Soccer Saturday

After a successful Sunday the blog returns ahead of a full list of Saturday fixtures in the premier league and some that are more eye catching than others.

Chelsea V West Brom

It has been another interesting week in the life of Chelsea football club, a defeat against Manchester City, a victory in the fa cup and their manager launching an attack on his fans and board.  In truth this is not the first time Rafa Benitez has done this but I wonder how this latest rant will effect the clubs season.  I cannot see many positives to come from this sadly, football players do not need a excuse for losing or performing badly.  Now they have a manager who they know they no longer need to impress or listen to, that coupled with the fact they know their fans also dislike him and will blame him should they not reach the champions league this season.  With that in mind it is surprising that last weekends defeat was their first in their last six matches.  Four wins and one draw shows early signs of Chelsea regaining their early season form.  In truth they will need to find and maintain form if they are to hold off their challengers for the top four positions.  The face a West Brom team who have lost half of their last six matches but since their win at Anfield have also showed signs of promise.  Comparing these teams home/away records there is one thing that stands out and that is their goals records.  Both of these teams have seen two or more goals scored in four of their last five matches.  Chelsea have won all of the last five meetings between them at the bridge and only on one occasion have West Brom managed to score a goal.  Overall a home win and a few goals should be safe enough here.

ANYTIME SCORER: Demba Ba @2.02 

Everton VReading

This is a match between two teams that have entered a minor form blip but now both really need three points here to help push them back into their relevant contentions in the league.  Everton have just one win in their last five matches whilst Reading are the same.  Strangely both of these teams have seen four of their last five matches seeing both teams scoring.  Everton have a strong home record with their only recent defeat coming against Chelsea, whilst Reading have been weak on their travels losing over three quarter of their matches.   Looking at these teams goals records Everton have averaged just over one and a half goals per match whilst Reading have averaged less than one per game.  Whilst this would lead you towards a lower scoring match the fact that Reading have not managed one clean sheet away from home and Everton only managing three at home means that goals are almost certain.  My suggestion for this match is a home win and also a high chance of seeing goals but they may well come later in the match.

ANYTIME SCORER:Marouane Fellaini @2.28 

Manchester United V Norwich

These two teams have seen a remarkable turn around in form since Man Utd lost away at Carrow Road.  Manchester United have been in unstoppable form recently with four wins and their only draw coming away against Real Madrid.  Norwich who have struggled are now slowly turning the corner mainly with draws but last weeks victory at home against Everton will have been much needed for confidence.  Man Utd have won all of their last five at home and strangely three have only been by a one goal margin.  Norwich on their travels have lost three of their last five and have failed to score in the last two matches.  Man Utd have a vital match in midweek and there is a feel that with their points advantage they are coasting in the league and may be slightly distracted in this match.  That said I still believe they will push for the victory but may well not chase goals like if this match was being played earlier in the season.  Norwich have a very poor record at Old Trafford but they aren't the only team to have that.  Manchester United have averaged above two goals per game at home this season and sadly Norwich have averaged less than one.  This is another clear indicator of the challenge ahead for Norwich.  My thoughts are a comfortable home victory and a couple of goals for Manchester United.

ANYTIME SCORER:Javier Hernandez @2.02

Southampton V QPR

This is a real relegation battle for both of these teams and I keep saying every week that QPR must win this week if they are to survive and I will say the same again this week.  Matches like these Harry Redknapp must have highlighted and a good chance to collect three points and also a chance to pull other teams closer to the relegation battle.  Southampton have been in reasonable form but after losing last week to Newcastle there might be a few growing concerns seeing they are still only three points clear of the bottom three.  QPR unlike Southampton have found their main difficulty is scoring goals and this is then putting pressure on their defence.  They have failed to score in three of their last five matches but have found goals easier to come by on the road.  Comparing these teams records show how inconsistent they both are, Southampton's only victory at home in their last five came against Manchester City whilst QPR have managed two victories in their last five away coming at West Brom and Chelsea.  My thoughts for this match are torn between a draw and a home victory.  The main problem for QPR in this match is they will need to score two goals to win and I doubt they can manage it.

ANYTIME SCORER:Jason Puncheon @4.05 

Stoke City V West Ham

This really is set to be a battle of two strong physical teams that have both struggled recently for three points but have managed to find relative mid table safety through most of the season.  Both of these teams have won just once in their last five and losing the majority of the other matches.  West Ham have not won any of their last five away matches and have conceded two or more goals in four of these matches.  Stoke's only defeat at home in their last five came against Chelsea but the main issue for Stoke this season has been they have drawn to many matches at home for the managers liking.  Rather unlike Stoke all of their last five matches have seen three or more goals scored. The main issue for West Ham on the road this season is they have averaged less than half a goal per match whilst conceding nearly two goals.  West Ham do have a strong record away to Stoke with two victories and a draw in their last five but I struggle to see them gaining a victory here on Saturday.  I'm siding with a home victory but it could well be a lower scoring affair.

ANYTIME SCORER:Jonathan Walters @3.25

Sunderland v Fulham

Both of these teams have had disappointing seasons judging by the standards they had set in previous season.  Sunderland under Martin O'Neill have struggled this season and one of the main reasons for this is their lack of goals.  Whilst Fulham under Martin Jol have struggled mainly due to their struggles at home, they have always been poor travellers but are normally strong and consistent at home.  Sadly this season that has deserted them and they have slipped down the table and now leaves them in eleventh position.  Sunderland have lost their last three matches whilst Fulham have seen a slight improvement with two wins and a draw in their last five.  Looking at these teams in more depth you will see Sunderland have only won twice in their last five at home whilst Fulham have lost three and drawn once in their last five away.  This match is not the most attractive and eye catching match on Saturday and this could well be a close contest.  Overall I would believe Sunderland will come away with something from this match.

ANYTIME SCORER:Steven Fletcher @2.90

Swansea V Newcastle

Last week was a truly historical period in the history of Swansea City and they now can look forward to playing in the Europa league next year.  My doubt for the rest of the season for Swansea is if you look at historical trends the winners of the league cup tend to struggle for form in the remaining three months of the season.  They face a Newcastle team that since a successful transfer window have really rediscovered the winning habit.  They are still struggling to keep clean sheets but have managed to overcome this thanks to the added fire power of Moussa Sissoko and Yoan Gouffran.  Both of Swansea's two victories in their last five have come at home and their home record has been good with only one defeat in their last five this in a high scoring match with Norwich.  Newcastle also are in good form with their only defeat coming at Tottenham.  These teams have good strong averages for goals this season with Swansea averaging two per home match whilst Newcastle averaging nearly a goal and a half per away match.  My suggestion is Swansea will come away with some points here but the most likely thing in this match is goals.

ANYTIME SCORER:Miguel Michu @2.28

Wigan v Liverpool

The late kick off sees Liverpool travel to the DW looking to maintain their recent improved league form.  Both of these teams have been inconsistent in their results but have been consistent in scoring and conceding goals.  Both teams have seen two or more goals scored in all of their last five matches and another trend these teams share is that neither have won any of their last five at home and away respectively.  Looking at historical trends in this match Liverpool have only won once in their last five trips to Wigan and all five have seen two or less goals scored.  But looking at these teams goal averages this season I would be confident of seeing goals here on Saturday.  Liverpool have a slightly better away average than Wigan at home and this is why I'm suggesting they can get at least a draw from this fixture and a strong chance of scoring at least a couple of goals.

ANYTIME SCORER:Luis Suarez @2.14

Thanks for reading and good luck to everybody !!!