Premier League Preview - Miraculous Recovery Weekend?

After Footie Frog’s remarkable(if I do say so myself) performance last weekend, this Saturday and Sunday could be very interesting. Firstly to see if your favourite amphibian predictor can repeat last week’s feat, and secondly to see if those players deemed ‘too unfit’ for international duty in midweek make a miraculous recovery in time for their big club matches.

Miracle Cream - used by absent stars???

Yes after the farce that was the midweek international friendly against the old enemy Germany, where Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand and Rooney all came down with mysterious injuries straight after playing full matches for their clubs, all eyes will be on the names that make the starting line-ups this weekend.

It is the late kick-off that holds the most interest, as Man Utd attempt to better Arsenal’s performance last week when they travel to Aston Villa. Last season Martin O’Neill’s men were embarrassed by United 4-1 at Villa Park, but will be running high on confidence after a terrific performance and victory over Arsenal last weekend. That victory over the Gunners was the Villains’ first in ten years, and they will need another record book-dismissing performance, as United haven’t been vanquished by those in Claret-and-Blue since 1995. With Agbonlahor and Ashley Young profiting from the arrogance of certain established England stars and gaining their first and fourth caps respectively, they will be among the Villa stars eager to prove their worth against the League Champions.
Footie Frog cannot overlook United’s scintillating form of late. After only losing one of their last 15 in all competitions; not failing to score in their last 36 matches; and with Cristiano Ronaldo having scored 6 in his last 4 games - the odds don’t look good for Villa. Aston Villa 0-2 Man Utd.

On paper, there looks to be an easier match in store for Chelsea. Scolari will have been relieved (after his side’s recent injury problems) to be having a visit from Newcastle United; a team that has never come away from Stamford Bridge with a Premier League victory. This season’s facts don’t look in favour of Joe Kinnear’s men either – Newcastle have conceded 22 goals in 13 games, and Chelsea have been one of the meanest defences in all European leagues, having conceded a meagre 4 goals. Like Cristiano Ronaldo for Manchester United, Nic Anelka has been in sensational form, and it would be surprising if he weren’t to add to this month’s 7 goal haul against a Toon defence that is likely to be missing one of its key men – Steven Taylor. With Joey Barton recently declared out for a minimum of 5 weeks, the only glimmer of hope is the rumours of a possible starting berth for Michael Owen, who will be desperate to help the Magpies to victory, to prove his own ability as much as improve the Newcastle position.
Footie Frog cannot see anything but a home win tomorrow, with Deco and the returning Joe Cole causing Newcastle heaps of problems, and Anelka adding to his impressive total thus far. Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle.

There seems to be little point in previewing the match at Anfield. Liverpool have hit a purple patch, and their excellent season thus far should be aided this weekend by a win over a Fulham side that cannot buy a win away from Craven Cottage. Trust the Frog; it will be a completely different Fulham side to the one that beat Newcastle and Tottenham at home in their last two matches. Roy Hodgson will be praying that they play with the same stifling defensive tactics and clinical finishing, but the reality is that his Fulham team don’t travel well. Particularly to Liverpool. In the last 7 matches at Anfield, they have failed to win and scored only twice. Oh, and Liverpool have only leaked 8 goals this season, and are presiding over a 9 month unbeaten home streak. The good news for the Cottagers is that there should be no changes for Roy Hodgson’s side, and their defensive record is impressive this term, only conceding 11 goals.
Footie Frog expects Gerrard to be missing for the Reds after his absence from the England side midweek; but Fernando Torres is back to full fitness and looked menacing last weekend, and with the ‘Special K’s’ Kuyt and Keane actually looking like top footballers of late, it seems unlikely that even Fulham’s unchanged, mean defence can hold out. Liverpool 2-0 Fulham.

