The highlight games for this weekend’s action are ARSENAL versus NEWCASTLE and CHELSEA versus MANCHESTER UNITED. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these as well as all game-week 13 matches with his unique and insightful commentary. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.
Please note all prices quoted below were correct at the time of publication
Game Week-13
Saturday 27th
ARSENAL v NEWCASTLE
12.30 in England.
BT Sport
Arsenal lost their unbeaten run of 8-Premier League games, succumbing to a defeat at Anfield, against Liverpool by a 4-0 scoreline.
Whilst it was a great unbeaten run and Mikel’s boys can only play the teams put in front of them, the run was against sides that weren’t in the Top Six and included victories against Norwich, Burnley, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Leicester and Watford.
All who are struggling.
There were 2-draws against Brighton and Crystal Palace. The first time a Top Six side were in front of the Gunners, Arsenal were completely outplayed. Added to that, it was Liverpool at Anfield, where Arsenal as well as most teams, always struggle.
Mikel Arteta had a little spat with Jurgen Klopp which saw both managers shown a Yellow Card. The strange thing about that confrontation from Pep 2, was that it appeared to spark Liverpool into life who took control and scored immediately, then another 3 in the 2nd-half.
The defeat leaves Arsenal in 5th-place in the table with 20-points from the 12-fixtures played so far.
Newcastle earned a creditable point from a draw by a 3-3 scoreline on Saturday against Brentford at St James Park.
The new boss, Eddie Howe was absent due to COVID but was watching in the local Premier Inn. Eddie saw his team score first through the Captain, Jamaal Lascelles who notched after 10-minutes.
Ex-Magpie, Ivan Toney, immediately equalised before Brentford scored again to take the lead. Joelinton equalled things up to take both teams in level at the break.
Jamaal scored again, unfortunately, this time it was in his own net giving the Bees the lead before Allan Saint-Maximin again made the scores level. With no further goals, this very entertaining game finished in a draw.
Although a great point, it wasn’t enough to prevent Newcastle from dropping to the foot of the table with 6-points from the 12-fixtures played. Eddie immediately ordered room service and switched the telly over to Strictly.
Last terms trip down South for the Toon Army was stopped by the dreadful Coronavirus situation.
An empty Emirates witnessed the home team, defeat the away side, by a 3-0 scoreline, with all 3-goals coming after the break.
Bukayo Saka scored in between 2-Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang strikes to give Arsenal the victory.
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CRYSTAL PALACE v ASTON VILLA
15.00 in England.
Crystal Palace earned a point from a great draw by a 3-3 score against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
Five of the 6-goals were scored before the half-time whistle with Christian Benteke scoring the opener after 8-minutes. Burnley quickly equalised before taking the lead.
Christian then scored his and Palace’s 2nd, then Marc Guehi scored to give the Eagles the lead at the break. The goals dried up in the 2nd-half with just an early Burnley equaliser to give both teams a share of the points.
Patrick Vieira’s men are now unbeaten in 7-fixtures, however, not to take anything away from that fine run, 5 of those 7 were draws. The point gained gives Crystal Palace 16 from the 12-games completed and leaves the Eagles 10th in the table.
Steven Gerrard’s reign at Villa Park started with a brilliant home victory against Brighton by a 2-0 scoreline. After a goalless first 83-minutes, Ollie Watkins scored a superb opener to give Villa the lead.
Tyrone Mings added a 2nd, with a minute remaining to give Stevie G a great start to his Aston Villa management career. Tyrone’s goal was a result of persistence and never giving up.
The ball went out towards the byline which Mr Mings chased and kept in, once he released the ball, Tyrone ran into the area and capitalised on a rebound, smashing the ball home. A great goal by the England lad.
The win comes off the back of 5-straight defeats, which saw Dean Smith’s departure. That leaves Villa in 15th-place, with 13-points from the opening 12-fixtures.
With all the ups and downs in the management division over the past few weeks, Aston Villa have struck gold, acquiring Steven.
Although Mr Gerrard’s only previous job was managing a team in a Pub League, the team was Glasgow Rangers who’s fans demanded success. Added to the professionalism that Stevie exudes, the Villain faithful should be excited about the future of their club.
Both were under different managers last season at Selhurst Park with Roy Hodgson’s Eagles getting the better of Dean Smith’s Claret and Blues by a narrow 3-2 score.
John McGinn gave Villa an early lead before Christian Benteke equalised for Palace. Anwar El-Ghazi scored again to take the away team in leading at the break. Wilfried Zaha and Tyrick Mitchell got the Eagles 2nd-half goals to give the home side the victory.
