Liverpool vs Arsenal Betting Preview

02/08/2012

Kick off: 13:30 Anfield, Sky Sports 1

Sunday lunchtime sees Arsenal travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool, with both sides still looking for their first win of the season. Liverpool will be hoping to build on a hugely encouraging performance against Manchester City last Sunday, whilst Arsenal will be looking for a repeat of their victory at Anfield last March. Nuri Sahin, the Turkish international recently signed from Real Madrid, may well make his Premier League debut against the Gunners, the team who had fought Liverpool for his signature.

Liverpool, best odds to win- 23/20 Blue Square

Liverpool go into Sunday’s game as slight favourites and the best price for the Reds can be found at Blue Square, who value them at 23/20. This fixture last season saw Liverpool totally dominate Arsenal, only for a stunning late winner from Robin Van Persie that enabled Arsenal to steal all 3 points. Both sides have enjoyed uncertain starts to the season with Liverpool conceding 5 goals in 2 games whilst the Gunners have yet to find the net this season. Luis Suarez was the Reds top scorer last season with 17 goals, although were it not for a combination of poor finishing and bad luck that figure would have been considerably larger. At 6/1 with Coral to be the first goalscorer and with his confidence boosted after scoring a superb free kick against Manchester City, the controversial Uruguayan is a decent bet for punters. Despite their poor home form last season, Liverpool conceded only 16 goals at Anfield, the third fewest in the division. Therefore a bet for only Liverpool to score at 12/5 with Bet365 looks tempting. Lastly if you fancy new boy Nuri Sahin to score on his debut, then you can get him to score at anytime at 6/1 with SkyBet.

Arsenal, best odds to win- 56/19 Pinnacle

The Gunners face another tough away fixture after last weekend’s goalless draw at Stoke. Although they are yet to concede this season, Arsenal are still waiting for their first goal of the season. The departure of Robin Van Persie has hit the club hard and his replacements; Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolksi, are still acclimatising to English football. Arsenal should be able to welcome back first choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who missed the game at Stoke with a shoulder problem. Szczesny saved a penalty in the corresponding fixture last season and Liverpool have missed 7 out of their last 10 penalties in all competitions and so a bet for a Liverpool missed penalty at 12/1 with Stan James is worth a punt. As has been said the Gunners are yet to concede this season so odds of 5/1 for only Arsenal to score could be worthwhile. Whilst if you think that Arsenal are going to record their third consecutive 0-0 draw you can get 11/1 on this at Sportingbet.

Do Real Madrid need Luka Modric?

Real Madrid are as synonymous with big summer signings as English batsman are to sudden collapses. Simply put, a summer without Real Madrid splashing the cash and hosting garish, cringe-inducing welcome ceremonies, just doesn't feel right.

Yet at the time of writing Real Madrid have acquired precisely zero new players for the 2012/2013 campaign, which they hope will culminate in the club lifting a record tenth European Cup at Wembley in May. Although Los Blancos have yet to unveil any new Galacticos, they have been a key player in this summers longest running transfer saga.

Depending  on who you believe Luka Modric has wanted to leave Tottenham for the last one, two or even three years. Whatever the case, the Croatian has made it abundantly clear that he wishes to leave White Hart Lane for the Bernabeu as soon as humanly possible. The question is, do Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho actually need Modric?

In a football world increasingly dominated by statistics there is an argument to say that last season Real Madrid were one of the best teams we have seen in the last 20 years. They broke the Spanish record for goals in a single season, scoring a staggering 121 goals and amassing a record 100 points. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema alone contributed more than 100 goals between them in all competitions. There are obvious caveats to these numbers such as the relative might of Madrid financially in a La Liga which they are and Barcelona dominate on and off the pitch.

However this is unquestionably a special team and they have reached the semi finals of the Champions League in the past two seasons, being denied a place in the final first by two moments of brilliance by Leo Messi before crashing out to Bayern Munich on penalties last year. They are many peoples favorites for the Champions League this year as Jose Mourinho looks to become only the second coach to win 3 European Cups and the first to do so with 3 different clubs.

