After a scintillating performance between Manchester City and Chelsea, the English Premier League resumes again this weekend as attention shifts to Merseyside and North London where Liverpool, Everton, Arsenal and Tottenham will be involved in two of the biggest derbies in England Its that time of year again when Arsenal and Tottenham will face off in one of the most heated rivalries in football: the North London Derby. The Gunners are coming off a week of mixed emotions, after finally getting back to winning ways in convincing fashion against Aston Villa and subsequently being knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Southampton. Tottenham also have a mission of redemption this weekend after losing in bitter fashion to West Brom last weekend. It is not clear whether they will be downtrodden or extra motivated to prove themselves, but form tends to be irrelevant in derby matches. Arsenal should have more players available for this game than they have in recent times, with no new injuries this week due to the resting of several senior players and the abating of their awful luck. Thus, Arsene Wenger has a plethora of options when considering how to arrange his team in arguably the biggest game of Arsenals season so far. The major issue however, as always, is who to start in midfield and on the wings. Mesut Ozil redeemed himself in the middle last weekend, while Aaron Ramsey continues to struggle through an uncharacteristically bad patch of form. Thus, the German should be handed another start in his best position, while Ramsey should make way for Jack Wilshere, who has been one of the Gunners best performers in his last few games. Wilshere has been lively both on and off the ball and always seems to be either hunting for the ball or avidly trying to create something with it. That is a sign that he is getting back to his best. Alexis Sanchez absolutely must provide his usual ceaseless energy on the wing, driving into the box and giving Chambers crucial defensive cover with his numerous tracking runs. He continues to show why he is becoming one of the stars of this Arsenal side. If all these elements in the controversial 4-1-4-1 formation cohere, as they are just starting to show they might be able to do, Arsenal could conceivably soak up the adulation of their home fans following a derby victory. But, as always seems to happen when the Gunners and Tottenham play, the outcome will likely hinge on each defenses ability to hold firm against free-flowing, counterattacking football. Meanwhile, the first Merseyside Derby of the English Premier League season between bitter rivals Liverpool and Everton won’t be the top-of-the-table battle one would expect between two of the top-five finishers last year. Instead, the two teams head into the derby struggling to find a way out of the bottom-half of the standings. Records notwithstanding, this should be a fine match. Both clubs bring a mix of high-end attacking talent and their desperation should make for some high-intensity football. Liverpool are currently 11th in the table with two wins against three defeats, while Everton aren’t far behind at 14th with a single win. Needless to say, both teams could use a win to jumpstart what has so far been disappointing start to their respective league campaigns. In Liverpool’s terrific league campaign last season, they lost back-to-back Premier League games exactly once, away to powerhouses Manchester City and Chelsea. Five games into this season, though, the Reds have already dropped their last two, at home to Aston Villa and most recently, in a 3-1 away defeat at West Ham. Sandwiched in between those two games was the Reds’ long-awaited return to the UEFA Champions League, which prompted manager Brendan Rodgers to rotate his squad. But with a host of new pieces being shuffled in and out of the lineup, Liverpool hardly looked like the well-settled side of last year, which contributed heavily to their defeats. That instability has been painfully evident in their backline, where three out of their four starting defenders were just brought in during the previous transfer window. In six matches in all competitions, the Reds have conceded nine goals and have kept just one clean sheet. The attack has also experienced a significant amount of changes, with the injury to Daniel Sturridge adding to the hole by the departure of Luis Suarez. Young Raheem Sterling has shone with three goals so far this season, but they’re yet to recreate the fluidity to their attacks from last campaign which saw them score over 100 goals. But make no mistake there’s still undeniable talent in that frontline with the likes of Sterling and Mario Balotelli. The Italian striker opened his account for the Reds in the Champions League, and he will lead the line against an Everton defense that has allowed 13 goals already this season. Another option for Rodgers is England striker Rickie Lambert. Signed by the Reds for four million pounds from Southampton this past summer, he has failed to make his mark with the Merseyside club so far. He just made his first competitive start for Liverpool in their Capital One Cup clash with Middlesbrough on Monday where he captained the side to a thrilling 14-13 victory via penalties after the game finished 2-2. The Reds had to go through a record 30 penalties before pulling off the tough victory as this result will serve them in good stead ahead of their match with their rivals Everton. Liverpool are undefeated in their last eight meetings against Everton, with four wins and four draws. The Reds are also unbeaten at Anfield against the Toffees since 1999. The first five games have not gone all too well for last year’s top-five finishers, Everton. The Toffees have won just one of those five games, with two draws and two defeats, including a shock 3-2 home defeat to relegation battlers, Crystal Palace. Like Liverpool, Everton were on European duty midweek which prompted changes to their squad. But individual errors in defense led to their downfall against Palace, errors that are steadily becoming a trend for the Toffees, who have conceded the most goals in the league so far with 13. Manager Roberto Martinez also didn’t help himself by making some key tactical errors which left his team much too open in defense. Still, this is primarily the same unit which conceded just 39 goals in 38 games last season, the third fewest in the division. They have some very capable defenders and are solid in midfield with the hardworking duo of Gareth Barry and James McCarthy controlling the field. But Martinez must make the necessary adjustments in his tactics to solidify that shaky defense ahead of their visit to Liverpool. Going forward, though, Everton have had very few problems. They’ve scored 11 goals thus far, second only to leaders Chelsea. In fact, they’ve scored two or more goals in each of their first five matches. The attacking trio of Romelu Lukaku, Stephen Naismith and Kevin Mirallas has been in fine goalscoring form with seven of the team’s 11 goals, and will be looking for more against Liverpool’s unsettled defense. However, Brendan Rodgers has promised that Liverpool will put in “extra work” on the training ground to help solve their defensive problems ahead of this weekend’s derby. Rodgers refused to use the club’s return to the Champions League as an excuse for their sub-standard display at Upton Park and says it will never be mitigation for not performing in the league. Rodgers says playing Champions League football gives him less time to prepare for a weekend fixture but he insists Liverpool have to get used to the demands of fighting on another front. “You have got a lot less time working with the team,” he explained.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 11:22:47 +0000