The Greatest Volleys in the Premier League

With Peter Crouch's spectacular strike reigniting the debate, this blog decided it was a good time to look at some of the best volleys that the Premier League has witnessed. This list looks at what we will term "pure" volleys i.e. overhead kicks, scissor kicks and half volleys are not applicable.

Robin Van Persie vs Charlton, 2006

The Arsenal skipper is developing a hugely impressive portfolio of volleys but despite this seasons efforts against Everton and Liverpool, the goal that still stands out is this miraculous effort against Charlton back in 2006. Arriving onto an Emannuel Eboue cross the Dutchmen strikes the ball with both feet in the air and hits the ball at chest height. The degree of difficulty in this skill is what makes this effort so exceptional. Not discounting the skill involved in hitting a volley when it comes over your shoulder like Van Persie's two goals this season, but arriving onto a cross that is coming as fast and as high as Eboue's gives this effort the edge. Also note the common theme in all of these goals in that they all came late on in games and ended up being the match winning goal.

Wayne Rooney vs Newcastle, 2006

Like Van Persie, many of Rooney's most memorable strikes have come at crucial times in games, his debut goal for Everton against Arsenal, his bicycle kick against Manchester City, and of course this scorching strike against Newcastle in his debut season. In terms of difficulty this volley is probably a little below the level of Van Persie's in the sense that the ball is set up perfectly and comes at the perfect pace for Rooney to strike it. The true brilliance of Rooney's strike however is the swerve and sheer power that Rooney generates making it one of the premier league's most spectacular strikes.

Paul Scholes vs Bradford, 1999

A fantastic goal with two brilliant components. First the absolutely perfect "ping" provided by David Beckham from the corner which sets the ball for Scholes to arrow the ball into the bottom corner. Striking a ball that is coming across your body is a difficult skill at the best of times but the fact that  the ball was in the air and traveling at pace makes it all the more impressive.


Tony Yeboah vs Liverpool, 1995

One of the Premier League's most famous goals from one if its most beloved players, although Yeboah's impact was not as long lasting as many of the other names on this list, during the 95/96 season Yeboah was unstoppable and this screamer against Liverpool is one that is still talked about by fans up and down the country. A perfect knockdown is followed by the purest of strikes.

Tugay vs Fulham, 2005


The cliche that "he never scores bad goals" could not be more appropriate for one of Blackburn's best premier league midfielders. He has a host a fabulous strikes but he saved his best strike for this game at Ewood Park against Fulham. Like Scholes against Bradford again this goal came direct from a corner and like Scholes' it could not have been hit any cleaner. This game was all the more memorable as it also included this rocket from Morten Gamst Pedersen. Has another game included two better volleys? You decide.


Paulo Di Canio vs Wimbledon, 1999

The current Swindon boss is certainly one of the games characters; whether he's pushing over officials, stopping the game when faced with an open goal so an opposing keeper can receive treatment or saluting fascist fans you'd be hard pushed to find someone who'd describe Di Canio as dull. A scorer of great goals rather than a great goalscorer, the Italian scored some absolute screamers. None better than this strike against Wimbledon in 1999. A cross field pass from Trevor Sinclair travels 50 yards before Di Canio, with both feet of the ground, smashes the ball back past Neil Sullivan. One of the truly great moments in Premier League history.


Here are some of the goals that were omitted and the reasoning behind their absences.

Danny Rose vs Arsenal: No doubt a good strike but I have always been adamant that had Manuel Almunia not been so slow in getting up he would still have been able to push the ball over the bar, given that the ball was hit hard but straight down his throat.

Thierry Henry vs Manchester United: One of the most memorable goals of recent times but the fact that it is Henry himself who flicks the ball up before sending it over Fabian Barthez. Undoubtedly a great strike but not in keeping with the "pure" nature of the strikes on the list above.


Comments? Views? Please add them below.
Please follow Game Ramble Weekly on Twitter @gamerambleweekly 

Culture Clash: England and Spain

Looking at the top of the La Liga table it would be easy to fall into the same trap that so many casual observers of Spanish football do. That apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona there is little else of substance to get excited about in Spain and that in the words of one TalkSport presenter Danny Kelly, Spanish football is simply "Scottish football but with better weather". I would imagine that Kelly may have been sitting rather uncomfortably as five Spanish teams awaited their fate in the Champions League and Europa League draws whilst Chelsea traveled to Nyon as England's sole representatives. Now before people start preparing their counter arguments and responses, this article does not seek to compare and rank the two leagues or their differing approaches to football but more to argue that there is more to Spanish football than many would have you believe.


