Time and time again these past few months, he has been Bayern's saviour, the Man of the Match in Bundesliga wins in Stuttgart and Dortmund, the hero of the penalty shoot - out triumph over RB Leipzig in the German Cup and especially outstanding in the 3 - 1 Champions
League victory at home to Paris Saint - Germain.
Jayden Stockley got his 13th goal of season to equalise but Newport scored again to give them their first
league victory at home in seven games to cement their place in the top half.
Chelsea look to extend our run of four consecutive Premier
League victories at home to Everton.
Not exact matches
Then in a month we went out to Watford
at home in the FA Cup out in the last 16 of the ECL and have now snatched defeat from the jaws of
victory in the
league.
A 3 - 0
victory for the Gunners
at home against Chelsea, meant that Arsenal have beaten the Blues for the first time in the Premier
League in ten attempts, whilst the Gunners also finally broke the record of having not scored against Chelsea in the last six games.
After the shock defeat
at home to Burnley in their opening EPL game Chelsea have bounced back strongly and won all four since, including an away
victory at Tottenham and Leicester and
at home to Everton, so you have to say they are doing well and for that reason the Gunners must approach Sunday's
league meeting with caution.
It might be a bit too early to write the current season off for Arsenal, especially as we knew that it was going to be a tough start, with the Gunners having played just two Premier
League games so far, but after following up the narrowest of
victories at home to Leicester City with another loss
at Stoke I doubt there are too many Arsenal fans feeling confident about our title chances right now.
United's defeat saw their 40 - game unbeaten run
at home come to an end, while City's 14th consecutive
league victory made history for the most wins in a row in a single English top flight season.
like I've said before, Wenger is simply stating that Sanchez is staying so that he can regain some leverage when it comes time to make a deal and to shift the focus back squarely on Sanchez... this is 101 tactics in PR management... the very fact that he even mentioned RVP's name speaks to the utterance arrogance of a man that believes he answers to no one... before you harshly judge Sanchez think carefully about what the ultimate intentions of both parties involved... Sanchez wants to win trophies and get paid generously for his efforts, whereas the club wants to pull the wool over our eyes once again so that we blame the player for wanting the very things we told him we wanted when we brought him in... how many times do we have to go down this road before we realize the only common factor in each of these scenarios is the club itself... trust me, if we showed any ambition Sanchez's contract demands would be much different... just like in other major sports players will take a «
home town» discount if they see those in charge making a truly honest attempt to fight for the highest honours in their respective fields... that being said, if they see a team trying to make disparaging remarks about them in the press and not following through on their promises, they will likely try to make them pay a premium for their services or seek greener pastures... btw if anyone simply looks
at the score versus Bayern today and thinks that even for a second that this was a deserved
victory, just watch the game and judge for yourself... actually save yourself the anguish and just know that if it weren't for Cech and Martinez this could have been a repeat of our Champions
League flopping or worse
There has been an upturn in fortunes for Arsenal FC and us Gooners of late, with wins both
home and away against Italian club AC Milan in the last round of the Europa
League along with some much needed
victories in the Premier
League, so we are all hoping that carries on tonight when Arsenal take on CSKA Moscow
at the Emirates stadium.
Manchester City's game is the only draw this season, in addition to the opening day
victory over Crystal Palace
at home; but, with other Premier
League heavyweights in Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and Everton to visit, Arsenal need to raise their game and get those 3 points, more often than not.
Kieran Trippier was the hero as Tottenham Hotspur moved up to second place in the Premier
League with a 1 - 0
victory over Watford
at home.
For the first time in the Premier
League two clubs scored over 100 goals (Manchester City - 102 & Liverpool - 101) despite the divisional total slumping to a five year low; (1052 vs 942); Jose Mourinho lost his first EPL
home game in 78 matches and that
victory helped Sunderland to become only the second team ever to survive the drop having been bottom
at Christmas.
Man Utd booked their passage to the last eight with a 2 - 0
victory at Huddersfield while Brighton beat Sky Bet
League Two Coventry 3 - 1 and West Brom's troubles continued with a 2 - 1
home defeat to Southampton.
Liverpool reached the semifinals for the first time in 10 years with a 5 - 1 aggregate
victory over runaway Premier
League leaders Manchester City — including a 3 - 0 win
at home in the first leg.
Chelsea started this year's campaign in Group E Champions
League with a 2 - 0
victory over Bayer Leverkusen
at home.
