Arsenal prepare to give the Guard of Honour to Manchester United: Preview

The Gunners take on the Red Devils in the Sunday match of the day. 18 Yard Box has a look.

Two heavyweights of English football, Arsenal and Manchester United, clash on Sunday. The stakes are not that high for this encounter as far as Manchester United are concerned but this match is matter of huge relevance to Arsenal as they continue to fight for the 3^rd position in the league-direct Champions League qualification spot. Having been challenged by Tottenham and Chelsea to the top spot, Arsenal has a mountain in the form of Manchester United, the already proclaimed title winners, to scale.

18YB looks into the epic rivalry ahead of Super Sunday encounter.

Arsenal

Arsenal are currently placed 3^rd in the league,1 point shy of 4^th placed Chelsea, who has a game in hand, and any positive result from this game will have a huge effect on the premier league standings. Tottenham and Chelsea are hot on the heels of Arsenal and any slip-up might drag them down to the 5^th position. Having maintained a top 4 position for the past 16 seasons, a draw or a loss against the crowned Champions might break the jinx and Arsene Wenger would be left with some serious fixing to do in the few remaining games of the season. However,one of the main factors that might spur the Gunners on before this match would be to give the Guard of Honour to the entire Manchester United team, more particularly, Robin van Persie. Ever since the prolific striker left the North London side for United under mysterious circumstances, his form has notched up full speed and he is credited to being the most influential in United’s title winning campaign.

Strengths

The resurgence of this midfielder has left Arsenal spoilt for choices in the centre

Arsenal has been pretty much ordinary this season, scraping past bottom-of-the-table teams and often times losing to not-much bigger teams. However, coming down to the last few gameweeks, Arsene Wenger has found his pefect combination in the midfield as well as defence. Sagna, Koscielny,Mertesacker and Gibbs have been quite good this season and playing this back 4 against a strong United attacking line-up might pay dividends for Wenger. However, Arsene might be in a fix to choose which midfielder to choose as Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Wilshere have all hit prime form in the fag-end of this season. Ramsey has really been the unsung hero for Arsenal in the past few games, working hard to get the passes right and holding the midfield. Cazrola and Walcott has been in quite a good goal-scoring form and they are the front-runners to play on the wings.

Weaknesses

Striking problems for the Gunners

Even though Arsenal might have found the perfect recipe for success in the past couple of games, the availability of the forward and and their form is what worries Wenger. After being served with a three-match suspension for a reckless tackle on Fulham full-back Stanislav Manolev, Giroud would miss out on this epic clash, leaving Wenger with limited options to play the striking role .Podolski, who was played as a winger in this Premier League campaign, might have to play the striker role in absence of the French striker. Also, Arsenal had been quite shoddy in the past game against Fulham barely managing a 1-0 win playing almost 9/10^th of the game with a 1 man advantage.

Manchester United

Already crowned champions for the 20^th time with 5 matches still to go, Manchester United are on a roll with talismanic striker Robin van Persie in blistering form. Manchester United has nothing at stake ahead of this encounter other than their own honour and exclusive bragging rights in English football. Moreover,Sir Alex Ferguson is aiming for maximum points in the remaining 5 games to break Chelsea’s record tally of 95 points in a single season under Jose Mourinho. He would be looking forward to maintain a perfect record to end with in this season after having lost put on three major trophies—FA Cup, Carling Cup and the most coveted, Champions League

Strengths

The trio have been fantastic in the past few games

Everything has been perfect for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in this Premier League campaign and apart from a few disappointments, this season has been one of the best for Manchester United. Robin van Persie, the former Arsenal striker, has hit prime form in the past couple of games and has notched up 24 goals in the Premier League itself putting him in pole position to win the Golden Boot award. Van Persie has been detrimental to United’s league achievements and his nomination in the PFA’s Player of the Year category rightfully points out his contributions. Valencia, Rooney, Kagawa has had a good run of form in the past few games and their contributions have been worthwhile for the team as well. However, the most contributing player for United this season has been Michael Carrick. From protecting defenders to playmaking, Carrick has been arguably the best midfielder in this Premier League campaign. With the most number of forward passes in Europe, Carrick’s contributions to United has earned him a fighting chance to get the PFA Player of the Year.

Weaknesses

However autumn this season might have been for the already crowned champions, it has been a tough ride for United against heavy opposition. Losing out to Chelsea and Manchester City in the FA Cup and the Premier League in the past month, there have been doubts raised over United’s approach to big games. Against many oppositions, United has been observed to draw their opponents deep into their own halves hereby inviting trouble upon themselves.

