Battle of the Bosses

Saturday evening will see the two top teams in this season’s Premier League face off in a potentially title deciding clash at Stamford Bridge. The headlines have been flooded with injury worries and absentees from the game but in a game of fine margins it looks to be a tactical battle between Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini that will decide this huge fixture.

The importance of a win for both sides in this game is crucial, a win for Mourinho’s side would put them 8 points clear and even at this stage of the season that could be a bridge too far for the Sky Blues. A win for City however would close the gap to just 2 points and give City all the momentum going into the final few months of the season in what we expect will be a two horse race with Southampton currently 10 points off the pace in third place.

Games of these magnitude are the ones where managers show their class with the slightest details meaning so much and few managers thrive under the pressure like Chelsea man Jose Mourinho. Mourinho is at this moment in time the most tactically astute manager in the Premier League and doesn’t he know it. Last season Chelsea finished third but their game against Liverpool at Anfield was still the defining game of the season and Mourinho may not have won the league for his own side but he pretty much handed it to this weekends opponents with a tactically flawless display. Mourinho rarely loses big games and it would be a surprise if he started this Saturday.

The same cannot be said for Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini who despite leading Manchester City to the Premier League title last season is yet to win a game of major importance. Last season City’s biggest match of the season was at Anfield, a game they lost 3-2. Fortunately for them, Mourinho’s Chelsea salvaged the title for them but the Chilean was unable to mastermind a victory at Anfield himself. A recent defeat at home at the hands of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side by two goals to nil was another big game that Pellegrini failed to win and it couldn’t have come at a worse time with the Chelsea game just around the corner.

In terms of injuries both sides are pretty even, City are missing both Yaya Toure and Bony who are away on International duty with Samir Nasri also absent through injury. Chelsea will be without their two key summer signings, Diego Costa who has been suspended for three games over his stamp on Emre Can midweek and Cesc Fabregas who is a big doubt because of a hamstring injury. Both managers will be disappointed in not having full strength sides for such a huge game but still possess some great footballers capable of winning this tie.

Without Costa, Mourinho will be forced to play either Remy or Drogba up-front, adequate replacements, the main threat however will come through the brilliant Eden Hazard who has been a star for Chelsea this season. He alongside Oscar and Willian will probably play off the striker and offer great threat in attack. Pellegrini also has some match winners in his side that he will hope can be the difference at the Bridge. David Silva has been unplayable in the past month or so with Thierry Henry even labelling him the “best player in the Premier League” recently and he will be out to prove that statement in this game. Up-front City also have the best finisher in the Premier League Sergio Aguero, the injury hit striker is on the comeback trail and although not 100% fit he will be looking to add to his 14 league goals this season.

One would expect that Mourinho will set up his side to win this game as he tries to end the challenge of Manchester City at this early stage, City however may set up to absorb the pressure and catch them on the break although as the game wears on if its still level Pellegrini’s men will have to go for the winner and who knows maybe former Chelsea man Frank Lampard may step up again with a late goal just to win the game for City on this occasion.

The stats are not pretty viewing for Manchester City fans, Chelsea have played City 17 times at home in Premier League history winning 11 and losing just twice. Under Mourinho they’ve never lost at home to City and Mourinho including his time at Madrid has never been beaten by a Manchester City team at home. If his record was not already good enough, Mourinho has lost one game at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League in his Chelsea career. These stats look ominous for Pellegrini’s side but it is unlikely they will be overly fazed by statistics as they look to reignite their title challenge on Saturday evening.

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Christian Eriksen sends Spurs to Wembley

Tottenham Hotspur set up an all London Capital One Cup final last night after overcoming Nigel Clough’s Sheffield United side 3-2 on aggregate to bring them to their first cup final since 2009 when they lost to Manchester United after extra time in the same competition.

In the final they will face they force that is Jose Mourinho’s side and will need the likes of Christian Eriksen to be on top form if they are to have any hope of overcoming the league leaders who saw off Liverpool in their semi-final.

Christian Eriksen was once again last night the star man for Spurs scoring two goals in the game and proving a constant danger to the Blades defence. His first goal was a moment of brilliance from a free kick where he curled the ball into the left top corner far beyond the reach of a stranded keeper. Eriksen’s second goal was less spectacular but possibly a better goal, as the Dane bore down on goal one on one with the keeper he did not panic and stayed cool slotting the ball right into the corner giving the keeper absolutely no chance and sending Spurs to Wembley.

