Premier League Analysis - 29/30 Dec

Birmingham 1 Fulham 1

The Blues were unchanged with Kapo still nowhere to be seen. Larsson recovered from a knock to start and he got the goal. Johnson went off injured at half time and was subbed by Nafti. McCleish will be disappointed with only a draw.

Roy Hodgson has a big job on his hands. Healy and Dempsey were preferred up front for the Cottagers who have not won away in the Premier League for 478 days. Bouazza was sent off for two yellows.

Chelsea 2 Newcastle 1

All change for Chelsea with Ashley Cole and Carvalho suspended and Cech, Lampard and Shevchenko joining Terry and co on the injured list. Hilario was in goal. Kalou was chosen as the lone striker ahead of Pizzarro. Ballack was made captain. Essien bagged his third goal of the season.

Allardyce bolstered his midfield by playing Faye alongside Butt in the centre. Geremi dropped out. Martins came in for Viduka up front as the lone striker with Smith playing a deeper midfield role from the start. Owen was on the bench and appeared on 74-minutes.

Everton 1 Arsenal 4

Cahill has now scored nine goals in 14 appearances (all comps) this season. Arteta harshly given a straight red for raising his hand against an over-reacting Fabregas. Jagielka continues to partner Yobo at the back. Everton will miss Piennar, Yakubu and Yobo when they head off to the African Cup of Nations in Ghana.

Eduardo fired two goals in a new look striker partnership with the disappointing Bendtner who went on to pick up two yellow cards. Diaby selected ahead of Eboue in midfield. RVP still not fit enough to feature. Adebayor came on and scored his 11th goal of the season.

Portsmouth 0 Middlesbrough 1

It’s been nine hours since Pompey scored at home. Harry went for a more positive 4-4-2 with Benjani and Kanu up front and Utaka coming in for Muntari out wide. Difficult times ahead with Diop, Kanu, Muntari and Utaka all heading to Ghana. At least the next two games (Reading and Sunderland) are away!

Tuncay has scored four goals in his last six league games. Huth is back and looked solid alongside Woodgate. Shawky (?) started his first league game. Anyone know anything about him?

Sunderland 3 Bolton 1

Kenwyne Jones ended an eight game drought with a goal and two KC’s. Chopra and Cole also played as Sunderland scored three in the Premier League for the first time since 2001. Richardson was welcomed back at left midfield and managed 70 minutes.

Bolton have not kept a clean sheet in their last 16 Premier League away games. Samuel started at left back with Gardner pushed in to midfield. Speculation grows that Anelka is heading to Stamford Bridge. If Diouf scores you can guarantee he’ll get booked as well.

Tottenham 6 Reading 4

I’ve been telling you that Berbatov was hitting form. I hope you paid attention and transferred him in. Spurs should do everything to keep hold of him. Bent not even on the bench. Huddlestone started with Jenas in central midfield.

Reading’s second 10 goal thriller of the season. Kitson (eight goals) is the stand out player for the Royals followed by Hunt (five goals, three KC’s) and Shorey (eight KC’s - four more than any other defender).

West Ham 2 Man United 1

Curbishley went for a 4-5-1 with Ashton dropped to accommodate Noble. Parker and Solano both picked up injuries during the course of the game. The Hammers have now turned United over in their last three league meetings - a defnite bogey team.

United brought back a number of players having rested them at Sunderland. Evra and Giggs came in for O’Shea and Nani. Hargreaves returned from a back complaint to oust Carrick. Tevez came in for Rooney as Saha kept his place. Fletcher also maintained a starting role with Anderson on the bench. As Sir Alex said conceding two set-piece goals is not good enough.

Wigan 1 Aston Villa 2

Steve Bruce has been raving about Ryan Taylor (”He’s like David Beckham!”) and it was his KC for the Bramble goal. Sibierski partnered Bent with Heskey still out injured. Koumas remains injured and might struggle to get his starting place back.

Villa have scored more away Premier League goals (21) than any other team. Carew injured his knee and only lasted 10 minutes. Maloney kept his place ahead of Petrov. Agbonlahor is now on four bookings.

Derby 1 Blackburn 2

Steve Howard scored five penalties for Derby in the Championship last season but missed his first effort in the Premier League.

Roque Santa Cruz has scored eight goals in his last five appearances in all competitions. Bentley continues to impress.

Manchester City 0 Liverpool 0

The only clean sheets of the weekend. Svennis set the tone by going with his usual 4-5-1 but had Corluka employed in a holding midfield role along with Hamann who was recalled. Vassell was the lone striker with Bianchi dropped to the bench. Onuoha continued at right-back and Ball was once again preferred to Garrido at left-back.

Arbeloa replaced the injured Hyypia with Finnan and Aurelio as the full backs. Rafa opted for his “best” front six. Gerrard and Torres looked tired so expect yet more rotation as Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures all look winnable.

Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Tom