After looking at those 2 mean defences, there looks to be at least one match this weekend where defenders may not even be involved. With Arsenal conceding 15 goals this term and Man City leaking 22, and the 2 sides scoring 25 and 26 respectively, there could be a goal-fest at the City of Manchester Stadium tomorrow. Or at the very least, an incredibly attacking match. International games have been a source of trouble for both the teams leading into this one – City having their Brazilian stars Robinho and Elano returned today, and Arsenal’s young hero Theo Walcott injured during international training midweek. With Toure injured and Fabregas suspended, Wenger has a bit of a selection headache, but at least up front this headache should be a positive one – Adebayor and Van Persie are both back from injury and suspension respectively.
Footie Frog predicted that the pressure on Mark Hughes would increase after last week’s match against Hull, and after his side rescued a point against the Yorkshire outfit, they will be keen to get back to winning ways against a divided Arsenal team. Gallas has recently caused controversy at the Emirates stadium by detailing the dressing room unrest, and Hughes will hope that his side can take advantage, but neither side will get the result they want – a draw is on the cards here. Man City 2-2 Arsenal.

In the dullest prospect of the weekend (if not the season) Middlesbrough ‘entertain’ Bolton at the Riverside. Few home fans will show; the ones that do will be happy with the win. In-form Tuncay will cause problems. Middlesbrough 2-0 Bolton.

Portsmouth should have all their international stars back for their game at Fratton Park against Hull City. Pompey have had problems scoring of late, and Hull haven’t looked the side they can be. Defoe should put the Tigers to the sword. Portsmouth 2-1 Hull City.

In the battle of the promoted sides, Stoke should show West Brom that you need to be tough in this division. Mowbray says he will continue to play pretty. He will continue to lose. Stoke 2-0 West Brom.

It is revolution against demise at White Hart Lane, as Tottenham host Blackburn. Ince’s boys desperately need a win after none in 7, but they will have to keep searching after Harry continues his fine start. Tottenham 2-0 Blackburn.

Another debutant top-flight manager is struggling along with Ince, as Gianfranco Zola can only watch and grimace as his team tumble. West Ham travel to Sunderland to add to their measly total of 2 points from their last 21. The Black Cats should send them back disappointed. Cisse will cause problems. Sunderland 1-0 West Ham.

Premier League Preview - Easy at the Top?

Looking at the fixture-list, it could be suggested that it will be a straight-forward weekend for the Premier League’s finest clubs.

In what promises to be the most exciting, attacking match of the weekend, Arsenal play host Aston Villa. After Footie Frog wrote them off against Manchester United last week, the Gunners have since produced 2 outstanding displays; defeating the Red Devils 2-1, and scoring 3 without reply in what was essentially a youth team victory over Wigan in the Carling Cup midweek. Confidence should be soaring at the Emirates, and it will be interesting to see whether Arsene Wenger will give any of his impressive young Gunners the chance to take on Villa, or whether they will remain restricted to the cup competition. Arsenal will definitely still be without the suspended Van Persie and injured Eboue, but could welcome back Emmanuel Adebayor, if not to the starting eleven, then to the subs bench.
Villa are likely to be without Carew, who is still struggling with a hip problem, but Petrov and Luke Young could return to a side that has lost both of their last 2 matches. Villa are notoriously average on the road, and have consistently struggled at Arsenal, having not won there in 14 years. Everything points to a Gunners victory tomorrow, with Martin O’Neill’s side looking distinctly poor recently – haphazard, lacking shape or any kind of organisation; the complete opposite to the Arsenal of the last week. The Gunners do seem to enjoy playing against the odds; winning and winning well when their backs are against the wall, but if Arsene Wenger’s team want to be considered serious title challengers, they must win these ‘should-win’ matches of which they often make hard work.

Footie Frog expects a confident, galvanised Arsenal side to take the match to Villa at the weekend, and I think that if they can score in the 1st half, there will be no worries. If the 2nd half kicks-off with Villa level, the Midlands club will fancy themselves. Footie Frog predicts a 2-1 win for Arsenal.

There seems to be relatively simple matches for the other title contenders this weekend; you know, Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea...and, erm, Hull... after most of these sides struggled in the Carling Cup in midweek.

Chelsea seem to have the easiest fixture of the weekend, as they travel to the Hawthorns to take on table-proppers West Brom. Saying that, they seemed to have the easiest tie on the Carling Cup on Wednesday as they played host to Burnley, but were stunned at the Bridge, losing on penalties to the promotion hopefuls. But Scolari’s men (particularly Anelka) are in sterling form in the Premier League, and head to the Midlands looking to retain their lead at the top of the table, and increase their goal difference.

