Crystal Palace v Arsenal Preview (26 October 2013 - 7:45pm)

Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 26 October 2013 - Kick Off 19:45pm
This game is live on TV

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Crystal Palace

Ian Holloway decided that it was the best decision to walk away as manager of Crystal Palace in the wake of a heavy 1-4 home loss to Fulham on Monday night. I think there is a lot more to the story considering how early Crystal Palace have made the decision, but I guess all will be revealed in time and for now the Eagles have to concentrate on taking on the League leaders in front of their own fans.

The loss to Fulham certainly has fans questioning where Crystal Palace will get the necessary points to survive in the Premier League and they are already 5 points off safety. Palace can't even turn to their form at Selhurst Park as a possible way to bridge that gap as they bring in a 1-0-3 record, scoring 4 goals and conceding 8.

Crystal Palace did beat Sunderland 3-1 here, but they have lost all 5 games they have played since then which ended Holloway's time as manager. Palace have lost back to back home games while they have now won just 2 of their last 9 at Selhurst Park in all competitions and that is a hard mentality to change.

Jonathan Williams is the main absentee from the squad.

Arsenal

A good run of form will see a lot of teams being over-rated by the layers and fans and one of those in the early part of the season is Arsenal. After a strong start beating a lot of poor teams, the Gunners were surprisingly being backed everywhere to beat Dortmund on Tuesday night, but a 1-2 loss puts them in a pretty awkward position in the Champions League Group.

Arsene Wenger described the team as being naive in that loss to Dortmund, but will be looking for Arsenal to put three more points on the board in the Premier League ahead of two big games against Liverpool and Manchester United. Arsenal are currently leading the way by 2 points and the bring in a 3-1-0 away record where they have scored 9 goals and conceded 4.

Arsenal saw their 12 game unbeaten run come to an end on Tuesday night, but the Gunners will be expecting to extend their 13 game unbeaten run away from home in all competitions. Of those 13 games, Arsenal have won 11, although they did only manage a 1-1 draw at West Brom in their most recent away game.

Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski are all expected to miss this game with Walcott being the player expected to return to the squad the soonest.

Head to Head

Arsenal did beat Crystal Palace 5-1 at home in their last game against one another back in the 2005 season.

On that occasion, Crystal Palace earned a 1-1 home draw against the Gunners and they have only lost 1 of their last 3 home games against Arsenal since losing 4 in a row here.

Prediction

You can only beat what is in front of you and Arsenal have certainly done that so far, but there has still be an over-reaction to their start to the season, although that is unlikely to be shown up this weekend.

Crystal Palace are a team with a lot of uncertainty around them after losing their manager and coming off a heavy home loss to Fulham. They don't really stop teams playing and that doesn't bode well for them against an Arsenal team that have attacking players that have created chances.

A negative feeling may not be improved much if Arsenal score early in this one and it could be very tough for Crystal Palace to even keep the scoreline looking respectable if that happens. Arsenal will keep coming forward and they have won comfortably at Fulham and Sunderland, two teams that are about what Palace bring to the table.

I am expecting Arsenal to bounce back from their own loss during the week and heap more problems on Palace and I like the away side to win this by a couple of goals.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Crystal Palace 0-3 Arsenal

Premier League Week 8 Predictions: Teams That Should Change Their Fortunes

With Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all changing managers over the summer, it has been an unpredictable Premier League season so far.

Manchester United got off to their worst start since 1989, losing three of their first six games. City have failed to find any kind of consistency, demolishing United 4-1 in the derby but losing games at Cardiff and Aston Villa. Chelsea lost at Everton and have yet to find top gear with Jose Mourinho back at the helm.

When the crucial international break is over, the Premier League returns with a compelling fixture list. Here are the teams that should change their fortunes.

Everton

Everton were the only unbeaten team in the top flight going into Saturday's game with City. Unfortunately for the Toffees, Roberto Martinez saw his side slump to a 3-1 defeat at the Etihad.

Fortunately for Everton, their next game looks like the ideal opportunity to get back to winning ways as they take on Hull at Goodison Park. For a start, they should have Gareth Barry back in the side, a player unavailable against City since he is on loan from the Citizens.

At times Everton's midfield was totally overrun against Manuel Pellegrini's side, and one has to think the reintroduction of the defensive midfielder could be crucial. Further still, they have won every home game since drawing with West Brom in August and Hull will hold no great fears.

Manchester United

Although United managed to score from open play for the first time since the opening weekend of the season, their victory over Sunderland was far from convincing, and the pressure on David Moyes shows no sign of relenting.

Having won away from home for the first time since that trip to Swansea on the opening day, United could do with a good performance in front of their own fans. Old Trafford, usually a fortress under Sir Alex Ferguson, has not been a happy hunting ground for the champions of late.

So far this term, United have played out a disappointing stalemate with Chelsea, laboured to a 2-0 win over a Crystal Palace side reduced to 10 men (neither goal coming from open play) before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Brom.