First and foremost the Europa League/Uefa Cup has always been treated as Europe's ugly duckling and unsurprisingly so. However regardless of the disinterest shown towards the competition over the years there is no doubting that in comparison the lesser teams of Spain have shown a far greater level of consistency in the competition and consequently have far more impressive results to show for it. In the last 10 seasons no English club has won the competition whilst a Spanish team has triumphed on 4 occasions, with Valencia, Sevilla twice and Athletico Madrid all tasting success. In comparison the poor performance of teams such as Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City to name a few surely must surely provide some evidence of the Spanish league possessing strength in depth that at least rivals, or surpasses, England.

If we now move to the Champions League there is no question that in terms of consistency English teams have led the way in recent years as demonstrated by the fact that even with this seasons poor performance, England's UEFA co-efficient ranking is still significantly ahead of other nations. The term dominance is often used to describe the English teams in the Champions League over the years however this term is highly subjective as people will disagree on what they class as dominance in the sphere of European football.

In terms of actual champions league wins in the last 10 seasons England for all its dominance has only 2 victories to its name with Liverpool in 2005 and Manchester United's win in Moscow in 2008, this in comparison to Italy's 3 (Milan in 03' and 07' and Inter in 2011) and Spain's 4 (Real Madrid 02' Barcelona 06' 09' 2011'). However one is right to argue that the seasons of 06/07, 07/08 and 08'09 saw 3 English teams in the semi-finals. At this time you had Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool at probably their strongest levels in the last 10 years. Since then there has been a fairly rapid decline in Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool whilst Manchester United have been in transition the last couple of seasons although still managed to reach 3 of the past 4 finals. As stated whether one classes any of these statistics as evidence for dominance is entirely up to them but the breakdown of recent champions certainly provides food for thought over whether any one nation can truly proclaim to be the true power of Champions League football.


One of the most fundamental differences between the Spanish and English football systems is how television money is distributed throughout the 20 top flight teams and there is possibly no single factor that is more contributory to the growing gap between Spain's top two than this critical difference in television earnings. Unlike England where the majority of the television money is split evenly (there are additional bonuses for final league placing and the number of television appearances over the season) in Madrid and Barcelona are free to negotiate their own deal and subsequently last season they made €159m and €178m respectively whilst the next highest earning Spanish team was Athletico Madrid earning €68m. As a result this huge financial gap has undoubtedly impacted on the other teams in La Liga ability to compete with the top teams over the course over a whole season however performances like Athletic Bilbao's against Manchester United and Barcelona this season demonstrates that on their day they can challenge the best but the lesser teams in La Liga will always struggle to build a squad to last the course of a European season.


The most common piece of evidence used to prove that La Liga is wholly uncompetitive is the gap in points between Real and Barcelona and the rest of the teams. Last season the gap between second placed Real and third placed Valencia was a whopping 21 points whilst the gap between 2nd and 3rd in the premier league was decided on goal difference whilst Arsenal in 4th where only 3 points further back. There is no hiding from the fact this is a disappointing statistic for the league as a whole but as has already been discussed the financial gap between the two is a hugely debilitating factor for other teams in the league however there is another point to be made also. Many argue that this Barcelona side is one of, if not the best, club side ever and as such maybe it is not entirely surprising that they are so far ahead of many of their rivals. Equally if Barcelona are being hailed as the greatest side of this generation then Real Madrid must also be a truly exceptional team to compete with them and at the time of writing hold a six point lead over the men from Catalonia.

In contrast to the big two in Spain, it is consistently being stated that this is supposedly one of the poorest Manchester United teams in history and yet the fact that they are favorites to win their 20th title at the very least indicates that the Premier League is maybe not quite as strong as many would suggest.


Whilst it can be argued that the battle for the league in England is more open than it is Spain, although for all the times that it has been either Real Madrid or Barcelona it has been United and Chelsea, the battle for Champions League places in Spain is arguably even more competitive than in England. In the past 10 season England's representatives in the Champions League have been Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle and Everton whilst in Spain; Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Villarreal, Athletico Madrid, Osasuna, Real Betis and Deportivo  and Celta Vigo. This works out as 8 different English representatives against 10 from Spain.