This summer Madrid have made Luka Modric there number one target, with Mourinho otherwise seemingly content with the squad at his disposal, and have spent most of the summer locked in negotiations with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy. Madrid have just over a week to agree a fee with Spurs before the transfer window closes, however were Madrid to fail to acquire Modric it would arguably spell just as many problems for Tottenham as it would for Real.

For one thing it would mean that Spurs are stuck with a player who, although as good as any midfielder in the country, clearly does not want to be at the club. Whilst many will say that the exact same thing occurred last summer and Modric managed to put it behind him and have another excellent season, many Spurs fans have had enough of Modric and would happily see him leave. It would also deprive Tottenham of much needed transfer funds which new manager Andre Villas-Boas wishes to use to strengthen a squad that has some worrying gaps.

It seems likely that the Modric saga will run and run, but below are some possible roles for the Croatian were he to succeed and get his dream move to Spain.

1. A replacement for Xabi Alonso.

Although it seems strange to talk about replacing a man who has won everything there is to win in club and international football, Alonso will turn 31 this November and negotiations over extending his contract at Madrid are rumored to have stalled in recent weeks, with the club unwilling to commit long-term to the brilliant Basque. With this in mind, Modric could well be seen as a replacement for Alonso. The Spurs man is only 26 and offers many of the abilities that Alonso possesses. His passing is equally as tidy, although he lacks Alonso's propensity for pinging  the ball 70 yards, which has become something of a trademark for the Spaniard. He does not provide the strength in the air or in the tackle that Alonso has either although Modric's strength and defensive play has improved dramatically since arriving England.




2. Alongside Xabi.

Another possible role for Modric would be to partner Alonso at the base of Real Madrid's 4-2-3-1 formation. With Madrid dominating the vast majority of their games, especially at home where last season they only dropped 5 points, it is not always necessary for Mourinho to field one of his more defensively minded midfielders i.e. Sami Khedira, Lassana Diarra or Fabio Coentrao. With Modric   in the squad, Mourinho would be able deploy two outstanding passers in midfield thus further monopolising Madrid's control of possession. The counter to this argument is that Mourinho has always based his teams first and foremost on defensive stability and whether he would be prepared to risk this for the sake of an extra passer is questionable.

Another argument to this is the figure of Nuri Sahin, who arrived at the Bernabeu last season after a simply brilliant season in Germany where he was the key figure in Borussia Dortmund's unexpected Bundesliga triumph. Not wholly dissimilar to Modric in appearance or style of play, Mourinho has barely given Sahin a chance and the Turkish midfielder is now on his way to either Arsenal or Liverpool on loan.

Although this position for Modric would not guarantee him too many starts, especially in Europe where the defensive midfielder is king, it does give Mourinho an option which he does not currently have.

                 

                                                    3. In the front three.

The last possible role for Luka Modric is as an addition to Madrid's potent front 3, of which the first choice players are Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria and of course Cristiano Ronaldo. At times last season, Harry Redknapp shifted Modric out wide, and whilst it is far from his best position, Modric showed that he can play there. If Mourinho was looking for a slightly more conservative approach he could feasibly deploy Modric instead of Angel Di Maria and although Modric lacks the Argentine's electric speed and goal threat, he would again provide Real with another option for recycling and maintaining possession.

It is a similar role to the one which Andres Iniesta often performs for Barcelona and Spain, where he starts on the left or right but has a freedom to drift inside and therefore providing a presence both out wide and as an extra midfielder.

Equally Modric could provide cover for Mesut Ozil, although with Kaka still at Madrid (although he could be set to return to Milan any day now), Modric would seem to be third choice for this position. 