Eriksen’s great performance last night was just one of many that the Tottenham Hotspur faithful have become accustomed to. In 33 appearances this campaign Eriksen has scored 10 goals and has 2 assists, a good return for any attacking midfielder but a one that the Danish international is no doubt working hard to improve.

He has become an integral part of Mauricio Pochettino’s side and is now arguably their most talented and coveted player along with young English striker Harry Kane. Eriksen was one of few Andre Villas Boas signings they hit the ground running upon his arrival in the wake of Gareth Bale’s big money move to Real Madrid and his form has not faltered. He will be a key part of Spurs’ assault on the top4 in the remainder of the campaign and will play an integral role as they face off against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup final.

As he continues to perform at this high level, interest from rival clubs is sure to grow. Tottenham are used to losing top players with Bale and Modric leaving in the recent past and their fans will be hoping that when clubs come calling, Eriksen will choose to stay at White Hart Lane.

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Positives in defeat for Liverpool

Liverpool saw their Capital One Cup ambitions end last night in Stamford Bridge as they lost out 2-1 on aggregate after extra time thanks to a Branislav Ivanovic header in the 94^th minute.

As disappointing as the defeat will be for Brendan Rodgers and his squad their was plenty of positives to take from both legs that will give encouragement to them in the coming months as they hope to claim a top4 spot and attempt to win a trophy in either the FA Cup or the Europa League or maybe even both.

The performance of the defence in both legs is one sign of the work that is being done on the training ground to resolve the clubs long running defensive woes. League leaders Chelsea were only able to score from a penalty in the first leg and were kept goalless for ninety minutes at Stamford Bridge, a big achievement for any side. Of course it didn’t take long in extra time for Chelsea to catch Rodgers’ side out from a set-piece although that could be put down to tiredness and poor marking by Mario Balotelli who we would not expect to be given much defensive duties in the future. In reality they have come a long way in the past two months defensively and no longer look as nervous at the back.

A large factor in this improvement at the back must go down to the resurgence of Belgian keeper Simon Mignolet. After an atrocious start to the season and after being dropped for back up keeper Brad Jones his return to the starting eleven has been a lot smoother than what was expected. His performance last night was excellent, unfortunately he could not keep a clean sheet but he could do little about the goal and should be happy with his performance. He seems to have a new air of confidence about him and looks a lot more assured since his return.

Despite being on the wrong end of the result, over the two legs Liverpool were arguably the better team, in the first leg they were fantastic and if not for the great performance of Thibaut Courtois and the absence of a clinical finisher they could have had the tie wrapped up before they even got to Stamford Bridge. The away performance was not as dominant as the first but Liverpool gave as good as they got and if Daniel Sturridge was fit and firing they may well have won the game but it was not to be.

The two performances were a small reminder of the Liverpool side we saw last season, the quick attacking play and high pressure on the opposition is back and they once again look a threat to the top teams in the Premier League. Lucas Leiva and Jordan Henderson have developed a great partnership in the middle while Couthino and Sterling have been in great form going forward. Couthino in particular is becoming a real menace to opposition defences and seems to have found the eye for a pass that we are so used to seeing from the little Brazilian.

The biggest positive for Liverpool starting this weekend is the return of main man Daniel Sturridge, goals are the main thing missing in this Liverpool side and the return of Sturridge could potentially bring Rodgers’ side to the next level. There are many positives to take out of these games but unless Rodgers can build on them Liverpool’s season will inevitable end in disappointment.

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Key Battles: Matic v Lucas

Chelsea host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge tonight in the return leg of their Capital One Cup semi final with the scores level at 1-1. The game will be one and lost in many areas but maybe the most important battle of the game will be of the two defensive midfielders Nemanja Matic and Lucas Leiva.

Sometimes seen as the unsung heroes of their respective sides these two holding midfielders may hold the key to victory in tonight’s game. Both men will be tasked with the challenge of breaking up the oppositions attacks and in essence setting the pace of the game. With Chelsea expected to bring the game to Liverpool, Lucas will be the busier of the two as he tries to keep the likes of Hazard and Oscar at bay.

Lucas in particular has been a player who has received little praise in his time at Anfield but since his return to the side this campaign he has been nothing short of brilliant. We only have too look at Liverpool’s Premier League form with and without the Brazilian to see how important he has become to Rodgers’ side.