Furthermore the battle for fourth place in Spain this season has at anyone time involved 6 or 7 sides. At the moment there is the realistic prospect of Levante and Malaga becoming the latest two sides from La Liga to enter into the Champions league whilst the battle for Champions League places in England has involved the usual suspects with Arsenal and Tottenham currently in the third and fourth spots.


Moving away from the hard facts and figures there is the issue of the way the Spanish league is often portrayed by English public and media and how certain elements of hypocrisy exist when people attempt to make comparisons between the two leagues. Namely the fact that the Spanish League is inherently more dishonest and cheating is rife whilst the English league remains somewhat a bastion of honesty and honor.

Take for instance the issue over the waving of imaginary cards by players and managers. This is universally condemned by all and when it occurs (which I freely admit that it does in all nations) it is seen as the worst form of cheating and unsportsmanlike behavior. I have never understood why the action of waving a card at the referee is such an enraging action to fans, managers and the media. If this is such an aggravating action then surely actions like that of the Liverpool players in this clip are just as reprehensible? Yet actions such as this are regular occurrences in English football yet it is never remarked upon except in highly exceptional circumstances (see Roy Keane and Co chasing Andy Durso around Old Trafford) whilst the waving of a card is immediately scrutinised and criticised as Roberto Mancini has discovered this year.

Equally take the manner in which Mario Balotelli's stamp on Scott Parker or the Luis Suarez racism case or the regular occurrences of simulation in this country have been dealt with in the media and amongst fans. The general opinion is that these incidents are reflections of an individual failings, their own background and personal history whilst in Spain the appalling behavior during El Clasico is seen as a symptomatic of the country as a whole and the method of viewing incidents through the lens of individualism is not applied. Guillem Ballague has written about this issue and there is certainly an argument to be made that a charge of double standards is applicable. The classic example for me is that when Wayne Rooney stamps on Ricardo Carvalho or elbows James McCarthy or lashes out against Miodrag Dzudovic we are constantly told is that this "passion" is what makes Rooney the player he is and that take that away he is half the player. Yet if for example Pedro goes to ground with little or no contact it is symptomatic of a malaise that plagues Spanish football.

Another facet of this whole issue is the idea of "cheating" and "gamesmanship" and yet there has never been a clear differential between the two. One event that resonated with me recently was the penalty that Scott Sinclair had saved by Joe Hart. In the lead up to the penalty Hart was seen shouting at Sinclair and attempting to put him off and unsettle him in the hope of Sinclair missing the penalty and thus increasing the chances of Manchester City winning the game.

What is the difference in this and for example a player from Barcelona or Malaga exaggerating the pain of a poor tackle in the hope of the player responsible being yellow or red carded and thus increasing that sides chances of winning the game? What is the difference in Sergio Ramos brandishing an imaginary card at a referee than Charlie Adam or Mikel Arteta remonstrating in a referee's face asking for an opponent being punished?

Overall what I hope this article has achieved is that it has encouraged those who view Spanish football as nothing more than Barcelona and Real Madrid and that Liga is plagued by cheating to maybe think twice about their views. The aim of the article, as stated at the outset, was not to argue that one league or footballing culture is superior or morally defective but merely to argue that; A, La Liga is an excellent product from top to bottom and not just the powerful duo at its summit and B that Spanish footballing culture is not necessarily good or bad but just different in many aspects.

One of the major reasons why people travel is to experience and enjoy different cultures, not so they can rank each country in terms of how it compares to their own. Why should football, and sport in general be any different?


Comments? Views? Please add them below.
Please follow Game Ramble Weekly on Twitter @gamerambleweekly 

Arsenal: Change the Wage Structure, Don't Break It

One of the most common statements to hear is that Arsenal need to break their wage structure, and "spend some money on player's wages". What these people are probably not aware of is that Arsenal have the fourth highest wage bill in English football. Last years financial results show that Arsenal's expenditure on players salaries was £124m, behind only Manchester United at £153m, Chelsea at £168m and Manchester City at an eye watering £174 million (it should be noted that Liverpool have yet to release their financial results for 2011 and they have consistently been around the same level as Arsenal).

