Sunderland v Everton Premier League 4pm May 3rd

Sunderland v Everton, May 3rd Sunday 16:00

Ricky Sbragia will be keen for Sunderland to stop licking their wounds after last week’s 3-0 defeat to West Brom and for his team to concentrate on getting some points off Everton and putting some distance between themselves and the relegation zone. Relying on their North East neighbours to continue to drop points is not an appropriate approach, particularly if it all goes down to the last match of the season (Sunderland face Chelsea). Sbragia will also be keen to put to bed the memory of the reverse fixture earlier this season, which was his first match in charge and was another 3:0 defeat for the Black Cats.

The Sunderland squad us however missing some key players. They are without goalkeeper Craig Gordon (knee), defender Nyron Nosworthy (hamstring) and George McCartney (calf). Sbragia will however be hopeful that Captain Dean Whitehead is ready to return after coming on as a substitute last week. French star Steed Malbranque is also available.

Although Toffee historians will be encouraged by the fact that Sunderland have not beaten Everton for 8 years, most fans will be more concerned by their more recent form. Everton have not won on their travels since December (beating Middlesbrough on Boxing Day) and this cause will not be helped by the absence of Phil Jagielka, sadly be missing for the rest of the season due to the knee ligament injury he picked up last week. It is likely that Joseph Yobo will cover for Jagielka and partner Joleon Lescott for the rest of the season in central defence. James Vaughan, Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling could also all feature and Tim Cahill may return after starting on the bench last week.

Some commentators suggest that David Moyes may be resting his strongest players for the FA Cup final; however with fifth place in sight and the FA Cup several weeks way, this sounds more like wishful thinking from the Stadium of Light. This tie is however hard to call, I’ll go for a 2:1 win for Everton.

Liverpool v Newcastle Premiership 3rd May 2009

Liverpool v Newcastle, Sunday 3rd May 13:30

Thirteen years ago these two teams played each other in what has since been billed as the best Premiership game ever. In this fixture in April 1996 Stan Collymore scored a last minute winner to beat the Geordies 4:3 and to dent their premiership title bid. Tomorrow however both sets of fans would be overjoyed with a boring 1:0 victory over the other. Shearer’s Toon Army are of course desperate for 3 points, which could be the lifeline they need to scrabble out of the relegation zone (if Hull also lose tomorrow). As the Scousers are going into this fixture 6 points behind Manchester United, they also need to win if they are to retain any hope of topping the Premiership this season.

Newcastle’s form this season has been particularly poor. They are without are without a win in nine matches and have gained just two points from a possible 12 under Shearer. They have drawn the most fixtures in the Premiership this season (thirteen) and have won the fewest (six). Jose Enrique’s hamstring injury from the Portsmouth match means that Shearer has no recognised left-back available in his squad and may have to use Damien Duff in this role instead. Steven Taylor is also injured leaving Fabricio Coloccini and Sebastien Bassong to shore up the defence. Shearer’s three pronged attack of Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka are all still available, but it remains to be seen whether he will risk such an attacking formation.

Liverpool will however be welcoming back their inspirational captain Steven Gerrard after an absence of 4 matches. Rafa has stated that “the team were doing well without Stevie, but everyone knows we are stronger with him on the pitch. He is a player who can changes games and is very important for us.” With or without Gerrard, Liverpool’s form this season has been impressive. They are only club with an unbeaten home Premier League record this season (10 wins, seven draws) and have only lost two games this season (the best record in the Premiership). Gerrard and Fernando Torres are joint top scorers in the league this season, with 13 goals apiece. Given the quality of this attack coupled with the injuries to Newcastle’s defence and adding in need to win to keep up the heat on Manchester United, it seems unlikely that the Geordies will be returning home with anything but disappointment.

Middlesborough 0 Manchester United 2 Premier League Result 2nd May

Manchester United took went a full 3 points closer to winning the Barclays Premier League today with a 0-2 away win at the Riverside Stadium.
Gareth Southgate couldn’t have been relishing the prospect of playing a Man Utd side getting back into form and getting something towards their Premier League survival. Players like Alves and Tuncay have really struggled to find the net this season for Boro which ultimately could cost them their Premier League status. It is well documented that Stuart Downing has a cultured left boot but can suffer from low confidence. All of these factors meant that the home team conceded most possession to the champions which is too dangerous with the likes of Berbatov and Rooney on the pitch.

Captain Ryan Giggs opened the scoring mid way the first half (25 mins) when the ball ricocheted off of a challenge between the boro defence and Macheda outside of the box. The ball made its way the Welshman who had space to pick his spot with that sweet left foot to get an important early goal.

Wayne Rooney was superb in his less favourite position of left midfield, driving at the Boro defence and cutting inside to open up attacking options. It was Rooney’s cunning through ball that but in South Korean international Ji-Sung Park who emphatically finished past Jones who really had no chance on either of the two goals.

I thought the home team were disappointing today at the Riverside Stadium, there was no massive push to get a goal and the severe lack of confidence dictated the pace of the match because Manchester United kept the ball so much. I also thought that Huth and Wheater battled really well but perhaps would have hoped for more industry and cover in the defensive midfield area. That said, Manchester United are in top form and will now be thinking that they have one hand on the Premier League title 2008/2009.