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LIVERPOOL v SOUTHAMPTON
15.00 in England.
Liverpool got back to winning ways at Anfield on Saturday following the defeat in the previous game away at the London Stadium, against West Ham.
The unlucky visitors to Merseyside were Arsenal, who haven’t beaten the Reds up North, since 2012, with a Gunners team that included Mikel Arteta.
The away-side did put up a fight, then the whistle blew for the kick-off and Jurgen’s Reds were in complete control.
That’s just a bit of fun, Arsenal started well for the first half-hour, then a strange incident happened between the two managers on the sidelines, which saw Jurgen and Mikel get their handbags out.
It was a spat about nothing but weirdly kicked the home team into life, sparking a reaction from both the players and the fans.
Sadio Mane got his head on the end of a superb free-kick by Trent Alexander-Arnold to give Jurgen’s Reds a lead at the break.
Diogo Jota added a 2nd with a brilliant jinky run through the Gunners defence sending Aaron Ramsdale out for a pie before slotting into an empty net.
Mo Salah got his obligatory goal, the Egyptian King’s 11th of the season so far, making Mo the current Premier Leagues leading scorer, 4-ahead of his mate Sadio and Jamie Vardy, both having 7.
Takumi Minamino rounded off the rout with the 4th, some 48-seconds after coming on as a substitute for Diogo. Expect the Japanese Striker to see game-time today, with Southampton being the opponents.
Minamino was on loan at the Saints last term, scoring twice in his time at St Mary’s and will want to feature.
What may be a more telling factor in the convincing victory against Arsenal, is in the player that didn’t start, that being Jordan Henderson.
Jordan has been outstanding this term and for Jurgen Klopp to feel confident enough to leave the lad on the bench for the opening 75-minutes, is a testament to how good Liverpool are at the moment.
The Anfield Rappers sit 3rd in the table with 25-points, a point adrift of Man City and 4-away from Chelsea at the summit.
It’s now becoming apparent that this season’s Premier League Champions will come from one of Chelsea, Man City or Liverpool.
Liverpool entertain Porto at Anfield on Wednesday, before this visit from Southampton, which will mean 3-successive home fixtures for the Scousers to attend.
After beating Watford and Aston Villa, in the 2-previous fixtures, Ralph Hasenhuttl and his Saints would have been licking their lips at the prospect of a visit to Carrow Rd, to take on the bottom club in the division.
However, a 3rd-victory in a row wasn’t to be as Southampton succumbed to a defeat by a 2-1 scoreline. Wreck-It had to do a double-take when he shook hands with the Norwich gaffer.
After blinking several times and scratching his head, Ralph couldn’t work out why the Aston Villa manager, Dean Smith, who he’d shaken hands with and beaten in the previous game, was standing in front of him again.
In a twist of fate, Southampton faced Norwich, under the guidance of the new boss Dean, who took over at Carrow Rd, 8-days after being sacked by Aston Villa, following a defeat against Ralph’s Southampton. It’s a funny old game.
After Che Adams scored early on, Wreck-It thought another win was on the cards, however, the Canaries equalised straight away, then scored the winner, midway through the 2nd-half to inflict the defeat on Southampton. The Saints sit 13th in the table with 14-points from the 12-fixtures played, 12,13,14.
In last season’s fixture between the two at Anfield, goals from Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara, one in each half, gave Liverpool the victory over Southampton by a 2-0 scoreline.
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NORWICH v WOLVES
15.00 in England.
The new manager bounce was in evidence at Carrow Rd on Saturday when Norwich entertained Southampton.
Dean Smith is in at the Norfolk outfit, 8-days after losing his job at Aston Villa. Ironically, it was a defeat against Southampton that saw Deano get sacked.
Dean was back in front of Ralph Hasenhuttl again, with Wreck-It scratching his head, thinking, ‘I’m sure we’ve just played Dean’s Boys?’
Mr Smith was determined to win this time and after the Saints scored 1st, after 4-minutes, the reliable Teemu Pukki equalised 3-minutes later.
The Captain, Grant Hanley scored the winner in the 79th-minute to earn Mr Smith the opening game victory.
Grant Hanley, last scored in the Premier League on New Year’s Eve in 2011, a winning goal for Blackburn against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Coincidentally, the winning goal for Blackburn was scored in the 79th-minute, the same minute as Grant’s winner against Southampton.
