13 Aug 2011

PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW 2011/12 PREDICTION

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Manchester City
4. Liverpool
5. Arsenal
6. Everton
7. Tottenham
8. Fulham
9. Sunderland
10. Wolves
11. Stoke
12. WBA
13. Blackburn Rovers
14. QPR
15. Wigan Athletic
16. Bolton Wanderers
17. Swansea
18. Aston Villa
19. Newcastle United
20. Norwich

Premiership preview, table prediction: 1. Manchester United


Manchester United

Manchester United Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12


Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
Ground: Old Trafford
Nickname: The Red Devils
Capacity: 76212










Squad:

 

Goalkeepers


·         Defenders


Midfielders


Attacking Midfielders


Forwards





Manchester United won the title last season. Sir Alex Ferguson has proved season after season that he got what it takes to bring United further and further in the right direction. I must say I was unsure about the United team, which have lost a lot of key players from last season, until I saw the community shield against Manchester City. My biggest concern with United was the goalkeeper De Gea and the weak central midfield (compared to the other big clubs) with Carrick, Anderson and Fletcher. I had wrong with the midfield it seems, yes it lacks creative players like they had in Scholes, but they got it on both sides in Nani and Young. One thing I nailed is the goalkeeper tho, De Gea is not ready for a big club like United yet, and yes he was poor in the community shield match. And yes for all you United fans out there, I know De Gea is one out the best talents out there, but his not ready for this level in years. I think Lindegaard might nick the goalkeeper spot some weeks into the season. That being said, United look dangerously good in offense and rock solid in defence. Tom Cleverly had a good season with Wigan last year and looked strong in the community match.




Pre-Season Fixtures/Results
July 13 vs New England Revolution 4-1 – Owen, Macheda (2), Park
July 20 vs Seattle Sounders 7-0 – Owen, Diouf, Rooney (3), Park, Obertan
July 23 vs Chicago Fire 3-1 – Rooney, Rafael, Nani
July 27 vs MLS All-Stars 4-0 Anderson, Park, Berbatov, Welbeck
July 30 vs Barcelona 2-1 Nani, Owen August
5th vs New York Cosmos 6-0- Scholes, Rooney (pen), Anderson, Welbeck, M Diouf (2)
August 7th vs Manchester City (Community Shield) 3-2 Smalling, Nani (2)



Players in




Players out




Injuries:                                              Return date                       situation
Valencia (Luis Antonio)                  20th Aug 2011                   Ankle sprain
Hernández (Javier)                        31st Aug 2011                   Concussion       
Fletcher (Darren)                            20th Aug 2011                   Illness





Most likely starting lineup for Manchester United next weekend:





                                                  1 David De Gea






                                     16 Michael Carrick           8 Anderson


18 Ashley Young                                                                           17 Nani


                                 10 Wayne Rooney          19 Danny Welbeck





With Sir Alex Ferguson still in charge Manchester United is still the team to beat. At the moment they look the strongest and it will be hard to stop them from getting league title number 20. Looking at the first 10 matches they are going up against all the other big clubs, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. Adding to that traveling to West Brom, Everton and Stoke is not the easiest away games in the league. If you ask me United could ether win or lose the title within the first 10 games. No matter United and Sir Alex Ferguson look ready for the task, and I predict them winning the clubs 20th league title this season. 

Premiership preview, table prediction: 2.Chelsea


Chelsea

Chelsea Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12


Manager: Andre Villas-Boas
Ground: Stamford Bridge
Nickname: The Blues
Capacity: 42055









Squad:

 

Goalkeepers


·         Defenders



Midfielders


Attacking Midfielders

 

Forwards




Chelsea finished 2nd last season behind champions Manchester United. I expect a similar season this year with Chelsea being United hardest competitors for the title. Chelsea have appointed manager Adre Villas-Boas during the summer, a young and upcoming manager which is compared to old Chelsea manger Jose Mourinho.  The question is if he can take control of Chelsea dressing room and make the players follow his system. A lot of newspapers are talking about Terry, Lampard, Drogba and Anelka having to much influence on the squad, which will make the job for Villas-Boas hard. I think Villas-Boas knows better and taking a treble with Porto last season is impressive for any manager. I believe he will produce the goods this season, but I’m not sure it’s enough to win the title.



Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

Jul 12 vs Wycombe Wanderers 3-0 – Benayoun, Torres, Rajkovic
July 16 vs Portsmouth 1-0 – Ben-Haim (og)
July 21 vs Malaysia XI 1-0 – Roslan (og)
July 24 vs Thailand XI 4-0 – Lampard, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Malouda
July 27 vs Kitchee SC 4-0 – Lampard, Luzardo (own goal), Drogba, Sturridge
July 31 vs Aston Villa 2-0 McEachran, Torres
August 6 vs Rangers 3-1 Sturridge (2), Malouda



Players in



Players out





Villas-Boas have signed some interesting players already in Romelu Lukaku who is reported to be the new Drogba. That being said Sturridge also looks like a new player and have impressed hugh for the club in pre-season. Roumers are stating that Villas-Boas are still looking to bring in more players before the window closes.





Injuries:                         Return date                       situation
Essien (Michael)            7th Jan 2012                      Anterior cruciate ligament
Luiz (David)                   20th Aug 2011                   Knee injury
Sturridge (Daniel)          27th Aug 2011                   3 Match Ban






Most likely starting lineup for Chelsea next weekend:











  12 Mikel John            7 Ramires


                                                 8 Frank Lampard

10 Yossi Benayoun                                                                 21 Salomon Kalou





Chelsea is looking strong as usual and if Villas-Boas get results from the start they will be difficult to beat this season. In my opinion they have the easiest opening of the season. They will be playing Stoke, West Brom, Norwich and Sunderland before they are going up against Manchester United. This should give Villas-Boas enough time to boost the confidence of his team to bed ready for United. I predict Chelsea finishing 2nd this year aswel, but could very well win the title this year.

12 Aug 2011

Premiership preview, table prediction: 3. Manchester City


Manchester City
Manchester City  Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12


Manager:  Roberto Mancini 
Ground: The City of Manchester Stadium
Nickname: City of The Blues
Capacity: 47726












Squad:

 

Goalkeepers


·         Defenders


Midfielders

 

Forwards





Manchester City finished in 3rd place last season, and finally qualified for the champion’s league. Roberto Mancini is a quality manager and is looking to take the club in the right direction. That being said, he knows the owners have big expectations of this season both in the league and Europe. He knows poor results could cost him the job early in the season. The owners keep on pumping out money to strengthen the squad, and Manchester City have founds and a squad that few if none in the premiership can match at the moment. The question I’m asking; can Mancini manage to get the best out of the squad and make a team out of all the stars?




Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

July 16 vs Club America 2-0 – McGivern, Wright-Phillips
July 18 vs Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 – Guidetti, Wright-Phillips
July 24 vs LA Galaxy 1-1 – Balotelli
July 30 vs League of Ireland XI 3-0 Wright-Phillips, Johnson, Scapuzzi
July 31 vs Inter Milan 3-0 Balotelli, Dzeko, Johnson
August 7 vs Manchester United (Community Shield) 2-3 Lescott, Dzeko




Players in




Players out




Most likely starting lineup for Manchester City next weekend:












7 James Milner                 34 Nigel de Jong              42 Yaya Toure   21 David Silva









Manchester City’s talisman from last season Carlos Tevez wants to leave the club and could give Mancini big problems this year if they can’t sell him. I don’t know if Tevez is motivated enough to play yet a good season for a club he has no intentions of staying with? And how does the rest of the squad react to his childish behavior. And the childish and immature player of the history in super talent Mario Balotelli is another big problem for Mancini this year. That being said he should have enough quality in the club to make up for the Tevez and Balotelli problems. And the owners won’t be waiting for success if Mancini can’t deliver progress this season as well. He could actually be one of the first managers to be sacked this season. I think City will finish in 3rd spot as last year, so I believe Mancini needs success in the champion’s league if he is to remain at City further.