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Premier League Previews: #20 Wigan Athletic

Last Season:

In: Arouna Kone (£3.3m, Levante), Ryo Miyaichi (loan), Ivan Ramis (£5.2m, Mallorca), Fraser Fyvie (£500,000, Aberdeen)

Out: Hugo Rodallega (free transfer, Fulham), Chris Kirkland (free transfer, Sheffield Wednesday), Hendry Thomas (released), Mohamed Diame (free transfer, West Ham United), Steve Gohouri (released)

If they were an Olympian: Christine Ohuruogu. Very unimpressive for large portions of the season, yet consistently produces best performances when they are most required.

Just how close Roberto Martinez was to taking over at Liverpool this summer remains unclear. Some claim that he was offered the job, others argue he was merely on the shortlist. Either way, for the second summer in succession, Martinez has remained at Wigan when many fancied him to leave. The question on everybody's lips is whether Wigan can continue to overachieve and stay in a league in which they are comfortably the lowest spenders?

For the majority of last season, Wigan's results were horrific. They lost 8 games in a row and at one stage there were even whispers that owner and chairman Dave Whelan was contemplating sacking Martinez. However, as has been discussed on Game Ramble Weekly, the club suddenly began picking up form, and despite having one of the toughest run-ins of any team in the relegation battle, Wigan survived comfortably, finishing 15th and 7 points clear of the drop.

One of the key parts of that remarkable survival was Victor Moses, whose powerful running and skillful dribbles offered Wigan a spark and penetration they had so often lacked. Unfortunately Moses looks increasingly likely to move and join Chelsea's ever growing stockpile of attacking players. If Moses does depart it will be a hammer blow for Wigan but the club has grown accustomed over the years to seeing their best players depart, and if Chelsea are willing to pay £10m for the 21 year old it is pretty good business.

Martinez will hope that loan signing Ryo Miyaichi can replace Moses should he leave, and the Japanese will be a better player this season having spent last year on loan at Bolton. Aside from Moses, the majority of last seasons team look set to remain at the club. Hugo Rodallega and Mohamed Diame have both left but neither were fixtures in the side last year and will not be unduly missed. The signing of Ivan Ramis from Mallorca, gives Martinez more cover at the back, especially if he chooses to continue with the three man defence that served him so well at the back-end of last season.

By all logic Wigan should have been relegated a long time ago. They spend the least money on transfers, they have the lowest wage bill and they have the smallest attendances in the Premier League. However all these factors seem to have helped foster a siege mentality at the club and through shrewd acquisitions and a succession of good managerial appointments, the club retain their  unique position of being the only club never to have been relegated from the top division.

Having said all that, I do fear for Wigan this year. The expected departure of Moses will be a major blow and you wonder whether the team can reproduce last seasons finish on a consistent basis. As always with Wigan it is hard to see where the goals are going to come from and despite the arrival of Arouna Kone from Mallorca, Wigan's strike force still looks comparatively light weight with their rivals.


Predicted Finish: 20th

Key Man: James McCarthy. Although not as flashy as Moses, McCarthy has probably been Wigan's most consistent performer in recent seasons. A very highly rated midfielder, who would have gone to the European Championships with Ireland were it not for a family bereavement, McCarthy is very much the fulcrum of Wigan's side. Diligent defensively and always looking to move forward with the ball, McCarthy could well be the next player to depart the DW stadium for a bigger club.

Underrated: James McArthur. The other half of the Premier League's most confusing midfield partnership, McArthur was every bit as effective as McCarthy in last seasons success. Although less skilful than his midfield partner, the arrival of McArthur into the starting XI made a tangible difference to Wigan as it provided them with a second midfield "passer" instead of the more destructive nature of Mohamed Diame's game.

Watch out for: Ryo Miyaichi. The Japanese youngster possesses excellent skills and is very fast across the ground. Although the club may not admit it, the arrival of the Arsenal man was partly conditioned by the expected departure of Moses to Chelsea and if it does occur, then Miyaichi has some big shoes to fill as Moses provided Wigan with a penetration they had consistently lacked. Whilst lacking Moses' strength, Miyaichi is a very intelligent footballer and should suit Martinez's philosophy of a style of play based on possession.


