Kieran Davies looks ahead to a weekend that pits arrogance against charisma along with the clash of the disappointed.
It’s the match up we have all been waiting for since the planets aligned. Arrogance versus charisma. The Special One versus The Normal One. Add to that an unbelievable situation we’d all have thought unthinkable with Mourinho seemingly on the brink of a Jobseeker’s Allowance claim. Chelsea in 15th place in the table, dumped out of the Carling Cup by Stoke and all not going according to plan in Europe. Mourinho may be best advised to employ a taster for his food for fear of Polonium-210 poisoning should Klopp’s Liverpool claim the spoils this weekend. So what is going on at Chelsea? How can something good turn bad overnight? In these situations we so often witness a familiar trend leading up to a manager’s sacking. The players seem to go into run of terrible performances which lead us to question whether the manager has lost the dressing room. Particularly at Stamford Bridge we have historically seen senior players draw their knives akin to the murder of Julius Caesar in the Roman Senate. Jose be warned. Klopp however is still in the early days of a long term plan, we need to give him at least two transfer windows until we can truly expect to see heavy metal football. His current crop would do well to impose the high pressing the German’s sides display. Chelsea are on the ropes, legs trembling, there for the taking.
After a drab derby at Old Trafford, both United and City will want to bounce back to winning ways. After being dumped out of the league cup by Championship side Middlesbrough, LVG’s side face a tough trip to Pardew’s Palace. After defeat at Leicester last time out, Cabaye and friends will be looking to put a shift in. A midweek drubbing at Man City wont have boosted confidence but Selhurst Park can be a real cauldron at times. Aguero-less City will still fancy their chances at home against new boys Norwich City. Joint top of the table with Arsenal now, its time for Pellegrini’s side to step up to the plate and show they’re not a one trick pony. They have certainly spent enough money to have more tricks than a Benidorm strip favourite. Arsenal, humbled by Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 in the week after all the talk of world beaters post Bayern Munich victory, travel to sunny South Wales to face Monk’s Swansea City. If Arsene’s side seriously want to be contenders for the title, this is the sort game they need to be winning. With injuries to key players this truly will be a stern test of their strength and depth of the squad. An intriguing fixture plays out at Vicarage Road with Watford lining up against West Ham. The Hornets had a great win at Stoke last time out while the East Londoners turned over their West rivals Chelsea. The Hammers have been guilty this season of being fantastic against the top sides and seriously left wanting against lesser opposition. This will give Watford a glimmer of a result on this one, will West Ham turn up?
The clash of the disappointed takes place in the North East with underperforming Newcastle facing underwhelming Stoke in a game which on paper could replace general anaesthetic across the NHS hospitals across the country. After defeat to rivals Sunderland last week and still finding themselves in the bottom three, McClaren could be another dead man walking. With Sunderland facing a tricky little trip to Everton this weekend, this is a real chance to push ahead of their arch enemy and right some wrongs from last weekend. With Everton sitting in a mediocre 13th spot the Goodison faithful will be looking for three points this weekend. Tottenham on the back of slapping five goals on Bournemouth have the perfect follow up fixture in managerless Villa at home. Can Harry Kane build upon last weekend’s performance to show he is back in the groove? Since Pompey’s demise, a South coast derby is something we haven’t been treated to for a while so Southampton facing Bournemouth will need to show us what we have been missing. Neither of these teams will be happy with their form of late and while that tends to be irrelevant in derbies, victory is everything. West Brom face one of the season’s surprise packages, Leicester City. Pullis will have to have his tactics right in this one while keeping Mahrez and Vardy quiet. This will be a tough test as the Tinkerman looks to solidify their fine start. I think this weekend will see another managerial casualty, but who will it be? As long as it comes with lots of goals and action, its what this beautiful game is all about.