Round 1
Aston Villa v Hull City
Brighton v Leicester

Round 2
Brighton v Birmingham
Leicester v Aston Villa

Round 3
Leicester v Hull City
Birmingham v Aston Villa

Round 4
Aston Villa v Brighton
Hull City v Birmingham

Round 5
Birmingham v Leicester
Hull City v Brighton

Round 1
Everton v Chelsea
Wolves v Arsenal

Round 2
Wolves v Everton
Arsenal v Chelsea

Round 3
Everton v Arsenal
Chelsea v Wolves

Comment deleted by Article Creator

Group A
Newcastle v Stoke

An emotional Anfield in what seems to be Tranq's final game in charge, leaving the post after a successful time in charge, Newcastle brought a huge support and they sang his name throughout and you could see he was close to tears, the game itself wasn't the best but Newcastle saw off a resilient Stoke City, who despite a run of poor results, on the pitch they are starting to gel a little better, Tranq waved to the crowd and off down the tunnel in a final job well done

Newcastle 2 - 0 Stoke City
Salah(Suarez,31), Coutinho(Salah,71)
MOTM - Salah

Liverpool v Portsmouth

A very entertaining game at St James Park, saw two form sides battle it out, Liverpool struck first with a long ranger from Fabinho after a lay off by Sabitzer, they didn't hold on long tho as Mertens equalised soon after. Liverpool looked a little frail at the back and Mertens struck again on 53 minutes for Portsmouth to go in front. Subs were made and it was to Liverpools benefit as they equalised just shotrt of 5 minutes to go when Sisto drilled in a cross for Tammy Abraham to nod home.

Liverpool 2 - 2 Portsmouth

Fabinho(Sabitzer,13), Abrahma(Sisto,84)
Mertensx2(Eriksen,21, Perisic,53)
MOTM - Fabinho

Group B

Aston Villa v Hull City

Despite their dominance Villa just couldn't find the back of the net, a fantastic defensive display from Hull, Horn is inspirational form, chances came and went for Villa but no reward, not that Hull were bad, far from it they just couldn't find a rythym today but they had there own chances, Villa defended well tho, but the big talking point came in 57 minutes when Boateng brought down Zlatan, the faintest of touches but a penalty was given, no one was to take the ball off Zlatan and he smashed it home, in which was to be the only goal of the game

Aston Villa 0 - 1 Hull City
Zlatan (Pen, 57)
MOTM - Timo Horn

Comment deleted by Article Creator

Brighton 1 - 1 Leicester
Falco (Berardi,33)
Costa(Hazard,51)
MOTM - Trapp

Wolves 3 - 2 Arsenal
Aubameyang x 2 (Silva, Cancelo, 3, 61)
Immobile (Silva,42)
MOTM - D.Silva

Arsenal scorers for above

Higuain x 2 (Mboula, 17, Neves, 34)

Everton 0 - 5 Chelsea

Poulsen(Ferran, 7)
Mbappe(Kurzawa, 13)
Poulsen(Mbappe, 54)
MOTM - Alli

Brighton v Birmingham

Two improving sides but not much to separate them imo, both had spells when they were on top and this is when the goals came, Falcao neatly set up by Payet on 17 mins, then Llorente getting his head to a nice cross by Alonso. These were the only goals of the game, it was entertaining by neither could make the breakthrough in the second half.

Brighton 1 - 1 Birmingham
Falcoa(Payet, 17)
Llorente(Alonso, 43)
MOTM - Howedes

Wolves 3 - 0 Everton

A walk in the park for the home team

Immobile(Silva,3), Cancelo(Strootman, 38), Aubameynag(Silva,62)
MOMT - D.Silva

Leicester v Aston Villa

Both taking this fairly seriously it seems, both pretty attacking set up for an entertaining game, Leicester had more possession but with the Villa attack they were always going to be under the cosh at times the home side had to take the lead three times to finally see off the brave Villa challenge, maybe a bit more direction from new Villa boss Tino will see them win these games instead of just being unlucky.

