United, Arsenal guarantee drama
Expect plenty of scoring in Saturday’s encounter between classic rivals
Manchester United hosts Arsenal on Saturday in a classic encounter which usually provides plenty of drama. However I’m not sure how much drama these teams have left, following recent events.
It’s certainly been a crazy time at Arsenal. Two bad losses led to a stormy and emotional annual general meeting last week, and while Arsenal’s fortunes have since improved, nothing has come easy. First was the embarrassingly narrow 1-0 win over hopeless QPR, thanks to a last-gasp goal. That was followed by a totally insane League Cup win over Reading, with the Gunners coming back from 4-0 down to win 7-5 after extra time.
United, meanwhile, have been doing well enough, despite conceding 11 goals in their last four matches. That includes a 5-4 League Cup loss to Chelsea on Wednesday. United have been scoring a ton of goals as well. However, I doubt we’ll see another 8-2 performance from them, which is what happened the last time they hosted Arsenal. That means United are coming off a match with nine goals, Arsenal just played in a 12-goal game, and this fixture last season produced 10 tallies. I think we might just see some scoring on Saturday.
A bright note for Arsenal has been the return from injury of young England midfielder Jack Wilshere, who played his first Premier League match in almost 18 months against QPR. Wilshere is not yet match fit, but other wise showed no sign of rust, completing 33 of 33 passes in the first half.
Derby d’Italia
Saturday’s biggest match is in Turin, as leaders Juventus host runners-up Inter in the Derby d’Italia. Juventus are looking to extend their incredible Serie A unbeaten run to 50 games, while in-form Inter are on an eight-match win streak in all competitions. One of those streaks has to end on Saturday.
A player to watch for is 19-yearold Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, who was picked up over the summer after the French youth international failed to catch on at Manchester United. Pogba has quickly found a place in the Juve side. He scored a cracking insurance goal two weeks ago in the big win over Napoli, and then netted the winner last weekend against Bologna.
Revenge Time
The UEFA Champions League is back next week, as we get the return fixtures from a lot of the top-of-thetable clashes that we saw last week. So there are plenty of key games with teams looking for revenge.
The biggest clash is Tuesday as Real Madrid host leaders Dortmund hoping to avenge their loss in Germany. These two sides are proving to be the class of Group D. Also looking to get back on even terms are AC Milan, who host inform Spanish side Malaga. Inconsistent Arsenal, meanwhile, travels to Germany to face Schalke following the Gunners’ disappointing 2-0 home loss.
On Wednesday, Chelsea hosts group leaders Shakhtar Donetsk, who edged them on Matchday 3, while Celtic, who very nearly managed a result in Barcelona, will now get another chance, this time with home advantage. Finally in Group F, two of the three co-leaders clash as Valencia host Cinderella-side BITE Borisov.
When Pigs Fly
Boca Juniors versus River Plate in Argentina is one of the fiercest rivalries in the game, and you can never be sure what will happen when the two Buenos Aires clubs meet in El Superclasico. But I don’t think anybody could have predicted the giant flying pig that interrupted their match last Friday.
River fans somehow managed to sneak into the stadium a huge inflatable pig dressed in Boca colours. After River opened scoring, they floated the truck-sized pig up to block the view of the Boca fans. River are from the rich side of town, while Boca are the team of the working class, so there was definitely some class warfare at work. The pig was considered so inflammatory that officials halted the game while it was taken down and deflated.
The match finished 2-2, so neither side was able to bring home the bacon.