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Premier League Previews: #19 West Ham

Last Season: 3rd (Championship, Play-off winners)

In: Alou Diarra (£2.2m, Olympique Marseille), James Collins (£2.8m, Aston Villa), Modibo Maiga (£5.2m, Sochaux), Mohamed Diame (free transfer, Wigan), Jussi Jaaskelainen (free transfer, Bolton), George McCartney (free transfer, Sunderland)

Out: 13 players have left West Ham this summer. For a full list see here.

If they were an Olympian: The Olympic Stadium. An area of great history, once again catapulted into world wide attention, serious questions still remain over long term future. 

The sight of Sam Allardyce once again prowling the dug-outs of Premier League grounds is unlikely to cause much cheer for opposing fans. Compared with many of the likeable managers of promoted clubs in recent years, i.e. Ian Holloway, Paul Lambert and Brendan Rogers, the return of Allardyce to the league is not being relished.

This, as much as anything, is a sign of the grudging respect that people retain for "Big Sam". Whilst he is never going to win a popularity contest, his achievements with Bolton were nothing short of remarkable and Blackburn fans would happily have him back at Ewood Park.

Allardyce is no more popular with the West Ham fans, calling them "deluded" at one stage last year. However theirs is very much a marriage of convenience; Allardyce wanted to be back in the Premier League where he feels his talents belong and West Ham desperately needed to get back in the top division for financial reasons.

With promotion clinched, Allardyce has begun reshaping a squad that was still suffering from the inconsistent years of Gianfranco Zola and Avram Grant's management. 13 players have left including Rob Green and Abdoulaye Faye and 9 players have come in. The players that Allardyce has signed are what one might term typical Allardyce signings and in James Collins, Mohamed Diame and Jussi Jaaskkelainen, there is no shortage of Premier League experience. The signing of Alou Diarra and Modibo Maiga are shrewd and both should suit West Ham down to the ground.

The major question that West Ham face is that if results are not going well, how long will owners David Gold and David Sullivan persist with a man who retains little affection with the supporters. Allardyce's style of football is unlikely to provide him with much leeway.

West Ham have been granted a fairly reasonable opening set of fixtures, with their first six games against Aston Villa, Fulham, Swansea, Norwich, Sunderland and QPR which are all games that Allardyce will be quietly confident of getting points out of.

I expect West Ham to stay up fairly comfortably this year, although they may well start 2013 in the relegation zone as they have a horrifically tough run of games in the lead up to Christmas. Goal scoring should not be an issue as they have a decent selection of strikers to choose from and Kevin Nolan can always be relied upon to chip in with a few goals. The concern will be the defence which has a distinct lack of pace and contains a goalkeeper who has barely played in a year.

As I say West Ham will stay up but it will not be particularly easy nor pleasing on the eye. But then again, "Big Sam" would not have it any other way.

Predicted Finish: 14th

Key Man: James Tomkins. Like many other players who have been relegated, a year away from the Premier League has done wonders for James Tomkins. Often exposed during his time in the Premier League, Tomkins has rebuilt his confidence and it showed last year as he was immense for the Hammers as they clinched promotion. Tomkins will take inspiration from Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini, who returned to the Premier League after a year in the Championship a far better player.

Underrated: Mark Noble. Local lad Mark Noble has spent his entire career with the Hammers and is held in the highest regard by the Upton Park faithful. A tenacious competitor, Noble is an excellent passer of the ball and will run and fight all day for the West Ham cause. His delivery from set pieces is vital as one thing we all know about Sam Allardyce teams is that they will be dangerous from dead ball situations.

Watch out for: Ricardo Vaz Te. West Ham were struggling for form and goals at times last year and it was the arrival of Vaz Te from Barnsley that really kick started their drive for promotion after Christmas. Capable of providing moments of brilliance and lunacy in the space of a few minutes, the Portugese winger chipped in with a number of important goals last season. None more so than when he slammed the ball past Matt Gilks at Wembley in May to secure West Ham's return to the top flight.


