It’s 1st against 2nd this weekend when Manchester United travel to the King Power Stadium to face red hot Leicester City in a bid to overtake the Foxes on the league table.
Elsewhere on Sunday Tottenham hotspur will host Chelsea at the White Hart lane. These and other games are expected to trill fans as the English Premier League enters week 14.
Aston Villa Vs Watford – 15:00 GMT
Remi Garde made a big statement in his EPL bow when he held Manchester City to a draw in his first game as coach of Aston Villa. One would’ve thought he would build on it but he had a trip to forget at the Elwood Park when Everton gave a taste of an away game in the EPL with a 4-0 humiliation.
Come 3pm he will have a chance to redeem himself in the quest to save the Villains when they host Watford at the Villa Park. Villa have no choice other than to win this game before talk of relegation becomes a reality. Jordan Ayew once again is in line to start for the home side. Leading the attack for the away side is another African, Nigerian Idion Ighalo who will look to add to his 7 goals tally this season.
Manchester City Vs Southampton – 15:00 GMT
With Chelsea struggling this season one would’ve thought Manchester City will have no serious opposition in the title challenge but they’ve become their own opposition throwing away points in games they were expected win.
In their last two games they’ve failed to beat a struggling Villa side and just last week they were humiliated by Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Add the midweek UCL defeat at Juventus and Manuel Pellegrini’s side are without a win in 3 games. To add insult to injury they’ve lost Joe Hart to injury with the England no.1 joining Kompany and Mangala in treatment room.
Silva has been included in the squad having returned from injury. Southampton is unbeaten in away games in all domestic competition this season and will look to preserve this record at the Etihad even without suspended striker Pelle.
Leicester City Vs Manchester United – 17:30
Last season the King Power Stadium witnessed 8 goals when Manchester United lost 5-3 as guests to the then newly promoted Leicester City. One year on and United go there with a vastly improved defence.
Leicester on the other hand has a vastly improved attack with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez scoring for fun. Luis Van Gaal has been under pressure for his team’s lack of goals partly due to his over emphasis on possession. He comes up against a team with a contrasting style of play, Claudio Raneiri’s charges play a fast-paced English style football.
They will put United’s resolute defense to the test. A goal for leading striker Jamie Vardy will see him set a new EPL record for scoring in 11 consecutive games, one better than a legend of his opponents on Saturday, Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
SUNDAY
Tottenham Hotspur Vs Chelsea 12:00 GMT
The Sunday games will begin with a London derby with Spurs squaring off against Chelsea. This fixture normally ends in Chelsea’s favor as the blues have lost only one in the last 12 encounter between them, last year’s 5-3 loss. Nevertheless Spurs go into this game as favorites having lost only one league game the entire season with the opponent struggling win games this season against weak opponents. The home side will be counting on Harry Kane who has 12 goals in 14 games against London opposition. Spurs will be missing Dele Alli through suspension.
Captain of the blues John Terry is an injury doubt for the game having limped off in the midweek UCL game. This game will test Spurs’ top 4 credentials and on the other hand test if Chelsea’s recent back-to-back wins and return to some level of form isn’t a fluke.
Norwich City Vs Arsenal 16:15
Arsenal after losing to Westbrom last week had a perfect reaction in midweek when they thumped Dinamo Zagreb in the UCL. Norwich had a bright start to the season but their recent form looks like that of a relegation candidate with only a single win in their last six games. Alex Neil is under pressure to save the season of the Canaries. Wenger will welcome back fit again midfielders Ramsey and Oxlade Chamberlain which will see Joel Campbell moving back to the bench. A weekend where the 1st placed team play the 2nd Arsenal will do themselves lots of good with a win that will see them move places up the table.
Liverpool Vs Swansea – 16:15
Swansea started the season so brightly that one could pick them as surprise top 4 candidates but since their victory over Man United 2 months ago they have become one of the worst sides in the league in both their play and results. Liverpool have had a more contrasting story to that of their opponents. They started season in a poor fashion leading to the dismissal of former manager Rodgers. Since Klopp took over they’ve had a changed in fortune with the latest being the 4-1 away win at Etihad last week against Manchester City. Gary Monk’s job hangs on a thread. His star players have lost form with the exception of Andre Ayew who continues to be their only saviour. If the Swans have any hope of victory fellow attackers Gomis and Montero should up their game to assist Ayew. With Liverpool Klopp has had a magic touch on the players especially on Coutinho who is in the best shape of his career. A win on Sunday for Liverpool will signal their top 4 challenge if not the title itself.
By: Rahman Osman/ citifmonline.com/Ghana