Grant rarely scores but whilst playing for Newcastle against Queens Park Rangers, in the Championship, back in September 2016, Mr Hanley notched in a victory by a 6-0 score. What minute? yes, that’s correct, the 79th.
Dean should send Grant forward every week when 78-minutes are up, on the clock.
The 2nd-successive victory gives Norwich 8-points and lifts them off the foot of the Premier League table, up a place to 19th from the 12-fixtures. That’s now 3-points away from safety.
One strange thing about the Norwich season and Daniel Farke’s reign is that the Canaries were handed a superb player on-loan from Chelsea, yet Mr Exciteable refused to play Billy Gilmore.
Added to not playing Billy, Dan the Man wouldn’t pick Todd Cantwell either. It appears a strange decision considering Norwich kept losing. Dean Smith brought Todd and Billy into the eleven, giving both a first start since September.
Granted, maybe Mr Farke had his reasons and both could not have been fully fit, however, if they were, it was a mistake to leave either or both out. Dean knew and Norwich looked a lot better with the two.
That’s not to say they won’t be relegated but under Mr Smith, they will have a better chance of survival than Daniel Farke, who appeared happy to just yo-yo between the Premier League and the Championship.
Wolves continued their fine start to the season under Bruno Lage, this time getting a great victory by a single 1-0 scoreline last Saturday against West Ham at Molineux.
That’s now 5-wins from the last 7-Premier League fixtures, the others being a loss and a draw, meaning 16-points from a possible 21.
Going on further from that, it’s 6-victories, 1-draw and 3-defeats from the last 10-Top Flight games, which is on a par with Liverpool.
The excellent Raul Jimenez scored the solitary winning goal against the Hammers in the 2nd-half, with some brilliant movement and a great finish.
Come the start of this fixture against Norwich, on the 27th of November it will be almost a year to the day (29th November 2020) since Raul Jimenez suffered a horrendous fractured skull against Arsenal at the Emirates.
Not to try and lower the mood and sound too dramatic, it was touch and go as to whether Raul would survive the injury, never mind play football again.
The term Code Red was used, which means that the Mexican’s life was in jeopardy. Luckily for everyone concerned, Raul pulled through and a year later is getting back to the form he showed before the injury.
Wolves are up to 6th in the table, with 19-points, now above Manchester United and Tottenham.
The Gold and Black faithful went out and celebrated with a few pints of Bruno Lagers. These two last met at Carrow Rd, just before Christmas, back in December 2019.
Both teams had different managers with Daniel Farke’s Canaries succumbing to a defeat against Nuno Espírito Santo’s Gold and Blacks by a 2-1 score.
Todd Cantwell scored for Norwich early on in proceedings before Romain Saiss and Raul Jimenez got the Wolves goals to give the away side the Christmas present of 3-points.
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BRIGHTON v LEEDS UNITED
17.30 in England.
Sky Sports
After winning 4 of the opening 5-Premier League fixtures, Brighton haven’t won a game since September. The Seagulls have suffered 2-defeats in their last 4-Premier League outings and have 5-draws from the last 7-fixtures.
Those good at Math will know that’s 17-points from the 12-fixtures completed, leaving Graham Potter’s men in 9th-place.
The latest defeat was against Aston Villa, with the Seagulls succumbing to a loss against Steven Gerrard’s new boys by a 2-0 scoreline. It was a tight affair for 83-minutes, then Harry’s boys conceded twice to ultimately lose the tie.
Following that brilliant start to the campaign, things have tailed off a bit for Brighton who need to get back on track.
Leeds United themselves, suffered a defeat on Sunday, away at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium, against Tottenham, by a 2-1 score.
Marcelo’s Whites took the lead in the 1st-half through a Dan James goal. Unfortunately for the away side, Antonio Conte got into his boys in the dressing room and Spurs came out stronger after the break, scoring twice to inflict the defeat.
Mr Bielsa chose Kalvin Philips as a Centre-Back. Kalvin is an intelligent footballer so can adapt to that position and kept his England teammate, Harry Kane, who had scored 7-goals for the Three Lions in midweek, quiet for the 90-minutes.
However, despite the different formation and team selection, it ultimately was another defeat for Leeds, the 5th of the season from the 12-games.
The Whites sit just above the relegation places, with 11-points and desperately need the services of Patrick Bamford, Robert Koch and Luke Ayling, to get back to winning ways and hopefully for the Marching On Together crew, move away from the drop-zone. Marching On Together!
Brighton did the double over Leeds United last season, beating Marcelo’s Whites at the Amex in May, by a 2-0 scoreline.
