Premiership Title Slipping But City's Mario and Kolarov Have Personal Feud

"Super" Mario Balotelli is always an accident waiting to happen. I thought that he had matured quite a bit this season. Unfortunately the talented Italian is still a ticking timebomb on the football pitch. Much of his goalscoring genius stems from that right-brain thinking which also courts disaster by the busloads.

Against Sunderland, Balo once more showed his madness and his genius in equal measure. With City 3-1 down, he chose to get into a childish argument with Kolarov over who should take a freekick.

As though to prove a point to both City and Kolarov, Balotelli went on a run at the edge of the Sunderland box and curled a shot past Mignolet. The curious thing was that the shot took place in roughly the same area as the disputed freekick. Coincidence? With Balotelli, I doubt it. I am sure the Italian wanted to prove a point.

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United Then Chelsea And Now Liverpool Can Dent City's Title Charge

Liverpool employed speed merchants against Chelsea last weekend, with Johnson, Bellamy, Maxi and Suarez all starting against the Blue Champions. It turned out to be shrewd decision by Dalglish and his coaching team as the Reds pressed high up the pitch, robbing Chelsea players of time and space to move the ball.

Charlie Adam was especially instrumental in the win over Chelsea last weekend. Though his corner kicks are yet to reach the heights and standards that he set at Blackpool, his passing against Chelsea finally resembled Xabi Alonso, the player he was brought in to replace.

In recent seasons, Liverpool has become a team feared by title contenders and this season is no different. Without any real aspirations to be Premiership champions, the Reds are still "spoilers" as evidenced by victories over Arsenal and Chelsea. Only Spurs out of the top six have beaten Liverpool. At Anfield, Liverpool are unbeaten, but has not been able to turn home advantage into wins rather than draws.

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Adam Johnson's Stunning Strike Glosses Over Citizen's Gritty Win

Mancini and his Manchester City have shown us many sides to their character this season. They are resolute in defence, even without the collossal Nigel de Jong. City have shown that they are not content to sit back on a lead. They have served up game after game of excellent attacking football, never resting but always probing. And against Wolves, they showed that they can be patient, they confirmed that they have believe in themselves and more importantly, City proved that they too know how to win while playing "ugly".

This match against Wolves at home, was supposed to be the crowning glory of an excellent week as Mancini's City came back expecting to bask in the adoration of their fans. Unfortunately, Wolves proved tougher to subdue with Welsh No. 1 Wayne Hennessey equal to everything that Aguero, Silva, Nasri and Dzeko threw at him.

In the end, Manchester City had to wait before they scored their customary three goals against Premier League opposition. Adam Johnson racing all the way from defence, collected a pass from Yaya and fired home a 20-yard curler past the Wolves keeper.

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Manchester United In For A City Mauling?

Sir Alex Ferguson, in retrospect, bottled it at Anfield last weekend. In contrast, Roberto Mancini decided to freshen up after the international break and Manchester City got their just reward. It is the "noisy neighbours" who are stepping onto the "prawn-sandwiched" 75,000 capacity-filled Theatre of Dreams as the Premier League leaders.

United starts and finishes all their games strongly. Their movement and quick passing right from the get-go, often forces the opposing teams to make mistakes. The Red Devils also finishes matches very well. No team in the Premier League (bar Liverpool two seasons ago) has ever come back from losing positions more times than the "comeback kings" of Manchester United. This is reflected by their 22 goals scored at the 0-30 mins and 66-90 mins period.

City has a more controlled game, a bit like an Italian team. Their patient buildup play usually stretches defenses and creates numerous goal mouth opportunities. The Citizens have scored 19 goals between the match periods of 31-75 mins, showing that they kill off the opposing teams while able to conserve energy in preparation of the next game.

Both teams have been playing football that is exciting, full of flair and entertaining to watch. The Manchester Derby has been highly charged in the recent seasons and this meeting at Old Trafford will have the added significance of Premiership leadership at stake.

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Are We Finally Seeing the Mature Super Mario?

Mario Balotelli is knuckling down to life in the Premier League. How else can you explain two accomplished performances in his two latest outings? Scoring goals has always been easy for the Italian, his attitude has always been questioned. This season, however, he has let his boots do the talking.

With Tevez sulking, Aguero injured and Dzeko returning from international duty, Super Mario made his second successive appearance in Man City colours. He repaid Mancini's faith in him with a goal and looked to be the one player capable of unlocking the Villan defence. If anyone can get the best out of the temperamental Italian, it is his old Inter boss who knows Balotelli better than anyone.