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Premier League Previews: #18 West Bromwich Albion

Last Season: 10th

In: Romelu Lukaku (loan, Chelsea), Markus Rosenberg (free transfer, Werder Bremen), Caludio Yacob (free transfer, Racing Club de Avellaneda), Yassine El Ghanassy (loan ,KAA Gent), Ben Foster (£4.4m, Birmingham City)

Out: Simon Cox (£2.2m, Nottingham Forest), Paul Scharner (free transfer, Hamburg), Martin Fulop (free transfer, Asteras Tripolis), Nicky Shorey (free transfer, Reading), Keith Andrews (free transfer, Bolton Wanderers)

If they were an Olympian: Nesta Carter and Michael Frater. The first two parts of Jamaica's all conquering 4x100m relay team. Not bad, actually pretty good, but really no one tunes in to watch them.

As Roy Hodgson walked off into the sunset at the end of last season, he left having guided the Baggies to their best ever Premier League finish. Following in the footsteps of the hugely experienced Hodgson is Steve Clarke, in what is his first managerial post.

Clarke is a very well credentialed and widely respected coach, who has worked at Chelsea, West Ham and most recently Liverpool. His impact at Liverpool was clear and his arrival at the club in January 2011 was every bit as key as the return of Kenny Dalglish. It is widely believed that the majority of the work on the training ground was done by Clarke and as such the massive improvements in Liverpool's defensive record last season is heavily due to Clarke's work.

In many ways the Scott is an ideal replacement for Roy Hodgson. Much of West Brom's success was built around the organisation and defensive solidity that Hodgson instilled and Clarke seems like a good choice to continue that work. The more pressing issues will  be whether Clarke can continue to get the best out of a squad that probably overachieved last term and whether he can provide an attacking platform for a side that at times struggled for goals.

Clarke has already made use of his footballing contacts by bringing in Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea. Lukaku's career has stagnated from the days when he was optimistically talked about as the "new Drogba". Given very few first team opportunities last season, the Belgian will want to start rebuilding his confidence at West Brom this year and it should be remembered that he is still only 19 years old. Physically Lukaku is a beast and if he was to get a couple of quick goals it is easy to imagine him going on a roll.

The club face three tough opening fixtures, with Clarke facing former employers Liverpool on the first day of the season, before taking on Tottenham and Everton, but after that they have four eminently winnable games. West Brom will probably lose their first two games but should pick up points afterwards.

This season will be probably be one of consolidation for WBA and Clarke. Repeating last seasons 10th place finish is probably beyond them as teams such as QPR, Villa and Sunderland have all strengthened and will be looking for a top half finish.

The squad should probably have enough to keep them safe but it will be tense and their battle to survive may go down to the last few weeks of the season.




Predicted Finish: 15th

Key Man: Ben Foster. Foster made his loan from Birmingham City permanent this summer and he will be hoping to continue his good form from last season which saw him achieve the level of consistency that had often held him back. With old boss Roy Hodgson in charge of the national team and goalkeeping coach Dave Watson also part of the set up, a recall for Foster cannot be ruled out.

Underrated: Youssuf Mulumbu. Everytime I see Mulumbu play I'm impressed and the Congolese midfielder is a vital part of the Baggies' midfield. His major attributes are his tackling and unwavering energy levels. Does tend to get himself booked a lot.

Watch out for: Chris Wood. Retuning to the Hawthorns this season after a loan spell at Birmingham where he chipped in with a respectable 9 goals in 23 games, the New Zealand international will hope to have a chance to show he is worthy of a regular place in the side.


