Leagues POSTS
Get points before international footy stops play
Published by Andrew Reilly on March 19, 2009
Are you a soccer fanatic? Do you have strong opinions about the game? Think you have the chops to write about it? Contact Us then...With the international fixtures at the end of March causing a blank weekend with regards to the league, the games this weekend will be the last chance for fantasy football managers to get some points on the board before the final rush to the end of the season. As always, the battles at the top and the bottom tend to dominate proceedings which makes it all the tougher to predict what is going to happen. The chances of success for many football managers hang in the balance but at least their jobs don’t hang in the balance, which can definitely be said for some managers.
Gareth Southgate of Middlesbrough is the obvious candidate for the chop with rumours circulating during the week that he had been axed. Teams who sack their manager quite often get a boost in performance but with the ex-England man in charge, it looks as though Stoke will triumph at home. With a pressing style of football and an energetic crowd behind them, Stoke manage to spread their goals around quite a bit but do not be surprised if James Beattie nicks another goal. For a January buy, Beattie has been in excellent form and if the Potteries club crawl out of the bottom 3 in time to stay up, his goals will have been a crucial factor.
Another team who are in relegation trouble are Blackburn Rovers who face West Ham United in a match that even the most positive of fans would expect to have a lot of goals. The Hammers are experiencing a number of injury and suspension problems and were held to a 0-0 draw by bottom club West Bromwich Albion in their last fixture. Big Sam at Blackburn knows this is a big chance to get three points but another 0-0 draw may not be the worst result for either club.
Liverpool’s trouncing of Manchester United last weekend has led many to think that the title race is back on so United will be looking to bounce back at Craven Cottage against Fulham. Predicting who will start for United is tricky given the way that their squad has been rotated in recent weeks but you can bet their defence will be extra keen to give nothing away this week. Another Edwin van der Sar clean sheet would not be a massive surprise.
Another thing that wouldn’t be a surprise is a Robinho masterclass,after all,Manchester City are playing at home and Eastlands appears to be the only UK stadium where the plater feels like turning it on. Sunderland are in the firing sights for the expensive player who will no doubt be in the mood to fire in a spectacular goal or two to give some leeway to under perform away from home again in the next round of fixtures. For the sort of money Robinho earns, you’d want him scoring home and away and probably driving the coach and making up sandwiches for the journey home but the little Brazilian has definitely flattered to deceive in City colours. With the warmer weather coming, perhaps Robinho will find his scoring form just in time to push City to the edges of the European contenders.
** Photo credit: Zatowers **
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