Pascal Gross converted a 1st-half penalty to take the home team in leading at half-time. Danny Welbeck added a 2nd, after the break, to give Graham Potters Seagulls the victory.
Brighton had already inflicted a defeat on Leeds, at Elland Rd, earlier in the season.
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***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Ederson- Man City
RIGHT-BACK- Trent Alexander-Arnold- Liverpool
CENTRE-BACK- Tyrone Mings- Aston Villa
CENTRE-BACK- Grant Hanley- Norwich
LEFT-BACK- Ben Chilwell
MIDFIELDER- N’Golo Kante- Chelsea
MIDFIELDER- Billy Gilmore- Norwich
MIDFIELDER- Phil Foden- Man City
FORWARD- Ismaila Sarr- Watford
FORWARD- Emmanuel Dennis- Watford
FORWARD- Christian Benteke- Crystal Palace
STAR MAN- N’Golo Kante- Chelsea
Sunday 28th
BRENTFORD v EVERTON
14.00 in England.
Sky Sports
Following 4-defeats on the bounce, Brentford managed a draw on Saturday, in a very entertaining game against Newcastle at St James Park.
Four of the 6-goals were scored before the half-time cup of tea, with Ivan Toney and Rico Henry scoring for the Bees to cancel out the Magpies strikes.
Brentford went in front after the break, through a speculative shot from Frank Onyeka which was deflected past the Newcastle goalkeeper.
Unfortunately, like a bad dog walker, the away side couldn’t hold on to the lead, conceding another to give both teams a share of the points from a Desmond Plus One. No? Ok, a 3-3 scoreline.
Ivan Toney was at St James Park as a youngster but only made 4-appearances before being shipped out on loan a few times. Mr T became the 50th-player that has left Newcastle and come back to score against them.
Brentford sit 14th, with 13-points from the 12-fixtures, 14,13,12. Everton are now winless in 6-Premier League fixtures following Sundays defeat against Man City at the Etihad by a 3-0 scoreline.
Before City scored the opener, it looked like Michael Keane had conceded a penalty after a foul on Raheem Sterling.
Initially, it did look like a foul but the on-field referee, Stuart Atwell, who had pointed to the spot, was advised by the dreaded VAR at Stockley Park to check the Monitor and as everyone knows, once this happens the original decision is usually reversed.
So Michael got away with that one, however, Raheem did score the opening goal to take Everton in, trailing at the break.
The Toffees conceded twice more in the 2nd-half to ultimately lose the game by a 3-0 score. That’s now 4-defeats from the last 6, with 2-draws from the others.
The Math say it’s 2-points from a possible 18, which is simply not acceptable for the faithful. Rafa’s Blues are bottom of the form chart from the last 5-games, coincidentally with the same form as today’s opponent.
The defeat leaves Everton in 11th-place, with 15-points. Toffee Rafas and this morning’s papers! It’s been a few years since the Bees last played against the Toffees in a competitive fixture.
In the last 100-years, these two have only met 17-times, the last being in a League Cup tie at Griffin Park back in September 2010. Before that, it was 1954.
After a draw by a 1-1 scoreline, Brentford, who were a League 1 club at the time, won a penalty shootout.
The Brentford lineup back in 2010, under the guidance of Andy Scott, consisted of Richard Lee in goal, Pim Balkestein, Kevin O’Connor, Karleigh Osborne, Michael Spillane, Craig Woodman, Toumani Diagouraga, Myles Weston, Nicky Adams, Gary Alexander and Charlie MacDonald. Gary Alexander with the Bees goal.
All of Myles Weston, Michael Spillane and Charlie MacDonald successfully converted their penalties with Nicky Forster, who came on as a 2nd-half substitute, also scoring.
The Everton team, with the current West Ham gaffer, David Moyes, at the helm, had the reserve goalkeeper Jan Mucha, starting, alongside Sylvain Distin, Phil Neville, Seamus Coleman, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Marouane Fellaini, Magaye Guaye, Leon Osman, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Yakubu.
Seamus Coleman scored the Toffees goal. In the shootout, all of Leighton Baines, Phil Neville and Mikel Arteta, who was a 2nd-half substitute, scored to equal Brentford’s first, 3-kicks.
Unfortunately, another substitute, Jermaine Beckford saw his spot-kick saved.
With the Bees converting their 4th, it meant Phil Jagielka had to score. Phil missed and it was Brentford that progressed.
