The Manchester duel continues apace, big London derbies, Darron Gibson seeks revenge and everything else you should watch out for this Premier League weekend.
Crunch-time at the top
It’s a cliché lads, but we’re down to the business end of the season and all eyes will be on the respective Manchester clubs as they attempt to outdo each other every week from here on in.
There’s five points between City and United at the moment, but that could change drastically in the next two weeks with the sides facing each other in a probable title decider on Monday 30 April.
United were cruising, but after slipping to their first ever defeat to lowly Wigan in their match before last, they have given the multi-millionaires Man City a tasty carrot to chase if they’re bothered.
United face an Everton side still smarting after their own embarrassing defeat to lowly Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final last Sunday.
Everton always give Man United a tough game and this match is by no means a given.
Man City have the altogether easier task of facing the least hungry Wolves anyone has ever seen. Terry Connor’s dispirited bunch languish at the foot of the table without a win in ten games.
With Carlos Tevez making come hither eyes under his thick bushy brow at Europe’s big boys, he’s actually bothering to perform as his hat-trick in the 6-1 defeat of Norwich last week shows.
He may still be out the door at the end of the season, but he might gift the blue half of Manchester their first league title in decades as a parting present.
Both matches are on Sunday.
Darron Gibson returns to Old Trafford
Is it better to have loved and lost? Well for Ireland’s Darron Gibson it certainly was.
For years he refused to move on from Old Trafford, despite many suggesting he should. In January, he was turfed out like yesterday’s newspaper… and it couldn’t have gone better since for the Derry man.
Playing regularly alongside fellow midfield giant Marouane Fellaini, he has performed decently for David Moyes in his first season at the club.
The Derry man is known for his long-range goals and maybe not keeping Darron warming the bench and away from the Red Devil’s goal might prove a costly mistake for Alex Ferguson this weekend.
Speaking in The Star, Darron certainly seems in good form. “I wouldn’t say I failed at United, I’d say I never got the chance I wanted. I am just enjoying it and I’m in a better mood now…It’s nice to know you’re in with a more-than-likely chance of playing every week,” he said.
London Baby!
There are some nice cockney rivalries to be played on Saturday. First up, Arsenal take on Chelsea in the early kick-off the Emirates.
Revitalised since Villas-Boas’ sacking, Chelsea are now in the FA Cup final against Liverpool, still challenging for fourth spot and just beat Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
Arsenal, meanwhile, lost some ground in the race for fourth, losing to a Wigan side that have been doing an impression of Barcelona in their last two games. Both sides need a win with Newcastle and Tottenham pushing hard for a Champions League spot also.
Speaking of Spurs, Harry’s boys face QPR in another London derby in the late kick off on Saturday. QPR have won their last two fixtures on the trot against Swansea and West Brom and have pulled themselves out of the relegation zone.
So lots to play for in London and expect plenty of bite in both games.
Diving
Wayne Rooney tweeted that Didier Drogba should stop his diving and play-acting during the Barcelona match mid-week; let’s hope he gave team-mate Ashley Young a similar dressing-down after his dive against Aston Villa.
The football media has been pontificating over ‘simulation’ all week and the issue is in vogue at the moment. Expect lots of navel-gazing and scandalised faces from the morally-pure pundits if anyone attempts a Mark Spitz impression on the pitch this weekend.
Players dive, players cheat, everyone does it.
As Roy Keane famously said of the Thierry Henry handball: “Get over it.” Or at least stop the mock disgust.
Will he ‘Cisse’ and desist scoring?
Terrible pun aside, Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse is a machine with nine goals in eight games.
The Senegalese striker has fired the Magpies in with a chance to return to Champions League football and as pointed out on this website earlier in the week, the Toon faithful are really taking to him.
Following in the footsteps of great Newcastle number nines like Alan Shearer, Andy Cole, Jackie Milburn, Malcolm MacDonald and err… David Kelly, Cisse is becoming the new Messiah.
Will he be able to deliver Newcastle to the promised land of European football? We’ll see how he gets on against a sturdy Stoke defence on Saturday first.