On the surface then Arsenal's current position in the league (4th at the time of writing) is fairly equitable to where their spending is currently at. However the issue has been brought into sharper focus given that Tottenham who currently lie 4 points above Arsenal in the table spent "only" £91m on wages last year. It would seem that whilst the Manchester clubs are placed where there spending would suggest and Chelsea are dramatically underachieving in relation to their wage bill, Spurs are having a remarkably successful season in terms of the wages to performance criteria.

I'm sure many people would be taken aback by how large Arsenal's wage bill is, given that the clubs highest earners (Robin Van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Andrei Arshavin) are all in the £80,000 to £100,000 a week range which pales in comparison to United, City and Chelsea whose top earners (Rooney-£210,000 Yaya Toure-£220,000 and John Terry-£160,000) are paid significantly more. The reason why Arsenal's wage bill remains so high despite not paying top level wages is that they have consistently retained their belief in a wage structure that attempts to retain comparative equality throughout the squad.

Instead of rewarding a few star individuals, the club believes that by maintaining equality in the first team avoids more problems than it creates. Johan Djourou's recent contract extension is a good example of this philosophy. The Swiss who despite showing signs of progress and consistency last year has hardly continued his improvement this season, admittedly not helped by playing at right back in most of his appearances, yet he has been reward with a new contract worth £50,000 a week. Maybe Swiss Ramble is right when he suggests that this new deal is more in recognition of the fact he gives regular interviews to Arsenal.com than his performances on the pitch.

The general belief at Arsenal is that by keeping the salaries of first team players within a fairly small range, there is less risk of players going public and demanding huge wage increases given that the vast majority of their colleagues are on a similar wage. Unlike the problems faced at Chelsea for example, where John Terry and Frank Lampard famously took um-bridge with the club when Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko where given huge contracts which ultimately resulted in the English pair being similarly rewarded which then resulted in players such as Didier Drogba doing the same until you reach the point the club has now with a ludicrously high wage bill and a group of players not performing to the level their salaries would suggest.

Equally Manchester United, once they caved to Wayne Rooney and Paul Stretford's demands and made Rooney the highest paid player in the club's history on over £200,000 a week, have now given themselves a potential problem in negotiating with top level players as exhibited by their pursuit of Wesley Sneijder last summer. How much you choose to believe over the transfer saga is up to you, but one fact that cannot be ignored is that the club faced the prospect of either demanding that Sneijder lower his wage demands (unlikely given that his deal at United would have been the last major contract he signed) or to pay the Dutchmen the same wages that he earned at Inter (said to be in the realm of £240,000 a week) and risk upsetting Rooney and other high earning players at United.

There is no doubt that Arsenal with their philosophy avoid such problems, but then again it is equally true to say that the prospect of the club being able to attract players of Sneijder's quality is practically non existent even if the club was still a realistic challenger.  There has been much discussion amongst Arsenal fans recently over whether this policy is really the best way for the club to progress and their are certainly indications that the club is at least considering diverting away from this philosophy with Robin Van Persie rumored to be offered well in excess of £140,000 a week and Lukas Podolski set to be paid £100,000+ a week.

Additionally although Arsenal avoid the potential issues faced by Manchester United in the wake of Rooney's new contract, another problem that the Gunner's wage structure does pose is the immense difficulty in moving players on once the club has decided they are no longer part of their plans. Players who the club would be happy to sell include Manuel Almunia, Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson and Sebastien Squillaci yet all these players are earning wages that make the sides interested in them run for the hills. Put it this way would you want your club to sign the players above for £2-£5m and then pay them £50,000 a week? Didn't think so.

Arsenal face a critical summer in how they go about restructuring the club on and off the pitch. Those who like to think that Arsenal have endless money to burn should read Swiss Ramble's excellent blog on Arsenal's latest set of financial results. Ultimately there are pro's and con's to Arsenal's belief in seeking a sense of equality in their wage structure just as there is good and bad in the way that Manchester United approach their wage bill, the current stalemate between the club and the young but talented Paul Pogba is an example, as if Pogba were at Arsenal he would be offered a higher starting wage.

What is not up for debate is that if Arsenal are going to persevere with their current wage structure they need to aim at getting more "bang for their buck" like Tottenham have managed this season although the Tottenham's wage bill itself could be set for a significant increase if they give new deals to star performers such as Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and sign Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent deal.

