Arsenal vs Ipswich Town(Carling Cup Semi Final Second Leg) Last Minute Preview

Ok, normally I don't do match previews for cup games but since this is a big occassion, I have no option but to try my best at trying out a new thing or two.


Having lost to Ipswich town in the away encounter in the first leg of the semi final, we must really turn it around this time and produce a much improved performance. Ipswich are likely to park the bus tonight but we really need to win this one so that we can end our barren run without any trophy for five years and running.

Arsene Wenger has made three changes to the side that started against Wigan in the weekend and I hope the incoming players do put in match winning displays. For Arshavin, there is no better opportunity to come back to form than a semi final which will lead us to Wembley if we come out victorious. Hope Bendtner and Denilson can also step up and be counted tonight.

Speaking of the game, an early goal will calm the nerves and we have to take our chances and be clinical today. The longer it takes for us to score the more chances are of us becoming frustrated and giving our opponents belief. At the same time, we should be careful not to concede the away goal which can hurt us. Ipswich

Team news:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Szczesny, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Denilson, Wilshere, Fabregas, Bendtner, Arshavin, van Persie

Substitutes: Shea, Nasri, Walcott, Song, Eboue, Gibbs, Chamakh

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                      Szczesny

Sagna                      Djourou                                       Koscielny                   Clichy

                                           Song                 Denilson
 Bendtner                                         Fabregas                                      Arshavin

                                                      van Persie

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Ipswich Town(4-5-1): Fulop, Leadbitter, McAuley, Delaney, O’Dea, Kennedy, Healy, Norris, Edwards, Wickham, Priskin

Substitutes: Lee-Barrett, Peters, O’Connor, Scotland, Hyam, Smith, Civelli

Manager: Paul Jewell

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Formation view:

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                                                        Fulop

Leadbitter                 McAuley                             Delaney                  O'Dea

Kennedy              Healy                   Norris                Edwards                 Wickham                                    
                                                     Priskin
                                                       
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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: Big game for Szczesny, not so much the opponents itself but the occasion. Hope he continues his solid form tonight. Djourou and Koscielny need to be alert from Ipswich counter attacks and deal with high balls effectively. Sagna and Clichy should look to support the attack as much as possible today and also putting in decent crosses.

Midfield: Denilson steps in for song and hope he doesn't make silly mistakes today. He should not lose possession cheaply, especially in dangerous areas. Hope Jack and Cesc continue their good form.

Attack: Robin is really coming into form and hope he continues scoring goals and making those delicious assists. Bendtner and Arshavin are due a big perfoemance tonight and they should be looking to make forward runs when Cesc has possession in deep areas.

Subs: I'd bring on Nasri, Walcott and Song.

Final Prediction:

A tense 2-0 win for Arsenal.

Arsenal vs Wigan Athletic Last Minute Preview

After an impressive performance against Leeds in midweek in the FA Cup replay, we are back to the Premier League again. This time we welcome a Wigan side struggling at the bottom but who took two precious points off us in the recently held league encounter. If the real Arsenal turn up, as we emphatically did against Leeds in our solid 3-1 win, we should overcome Roberto Martinez's men. But if we drop back and become complacent and don't fight for every ball, we will have a hard time.

But with our usual strong line up starting again tonight, I don't see the latter situation happening. And with Manchester United also playing easy opponents tonight, we need to keep up our performance level to have a chance at the title. No points dropped should be the mantra from now on till the end of the campaign.


