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Friday, February 11, 2011

On the Forecast: Gameweek 27

Can they do the unthinkable?
A total of eight (8) teams play twice this gameweek in the span of two weeks; Please note that ARS, TOT & BIR don't play next due to the Carling Cup final but United got a double instead; Just transfer with caution and necessary points hit are expected; Remember, the wildcard is for long term and not an easy way to climb your ranking unless your team needs a total refurbishment; I will start with the double gamers; Rejoice;

Both Home
ARS vs WOL, STK- Solid defensive options and the whole wide world will captain VPersie but here's the catch, they got Barca at home on midweek; All the glass legs (Walcott, Fab etc) will fancy a rotation risk there; Two solid victories to keep in touch with United;

BIR vs STK, NEW - Just play your Brums defense and one clean sheet is expected from those two; Zigic is the best candidate to be sacrificed to accommodate Martins; Gardner is the penalty taker and Bentley is the supplier while Seb Larsson is looking for an exit; A win and a draw;

WBA vs WHAM, WOL - The last crushing defeat cost Di Matteo's job and the existing system will be maintained new manager Hodgson; I think they pick him to play defensively ugly; Odemwingie and their midfield suppliers are great picks against their relegation rivals; Just remember they are not known for their defensive qualities; One draw and one win;

BLP vs AST, TOT - Worth holding CAdam even though FA confirmed he's one yellow for a two match ban; Flurry of goals are expected against attack minded opponents; They already lost five games in a row and you can gamble on DJ Campbell, LVarney or Taylor Fletcher for necessary results. And again they are not known for their defensive qualities; A draw and a lost, you pick:D;

His mind is on the bigger prize

Both Away
NEW @BLA, @BIR - A lot of people are considering Barton; Why not? penalty, set piece & corner taker and cheap as hell; On a second thought, they are up against two formidable home team; They got formerly Rovers player Shefki Kuqi to guide their young strikers; I think they have a great chance against Blackburn compared to Brums but they still have the element of surprise in their sleeves; Both draws;

STK @BIR, @ARS - Not an attractive set of fixtures to begin with; Stoke can be considered lucky after Robert Huth unexpectedly scored two and assisted one goal but he is the hottest defender right now; Gambling on him is not a bad move future-wise as Stoke are expecting West Brom visit after the doubles followed by a trip to WHAM; Nonetheless, he was seriously threatening when receiving Delap inswinging throw; High probability for a draw with Birmingham with an obvious result at The Emirates;

TOT @SUN, @BLP - Redknapp head will be full with red & black right now as they are preparing to go to war against Milan; Good news for Steve Bruce as their secret weapon (Bale & VDV) will most probably be spared until next week; Both matches will not shy of goals as the comeback kids, Lennon & Defoe are more than capable to cause infinite havoc down the touchline; Kranjcar is your new jack in the box if you want to gamble; Sunderland to win and a sweet victory at Blackpool;

WOL @ARS, @WBA - They are the bookmakers favourite to go down if they lost against United but the unthinkable did happened to bring another survival hope for them; The Emirates is a false hope indeed even though they had punished the big four already this season; The best chance is the relegation six pointer against The Baggies; Losing first and to slug it out next in a thriller with a slight edge for the home team to nick it;

They really missed the old times

Single Gamers
MANU vs MANC - The match of the week with both former teammates clash in a derby like no other; Both golden boot hopefuls, Tevez is the City captain maestro while Berbatov is the occasional goal-getter; Interesting stats: Berbs never score against City and last season ended with 4-3 United win; United need to win this one if they don't want Arsenal to leapfrog them in a fortnight; I agree with most pundit that this will end aka the previous goalless draw but this time with both defense conceding; Nani/Rooney versus Tevez show;

AST @ BLP - Bent and Young will be fired up against leaky Tangerines after scoring both England goals; Their record shows two wins and two draws in their last five; I expect a high scoring draw to be honest;

BLA vs NEW - I don't know what's wrong with Rovers; They have lost three in the last four and they really missed Allardyce; Mediocre Steve Kean to guide them to a disappointing draw;

BOL vs EVE - The obvious draw match up with Bolton good home record come up against Everton never say die attitude; Unfortunately, four-goals hero King Louise will not be available to challenge the new kid on the block, DSturridge for supremacy but TCahill will be in full throttle to say at least;

FUL vs CHE - The second audition for the so called triumvirate Anel-Drog-ElNino but there is a high possibility Ancelotti will drop one of the old boys if he decide to play the trusted 4-4-2 configuration; Lately, Fulham have been discovered their lost form and with Craven Cottage behind them, I expect the London derby ends with a stalemate; 

LIV vs WIG - The form team at the moment with four straight wins with the famous Torres scalp of Chelsea; But Wigan are capable to get result with their style of play; I hope Wigan survive with a draw but I don't see King Kenny luck to run out anytime soon;

SUN vs TOT - The Black Cats are relishing to face VDV & Bale-less Spurs side; The experimental five man defense aka Liverpool was not working as plan last time out, better stick with the usual Gyan-lead 4-5-1 lineup; Redknapp to concede defeat in favor of Milan;

WHAM @WBA - Bad news or a bad omen for Avram Grant after Robbie Keane suffered a serious injury; I'm not sure about his replacement Demba Ba, I heard he was promising; The boss has to rely to the trusted old guards against the new Baggies to produce another entertaining draw; 

That's all and good luck to all managers; See you in the next two weeks;

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