Six games left - Premiership predictions!

Dr. Nick

ManU only 3 points ahead now, with Chavs to play away in their 2nd last game.

ManU fixtures/predictions:
Man Utd v Sheff Utd, 20:00 3pts
Man Utd v Middlesbro', 17:15 3pts
Everton v Man Utd, 12:45 1pt
Man City v Man Utd, 12:45 1pt
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 0pts
Man Utd v West Ham, 15:00 3pts

Chelsea:
West Ham v Chelsea, 20:00 1pt
Newcastle v Chelsea, 13:30 3pts
Chelsea v Bolton, 12:45 3pts
Arsenal v Chelsea, 16:00 3pts
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 3pts
Chelsea v Everton, 15:00 3pts

A big ask, but Chavs to win it by 2.

Dont be at yourself

Chelsea undoubtedly with the tougher run-in, but if the pressure is still on when Man Utd travel to Man City, I could see Man Yoo slipping up. Gonna be a good finish anyway!

Dave!

God I'm not lookin forward to the Chelsea match. My nerves were shot to pieces tonight, and now the stakes are even higher against a better team! :eek:

PHB

United were poor, no doubt about it. But we could have had 3 or 4 goals in the first half, and on another day, we would have.
Rooney scored instantly in the second half, and if the stupid linesman had allowed it, we would have won comfortably.

Our injuries are showing, there is no denying it.
Richardson today should have been Park.
Brown should have been Vidic.
VDS today should have been the other VDS, the good one

With those two players, Park and Vidic, I think everybody would agree we would have won.

Let's look at the run in

We play Roma, then Watford.
Roma will be what happens, we'll see. Watford will be an easy win, especially with no Foster in goal.

Then we have:
Sheffield United (H)
Boro (H)

At home, these should be easy games, especially with Saha and Evra back.

Then, we get Park and Vidic back.

That means, in terms of squad depth, the only person we're missing is Neville. It puts Brown back at RB, and makes our team look like this:

---

VDS

---

---

---Brown

---

Rio

---

Vidic

---

Evra--

---

---Ronaldo

---

Carrick

---

Scholes

---

Giggs--

---

---

Saha

---

Rooney

---

To play against:

Everton (A)
Man City (A)
Chelsea (A)
West Ham (H)

p.s. We get Neville back around the Chelsea game.

I think we will win those first two games with that team. Then we go to Chelsea, even if we lose, we have to go to West Ham to win, to win the premiership on goal difference.

So even if Chelsea win every single game between now and then, unless they can catch a goal difference of 15 (which nobody will claim they can), the premiership should be ours.

Oh and yeh, btw, CHelsea's run-in isn't that easy.

West Ham (A)
Newcastle (A)
Bolton (H)
Arsenal (A)
Man Utd (H)
Everton (H)

Besides us, Bolton and Arsenal are pretty tough games, and West Ham just beat Arsenal so could be on a high, especially at home.
They have a tougher run in than us.

Either way, we're still favorites

daveg

ManU fixtures/predictions:
Man Utd v Sheff Utd, 20:00 3pts
Man Utd v Middlesbro', 17:15 3pts
Everton v Man Utd, 12:45 1pt
Man City v Man Utd, 12:45 3pt
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 1pts
Man Utd v West Ham, 15:00 3pts

Chelsea:
West Ham v Chelsea, 20:00 1pt
Newcastle v Chelsea, 13:30 3pts
Chelsea v Bolton, 12:45 3pts
Arsenal v Chelsea, 16:00 3pts
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 1pts
Chelsea v Everton, 15:00 3pts

United win it by 3 points.

x in the city

chelski to win the title again my verdict.
man u will lose at goodison park........:D

Mossy Monk

The only things certain about the Premiership this season so far is that Watford will be relegated, Manchester United and Chelsea will get the automatic spots for the Champions League and Liverpool will qualify for the qualifying stage of the Champions League.

Timans

I can't believe what Fergie was doing today.

Why didn't he have Ronaldo move out to the right!? Giggs, let him go on the left. Solskjaer isn't quick enough to play on the right and he seemed to be isolated when he was on the right flank. I think that might have been the difference to be honest as we were focusing too much on the left side of the pitch.

I think we can pull it together though. Chelsea don't look too solid at the moment. Yes, they're winning, but just.

Dare I say it, United for the title! *touch wood*

mike65

Is this a two horse race? or should the thread have been called Premiership Title Race Predictions?

Mike.

Nalz

If I was to be 100% honest and a gun was put to my head to name this seasons champions I'd say United.

