Stoke are a very disciplined team, so it's gonna be a tough match, d good news is that they are slow starter,
this early season fixture should favor us
The underlining and telling criticism was the players collective disinterest in putting in at least a shift in a pivotal
early season fixture against one of your top rivals.
In the latest part of a new feature taking a look back at notable events from this week five, ten and 15 years ago,
early season fixtures and a new - signing were the stories of the day...
Not exact matches
The really free flowing and incisive Gunners that we saw
earlier in the
season in games like the demolition of Chelsea have been missing too often, but with an easing of the
fixture list and an improvement in the club's injury situation there are signs that Arsenal are getting back to our best.
We have already got over those
early season jitters and the
fixture list could help.
All the passion of this
fixture was on display at Anfield
earlier this
season, when Steven Gerrard put the Reds ahead, only for Phil Jagialka's bolt from the blue to draw the visitors level.
I know that plenty of Arsenal fans are frustrated with Wenger's methods of business and had we managed to obtain the targets we wanted
earlier in the summer by doing business
early, then we now wouldn't find ourselves in such a desperate state going into the second
fixture of the new
season.
Januzaj was deemed surplus to requirements by van Gaal during the summer, and despite impressing in an
early Premier League
fixture against Aston Villa, he was sent on a
season - long loan to BVB.
And the same is true, to an even greater extent, of the
season's other
early crisis club: poor Owen Coyle has been trussed up and left to swing in the hot breeze by a savage
fixture list, despite having recorded exactly one bad result - the home loss to Norwich.
Bordeaux are prone struggle without towering centre - back Lamine Sane; they did so
earlier in the
season when the defender was out injured for the away
fixture against Paris Saint - Germain, losing 3 - 0.
Higuain bagged two goals in the reverse
fixture earlier this
season, so he'll be hoping to repeat the trick and guide his side to a crucial win.
Goals from Gary Cahill and Diego Costa handed the Blues a victory in the reverse
fixture earlier on in the
season and the Merseyside outfit are without a win against Chelsea in the last seven meetings between the two in all competitions.
The 26 - year - old has made two appearances so far this
season after suffering an injury setback while with Belgium
earlier this summer, but it sounds as though he's pushing to be a permanent
fixture in Conte's line - up moving forward.
A player who likes scoring against United and who got the winner in this
fixture at the Etihad Stadium
earlier in the
season, Sergio Aguero is horribly off form for City at the moment and that leaves them short of inspiration as they look for a much - needed win here.
While it may be too
early in the
season to be calling this matchup make or break for either team, should one team manage all three points from this
fixture they may well grab the psychological edge over their title rivals.
With our first match of the new league
season kicking off on August 12th there is little chance these four players will be available and with the Gunners having been handed a tough
early run of
fixtures starting with Leicester and then Stoke and Liverpool away, we really need to be ready from the off.
I love the lesson Chitte learnt today,,,
Early kickoff after a taxing UCL
fixture away to Moscow,,, = Defeat... Thanx West Ham,,, FA did that to us last
season n they said it was not an issue....
Liverpool won the return
fixture at Anfield, 1 - 0,
earlier in the
season.
This is a stark contrast to their
early season form when they only lost two games in their first twenty -
fixtures.
The most recent games between West Ham and Southampton have seen a glut of goals, including the
fixture earlier in the
season when we went down 3 - 2 to a late goal from a soft penalty, after pulling back from a two goal deficit.
Erik Lamela struggled away from home in the big games last
season, while Andros Townsend found himself substituted in this
fixture earlier this year.
REVERSE
FIXTURE: Neither side could find a breakthrough when the Seagulls met the Eagles on the south coast
earlier in the
season, but Mathew Ryan was needed in the first half, as he made a terrific double save.
Liverpool are easy winners out on the road over West Ham
earlier in the
season and that have gone W2 D1 in their last three league games against the Irons, scoring a total of ten goals in those
fixtures.
As well as being in charge of West Ham's defeat at Newcastle
earlier this
season he was also the ref of this corresponding
fixture last year.
The last of the
early season north v south games was played last Thursday, with Birmingham and Cardiff drawing, and on Saturday the south got a rest with the north group playing their first set of
fixtures.
Winning just one of nine
fixtures in all competitions, the Reds» performances were a stark contrast from the free - flowing attacking football we were shown
earlier in the
season.
Arsenal have not won at Old Trafford since September 2006 and the Gunners» 3 - 0 win
earlier this
season ended an eight game unbeaten run for United in this
fixture.
After gaining promotion back to the Premiership via a second place finish in the Championship, West Brom would have ideally preferred an easy
fixture to kick off the new
season in order to not only put some
early points on the board but to gain some
early initiative and confidence.
Always one of the trickiest
fixtures of the
season, the Blues face Roberto Martinez's Everton on Merseyside this evening, with Eden Hazard determined to send out an
early statement of intent.
The Albion lineup has a decidedly workmanlike look about it but it was enough to see us off in the
fixture at the Hawthorns
earlier in the
season.
December 22 — With round 19
fixtures starting tonight with Liverpool's visit to Arsenal for a Friday night
early Christmas cracker, the halfway point of the Premier League
season is passed.
The manner of the victory against a good Everton side who gained a point at the Emirates
earlier in the
season can also boost Arsenal before a tough run of league
fixtures.
Hopefully we'll see a vast improvement on Wednesday in a
fixture the Gunners ran riot in
earlier in the
season, when winning Carling Cup encounter 4 - 1 at The Lane.
Awesome stuff Patrick, I think you deserve a repeat of the scoreline from the reverse
fixture earlier in the
season.
This
fixture ended two apiece last
season in
early March which was a result which many «experts» saw as a reason to dismiss the Foxes» title hopes.
Former Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati will be looking to take control of the game in the centre of midfield and had scored a wonderful winner in the same
fixture earlier in the
season.
They won 2 - 1 in this
fixture last
season with a Harry Kane brace sealing the result and it would have been two from two
earlier this term had it not been for Kieran Gibbs» rescuing strike in a match which Tottenham probably had the better of the play.
It was almost a year ago to the day that the equivalent fifth match of the
season fixture, a 4 - 2 defeat, sounded the
early alarm bells that the wheels might not be fixed as securely as first thoughton the Bilic bandwagon; that the stuttering start to his second
season in charge was not solely down to the challenges of settling into a new home.
Interestingly, despite rotating much of his squad through the
early season, Moyes had relied upon veteran defender Rio Ferdinand in all of United's first six league
fixtures.
So on Saturday expect another intimidating display from Blackburn as they look to get right in the face of Arsenal
early on as they did in last
seasons fixture, when Allardyce targeted the Arsenal defence and Lukas Fabianski in goal as Arsenal's weakest joint and went straight for the throat by demanding long ball after long ball be played over the top and into Arsenal's penalty area.
Had this
fixture been scheduled for
earlier in the
season, this would have almost certainly been dubbed a relegation six - pointer.
Three changes were made to the team that won at Swansea City on Tuesday night, with Harry Kane coming back in up front for Fernando Llorente, Serge Aurier - sent off in the reverse
fixture earlier this
season - replacing Kieran Trippier and Moussa Sissoko taking the place of Erik Lamela.
Being one of our last home games this
season, we expect this
fixture to be popular so secure your place
early.
The Blues won this corresponding
fixture 2 - 1 last
season and that was after a stunning performance to win 3 - 1 at the Etihad
earlier in the
season over City.
As it stands, teams with tough
early fixtures could find themselves in a relegation dogfight
early on in the
season, which then inhibits the way that they play for the remainder.