The Premier League is approaching the half way point of the season and we are entering the 2 games in a week part of the schedule. As well, the Christmas break is getting close and the games come fast and furious thru the holidays. Get ready for some non stop soccer. and then there is Boxing Day. 10 games in one day. Get your popcorn ready!
Biggest news of the Week. Arsenal fires Unai Emery. After only a 1.5 years, the Unai Emery experiment is over. Fired. Mired in one of their worst winless streaks in the past 20 years, 7 straight games without a win….Arsenal ownership cut their ties to Emery last week. Missing out on the Top 4 last year and struggling to keep pace again this year. Sitting mid table in 10th place and no real momentum. So, two games since the firing and they have a bad draw and a bad loss to show for their new interim coach. things might get worse before they get better. And they missed out on the Jose Mourinjo sweepstakes by firing Emery a week after Tottenham fired Pochettino.
Breaking News. Everton fire manager Marco Silva. Everton have struggled all year and for a team who should be challenging for a Top 6 spot, Everton currently sit in 18th position and are currently in the relegation zone. The club has competed in the top division for a record 116 seasons, missing the top division only 4 times (1930–31, 1951–52, 1952–53, and 1953–54) since the top league was created in 1888. The club has won the championship nine times, 4th most in history, the historic FA Cup five times. They have an amazing history and it would be shocking for them to be relegated. No word on a long term replacement. Their schedule in the coming weeks is brutal; Chelsea, Manchester United, Leicester City and then an interesting game against Arsenal. Can they rally and get off the bottom of the table?
Game of the week. Jose Mourinjo took his new team Tottenham Hotspur on the road against his former club, Manchester United. Tottenham had won twice since hiring Mourinjo but this was their first strong test. Man U had a little extra motivation, facing the coach they fired.
Marcus Rashford was amazing the whole game. Scoring both goals, just missing on as direct kick and having one off the bar. It could have been a 4 goal night. The Dele Alli goal off the amazing flick and volley was nice but just not enough to slow down Manchester United. And doesn’t it sound more exciting in Spanish!! Love it!!
Results the past few weeks. Only 4 teams were able to get wins in both Week 14 and Week 15. Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Leicester City are the current in form teams and all picked up 6 big points the past few weeks. On the trending down side of the league, the following 4 teams lost in both weeks; Burnley, Bournemouth, Watford and Everton are all struggling a bit right now.
Race for the Top 4
- Liverpool 14-1-0. 43 Points and still undefeated on the year.
- Leicester City 11-2-2 35 Points
- Manchester City 10-2-3 32 Points
- Chelsea 9-2-4 29 Points
- Wolverhampton 5-8-2 23 Points
- Manchester United 5-6-4 21 Points
Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Sheffield United and Arsenal round out the Top 10. Amazing that only the Top 4 clubs have won more than 5 games in 15. More balance this year than I can remember. If you lose you can drop 3-4 spots in the standings. Uff Da!
The Relegation Zone
There are currently 7 teams within 3 points of the relegation zone. There are another 4 teams just 5 points clear. Every win and 3 points becomes critical with it being that crowded in the middle. Bournemouth, West Ham, Aston Villa and Southampton hanging just outside the zone. The current bottom three include:
18. Everton with 14 Points. 19. Norwich City with 11 points. 20. Watford with 8 points.
Game of the Week—Week 16
Manchester Derby. Manchester United vs. Manchester City. This is must see T.V. Marcus Rashford has been hot…can he carry Man U over City. Is Man U going to challenge for a Top 4 spot, if so, this would be a game to win and start their rise up the table.
Champions League Update
The annual competition of the top clubs in Europe is well under way with teams having played 5 of the 6 round robin matches to date. The Final Round 6 starts next week and will complete the 16 Teams advancing to the knock Out stages. There are 8 groups of 4 each. The leaders of each group:
- PSG (France) and Real Madrid (Spain) will advance.
- Bayern Munich (Germany) and Tottenham (England ) will advance.
- Manchester City (England) will advance. 2nd team is to be decided.
- Juventus (Italy) will advance. 2nd team is to be decided.
- Liverpool (England) will advance. 2nd team is to be decided.
- Barcelona (Spain) will advance. 2nd team is to be decided.
- RB Leipzig (Germany) leads the group.
- Ajax (Netherlands) leads the group.