Importance of a win

A win, loss or draw might not be much of a deal breaker for Manchester United as they already have the title in their bag but for Arsenal, anything but a positive result(win) would seriously hamper their Champions League qualification for next season. Tottenham and Chelsea are just 1 point shy of Arsenal and a draw might put their 3^rd place at jeopardy.

The Final Verdict

18YB predicts a high scoring encounter ending in a draw. Even though both teams are equally capable, Sir Alex Ferguson might not play his best 11 to allow youngsters in his team to get a 1^st team chance thus ruling out a United-dominated encounter. A 2-1 win for the home side could be the ideal result but with Sir Alex, not known to be accepting defeats easily, the encounter might produce a high scoring draw.

Written by,

Rishav Ghosh

Rishav is a writer for 18 Yard Box.

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Liverpool v/s Chelsea-The Return of Rafa and Torres: Preview

18 Yard Box has a look at the tradiotional top 4 clash between the Reds and the Blues.

One of the two big games this weekend sees the two teams go head-to-head in what will undoubtedly be a new twist in the race for the top-4 finish, while also providing a stage for the Reds to meet their former manager in charge of the Blues.

Recap

The previous fixture between the two teams was a high action 1-1 draw. John Terry made a comeback of sorts from suspension, scoring for Chelsea, before injuring himself while tackling Luis Suarez, who was on the scoresheet for the Reds.

Terry scored and all important goal

Liverpool  

The business end of the season sees a scrap for both the relegation and the Champions League places. And while Liverpool’s hopes for a top-4 finish are all but dead, they have always played for pride (and to finish above Everton). Add the drama of ex-manager Rafa Benitez visiting as the new Blues’ boss and we have got a Liverpool squad on a mission.

Injuries: 

Liverpool face no new injury concerns as such and have a fairly fit squad.

Strengths: 

Liverpool have had an odd set of games in the PL. They lost to Southampton, won against Wigan, Tottenham and the Villans before playing out draws against WHU and Reading. 11 points in 6 matches has done them no good. Their strengths have not been far too noticeable this season, save for the class acts of Suarez, Gerrard and the new recruit Coutinho, who have been a delight to watch. That said they have shown intent in attack. Against Reading, they were thwarted by the individual brilliance of the goalkeeper Alex McCarthy at the Madjeski.  Against the Spurs they completed a memorable comeback to secure a 3-2 win. While all else may fail, it is their attackers who have lent some credence to Liverpool’s season.

Suarez is in red hot form

Weakness: 

Liverpool have not performed, to put it bluntly, as a team, far too many times this season. They have been listless, or absent from a match for periods of time in the game which has cost them quite a lot. Allen in the defensive midfield instead of Lucas Leiva was shred by the likes of Southampton.  Suarez’s strike partner Sturridge has not taken off as much burden from the Uruguayan’s shoulders as was expected. While the midfield is doing well currently, the performance of the team hinges on their talisman. The defence hasn’t done anything spectacularly, even when it was heavily required. That apart, neither Pepe Reina (surprisingly) nor his understudy Brad Jones have inspired much confidence between the sticks.

He needs to do better

Importance of a win: 

3 points worth their weight in gold. While the top-4 is now a glorious impossibility, a win at home would keep their Europa hopes up for the time being.

Chelsea

They are the team who will gain anything big, provided the game goes their way. With a game in hand on their top-4 rivals Spurs and two on Arsenal, a win here will almost ensure their presence in next season’s elite competition.

Strengths: 

For Chelsea, their new midfield is proving to be a great strength. And the group of warhorses, Terry, Lampard and Cech though now aged are still going strong. The goals have come in ones and twos, and Ba does score some spectacular ones. They also have numerical strength in terms of games left over their rivals.

These three need to click

Weaknesses:  

Their away form has been torrid of late losing to Man City, Southampton and even Newcastle. They have let in the opposition far too many times inspite of leading. This has often cost them points they shouldn’t have lost. The fatigue of Europa seems to be catching up though not always. And that is a grave danger by itself. The squad rotation policy has seen even Terry benched. This has unsettled the team to a certain extent.

The defense needs to shore up

Injuries: 

Chelsea have good news on this front with Ashley Cole, Marko Marin and Gary Cahill slated to return for the game after long injuries.

 Importance of a win: 

A rare win at the Anfield (they have lost 46 times out of 69), will almost ensure their foray back to the Champions League. This will also be a rather personal victory for Benitez, who still enjoys some support among the Kop.