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Premier League Previews: #17 Tottenham

Last Season: 4th

In: Jan Vertonghen (£11m, Ajax), Gylfi Sigurdsson (£8.8m, Hoffenheim)

Out: Steven Pienaar (£5m, Everton), Ledley King (retired), Niko Kranjcar (£6m, Dynamo Kiev), Vedran Corluka (£6m, Lokomotiv Moscow), Louis Saha (released), Ryan Nelsen (free transfer, QPR)

If they were an Olympian: Louis Smith. Did everything required to win the gold medal in the men's pommel horse final, however he lost out to rival Krisztian Berki who won the gold medal due to a complicated technicality. Similarly, Spurs achieved what they set out to do last year and finish top 4 only to be denied Champions League football by Chelsea.

A young up and coming manager has replaced a hugely experienced and well respected manager at one of England's biggest clubs. The previous sentence could have been lifted from articles reporting on Andre Villas-Boas' arrival at Stamford Bridge last year. Again Villas-Boas steps into the shoes of a manager who was vastly more experienced than he and had provided some of the club's greatest recent memories.

However unlike at Chelsea, where there is still almost unanimous agreement that the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti was folly, there has been a quiet acceptance that Harry Redknapp may well have acheived all that he was going to and many Tottenham fans had grown tired of Redknapp and the collapse that he oversaw last term was the final straw.

Like Brendan Rogers, AVB is consistently compared and likened to Jose Mourinho. Unlike Brendan Rogers, AVB is always quick to play down comments of comparison with his fellow Portugese. The general consensus is that AVB will be a far better manager having experienced what he did at Chelsea, where he was too quick to judge players and too regimented in his approach to man management. Whether you believe this or not, there are noticeable differences with the squad he inherits at Tottenham to the one he had at Chelsea.

For one thing, there is not the huge trophy winning experience at White Hart Lane as there was at Chelsea. Ironically the only two players in the Spurs squad to have won the Premier League are Carlo Cudicini and William Gallas, both of whom won it with Chelsea. Secondly there is a youth to the Tottenham squad that AVB did not have at Chelsea.

The Tottenham squad is a slightly curious one; there are a number of good centre backs and plenty of central midfielders, however there are only two wingers and one centre forward. The lack of forwards is an ongoing issue and the club have been negotiating with Emmanuel Adebayor for months but there are serious financial obstacles to his arrival and surely the club must be thinking that given the wages he will command, that money could be used to attract a younger player who has a more proven track record than Adebayor, whose second seasons are rarely as good his first.

The club have acquired Jan Vertonghen and Gylfi Sigurdsson, both of whom are young and talented as more than adequate replacements for those whom they have replaced. The striker conundrum is a difficult one as it is not yet clear how Villas-Boas will line his team up. Redknapp's favored formation last year was 4-5-1 but it remains to be seen if Villas-Boas fancies Jermain Defoe as a lone forward. Width was vital to all that was good for Spurs last year and so expect to see Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon remain fixtures in the side, and so the question is whether Villas-Boas wants two or three central midfielders.

The elephant in the room is of course Luka Modric, whose prospective move to Real Madrid has been even more tiresome than Robin Van Persie's on the basis that Van Persie has not had an endless list of international teammates lining up to discuss the cruelty of his situation. Yet Modric has had an constant stream of fellow Croatians pronouncing the cruelty and selfish nature of Tottenham which has become an unpleasant sideshow to the Modric transfer.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wants £40m for the Croat and Madrid are unwilling to pay such a fee, Madrid's argument is that there are similar players out there for less. The question is whether Levy will blink and whether Tottenham reckon they can coax another season out a player who clearly does not want to be at the club.

It still seems more probable that Modric will go rather than stay, but every day that passes makes his move less and less likely. There was talk of both Chelsea and Manchester United retaining an interest but Levy's reluctance to sell to a direct rival, as well as neither club's willingness to match the huge fee, makes it look as though it's Madrid or nothing for Modric.

Assuming that Modric departs, it still leaves Spurs with midfield options with Rafael Van der Vaart, Sigurdsson and maybe even Giovanni Dos Santos as likely replacements. However the major benefit of Modric was his willingness to play as an orthodox central midfielder whilst the other names mentioned prefer to play much higher up the pitch.