KEY FACT: Stoke have won seven of their last nine
home Premier
League matches against newly promoted sides MATCH ODDS: Stoke 6/5 Draw 9/4 Brighton 11/4 bet365 Pick: Half time score 0 - 0 @ 6/4 ANDY SAYS: Stoke win for me here, think Paul Lambert will get the win... 2 - 0 GRAEME SAYS: Stoke have improved and they should just about claim the three points... 2 - 1 SILKY SAYS: I can see a
home win, think Stoke will take the
victory... 2 - 0 FOOTBALLIndex — One to follow:
At # 0.69, Jack Butland has to be a good buy
Today could mark their 50th
victory over United
at White Hart Lane, which would be a fitting send - off for the team who will be playing all
home matches on the hallowed turf of Wembley next season, which did not hold much luck for them in the UEFA Champions
League and the UEFA Europa
League this season.
Lionel Messi scored his 100th goal in European competition to lead 10 - man Barcelona to a 3 - 1
victory at home to Olympiakos in the Champions
League on Wednesday.
Benfica have picked up 13
victories from their last 15 European
home games, posting five in succession
at the Estádio Sport Lisboa e Benfica since their only
home loss in that sequence — 2 - 1 against FC Schalke 04 in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions
League group stage.
Last time out in the
league, Spurs secured a late victory away at Crystal Palace as Harry Kane headed home on the 88th minute, bagging his 24th Premier League goal of the s
league, Spurs secured a late
victory away
at Crystal Palace as Harry Kane headed
home on the 88th minute, bagging his 24th Premier
League goal of the s
League goal of the season.
Central to the Blues» climb up the Premier
League table has been their
home results, accumulating 20 points from a possible 27
at the Grand Old Lady since the thumping
victory over the Hammers.
Manchester United will be looking to make it back - to - back
victories when they host West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, hoping that Premier
League leaders Manchester City will have dropped points
at home to Tottenham Hotspur the day before.
Away from
home in
League One this season Bury have just a W1 D5 L10 record but they have collected four points in their last two away games, their solitary away
victory for the season coming out
at Oxford back on January 20th.
Barca booked their place in the Quarter Finals of the 2013 - 14 Champions
League with a comfortable 2 - 1
victory at home against Manchester City.
A painful statistic doing the rounds is that both Arsenal and Liverpool have won two
league games
at Anfield in 2012, and Brendan Rodgers needs the Reds to move onto three
home victories sooner rather than later if the pressure on him is not going to start becoming unbearable.
Also start the season's first Champions
League match with a
victory against English giant side Arsenal by 2 - 1 goals
at home.
Spurs started well last weekend with a 2 - 0 win
at Newcastle and will look to build on their 2 - 0
home victory over Chelsea in last season's Premier
League meeting.
For the second week running, Liverpool feature in the live tea - time kick - off on ESPN as the Reds, seeking a return to winning ways after consecutive
home draws, tackle in - form West Brom
at The Hawthorns with the Baggies keen to return to the top half of the Barclay's Premier
League by building on successive Midlands derby
victories.
In the
league they've been rampant and counter Arsenal's hugely impressive string of away wins with four successive home victories of their own in the Premier League, not to mention their latest demolition job of Blackburn Rovers as the Red Devils routed the Lancashire outfit 7 - 1 — Dimitar Berbatov taking his league tally for the season to 11 goals, 10 of which were scored at Old Trafford including two hat - t
league they've been rampant and counter Arsenal's hugely impressive string of away wins with four successive
home victories of their own in the Premier
League, not to mention their latest demolition job of Blackburn Rovers as the Red Devils routed the Lancashire outfit 7 - 1 — Dimitar Berbatov taking his league tally for the season to 11 goals, 10 of which were scored at Old Trafford including two hat - t
League, not to mention their latest demolition job of Blackburn Rovers as the Red Devils routed the Lancashire outfit 7 - 1 — Dimitar Berbatov taking his
league tally for the season to 11 goals, 10 of which were scored at Old Trafford including two hat - t
league tally for the season to 11 goals, 10 of which were scored
at Old Trafford including two hat - tricks.
-- Wolves have lost their previous two
league games, going down 2 - 1
at Everton and 3 - 0
at Chelsea, but have taken four points from their last two matches
at home: 2 - 2 draw with Swansea and a 3 - 1
victory over Wigan.
Heading into Saturday's clash against Leicester on the back of a
victory is crucial - the Blues can ill - afford to allow the gap
at the top to increase and with no Premier
League wins in four
home games, an Etihad win is crucial.
Next up for Wolves is another
home game on Saturday, this time against Burton Albion, and a
victory really would cement their place
at the top of the table, and put them in a great position from which to achieve promotion back to the Premier
League.
Bottom side Platinum Stars moved closer to the National First Division when they were held to a 0 - 0 draw by Baroka FC
at home, while Polokwane City kept SuperSport United in the relegation mix with a precious 1 - 0
victory that was secured via Rodney Ramagalela's 11th
league goal of the campaign.
