Ten questions for the weeke With yet another huge weekend of Premier League football ahead of us, we ponder 10 questions that will be answered by Monday evening ... Can the Saints get back to winning ways at Turf Moor? Southampton were absolutely flying when they travelled to struggling Aston Villa for a Monday Night Football clash last month, only for the south coast club’s form to have dipped alarmingly since then. And while the Saints have had to face the likes of Premier League champions Manchester City, FA Cup winners Arsenal, and high-flying Manchester United in that time, head coach Ronald Koeman will be desperate for his side to get back to winning ways, and quickly, starting with Saturday’s trip to take on relegation-threatened Burnley at Turf Moor. However, the Dutchman will not be fretting just yet given how well Southampton played on Monday evening in their 2-1 home loss to United at St Mary’s. Will Diego Costa end his goalscoring drought against the Tigers? When Diego Costa opened the scoring for Chelsea against West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge on November 22, it was the striker’s 11th Premier League goal already of the season. However, the Spain international has failed to hit the back of the net in the west London club’s five subsequent fixtures in all competitions, a relative drought that has seen the Blues’ lead at the top of the table cut to just three points. The Brazil-born attacker, though, will surely be licking his lips at the prospect of coming up against a Hull City side on Saturday that have made their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign, and who have never won at Stamford Bridge in 20 matches in all competitions. Can the Eagles turn good form into wins? Crystal Palace were more than a little unfortunate not to come away with all three points in their last Premier League outing against Tottenham Hotspur, with the north London club’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris turning in a man-of-the-match display to keep the scoreline goalless at White Hart Lane. And that, sadly for the lowly Eagles, has pretty much been the story of their season so far, with Neil Warnock’s men having been playing well, but not getting the results to show for their impressive displays. In fact, Palace have won just one of their previous nine Premier league games - albeit at home to Liverpool last month - a poor run that also includes five defeats, with the home team hoping for a reversal of fortunes against Stoke City at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon. Is Dzeko capable of filling Kun’s scoring boots and prove City are no one-man team? Manchester City travel to bottom-of-the-table Leicester City on Saturday afternoon looking to keep pace with leaders Chelsea at the top of the table, but without the Premier League’s top scorer Sergio Aguero. The little Argentinian goal machine suffered yet another knee-ligament injury in the champions’ 1-0 home win against Everton last weekend and will now be out of action for the next month at least. And that means the pressure will well and truly be on the shoulders of Kun’s replacement in attack, Edin Dzeko, at the King Power Stadium this weekend, although the Bosnian is currently enduring one of the worst spells of his City career in front of goal. Dzeko faces the Foxes having not hit the target in any of his previous 10 games for City, with the 28-year-old having not gone 11 matches without a goal since drawing a blank for the north-west outfit between November 2011 and January 2012. Can Sakho maintain his recent goalscoring form to keep the Hammers in the top four? Diafra Sakho has been in red-hot form up front for West Ham United since joining the East Londoners from Ligue 2 side Metz in August, with the new man’s goals having helped propel the club into the top four of the Premier League. So much so that the Senegal international heads into Saturday afternoon’s encounter with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light hoping to net for the eighth time in his last nine top-flight appearances for the Hammers. Will Villa make it three wins in a row in the west Midlands derby? Aston Villa travel to city rivals West Bromwich Albion on Saturday afternoon unbeaten in their last five Premier League contests, and this after a dreadful run that had seen Paul Lambert’s side lose their previous six top-flight games in a row. So the visitors will be in good heart ahead of this west Midlands derby having won their previous two league encounters, and aiming to make it three straight Premier League victories for the first time since April 2010 against the lowly Baggies. Can the in-form Magpies end their Gunners hoodoo? Newcastle United’s Alan Pardew was named Manager of the Month for November after guiding the north-east outfit to three wins out of four last month, including last weekend’s impressive 2-1 victory against previously unbeaten Premier League leaders Chelsea at St James’ Park. However, the Magpies face another stern test of their credentials when they face Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday Night Football, especially given their dismal record at the home of the Gunners in recent years. And if the Geordies are to keep pace with the top six, then they will have to end a run of only one win in their last 14 league visits to the north Londoners, including losing their previous five matches in a row in the capital. Will United keep their faint title hopes alive with a sixth straight win against the Reds? Manchester United moved up to third in the Premier League following their 2-1 win against Southampton at St Mary’s on Monday Night Football, their highest league position since going top of the table on the opening day of last season. As a result, Louis van Gaal’s men are now just six points behind leaders Chelsea with not even half the season having been played, and with the Red Devils yet to truly hit their stride so far this campaign, whisper it quietly, but a possible title challenge could still be on the cards. But United will need to maintain their impressive recent run of form that has seen them win their last five top-flight matches in a row when they take on old foes Liverpool at Old Trafford on Super Sunday. Can Bony extend his red-hot Premier League scoring run this year? Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony will lead the line against Tottenham Hotspur at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a confident frame of mind after hitting the target on 19 occasions for the Swans in the Premier League so far in 2014, more than any other player. And having also netted seven goals in his last nine top-flight outings for the South Wales outfit, the powerful Ivorian will surely be expecting to further extend his remarkable record in front of goal in 2014 against the inconsistent north London club. Can QPR collect their first away point of the season on Merseyside? Relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers may have moved out of the Premier League drop zone for the first time since September following their much-needed 2-0 win against fellow strugglers Burnley at Loftus Road last weekend. However, the west London club will find it hard to move much further up the table unless they can start picking up some points on their travels, with Harry Redknapp and Co having lost all seven of their top-flight away games so far this season, scoring a paltry two goals in the process. The 17th-placed visitors, though, may fancy their chances of ending their pointless run on the road when they take on Everton at Goodison Park on Monday Night Football, especially given the Toffees have won only two of their previous eight league games at home. Watch Arsenal v Newcastle live on Saturday Night Football from 4.45pm, Manchester United v Liverpool on Super Sunday from 12.30pm, Swansea v Tottenham Super Sunday from 3.30pm,and Everton v QPR on Monday Night Football from 7pm, all on Sky Sports 1. Plus, you can catch all the goals as they go in throughout the weekend on Sky Sports News HQ or via our interactive blog.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 08:16:27 +0000