The answer to the Modric question may actually lie with Tom Huddlestone, who has finally returned to fitness after a succession of long term injuries. Technically Huddlestone is one of the most gifted players in the league and there are few players who can hit a ball as sweetly as the man Tottenham fans affectionately refer to as "Thud". Huddlestone has a passing range to rival Modric's and is a superior physical presence but lacks the Croatian's deft movement and ability to drift past players. Nevertheless it would be an intriguing prospect if Villas-Boas did deploy Huddlestone as Modric's replacement and it would be of major benefit to Roy Hodgson if Huddlestone was to succeed in such a position.

Tottenham are in some aspects the reverse to Liverpool this season, whilst this blog has discussed that the spine of Liverpool's side as being fairly strong; Tottenham's core is where most of their issues lie. Brad Friedel is still an excellent keeper although how many more years he has left is debatable and Tottenham have been heavily linked with Hugo Lloris of Lyon. It is unclear what AVB's preferred defensive pairing but it seems likely that whichever partnership will require an adjustment period.
The midfield problems have already been discussed and at the moment the club only have one striker,  and he has been second choice for the past 2 seasons.

Apart from Chelsea fans, most neutrals would probably like to see Villas-Boas succeed at Spurs as many were sympathetic to his time at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham in many ways are a far better fit for Villas-Boas than Chelsea ever was. He has a far younger squad to work with and players who are hungry for their first major pieces of silverware, rather than the trophy laden squad he worked with at Chelsea. Spurs fans will be far more receptive to the Portugese as he has replaced a man that many were growing tired of, rather than at Chelsea where Villas-Boas succeeded a man who was universally liked and respected inside and outside the club.

There is a clear gap in the depth of the Spurs squad in comparison to the Manchester sides and it is unlikely that Tottenham will be able to bridge that gap this season. However the club should be quietly confident that they can repeat last season's top four finish as well as enjoying successful cup runs.


Predicted Finish: 4th (FA Cup winners, Europa League winners)

Key Man: Rafael Van der Vaart. With the expected departure of Luka Modric and the continued absence of strikers, much responsibility will rest on the shoulders of the Van der Vaart. In two seasons with the club the Dutchman has scored 24 goals in 61 games, a very impressive return. He will be required to create and score again this season as Tottenham look to get back in the Champions League.

Underrated: Younes Kaboul. Heavily criticised during his first spell with the club, Kaboul's development in the past 18 months has been tremendous. Once a liability, he was the first name on the team-sheet for Spurs last year. Dominant in the air and with tremendous pace and power to recover for the few mistakes he does make, the Frenchman should form an excellent partnership with new signing Jan Vertonghen.

Watch out for: Tom Huddlestone. A personal favorite of this blogs. As outlined above, if the Englishman can put his injury woes behind him then he could be a key figure for Spurs this year.

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Premier League Previews: #16 Swansea

Last Season: 11th

In: Michu (£2.2m, Rayo Vallecano), Chico (£2.2m, Genoa CFC), Jonathan de Guzman (loan, Villarreal)

Out: Joe Allen (£15m, Liverpool)

If they were an Olympian: Jade Jones. The new Women's -57kg Taekwondo champion exceeded all expectations. Hugely impressive and pleasant on the eye.

"No man is bigger than the club", an age old footballing mantra that Swansea will desperately hope is proved right this season as the club begins life without Brendan Rogers. Rogers' masterminded the club's recent success and few teams were as representative of their managers values and beliefs as Swansea. With Rodgers now in charge at Anfield, and Joe Allen gone with him, this season represents a massive challenge for the club to avoid seeing all the clubs good work undone.

New manager Michael Laudrup, has quietly established an impressive managerial record on the continent and has experience of managing clubs in big leagues with fairly low expectations. He did well with Getafe, taking them on good runs in both European and domestic cups, and he managed to keep Mallorca in La Liga despite serious off field problems. At both clubs Laudrup won plaudits for his attacking style of play and so in many respects Swansea he is a perfect fit for Denmark's greatest footballer.

