BIGSHOTS’CALL
SUNDERLAND 1 SPURS 1
SUNDERLAND will be kicking themselves for not punishing City and picking up all three points at the Etihad last week. Spurs, conversely, may think that they’re in for a revival. But let’s take note here, O’neill’s men are no pushovers. The pressure is on Spurs, with Chelsea just a few points away from taking over the coveted fourth spot. Sunderland should ride on their good performance and prove to be a tough team to beat. This tie at the Stadium of Light should be an interesting one, with the likes of Larsson, Bendtner, Adebayor and Van der Vaart adding zest to it.
LIVERPOOL 1 A. VILLA 1
SHAME on you Liverpool! Bad game last week against the Magpies and with Pepe Reina out, things are looking glum in the Red side of Mersey. Well, not much can be said about Aston Villa either. Believe it or not, Villa are the only team in the EPL who have yet to score from a corner this season. With their charismatic captain Stylian Petrov now out with cancer, I don’t think they’ve got enough grit and steel in them to fully capitalise on the Reds. I predict a mind-numbing draw at Anfield today.
ARSENAL 1 MAN CITY 0
AH yes, the game that every Manchester United fan will be looking forward to. Mancini’s men are just a bunch of spoilt brats if you ask me. Aguero being injured last week sounded like a complete BS, and ‘Bola’telli’s antics on the pitch resembles that of a junior league player. It is pathetic, to say the least. Arsenal, on the other hand, have suffered shock loss to Tony Fernandez’s team. Let’s hope that Van Persie gets back into form and delivers his wonderful goals. My bet is on Arsenal, a side built on discipline, teamwork and teamwork ... did I just say teamwork twice? I rest my case.
Wow, looks like we have been getting shocks over the recent EPL scores. If this goes on, we should start predicting absurd results. Anyway, with seven games left, I suppose we are in for more surprises. Any way, deep down, I do sincerely feel sorry for Liverpool fans. My message to them is: “Don’t give up.”
SUNDERLAND 1 SPURS 2
THE Black Cats became the first side to take points off Roberto Mancini’s men at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League this season. Can they show the same performance at home against Spurs? Tottenham toppled Swansea to register their first league win in seven weeks and heap the pressure back on Arsenal in the race for third. They need to win this week in order to seal their place for the Champions League. Spurs to win this one.
LIVERPOOL 2 A. VILLA 0
LIVERPOOL have now lost six of their last seven Premier League games. They remain eighth in the Premier League standings. Many predicted that Liverpool would finish in the top four this season but it looks like everything has gone wrong for them. King Kenny needs to do something to save his club – and his job.
ARSENAL 1 MAN CITY 1
BOTH teams need to recover from their disappointments last weekend. One win in four league outings has seen the wheels come off City’s title charge, with rivals United forging a five-point lead through a run of seven straight wins. Having led for so long, City are in danger of seeing all their hard work coming undone. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger offered no excuses for his side’s poor performance when their seven-match winning run came to an abrupt end at the hands of struggling QPR last weekend. They are expected to drop another two points this weekend to make way for Spurs at third spot.
Man Utd will always be stronger towards the end of the season. SAF is right, Premier League is a marathon, you need to keep fit and save energy till the end. If you go sprinting at the beginning, you will be left behind, like what is happening now to some teams.
SUNDERLAND 3 SPURS 2
THIS is game between a strong resurgent team, with a string of strong finishes lately, against a strong club suffering from some hiccups. Sunderland will win this one to keep their revival under Martin O’neill going. Spurs will be relying on the in-form Adebayor, who may cause some damage with Van der Vaart but not enough to win. Good match to watch as both O’neill and Harry Redknapp are master tacticians.
LIVERPOOL 2 A. VILLA 1
THIS is the game that will help ease the pressure on Daglish. Liverpool should win easily at home if KD plays the right combination. Hard to figure what the manager is up to but I feel for the Liverpool fans whose last few seasons have been wrecked by poor managers despite their great line-up. Great start to the season and completely lost now. But he could be the only manager to win two Cups this season.
ARSENAL 2 MAN CITY 1
MY heart wants an Arsenal victory although everything else points to a City win. So this prediction is from the heart. I have said all along that City are Arsenal with money to spend. With the firepower and solid backline that they have, it was a surprise that they have faltered recently. Tevez is the ace in the pack and whatever Balotelli’s antics are, he delivers. What Arsenal have going is their fans and a revitalised backline. If we can hold the backline and Song and Rosicky rise to the occasion, then we’ll nick this one.
This week I chatted with the Mumbai Monorail team for feedback on the EPL and they continuously think that “teamwork and belief in your team is a great character that drives success”. What we see in the EPL reflects our daily life. So, here’s to my colleagues in Mumbai and KL – we are the league leaders in our game – worldwide! Starsports would like to hear from passionate EPL fans out there! Include #starepl in your football related tweets. The Top Ten tweets every month will receive attractive prizes.