Southampton have started the season extremely well, with wins against Liverpool and West Brom on their travels. Despite this, United should have too much for the Saints, particularly if Moyes opts for a positive, attacking lineup and spends the international break determining his best side.

Swansea

After a magnificent 2012-13 campaign, this season has not started well for Michael Laudrup's side.

The Swans suffered that 4-1 defeat against United on the first day and are still yet to manage a victory at home in the league. The visit of Sunderland ought to change all that.

Sunderland are without a manager and rooted to the bottom of the table. They have conceded 16 goals in their seven Premier League games. Although there are definitely signs of improvement since the dismissal of Paolo Di Canio, Swansea must surely have enough to secure their first win at the Liberty Stadium this term.

Preview: Liverpool v Crystal Palace: Will Suarez & Sturridge Destroy Holloway’s Men?

Liverpool – Crystal Palace

Date: Saturday 5th October

KO: 22.00 GMT+8

Venue: Anfield

Liverpool will hope to continue their good start to the season as they play host to a Crystal Palace team who have won just once this season.

Team News: Liverpool

There is an early suspension for Brendan Rodgers to deal with; Lucas Leiva picked up his fifth yellow card of this season against Sunderland and, with Joe Allen still injured, it may be down to Jordan Henderson to fill in this gap next to Steven Gerrard.

Elsewhere, Daniel Agger has returned to fitness and is available for selection against the London side, whilst Phillipe Coutinho, Sebastian Coates, Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho remain on the injury list.

Team News: Crystal Palace

After being substituted last week, Dwight Gayle may be in line to start up-front rather than Marouane Chamakh following Ian Holloway’s comments regarding the Moroccan striker’s dive against Southampton.

Yannick Bolasie remains a doubt whilst Glenn Murray, Jack Hunt and Damien Delaney should also miss out, although the recently returned Jonathan Parr may be preferred ahead of Dean Moxey at left-back.

Recent Form:

Both sides' last loss came against Mauricio Pochettino's Southampton team; Liverpool bounced back from this with a ruthless 3-1 victory over Sunderland which saw Luis Suarez mark his Premier League return with a brace. The combination of Suarez and Daniel Sturridge looked deadly and the victory could re-ignite Liverpool's campaign following two games without a win.

On the other hand, Crystal Palace's loss against Southampton was their fifth of the season; a win against Sunderland (coincidentally also 3-1) gave Holloway's team their only points of the season, a result which is sandwiched between the groans of the Eagles' fans as they witness another ball slide past Julian Speroni.

Players to Watch

Liverpool - Luis Suarez

Suarez's return from suspension has made Liverpool an even deadlier force than they already appeared to be this season; whatever you may think of him as a person, his abilities as a footballer cannot be denied. He possesses the ability to drag points out of the iron grip of defeat and this was proved by the ease in which the Uruguayan tore Sunderland apart on Sunday - scoring twice, Suarez racked up a Performance Score of 42; and this is when he's not fully match fit yet.

Crystal Palace - Mile Jedinak

The Australian has proved to be a rare shining light for Crystal Palace in a season which they have looked out of their depth most of the time. He has won 19 of 23 attempted tackles, a success of 83%, and this could be crucial in breaking up the attacks of Liverpool on Saturday. Moreover, Jedinak is the Eagles' second most creative player - he has created six chances, and Holloway's men are likely to look to their captain to lead them through this tough away game this weekend.

Prediction

Crystal Palace have had a hard time  this season and their worries show no signs of being alleviated against a Liverpool team who look dangerous this season. With Suarez back, Rodgers' side will only become even more deadly, and there could be a big scoreline on Merseyside this weekend.

Liverpool 3-0 Crystal Palace

EPL Preview: Manchester City v. Everton

Roberto Martinez will lead unbeaten Everton (3-3-0) to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City (3-1-2) on Saturday.

City will be looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, while Everton — fresh off a 3-2 win over Newcastle — are hoping their tremendous early-season form continues.

Both David Silva (ankle) and Sergio Agüero (knock) should be available for selection after returning to the starting XI against Bayern.

For Everton, Arouna Koné (knee) and Steven Pienaar (hamstring) could return, while Antolin Alcaraz (hernia) has been ruled out for another three to four weeks. In addition, Gareth Barry is unavailable to play against his parent club.

Possible Starting Lineups

Manchester City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy; Fernandinho, Yaya Touré; Navas, Silva, Agüero; Negredo.

Everton: Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; McCarthy, Osman; Naismith, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku.

Manager Quotes

Martinez on the Toffees’ position in the league table: “It was a great target before the [Newcastle] game and now it’s a great target to maintain for as long as we can.

“But obviously we are in October and now is not the time to be looking at the table.

“Now is the time to keep those standards, to keep growing and keep all the players fit so we have that competition that is going to drive us until the end of the season.”

Pellegrini on City’s 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday: “We played really bad today – it’s not the team we’ve seen every week in the Premier League and I think that was the worst thing.

“We didn’t have possession and we didn’t do enough to have more. Of course Bayern always have a lot of the ball but today wasn’t a good day for us.”

