CAN WEEKEND FIXTURES MATCH MIDWEEK EXCITEMENT? There were some excellent games on during the week, we had everything; big results, controversies and best of all, plenty of goals! Will this weekend be able to live up to the standard of entertainment set during the week? Maybe not but there is still some brilliant games in store. So now to see if we can pick some winners:

LEICESTER ARE THE REAL DEAL
This might seem like a very obvious statement considering where Leicester are in the league right now, but I don’t think everybody is fully convinced yet. At this stage of the season, for a team to still be in the position Leicester are shows how good of a side they are.

They have already got enough points for the season where a total collapse would still leave them ahead of the points tally they would have expected. What this means is they can go into every game now and say ‘Lets go toe to toe with these guys, we have nothing to lose’. If they keep that mentality they will continue to pick up points as the season progresses. If they approach the Villa game like this, they will certainly get a win.

Villa’s main problem is they don’t have enough of an engine in the team. With the results that they have had this season it is tough to keep motivated, difficult to maintain that energy when your head drops. They recorded a massive win during the week against Palace, but repeating that will be extremely difficult. If you look at the game before that in the FA Cup, they drew 1-1 and Micah Richards got the goal. He really looked dead on his feet right before the goal, he was just fortunate the ball dropped to him.

Then you look at Leicester, they have a real engine in the team. It is not just Vardy and Mahrez, they have a very well rounded team with players like Drinkwatwer, Albrighton and others pulling great shifts. Ranieri has done an excellent job so far, it looked like Leicester were ready to fall back into the pile but they are looking good again in their last two games.

There is clearly a lot wrong at Villa at the moment. Results are not going their way, the fans are turning their back on the team and the team just looks lost. When you get a team with Leicester’s running power coming up against this Villa team, there is only one outcome for me. My lick is Leicester to get the win.

STOKE TO CLAIM ANOTHER SCALP
This is a matchup Arsenal definitely did not want coming off that 3-3 draw with Liverpool. The team will be tired after a game like that, particularly since the Arsenal team is still stretched pretty thin. Stoke is not a place teams want to go to play, for different reasons this year than in years past.

Now Stoke play some excellent football, they have some players who are really good technically, like Bojan, Arnoutovic, and Affelay (and Shaqiri but he is out injured). They still have some of their imposing players as well, with Jon Walters still being incredibly effective out there. I see them being able to get at the Arsenal defense, especially Mertesacker. Hughes is a good coach, he will throw pace at the big German defender and see how he will be able to cope.

Sure Arsenal are in terrific form of late, top of the table and looking like they could go on to win the league, but Stoke have been in this situation already with other big sides and they have come out on the right side of the result. Not only that, but they have completely outplayed the other so called top teams like Man City.

At 4.3 they are incredible value at home against an Arsenal team that match up well for them. I think Stoke can somewhat contain Giroud which means others need to step up to grab a goal, like Walcott who has dried up recently. With a defense like Stoke’s and a keeper like Butland, Stoke will be tough to beat, and with their flair going forward they look like they really do have goals in them. For the price you can get Stoke at I am all over them considering what they have been able to do in their big games so far this season.

UNITED TO PIP LIVERPOOL
I am reluctantly going to take United in this one. I just feel that Liverpool need to play a certain way under Klopp, they have one way and that is press and attack. I like this style of football but I think it plays into what Van Gaal would want Liverpool to do.

After a 3-3 draw with Newcastle during the week you can bet your bottom dollar that United will be cautious on Sunday. Van Gaal will have hated conceding three goals, which unfortunately means he will return to dull football and try and get something on the counter. To be honest, if there is one game where you go boring football it is against Liverpool.

United do have players that can break on the counter, and look at who they have in their way; Toure and Sakho maybe? For me, they are one of the worst centre back pairings in the league along with City. I think they are a relegation caliber centre back partnership. Liverpool will commit a lot of players forward and United can catch them on the break.

Liverpool will not keep a clean sheet in this one. I can see United being able to. Smalling seemed to have his season’s quota of mistakes during the week, outside of that he has been excellent. Funnily enough, I would actually fancy United less in this one if they were at home. Fans would be looking for the team to attack which could leave them vulnerable. But with the game in Anfield, Van Gaal will be happy to sit back and let Liverpool come at them. I don’t like to support the Van Gaal approach to the game but I think this is a bad game for Liverpool and United can grab a win.