Life on the road

After another successful day for the preview blog we move on to Sunday which sees three premier league teams featuring in the fa cup and all face testing trips away from home.

The early kick off features Chelsea travelling to Brentford, Chelsea really are the model of inconsistency since Rafa Benitez has taken over.  They face a real tough task against a Brentford side with just one defeat in their last ten matches.  Their home record is similar and they are averaging just under two goals per game.  Also Brentford have seen a goal inside the first twenty minutes in four of their last five home matches.  Chelsea come into the match after going out of the Capital one cup in midweek.  This performance did slightly surprise me as I never really felt they really went for the result they needed.  Perhaps I would say they played a more continental measured approach to the match.  In their last ten away matches Chelsea have averaged just under two and half goals per game and have won four of their last five.  This match should see at least a couple of goals the only doubt I have is regarding the historical trend of dinner time kick offs being low scoring.  Overall a Chelsea win would be my suggestion.

The next match sees Tottenham travel to Elland Road in what has the taste of a proper cup match, the home side have been in good form recently with just one defeat in their last five overall and also in home matches.  Their home form has been good this season and the only real blemish is the heavy defeat against Chelsea.  Also one point of concern for Leeds is they have lost at home in cup competitions to top half premier league teams in the last three years.  Looking at Spurs they have lost just once in their last ten and their away record has improved considerably recently.  They have managed to score in eight of their last ten matches and have kept clean sheets in three of their last five.  Looking at this match it will be a real test for Spurs but I feel the pace from Bale & Lennon could be the difference.   A lot will depend on the starting lineups but the game should contain goals and Spurs may have to take Leeds back to the lane to progress.

The late kick off is between Oldham and Liverpool,  this match is a real contest of teams in contrasting form.  Oldham come into the game with seven defeats in their last ten overall and six defeats in ten at home.  They have managed just over one goal per game at home  and conceding just under one and a half goals.  Liverpool come into the match in good recent form with seven wins in their last ten matches, and boast a record of three wins from their last five matches at Oldham.  All of Liverpool's last five away matches have seen three or more goals and also a strong record for both teams scoring. Again this is another game that should see at least a couple of goals and should be an away win.

Thanks for reading and good luck to everybody !!!