Balotelli have learned from his earlier outbursts and now is contributing to Manchester City's relentless pursuit of the Premier League title. Although City have had fairly easy opposition (apart from Spurs), their attacking play has been breathtaking and the likes of Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli have to be credited for making the Blues an awesome attacking unit

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Manchester City Shows Strength In Depth While Berbatov Blows Bubbles

Roberto Mancini had learned from the Fulham lesson and as David Platt said, Mancini freshened up his team after the Champions League defeat at Munich. He rang in changes for the match against Blackburn and the replacements repaid his faith in them by scoring four goals against Rovers.

Mario Balotelli, Samir Nasri and Adam Johnson together with David Silva were the difference in another routine match for the Citizens. Everytime Adam Johnson plays, he always makes an impression on those who watch him. Fabio Capello obviously feels the same way as I did since he selected Johnson for the England squad.

With Tevez and Dzeko benched for their Munich outburst, Balotelli took his chance and produced another excellent performance. He even afforded a smile after his goal, and this is a player who does not celebrate goals. Mancini has got the Premier League's most talented squad and he must utilise its potential to its fullest advantage.

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Carlos Tevez Definitely A Premier League Success

Since the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Spanish La Liga, the Premier League was searching for a new world class player who could be as brilliant as the phenomenal Portuguese. Fernando Torres threatened briefly until he started sulking more than scoring, Didier Drogba could never be that star face as he is all brute force but Carlos Tevez could have been that world class marquee player that the Barclays Premier League needed.

Instead for all the important goals he had scored for West Ham, Manchester United and City, he will forever be remembered for refusing to play in last night's Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich. Carlitos' two-year stay at Manchester City has been an ongoing saga. This latest episode has all but hasten his exit.

It's easy to forget the talismanic effects of Carlitos for City, after all the well documented problems he had faced. For West Ham fans though, this man can do no wrong, forever remembered for singlehandedly keeping the Hammers in the Premier League in his first season. No other player is more closely associated to conjuring up a miracle relegation escape as the effervescent Argentine star. Here's how he did it.

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Manchester Clubs Setting The Premier League Pace

These are exciting times to be supporters of either Manchester United or Manchester City. The two Manchester clubs are currently slugging it out at the top of the Premiership. Whatever City can do with their expensively assembled superstars, United are outdoing them with their expensively acquired youngsters!

You just have to raise your hat to that legendary statesman, Sir Alex Ferguson. Just how does he do it is the question I want to ask. Credit must be given to the Red Devils coaching team. Phil Jones, David De Gea and Ashley Young are talented players but they aren't mentioned in the same breath as City's signings of Aguero, Nasri and Silva. And yet, Young, Jones and De Gea are contributing to the best start that United has had to a Premiership season.

Manchester United are traditionally slow starters in the Premiership. The coaching staff at Melwood have done such a great job with Fergie's Fledglings Mk II that the Red Devils have been nothing short of explosive in their Premiership matches. West Brom, Spurs, Arsenal and Bolton could not keep up with the movement and pace of this young team. Not many in the Premiership can, in actual fact.

Wayne Rooney's transformation from sulky star to United's only superstar has been more telling. Eight goals in four games including two hattricks represents a complete turnaround to a player who wanted to leave United a year ago. His goals should dry up eventually as he is a notoriously streaky striker. When that happens, Rooney will simply thread killer passes to Hernandez in order to maintain United's goal scoring threat. Such is his importance to United that Rooney must already be regarded as one of United's greatest ever players.

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Mancini's City Slickers Confirming Title Credentials

Manchester City, despite their riches, struggled last season for goals and lacked enough creativity. Mancini employed a cautious defensive approach utilising the leadership of Vincent Kompany last season. The splurge on Edin Dzeko in January was aimed at giving Man City a huge goal threat. This season, the continued faith in the big Bosnian is paying off.

Edin Dzeko's performances this season are streets ahead of what it was in the second half of last season. Manchester City and Mancini are pleased for the player to be on fire in the early stage of the season.

Tottenham and Harry Redknapp may look back on this game and rue the chances missed by Bale and Crouch but in truth, City were simply brilliant and converted their chances ruthlessly. A major part of the win was attributed to the performance of ex-Gunner, Samir Nasri. Even without much training, the Frenchman linked up excellently with the world class stars in the City midfield. His industrious running has added an extra unpredictability to the Blues attack.