They're 3 1/2 points ahead of Chelsea
They have the easier run in IMO

I said a good while ago if United get 7 points or more from the Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea and Pompey games United would win the league.

I stand by that

ROCKMAN

I agree Chelsea have the harder run in but at the moment,

Looking at the next two games for both teams. I cannot see anything but 6 points for Utd at home against Sheff Utd. and Middlebro.
Chelsea on the other hand have two away games West Ham and Newcastle. And I cannot be a 100% sure that they will collect all 6 points. So I can see the lead growing again.

Also
Utd's three home games are against teams in the the bottom half. Yes i know one's a team facing relegation but it is the last game, so relegation or the title issue could already be decided. Whereas Chelsea are facing Bolton (have a realistic chance of a 4th spot) UTD (no explanation needed ) and Everton (may not even matter or team needing points for Europe )
So for these reasons I see UTD Title.

zAbbo

You're assuming teams will just roll over.

Not many teams have beaten Everton at home this season (they beat Arsenal and Liverpool, and lost narrowly to Chelsea), Everton are 3 points behind Bolton, So I'd put them in with a shout of 4th as well, they play Bolton next.

So anyway, lots of disbelief from Manu fans, hoping they haven't blown it.

I think Utd will lose twice (Everton & Chelsea) and may also drop points against Man City / Middlesboro.

Chelsea to pip Utd.

Juan Pablo

Can't see Utd getting a win at either COMStad or Goodison, Everton are in good form and with the wheels coming off Arsenals season, are in with an honest shout of fourth. Didn't they beat Utd in the run in two years ago to clinch fourth spot? And the derby is the derby, impossible to predict

ManU fixtures/predictions:
Man Utd v Sheff Utd, 20:00 3pts
Man Utd v Middlesbro', 17:15 3pts
Everton v Man Utd, 12:45 0pt
Man City v Man Utd, 12:45 0pt
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 0pts
Man Utd v West Ham, 15:00 3pts

Chelsea:
West Ham v Chelsea, 20:00 3pt
Newcastle v Chelsea, 13:30 3pts
Chelsea v Bolton, 12:45 3pts
Arsenal v Chelsea, 16:00 1pts
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 3pts
Chelsea v Everton, 15:00 3pts

Chelsea to win easily.

Kojak

ManU fixtures/predictions:
Man Utd v Sheff Utd, 20:00 3pts
Man Utd v Middlesbro', 17:15 3pts
Everton v Man Utd, 12:45 3 pts
Man City v Man Utd, 12:45 1 pt
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 0 pts
Man Utd v West Ham, 15:00 3pts

Chelsea:
West Ham v Chelsea, 20:00 3pt
Newcastle v Chelsea, 13:30 3pts
Chelsea v Bolton, 12:45 3pts
Arsenal v Chelsea, 16:00 1pts
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 3pts
Chelsea v Everton, 15:00 3pts

Goes down to goal difference, with United coming out on top :eek:

besty

Juan Pablo - You have united to lose 3 on the trot to Everton, City and Chelsea. Not bloody likely! I think Everton will prove to be pivotal in the run in. I think United will draw with them, as will Chelski.

PHB

Since when are Everton this impressive side?

We beat them 3-0 earlier in the season.

Also, Man City to beat us? Yes its a derby, but they are currently 14th, we have 41 more points than them, we're a hell of a lot better than them.

I'm not saying we're defo gona win, but to suggest we will lose to Everton, Man City and Chelsea is just laughable

Savman

PHB wrote:

these should be easy games

Ha! Famous last words...

zAbbo

PHB wrote:

Since when are Everton this impressive side?

We beat them 3-0 earlier in the season.

Also, Man City to beat us? Yes its a derby, but they are currently 14th, we have 41 more points than them, we're a hell of a lot better than them.

I'm not saying we're defo gona win, but to suggest we will lose to Everton, Man City and Chelsea is just laughable

Before yesterdays game, Utd were 35 points ahead of Portsmouth, but there you go.

Hardly laughable considering Evertons form at home, Chelsea at home (Lost:0) and an away derby v Citeh, hmmm, I dunno, if Utd get the results from there, they deserve the league.

It's all to play for.

PHB

I agree its all to play for, but I don't think theres a snowballs chance in hell we will lose to Everton Man City and Chelsea.

Lex Luthor

I have to say it makes it a bit more interesting.
If they go into the last game of teh season on equal points, then its Utd's purely on the fact I think both will win their last games and UTD goal difference is superior.
So it looks like the game at StBridge might be the decider.

