The Best Premier League Matches Of The Festive Season

For football fans, one of the best things about the holiday season is that matches continue without interruption in the major European leagues. This means we can all spend some of our time away from work taking in the matches and getting a nice look at how the teams look heading into 2015 and soon the second half of the league campaigns. So with that in mind, here's a glance at some of the top Premier League fixtures to keep your eye on this festive period.

Aston Villa v. Manchester United (December 20)

Much has been made of Man Utd.'s recent hot streak, which has propelled them all the way up to third place in the league tables. Following the club's recent 3-0 dismantling of Liverpool at Old Trafford, the Daily Mail even went so far as to declare the EPL a three-horse title race (with many still assuming it'll come down to Chelsea and Manchester City). But Aston Villa can be a tricky club when playing at home, so this is an interesting match to watch. If there's a game that could trip up Man Utd. before 2015, this is probably it.

Liverpool v. Arsenal (December 21)

Liverpool is having a disastrous go of it thus far, and the aforementioned 3-0 loss at Man Utd. didn't help matters. Now, a December 21 fixture in which the club hosts Arsenal is beginning to resemble a make-or-break contest. Bet Fair analyst Luke Moore wrote about Liverpool's outlook standing as one of the EPL stories to watch in the coming weeks. He even went so far as to suggest that Brendan Rodgers may be coaching for his job. Meanwhile, Arsenal is hoping to gain some momentum.

Chelsea v. West Ham (December 26)

Chelsea will likely go into this match as the strong favourite, and justifiably so. But a cross-town rivalry in London yields no sure results, and West Ham has been stronger than most anyone anticipated this season. This should be one of the most intriguing fixtures of the season.

Manchester United v. Newcastle (December 26)

As mentioned, Man Utd. has come on strong of late, but Newcastle has had a fairly impressive campaign as well. Its claim to fame is becoming the first club to beat Chelsea in a league match this season, as Newcastle won their Week 15 contest 2-1. But Newcastle then followed up that result by taking a 4-1 clobbering from Arsenal. Man Utd. will be favoured, but it shouldn't overlook a Newcastle squad that's trying to get back on track.

Southampton v. Chelsea (December 28)

There aren't many fixtures that one can point at and label as a chance that Chelsea may lose, but this is one of them. The Atlantic posted an interesting piece at the beginning of December that gives sound reasoning for Southampton's improbably hot start to likely meet an end—and they're probably right. But this has nevertheless been one of the EPL's most impressive teams thus far, and one never knows what may come up with hosting Chelsea in December.

West Ham v. Arsenal (December 28)

If Arsenal can handle Liverpool in the previously highlighted match, it will have generated some very positive momentum heading toward the second half of the season, with a top-four finish in its sights. West Ham will then become a very intriguing obstacle, and as noted when discussing the Chelsea v. West Ham fixture on December 26, cross-London rivalries make for extra intrigue. This will also be a great opportunity for Arsenal, in that West Ham will only have one day of rest between the matches.

Any EPL match holds the potential to entertain, but if you're looking for a few fixtures to highlight for holiday season viewing, these look to be the best of the bunch!
 
 

Premier League Permutations

Has there ever been another season like this one? I stand to be corrected, but I cannot remember another season where the Premier League headed into the final round of fixtures with the title, two Champions League spots, 2 Europa League spots and one relegation place all still being fought over.

Some of the permutations are fairly simple. Others seem to conjure up so many different possibilities that it is hard to fathom, and thinking about it makes your head hurt and ears bleed.

The following is my attempt to make sense of all the different possibilities that we still find ourselves facing with only one set of fixtures to go.

Pappis Cisse Wonder Goal - Video

Pappis Cisse scored two amazing goals against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tonight, but the second goal was absolutely outrageous. I don't imagine it will be too long until this is taken down from youtube, but in the meantime, for those who haven't seen it - enjoy!

Absolute screamer!! Just click on full screen to see the goal clearer. No matter what team you support you can't help but be impressed

One man who certainly seemed to enjoy the goal was Steve Claridge...perhaps a little too much?

Used with permission

Newcastle United: the Pardew Era

The suprise of the Premier League season so far has to be the form of Newcastle United. Alan Pardew's black and white army continue to dumfoud football 'experts' and at the time of writing sit 6th, just 2 points from the last Champions League spot. Newcastle's metoric rise is even more suprising due to the loss of several key players such as Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, Andy Carroll and Jose Enrique.

The Toon finally gave up their unbeaten league record at Eastlands with a 3-1 defeat to Man City but to their credit bounced back with a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against the defending champions. Although it took a terrible decision by John Flynn to award Pardew's men a penalty against the Red Devils, Demba Ba kept a cool head to slot home and make it 9 goals for the season. Yesterday's defeat at... well we're not really sure what their ground is called these days, was a lot closer than the 3-0 win to visitors Chelsea suggests. We will pick this up in detail during Monday Round-Up but the home side went toe to toe with the would be champions and had an awful refereeing decision not let off the equally awful David Luiz, and the woodwork not denied them so much we could be praising another win.

Continuted at http://www.resultsbasedbusiness.co.uk/

Manchester United V Newcastle United

Overview
Finally it's back to writing about my favourite club Manchester United. I have been writing a lot about Newcastle  lately because of their surprising form which puts them 3rd in the English Premier League. Their real opponent starts last week with Manchester City and this week Manchester United followed by Chelsea. Sir Alex Ferguson's side are not looking sharp at the moment after the 1-6 defeat against Manchester City at Old Trafford. They have only scraped out three 1-0 victories in their last 3 English Premier League matches. They do not lack the fire power but have they lost their morale?

The Magpies have not won at Old Trafford for the last 10 years, with 2 draws and 8 defeats, conceding 26 goals and scoring just 6. Wayne Rooney had scored 9 goals against Newcastle and I expect him to score again on Match Day.

Read full article here.

That Sinking Feeling!

 

I predict a riot! With the start of the season only a few days away its all kicking off! The amount of money spent has reached upwards of £269,075,000!


With all this dosh being spent by 'The Big Boys' The other teams located up and down the country have been looting other clubs for any freebees they can get their hands on! Stoke snapping up former England international Jonathan Woodgate from Spurs, Sunderland have taken Westwood, Larsson & David Vaughan without even spending a penny! The QPR management team have also been @ it! Walking out of Upton Park with Welshman Danny Gabbidon & Kieron Dyer under their arms! While Neil Warnock was photographed taking Jay Bothroyd for a spin in his new bright pink Bugatti Veyron, next thing you know Bothroyd's pictured in the QPR team photo!

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