The Blues currently have a +25 difference, having only conceded 4 goals so far, and Footie Frog finds it difficult (even squinting really really hard) to see the league’s lowest scorers West Brom getting any goals, let alone enough to beat top scorers Chelsea. West Brom 0-3 Chelsea.

The team hard on Chelsea’s heels, Liverpool, have also had a rather surprising week. First, Robbie Keane proved that he does know where the net is, after scoring twice against the aforementioned no-hopers West Brom last weekend. Then the Reds lost 4-2 to Tottenham in the Carling Cup in midweek; Redknapp’s men proving to be a stumbling block for Rafa for the 2nd time this season. A trip to the Reebok to play Bolton Wanderers should cheer up the Liverpool supporters, and although the form book is against the Reds, Footie Frog must remind apprehensive fans that Bolton are in fact awful. Megson’s men may have recorded 2 wins in their last 2 matches, but even Trotters fans have been disappointed with the way their side has performed this season, and with a full strength Liverpool side (except the suspended Arbeloa) looking to keep the pressure on Chelsea, things don’t look good for Bolton.

Footie Frog knows how difficult Bolton will be to break down, but with the movement and versatility of Kuyt, Torres and Keane, the sluggish Trotters defence should struggle. Bolton 0 – 2 Liverpool.

Manchester United are lagging behind somewhat in the title race (granted, they have played one less match) and desperately need a good performance and result against Stoke at Old Trafford. It wasn’t an overly weak United side that just scraped through their midweek match against QPR, and though the Red Devils will be expected to win this one comfortably, Tony Pulis’ men will put up a fight.

Whether the Potters have enough up front to cause any problems for the excellent United defence, is something that Footie Frog wonders. Expect long balls into the corners where the short Evra and Rafael will come under heavy pressure. Oh, and though it barely needs to be said, expect a long throw or two from Delap. Both sides should have no new injury worries, but a thoroughly rested United side should be far too tough for Stoke and if they take their chances, a large margin could be on the cards. Man Utd 3 – 0 Stoke.

Finally, with any focus on the top few teams in the Premier League comes a look at Hull City. Sunday will be their first ever live televised Premier League match, as Manchester City make the trip to the KC Stadium. The sides have a couple of things in common – both have been going through a patch of poor form (both have recently been beaten by Bolton) and the star of Hull’s season Geovanni moved to the KC on a free transfer from Mark Hughes’ side. He will be desperate to impress, just as his manager will be desperate to prove that Hull can come out of their first proper bad patch.

With the Tigers’ faithful roaring them on, Footie Frog thinks that they will be too strong for an overly-adventurous City team, who themselves are under pressure to come out of their slump after showing signs of potential. City have only won 4 points from 18 on the road, and are without captain Richard Dunne and midfielder Gelson Fernandes for the trip to Hull, and are sweating on the fitness of Vincent Kompany. The pressure on Hughes has already been heating up (a recent club press release confirmed his job security) and if his players don’t start to come away with good results, the current frying pan could look awfully nice compared to a fire. Hull City 2 – 1 Man City.

Best of the Rest

Everton will welcome back Yakubu to their team, and should remind in-form visitors Middlesbrough that the natural order of things doesn’t involve Boro fans celebrating... Everton 2 – 1 Middlesbrough.

The revitalised Tottenham, yet to taste defeat under Redknapp’s guidance, could become stuck in the mud at Craven Cottage, where Fulham’s players actually try... Fulham 1 – 1 Tottenham.

Blackburn welcome Sunderland (or Ince welcomes Keane, whichever way you want to look at it) to Ewood Park, after beating them 2-1 in the Carling Cup midweek. It will be the same score again.

Kinnear will hope his Newcastle team put in a little bit more effort against Wigan than they did against Fulham last week. At home, they should win – but with difficulty. Newcastle 1-0 Wigan.

Zola has realised he made an error choosing East End inconsistency; but West Ham are better at home. Visiting Portsmouth gel better as a team, but neither will win. West Ham 2 – 2 Portsmouth.

Andy Hangs Up His Boots...

