Tuesday 5th November 2024
Liverpool return to the summit after both Arsenal and Manchester City slip up
If we needed any further evidence that the PL is one of the most competitive leagues around then this weekend provided a very good illustration of the increasing strength in depth across the top flight with both Manchester City and Arsenal falling to unexpected defeats whilst Liverpool were behind until late in their match before 2 goals in 2 minutes turned things around for them. With Nottingham Forest winning their third consecutive PL match to move into 3rd place in the table and Aston Villa getting thumped 4-1 at Tottenham Hotspur, it was a challenging week for the sides that sat in the top 4 places at the start of week 10.
Newcastle United got things underway as they inflicted another defeat on Arsenal in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, 1-0 the final score. The Gunners have not looked their usual selves in recent weeks and their recent downturn in results has seen them drop to 5th place in the PL table, now 7 points off top spot. Not insurmountable but they will not want to fall any further behind. The Magpies recorded their second home win in 4 days following their progress in the Carabao Cup midweek. The wins ends a slump of their own in the PL. They remain in the bottom half although only 3 points off 4th place such is the tightness in the middle of the table.
AFC Bournemouth ended Manchester City’s run of 32 PL matches without defeat as they saw off the reigning champions 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium. They were very good value for their win and could have added to their 2 goals well before City scored late on to give the home fans a few nervy minutes before the final whistle. City did not deserve to get anything from the match and ultimately that is what they got. They lose top spot, moving down to 2nd place. The Cherries are up to 10th.
Liverpool were also behind at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, 1-0, until the 70th minute when a deep cross to the back post from Cody Gakpo evaded everyone and crept into the net past the stationary Seagulls ‘keeper. A fortuitous equaliser but it galvanised a previously sluggish looking home side with Mohamed Salah scoring a beauty 2 minutes later to complete the turnaround, 2-1 the final score. Up until the equaliser the away side had been the brighter and ran Liverpool ragged in the first half but failed to add to their early opener. One goal is always a tenuous lead and so it proved to be. The win took the Reds back into top spot whilst Brighton drop to 8th.
Before the season started most of the talk in Nottingham was of Forest likely to be involved in a scrap for PL survival with Chris Wood only expected to be an occasional scorer. 10 matches into the season sees Forest sit in 3rd place following their third straight PL win with Wood netting his 5th goal in the last 4 PL matches, 8 in total this season. Totally unexpected but again illustrating how good most PL sides are these days. Forest are solid at the back whilst posing a real threat at the other end. An ideal combination. It remains to be seen how long they can maintain their current impetus but concerns of a survival scrap seem a long time ago now. Their latest win was a 3-0 defeat of a struggling West Ham United side at the City Ground. It could have been more than 3 in the end. The Irons are definitely under performing given the players they have with new coach Julen Lopetegui not yet getting the best from his squad. Their fans would have expected more from their team but this is a tough league and any side not functioning well will get caught out. Their season can go either way at this point with their forthcoming fixtures a mix between playing sides around them and sides at the top.
Tottenham Hotspur remain odd. They can blow hot and cold within the same match with it difficult to know what is coming next. They played host to Aston Villa this weekend with the first half seemingly going the way of a number of recent matches for the Lilywhites as they trailed 1-0 at the break despite creating a number of presentable chances. The second half was different though as they ripped Villa apart with 4 goals to run out comfortable winners and close to within 2 points of Villa, the sides sitting 7th and 6th respectively. If they could play the way they did in the second half on a consistent basis they would be genuine contenders but too often they lose that intensity and go back into their shells. As for the Villains, they need to dismiss it as a bad day at the office second half and return to form. With a trip to Anfield next up that could be a challenge.
Apparently, Manchester United v Chelsea is the most drawn fixture in PL history so perhaps it was no surprise that their meeting this weekend at OT ended 1-1. It was not the best of matches with United still struggling to find rhythm and Chelsea playing some nice football but rarely threatening to score. The home side took the lead in the 70th minute from the penalty spot after Blues ‘keeper Robert Sanchez made an injudicious attempt at getting the ball off Rasmus Hojlund despite the United forward going away from goal. Definite penalty which Bruno Fernandes dispatched, much to the joy of interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy. The lead only lasted 4 minutes though before Moises Caceido volleyed home from a corner to level the match up. Both sides had chances to score a winner but a draw felt about right once again. United sit 13th with 12 points from their opening 10 matches, their worst return since pre-PL days. Chelsea move into the top 4 after those defeats for Arsenal and Aston Villa.