Everton will no doubt be out to avenge that loss that absolutely no one remembers some 11-years later.
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BURNLEY v TOTTENHAM
14.00 in England.
Burnley played in a very entertaining game on Saturday against Crystal Palace, with both teams earning a point from a draw by a 3-3 scoreline.
After conceding an early goal, Ben Mee got his head on a corner to equalise for the Clarets.
Chris Wood scored a 2nd for Burnley before Palace then scored twice to leave Burnley trailing at the break by the odd goal.
Maxwell Cornet, who was as cool as ice cream, scored a superb equaliser for Sean’s men and with no further goals, both shared the points.
Burnley sit in the final relegation place, with 9-points from the 12-fixtures so far. Now unbeaten in 3, there’s plenty of time for Sean to get his men out of relegation trouble.
Tottenham fell behind in the 1st-half at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium on Sunday going in at the break, trailing by a goal to nil.
In the fixture against Leeds United, the half-time team talk in the dressing room, by Antonio Conte, worked miracles, with Spurs coming out in the 2nd-half, scoring twice, with goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sergio Reguilon, to get the home victory by a 2-1 score.
Tottenham sit 7th in the table, with the same 19-points as Wolves, from the opening 12-games. Tottenham head to Slovenia on Thursday, to face Mura in the Europa Conference League (Antonio has no idea what that means either).
Mura were founded in 2012 and their stadium holds just over 3,000, so the tie against Spurs will be at Maribor’s ground, Ljudski VRT.
At Turf Moor last season, Jose Mourinho’s Spurs got the away-day victory by a 1-0 score. After a goalless 1st-half, Son Heung-Min scored the only goal of the game to give Tottenham the 3-points.
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LEICESTER v WATFORD
14.00 in England.
Claudio Ranieri is back at the King Power Stadium, which should be an emotional return for everyone on the day.
Unfortunately for Brendan’s not so Wonderful’s, it was another defeat on Saturday, with the Foxes succumbing to a loss against Chelsea by a 3-0 scoreline.
Leicester conceded 2-goals in the 1st-half and a 3rd after the break to ultimately lose the tie, against the current Premier League leaders. That’s 2-defeats from the last 3, the other being a draw, meaning 1-point from a possible 9.
Leading up to the game against Chelsea, Brendan Rodgers was asked about the possibility of taking over at Old Trafford and was very dismissive towards the reporter asking the question.
If Leicester continue this form, Brendan may just need another job and instead of taking over Ole’s Wheel, could be joining the Manchester United gaffer at the Job Centre.
The Foxes, with 15-points, remain in 12th-place in the table following all of Game Week-12’s fixtures. Rod Stewart had the best weekend for a while in the footballing world with a personal treble.
Firstly, wearing his very fetching yellow Chelsea away shirt, with ‘Stewart’ and ‘76’ on the back, Sir Roderick witnessed Leicester lose.
After that, it was straight onto the dodgy Amazon Firestick, to watch his beloved Green and White Hoops beat the holder’s St Johnstone (who?) in the Scottish Pub Cup, by a 1-0 score, to proceed to the Final.
The treble was up when somehow, Celtic’s arch Glasgow rivals, Rangers, now without Steven Gerrard, lose against Hibernian (who?) in the other Pub Cup Semi-Final by a 3-1 scoreline.
Lennon knew there were going to be extra doggie treats coming his way and Penny knew dinner was going to be cooked by Mr Stewart. All in all, a very satisfying weekend in the Stewart 3-bedroom terrace.
Penny and Rod sat down to watch the new series of I’m a Celebrity with a glass of Pinot Grigio, with Lennon on the rug, with a bone, humming the tune.
He’s Celtic, United but Brendan has decided that Leicester is the best place to be. Woof Woof!
Leicester host Legia Warsaw in the Europa League on Thursday, before this visit from Watford.
Watford got a great victory on Saturday, inflicting a heavy defeat on a sorry Manchester United by a 4-1 scoreline.
Ex-Manchester United youngster, Josh King opened the scoring on the half-hour mark. Not many will remember that Josh was at Old Trafford as a youngster, ironically in the reserves and youth teams managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer back in 2008.
Before Josh’s strike, Ismaila Sarr had seen an earlier penalty saved, twice. The original kick, saved by David De Gea, had to be retaken due to encroachment from players on both sides. David saved again.
Ismaila made up for his missed spot-kick by scoring a Hornet 2nd before the break. United pulled a goal back after the restart but then had a player sent off so it left Watford in complete control enabling Claudio’s men to score twice late in the game to secure the devastating victory.