Match Facts

The hosts, who have scored in 53 consecutive league fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, have lost nine of their last 12 meetings with Everton.

Everton midfielder Ross Barkley has taken the Premier League by storm this season, having bagged two goals in six league appearances for the Toffees.

The England international, 19, and on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku were absolutely brilliant against Newcastle United on Monday, with the latter earning man-of-the-match honours after a spectacular two goal performance.

Lukaku, who has netted six goals in his last five league appearances, is 11/4 to score anytime against City on Saturday.

Match Prediction

Manchester City 2 – Everton 1

Man City v Bayern Munich – Team News, Tactics, Line-ups And Prediction | UEFA Champions League

Manchester City welcome the champions of Europe Bayern Munich at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday as they look to build on their victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League group stage. The biggest teams of Group D clash on the back of contrasting performances in their domestic leagues at the weekend with City having lost their game to Aston Villa at Villa Park and Bayern Munich having won theirs against Wolfsburg. In fact Bayern have won all of their last five matches. The last time they travelled to City was in the Champions League in 2011 when they lost 0-2 in a game of little consequence, having qualified already for the knockout stages. City would like a repeat of that scoreline which would help them grab the advantage in Group D.

Team News and Tactical Brief
Manchester City

Manuel Pellegrini will be renewing hostilities with Pep Guardiola, who he has never beaten as manager of Villarreal, Malaga or Real Madrid during Guardiola’s time as manager of Barcelona. The two certainly know each other well and Pellegrini will be hoping his players have the quality to make that elusive win over Guardiola possible. The Citizens would be hoping for a strong performance from their team in Europe after two seasons of failure and a victory against the defending champions would certainly get belief back in the dressing room.

If City are to win however, they would have to perform miles better than their abject defensive display against Aston Villa over the weekend, when they threw a first half lead away to lose 2-3, despite dominating the match for long periods. City’s defensive frailties have been exposed in the past and Bayern’s attack would look to puncture a hole in City’s defensive wall again. City would look to welcome back David Silva from injury. The Spaniard has the ability to unlock the tightest of defenses and if available, Pellegrini would look to turn to him at some point during the game to help break Bayern’s stubborn defence. City would also hope Sergio Aguero will make himself available for the big encounter on Wednesday. Having been sidelined against Villa, it looks like Aguero will be available for Bayern. Undoubtedly City’s best forward at the moment, Aguero has the ability to score goals from half chances and Pellegrini would want his main man in City’s biggest game in Europe so far.

Expected starting Line up: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Kolarov, Jesus Navas, David Silva, Yaya Youre, Nasri, Aguero, Dzeko

Bayern Munich

Bayern have fond memories of their last visit to England when they beat Borussia Dortmund to claim the Champions League trophy at the Wembley in May. Even their last game against English opposition in England ended in a 3-1 win over Arsenal. Bayern must be fairly confident after winning all but one of their Bundesliga games this season, which sees them level on points to Dortmund in the Bundesliga table, second only on goal difference.

Pep Guardiola has enjoyed good results against his counterpart Manuel Pellegrini, having defeated him on several occasions from their time as La Liga managers. Guardiola can hope changing of leagues doesn’t change his luck as he travels to the Etihad stadium on the back of a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg. Bayern, like City, also had a good start to their Champions League group stage having beaten CSKA Moscow.

The German giants now travel to England without Spaniards Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez, whose defensive abilities will be missed. They are also without defender Holger Badstuber, though summer signing Mario Gotze should be fit to travel to Manchester. Bayern Munich would look to grab the upper hand in Group D, where City and Bayern look favourites to qualify. It is the top spot in the group that is up for grabs. The Germans would not want to break their winning habit and would use their strong counter attacking style to break City’s defense which has been seen to be less than impregnable in the Premier League in the recent past. Manuel Pellegrini has not found defensive solidity forthcoming from his team and Guardiola’s men would look to exploit this weakness with Ribery and Robben looking for a ‘Robb-ery’ on the break as City look to be the first team since AC Milan in 1990 to successfully defend their Champions League crown.

Expected starting Line up: Neuer; Alaba, Dante, Boateng, Rafinha; Lahm; Ribery, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Robben; Mandzukic

Player to watch out for

Vincent Kompany - His Injury Has Shaken Man City's DefenceThe key man for City would be skipper Vincent Kompany. City look a different team when their captain is available. The defence is more organized and more difficult to penetrate. Kompany takes onus on himself to guard the City goal with all his might as was evident in his performance against Manchester United in the derby a couple of weeks ago. Kompany was the standout performer in City’s defence, hooking balls away, outmuscling opposing forwards and making crucial interceptions. There was even an instance when he won the ball in his own box, made a pass and darted the entire length of the pitch to United’s goal in the build-up to Samir Nasri’s goal. If Kompany is in inspired form against Bayern, City can hope for a shutout against the Bavarians on Wednesday.

Prediction
Man City 1-1 Bayern Munich