Not Everyday's a Sunday

Oh my god oh my god oh my god. The weekends are here and Sunday is literally besok. Not just any other Sunday, but Grand Slam Sunday. Or Super Sunday. The term appropriately coined when the Big 4 in the EPL clashes for a showdown of seismic proportions. If you aren’t glowing in anticipation for these mouth watering fixtures, then you seriously need to get a life. Forget the Satays, bring on the Sunday. Man U vs. Liverpool. Chelsea Vs Arsenal. Need I say more?

Actually yes I do. Let’s now do a pre-match analysis ala Tohari Paijan. Or ala… carte. Whichever you prefer.

MAN U VS LIVERPOOL
Arguably the biggest rivalry in football. It does not get any bigger than this. Put the two most successful teams in England on the pitch and there WILL be fireworks. And add in a handful of the best players in the world pitting against each other and you’ll get WAR.

FORM
Liverpool’s form has been perfect for the past recent weeks. The Barnsley defeat has done them a world of good. Slowly and surely, Benitez is finding the perfect combination to produce quality performances week in and week out.
Man U on the other hand has not been performing that badly but given their standards, they are not firing in all cylinders. The goals have been few and far between but most importantly, they are getting the results at the end of the day.

KEY PLAYERS
This is pretty much a no brainer. In Fernando Torres and Cristiano Ronaldo, you have the two most in form players at the moment. Both are potential match winners and it’s all a question of big match temperament. Torres is deceptively quick and he places the ball in the back of the net with tremendous nonchalance. Tak boleh angkat sehh. While Ronaldo is the showboater who just happens to have a deadly right foot, a stinging left foot, a powerful header and runs at lightning speed. That’s all.

KEY BATTLES
Yes, Torres is a clinical goalscorer but he needs service baik and that’s where Steven Gerrard comes into play. We all know what Gerrard can do on his own and now that he plays off the striker, he now poses a greater attacking threat. The partnering in central defence for Man U is key given that Ferdinand may not play. If Anderson or Hargreaves can keep Gerrard quiet, then Pool’s attack will be neutralized. Similarly, Mascherano and Leiva will be constantly trying to disrupt the play by breaking down Man U’s passes at the first attempt. They have their work cut out and will be hunting down Rooney and Ronaldo especially.

PREDICTION
Look, I’ll be neutral here because I’m more of a soccer fan than a Man U fan. And unlike Nazir, I can be gracious in defeat and will give credit when it is due. Having said that, I will still go for Man U to nick a victory only because it is played at Old Trafford and that will give them the slight edge. Probably a 2-1 scoreline because Pool will be capable of scoring. (Nas, you know I’m not biased right)


CHELSEA VS ARSENAL
This London derby often tends to be a feisty and cagey affair. The most organized team goes against the best footballing side in the country. Expect fouls and lots of controversies. It won’t be pretty for sure.

FORM
Arsenal has been dropping points for the past 4 games and will be going into this one short of confidence. Their mental strength has been called into question recently and this will prove to be the sternest of test.
Chelsea is impregnable at home and Stamford Bridge has become quite a formidable fortress. They rarely concede goals playing in front of the home crowd and has a tendency to find the odd winning goal in alarming regularities.

KEY PLAYERS
Adebayorrrrr SHIFT SHIFT SHIIFT needs to find his goalscoring form again because at the moment, Arsenal is just lacking in the final third. He will be their main goalscoring threat and most definitely will trouble Chelsea defence in set pieces.
Joe Cole is the genuine creative talent in the squad. If he decides to put on a show, then he could easily thread that one decisive pass or score a scorcher himself. He is the ace up their sleeves.

KEY BATTLES
Arsenal is Fabregas. Rarely is he ever not involved in Arsenal’s intricate passing and beautiful play. If given the time and space, he will wreak havoc with that killer kisurat pass. Essien and Obi Mikel will be running their legs off to deny him from playing anywhere to his potential. Similarly , Flamini will be on a one man mission to stop Lampard from making his trademark runs into the box and somehow squeezing the ball into goal.

PREDICTION
I have a feeling that Chelsea just has this quiet confidence about them and the longer the game goes, the stronger they get. However, if Grant remains tactically naïve, there is a chance Arsenal can sneak one in. Justeru itu, a score draw, 1-1.

So after such a big hullabaloo, we definitely should catch this one together. Someone suggest something please.