In conclusion if Arsenal fail to qualify for the Champions League this season then they may well be classed as a "failed economy", ultimately the wage structure at the Emirates is an example of how the clubs philosophy divides supporters and may well reach a breaking point this summer especially if Van Persie chooses to leave the club.

Arsenal's finances and how they compare to their rivals

Wage Bills
Arsenal: £124m
Manchester City: £174m
Chelsea: £168m
Manchester United: £153
Liverpool (2010): £114m
Tottenham: £91m

Net Spend (Last Five Years)
Arsenal: Net spend of minus £31,350,000 per season net spend of minus £6,270,000
Manchester City: Net spend of £428,370,000 per season net spend of £85,674,000
Chelsea: Net spend of £155,900,000 per season net spend £31,180,000
Manchester United: Net spend of £51,600,000 per season net spend of £10,320,000
Liverpool: Net spend of £83,310,000 per season net spend of £16,662,000
Tottenham: Net spend of £73,200,000 per season net spend of £14,640,000

* For a full list of transfer spending see the Transfer League


Comments? Views? Please add them below.
Please follow Game Ramble Weekly on Twitter @gamerambleweekly 

Some Alternative Candidates for Mr Abramovich

With Chelsea looking for yet another manager here is a look at some coaches who may be a better solution than sending for the 'special one

With Chelsea set to be looking for their ninth manager of the Roman Abramovich era this summer, here are some potential candidates outside of the ones that have already been widely discussed. I see no reason to list the accomplishments of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benitez etc so they are deliberately not included on the list. The list is not full of coaches who I necessarily feel should or could get the job but is simply a list to provoke thought and discussion away from the candidates already widely discussed.


Massimiliano Allegri, AC Milan

Possibly not the best time to include the manager of the Rossoneri given that he came a Robin Van Persie chip away from presiding over the most remarkable exhibition of choking in champions league history, but Allegri's achievements at Milan in the past 18 months have been hugely impressive. He lead Milan to their first Scudetto since 2004 and are battling with Juventus to retain their title.

If the British media think that the Chelsea dressing room contains difficult characters with rather inflated egos, then one shudders to think what they would make of some of the players that Allegri has dealt with in his short spell in Milan. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Antonio Cassano, Kevin Prince Boateng, Alexandre Pato, are just some of the characters that the ex-Chievo boss has managed at the San Siro. What is so impressive about Allegri is the way in which he has kept the whole operation from imploding around him. As Gab Marcotti said recently "That's not a football club, that's an asylum". Allegri has overseen a regeneration of Milan that has seen the average age of the squad drop dramatically whilst younger players such as Ignazio Abate and Thiago Silva have flourished.

What chances of Allegri leaving Milan for Stamford Bridge? Well on the surface there is little to suggest that he is a likely candidate for Chelsea. He does not speak English, which apart from 'Fil' Scolari, has always been a constant for Chelsea's managers under Abramovich and he has made no imitations of being unhappy at the club or vice versa and has a contract that runs until the end of the 2013/14 season. He does face the prospect of Europe's best centre half departing for Catalonia but that is unlikely to deter him to the point of wanting to quit.



Luciano Spalletti, Zenit St Petersburg

Given the expected departure of Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres' continued search for some semblance of form, bringing in the man who pioneered the strikerless formation might not be such a bad move. Spalletti is one of the most widely respected tacticians on the continent and his Zenit side have consistently produced offensively minded, technical football. Abramovich's obviously close ties with Russia would indicate that Spalletti must at least be on the Russian's radar at some level.

Whether Spalletti would leave Zenit is up for debate, with them recently showing their ambition by acquiring Andrei Arshavin and the potential signing of Milos Krasic not to mention being linked with a return to Serie A with Inter.


Marcelo Bielsa, Athletico Bilbao

As Michael Cox of Zonal Marking said recently, after AVB it's unlikely that what Chelsea are looking for it an even more aggressive form of pressing and a high defensive line which comes as standard with "El Loco". Whilst there is almost zero chance of Bielsa turning up in west London (this is his first season at Athletic) the Argentine is unquestionably one of the most exciting and fascinating coaches in world football and if nothing else the mere idea of him arriving in England is an intriguing prospect. Knocking Manchester United out of Europe (This article was originally penned before the first leg victory at Old Trafford) would certainly not harm Bielsa's prospects.