In eleven games without Lucas the Merseysiders have won just three, with Lucas however they have won seven of their eleven games losing just the one. He has also shored up the defence with the team conceding on average 1.55 goals per game without the defensive midfielder and conceding just 0.91 per game when the Brazilian starts.

Matic has a similar effect on Mourinho’s Chelsea side, he has missed just three games this season in all competitions but of those three games they have won just one giving them a win percentage of 33% without the Serbian. With Matic they have played thirty-one games and have a much higher win percentage of 74%. Similar to Lucas, when Matic doesn’t play they concede more with Chelsea conceding 2 goals a game without him and 0.8 when he starts.

Both men will have important yet differing roles tonight in a game where either could be the difference for their sides. Matic will be expected to control the game from deep, being patient and trying to pick out gaps in what you would expect to be a stern Liverpool defence. Matic will also have to be on high alert against potential Liverpool counter attacks especially with the pace they possess in Sterling and Markovic.

Lucas is likely to be a busy man tonight and will be key if Liverpool are to stop the league leaders from running riot at the Bridge. The Brazilian will be expected to limit the space for the Chelsea attackers and upon winning the ball back try and start quick counter attacks.

In what’s sure to be an intriguing game the battle between these two men in their respective halves of the pitch will be an interesting watch and is potentially where the game will be won and lost.

Are we headed for an all-French Champions Cup Final?

As the pool stages came to an end this weekend, the draws for the quarter and  semi finals of the Champions Cup were held and its looking increasingly likely that London will be hosting an all-French affair this May.

The quarter finals include three French Top14 sides, one Irish side and for the first time ever four English Premiership sides have made it out of the pool stages but unfortunately for all four of them they have been handed away draws.

Semi-Final draw

(Toulon v Wasps) v (Leinster v Bath)

(Clermont v Northampton) v (Racing Metro v Saracens)

The draw already looks set for a repeat of the 2012/13 final where Toulon overcame French rivals Clermont Auvergne 16-15 with both sides on different halves of the draw and both securing a home route to the final. As likely as this seems of course this is no certainty and there is still a lot of rugby to be played before we reach the final.

Toulon are the bookies favourites to retain their title and make it three in a row after following up their 12/13 win against Clermont with a relatively easy win over Saracens last season in the final year of the old structure Heineken Cup.  The French side were the only ones to get through pool 3 ahead of Leicester, Ulster and Scarlets, finishing with 22 points and five wins out of six, just losing one game. Their star studded side contains big names such as Halfpenny, Habana and Steffon Armitage and it will take a massive performance by any team to knock them out especially at home where they will play the quarter final and semi final should they make it.

Wasps are the team that were given the unfortunate task of playing Toulon in the quarters in Toulon and will be cursing their luck because if Goode had converted a last minute drop goal against Leinster on Sunday they would have topped their group and avoided the French giants but it was not to be. It’s hard to see Wasps beating Toulon especially away from home and you would expect the real test for Toulon will be in the semi-final.

The winner of Leinster and Bath will come up against the winner of that first quarter final and based on their pool form Leinster should come through this one. Leinster snuck into the top spot of the pool and with Cian Healy and Sean O’Brien set to be back for their knockout clashes they should be able to see-off Bath, who won their pool with fewer points than any other pool winners.

The probable semi-final would be Toulon hosting Leinster. Leinster’s experience in the competition should hold them in good stead and they seem the most likely side to go to France and knock out the reigning champions.

At the other side of the draw, Clermont Auvergne will welcome Northampton Saints and will be fully confident of coming through that tie. Clermont is arguably the hardest place to visit and despite Northampton scoring the most tries (25) in the pool stages the likes of George North will struggle to break through Clermont’s strong line.

Racing Metro are the third French side to get a home quarter-final as Jonny Sexton’s side welcome Saracens. Racing are the only unbeaten side in this seasons Champions Cup and with a home draw they are strong favourites to progress past Saracens. Their unbeaten status may be a bit misleading after coming through a relatively easy group that included both the Ospreys and Treviso with Northampton offering the only real threat.

Saracens made it to last years final only to be defeated by Toulon and it looks likely their campaign will be ended by a French side again this year. Englishmen Owen Farrell and Chris Ashton will have to be on top of their game if they are to cause an upset but even then it’s hard to look past the French side.