The 2 tough games for Chelsea apart from the obvious is WHam & Arsenal. I can see them beating Arsenal but the WHam game will be a tough one for them, probably nicking it in injury time

smemon

i don't think utd will crumble like people are predicting.

In fact, i think that defeat will have a positive effect on the side.

Utd have been in cruise control in the league and under no real pressure. That defeat should make them focus and see it through to the end.

Also, everyone assumes Chelsea will beat Utd in the head to head. That's a tough ask. They both have excellent records against each other away from home, so i can't see a chelsea walkover.

Guy:Incognito

As I said in the PL thread, I think Utd getting the Chelsea game postponed will be their saving grace and they know it. A 5 game run in starting on level points would have made it very interesting. As it is, Utd only need to match chelseas results and then get a draw at the Bridge. Even a defeat wouldnt be too bad because again they would only have to match Chelsea last day result.

What chance West Ham denying Utd the title on the last day again, a la 95(?)

zAbbo

Stekelly wrote:

What chance West Ham denying Utd the title on the last day again, a la 95(?)

I remember that game, Utd couldn't buy a goal

PHB

United can win all the remaining games, but lose to Chelsea, and win the league on goal difference.

Gillie

x in the city wrote:

chelski to win the title again my verdict.
man u will lose at goodison park........:D

I agree. Either Man City or Everton will beat Utd imo. Chelsea will win all of their games!

Going to be some run-in!

daveg

Stekelly wrote:

What chance West Ham denying Utd the title on the last day again, a la 95(?)

A dark dark day. Do not want to relive that again. Kids crying the in the pub. Awful day.

Dr. Nick

daveg wrote:

A dark dark day. Do not want to relive that again. Kids crying the in the pub. Awful day.

Happy day.

daveg

Dr. Nick wrote:

Happy day.

Blackburn or ABU fan? Let me guess..

Bateman

Chelsea won all their league games in March, I fully believe they can do the same in April. I have a sneaky suspicion it will be enough. United will draw one at some stage before the Chelsea game I reckon.

5starpool

daveg wrote:

A dark dark day. Do not want to relive that again. Kids crying the in the pub. Awful day.

I won £800 that day on a 4 league accumulator I placed at the start of the season. When Liverpool went in front against Blackburn I didn't know whether to cheer or cry. That was a lot of money for a poor student back then. All ended well though

emmemm

fulham in freefall
most supporters want coleman out and john collins in
probably finish 17th:)

PHB

Chelsea won all their league games in March, I fully believe they can do the same in April.

United won all their league games in March too, Feburary aswell

Fulham could get involved in this relegation fight, in their last seven mathes have went
LLLDDDL
And their easiest game is Man City

herbieflowers

Hmm...with West Ham at home and fighting for their lives, plus their good form and the fact that Chelski will have played 5 games in 8 days by then, it could bethe result that sees West Hma stay up...wouldn't be so sure that Chelski would grab all three points, a draw is as bad as a defeat at this satge.

Newcastle away could be tricky, Newcastle are one of those sides that can rasie their game and be frustrating, especially at home...they drew with Man U on New Year's Day at St. James after all...

Bolton could be a frustrating one gain, ut I'd expect Chelski to win, provided they aren't too fatigued, Bolton are are still competing for a Champions League spot and thwey'll hopefully battle (and injure Terry!) like they usually do...

Desapite Arsenal's from they'll have something to prove, and they've been good (apaart from recently) at the Emirates, plus they'll want to avenge their defeat against Chelski in the League Cup...and there's the small matter of CL qualification so Wenger will stress the importance of a reuslt at least...as I said, a draw is as bad as a defeat for Chelski or Man U at this stage...

The Man U game could go either way, but I'd expect Chelski to win, solely for the way they play...I don't think Man U are suited to counter the way they play although a draw could be a possibility...as for the Everton game, Chelski to win easily.

The key for Man U is successive home games up next. This should ease the pressure slightly, if they win both and I'd expect them to...although we "should" have beaten Sunderland around the same time last season when they were dead and buried and nothing materialised.

The away matches are crucial, we have a good record at Goodison and usually play well against Everton...the desire of the Man U players to cement the ttile should see them edge it imo, as for City, could be a banana-skin, worst possible result a draw but Man U should have too much for them tbh

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

Erin Go Brath

I think the league will come down to the Chelsea v Manu game.

Manu have been the better team this season, but Chelsea keep pulling the 1-0s out of the bag, and haven't faded away at all.

Manu will need a draw against Chelsea to win the league I feel. Chelsea will almost certainly need to win that one. I would think Utd are good enough to get that draw as well, and therefore pip Chelsea at the post. Hard to call though. Should be exciting stuff!

RE*AC*TOR

UTD are starting to look shaky at the wrong time. Mixed form of a few key players and some bad luck on the injury front have compounded this. Chelsea are grinding away unrelenting. Its a tough call. At the moment the momentum is with Chelsea.

With Arsenal's current form, not only is 3rd looking increasingly unlikely, but unless they cop on, they could miss 4th.

Liverpool are looking solid now. This form at the start of the season would have had us challenging the top. At the moment though 3rd 10-15 points off the top looks likely.

The relegation battle is wide open. Anyone in the bottom half could get sucked in. Finger biting all round.

mike65

Top 6 prediction

Chelsea
Man Utd
Liverpool
Bolton
Arsenal
Everton



Mike.

bucks73

daveg wrote:

ManU fixtures/predictions:
Man Utd v Sheff Utd, 20:00 3pts
Man Utd v Middlesbro', 17:15 3pts
Everton v Man Utd, 12:45 1pt
Man City v Man Utd, 12:45 3pt
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 1pts
Man Utd v West Ham, 15:00 3pts

Chelsea:
West Ham v Chelsea, 20:00 1pt
Newcastle v Chelsea, 13:30 3pts
Chelsea v Bolton, 12:45 3pts
Arsenal v Chelsea, 16:00 3pts
Chelsea v Man Utd, 20:00 1pts
Chelsea v Everton, 15:00 3pts

United win it by 3 points.

I agree with Dave. United to effectively clinch it at Stamford Bridge.:D

daveg

As I think it was PHB pointed out United's next 3 games are at home (incl C.L.). United have FA cup next weekend. United should have Vidic back, as well as everyone else, to be back at full strength (open to correction on this) by the next away game at Everton on the 28th of April, putting us in a much better position.

Brian017

Didn't think Vidic was back so soon?

daveg

Brian017 wrote:

Didn't think Vidic was back so soon?

Think it was a fracture rather than a break. They hope he'll be back in 4 to 5 weeks:

http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid=%7BB4CEE8FA%2D9A47%2D47BC%2DB069%2D3F7A2F35DB70%7D&newsid=415856

leninbenjamin

Brian017 wrote:

Didn't think Vidic was back so soon?

i heard 2nd week in May at the earliest. I don't think anyone can say with certainty really

PHB

The Everton game will be just over 4 weeks, so that's the hopeful date for his return. Should be back for Chelsea though.

~Rebel~

daveg wrote:

Think it was a fracture rather than a break.

A fracture is a break.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000001.htm

If his collarbone (Clavicle) is fractured they'll be lucky to have him back this season at all. Probably waiting for swelling to go down to be sure of the extent of the injury. Experianced it myself, was 3 months till completely healed again, but was able to play again to a degree after about 2.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/25438.html

astrofool

Isn't a fracture when there is a crack, but the bone is not fully broken in two and a break is when the bone is in 2 (or more) seperate parts?

(confirmed this on multiple sites), or more precisely, a broken bone is when the bone is in two parts, but may also be called a fracture, whereas a fracture can be any type of break (partial or otherwise).

~Rebel~

Definition: A fracture is a broken bone. A broken bone is a fracture.

While many people believe that a fracture is a "hairline break," or a certain type of broken bone, this is not true. A fracture and a broken bone are the same thing!

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/brokenbones/g/fracture.htm
http://orthopedics.about.com/od/brokenbones/Fractures_Dislocations.htm

What's the difference between a fracture and a break? No difference, fracture is the actual medical term used by us doctors instead of ‘break’.

http://www.extreme.com/news/news_article.asp?SID=322 (a doctor in, guest answering questions on "extreme" sports injuries)

What is the Difference Between a Fractured Bone and a Broken Bone?