Team news:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Szczesny, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Nasri, Fabregas, Walcott, Wilshere, Song, van Persie

Substitutes: Shea, Gibbs, Eboue, Arshavin, Denilson, Chamakh, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                      Szczesny

Sagna                      Djourou                                       Koscielny                   Clichy

                                           Song                  Wilshere
  Walcott                                         Fabregas                                       Nasri

                                                      van Persie

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Wigan Athletic(4-5-1): Al Habsi, Gohouri, Gary Caldwell, Steve Caldwell, Figueroa, Stam, N’Zogbia, Watson, Diame, Thomas, Rodallega

Substitutes: Pollitt, Boyce, McCarthy, Gomez, McArthur, Di Santo, McManaman

Manager: Roberto Martinez

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Formation view:

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                                                       Al Habsi

Gohouri                 G. Caldwell                             S. Caldwell                   Figueroa

Thomas              Diame                    Stam                Watson                    N'Zogbia
                                     
                                                     Rodallega
                                                       
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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: The younger Pole continues in the absence of Fabianski and he has done good between the sticks so far. Djourou and Koscielny need to be alert from set pieces; we conceded a late equalizer from a corner in the drawn match against Wigan(the other goal was a penalty). So if we keep our defensive shape and concentration right, we shouldn't face too many problems.

Midfield: Our midfield trio will look to build on some good performances against West Ham and Leeds in the past week. We have really lacked any sort of consistency this season and now will be a good time to build a string of consistent good peformances.

Attack: Robin is looking sharper and sharper as each match goes by and I would love to see him find the back of the net again. Hope super Nasri can continue his good performance and hope we finish the job early so we can sub him off for the semi final game against Ipswich on Tuesday. Walcott should also look to continue his good form.

Subs: I'd bring on Arshavin, Denilson and Chamakh/Bendtner.

Final Prediction:

A 2-0 win for Arsenal (provided the real Arsenal turn up tonight).

West Ham United vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

After an unexpected poor run of form, in which we snatched a last gasp equalizer against Leeds in the FA Cup and lost in a shambolic fashion to Ipswich Town in the first leg of the League Cup, we return to the "comfort" of the Premier League.

Team news:

West Ham United(4-5-1): Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Bridge, Spector, Kovac, Noble, Sears, Cole, Hines

Substitutes: Boffin, Reid, Gabbidon, Barrera, Boa Morte, McCarthy, Nouble

Manager: Avram Grant

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Formation view:

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                                             Green

Faubert             Tomkins                       Upson                 Bridge

       Spector                          Kovac                    Noble

Sears                                  Cole                                   Hines

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Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Szczesny, Eboue, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Walcott, Fabregas, Nasri, van Persie

Substitutes: Shea, Vela, Denilson, Arshavin, Gibbs, Chamakh, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Szczesny

Eboue                       Djourou                                      Koscielny                  Clichy

                                         Song                      Wilshere

Walcott                                           Fabregas                                        Nasri

                                                      van Persie

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: We're without Fabiansky and Sagna for this match. Hope Eboue puts in a good performance tonight. West Ham will surely look to follow in the footsteps of Ipswich and we will really need to defend well from set pieces and long balls.

Midfield: With our preferred midfield starting tonight, we should be up for a much improved performance as compared to our recent cup games. We distinctly looked out of sorts and short of ideas in those matches and we need to bounce back with a strong performance. Hassling the Hammers midfield, sharp passing, darting runs into the box and challenging for 50-50s and playing at a high tempo will be absolutely crucial tonight.

Attack: Hope Nasri and van Persie have had their well deserved rest and come out firing all cylinders. We need to utilize Theo's pace more often today.

Subs: I'd bring on Vela, Arshavin/Chamakh and Denilson.

Final Prediction:

A scrappy 0-1 for Arsenal.

Arsenal vs Manchester City Last Minute Preview

Another chance for us to cement our title credentials tonight. Manchester City visit us on the back of some hard fought victories, and they along with us have the best away form in the Premier League this season.

Arsene Wenger has named an unchanged line up that has seen us garner impressive victories against champions Chelsea and away at Birmingham. Personally speaking, I'm really glad he stuck with his winning line up. It is also heartening to see Djourou able to play two games consecutively, and with Manchester City having so many physical players, he will be crucial today.