One would expect the semi-final will be a mammoth clash between French giants, Clermont Auvergne and Racing Metro in Clermont. Home advantage would not be as important in this tie with both sides being French but Clermont’s exciting back line of Jonathan Davies, Wesley Fofana, Morgan Parra amongst others should be too strong for their French counterparts.

Money talks in sport and as has been the trend the wealthy French sides look set to dominate once again in the latter stages of this seasons Champions Cup. Unless one of the English sides can cause an upset or Matt O’Connor’s Leinster pull something out of the bag, an all-French final looks almost inevitable.

Crazy weekend leaves FA Cup wide open

The magic of the FA Cup was well and truly on show this weekend as the top three of the Premier League were all knocked out in their fourth round ties leaving the FA Cup wide open this season.

Premier League leaders Chelsea were sensationally knocked out after throwing away a two goal lead at home to Bradford to lose 4-2 to the 2013 Capital One cup finalists. Mourinho said he was both “embarrassed” and “ashamed” by the manner of the defeat as he saw his sides chances of a quadruple this season come to an end.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side were also thrown out as Middlesbrough walked away from the Etihad with a momentous 2-0 victory. Third placed Southampton were another of the Premier League sides to lose out, losing at home to Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace side.

These were not the only shocks of the weekend however, Spurs and Swansea saw their FA Cup dreams come to an end at the hands of Leicester and Blackburn respectively while Liverpool and Manchester United were both forced to replays in their fourth round ties.

The absence of some of these big sides from the fifth round draw is sure to encourage a lot of teams who will now have realistic ambitions of challenging for the FA Cup and hopefully ending the season with a trophy.

Defending champions Arsenal were not to be the victims of another upset as they overcame Brighton by 3 goals to 2. Having won the trophy last season and with both City and Chelsea out it looks as if they will be favourites to regain their crown come May.

Should Manchester United and Liverpool make it through their replays they will also see this FA Cup as a big possibility of getting their hands on a trophy, especially for United who will see this as their only chance of glory this season with no European football and with Van Gaal’s side being well off the pace in the Premier League.

Sam Allardyce’s West Ham squad will be particularly happy with how this weekend has gone as they progressed to the next round after a hard fought win away to League one side Bristol City. The Hammers have been having a great season so far and will be optimistic of their chances of getting to the latter stages of the FA Cup.

Other Premier League sides such as West Brom and Aston Villa are still standing in the cup and should the weekend’s results be anything to go by every side will be full of confidence in the forthcoming rounds.

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Suarez enduring predicted struggle

“I have complete confidence in my team and complete confidence in Suarez” the words of Barcelona manager Luis Enrique after yet another goalless game for the former Liverpool ace. Suarez missed a glorious chance in Barca’s 1-0 win over Atletico in the Copa Del Rey once again questioning Suarez’s form since joining the Spanish giants.

Since his £75 million pound move to the Catalan side, Suarez has managed to score 2 goals in ten league appearances a long way off the form that saw him awarded the golden boot in last seasons Premier League with a tally of 31 goals. In all competitions Suarez has featured in a total of fourteen games scoring 5 and assisting 6, not the numbers expected of the Uruguayan upon his arrival at Camp Nou.

Luckily for Barcelona they are not reliant on Suarez for goals with both Lionel Messi and Neymar in fine form. Messi has scored 25 goals in twenty five games this season with his Brazilian teammate Neymar scoring 17 goals in twenty one appearances in all competitions. It appears that Suarez may be struggling to come to terms with no longer being the main man in the team. At Liverpool Suarez was the key man, everything went through him and he thrived in the limelight, at Barcelona however he is just another of many stars and so far the 27 year old isn’t adjusting well.

Not only is the number of stars in the side a possible reason for Suarez’s poor form, his long absence because of the infamous biting incident at the World Cup saw him miss out on the start of the season, only making his debut in October. In an ideal world Suarez would have gotten time to settle in the first few games of the season but unfortunately because of his ill-discipline he didn’t get that time to settle and was instead expected to play a starring role from the start.

Unlike when playing for Liverpool, at Barcelona almost every side sets up very deep attempting to make them hard to beat and this limits the space for the forwards to operate. Suarez who was at times in the Premier League given space to destroy oppositions has not been afforded that space in La Liga and is finding it hard to open up defences as he once did.