-- The Citizens» 3 - 0
victory over Liverpool in the
league on Tuesday was their eleventh win in a row
at home in all competitions, a run which has seen them plunder 30 goals and concede just 5.
At home, however, Mark Hughes» men are yet to taste defeat in the league during 2011, winning six of seven at Craven Cottage and are searching for their fourth consecutive home win on Monday following eye - catching victories over Blackburn (3 - 2), Blackpool (3 - 0) and, more recently, Bolton (3 - 0
At home, however, Mark Hughes» men are yet to taste defeat in the
league during 2011, winning six of seven
at Craven Cottage and are searching for their fourth consecutive home win on Monday following eye - catching victories over Blackburn (3 - 2), Blackpool (3 - 0) and, more recently, Bolton (3 - 0
at Craven Cottage and are searching for their fourth consecutive
home win on Monday following eye - catching
victories over Blackburn (3 - 2), Blackpool (3 - 0) and, more recently, Bolton (3 - 0).
The Dingwall outfit racked up a well - deserved 4 - 1
victory at Dens Park, consigning Dundee to their heaviest
home league defeat in 16 games.
A stunning
victory over Milan
at the San Siro in the Europa
League was followed by a commanding
home win over Watford, illustrating the potential in the Arsenal squad.
No team has collected fewer points (17) or conceded more goals (34) than Blackpool
at home, who last celebrated
victory in the Premier
League at their Bloomfield Road stadium back on 22 February, six
home games previous.
This will be just the third ever Premiership meeting between the two sides yet already, just five games into the season, it's a pivotal one between free - falling Bolton, who have now lost three games on the spin in the
league following their emphatic 5 - 0
home defeat
at the hands of Manchester United last weekend, and a Norwich side still looking for their first Premiership
victory for well over six years − it has been a great deal longer since they were victorious on their travels, mind.
Big Sam» has recently guided his team of relentless workers to a three match run without defeat following back - to - back wins over Birmingham City (2 - 1) and then Burnley (0 - 1), while before those two impressive
victories came a point just as magnificent as the two wins combined; a 1 - 1 draw
at home to
league chasing Chelsea.
KEY FACT: Watford's only
home Premier
League victory against Southampton came in December 1999 MATCH ODDS: Watford 6/4 Draw 12/5 Southampton 2/1 bet365 Pick: Southampton to win @ 2/1 ANDY SAYS: Another close game, but I think Southampton might get something... 1 - 1 GRAEME SAYS: With Watford missing so many players, could be a bore draw... 0 - 0 SILKY SAYS: Have to side with Watford, Southampton have been so poor... 2 - 1 FOOTBALLIndex — One to follow: Nathan Redmond
at just under # 1 looks a great buy
-- Bolton, who sit second from bottom, have only won once
at The Reebok in the Premier
League this season (W1 D1 L8), with their 5 - 0
victory over Stoke on 6 November being their last win on
home soil.
Wenger's side began their new
league campaign with a 4 - 3
victory at home to Leicester, before losing 1 - 0
at Stoke and 4 - 0
at Liverpool.
A 2 - 1
victory over Arsenal in their most recent
league encounter
at home was arguably their most impressive win of the season, not to mention their fifth on the trot
at home for the Trotters (pun very much intended).
Blackburn Rovers to WIN (1.80 Boylesports)-- Winners of the only two previous Premier
League meetings
at Ewood Park, both by a clear margin of
victory as well (3 - 1 & 5 - 1), Blackburn look good value based on past results
at home to Wolves.
They've taken 22 of a possible 33 points since Martin O'Neill took charge, winning six of their previous nine in the
league − which, of course, does not include their impressive 2 - 0
victory at home to Arsenal in the FA Cup last weekend.
They have of course played in the FA Cup during that time, progressing to the quarter - finals with a comfortable 2 - 0
victory at home to Blackpool, but to all intents and purposes David Moyes has the exciting prospect of picking from a squad that should be a lot fresher than that of his opposite number, one that will also be boosted by the return of several important figures, as Everton attempt to extend their unbeaten
league run to six matches
at Loftus Road.
Last week's 3 - 1
victory at The Hawthorns over West Brom was their fifth in a row domestically, the last four of which were by a clear two - goal margin, with the only real negative to come out of the Spurs camp being their almost certain elimination from the UEFA Europa
League, after Thursday's 2 - 1 reverse
at home to PAOK Saloniki left them needing a minor miracle to qualify.
Stoke have not beaten Liverpool in the Premier
League since that famous 6 - 1
victory at home in May 2015.