It is with sadness that Footie Frog has to say that former Manchester United, Newcastle United and England striker (and Footie Frog favourite) Andrew Cole, 37, has retired from football.

After failing to score in 11 games for Forest this season, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent after only three months with the club - a rather unceremonious end to a wonderful career. Capped a mere 15 times for England in a sensational 19 years, it could be argued that Andy Cole was one of the biggest missed opportunities for our national side.

2nd in the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts, Cole notched 187 goals in his time with 8 different top-flight clubs, most of which were scored for Manchester United and Newcastle United, becoming a fan favourite at both grounds. In total he scored 289 goals in his career, wearing the shirt of 13 different teams.

He is one of an elite group of players to have won almost everything there is to win at club level, having won the League 5 times, the FA Cup and Community Shield twice, the League cup, Champions League and Inter-Continental Cup.

But Cole fans, do not dispair - the star could soon return in a coaching or management role -

"I have all this experience and I don't want to keep it to myself," said Cole.
"I want to give something back, I don't think this is the end of the Andrew Cole story. Hopefully it's a new chapter."

Footie Frog remembers his exploits for Newcastle United, dragging them up to the Premier League and scoring 41 goals in their first season in the top flight, establishing himself as one of Britain's finest strikers. I used to love watching him play, and some of my earliest footballing memories are of watching videos of Andy and the 'Entertainers'. He was equally thrilling when he moved to Man Utd, and though disappointed with his move away from one of my favourite clubs, I always loved to watch him - nobody will forget his unbelievable partnership with Dwight Yorke. So Footie Frog wishes Andy Cole all the best in whatever avenue he chooses to go down, and hopes that he will put his wealth of experience, knowledge and talent back into football...

Andy Cole, Andy Cole,

ANDY ANDY COLE...

He gets the ball and scores a goal...

ANDY ANDY COLE!!!

Get on your Dancing Shoes...

The head-honchos at Nike will be rubbing their hands with glee this weekend as the eyes of the football world will be fixed on the Emirates Stadium as Manchester United take on Arsenal on Saturday. Or rather, one team ‘so-heavily-endorsed-by-Nike-they-could-have-giant ‘Swoosh’ logos-on-their-backsides’ taking on another, equally emphatically branded ‘Arse’.

But the main reason for the heated palms of the Nike boardroom? Nike has recently been running the rather un-succinctly titled "Their Game, Your Finishing Touch" contest. This involves those red replica shirt wearing teens (that you often see suspiciously close to your car,) given the chance to design the match-day boots of the stars. Yes anybody could head to the Nike website and fiddle with the limited colour and template selection (in the vain hope that the company hasn’t already pre-selected their finest boots for such a mammoth showcase) and Rooney, Tevez, Ferdinand, Fabregas, Gallas, and Walcott will pick their favourites. These six are already down to a possible 3 starting the match, with Walcott and Gallas facing late fitness tests for Arsenal and Tevez unlikely to be preferred to Berbatov up front for United.

It is very likely that Sir Alex Ferguson will be sharing the joy of the Nike suits at the moment. There could not be a better time to play Arsenal, and all the pre-match signs point to a tricky path ahead for Wenger’s men. With the two aforementioned stars doubtful, Arsenal fans would already be apprehensive about Saturday lunch-time, but when the names Adebayor, Van Persie, Sagna, Silvestre, and Eboue are added to the list of ‘unlikely contenders’ and with Eduardo and Rosicky still long-term absentees, the Gooners faithful can be forgiven for their apprehension. With Berbatov, Rooney and Evra all nicely rested for the draw against Celtic in midweek, United fans will show no such fear. The record books support this confidence, with the Red Devils having lost only 2 of their last 12 matches against Arsenal, and only 1 of their last 6 on the Gooners’ home turf.

Footie Frog realises that there is always something to be said for being the underdog in a high-pressure situation, and knows that Arsenal’s kids have frequently been impressive when called upon this season. However, a relatively fresh, injury-free United, who are on top form and snapping at the heels of Liverpool and Chelsea, could tear the young Gooners apart tomorrow. Still, thanks to Nike, at least they will go down looking good. Arsenal 0-2 Manchester United.