Enrique’s comments are sure to be welcomed by a Suarez low on confidence and he will be hoping to repay the managers faith starting this Saturday when Barcelona pay a visit to Elche.

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What is going wrong at Goodison?

Another game without a win at Goodison saw Roberto Martinez’s side leave the field to a chorus of boo’s as they continued their bad run of form with a 0-0 draw at home to Tony Pulis’ West Brom side. The draw makes it just one win in thirteen for the Toffees and sees them lying in 12^th place only 4 points clear of the relegation zone.

Roberto Martinez’s side have been struggling all season having won only five games this campaign and collecting just 23 points from the first twenty two games, a huge regression from last season where they finished 5^th narrowly missing out on the top4 to Arsenal.

Last nights draw brought it to three home games without a win since they overcame QPR. Not only have they struggled at home, their way form has been terrible, they have lost their last five games on the road and Martinez may be starting to feel the pressure of the recent run.

Why Everton have performed so badly this season is a question that many people have been asking and it’s not that much of a mystery. Everton have been playing in the Europa League this season and as we have seen in the past with the likes of Spurs and Newcastle, the Europa League commitments take a lot out of the players and with Everton having a relatively small squad they’ve struggled to cope with the amount of games. Everton were impressive in their group in the Europa League finishing top in a group that included both Wolfsburg and Lille, due to this success they will have to continue to cope with a large amount of games when the knockout stages begin in February.

Their European exploits may excuse their poor form to a certain extent but it does not explain all of the bad performances the Everton faithful have had to endure this campaign. In Martinez’s first season Everton built themselves on a strong back four conceding only 39 goals in the entire season. Compare that to this season in which they have conceded 34 goals after twenty two games. Their defensive displays have been somewhat reminiscent of Martinez’s relegation troubled Wigan team.

Not only has their defence struggled this season, up front main striker Lukaku has also failed to reach the heights of last season scoring just 6 goals thus far but he still has time to recapture his form and make it to the 15 Premier League goals he scored last season. The £28 million price tag may be a burden for the big Belgian but some of the blame for the lack of goals must be given to the rest of the team who have not been creating enough chances for the striker.

The delivery into the box last night by Baines, Coleman, Barry and some of the other midfielders was terrible, the amount of times they failed to beat the first man was shocking and must be of concern for Martinez.

Fluent, attractive, attacking football were words associated with Everton last season but this season they have not implemented their style to any real effect. The urgency and quick passing that made them such a threat last season has been lost and been replaced by a laboured passing style that offers no real threat to a well drilled defence like the West Brom back four they came up against last night. The injuries to key players James McCarthy, Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar have been detrimental and have played a big part in their poor form.

As if things weren’t bad enough for Martinez, last nights Mirallas penalty incident shed new light on the possibility there is unrest within the camp. Mirallas appeared to take the penalty from designated penalty taker Leighton Baines and subsequently missed. The decision by Mirallas to disregard team orders maybe suggests a lack of control over the team by Roberto Martinez. Another problem in an ever growing list for the Spaniard.

Everton’s next outing is a trip to Selhurst Park followed by the visit of Liverpool in the second Merseyside derby of the season, failure to win at least one of those games could see the end of Martinez’s reign as Everton manager.

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Koeman out-doing Dutch compatriot Van Gaal

Two Dutch managers graced the Premier League during the summer with differing expectations and a hugely different hype about their new challenge. Van Gaal came into the Premier League as manager of Manchester United with expectations he would bring United straight back into the Champions League and maybe even have a go at winning the title especially with the money he was afforded. Koeman on the other hand came into Southampton to replace a much loved Mauricio Pochettino, inheriting a team that lost almost all of its key players such as Lallana and Shaw. Remarkably after 22 games in the Premier League Ronald Koeman’s Southampton sit one place above United in 3^rd place.

The two Dutch men are now both embroiled in a fight for the top4 and it’s not the first time the two have crossed paths. Both men worked alongside each other at Barcelona from 1998 to 2000 and were reunited in 2004 at Ajax where Van Gaal was given a directors job over Koeman who was the manager. It was here the two famously fell out over the decision by the club to leave Ibrahimovic leave for Juventus a rift that the two are yet to patch up.