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Yaya Toure Becomes Blues Cult Hero

Eyebrows were raised when Yaya Toure swapped Barcelona for super-rich Manchester City. After all, Barcelona was the best club in world football and Manchester City was...well, Manchester City. Labelled as a football mercenary, his much publicised wages surely did not make the Ivorian out to be anything but. And yet, he has been the most outstanding player on Mancini's City. Once he understood the rigours of the Premier League, he has been awesome. The "Tower of Power" showed that he is the best box-to-box midfielder since Patrick Vieira in an Arsenal shirt.

And so, when he scored the winning goal in the weekend's FA Cup final, he repaid 100% of his monster transfer fee and wages to the owners of Manchester City.

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City's Edin Dzeko Makes Impressive Debut Against Wolves

At £27 million, he is not the most expensive player in the Premier League. However for Manchester City, Edin Dzeko can only be seen as the possible final piece of the Citizen's objective to dominate the Barclays Premier League. And why not, Dzeko is the complete forward that City lacked. Physically suited for the Premiership, he is not just a target man but has the pace, creative intelligence and a poacher's instinct. Traits that only Carlos Tevez in the current City forward lineup can match.

His first match against Wolves turned out to be a very successful debut. He showed his ability when he picked up the ball near the halfway line, glided past one Wolves defender before laying on a perfect pass into the path of the phenomenal Yaya Toure to score.

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Liverpool v. Arsenal Preview: Reliving The 1989 Championship Decider

Liverpool At Its Best - Backs Against Wall, Watch Out Manchester City

Great news, all Liverpool fans! Injury treatment in Serbia has reaped handsome rewards and the injured are now fighting fit!

Albert Riera, Yossi Benayoun, Fabio Aurelio, Steven Gerrard, David Ngog and Glen Johnson are all declared fit and ready to take on draw specialists, Manchester City. Liverpool is most dangerous when they are wounded - hurt by public criticisms and poor performances. One win in nine matches, out of which six were defeats have hurt the Red's title ambitions. Premier League leaders, Chelsea are now 11 points ahead of Liverpool, which can be overhauled considering that Chelsea will lose players due to January's African Nations Cup.

Manchester City are not to be underestimated but they have yet to show consistency this season. Nothing new about this, considering that this City team is virtually a new one bought with ₤118million. City's lack of fluidity and defensive frailties are the main reasons that they are not higher up the table, since they have only lost once this season. Hmmm...isn't that a carbon copy of Liverpool last season??

This is a match where everyone seemed to be writing off Liverpool. At Anfield, Liverpool has scored 15 goals and only let in six thus far. However, apart from Torres (who is about 2-3 weeks away from full fitness), one wonders where the goals could come from. David Ngog, in recent weeks, have stepped up with great performances and Rafa may turn to him again.

Head To Head At Anfield

Date	Competition	Home team	Score/Time	Away team
22-02-2009	Premier League	Liverpool	1 - 1	Manchester City
04-05-2008	Premier League	Liverpool	1 - 0	Manchester City
25-11-2006	Premier League	Liverpool	1 - 0	Manchester City
26-02-2006	Premier League	Liverpool	1 - 0	Manchester City
21-08-2004	Premier League	Liverpool	2 - 1	Manchester City

Liverpool have an unbeaten home record against Manchester City though the matches have been tight affairs. The Kop will be a factor in this match for sure. Furthermore, Liverpool under Benitez, are at their best when treated as underdogs. If the Reds can keep Adebayor quiet (he has a tendency to raise his game for the big one) then Liverpool will win this contest.

This is THE match of the weekend. There will be goals in this one for sure, though personally I am more excited by the prospect of seeing Aquilani actually making his Premiership home debut at some point in the match on Saturday.

Manchester City 3-1 West Ham United: Cause For Concern As Hammers Falters

It was a bad week for West Ham. In the wake of the Battle at Boleyn, the English Football Association had decided to charge West Ham with four offences and the club has 14 days to respond to these charges. Hopefully the punishment will be justified rather than just an publicity attempt by the FA chairman to set an example.

With that in mind, beating Manchester City would have been the perfect tonic for the FA charge blues. Sadly, that was hardly going to happen, especially when the team lineup had a significant absentee in Matthew Upson. West Ham's defence missed his leadership and organizational abilities across the back four. James Collins' departure has hurt us more than we thought as ten goals have been conceded since transfer deadline and that cannot just be a coincidence.