Joao Pedro and Emmanuel Dennis with the goals. Mr Ranieri included ex-Manchester United Midfielder Tom Cleverly from the start, who had a superb 90-minutes against his old mates.
Tom had only played 45-minutes in 3 of the last 6-fixtures, the 1st-45 against Newcastle in Game Week-6, then coming on as a substitute for the start of the 2nd-half against Liverpool in Game Week-8 and Southampton in Game Week-10.
The brilliant victory leaves the Hornets in 16th-place with 13-points from the 12-fixtures so far.
Watford’s last 6-games have the following result pattern, Lost-Lost-Won, Lost-Lost-Won. That suggests a loss is on the cards, however, it’s not an exact science. It was early December 2019, when Leicester last hosted Watford.
After a goalless 1st-half, goals from the 2-James’s, Vardy and Maddison were enough to give Brendan’s Wonderful’s victory over Hayden Mullins away team.
Hayden was in temporary charge before the ex-Leicester boss, Nigel Pearson took over the Hornets hot seat.
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MAN CITY v WEST HAM
14.00 in England.
Pep’s High Flying Blues inflicted a defeat on Everton last Sunday, to remain in 2nd-place in the table.
City looked to have earned a penalty when Raheem Sterling was hauled down by Michael Keane midway through the 1st-half.
Unfortunately, although the on-field referee, Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot, the dreaded at Stockley Park requested Stuart to have another look at the pitch-side monitor.
Stuart decided that it wasn’t a penalty, which, although is the want of VAR, was it a clear and obvious error? No one would have complained (other than Rafa Benitez) if the penalty was given.
Raheem wasn’t to be deterred and scored on the stroke of half-time. Joao Cancelo played a super ball into Mr Sterling who tapped past his England mate, Jordan Pickford.
After the break, Roadie Rodri smashed the ball from 25-yards past Jordan and said,
‘Pick-(Ford)that out!’
Bernardo Silva added a 3rd, late on, to give Man City the victory by a 3-0 scoreline. Pep’s High Flyers have 26-points, 3-adrift of Chelsea at the summit. John Stones played against Everton, when the Barnsley Stone plays, City don’t concede.
Man City host a certain Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in the Champions League, which could see Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in the rain of Manchester.
Like Liverpool earlier, this will be the 3rd-home fixture in succession for the Citizens to cheer on their idols. However, it will be interesting to see the attendance at the Emptyhad against PSG, following the previous statement by the City Supporters Club Secretary who said that his members struggle to attend midweek Champions League games due to this, that and the other.
Will the girls and boys make an effort for Lionel, Neymar and Kylian?
West Ham’s unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday, when Wolves inflicted a defeat on David Moyes boys by a 1-0 score.
Michail Antonio had played for Jamaica, a couple of days earlier and immediately got on a Private Jet back to England to start at Molineux. Unfortunately, the jet couldn’t produce the goods.
In those games for the Reggae Boyz, Mr Antonio scored 2-goals, 1-against El Salvador and 1-against USA.
Michail looked tired against Wolves. That was the 1st-defeat in 4-Premier League fixtures and the 1st-loss in all competitions from the last 7-games played.
West Ham remain in 4th-place with 23-points from 12-fixtures.
The Hammers face Rapid Vienna in Austria on Thursday, in the Europa League, before this trip to the Etihad. At the Etihad last season, Michail Antonio cancelled out a Ruben Dias goal to take both teams in level at the break.
John Stones scored the winner for City, midway through the 2nd-half to give Pep the victory over David by a narrow 2-1 score. When John Stones plays, City sometimes concede! When John Stones scores, City Win.
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CHELSEA v MANCHESTER UNITED
16.30 in England.
Sky Sports
Chelsea got back to winning ways on Saturday following the previous draw before the International Break.
Thomas’s Blue Engines headed to the King Power Stadium and comfortably beat a toothless set of Foxes. Antonio Rudiger, who is playing brilliantly at the moment got on the end of a Ben Chilwell corner to open the scoring. The ex-Leicester Midfielder, N’Golo Kante scored a superb 2nd against his old mates.
Whilst it’s not in N’Golo’s nature to over celebrate, the guy was simply class in just acknowledging the strike with some of the Foxes faithful standing and clapping the goal. Mr Kante is a brilliant little player and is on the Ballon d’Or shortlist.
If John Newsome had a vote and unfortunately he doesn’t, it would go to the Frenchman. However, it’s more than likely that Lionel Messi (again!) will get the award (again!) when the ceremony takes place on the 29th of November 2021.
