EPL quick picks. Due to time constraints, FULL round analysis will not be available. Saturday, 13 December
Liverpool v Hull City
Summary: Top of the league Liverpool will look to grind out another result, without their leading man Torres, when they face surprise packet of the season Hull City. Liverpool won by a flattering 3-1 scoreline away to Blackburn on Matchday 16 as the league leaders had to wait until the 68th minute before they could break the deadlock. Despite Blackburn coming close through a first half strike by Pedersen which hit the post, Liverpool opened the scoring through Alonso for whom was aided by a lucky deflection. Hull City were also fortunate to win 2-1 after coming back from a goal down against Middlesbrough. A lucky deflection off the post, onto keeper Ryan Turnbull, and into the goal gifted the Tigers an equaliser. Moments later, a soft penalty and a red card for Boro's David Wheater handed the home team the 3 points and their 7th win of the season. Liverpool had a moral boosting 3-1 victory at PSV midweek with both Alonso and Gerrard rested. On the injury front Torres, Aurelio, Skrtel and Degen are still sidelined for the Reds whereas Gardner, Folan and Fagan are out for the visitors.
Verdict: Since the injury to Torres, Liverpool have found goals hard to come by with fellow strikers Kuyt and Keane continuing to misfire. In addition to this, Liverpool have found it hard to blow teams away as they are not that sort of team. Liverpool's 3-1 victory at Blackburn was only their third win by more than a goal margin all season. Manager Benitez likes to play a slow and patient approach on most occassions so it's not a surprising statistic. Hull have been a revelation so far and their away form of 4 wins, 3 draws, and just the 1 loss is bordering on incredible. Keeping in mind Liverpool's recent performances, their exertions midweek, the absence of Torres, and the battling qualities of Hull City - the visitors may just fancy their chances of knicking something here.
Pick: Hull City +1.5
Liverpool 2 - 2 Hull City
Manchester City v Everton
Summary: A desperate Manchester City take on a heart broken Everton side at the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday. City sit just 3pts above the relegation zone and were thwarted by an organized Fulham side in their 1-1 away draw at the Cottage last Saturday. Everton played well from the 2nd till the 93rd minute in their home game against Aston Villa but it wasn't enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat with comical defending leading to 2 goals, including one with seconds remaining in the contest. Manchester City will be hoping to regain the services of Robinho to bolster their threadbare attacking options with Petrov, Elano, and Johnson out through injury. Everton meanwhile are still without a host of strikers with Yakubu out for the season, Vaughan out till January, and Saha indefinite. Good news for the visitors is the return of winger Andy Van der Meyde who made a cameo appearance against Villa.
Verdict: Despite doing remarkably well in the UEFA Cup, Man City have struggled in the Premier League of late, recording only 2 wins in their last 8. Without the distraction of European football, Everton have faired much better with 4 wins in 8 and only two defeats. Everton's performances have visably improved in their last two outings with Arteta moving into the centre of midfield, from his usual right-midfield position, and Fellaini beginning to impose himself more on the opposition as he comes to grips with English football. Robinho has not trained at all for 2 weeks so it is questionable as to what impact he may have on this match if Mark Hughes chooses to play him. Everton have the third best away record in the league and in the current climate, have a good opportunity to further improve on that statistic.
Pick: Everton +0.5
Manchester City 0 - 1 Everton
Wigan Athletic v Blackburn
Summary: Wigan look to continue their solid home form against a desperate Blackburn Rovers side at the JJB Stadium. Blackburn sit 2nd from bottom and manager Paul Ince is under pressure after a winless streak of 10 and a losing streak of 5 in the EPL. Credit to his team, they are showing fighting qualities but just haven't had the rub of the green. Last time out, Wigan were overun by an Arsenal team in the second half and were rather fortunate to come away from the Emirates with a respectable 1-0 defeat. Blackburn didn't fair any better against Liverpool but in contrast to Wigan, the 3-1 defeat was a bit harsh on the home side. Blackburn were unfortunate not to take the lead against Liverpool after the improving Pedersen struck the crossbar. They then proceeded to conceded 3 goals in the last 20 minutes to lose 3-1 but the scoreline flattered Liverpool. Wigan have few injuries worries for this contest with only Palacios and Sibierki missing, whereas the visitors are without midfielders Reid and Grella.
Verdict: Blackburn have had a tough fixture list to contend with in recent weeks so they should see the game against Wigan as a good opportunity to break their winless streak. It won't be easy as Wigan are undefeated in their last 3 at home. It must be noted though that Wigan were rather poor in their last home fixture against bottom club West Brom despite winning 2-1. I consider Blackburn's squad to be of a much higher quality than West Brom's so a possible 3 points could be on the offering here for the away side. Ofcoarse, this comparison alone is not enough to have full confidence on Blackburn but as mentioned earlier, they have shown fighting qualities which is a sign that they are backing their 'under fire' manager. On Matchday 15, Blackburn came back from two goals down at Portsmouth only to lose 3-2 to an 80th minute strike by Davis. In the Carling Cup, they pulled back two goals to make it 4-3 at Old Trafford against Man U, only to lose 5-3 to a late strike from Tevez.
Pick: Blackburn +0.5
Wigan Athletic 3 - 0 Blackburn
Sunday, 14 December
Portsmouth v Newcastle
Summary: Both sides go into this contest without sending their supporters into raptures with their recent performances. Portsmouth and Newcastle will look to improve on a form record which reads one win in 6 of their most recent outings. Portsmouth are now out of the UEFA Cup after defeat to Wolfsburg last week and will look to improve on their Matchday 16 outing at West Brom where they were outplayed for lengthy periods. Newcastle stand-in manager, Joe Kinnear, has done a great job in making the Magpies from Tyneside are tough nut to crack since taking over. Newcastle have lost only once in the 7 games that Kinnear has overlooked and have strung some impressive results along the way with a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa and a scoreless draw away to Chelsea. Last week, Newcastle increased the drawing streak to 4 after letting a 2-0 lead slip against strugglers Stoke City. The good news is that Michael Owen looked back at his best with two goals. For this encounter, Portsmouth are without the suspended Bouba Diop while Utaka and Kaboul miss out through injury. Newcastle will hope to regain the services of Butt, Duff, Ameobi, and Lua Lua.
Verdict: Portsmouth's recent form suggests that they are leaking alot of goals, 9 goals in fact in their last 5 outings (in all competitions). Add to this the suspension of 'The Wardrobe" in Bouba Diop coupled with the absence of Lassana Diarra, and Portsmouth's already fragile back line looks even more exposed. Despite a winless record on their travels, Newcastle can take some heart from their recent form and defensive stability. Newcastle have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 6 outings, impressively against two of the highest scoring teams in the league in Chelsea and Aston Villa. Michael Owen looks to be bang on form after his goal poaching performance against Stoke and the return of Viduka just adds to Newcastle's threat in the front third. Newcastle seem to be picking up momentum and therefore, have a good opportunity to take something from the sea siders.
Pick: Newcastle +0.5
Portsmouth 0 - 3 Newcastle
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