Manchester United V Manchester City
Probable line ups
Manchester United
Manchester City
Match facts
City have won 4 of the last 5 meetings between the two sides including the last two at Old Trafford.
City have not conceded a goal for 4 games spanning a time period of 418 minutes
Wayne Rooney has scored five goals in his last five games against City.
Preview
A big game for both sides not only in terms of bragging rights but also in terms of league standing. The first of three games in hand for City, over Chelsea, they must win in order to keep the title race in their own hands. United must on the other hand win to prevent another of their rivals doing the double over them ,following last weeks 3-0 home win to Liverpool, and to keep their own dwindling hopes of reaching the top 4 alive. Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool fans will find themselves in the strange position of wanting a United win, in order to aid their own title aspirations.
United’s return to form in their last two matches against Olympiacos and West Ham, keeping 2 clean sheets in the process, sees a renewed sense of optimism around the Old Trafford club before the derby. However City, have won their last 3 premier league matches following last weeks rout of Fulham 5-0 and won 6 of their last 8 away matches, so will in no doubt approach the game expecting to win their third game in a row at Old Trafford.
A loss for United will mean yet another set back for David Moyes, who will want to avoid another heavy defeat, and a tenth loss of the season for Man United, something which would be a high for Man United in the Premier League era. For city a loss would not end their title hopes by any means but would deal a huge blow to them and put Chelsea back in the driving seat. This, however, is something I can not see happening, with everything pointing towards a City win.
Prediction
I believe Manchester City will look to attack from offset following on from the example Liverpool set at Old Trafford last week in their 3-0 victory. United will look to play on the counter and expose City’s attacking fullbacks and their undoubted weak link Demichelis, which is why width will be key to the United team. Added to this City’s undoubted strength in the middle of the park through Yaya Toure is something they will want to avoid. With this in mind I believe city will be too strong for United and will come away from the match with 3 points.
Man United 1- 3 Man City
Arsenal V Swansea
Probable line ups
Arsenal
Swansea
Match facts
Arsenal have won the last three meetings between the sides.
Arsenal are undefeated in their last 13 home matches
Swansea have failed to win in their last 9 away matches.
Preview
Arsenal will be hoping to bounce back quickly after their shock 6-0 defeat against Chelsea last time out, a result which left Arsenal’s title hopes to be in question. However only 7 points behind Chelsea with a game in hand, a win would mean their title hopes are definitely not over yet. Swansea will want to be taking the 3 points for the opposite reason, to avoid relegation, sitting only 4 points above the drop zone a win would move Swansea into more comfortable territory in the league standings.
Both teams like to play a passing game so the match will very much be decided on who can dictate the tempo of the game and maintain possession the best. Despite Arsenal being injury hit I predict them to bounce back from their thumping at Stamford Bridge with a comfortable win over Swansea who have not been at their best this season.
Arsenal 3 – 1 Swansea.
Newcastle V Everton
Probable line ups
Newcastle
Everton
Match facts
Everton have won 3 out of the last 4 matches versus Newcastle, drawing the fourth of these.
Everton have lost their last 4 away matches; without scoring in the last 3.
Newcastle won their last 2 home matches 1-0.
Preview
Everton will be looking to get their away record back on track following a difficult run of away matches yielding defeats at Arsenal, Chelsea Tottenham and Liverpool. Newcastle will be looking to extend their run of home wins to three, something that will see them move four points clear of the next closest team to them in the table, Southampton. A win for Everton would see them leapfrog Spurs into fifth place having placed a game less. Alan Pardew will serve the final match of his 3 match stadium ban in the game.
Both teams have been inconsistent in front of goal in recent matches. Everton have been the better scoring side but have also conceded more in their last 3 outings compared with Newcastle. The teams are therefore quite evenly poised and are not a huge distance apart in the table. I therefore predict a score draw from the match.
Newcastle 1 – 1 Everton.
Flirting With Football 