Christian Pulisic, came on as a 2nd-half substitute and added a 3rd for Chelsea to give them the overwhelming victory, keeping the Blues at the summit of the Premier League with 29-points, 3-ahead of Man City in 2nd.
England have qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. As Qatar is one of the hottest places on earth and a coat is not needed, unlike at Turf Moor, then the tournament is taking part from November 21st 2022-December 18th 2022, which is considered Winter in that part of the world.
So what happens to the 2022/23 Premier League one asks? Well, one will answer.
The Premier League has confirmed key dates for the 2022/23 campaign, with the season adjusted to accommodate the Qatar World Cup, which takes place in the middle of the domestic calendar.
The season will start a week earlier than normal on August 6th 2022, with Game Weeks 1-16, taking place up to the weekend of November 12th and 13th, before the tournament kicks off on November 21st.
For those who love the Christmas fixtures, to get out of the home, don’t worry, the Premier League will resume on Boxing Day following the World Cup final, which takes place on December 18th 2022.
The final Game Week of the 2022/23 season will be played on May 28th 2023. The Championship will follow suit. If one is visiting Qatar, don’t take a coat.
***********BREAKING NEWS***********
The inevitable has happened, Manchester United have finally parted company with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
In last week’s column, the Watford v United write-up began, ‘Where does one start when previewing Manchester United’. Then continued. No one on this Earth or Fullers can say that John Newsome hasn’t warned what the eventual outcome would be.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would lose his job at Old Trafford if he continued to pick Fred and/or Scott McTominay.
In the EveryTip preview for the tie against Watford, John suggested that it was a great opportunity for Ole to overhaul his starting eleven to give his Light Blue Devils a new injection of energy and not just continue with the norm.
Here’s what was written last week.
‘John Newsome’s alternative starting eleven for Manchester United against Watford, fitness permitted.
David De Gea, Phil Jones, Raphael Varane, Eric Bailly, Alex Telles, Donny Van De Beek, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mason Greenwood.
Granted, no Bruno Fernandes which does appear harsh but can CR7 and Bruno play together for Manchester United? A lot will scoff at that but look at the stats.
In the 16-fixtures that United have played so far this season, 11-Premier League, 1-Carabao Cub and 4-Champions League, Ole’s Trollies have a record of 7-Wins (5-Premier League and 2-Champions League) 6-Defeats (4-Premier League, 1-Carabao Cup and 1-Champions League) and 3-Draws (2-Premier League, 1-Champions League).
In those 16-fixtures, Bruno and Cristiano started together in 11 of them, which resulted in 5 of the 6-defeats United have suffered this term. The Carabao Cup loss against West Ham saw neither start.
There is 1-Draw when both start, meaning, Manchester United have won just 5-times when Ole has started Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes.
In the 3-games at the beginning of the season, United won 2 and drew 1, all with Bruno starting, without Cristiano, who didn’t play until Game Week-4.
It’s only a theory and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gets paid the Big Bucks to make the right choices but if a Numpty from Barnsley, John Newsome, can see the flaws, then surely others can.
Harry Maguire needs a rest too.’ Now it’s 12 that Cristiano and Bruno have started together and another defeat.
After the horrendous display against the Hornets, both Ole and Bruno went up to the away end and clapped the United supporters.
There were a few who didn’t like that and gave a bit back which prompted Mr Fernandes to say, ‘Blame the players, not the manager!’
Firstly, it’s the manager who picks the eleven and B, the players, including Bruno, should start performing better for the said manager. Ultimately it’s the manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, that is responsible for the abject display offered up.
In this EveryTip column, a reference to Albert Einstein was made, ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’
There’s another saying, ‘To always do, what you always did, you’ll always get, what you always got!’
Ole got what he deserved, the sack, for not changing things when it was obvious to everyone. Manchester United have got what they deserve too, for not getting rid of Ole sooner.
There’s always this talk that Ole was a legend at the club for his goal in the 1999 Champions League Final. Correct, however, that’s never going to diminish his reputation as a player.
Frank Lampard is a legend at Stamford Bridge, however, Roman Abramovich, who Frank could consider as a friend, didn’t hesitate in getting rid when it was obvious Chelsea weren’t progressing.
Five months later, Thomas Tuchel lead his team to European glory. Manchester United, as a team, got away with a lot last term, somehow finishing 2nd, behind the Noisy Neighbours.