Didier Deschamps, Marseille

Deschamps has often wondered how his career may have differed had his Monaco team defeated Jose Mourinho's Porto in Gelsenkirchen in 2004. Had Monaco triumphed it may well have been Deschamps arriving in West London that summer, although its hard to imagine him proclaiming himself to be 'a special one'. That does not alter the fact that Deschamps, whilst unlikely to scale the same heights as a manager as he did as a player, has certainly not failed as a coach. After taking Monaco on that extraordinary run to the champions league final, beating Chelsea and Real Madrid on the way he took Juventus back into Serie A as well as achieving a league title with Marseille. He is currently well placed to lead Marseille into another champions league quarter final.

With Marseille looking likely to miss out on champions league football this summer having endured a truly terrible start to the season, it may be they year that Deschamps and the club part ways. Whether this occurs is only one facet of any chance the "water-carrier" has of returning to Chelsea. It is likely that Deschamps will seem too risky a candidate given the manner in which his teams seem to quickly suffer drops after initial success.



Unai Emery, Valencia

If the Valencia boss has aspirations of ever winning something tangible he may have to leave Spain and test himself further afield. This is not to say that the 40 year old has not proved himself to be a gifted manager having firmly secured Valencia's position as the "best of the rest" in Spain even despite losing David Silva and David Villa at the start of last season and Juan Mata last summer.

Emery has consistently produced attacking stylish football built around a team of talented but relatively unheralded individuals. He has built a young and tactically aware outfit built around players such as Eva Banega and Jonas whilst Roberto Soldado has been on fire all year. Juan Mata would certainly provide a strong character reference for his old boss and the fact that Emery has grown accustomed to losing star players from the dressing room the likely removal of Messrs Lampard, Terry, Drogba etc would be unlikely to deter him.

David Moyes, Everton

Although receiving a few tentative mentions in certain quarters of the press the Everton boss surely has to be worthy of consideration and if he is not considered for this job it is difficult to imagine a time when he ever will be acceptable to a really top club in England. Being the third longest serving manager in the premier league behind Ferguson and Wenger is no mean feat in itself but when you factor in the constraints that he has had to work under at Goodison Park it becomes even more impressive. The major blank on his CV is that he has never really made any notable impact on Europe be it falling to Villereal in the qualifying stages of the champions league or over a number of eufa cup/europa league campaigns.


Comments? Views? Please add them below.
Please follow Game Ramble Weekly on Twitter @gamerambleweekly 
 

Five fixtures that will decide the league

By the time that Liverpool and Arsenal kick off at Anfield at Saturday lunch time, the premier league calender will be into March and the run in for the title race can well and truly begin. With this in mind, I have picked out five fixtures that will have a large part to play in deciding where the premier league trophy will reside.



                                                                   
Tottenham vs Manchester United                    Manchester City vs Bolton
Sunday March 4th                                             Saturday March 3rd
White Hart Lane                                                Etihad Arena

Both teams will be under scrutiny this Sunday in North London. Tottenham will be looking to prove that last weeks capitulation against Arsenal was a one of, whilst United will likely be starting this game five points behind their noisy neighbours as city have a fairly routine looking fixture against Bolton the day before.

Spurs will be without Scott Parker who has been excellent this season, particularly against the top teams (his performance at Anfield a few weeks back was outstanding) and will bring either Sandro or Jake Livermore into the team, both talented, but short of sharpness and lacking Parker's ability to inspire his team mates. However a far more concerning issue is the injury worry over Kyle Walker, with Adam Smith potentially in line to make his premier league bow against the champions. Or even a move to 3-5-2.

If Harry Redknapp feels that Aaron Lennon is fully fit and with Manchester United needing a win, the threat of both him and Gareth Bale on the counter attack could be decisive.
United will be hoping that Wayne Rooney can recover from a throat infection to lead United into a fixture they drew 0-0 last year, although their record at White Hart Lane over the years is outstanding, they are unbeaten against Spurs since 2001.

Prediction: Manchester United Win

Manchester City vs Chelsea                               Wolves vs Manchester United
Monday March 19th                                            Sunday March 18th
Etihad Arena                                                        Molineux


One of only three teams to beat Roberto Mancini's league leaders this season, Chelsea visit the Etihad and may well be arriving with a new manager in place if you believe everything you read. City have seen of Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool at home this year and will be favourites to maintain their 100% home record against a struggling Chelsea side lacking form or fluency. Having said this though there is still enough talent in this AVB's side to cause any side problems as exhibited by their victory over City at home as well as their 3-3 draw with United, where only suicidal defending cost them. The problem is that such defensive issues show no sign of abating and with City so dominant at home it is difficult to see anything other than a win, albeit a narrow one.

