Another Super Sunday

Filed in archive General on November 28, 2009

This week features some major matches in European football, with games as important as Serie A leaders Inter Milan vs Fiorentina and Aston Villa vs Tottenham, a crucial Premier League match between two teams battling it out for fourth place, overshadowed by the three derbies on Sunday. Chelsea make the eight mile journey through the centre of London to the Emirates, where Arsenal will want to close that 8-point gap in front of the home fans. Everton invite Liverpool across Stanley Park for a game which both sets of fans will welcome, an off-form Everton seeing it as a chance to kick-start their climb up the table after being buoyed by 3-points taken from their dejected uber-rivals Liverpool, who themselves needed a match which surpasses all others in importance to get over their bombing out of the Champions League on Tuesday. El Classico features in Sunday’s line up too, with Barcelona, who trail Real Madrid by one point in Primera Liga, inviting their arch-nemeses to the Nou Camp.





All three derbies on Sunday really are crucial games. Arsenal look like the only team this year who can stake a claim to the top of the League other than Chelsea, and they must prove this at home. Chelsea have been on the rampage but then so have Arsenal, though they will have an extra chip on their shoulder after last weekend’s defeat to Sunderland, who have swiftly and unexpectedly become giant killers in the Premier League. This will be a match full of flair I am sure, one which we all hope will be a high-scoring affair. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Arsenal manage to take three points here against the odds, despite a screamer or two from Essien. Feel free to gloat if I am wrong.



Everton vs Liverpool, however, will be much more tense and much more bitter. Only two matches comes close to this level of spite from the home fans, and that is when Liverpool travel to Old Trafford and Arsenal to White Hart Lane. But now the reds of Liverpool have their back up, knowing that Everton would love nothing more than to kick them when they are down. Both teams, though, have hardly been prolific goal scorers so far this season, and without Torres (who will only feature if doped up to the eyeballs) this has 0-0 written all over it. Though Ngog could continue to endear himself to Liverpool fans with a goal here (if he isn't snapped), topping off a great first half to the season which included the second against Man Utd at Anfield, and I am sure most would like to see Aquilani start and demonstrate the manager’s ambition.

El Classico is a must win for Barcelona, at home to Real Madrid. Both have been knocking goals in for fun so far this season, and predictably we can expect to see Cristiano Ronaldo feature in some way after injury. The first meeting of the two “best players in the world” since Barcelona defeated Man Utd in the Champions League final six months ago, expect a blistering affair from Barca’s talisman Messi and plenty of flouncing from Real’s Ronaldo.