The two have already met twice this season, United winning the first meeting 2-1 at St Mary’s in a somewhat fortunate win while just over a week ago Koeman and his Saints side returned the favour seeing off Van Gaal’s side thanks to a late Tadic goal rounding off a great performance by Southampton and consolidating their position ahead of the Manchester side.

The win for Southampton was another big result in a recent run that has seen them pick up 16 points from a possible 18, Manchester United however have picked up just 9 points from their last six games and Van Gaal is beginning to come under scrutiny from fans and the media for their poor performances.

Both men are meticulous planners and pride themselves on a good defence, Southampton have the best defensive record in the Premier League this season having conceded just 16 goals compared to United who have conceded 21. Southampton are also one goal better off than Van Gaal’s men and sit two points clear in the table.

It is nothing short of amazing that a team tipped for relegation at the beginning of the campaign sit in 3^rd place after losing so many key players in the summer and are above a Manchester United side who spent well over £100 million during the summer.

One of the main factors that has seen Southampton perform so well this season is their summer acquisitions, Dusan Tadic who they brought in for just £10 million has 3 goals and 8 assists for the season, those stats are better than the £59 million man Di Maria who has scored 3 but has 2 less assists than the Serbian. Other inspired signings such as Pelle who has 8 Premier League goals and Fraser Forster who has 10 clean sheets have been performing above most of United’s signings like Herrera and Rojo who are yet to make any real impact at Old Trafford.

Having come into the job with every expectation from the media that he would easily better what David Moyes did at United, Van Gaal finds himself 3 points better off than where United were last season, maybe not the change he would have liked considering the amount of money spent during the summer. Some questions have been asked as to whether Moyes would’ve been able to do better should he have been giving all the money Van Gaal had at his disposal this summer.

Koeman replaced Pochettino with no real media expectation that he could get the team playing any better than we saw last season but somehow after all the change Southampton are 11 points better off than this time last season. A huge achievement for Ronald Koeman and his side.

The two men may heave already met each other twice this season but this is by no means the end of their rivalry, as we go into the run-in Southampton have proven they are ready to fight all the way to the end to get into the top4 and United will have to match them stride for stride if Van Gaal wants to reach his minimum expectation of bringing Champions League football back to Old Trafford.

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World Team of the Year

The FIFPro team of the year was announced yesterday and did not go down too well with football fans across the globe, the inclusion of David Luiz was particularly surprising while Iniesta’s appearance in the team was also a shock. Here is a team I feel more deserving of the accolade of being in the best eleven of 2014.

Goalkeeper

Manuel Neuer

Neuer made the FIFA team of the year and made it to the final three of the Ballon D’or award and for good reason. His performances this season have been sensational, fully warranting the accolade for best goalkeeper in the world. His ability to play as a keeper-sweeper and his shot stopping ability made a great impact as Bayern Munich won domestic honours and  Germany won the World Cup this summer.

Defenders

Philip Lahm

After leading his team to World Cup glory, Germany star Philp Lahm is a must in the team of the year, he could well have made it in the team in a midfield role with Guardiola transforming the small man since taking charge at Bayern.

Sergio Ramos

Ramos has been a rock at the back for Real Madrid in the past year helping Madrid to Champions League glory scoring the equalising goal in the final against Atletico Madrid that sent the game to extra-time and gave Madrid the chance to claim the title, and so they did. Despite a poor World Cup his form at Madrid has stayed strong and puts him in this team.

Diego Godin

Godin was a key part in the sensational season that Diego Simeone masterminded at Atletico Madrid as they won La Liga for the first time since 1996, he was a major cog in a great defence that also saw Atletico get to the Champions League final only to lose to rivals Real.

Leighton Baines

May seem a surprise entry to many but Baines has been by far the best left back in the Premier League and compared to the other top left backs in Europe such as Jordi Alba and Marcelo he has been more impressive in the last year. His great dead ball ability and crossing saw him create many chances for both Everton and England while unlike most modern day full backs he also is a very capable defender.

Midfielders

Luka Modric

Somehow this man was omitted from FIFA’s team of the year after having a fantastic year for Real Madrid, the former Tottenham was an integral part of the Champions League winning side and has come into his own under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti.

Angel Di Maria

Di Maria is yet another one of the Champions League winning side that warrants a place in the team of the year. Di Maria was man of the match in the Champions League final and was fantastic as Argentina made it to the World Cup final, an injury prevented him from playing in the World Cup final and many people feel the result could have been different if he was fit. Since his move to United he has continued his form and shown his quality in the Premier League.