Although Man City are missing David Silva and Mario Balotelli from the squad, they still have a strong line up on paper and they are still very dangerous. But it all depends on how Roberto Mancini approaches the game. If he sets out to defend the same way they did the last time they visited us, then it will be a very tight game where one goal might settle the issue. But realistically, Mancini would set up his side so as not to concede the first goal and maybe hit us on the break. Alex Song and Jack have to be careful they don't venture too much forward so that we can deal with their counter attacking strategy effectively.



Team news:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Wilshere, Song, Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott, Van Persie

Substitutes: Szczesny, Rosicky, Denilson, Squillaci, Arshavin, Chamakh, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                      Fabianski

Sagna                      Djourou                                       Koscielny                   Clichy

                                           Song                  Wilshere
  Walcott                                         Fabregas                                       Nasri

                                                      van Persie

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Manchester City(4-3-3): Hart, Richards, Kompany, Toure, Zabaleta, De Jong, Barry, Toure Yaya, Milner, Tevez, Jo

Substitutes: Given, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Adam Johnson, Boateng, Lescott, Vieira

Manager: Roberto Mancini

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Formation view:

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                                                       Hart

Richards                   Kompany                                Toure                   Zabaleta

       de Jong                                Yaya Toure                               Barry
                                      
Jo                                                  Tevez                                     Milner
                                                       
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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: Tevez will try to harry our defence and it will be absolutely crucial for us to stop him from getting any chance. Jo and Milner will try to link up with Tevez and we have to mark them properly. Man City also will target us from set pieces and good communication and decision making will be vital. Our defence needs to be on top form today.

Midfield: Hope our midfield trio can continue the good form and continue to create chances as well as provide good cover for our defence. Man City will try to be physical with us and we should know what to expect from them.

Attack: Though Robin found the net in the last match, he still looked rusty and wasted several good chances to score. Hope he comes on with his scoring boots on tonight. Nasri and Walcott will as usual be needed to provide width from the flanks and to help out our defence when not in possession.

Subs: I'd bring on Chamakh, Denilson and Arshavin/Rosicky.

Final Prediction:

A nervy 2-1 win for Arsenal.

Birmingham City vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We're up against our away bogey team tonight. Birmingham have a habit of snatching last minute draws against us. And considering we dropped points away at Wigan and our title opponents have all picked up points tonight, it is imperative that we collect the necessary three points on offer. I'm glad Arsene Wenger has reverted back to the same line up that defeated Chelsea and I'm looking forward to us producing a similar performance tonight.

Team news:

Birmingham(4-5-1): Foster, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Gardner, Bowyer, Ferguson, Beausejour, Jerome

Substitutes: Taylor, Jiranek, Hleb, Fahey, Derbyshire, Phillips, Zigic

Manager: Alex McLeish

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Formation view:

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                                                Foster

Carr                    Johnson                              Dann                 Ridgewell

Larsson           Ferguson          Gardner            Bowyer               Beausejour

                                               Jerome

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Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Walcott, Song, Wilshere, Nasri, Fabregas, van Persie

Substitutes: Szczesny, Eboue, Squillaci, Arshavin, Denilson, Rosicky, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Fabianski

Sagna                       Djourou                                      Koscielny                  Eboue

                                         Song                      Wilshere

Walcott                                           Fabregas                                        Nasri

                                                      van Persie

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: Glad to see Johan back. Hope he can bolster our defence and cut out chances for Birmingham. We were shaky against Wigan and we should defend better as a unit today. Clichy should perform better than Eboue who was out of place at left back in the previous game.

Midfield: Good to see our top guns in midfield back in action. We should be much more fluid than in our last match, which was really poor. The addition of Song should lend more steel to the midfield and provide a good defensive cover. Jack would be looking to keep the ball ticking in the midfield and hope Cesc produces the goods tonight.

Attack: Hope Nasri and van Persie can hit the ground running tonight. With Cesc back in, we should be able to utilize Theo's pace more often. van Persie is really due a goal, and hope he gets one today.

Subs: I'd bring on Rosicky, Eboue and Bendtner/Arshavin.

Final Prediction:

A scrappy 1-2 win will do (though if we play at the level we played against Chelsea, a similar score beckons).