The Final Verdict

This game is expected to be even and pulsating, and if both teams get their acts right, it 

would be a game to define the top-4 race. With both teams looking for the 3 points, and neither willing to budge an inch, another 1-1 draw seems a likely prospect.

Liverpool-Chelsea: Statszone                                                                              

	Liverpool	Chelsea
Games	33	32
W/D/L	13/11/9	18/7/7
Form	W-W-L-W-D-D	L-W-W-L-W-W
Points and position	50 (7)	61 (3)

Written By,
Abhishek Karandikar

Abhishek is a writer for 18 Yard Box.

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Bayern Munich showcase their superior quality

18YB has a look at the clash between Juventus and Bayern Munich, which the German giants won comfortably.

Italian side Juventus bowed out of the Champions League with a 0-2 defeat (4-0 on aggregate), in another dismal showing by Antonio Conte’s side to German giants Bayern Munich. The defeat in Turin turned out to be a similar contest where Jupp Heynckes’ side clearly showed the superiority in quality they posses over their Italian counterparts. They are now left with Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in the semi-final draw due to take place tomorrow.

Whackk.com

          Juventus started the tie in their usual 3-5-2 formation with Asamoah returning from injury. The right wing-back position was taken over by Simone Padoin instead of Stephan Lichtsteiner.  Arturo Vidal, who was suspended for the tie was replaced by former Manchester United Paul Pogba in the heart of the midfield. Bayern, on the other hand started in their fluid 4-2-3-1 with Muller filling the hole behind the lone striker Mario Mandzukic. Dutch international Arjen Robben, who came on from the bench in the first leg to cause trouble among the Juventus defenders, started this game with a similar objective.

Vucinic and Quagliarella started the game but Juventus need more quality upfront if they are to succeed next season

The game started with Juventus making much better use of the ball in the opening exchanges as compared to the entire first half of the first leg. They passed around the ball well with Pirlo, Marchisio and Asamoah at the heart of almost every half chance they created. Bayern defended deep and attacked with venom, as they still managed to get the first real chance of the game despite having very less possession of the ball. Robben and Ribbery combined well on the right hand side and the Frenchman’s cross across the six yard box was met well by Mandzukic, only to be saved by a tackle from Padoin. The Germans used the ball well and despite all their good work in the middle of the park, Juventus didn’t manage any real shot on goal. Van Buyten went close with his header wide of the Italian’s goal before Pirlo finally tested Neuer with an excellent free kick from the edge of the area. 

Pirlo brought about an excellent save from Neuer in the first half

Overall though, the first half was a balanced affair though the German side looked closest to getting on the score sheet. They didn’t start the game on the front foot but clearly Juventus had been let down by their forwards as they failed to produce any quality shots on goal.

The second half started with Juventus producing a better quality of attacking football as both Quagliarella and Vucinic came into the game. The Italian international also got an early shot on target after some good work on the left hand side. Their play slightly improved in the opening first ten minutes but they still failed to carve open an experienced Bayern defense with a clinical pass. Juventus were definitely playing at the top of their levels but their quality was nowhere in match to the Germans. They started to get more of the ball as well as the game progressed and this was the period where the game started tilting towards them. And in the 64^th minute, they all but ended hopes of a Juventus comeback as Mandzukic headed in a parried Javi Martinez effort. The goal took the sting out of Conte’s side who still did not opt to commit to a more attack minded formation. The tactical flexibility shown by his side last season has been missing this year and that has certainly affected their chances of winning in a European competition.

Mandzukic heads past Buffon for their first of the night

The midfield battle too, which was initially being won by the Italians (early in the first half) was now dominated by the Germans as they looked to pass through the motions with the game all but over. The Italians resorted to long balls now as they needed to get four goals which was almost impossible. The game had lost its excitement and Juventus had all but accepted defeat. Further damage was caused by Bayern when Pizzaro scored in stoppage time with a smart turn and finish past the hapless Buffon. 

Conte did not switch his tactics despite being able to be flexible in the way his side played last season

 In the end though, Juventus go out of the competition with their heads held high as they lost to a side much superior to them. While the German outfit certainly are one of the favourites now, Antonio Conte has been left with plenty to think about how he can turn his side into contenders for next season. A new striker in the form of Fernando Llorente is going to be with them next term, but they do need that extra bit of variation in their squad to adapt to situations like the one against Bayern, where they needed to counter Bayern’s flair by taking a more direct approach.

What do you think about the match? Drop in your comments below!

Written by,
Aman Arora
 
 Aman writes for Goal India and 18YB 

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Preview: Manchester United v/s Manchester City

18YB looks at the upcoming Manchester Derby, which having once being touted as a title decider, looks like a dead rubber with United currently leading their crosstown rivals by a massive 15 points.

