EPL Week 34; SUNDAY PREVIEW

GOODISON WELCOMES THE RED DEVILS AND IT'S A WENGER/MOURINHO SHOWDOWN!

Manchester United will be going to the blue half of Mersyside hoping to inflict similar damage as they did to the red half of Liverpool. United have not picked up any points their in the last two visits and will be hoping for better this time. Elsewhere, the top two go head to head in the final game of the weekend as Arsenal host Chelsea at the Emirates. Two great games to look forward to today.

EVERTON VS MANCHESTER UNITED

United travel to a resurgent Everton side that have picked up ten points from their last four games while the visitors have nine from a possible twelve points. Louis Van Gaal’s side will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing defeat to rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge despite dominating a huge chunk of the game.

Everton season looks to have taken a turn for the better after a poor first half of the season, Martinez side look to have found the perfect formula at the right time. Playing in Europe next season is a far cry for Everton who have been regular contestants in the Europa League for the past decade. Safe from the jaws of relegation, the Toffees have nothing but pride to play for really.

Goodison Park is not an easy place to visit, and most United fans will be aware of that having lost their last two visits to the blue half of Mersyside. United’s cross town rivals Manchester City along with Liverpool and Arsenal have all failed to leave Goodison Park with all three points this season.

The previous meeting between the sides at Old Trafford ended in a 2-1 win for the home side who were a bit fortunate David De Gea was in outstanding form on the day to keep out Everton on a number of occasions.

Martinez is hoping to have James McCarthy and Leon Osman available but Steven Pienaar is likely to miss out due to muscle fatigue.

United will be without full back Rafael who has a broken rib. Joining him on the sidelines is Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Michael Carrick who is still absent due to a calf injury.

Predicted Line ups;

Everton (4-2-3-1)

Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; Lennon, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku.

Manchester United (4-1-4-1)

De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw; Blind; Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Young; Rooney.

Prediction;

Everton 2 – 2 Manchester United

Both teams are on fine form, and Everton just always seem to find that extra gear when the big boys come visiting. A draw looks a safe bet, both sides look strong but United’s backline still worries me especially at center back.

ARSENAL VS CHELSEA

Its Wenger vs Mourinho, first versus second, Alexis versus Hazard. This is the game all have been waiting for this whole week, the top two go head to head at the Emirates with Chelsea looking to inch their way closer to their first Premier League title since the return of the ‘special one’ while the Gunners will be looking to keep pace with the leaders.

Wenger doesn’t fair too good against Mourinho, in fact it is horrendous. In twelve attempts Wenger has no victory against Mou, with seven defeats including the 2-0 loss at the Bridge earlier this season and five draws.

With the likes of Sanchez, Ozil and Cazorla, Wenger will probably be facing Mourinho with his probably his best team ever since Jose joined the Premier League. Some may argue that this is also Mourinho’s best eleven since the Robben days.

This game is even made sweeter due to the animosity between the two managers. They can both brush away any rivalry at press conferences but it’s plain to see that they really don’t like each other, the earlier meeting was evidence to that with Wenger’s famous push on the Portuguese.

Cesc Fabregas is set to make his return to the place he once called home and loved dearly since departing for Barcelona in the summer of 2011. The reception he’ll receive will no doubt be a hostile one.

Mourinho should have Drogba fit for this match, which will take a bit of pressure from him as the Ivorian had suffered a minor problem during the week to leave Mou with no strikers to take with him to the Emirates. Diego Costa is still out with a hamstring problem and Loic Remy has a calf injury.

Wenger will be glad to have a bunch of players to choose from, not so many times you hear that from the Arsenal camp. Apart from Mertesacker who is 50-50, everyone else is fit. The Ox and Arteta may just lack match fitness though.

Predicted Line ups;

 

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)

Ospina; Debuchy, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Ramsey; Sanchez, Cazorla, Ozil; Giroud.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1)

Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Zouma, Matic; Oscar, Fabregas, Hazard; Drogba.

Prediction;

Arsenal 2 – 2 Chelsea

A very tough one to call, but I’ll go for the draw in this one. The one problem I see for Chelsea is if Hazard is shut out, where will the goals come from? Then again, if Arsenal fail to deal with the Belgium they may suffer.  I’m sure Mourinho will have both Zouma and Matic in front of the defense to deal with the Arsenal trio of stars just behind Giroud especially Alexis Sanchez.