Prediction: City Win

Stoke City vs Manchester City                           Manchester United vs Fulham
Saturday March 26th                                          Monday March 28th
Britannia Stadium                                               Old Trafford

Whilst trying to avoid all the obvious cliches and stereotypes surrounding a top team going to play Stoke, this genuinely will be a big test for City. They came unstuck here last season with a late Matthew Etherington strike holding them to a 1-1 draw and Mancini will be desperate to avoid a similar outcome. With United at home to Fulham on the Monday night anything other than three points will surely result in any lead City do have going into this fixture being cut. One can imagine this fixture being viewed in much the same way as the "Battle of Ewood Park" was for Chelsea when they won their first championship under Jose Mourinho. With Stoke now out of Europe and potentially out of the FA cup (an away trip to Anfield looks unpromising one could argue that Stoke will have little to play for in this game. Sometimes I would accept that argument however since entering the premier league Stoke have always given the top teams tough games at the Britannia and there is little reason to view this game any differently.

Prediction: Draw

Arsenal vs Manchester City                               Manchester United vs QPR
Sunday April 8th                                                 Sunday April 8th
Emirates Stadium                                                Old Trafford

A  clash between Manchester City and their London based feeder club, a game between two sides whose philosophies and ideologies couldn't be further apart, two sides who represent the old and the new of the English game. Expect to see endless stories based around these concepts in the build up to this game. Regardless of these headlines, most football fans will have forgotten last seasons fixture between the two given the fact that City came to the Emirates determined to get a draw and consequently stunk the place out. The chants of "boring boring city" seem to belong to another time though now such is the attacking verve they have exhibited this season. The reverse fixture this season at Eastland's was decided by David Silva's tap in but had it not been for Joe Hart, Arsenal could well have left Manchester with a point.

Unlike last year, City will come to Arsenal looking for and needing three points and as such this could well be another addition to the raft of "hockey score" results that have occurred between the top sides this season. The encouraging aspect for Arsenal fans will be the fact that, injuries permitting, they will be able to field a far stronger back four than they did at the Etihad in December. With the return to fitness of Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs and the consequent return of Thomas Vermaelen to centre back it will certainly make it more difficult for City to target Arsenal's flank like they did at Eastlands when Johan Djourou and Vermaelen played at full back.

Prediction: Arsenal win


Manchester City vs Manchester United
Monday April 30th
Etihad Arena

Eastlands on Easter Monday. With only two games remaining in the season after this clash there is a good chance that the outcome of this game will decide where the title ends up. Equally if either team enters into this game with a lead of three points or more, it could very well see them crowned champions against their fiercest rivals, an idea simply to unpleasant for many Mancs to even consider.

Unlike other games which have been mentioned in this piece, there is little to be gained from looking at the previous league meeting for clues as to how this game may pan out. Whilst not taking anything away from City but the 6-1 does certainly stand out as an anomalous result in many aspects. It is hard to imagine United being as poor defensively as they were in October. Jonny Evans alone has improved significantly since that day. Equally in both games against each other this season, the losing team has lost a centre back to a red card thus totally changing the game, Roberto Mancini and Sir Alex Ferguson will both be reminding their players of their responsibilities before they walk out.

The context of the game will obviously determine each sides approach. If City enter the game, with their two point lead still in place, they may feel that a draw is not the worst result with games against Newcastle and QPR to come. If they were to get a draw, a win the next week at Newcastle, no easy task mind, would secure the title.

United will likely need a win, and that's exactly what they will get. The pressure of the occasion, the fact that United have so much experience on their side as well as their good record at Eastland's lately (unbeaten in their last three visits) will see them edge a victory and put them in pole position with two games to go. With both teams visiting the North East in the last two weeks of the season, City head to Newcastle whilst United travel to the stadium of light, there may still be one or two twists left but it will be advantage Manchester United at the end of this game.

Prediction: United win


Comments? Views? Please add them below.
Please follow Game Ramble Weekly on Twitter @gamerambleweekly