         

Manchester United will welcome fierce rivals Manchester City to Old Trafford on Monday

The stakes are certainly not as high as before with the title being Manchester United's to lose with just 8 games to go. Having gone through a rather inconsistent season,this match might be the last chance for Mancini to salvage any pride or possibly, his job. After losing out on the Champions League and in all probabilities the Premier league, Mancini's job is under serious threat and anything other than a win would put his job under further jeopardy. As for United,a win this match would surely kill the two-way title race and would be the apt retribution to last season's 6-1 drubbing by City in the corresponding fixture.

Manchester United

While the title looks secure, beating their rivals to wrap it all up will be all United want this week. They do not have any other competition to play for this season, while City have an FA Cup semi-final to play against Chelsea next week and defeating them in the derby now will only dent their hopes of beating the Londoners. Apart from a massive points gap between the two, a trophy less season for City will be all the more satisfying for the Red Devils and thus they will be looking to deflate the Citizens on Monday night. 

Strengths

It has been a smooth ride for Sir Alex Ferguson and his troops this season and the league table is a proof of it. Having sorted out the problems in the back, United now boasts of the best defense in the past 3 months.With Vidic, Ferdinand, Evans and Smalling all back from injury, United have gone on a run of 6 matches without conceding not to mention, the ever improving David de Gea. The Spanish custodian has been in outstanding form going 642 minutes without conceding any goal.  

Moreover,with Wayne Rooney recovering from the groin injury, his addition to the squad will be a major boost. Having scored twice against the same opposition in the previous fixture, Rooney would be Sir Alex Ferguson's trump card against City.

Rooney has returned to scoring since Van Persie has had a poor run of form in the past two months

Weaknesses

United's talismanic striker Robin van Persie has been having a dry spell in front of goal, not having scored for the past 10 games. Their wingers haven't been in top form either which has been the reason for the deployment of Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa in the wide areas. Their attack lacks a bit of variation at the moment and certainly require the goals of the Dutchman to end the season comfortably. 

Persie has endured a dry spell for the past 11 games in all competitions

Importance of a win

A win in the derby would mean more than just 3 points for Sir Alex Ferguson and co. A win in this derby would enable United to go 18 points clear, realistically taking them out of reach of City. United have already got a victory at the Etihad in the League earlier this campaign and this victory will put the finishing touches in what has been a delightful season for them domestically.

Manchester City

Lurking at the 2^ndposition in the league table, Manchester City's title chances are very slim and a win against possible title winners United would only close down the gap by 3 points. However,this match holds tremendous significance to their board as Roberto Mancini's job holds in the balance. They haven't performed up to expectations in the League this season,  not to mention their disappointments in the Champions League. A change in management could be their next move although a convincing win over United now could change all that. 

A win against United could be important for the Italian's future

Strengths

A team full of gifted individuals, Manchester City has enough firepower to snub United in the upcoming derby. With Vincent Kompany recovering completely, Manchester City's defence looks solid with Kompany and Nastasic possibly pairing-up at the back to neutralise United's attacking prowess. Moreover, the Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry partnership ahead of the back four has paid dividends for Mancini in the past few games. 

David Silva has returned to form and so has Carlos Tevez. The duo have been inconsistent through out the season and that, in reality has been the problem for the Citizens. Too many players have underperformed leading to a disappointing season for Mancini's team.

Weaknesses

Even though they have ammunition to blow away any side in the world, Mancini's men have been unable to play to their potential for the maximum part of this season. They have been inconsistent and on occassions they lack a back-up plan. 

Nasri, Tevez and a couple of other important players have let City down this season

The core of the players who won them the title last term have let their manager down with performances nowhere near the wages they demand. An overhaul looks necessary with only players who have the hunger for keeping the side at the top having a place in the side.

Importance of a win

A win in this match is necessary to City to show that they are still a force to reckon with. They must not give up giving United a late push for the title and a victory here will show that a winning mentality has been established at the club, which will be crucial for years to come. Many more league titles are to be fought for and City need to prove that they have the determination in them by winning this fixture. 

The Final Verdict

Looking ahead to this game,its a tough decision to guess a winner in this exciting derby but going by statistics and form,it is Manchester City's game to lose. However,given the unpredictability of Sir Alex Ferguson's side, Manchester United might edge out City and go 18 points clear at the top of the table.

Will Mancini keep his job or will he be check-mated again by Sir Alex Fergsuon ? All we can do is wait and watch.

Written by,

Rishav Ghosh