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The Foxes Are Top of the Pile After Week 13 Of The Premier League

Newcastle 0 Leicester 3 What a difference a year makes for Leicester City. This time last season the...
TodayFM
TodayFM

10:01 PM - 23 Nov 2015



The Foxes Are Top of the Pile...

Sport

The Foxes Are Top of the Pile After Week 13 Of The Premier League

TodayFM
TodayFM

10:01 PM - 23 Nov 2015



Newcastle 0 Leicester 3

What a difference a year makes for Leicester City. This time last season the Foxes were bottom of the league but now they're top of the pile. Jamie Vardy scored in his 10th consecutive league game and just like Ruud van Nistelrooy he achieved it at St. James' Park. Some might worry for Leicester if Vardy stops scoring but with Mahrez and Albrighton in such good form along with the rest of the team that may not be the case. Newcastle were very lucky to come away from Bournemouth with a win two weeks ago so this was a reality check for the Magpies and Steve McClaren. Next up for the league leaders Leicester is Man United at the King Power where they beat Louis van Gaal's side 5-3 in an incredible game last season. 

Man City 1 Liverpool 4

There was so much optimism among Liverpool fans when Jurgen Klopp took over at Anfield and since then he's enjoyed wins at Chelsea and City. Saturday's win at the Etihad was the most impressive, especially the first half when Liverpool went 3-0 up. In truth it could have been more only for City keeper Joe Hart who kept out Firmino and Benteke. Firmino and Coutinho were a handful for City who dropped to third place with a second home defeat of the season. Klopp has instilled belief into this Liverpool team who rarely beat the big guns away from home under Brendan Rodgers. YaYa Toure captained City in the absence of the injured Vincent Kompany but he was taken off at half time after a poor performance. City will dust themselves down and are boosted by the return of Sergio Aguero so I'd still make them favourites for the league.  

Watford 1 Man Utd 2

United are second after 13 league games and they go to Leicester next Saturday with an opportunity to go top. It looked like Louis van Gaal's side were going to leave Vicarage Road with a point but just like United teams of the past they found a winner in injury time. Memphis has disappointed since his move from PSV but he did himself no harm with the opening goal in his first start since the beginning of October. Troy Deeney experienced the highs and lows of football in a matter of minutes with a penalty and an own goal. United created plenty of chances after they conceded which proves they have the players to play attacking football when they want but van Gaal doesn't always let them off their leash. It was a significant win without Rooney and Martial and what a season Chris Smalling is having in central defence. 

West Brom 2 Arsenal 1

Another one of those days for Arsenal which we've seen so often over the last few seasons. It started well with Giroud scoring his 16th headed goal in a Gunners jersey. Arsene Wenger lost Francis Coquelin and his replacement Mikel Arteta through injury and he’s already without the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere. The manner of the goals Arsenal conceded is the biggest concern but they still had a chance to get something out of the game. Santi Cazorla is usually so reliable for the Gunners but his missed penalty summed up a miserable afternoon for the away side. Arsenal's attention now turns to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League and they're away to Norwich next weekend but the one positive was City losing as well. 

Chelsea 1 Norwich 0

It was only Chelsea's fourth league win of the season and first in four league games. The added bonus for Jose Mourinho was that Diego Costa got the winner to end a seven-game goal drought. However the defending champions are still 12 points off the top four and can't afford too many more slip ups from now until the end of the season. Despite the win, Chelsea still look a long way off their best so next week’s game at Tottenham will tell us where they are in terms of confidence. Norwich would have felt it was a game they could have got something from and they're only three points above the relegation zone going into their next game against Arsenal. 

Tottenham 4 West Ham 1

Spurs are only two points off the Champions League places after extending their unbeaten run to a club of record 12 games in the league. At the beginning of the season they were drawing games but now that Harry Kane is back among the goals, Spurs are in superb form. Kane scored one goals in 13 games in all competitions but he's found the net in five consecutive matches now. Mauricio Pochettino's side host Chelsea next Sunday but before that they travel to Azerbaijan to face FK Qarabag in the Europa League. The Spurs boss is likely to rest several of his regulars ahead of the Chelsea game and we'll find out next weekend if Chelsea have recovered from their worst start to a Premier League season. The Hammers will miss Payet over the next three months and I’d expect their form to level out after such a good start to the season.

Everton 4 Aston Villa 0

Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku tormented Villa all afternoon and by the looks of things this won't be the last time this season that Villa are outclassed. Lukaku scored his 50th league goal to continue his fine season but if he keeps it up Everton could struggle to hold onto him. The Belgian was superb away to Southampton early in the campaign and he's kicked on from there. Barkley already has five goals and four assists this season which is more than in any of his previous campaigns while Gerard Deulofeu is always a threat with his pace and precision. Villa are rock bottom with five points and no team in the Premier League has ever survived having accumulated five points or fewer after 13 games. Last season Christian Benteke got them out of trouble so without a really potent striker it's hard to see Villa survive.

Southampton 0 Stoke 1

It was good to see Shane Long get a start for Southampton but they were beaten by the better side at St. Mary's. Stoke took a while to get going this season which was no great surprise given all the players they brought in. Bojan is back looking sharp again following a serious injury last season and the former Barca striker took his goal very well. Stoke have kept five clean sheets in their last six league matches and having Ryan Shawcross back is a major boost. Southampton had been in good form before that defeat which was only their second in their last 11 league games.

Swansea 2 Bournemouth 2

Garry Monk must have feared for the worst when his side went 2-0 down in the 26th minute but the Swans boss would have been delighted with the response sparked by Andre Ayew. It was a missed opportunity for Bournemouth to move out of the relegation zone and Eddie Howe wasn't impressed with the penalty awarded to the home side. Garry Monk dropped Federico Fernandez, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jefferson Montero and Bafetimbi Gomis but the draw means he'll still be looking over his shoulder. I wonder if Swansea would consider going back to Brendan Rodgers who is out of work since being sacked by Liverpool but there is talk of him going to manage in the Middle East.

Crystal Palace 0 Sunderland 1

What a massive win for Sunderland and it was only the second time this season they've picked up all three points. Jermain Defoe took full advantage of a Scott Dann mistake to make it back to back wins at Selhurst Park. Sam Allardyce would have been happy enough with a point given the way the game went so it was a major bonus to get their first away win of the season. The Black Cats are still in the bottom three but Big Sam will be counting down the days until the transfer window opens. However before the January 1st, Sunderland have games against Arsenal, Chelsea, City and Liverpool. Palace might just have to stick with the away games because they're just not as effective on their own patch.

 

 

 



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