Premier League Weekend Preview - Part 1
Another exciting weekend in the English Premier League is upon us as Manchester United kick off proceedings tonight with a crucial away fixture against Gerrard Houllier’s Aston Villa.
In other matches Manchester City welcome Birmingham City, Tottenham host Blackburn Rovers while Liverpool play Stoke City away. Arsenal and Chelsea play Everton and Sunderland on Sunday.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men lost further ground on Chelsea in midweek after a drab draw against local rivals Manchester City, and the going does not get any easier this weekend as they visit their bogey team at Villa Park.
In the greater scheme of things, a point against the big spending Manchester City is not a catastrophic result, but if United lose or draw tonight they will put day light between themselves and Chelsea – something Sir Alex Ferguson would want to avoid.
United is the only unbeaten team in the league so far, but tonight they visit Villa park where Aston Villa have not lost all season. Villa will be buoyed by the news that Gabriel Agbonlahor has extended his contract with club, and it was his strike that helped Villa won this corresponding fixture last season. Aston villa are tenth in the league table following their last gasp win against Blackpool in midweek and they will be looking to maintain their upward momentum in the game tonight.
In another match Manchester City will host Birmingham at the City of Manchester Stadium in a match that is a must win for both the teams for contrasting reasons. Birmingham have not won a single game in their last 11 outings and have to win if they are to maintain their Premiership status, while City have to win if their coach Roberto Mancini is to keep his job. Mancini has come under severe criticism for his tactics in recent games and if he does not get results he could be shown the door by the club owners.
City have had fewer shots on goal than any other side in the Premier League other than Wolves and Stoke City. That is largely due to their manager’s defensive tactics, deploying three defensive midfielders in every game has led the side to score a meager 15 goals in 12 games, which is an unimpressive tally from given the attacking talent at their disposal.
But nonetheless Mancini will be hopeful that his superstars will be good enough for an out of sorts Birmingham City side. The Blues however have not won on the road this season and are very close to the drop zone – in fact they are just one place off the bottom three.
Tottenham is another side that is going through contrasting fortunes in the league, after beating European Champions Inter Milan at White Hart Lane just over a week ago, they have gone four matches without a win in the league. That is not the sort of form anyone would associate with a side that has Champions League aspirations and wants to challenge the established order in the Premier League.
Spurs have scored just 14 goals this season and that just doesn’t seem right considering the attacking options that are available to manager Harry Redknapp. Their opponents tonight will be Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers who come into the game on the back of two consecutive wins.
Tags: