Arsenal READING (Home) West Brom (Away) NORWICH (Home) EVERTON (Home)...game in hand Fulham (Away) Spurs Swansea (Away) EVERTON (Home) Chelsea (Away) MAN CITY (Home) What a difference a couple of weeks can have! Still think Spurs are favourites but for now we have better form than they do Every game is a tough game...next up Reading who are fighting for survival and might have a new Manager when we come to play them But the changes made (belatedly) by Wenger have given is a chance to turn things round The keys for us are... 1. This back line staying fit and keeping this level of performance up...(more so the CB's as Gibbs and Sagna can fill in if needed) 2. Jack's return...he's been overplayed and it showed in the Spurs game...what affect has a 3 week break given him? 3. The attack has remained unconvincing...Theo and Giroud look off the pace...a return to form is desperately needed 4. Podolski, Rosicky, AOC and Gervinho have been fringe players to differing degrees (less so Podolski who stats are good) we need them to step in or off the bench and make an impact. AOC had a great game against Swansea, Gervinho can't shot for love or money but is still dangerous You hope that the pressure of having failed at this stage so often will play on Spurs and although there's alot of football to play the next 3-4 games are crucial so that come the Man Utd game a draw might be acceptable..who knows with the league wrapped up for them we might even get a win? (nah that's hoping for too much)
Good point. AOC and Gervinho can provide with us options if they can find some sort of form. With Walcott starting to look off the pace, it's vital that these two are ready to step in if needed. Because for most of the season they have been passengers.
If Spurs fail to match your return of points from Swansea away and Everton at home I think you are in the driving seat. Next 2 games for Spurs are massive, need 6 points out of 6 or 4th is Arsenal's to lose because I can't see Reading and Norwich offering much resilience
Norwich had something to play for and were in their first season back. The novelty of going to places like the Emirates, Anfield, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge etc has long since worn off.
If United win the title by the time we play them, then we could have a chance in that game. Same goes for QPR. Hopefully they are relegated by the time we face them at Loftus road. Playing teams that have nothing to play is a massive advantage at this point in the season, as we saw against Swansea last week.
That's what I'm hoping for as well. Our last 3 games are against United, Villa and Everton and all should have nothing to play for. I'd rather face any of them than Wigan or teams scrapping for European spots/survival & managers fighting to save their jobs. As Piskie said, there is bound to be a reaction from Swansea having lost to you and international breaks are always disruptive to the top sides, Spurs would then face Everton, City and Chelsea all in a row with European ties sandwiched in between. That period is crucial for Arsenal to pick up points and usurp them. If Spurs are still 4th come the end of next month they'll stay there IMO, same for Chelsea. All rests on April. Chelsea and Arsenal finally starting to hit form and defend properly which is ominous for Spurs who are conceding at an alarming rate and facing free-scoring teams.
No team really has nothing to play for - there is improving financial rewards for final league placement. Add that to the pleasure and kudos that other clubs get from beating Arsenal and the reality is that we have 10 tough fixtures remaining this season. Our players and Mr wenger cannot afford to be complacent at all. I think that we can catch Spurs, but it will go to the wire - again.
The novelty wears off? After one visit? Get real. You do realise Norwich have earned more points against top 6 opponents than anyone else outside the top 6 this season?
Chris Hughton has a good record against us. He has beaten us with two different teams (Newcastle and Norwich) and the tactics he has used have been the same. So, he has a game plan against us and we have struggled to break down his teams. The game against Norwich is not going to be straight forward by any means.
Yeah, at Carrow Road, the game isn't at Carrow Road. Liverpool 5-0 Norwich Chelsea 4-1 Norwich Man Utd 4-0 Norwich
Those stats can be misleading... Man Utd game for example: Man Utd leading 1-0 for quite a while but struggling to score a 2nd... Norwich defending well and then Russel Martin (I think) misses from about two yards. Had that gone in it could well have been a draw. Instead the 2nd goes in and kills the game off and a couple of late goals made it very flattering. But you can't ignore the fact that they have taken more points against top 6 than any other team. Unless you're under the illusion that big teams have a god given right to win all games against lesser teams.... Good job you're not a player/manager. That kind of complacency would get you sacked pretty quick.