The truth is, a fracture and a break are the same thing. Many people tend to think that if a bone is not completely broken, then it is fractured and vice versa. However, regardless of how severe a bone is broken, the terms fractured and broken mean the same thing.

http://www.tahoefracture.com/fracture.asp

'Have I got a fracture or a break doctor?' remains a commonly posed question in fracture clinics, suggesting that patients frequently feel a 'fracture' and a 'break' are two separate entities. This apparent misconception amongst fracture clinic patients may result in confusion and occasionally anger that doctors appear to have inconsistent views on the severity of their injury. Compliance and outcome of patient care can also be affected by poor communication.

http://lib.bioinfo.pl/auth:Pang,J (this one is actually quite interesting)

Often, people wonder about the difference between a broken bone and a fracture. In fact, they are just different ways of describing the same injury.

http://www.callsam.com/personal_injury_legal_cases__bad_injuries/broken_bones.html
^^^from an ambulance chasing lawyer website so bound to know the ins and outs

When a bone breaks or cracks, the injury is called a fracture.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/25438.html

wikipedia and "yahoo answers" (where users seem to answer each others questions) were the only places i found anything that didnt agree with the above, making the study in the Pang J one more interesting.


But back to football! I think theres fair chance Chelsea will stumble at Arsenal, a draw maybe, making the chelsea united match moot. Just think United having destiny in their own hands will be enough. On a side note, what was Ferguson thinking playing Richardson, o Shea and a just back from injury Fletcher together against a decent team when they need to keep their lead?!

RE*AC*TOR

Semantics aside, the terms in popular use are usually understood as broken = clean break (ie one bone is now two) and fracture = a break not resulting in the aforementioned.

This is quite likely the usage given by whomever issued the statement on Vidic's injury and may well indicate that it was not as bad a break as originally thought.

Arguing about the definition of medical terms on a football forum is an utter waste of time.

~Rebel~

the statement on the man u site didnt mention either (it was only mentioned by the poster), so the fact they're giving him to be out for only a month means it probably less serious then a fracture/break, which would be great for united.


Didnt mean to bring it into semantics, just made a very quick statement that a fracture and break are the same, so when this wasnt excepted just quickly copy/pasted a few results from a search. Any official statement from a club will probably use the proper medical terminology (remember everyone quickly learning what a metatarsal was?), so will mention either break or fracture with no differentiation between then, so its better supporters know what they're looking at, rather then thinking if fracture is mentioned its a good thing.

<<edit>> seems on skysports.com it was confirmed as a Break, which kinda shows what i mean, as its obviously not a serious one given the quick recovery time expected of only about a month http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=458418&plid=14965&clid=1&cpid=8

Obni

With Bolton, Arsenal, Everton as well as Man U, I can't help feeling Chelsea may yet slip up, and Man U's 3 pts plus GD is enough to carry them through.

Liverpool must be kicking themselves. Good set of results recently, and the easiest run-in by a mile. Just too late.

I don't know why people think West Ham will trouble Chelsea, when they had a lucky lucky win on Saturday.

Arsenal have a tough end to the season playing Bolton & Chelsea at home and Spurs and Portsmouth away. 12 pts leaves them on 68 - 4th.

Bolton have both Arsenal and Chelsea away. 8pts from 15 leaves them on 62 - 5th

Everton have Man U Chelsea and Portsmouth. 7 pts from 15 puts them on 58 - 7th

Spurs have the easier finish at first glance, but relegation threatened teams can cause problems. 11 pts from 18 and they end on 59 - 6th

Reading could pick up 13 of their remaining 15 to finish level with Everton. If Spurs win the Uefa, Everton get the Uefa spot, and any extra places in next years cup could go to Reading.

MANU
CHELSEA
LIVERPOOL
ARSENAL
BOLTON
SPURS
EVERTON
READING

Relegated
WATFORD
WEST HAM
Loser of Sheff Utd vs Wigan on last day.

~Rebel~

Obni wrote:

Liverpool must be kicking themselves. Good set of results recently, and the easiest run-in by a mile. Just too late.

damn right id say! All the chopping and changing early on, particularly away, has cost dearly. The way the fixtures ended up, they could have been pushed hard, having 2 giant gaps in March they could have recouperated for before the final push. That break seems to have done them good anyway with teh form being put together now. hopefully very few changes made for next year so some momentum can be kept with the players already gelled, with only maybe 2 being gradually introduced.


Probably better for Reading that they dont make the Uefa cup this season, might be a bit too much on their plate for next year, when they need to concentrate on the difficult second season.

PHB

So United's run in and Chelsea's run in have changed a bit,
Chelsea:

Newcaste A
Liverpool
Bolton H
Liverpool
Arsenal A
Man Utd H
Everton H

Compared to Uniteds:

Boro H
Bayern/Milan
Everton A
Bayern/Milan
City A
Chelsea A
West Ham H

I know which one I'd prefer
Inbetween games, we get Everton A, they get Bolton H. I think Bolton will really be incredibly tough, as you have to play a certain type of physical game to beat them.
United on the other hand, get to play against a footballing team, which should make it easier