviously I expect to see the likes of Powell and Buttner as they learn the English game a little more before being thrusted into the deep end of the world’s biggest club which is stacked with experience. Look to Scholes and Evra to play key roles in their development. With crucial games ahead the subs bench was piled with quality names as the likes of Van Persie and Valencia looked on while Hernandez and Nani received rare starts. Sir Alex is as good as they come when it comes to rotating, especially with the looming Champion’s League tie and the huge game at Anfield this weekend.
Expect a hostile crowd. After the heated affairs last season, Patrice Evra will not get a warm reception. After Alexander Buttners highly impressive debut, will he start such a high profile game? Will Sir Alex protect Evra from the abuse that’s headed his way? Or will Patrice demand a starting birth after one week on the bench? Only Fergie knows these answers and like any fan, I never try to guess what Sir Alex will do next.
My Prediction: Manchester United 2 – Liverpool 2
Liverpool have been poor so far this season, but form means nothing in these matches as we have seen by some of their more recent impressive results over the Red Devils.
Arsenal (This Week #2, Last Week #8)
Easily the most impressive result of the week was 6-1 mauling of lowly Southampton. Gervinho was my star man, playing more central than we have seen at Arsenal and bagged a brace in the progress. Santi Corzola was an integral part of the creative flow of the team playing a part in several goals while Podolski scored a well-taken free kick. But it was the Ivorian, Gervinho, that impressed the most. So far we have seen Gervinho inconsistently perform out wide for Arsene Wenger, but after the stellar performance in the ‘no.9’ role Wenger may be able to get the most out of the former Lille star. The Ivorian was a constant threat to the Saints defence with his smart movement into the box and took his goal very well.
Arsene Wenger over the years has made a habit of redefining is players, but more specifically his wide men into central strikers. Easily is greatest ever signing, Thierry Henry arrived in North London as an underachieving winger and we he turned into arguably the best striker the league has seen. Robin Van Persie was another who arrived from Feyenoord for less than 3 million, yet turned into a prolific scorer that some would say carried Arsenal to a third place finish last year before leaving for rivals United over the break. Before this match Gervinho had only scored four times for the club, and yes this potential breakthrough performance was against Southampton. But considering what the talented Wenger has achieved in the past, don’t be surprised if the goals keep coming from the African.
The gunners after the midweek game in France head to Manchester and will hope to keep up their impressive defensive run, conceding only one goal so far in the league. As impressive as Arsenal were in this past weekend’s game I don’t expect Arsenal to come away with a result, but if Santi Corzola can control the game alongside the highly influential Abou Diaby I could easily be proved wrong.
My Prediction: Manchester City 2 – Arsenal 0
Manchester City (Last Week #4, This Week #4)
In a game where Mancini handed new signings Javi Garcia, Scott Sinclair and Maicon starts; the champions could not make the most of their chances and left the Britannia with a solitary point. Stoke were their usual selves; nothing pretty but they were physical and effective. Crouch bagged a questionable goal as appeals for handball were made. Javi Garcia capped off an impressive debut with a strong header but Asmir Begovic kept out everybody else from the blue side of Manchester.
Although Garcia looked the part on debut, starting three of the signings in the same game was a tactical shambles for Mancini. Yes, City looked the better team and created far more chances but the lack of fluency and familiarity among the new players was evident. Maicon bombed forward like expected but was clearly having issues linking up with the forward line. Scott Sinclair looked nervous on the left flank and failed to get into the game, which could leave some to question the departure of arguably the better winger Adam Johnson? Many looked at the title-winning squad and it was very hard to find a weakness or any position to strengthen, but now Mancini has signed five new players (at the same time!) he should really be slowly integrating them into his winning formula instead of pulling it apart.
Experience and home advantage should prevail here for the champions, while I am assuming City will make more of their opportunities this week.
