Premier League Preview: 11 December
Christmas is right round the corner and that means it’s going to be a busy period in the English Premier League, as teams look to put together a good run through the packed fixture schedule. The next fortnight is especially crucial for defending champions
Chelsea, who face Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United in their next three games.
Elsewhere in the Premiership this weekend will see Alan Pardew making his debut as Newcastle United manager with a game against Liverpool, while Manchester United will welcome Arsenal to the theatre of dreams on Monday night.
Newcastle has always been a team that is not shy of providing a headline grabbing episode every season, and they maintained their reputation by becoming the first side to sack their manager this season. The decision to sack Chris Hughton has not gone down
too well with the local Geordie fans and his successor, Alan Pardew has a lot to do if he is to win his fans over. However the task at hand is not an easy one, as his first fixture as the manager of the Toons is a home game against Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool,
who have notched up 16 out of the last 18 available points in the league.
Steven Gerrard is a doubt for Liverpool’s game against Newcastle, and with the players revolting against Alan Pardew only yesterday, the former West Ham boss has a real challenge on his hands. Liverpool is likely to start the game with Fernando Torres up
front and Joe Cole linking up with the striker from central midfield, which could be a problem with the Newcastle defence, which has not been at its best this season.
Before the Newcastle game there is another West Midlands derby this weekend when Aston Villa takes on West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park in Birmingham. Gerrard Houllier has had a nightmare start to his Villa campaign and he needs to put things right sooner
rather than later, and a home game against West Brom may be his best opportunity to start the resurrection. West Brom on the other hand have been enjoying a decent season so far and are currently in the top half of the league standings, and will be looking
to build on their decent start and cement their position in the top half of the table.
In another exciting clash at the weekend, bottom of the league West Ham United will welcome Manchester City to Upton Park. It will be an emotional return for Manchester City skipper Carlos Tevez to a ground where he made his premier league debut playing
for the Hammers, and has reached the status of a legend after his heroics in the 2006 season kept the hammers in the top flight of English Football. The game however will be extremely important for both the sides as West Ham are trying to get off the foot
of the Barclays Premier League table, while Manchester City are chasing the top four and have title aspirations of their own.
Another exciting clash at the weekend will be played between Everton and Wigan at Goodison Park. The recent poor run of form by Everton has seen them drop closer to the relegation zone, and after six games without a win they will be looking to get things
back on track against a Wigan side that is unpredictable at best. Everton have lost only two of their last 11 games, but it is their problem of converting draws into wins that has seen them drop in the standings. Wigan on the other hand are in the bottom three,
but know that a win against David Moyes’s side can propel them out of the relegation dogfight.
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