19.01.2013 This upcoming Sunday’s Barclays Premier League action sees two important matches take place which could have an impact at the top and bottom of the Barclays Premier League table. First up Tim Sherwood’s Tottenham side travel to South Wales to face Swansea which is followed by a highly anticipated clash between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
Swansea vs Tottenham on Sunday, January 19th at 1:30pm at the Liberty Stadium
Swansea’s fixtures do not get any easier when they welcome in form Tottenham to the Liberty Stadium on Sunday with the Welsh side having faced both Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Everton in their last five league games. Michael Laudrup’s men lost all four of those fixtures and recent Premier League draws with Aston Villa, Norwich and Hull means Swansea have collected only three points from their last seven games and are desperate for a win. Although currently in 13th place and strong favourites to avoid the drop at the start of the season, Swansea now find themselves in a relegation battle with only three points keeping them out of the drop zone. Going into the weekend’s matches only six points separates the bottom 11 teams in the Premier League and a win for Swansea on Sunday would give the club a huge boost which could see them start to move up the table.
Unlike their opponents on Sunday, Tottenham have been on a tremendous run of form under new manager Tim Sherwood winning four of their five league games including their last three. Confidence levels are high at present around White Hart Lane and are epitomised by the recent resurgence of Emmanuel Adebayor who was completely overlooked by previous manager Andre Villas Boas. Under Tim Sherwood however, the Togo striker has managed three goals and three assists in his last five league games. A win on Sunday could see Tottenham move into fourth place in the Premier League should Liverpool slip up at home to Aston Villa on Saturday and with Everton not in action until Monday.
Chelsea vs Manchester United on Sunday, January 19th at 4:00pm at Stamford Bridge
Title contenders Chelsea currently sit third in the Premier League table two points behind leaders Arsenal and one point behind Manchester City. Mourinho’s men have been in good form recently winning their last four league games and, having earned a point in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in August, will be looking to secure a home victory over their rivals. Jose Mourinho will no doubt be expecting his side maintain his incredible record of never losing a home league match with many people fancying Chelsea to win the contest and keep up the pressure on their title rivals. One man who has been integral to Chelsea’s form this season is Eden Hazard with the Belgian winger providing nine goals and eight assists so far this season and helping the Blues to the position they are in. Chelsea took advantage of the January transfer window this week re-signing defensive midfielder Nemaja Matic from Benfica in a deal worth over 20 million euros and it will be interesting to see whether Mourinho throws the young Serbian straight into action against Manchester United.
Manchester United find themselves in seventh place and 11 points of the Premier League summit going into an extremely tricky fixture at Stamford Bridge. Anything less than a win would see David Moyes’ side dealt a huge blow to their already bleak title hopes although should Manchester United come out on top on Sunday the squad would receive a huge boost from such a result and propel themselves back into the equation. Before thinking about title hopes however, Manchester United must break back into the top four of which they are currently five points adrift. Failure to qualify for the Champions League would be a major blow for Manchester United and raise serious questions about the quality of the players and the management ability of David Moyes, not to mention the added worry of whether they would be able to keep hold of their key players. Manchester United have won five out of their last six league fixtures so will travel to London with some confidence that they can cause an upset and defeat rivals Chelsea on their own patch.
