Mentality check for Man City, Arsenal and Aston Villa as the league enters tricky weeks
By Tanko Bauka
The English Barclays Premier League has reached a critical stage, where the mentality of the league leader, Arsenal, and the other contenders, Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Chelsea, will be the driving force in the race for the league trophy.
Both teams have been churning out positive results week in and week out but the league has enter a very crucial and demanding period where the clubs will be playing four matches in ten days beginning this weekend where the league leader Arsenal travel to take on Everton before returning to face Brighton and Give then Aston Villa and lastly Crystal Palace while Manchester City on the other hand had West Ham United this weekend before confronting Nothingham Forest then Sunderland and later Chelsea with Aston Villa engaging Manchester United this weekend before facing Chelsea and Arsenal and then Nothingham Forest.
The three leading teams cannot afford any complacency, as they are fully aware that Chelsea, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, and Manchester United are on their tails and can bounce back at any time.
The English Barclays Premier League is widely regarded as the most entertaining and the most exciting football league in the world because of its intrigues and organisation, and has millions of followers who support and share in their joy and pains, whether they win or lose a match.
As Clubs begin the tricky and difficult week in the league this weekend, where they negotiate four matches in just ten days, supporters are definitely in for an entertaining as well as painful experience as the mentality of their team will be tested within this period.
In the English Barclays Premier League Manchester City after winning their encounter comfortably against Crystal Palace will be at the Etihad Stadium to welcome West Ham United while Newcastle United on the other hand after their painful defeat to their arch rival Sunderland in the Tyne derby ambush Enzo Maresca Chelsea at Saint James’ Park and Newcastle United cannot continue to let their supporters down with their inconsistent performance as they need to start picking positive results to see what comes out of their season.
Wolves, which nearly ran away with a draw against Arsenal before the league leader rallied round to win the encounter, will have Brentford to see if they will be able to record their first win for the season, while Aston Villa, in fine form, tackle Manchester United at Villa Park.
The standout encounter for the week, for sure, would be the match between inconsistent Tottenham Hotspurs and the defending Champion Liverpool FC, because both teams are currently experiencing mixed results and need a win that will lift their season back on track.
Both Thomas Frank of Tottenham Hotspur and Arne Slot of Liverpool are not finding things as smooth as they should be, but are exploring other possible ways to see how they will return to winning ways, so the encounter would provide an opportunity for the two under-fire head coaches to make a statement.
Brighton and Hove Albion host Sunderland at the American Express Community Stadium while AFC Bournemouth welcome Burnley, Leeds United take on Crystal Palace, and Fulham host Nottingham Forest on Monday night.
In the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid would want to build on the 2-1 victory against Deportivo Alaves the last time out, a result which seems to have eased the monumental pressure on Xabi Alonso as they prepare to welcome Sevilla, who have since rediscovered their form.
Real Oviedo host Celta Vigo while Levante welcome Real Sociedad, with Osasuna taking on Deportivo Alaves.
Girona entertain Atletico Madrid while the league leader FC Barcelona travel to the yellow submarine stadium to confront Villarreal as they seek to maintain their stronghold on the league, with Real Betis locking horns with Gatafe.
Elche battle Rayo Vallacano with Valencia taking on Mallorca while Athletic Bilbao entertain Espanyol on Monday.
In the Italian Serie A, Lazio host Cremonese while Juventus will have its hands full as it prepares to host AS Roma in the capital.
Cagliari and Pisa SC face off against each other while Sassoulo battle Torino, with relegation-bound Fiorentina, unless something happens promptly, hosting Udinese, with Genoa tackling Ademola Lookman Atalanta.
The defending Champions Napoli, AC Milan, Parma and Inter Milan are all involved in a League Cup match.
In the German Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund entertain Bayern Munich, with Cologne taking on Union Berlin, as Hamburger engage Eintracht Frankfurt.
FC Augsburg host Werder Bremen, while Wolfsburg battle SC Freiburg, with Stuttgart hosting Hoffenheim, and RB Leipzig tackling Bayer Leverkusen.
Mainz 05 welcome FC St Pauli while Heidenheim battle the league leader Bayern Munich.
Fixtures across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Saturday
Newcastle United vs Chelsea
Wolves vs Brentford
Manchester City vs West Ham
Brighton Albion vs Sunderland
AFC Bournemouth vs Burnley
Tottenham vs Liverpool
Leeds United vs Crystal Palace
Everton vs Arsenal
Sunday
Aston Villa vs Manchester United
Monday
Fulham vs Nottingham Forest
Spanish La Liga
Friday
Valencia vs MallorcaSaturday
Real Oviedo vs Celta Vigo
Lavente vs Real Sociedad
Osasuna vs Deportivo Alaves
Real Madrid vs Sevilla
Sunday
Girona vs Atletico Madrid
Villarreal vs FC Barcelona
Elche vs Rayo Vallacano
Real Betis vs Gatafe
Monday
Athletic Bilbao vs Espanyol
Italian Serie A
Saturday
Lazio vs Cremonese
Juventus vs AS Roma
Sunday
Cagliari vs Pisa SC
Sassuolo vs Torino
Fiorentina vs Udinese
Genoa vs Atalanta
German Bundesliga
Friday
Dortmund vs Monchenglabach
Saturday
Koln vs Union Berlin
Hamburger vs Eintracht Frankfurt
FC Augsburg vs Werder Bremen
Wolfsburg vs SC Freiburg
Stuttgart vs Hoffenheim
RB Leipzig vs Bayer Leverkusen
Sunday
Mainz 05 vs FC St Pauli
Heidenheim vs Bayern Munich
