But I remain optimistic (or deluded) that we can sneak the three points at home and ManUre could slip up in
their next fixture away to the Toon.
Ibrahimovic scored in the top flight for the first time since September, although he will be suspended for United's
next fixture away to Arsenal after he received his fifth yellow card of the season today.
Not exact matches
Arsenal have a really tough month of
fixtures ahead of us, with the
next two vital games followed by three Premier League games in a week,
away to Aston Villa and at home to Southampton and Tottenham.
Liverpool are scary though... Their toughest
fixtures are an
away Derby and Southampton Away next until the 1st of
away Derby and Southampton
Away next until the 1st of
Away next until the 1st of Jan!
Paul Lambert's side go into the match five points adrift with just four matches to play - including a daunting
fixture away at Liverpool
next up.
The
next 3
fixtures after international break is really tough for City: — Sept 12:
away vs Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
The point is a valuable one though and we have to go with a positive mood to Hull
away next, which will be another though
fixture where we can't afford to let any points slip.
We appear to be prioritising our Premier League
fixtures over the
away matches in the Europa, and while winning all our home matches should put us comfortably through to the
next stage, our fringe players will not be going out tonight without the intention of three points.
Considering we beat Villa 3 - 0 in the
away fixture we should have far too much firepower for them back at the Emirates, but with one eye on the Spurs game
next week we need to gain even more confidence with a clear win on Sunday....
Instead we have come through two of the toughest
away fixtures of the EPL season at Liverpool and Stoke and are into the
next round of the FA cup.
United's failure to find the
next on multiple occasions in a game has been somewhat of a flaw for the Red Devils this season, with games against Huddersfield and Stoke standing out as being two
fixtures which the Red Devils really should've come
away with all three points from.
Looking at our
fixtures in the
next few weeks, we play Swansea
away followed by spuds at home.
earned a place in the Champions League Group Stages, and we also managed to «not lose» to a Top Club in an
away fixture again, which can only help our confidence going into
next seasons campaign.
When Pep Guardiola takes Manchester City to their
away fixtures next season, the Citizens will have a fancy new
away kit with brand new primary colours.
So we have the
next challenger, Mauricio Pochettino, who is well aware of the importance of the
fixture and of how much of a boost to his team and his relationship with the fans it would be if they went
away with any sort of result.
The Hull Daily Mail reveals that Patrice Evra is none the wiser as to where his team will be travelling to
next season when Hull City
away pops up on the
fixture list.
It will be interesting to see if indeed Steve Kean is in post come January, his
next two games could be crucial to his hopes of remaining in post and those
fixtures come
away at Liverpool and at home to Man United.
Even if we are not struck with more bad luck, Wenger does have a problem as he prepares for Arsenal's
next Premier League
fixture, which is
away to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Fans then stayed
away from the
next few
fixtures at Wembley, creating a dispiriting atmosphere at the national stadium.
Following Arsenal's midweek half - triumph in Munich, experienced midfield Mikel Arteta has issued a rallying call to the rest of the troops encouraging them to put their continental disappointment to the back of their minds and full focus all energy on finishing in the top four to qualify for
next season's European Cup, Arteta also guarded his Arsenal teammates of the dangers of heading into Saturday's
fixture with Swansea in the wrong frame of mind «On Saturday, if we are not at it, we are going to face a really difficult team which is Swansea
away from home.»
Borussia Dortmund's
next fixture is more than a fortnight
away, with the German club scheduled to take on Wolfsburg in a Bundesliga
fixture on January 14.
The
next couple of
fixtures are going to be very very important for yr boys especially as Chelsea seem to be running
away with the league with some powerful and seasoned football.
To lost 4 - 0 in an
away fixture is bad enough; to do so again on the
next visit is just too much to take.
Draws against West Brom and then Man Utd were followed by a disappointing 1 - 0 defeat
away to QPR but their
next three
fixtures include Burnley and Swansea, as well as Spurs, so Poyet will feel that there is points up for grabs.
He scored again in the
next league
fixture,
away at Wigan.
With the
fixtures staggered over the
next fortnight, there are four matches taking place this week, with Chelsea's
away clash against Paris Saint - Germain arguably the pick of the early ties.
With an incredibly difficult run of
fixtures to come, starting with Newcastle
away this weekend before make or break clashes with Manchester City in the league and Valencia in Europe, it's impossible not think as the
next couple of weeks being a defining period in the season, for club and manager.
Arsenal are currently sitting sixth ahead of their Monday night
fixture away to Crystal Palace, a win will see them jump up to fifth in the race for a Champions League place
next season.
In the last six games between both sides in the Premier League, West Ham have claimed eight points (W2 D2), whereas Newcastle won both home and
away fixtures in the 2010/11 season, which included a 5 - 0 home drubbing of their
next opponents.
But three home games against top - six opposition and potentially tricky
away fixtures at Stoke and Burnley give the players quite a challenge in the run - in, and many will need to do so to prove their value for a position in the squad
next season.
The only slight concern could be the fact that the derby is on Wednesday (which is arguably the most important game of our season for many reasons but mainly to move further
away from Lazio and of course Milan in order to qualify for the UEFA Champions League
next season) so it would've been ideal to maybe rest one or two key men but the squad haven't had to play many games this season and every
fixture from now to the end is like a cup final.
Rovers were then beaten in their very
next away outing at Birmingham and the same feat could occur on Saturday as Blackburn drew their recent league game 0 - 0
away from home at West Ham United — A team in close proximity to Hull City, a team they drew 0 - 0 with before they lost their
next fixture back in December.
If the second leg of this
fixture finishes 0 - 0 on the night
next Tuesday at Stamford Bridge then Chelsea will go through to the Capital One Cup final on
away goals scored.
But Jose Mourinho has yet to win
away from home against a top six side for two years now (one goal scored in ten games) and given the
next few
fixtures for United — not least the monumental Manchester Derby which is scheduled for
next week — there is a sense of now or never at United, even though they are comfortably placed second in the league table.
Middlesrbough side just three points
away from relegation zone and their
next two home
fixtures are against Liverpool and Chelsea where any positive result is a bonus.
Aston Villa's started 2012 poorly with a 2 - 1 home defeat at the hands of Swansea City, in between the
next Premier League
fixture Aston Villa started their FA Cup campaign with an
away win at League 2 side Bristol Rovers.
Jurgen Klinsmann has already revealed the 26 man squad for the
next two games which also include
away fixture against Costa Rica.
Considering Bolton haven't kept a clean sheet in league competition at The Reebok since the opening day of the season and Blackpool's rather bizarre pattern of scoring and not scoring in alternating
away fixtures — Scoring in one
away fixture one week before firing blanks in their very
next away match — we should be in for an entertaining affair what with the Tangerines playing out a 0 - 0 draw at Upton Park in their last
away encounter.
The
next five
fixtures for the Blues are Everton at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal at The Emirates, Watford
away, Man United at home and Newcastle also at the Bridge.
However, with none of the above matches played and pre-season yet to start we can conclude that the only thing it is safe to say about the
fixture list is that we will face each of our nineteen opponents twice
next season, once home and once
away, and, while optimism might look odd in the bigger Villa picture at the moment, pessimism would be counterproductive.
It's only an abstract thought at this stage, but as we start to squirrel
away our pennies and browse housing websites to drool over the zillion dollar homes we can never afford (but can aspire to), I find myself getting as excited about choosing lighting
fixtures as I do about browsing for my
next pair of strappy sandals.
When people need a bulb or a
fixture, they need it right
away and not
next week.