EPL match day 21

[Spitter9]

Saturday 10th January
11:45pm - Sunderland vs Liverpool

Sunday 11th January
2am - Burnley vs QPR
2am - Chelsea vs Newcastle
2am - Everton vs Manchester City
2am - Leicester vs Aston Villa
2am - Swansea vs West Ham
2am - West Brom vs Hull City
4:30am - Crystal Palace vs Tottenham

Monday 12th January
12:30am - Arsenal vs Stoke
3am - Manchester United vs Southampton

 

[SM]

Will be interesting to see how quickly Pulis works his magic on WBA.

 

[Jatz]

At home to Villa. Without our ACON players which hurts us. Having said that, Villa don't seem to score goals so I'm confident of a win here. We need a win to get closer to leaving that relegation zone.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

We will beat Man City.

 

[Cruyff14]

Are those games AEDT?

 

[Jatz]

Yep.

 

[Cruyff14]

Whoooooosh

 

[Magma]

kun, edin and vinny all likely to be in the squad

 

[SM]

Big game for Everton, if they lose it I think it's 5 losses in a row? Martinez would be on thin ice.

 

[Jatz]

They're having a terrible season. Have they had injuries or something?

 

[LukasTheGreat]

Big game for Everton, if they lose it I think it's 5 losses in a row? Martinez would be on thin ice.

#Bringbackmoyes #Moysiah

 

[ossie_21]

They're having a terrible season. Have they had injuries or something?

Our usual first 11/regular subs from last season:

Howard - Out of form, now injured
Coleman - Injured, only in the last month or so has looked back to full fitness. Only the last couple of games he's played like last season
Jags - Injury concerns
Distin - Injury concerns, age catching up very quickly
Stones - Did his ankle, only played a couple of times in the last 3 games but will be back in the starting line up this week because Distin did his hamstring again
Barry - Injury issues, also out of form
Barkley - Missed the first 2 months of the season
McCarthy - Multiple hamstring strains, current condition unknown
Mirallas - Injured, but has been in form since he came back into the team. Now gets his ankles kicked all game because he's a threat, so has picked up niggles
Lukaku - Carried a knock from the world cup into most of the way into the season

A lot of other teams have decent injury lists as well, but they have bigger squads. One big knock I have against Everton over the last 5 years or so is that we haven't brought in enough depth to help in times of need. When you look at that list you can see why we've struggled to back up last seasons form, because most of the first team has been out at one time or another. That list doesn't include players like Pienaar, Osman & Alcaraz who have also been injured, even Baines who has missed a few games. Kone & Oviedo only just coming back from extremely serious injuries as well. With a lot of these players getting on in years, we need another big summer of signings because most academy players are a couple of years away.

 

[kangaspurs]

Damn 4:30 am games. I hate them! Massive opportunity though, with Soton playing ManU, a win over Palace for us would mean we gain valuable ground on either of those two sides. Won't be easy though, with Pardew's first Premier League game in charge and a newly laid pitch at a hostile Selhurst Park.

 

[moomba]

We've got Everton away, Arsenal home and Chelsea away in January. If we can not lose any ground to Chelsea I'd be happy enough. Dropping points here would be a worry.

 

[Benno_900]

We've got Everton away, Arsenal home and Chelsea away in January. If we can not lose any ground to Chelsea I'd be happy enough. Dropping points here would be a worry.

C'mon.

You'll smash us as usual.

 

[moomba]

C'mon.

You'll smash us as usual.

We drew last year didnt we? Or was it the season before?

 

[glenferry23]

We drew last year didnt we? Or was it the season before?

Drew once, hit for 6 the other (although we did score 3 ourselves, yay).

 

[moomba]

I'll take the 6 then.

Been a while since we thumped anyone, and its ages until our annual Old Trafford exhibition match.

 

[jod23]

Sunderland. Hoping for no beach balls.

 

[moomba]

Wow, Jose really does have some journo's conned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-questions-ahead-of-the-weekend-fixtures.html

1. Are Chelsea going through a managed mid-season decline?
It’s tempting to assume that everything Jose Mourinho is deliberate, thoughtful, and correct. The tactics, the mind games, the choice of belt, he’s generally spot-on about most aspects of management. Is it too big a stretch to suggest that Chelsea’s mini-wobble might be part of a grand plan? Several elite managers have spoken about the need for seasons to peak in the right places. Peaks tend to necessitate troughs, and what better time to take the foot off the accelerator than Christmas? There are too many games, too many chances to suffer injuries and Chelsea had a healthy lead over Manchester City in the table. Mourinho is a pragmatist, unconcerned with adornments to the overall goal: big shiny silver things. He does not seem the sort of manager concerned with record points totals or going the season unbeaten. There’s no danger of that now for Chelsea this season, nor is there the mounting pressure that potential invincibility brings. Instead Chelsea have played a few games in a gear only just above reverse. They’ve dropped points, sure, but you’d still make them favourites for the title. You’d also back them heavily at home to walking point-donators Newcastle United tomorrow afternoon, especially coming off the back of a most un-Mourinho like high-scoring reverse at Spurs. Expect a thoroughly joyless 2-0 victory, and several in the same vein to follow. Their players, unlike most for the teams around them, should have plenty left in reserve after a low-intensity festive period.

We drop points in any match and we're in crisis. Anyone else see an 8 point lead at the top cut to 0 in six weeks and they're chokers. Jose does it and it's a managed mid season decline. Madness.

 

[chef]

Wow, Jose really does have some journo's conned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-questions-ahead-of-the-weekend-fixtures.html



We drop points in any match and we're in crisis. Anyone else see an 8 point lead at the top cut to 0 in six weeks and they're chokers. Jose does it and it's a managed mid season decline. Madness.

Yep. They eat up his s**t.

 

[ADL9798]

Sterling to be rested again, he's currently on holiday enjoying a bit of sun in Jamaica. Smart management after a busy winter schedule. Hopefully he comes back after the Sunderland game refreshed and ready to help our charge for the top 4 in the 2nd half of the season.

 

[kreglze]

Wow, Jose really does have some journo's conned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...-questions-ahead-of-the-weekend-fixtures.html



We drop points in any match and we're in crisis. Anyone else see an 8 point lead at the top cut to 0 in six weeks and they're chokers. Jose does it and it's a managed mid season decline. Madness.

Yeah, they seem to be hypnotised, also like him referring to Newcastle as walking point donators, the same Newcastle that beat Chelsea a month ago?

 

[chef]

Yeah, they seem to be hypnotised, also like him referring to Newcastle as walking point donators, the same Newcastle that beat Chelsea a month ago?

And beat us 5 times out of the last 7.

I'm really sick of this 'siege mentality', we're Chelsea FC for * sake.

 

[Loonerty]

And beat us 5 times out of the last 7.

I'm really sick of this 'siege mentality', we're Chelsea FC for **** sake.

They hate us cos they ain't us.