EPL Crystal Ball – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” Charles Dickens said this about the times of the French Revolution; how aptly it fits the English football picture in the current season. English football, as things stand, is at the crossroads of ambiguity and the yoyo-ing fortunes of two cities intrigues us all.
When the season kicked off it seemed as if Manchester United were going to conquer all before them, and along with a resurgent Manchester City side, the two looked like being the sole contestants for the Premier League title and indeed being England’s vanguards in the UEFA Champions League. Then City took over as the domineering side in England after the ‘Six and the City’ episode, but there was no question as to which two teams were going to be the top dogs. Arsenal had the worst start to their season in recent memory, and Chelsea – coping with the rigorous demands of managerial changes – were formulating a stop-start season of their own.
And now in the preceding midweek, the two London sides have qualified as group leaders whereas the Manchester duo are dumped into the second tier that is the Europa Cup. The fact that the top two sides in England were knocked out when mighty APOEL Nicosia qualified as group leaders is one of the many reasons why we all love football!
Villas-Boas’ strong retort
Chelsea were under the gun over the past month or two and Andre Villas-Boas was indeed feeling the pressure. It was clear that his future hinged on his team’s result against Valencia. Needing a win to guarantee qualification to the knockout rounds, Chelsea turned back the clock towards their halcyon days and exhibited an awe-inspiring brand of football. Drogba, Mata and Sturridge combined seamlessly and one gets the feeling that the latter two are going to be the face of Chelsea’s attack for years to come. Back to back 3-0 wins against Newcastle and then against Valencia have brought Chelsea’s season back on track, and have restored self-belief in the side. There was a very palpable sigh of relief in Villas-Boas’ retort in the post match press-conference.
Gunners going great guns
Even though Arsenal lost their last group match on Tuesday, but they did so by fielding a second string side and after having earned the liberty to field such a side owing to the fact that they had already qualified as group leaders. After threatening to nosedive into obscurity in and around September, Wenger’s side are on an upsurge. Soaring up the league table, and in the pot for the Round of 16 draw there is every cause for optimism at the Emirates. There was a fear early on that Arsenal might not even be able compete for the top four in the EPL – well they’ve turned that impression around; and how!
City’s brief UCL rendezvous
Many of the superstars signed by City were lured to the Etihad Stadium by the pull of Champions League football. And now with that gone, one fears there could be a dip in morale. City conjured up 10 points in the UCL group – normally considered good enough to filter through to the next round; not so this year. Even though they found themselves in the toughest group in the competition, had they replicated something bordering on their domestic form in Europe they would’ve qualified without a shadow of a doubt. Although as a team they were a newbie in the tournament but players like Yaya Toure, Aguero, Dzeko, Kompany, Nasri, Silva et al have had Champions League experience. City’s league form could see a dip after this, or they could have even more of a reason to go full throttle at the league title this year. Either way, the players have a job to do in picking themselves with a big game coming up on Monday.
Complacency killed the devil
United’s group stage exploits in the Champions League this year have smacked off unprecedented arrogance and complacency. On paper their group was a cakewalk; how they managed to mess that up is mind-boggling! After Basel nearly did them in at Old Trafford, one felt that Sir Alex would’ve known better and played his full-strength sides there onwards – wasn’t to be. On Wednesday night United’s central midfield – quite often their Achilles’ heel – consisted of a 38-year old veteran winger, a young central defender and Park Ji-Sung – another question mark over Sir Alex’s midfield policy. United missed Michael Carrick – the perennial scapegoat – in the middle of the park, and most of the ‘established senior stars’ didn’t play ball on the night. It seems as if most of United’s brigade have had more success than they could digest. The fact that barring a couple of youngsters and Ryan Giggs no one seemed up for the task divulges everything. Maybe Thursday night expeditions around Europe might do good for some of them.
Big Match Preview:
Chelsea vs Man City
A contest between two teams off the back of contrasting fortunes, and that might translate into matters on the pitch. Chelsea should look to persist with the same lineup that got the better of Valencia. The front trio of Drogba, Mata and Sturridge is an apt mélange of youth, experience, pace, power, ingenuity and finishing. Young Romeu in midfield is also going from strength to strength and his run in the first team should be prolonged. Their defense has also beefed up off-late. However there is a chance that Frank Lampard’s experience might be recalled for this massive game. The spirits must be down in the City ranks, and that is not when you’d want a trip to Stamford Bridge – especially now that Chelsea are back in the groove. City should play all of the usual suspects, with Aguero and Balotelli leading the line, well supported as always by David Silva. Balotelli is going to be the key man in the match since words like morale, spirit, disappointment and form might not be present in his dictionary. City need a maverick who wouldn’t ponder over the midweek events and their aftereffects and pulls out a surprise when need be – Balotelli fits that bill perfectly. However, betting against Chelsea is difficult at the moment, since they are riding a confidence wave. A win against City would not only bolster their top four ambitions, it could signal a return to the title race for them as well.