Late goals have been a feature of recent PL matches and so it proved again last night as Brentford went into stoppage time in their match against neighbours Fulham at Craven Cottage leading 1-0 but ended up losing 2-1 after substitute Harry Wilson scored twice to completely turn the match on its head. To be fair, Fulham deserved at least a point given their domination but defeat was harsh on the Bees who had defended stoutly throughout the match. The 3 points moves the Cottagers up to 9th but defeat leaves the Bees 12th.
The bottom 6 clubs were in direct opposition this weekend. Southampton were the only winners however as they survived a late disallowed goal for visitors Everton to hang onto a one goal lead given to them only a few minutes earlier. It was the Saints’ first PL win of the season and took them off bottom spot into 19th. Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to bottom spot despite picking up a point in a 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace, a topsy-turvy match that saw both sides lead at one point but both forced to settle for a point each. Palace thought they had won late on when Mateta swept home after Wolves ‘keeper Jose Sa had lost hold of the ball but the referee deemed there to be a foul on Sa which resulted in him losing the ball. It looked harsh but Joe Hart insisted on MOTD that it was the correct decision although being an ex-keeper he would! It leaves Wolves still without a win after 10 matches. Ipswich Town are the only other side still searching for that opening league win of the season after they were pegged back to 1-1 deep into stoppage time by Leicester City. It was tough on the Tractor Boys who should have had a penalty midway through the second half when Conor Chaplin was bundled over in the penalty area. No spot kick given with VAR not intervening. Things got worse for the home side when seconds later Kalvin Phillips mis-timed a tackle and received a second yellow card resulting in his sending off. Double whammy which probably cost them 2 points. There were some interesting comments from Ipswich Town chief executive Mark Ashton after the match where he had been told by former referees that it was not a penalty. I agree with Mr Ashton when he said it was a stonewall penalty. He went on to say that referees seemed more interested in sticking up for each other than admitting mistakes and making the game fairer. “Come on – don’t just back your former colleagues – it was a stonewall penalty” he said. Hard to disagree.
Premier League Prediction Competition 2024-25 – Session 2, Week 5 (of 5)
Session 5 ended this weekend with the session title and runner up spots both up for grabs. Overnight leader Martin had a disappointing week, scoring just 12 points. That opened the door for second placed Helen to push through with her 24 points to take her second straight session title, winning with 148 points overall. Not only did Helen pass Martin but Tony also sneaked past him as well to take the runners up spot with 141 points leaving Martin sharing 3rd place with Stefan. No prize for 3rd place overall I am afraid but with 28 points Stefan did pick up his first POTW win.
Congratulations to Helen and Tony plus the POTW winners. Helen wins £25, Tony £10. Each of the POTW winners win £5 or they can choose to re-invest that £5 with it paying for entry to Session 3. Their choice as ever. The default is to pay for the next session but if anyone prefers me to pay them the £5 prize then please let me know.
Many thanks for taking part in Session 2. Session 3 kicks of this coming weekend. Don’t forget your predictions for that please.
Prizes are very modest currently due to modest entry. If anyone has friends, family, work colleagues etc… who may be interested in taking part, please pass on an invitation to them. More competitors means bigger prizes.
PLEASE INVITE ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART.
CONTACT ME AT… contact.sytykf@gmail.com
Season: 2024-25 - Match Week 10 - Results
Saturday 2nd November
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Newcastle United | 1 - 0 | Arsenal |
| AFC Bournemouth | 2 - 1 | Manchester City |
| Ipswich Town | 1 - 1 | Leicester City |
| Liverpool | 2 - 1 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| Nottingham Forest | 3 - 0 | West Ham United |
| Southampton | 1 - 0 | Everton |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 - 2 | Crystal Palace |
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Tottenham Hotspur | 4 - 1 | Aston Villa |
| Manchester United | 1 - 1 | Chelsea |
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Fulham | 2 - 1 | Brentford |
Season: 2024-25 - Match Week 11 - Next Fixtures
Saturday 9th November
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Brentford | 15:00 | AFC Bournemouth |
| Crystal Palace | 15:00 | Fulham |
| West Ham United | 15:00 | Everton |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 15:00 | Southampton |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 17:30 | Manchester City |
| Liverpool | 20:00 | Aston Villa |
| Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | 14:00 | Leicester City |
| Nottingham Forest | 14:00 | Newcastle United |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 14:00 | Ipswich Town |
| Chelsea | 16:30 | Arsenal |
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