JOE looks ahead to a vital meeting at Upton Park and wonders if Stoke’s Irish contingent can upset a resurgent Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium.
Surprise Package: Wigan
For all that Harry Redknapp will say about the importance of the meeting with Wigan this weekend, his players will be forgiven for thinking ahead to the clash with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Looking at Spurs’ recent results, one could be forgiven for thinking that they’ve been looking forward to it for quite some time. They have failed to win any of their last three games – against West Ham, Wolves and Blackpool, who are all in the bottom six in the Premier League, and are now four points adrift of Manchester City in fourth place and only four points above Liverpool in sixth.
Granted, they have a game in hand on both sides, but City and Liverpool don’t have to worry about Europe anymore and are probably not as badly hit with injuries as Redknapp’s men – Gareth Bale, William Gallas, Younes Kaboul and (surprise, surprise) Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate will all be absent for the trip to Wigan.
Wigan were well in the game against Manchester United a number of weeks back until a late capitulation, while their miraculous win over Arsenal at this stage last season is a reminder of their ability to gate-crash the ambitions of the bigger teams.
Game not to miss: West Ham v Manchester United
The first game of the weekend is, of all the games played this weekend, the one that could have the biggest effect on both the title race and the relegation dogfight.
West Ham have traditionally been something of a bogey team for United – memories of veteran ‘keeper Ludek Miklosko denying Fergie a title in 1995 are still etched in the memory of United fans, while in recent years, they have defeated them in the league at Upton Park in 2006 and 2007 and earlier this season, inflicted a 4-0 defeat on an under-strength Red Devils side to knock them out of the Carling Cup.
The Hammers have only lost one of their last six Premier League games, form that has been good enough to propel them out of the relegation zone, although the margins at the bottom of the table are so tight that a defeat on Saturday could see them plummet back to the bottom of the table.
Avram Grant’s side will be heartened by United’s troubles on the road this season and by the form of the likes of Scott Parker and Thomas Hitzlsperger. Sir Alex Ferguson would have welcomed the international break to allow some of the many injury casualties in his squad to continue their road to recovery, but he is bound to endure some nervous moments tomorrow afternoon as the season officially enters ‘squeaky bum time’.
Game to miss: Manchester City v Sunderland
Every other game this weekend will affect either the title race or the relegation battle in some sense and although you could argue that, mathematically at least, City are still in with a shout of the title, not many can see them closing a ten-point gap on their most bitter rivals. Indeed, judging by their performances of late, their stomach for the battle has to be seriously questioned.
In their most recent outing, they once again buckled at the sight of a fellow title rival and fell to a limp 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Eight points from their last seven outings is hardly championship form and it is lucky for them that they will be up against a Sunderland side in absolutely dismal form, with only one point from their last six games.
Two teams in terrible form points to tedium at the City of Manchester Stadium this weekend.
Irish interest: Stoke v Chelsea
If Stoke are to upset the champions and the form team in the league at the moment, there’s a good chance that the Irish contingent in Tony Pulis’s side will have a big part to play. Both Marc Wilson and Jonathan Walters have started the last five games for the Potters, while Rory Delap’s dart-like throw-ins have been well documented at this stage.
Jon Walters and Marc Wilson have established themselves in Stoke’s starting XI
With Richard Dunne suspended for the Macedonia game in June and Kevin Doyle’s participation in that game still in doubt, Wilson and Walters will be very much in contention for a starting spot in Skopje and some eye-catching performances between now and the end of the season may well influence the thinking of Giovanni Trapattoni, as long as he sees the DVD of course.
What about the rest:
Birmingham and Bolton meet at St. Andrews in a repeat of what was a very entertaining FA Cup quarter final, while a resurgent Wolves travel to Newcastle to take on a Magpies side very much in need of a result at St. James’ Park.
Roy Hodgson will have a chance to prove to Liverpool fans that he wasn’t that bad of a manager after all when the Baggies take on the Reds at the Hawthorns, an in-form Everton side can push Aston Villa deeper into the mire at Goodison Park and in the late kick-off, Arsenal take on Blackburn in a game that will have significant repercussions for the situation at both ends of the table.
Finally, in the Sunday afternoon kick-off at Craven Cottage, a win for Fulham would go a long way towards guaranteeing safety for Mark Hughes’s side while also going a long way to delivering a hammer blow to a Blackpool outfit that look on the verge of collapse at the moment.
Fixtures:
Saturday 2 April
West Ham v Manchester United 12:45
Birmingham v Bolton 15:00
Everton v Aston Villa 15:00
Newcastle v Wolves 15:00
Stoke v Chelsea 15:00
West Brom v Liverpool 15:00
Wigan v Tottenham 15:00
Arsenal v Blackburn 17:45
Sunday 3 April
Fulham v Blackpool 13:30
Manchester City v Sunderland 16:00
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