The lack of fans in the stadium did help keep Ole in a job. Would a packed Old Trafford, full of the faithful, allow the performances served up at times by Ole’s Trollies?
Ole persisted with the same backline that is failing, persisted with the same midfield, granted Fred was dropped, rested etc but Scott and Bruno played against Watford. Why not mix it up a bit?
Donny Van De Beek replaced Scott at half-time and scored. The faithful in the away end sang his name throughout. Jesse Lingard came on in the 91st-minute. What’s he meant to do?
United conceded 2-goals in the 1st-half against Watford with David De Gea also saving a penalty. In truth, David saved twice as the original one was deemed illegal due to encroachment.
Donny scored 5-minutes after being introduced to give the faithful hope. Harry Maguire, fresh from scoring for England against the mighty Albania and San Marino, decided to get himself sent off.
Having already received a Yellow Card in the 62nd-minute, Harry dove in on Tom Cleverly, to receive a 2nd-Yellow, 7-minutes later and ultimately an early bath.
Watford took advantage and scored 2-late goals to inflict the defeat on United by the embarrassing 4-1 score.
Granted, there’s a lot of subjective opinions around, however, this is not new, regular readers will know that John Newsome has been saying the same for over a year, with the narrative that United won’t win anything with Fred.
That mantra was put in this column a long time ago and before United reached the Semi-Finals and Finals of last season’s Cup competitions. It’s also been asked as to who is making the decisions at Old Trafford regarding team selection?
Was it purely Ole or did Michael Carrick, Mike Phelan and Kieran McKenna have any input? Well now, that question may just be answered, as Michael, Mike and Kieran have kept their jobs, with Mr Carrick taking temporary charge.
If the team selection is similar then the result will just be the same, regardless of who picks the team. Michael needs to switch things around.
Both Liverpool and Man City have done a number on United so far, Chelsea are the next top taxi on the rank.
If Mr Carrick gets a positive result against Thomas’s Blue Engines, the lad could keep his hands on the wheel for the time being until the right man is found.
There’s a feeling that the right man is Zinedine Zidane or Mauricio Pochettino, however, Zizou doesn’t want the job and Poch is in Paris.
Well, it’s reported Zinedine’s wife doesn’t want the lad to have the United job as she doesn’t want to live in Manchester. Bit harsh!
As long as she’s got a Lous Vuitton brolly she’ll be ok (Other designer Umbrellas are available!) Maybe Mr Pochettino can come to Manchester and Mr Zizou can go to Paris.
It was Halloween a month ago but this just could be a horror show at Stamford Bridge if Mr Carrick’s eleven resembles anything like Ole’s Trollies.
One blessing for Michael is Harry Maguire can’t play against Chelsea. The Sheffield lad isn’t a bad player but just needs a rest and his sending off against Watford could just be that disguise for Michael Carrick. Also, Michael should just be brave enough to drop Bruno or Cristiano, or for that matter both.
There are other options at United. Ole failed to use those options, Michael cannot make the same mistake.
Like Dr Pepper, what’s the worst that can happen?
United get outplayed?
United lose?
United get humiliated?
Following the defeat at Vicarage Rd, Manchester United drop to 8th in the table, with 17-points. That’s 8-points above the relegation places. Remember 1974 anybody?
There was a quote put out by the respected Guardian and freelance Journalist, Richard Jolly when Ole was sacked, that went, ‘Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s last Premier League win as Man Utd manager was against Nuno Espirito Santo, whose last Premier League win as Tottenham manager was against Dean Smith, whose last Premier League win as Aston Villa manager was against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.’
That tweet had over 60,000 likes, not that John Newsome knows what that means as the lad is not on any Social Abuse sites. However, no one actually said to Richard, a renowned journalist for several publications, that the information put was incorrect.
Nuno’s last Premier League win as Tottenham manager was against Newcastle on the 17th of October, not Aston Villa, which occurred on the 3rd of October. Spurs then lost against United on the 30th of October and Mr Espírito Santo was gone.
Sixty-thousand that ‘like’ something which isn’t correct, which goes to prove, just be careful what information out there, is to be believed. Both of these play in the Champions League on Tuesday before this Sunday afternoon fixture.
Chelsea host Juventus at Stamford Bridge, with Manchester United heading to Spain to face Villarreal. Although United have to travel and Chelsea don’t, there is still plenty of time for Carrick’s Trollies to recover.
In last seasons 2-games between Chelsea and Manchester United, the netting was safe, with the fixtures at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford, both ending in goalless draws. There should be goals today.
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