By: Matt Carroll, All Access Soccer Premier League & International Expert
Brought to you by: US SOCCER SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE , where promising young North American players are trained and given a legitimate pathway to International Opportunities
Matchday 11
With the final international break of the calendar year pending, Matchday 11 of the English Premier League will kick off on Saturday morning but it’s the Sunday slate that could be full of fireworks, with four of the top five teams in the table set to go head to head. Be sure to tune in, with all of the action available live on the NBC family of networks or online at NBC Live Extra.
Saturday (all times eastern)
1:30pm – Liverpool @ West Ham United – London Stadium, NBC
After falling to Tottenham the week before, Liverpool rebounded and finally broke through in the second half against Huddersfield Town, with Daniel Sturridge back in the starting eleven and back on the scoresheet with his goal shortly after halftime the first of three unanswered in a 3-0 victory. The Reds will travel to the London Stadium for a meeting with West Ham United, who looked well on their way to finally easing the pressure on manager Slaven Bilic until two second half goals from cellar dweller Crystal Palace erased a two-goal hole as the Hammers were forced to share the points in a 2-2 draw.
Given two games to save his job after a 3-0 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion back in Matchday 9, West Ham wasted a golden opportunity to do just that against Palace and will have one final chance to back the Croatian against Liverpool, who took all three points in this fixture last season but remains the only time in their last six meetings across all competitions they have walked away with points (L3 D2) and their only win in their last four trips to London (L3), which should be good news for Bilic as he looks set to sweat over what his future may be at the club during the almost two week layoff.
Sunday (all times eastern)
9:15am – Arsenal @ Manchester City – Etihad Stadium, NBC Sports Network
After an up and down start to the campaign and their detractors at the ready to pounce, Arsenal quietly won for the fourth time in their last five league games when two goals within fifteen minutes of the second half kickoff was enough to overturn an early deficit in a 2-1 win over Swansea City. Their recent run will be put to the test in the first of two massive Sunday Showdowns when they visit the Etihad Stadium and Manchester City, who remained unbeaten in the league when they won for the eighth time in a row, more comfortably than the score line would suggest, 3-2 away at West Brom.
In a run stretching back to last season, the victory kept City unbeaten in their last thirteen across all competitions and, following their mid-week victory over Napoli in the Champions League which booked their place in the knockout stages, they stretched that streak to a remarkable twenty-two games. They have been virtually unstoppable this season but, despite Arsenal winning only one of their five on the road this season (L3 D1) and just one of their last six trips to the Etihad Stadium (W3 D2), City have managed three points in only one of their last nine with the Gunners across all competitions (D4 L4)
11:30am – Manchester United @ Chelsea – Stamford Bridge, NBC Sports Network
While they were far from their best and left more than a few chances on the table, Eden Hazard’s first top flight goal of the season only minutes in to the second half was just enough to get Chelsea past a pesky Bournemouth side 1-0. The defending champs will return home to welcome Manchester United and former manager Jose Mourinho to Stamford Bridge, with the Red Devils bouncing back from their first loss of the campaign to put some much-needed space between themselves and Tottenham in the table when Anthony Martial’s goal ten minutes from full time gave them a 1-0 victory over Spurs.
Mourinho and United got the better of his former side in the reverse fixture last season, which was the first time in their last twelve meetings across all competitions that the Red Devils had managed to walk away with maximum points against Chelsea, but they have dropped their last two trips and six of their last seven (D1) to Stamford Bridge, which should be a welcome sign for the floundering Blues who will be trying to shake off a dismal mid-week performance in a 3-0 Champions League setback at Roma and who can’t afford to fall further than the nine points they sit back of league leaders Manchester City.