Toni Kroos

Another German to make the team and deservedly so as he starred in their campaign particularly in the semi final where he scored 2 goals against Brazil. He has since moved to Real Madrid and has struggled to reach the form he showed for both Bayern and Germany but still deserves a place in this team based on the first seven months of the year.

Forwards

Lionel Messi

You can’t have a team of the year without Lionel Messi in it and after another brilliant season he is one part of our front three, he once again scored bucket loads of goals for Barcelona and was awarded the player of the tournament at this summers World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The only player in world football at this moment in time that can stake a claim for being better than Messi is Ronaldo after winning his second Ballon D’or in a row. The Portuguese man once again scored a remarkable amount of goals and rightfully was crowned the best player in the world for 2014

Luis Suarez

Bite or no bite Suarez was the best striker in the Premier League and in Europe for Liverpool in 2014, he almost single hand idly won the Premier League for Liverpool and the fact he was omitted from the shortlist for the Ballon D’or was laughable. Regardless of his moment of madness in the World Cup Suarez deserves credit for the performances he gave in 2014.

Austin and Ings revelling in Premier League

It has often been the case that promoted teams struggle to hit the net and teams that get relegated ultimately do not have the fire power up front. Two teams that don’t have that as an excuse this season are Burnley and QPR who both have goal-scoring strikers thriving in their first experiences as Premier League players.

Questions are always asked if players who score piles of goals in the lower divisions can step up to the Premier League and be successful and after many flops such as Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who for Wolves in the Championship was so clinical but could not cut it as a goal-scorer when he made the step up, two men have stepped up to the mark and proven they can do it in any division.

Charlie Austin scored 17 goals in last seasons Championship and has already scored 13 goals this season and we are only at the half way stage, should he continue this form he could and should reach the 20 goal mark which would be a massive achievement for the 25-year-old Englishman.

Similarly Danny Ings was prolific in Burnley’s promotion campaign scoring a total of 21 goals as Burnley made the leap into England’s top division. After a slow start to the season Ings has began to thrive in the Premier League scoring 6 goals in 18 appearances, most recently netting the winner against relegation rivals QPR and against fellow hot-shot Austin.

These two men are proving that goal-scorers in lower divisions are capable of stepping up to the best league in the world and still bang in the goals. Burnley and QPR are both enthralled in the relegation battle but with Ings and Austin firing they have a very good chance of survival.

You can see with reports that up to ten teams are looking to buy Jermaine Defoe that goals near the bottom of the table are crucial and that is what both Austin and Ings are offering to their respective teams.

With the transfer window open both sides will be hoping to keep hold of their frontmen with reported interest in the two from various Premier League teams, the two Englishmen will also be hoping that Roy Hodgson will be considering them for a future national team call-up.

3 questions that will be answered this PL weekend

Was Spurs battering of Chelsea a once off?

Pochettino’s side face a trip to Selhurst Park where Alan Pardew will take his first Premier League game as Crystal Palace manager as Spurs look to show that their fantastic win over Chelsea was no fluke.

Harry Kane and Nacer Chadli were superb against Chelsea and after what has been a rocky season they will hope that this win will propel them on to bigger and better things in the second half of the season.

A trip to Selhurst Park is no easy task and Spurs could be caught out if they think otherwise, another win would be massive and could put them on a run that they will hope puts them in a great position to get a top4 place.

Is this Roberto Martinez’s final game?

After four defeats in a row Everton manager Roberto Martinez is under huge pressure to turn things around amid increasing media scrutiny and reports that his days with the Toffees are numbered.

If Martinez could have picked one team he would not want to play on their current run of form he probably would have picked Manchester City but unfortunately that’s exactly who visits Goodison Park this weekend. City are on a good run of form and will fully expect to see off this under performing Everton team.

Lukaku’s late goal midweek in the FA cup may galvanise the team but unless they can get at least a draw, Martinez, who did so well in his first season as Everton manager, could be the next Premier League manager to lose his job.

How will Chelsea respond?

After the big defeat to Spurs last weekend as was mentioned earlier it will be interesting to see how Jose Mourinho’s side respond to losing, a feeling they had only experienced once this season before they visited White Hart Lane.