West Ham just had no answer against Bellamy, Tevez and the amazing Martin Petrov. Where was Guille Franco? This could have been the most ideal match for a big game player. West Ham at this time are definitely struggling for form. Both defence and attack are areas of real concern.

Defensively, Zola and Clarke should be able to put things right on the training ground. The attack however, is a little bit trickier. That prolific goal scorer who can guarantee 15+ goals a season is still missing. We hope that Franco could somehow be that player. One positive point Diamanti has all the skills and temperament to be a terrace cult hero and he definitely can bring fans to their feet, reflecting the pleasing West Ham approach play.

Cult hero in the making - Image from Associated Press

West Ham's next four matches will be crucial to address this worrying decline....starting with Fulham's visit this Saturday to Upton Park. A good performance and subsequent three points will help move the Hammers up the league. Anything less than a win may not be good enough for West Ham who need to close the points gap against Fulham. Hence, Zola has declared that the players should treat the Fulham match like a "Cup Final".

Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium will be next and Tony Pulis' side is a tough side to beat. Zola will need to be aware of the aerial assault threat that the Potters possess. Even in this early stage of the season, a potential six-pointer which could propel West Ham to mid-table security is on the cards.

With six points in the bag, Zola can send his team out full of confidence against a very beatable Arsenal side. Finally to round up the October fixture, the Hammers will have to face the current most potent strike duo, Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent. The duo have scored eleven goals so far. A crucially important month, West Ham must really start banging in the goals that their play deserves. It has been a stop and start season thus far, we need to start putting a winning run together. What better way to start that run than in a London derby against Fulham.

So will West Ham's season begin against Fulham? It must.

2009/2010 Barclays Premier League: Week 4 Review

Another weekend of drama went by and these are exactly what makes the English Premier League the most entertaining football league in the world.

On a Saturday that Cristiano Ronaldo was left on the Real Madrid bench, Emmanuel Adebayor managed to do everything right, catapulting him into cult status among the City fans as well as becoming public enemy no. 1 in the eyes of Arsenal and non-City fans alike. Nevertheless his performance was the difference between a powder-puff Arsenal and a strong Manchester City.

In keeping with his pragmatic image, Mark Hughes started with Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong, defensive midfielders who are skilled at breaking up play. The Arsenal midfield again could not cope whenever the opposition applies some hard-tackling midfield power play. All of us know that physically the Arsenal midfield cannot compete and Arsene must do something about it.

Emmanuel Adebayor getting the riot act from Mark Clattenburg - Image from AP Photo

Adebayor's header in a strong 10 minute spell for Man City prove decisive and killed off any Arsenal comeback. That was his heroic part and kept his 100% record of scoring in every game alive. However, geniuses are normally flawed. Adebayor's moment of insanity had him almost causing a riot and pitch invasion just by celebrating at the visiting Arsenal section. Manchester City deserved the win, albeit in less than spectacular fashion. Manchester United will prove a tougher test but City have answered all doubters thus far, including myself.

Defoe's goal stunned United but it wasn't enough - Image from AP Photo

Tottenham Hotspur also had some question to answer in their match against the reigning champions, Manchester United. They came up short as ten-man United reversed a one-goal lead to run out 3-1 victors. Wayne Rooney again is carrying this team on his back, producing another great performance. He is surely the man in which Ferguson and Capello pin their hopes on. Just like Gerrard symbolises everything Liverpool, United is all about Rooney. Dimitar Berbatov had an effective game as the link man between midfield and attack. I have said before that Berbatov's best position is as the hole player and Ferguson will get the best out of the classy Bulgarian if he starts playing there.

A rare hattrick by the Israeli Captain - Image by Reuters

Liverpool looked to have played themselves into a purple patch with a commanding 4-0 win over Burnley. Yossi Benayoun's busy performance earned him a hattrick and a hatful of praises. After the hard-fought win against Bolton, Benitez started Gerrard in midfield and gave Benayoun a chance on the right flank. A chance that the Israeli captain seized and showed what a superb player he is in the attacking third of the field. For once, there was balance in the team and apart from Mascherano, the best XI was on the pitch for Liverpool.