The loss of Allen is a blow but one that you could sense Laudrup was prepared for almost as soon as his arrival was confirmed. He had spoken of the difficulty in keeping players wanted by bigger teams and he already seemed resigned to loosing at least one player to Anfield. The last minute switch by Gylfi Sigurdsson to sign for Tottenham was also a blow but again Laudrup had sensed which way the wind was blowing.

Regardless of how well Laudrup has come across over the departure of these key players, the loss of 2/3rds of Swansea's midfield is certainly a cause for concern. However Laudrup has brought shrewdly and he has not even got his teeth into the £15m that Liverpool paid for Allen yet.

Attacking midfielder Michu has arrived from Rayo Vallecano and the Spaniard was one of the most impressive players in La Liga last term, finishing as the highest scoring midfielder in Spain with 15 goals. Michu will be used as the most advanced midfielder in a like for like switch with Sigurdsson and Laudrup has already lavished praise on the prospective partnership between Michu and last seasons top scored Danny Graham.

Swansea have also signed Jonathan de Guzman, an enterprising attacking midfielder from relegated Villarreal. De Guzman can play slightly deeper and is a likely to step in to replace Joe Allen, although Laudrup has also been linked with another loan move for Josh McEachran, who failed to get in the team last year but would be an ideal replacement for the departed Allen.

Laudrup's most successful period as a player came at Barcelona and the Camp Nou philosophy of possession football and 4-3-3 are deeply ingrained in his coaching ideology which was surely a deciding factor in the club's decision to hire the Dane.

The major concern for Swansea is the same as that at Norwich. To avoid being a one season wonder and instead being able to build on the excellent work instituted by a now departed manager. The core of the side from last term is still at Swansea, although the loss of Steven Caulker who has returned to Spurs is certainly a loss. Laudrup has sought to fill the gap in central defence by signing defender Spaniard Flores, more commonly known as Chico, from Italian side Genoa. Chico seems like an ideal fit for Swansea, for whom ball playing defenders are absolutely essential. Chico has played in both La Liga and Serie A, although the more frantic and uncontrolled pace of the league may take a little while to get used to.

Elsewhere Laudrup will be hoping that midfield metronome Leon Britton and quicksilver wingers Nathan Dyer and Scott Sinclair can replicate last seasons performances. Danny Graham's fitness will be important as the other centre forwards at Swansea are not in the same class as the former Watford man.

Given that it will take time for the club to adjust to the departures of Rodgers and Allen and the arrival of Laudrup, the club's opening fixtures are good. 7 of their first 8 opening fixtures are either against teams who finished in the bottom half last season or have been newly promoted. Swansea's home form last term was excellent with the Swans taking points off Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool at the Liberty stadium. The away form was more of a concern but did improve as the season went on.

Many neutrals will be hoping that Swansea can repeat last season's successes or at least survive another season. Whether they can or not will depend heavily on the club getting off to a good start as otherwise pressure will very quickly begin to mount on Laudrup and his new signings.

Predicted Finish: 12th

Key Man: Michu. Gylfi Sigurdsson really kick started Swansea after he arrived last January and new signing Michu will be hoping for a similar impact. Michu's finishing can be wayward at times, as he has only recently been converted into a goal scoring midfielder. The Spaniard is hard working and deceptively strong which should aid his adaption to English football.

Underrated: Neil Taylor. Whilst not possessing the electric pace of Gael Clichy, nor the set piece expertise of Leighton Baines, left back Neil Taylor was one of the league's best full backs last year. Very important to how Swansea pass their way out the back, Taylor is a willing runner and is always keen to push high up the pitch which not only provides the Swans with width but also creates space for winger Scott Sinclair to drift infield.

Watch out for: Jonathan de Guzman. The Canadian born Dutchman was excellent for Villarreal last term, impressing in the Champions League against Manchester City in particular. A set piece specialist, de Guzman could turn out to be one of the bargains of the season.

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