Luckily for Mourinho’s side they are home to manager-less Newcastle and its hard to see them coming out with anything other than a win, however if Chelsea fail to score early on the crowd may get on their back in light of last weeks result at Spurs. 

Which PL teams need to splash out this January?

Arsenal;

Arsene Wenger’s side have been performing below par this season and lie in only 6^th place, not what they would have hoped for but fortunately for the Gunners the top4 is still well within their reach with Southampton only 3 points away. Regardless of where they are in the table, this Arsenal side needs strengthening, star man Alexis Sanchez has been the only reason they are still in contention for a top4 place and when he has been missing they look a very average side. It is clear that up front is the position that Arsenal need to recruit a new player or two, other than Sanchez who has 16 goals in all competitions their next highest scorer is Danny Welbeck on 7, the decision to leave Podolski leave is a baffling one but may pave the way for a new striker to come in.  The strikers currently at Wenger’s disposal are adequate, Welbeck and Giroud are both proven Premier League players but they need a real top quality striker if they want to push on and try challenge for major honours.

Up front is not the only problem for the North London side, the back is also lacking that extra bit of quality, Mertesacker has been shown up time and time again and Chambers does not seem ready as of yet to step in as centre half on a weekly basis. It may be worthwhile for the Arsenal transfer committee to look for an experienced and talented man at the back.

Liverpool;

Similar to Arsenal, Liverpool need that extra bit of quality in their team if they are to bridge the 7 point gap to the top4 and maybe win a domestic or European trophy. As with last season the main problem lies at the back and in particular with goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, he has been nothing short of terrible this season and after being dropped for Brad Jones who has since picked up an injury his confidence is at an all time low. Rodgers must look to buy a new keeper in the window or else the Liverpool faithful will have to live with the ever unreliable Mignolet.

The purchase of Dejan Lovren in the summer for £20 million has done nothing to sure up the defence and Rodgers once again must be looking into the possibility of a new defensive leader, with the amount of goals being conceded by Liverpool now a long running problem, Rodgers really needs to sort it out or he could be out of a job before the summer.

In the attacking department things are beginning to click as Adam Lallana has started to perform and with Sturridge due to return they look reasonably strong in that area of the pitch although an extra touch of class would be welcomed and that could come in the form of Swiss international Shaqiri whom Liverpool are reported to be interested in signing.

West Brom;

Sitting only one place above the relegation zone and struggling both up front and at the back, the Baggies are in dire need of some extra quality in the ranks. Saido Berahino was the shining light at the beginning of the season but since his luck has dried up so has the teams. This turn in luck has seen Alan Irvine lose his job and seen West Brom slide down the table rapidly. They sit only 1 point above the bottom three and need to add quality to the team in almost every position.

The main area they should look to strengthen is their attack, Berahino is currently under too much pressure for a young man to score all the goals and with rumours arising that he may be on his way to a bigger club they will definitely need to add a striker to their ranks, a good striker could make all the difference as well, we have seen in the past and are currently seeing at QPR with Charlie Austin that in the games at the bottom half of the table a clinical finisher is usually the difference between winning and losing.

The Bottom Three;

 At this stage of the season if you’re in the bottom three you’re there for a reason. Leicester, Burnley and Crystal Palace have simply not been good enough in the opening half of the season and if they are to survive they will need to splash the cash and quickly.

Starting with the bottom side Leicester, Nigel Pearson’s side have shown in the game earlier on in the season when they beat Manchester United 5-3 that they are capable of beating a lot of teams if they can perform to their maximum, they look a little light in midfield with Cambiasso arguably being their best option in their despite the fact he is 34 years of age. Up front they look strong with David Nugent leading the line and Leonardo Ulloa also showing he can chip in with a few goals.

Burnley sit second bottom and are probably the team most in need of buying this January, the squad they have is very light and even with Danny Ings and Ashley Barnes in good form they could probably do with some cover in the attacking areas. Across all other areas of the pitch they just don’t seem to have the quality within the side to compete in the Premier League. Sean Dyche’s side need to spend big on improving the general quality of the team but even then they could struggle.

Alan Pardew has just taken over at Crystal Palace after Neil Warnock’s dismissal and is likely to want to make his mark on the side with a few signings, luckily for Pardew he has inherited a good side but may look to just add that bit more depth to the side that should be able to drag them out of the relegation zone.

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