Chelsea had a difficult time against Stoke, grinding out a win at the Britannia Stadium. Didi Drogba however scored possibly the best goal of the weekend with a left foot shot that left the Stoke goalkeeper rooted. Again it was the character and desire of Chelsea that got them the three points. A throwback to the Mourinho era, Chelsea are dangerous this season, without a doubt.

For all their beautiful and attractive passing game, West Ham are struggling at the moment without any potency upfront. Although not a soft touch like Arsenal, the lack of firepower means that the Hammers will not get the end result that their playmaking justify. Liverpool is the visiting team this Saturday. The Reds do have Champions League exertions this Wednesday and so prove to be "easier" opposition on Saturday. Still, Zola will need to get the team working hard on the practice group to ensure that the strikers find the back of the net. Starting Alessandro Diamanti will surely help as he looked excellent coming on as a substitute.

One observation of note, although no West Ham players scored this weekend, a number of ex-Hammers stars did, these were
1. Craig Bellamy
2. Jermain Defoe
3. Paul Konchesky
4. Yossi Benayoun
The four scored six goals between them on a weekend where 36 goals were scored. Just thought some of you may enjoy this.

Lastly, last weekend's big matches, in my opinion, proved that Spurs yet again will flatter to deceive while Manchester City are genuine title contenders this season. More will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Barclays Premier League: The Big 4 Party Is About To Be Gatecrashed

Week 4 of the Barclays Premier League starts with a top of the table clash. The Big 4 Club is about to be gatecrashed by Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. This should be the weekend where Spurs and City prove that they can lay legitimate claim to an expansion of the Big 4 to a Super Six. Winning against Manchester United and Arsenal respectively will really make the football world sit up and take notice.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United
This is the chance for Harry Redknapp to prove that he has the necessary credentials to be a winning manager. Capturing the FA Cup with Portsmouth have given him confidence that he is a winner. Spurs have become a team with resolve and spirit to play attractive football while also having the size for the physical side. A lot will depend on how well Manchester United defend against Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon. The pace and trickery of Lennon will be a test for Evra but the seasoned defender must have studied videos after videos on the England winger to put one over him for once. Manchester United have a few match winners but will Berbatov perform or will he wilt? The midfield weaknesses are yet to be resolved and this is an area that Spurs have the upper hand. A win for Spurs however will gee the players up in anticipation of another crunch match the following week, a trip to Chelsea. Luka Modric will be missed but the aquisition of Niko Kranjcar will mean that he won't be missed. A draw looks a likely result though.

Manchester City vs. Arsenal
The loss of Andrei Arshavin will be a significant one for Arsene Wenger, going into this game. Mark Hughes is a practical manager, he will try to stop Arsenal from playing their passing game. Adebayor will be keen to add to his 100% record of scoring in every game thus far. He also have a point to prove to the Arsenal fans. City's Tevez and Robinho came back from international duties with knocks and are doubtful for the match. Hughes will employ the spoiling tactics to try and disrupt the Gunners play. The contest between Gareth Barry and Cesc Fabregas will be an interesting one. The City defence will have their first real test against the movement and pace of Eduardo and Robin Van Persie. The mood in the City camp seem to suggest that Hughes have managed to keep egos and personalities in check. Adebayor and Tevez have both declared recently that they have felt love from the City fans. The main difference between the two clubs is the giant Togolese striker and he may prove to be the match winner in this match.

Elsewhere, Liverpool will gun for a home win against Burnley to close the gap over the teams at the top. A full strength Liverpool squad awaits giantkillers Burnley and nothing less than three points will be sufficient. Rafa Benitez must be wary of Owen Coyle's team since they brought about an embarassing FA Cup defeat in 2005. Super-confident Chelsea will travel to Stoke, looking to match Stoke's physicality and will expect to pick up all three points to go five straight matches undefeated.

Potentially explosive and similarly intriguing is the Midlands derby between Birmingham and Aston Villa. Both clubs are having a decent season thus far. Birmingham however need to find ways to score goals. ALex McLeish have yet to fully unleash the threat of Christian Benitez and it is hard to understand why. Barry Ferguson and James McFadden will naturally be competing in the middle of the park and that's where Birmingham could win it. Villa's midfield has been weakened as Martin O'Neill did not replace Gareth Barry adequately.

Another definitive round of weekend fixtures are in store. A weekend where we will find out if Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City can really shake up the established Big 4 and make this season all about the "Super Six". All will be revealed....so stay tuned!