Leicester 3 - 2 Aston Villa
Ronaldo(Asensio,17), Hazard(Solo effort, 41), Costa(Hazard,73)
Griezmann(Pellegrini,31), Higuain(Reus,52)
MOTM - Hazard

Portsmouth v Newcastle

Again two top teams going at it, but in fairness I think id rather watch paint dry than watch a re-run of the first half, so I wont go into details. The second half was much better 4 goals in the space of 16 minutes as both teams went for it, neither dominating so it went from end to end, at 2-2 both looked for a winner but it didn't come

Portsmouth 2 - 2 Newcastle

Werner(Vidal,59), Sanchez(Eriksen,73)
Suarez(Florenzi, 63), Suarez(OZil, 75)
MOTM Suarez

Arsenal v Chelsea

A very strong start by JYAF in his Arsenal career suggests he can keep them up, but this weekend the attention turned towards the cups. Both teams made changes, but it was Chelsea, in particular, making 7 changes from their usual string. The Molineux crowd didn't seem all that impressed as they turned up only to find they'd be watching southern pansies over their beloved Wolves but they were treated to an entertaining game. Whilst Chelsea controlled possession in the middle and used their wingers and FBs to goo effect going forward, with JYAFs choice to have Rodri/Can to go out and defend the flank and dropping Fekir in costing them somewhat against the powerful running of Khedira. However leaving their wingers up somewhat counteracted this as it gave them a constant threat on the counter-attack, Mandzukic in particular with good hold up. Chelsea dealt with what came after fairly well for the most part with Bukambu giving Sanchez the kind of game he enjoys and Mboula lacking some cutting edge at times, but it was a similar story at the other end where Arsenal's CBs dealt with much of what came at them. That being said there were goals, but it was hard to separate the two sides today.

Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea

Mandzukic(Valencia) 52, Hamsik(Fekir) 84
Khedira(Neymar) 28, Neymar(Callejon) 60

MOTM: Neymar.

Spurs 1 - 2 Liverpool
Morata (Tierney) ; Belotti (Dybala), Dybala#

The home side were solid, but they really struggled to create anything. They had 3 strikers with plenty of goals on them but lacked any real sort of service, their best chances came from being more direct from the back, beating Liverpool's high press and outnumbering them. The away side dominated possession on the night and had the quality to make this a comfortable victory in the end.

Birmingham 1 - 2 Aston Villa

Derby day and a feisty affair, Villa on top for most of the game and there front 5 causing Brum more trouble than the Brum attack did v Villa backline, Brum took a surprising lead early on through a quick counter when Rodrigo latched onto an Ake long ball, however the pressure Villa put on Brum became too much and two goalls in the second half was enough to get them the three points

Rodrigo(Ake, 17)
Cavani(Hamsik50), Higiaun,(Hamsik, 65)
MOTM - Hamsik

Leicester 0 - 0 Hull City

A superb defensive display by Hull City today, they stifled the Leicester attack very well, Leicester created plenty chances but the back 4/6 of Hull were putting there bodies on the line and hounding down the Leicester players very quickly, Hull had a couple of chances but came to nothing, this today was more attack v defence and today the Hull City defence came out on top

MOTM - Lemos

Group A

Stoke 1 - 3 Portsmouth

Sheer quality from Portsmouth early on put them 2 up after 15 mins, to which Stoke really struggled to get into the game, KDB instrumental in everything they did, Stoke just couldn't contain him, they looked like scoring every time they came forward, however 2-0 it remained until halftime, Stoke came out quicker and got one back just after halftime and in spells controlled the game, but couldn't get that vital equaliser, which against Portsmouth as they got their 3rd later on , Gerson setting up fellow sub Mertens to put this game to bed

Keita(Fornals(48)
Werner(KDB, 12), Martial(KDB,15), Mertens(Gerson,81)
MOTM - KDB

Spurs 3 - 3 Newcastle

A very entertaining game, backwards and forwards, attack after attack, goals galore, no team on top for any spells of the game as they both went for it, not much more to say but this was a fantastic game from two top sides

Morata(Sane17), Lemar(Morata,44), Morata(Fabregas74)
Suarez(Mane,23), Salah, Florenzi,52), Pjanic(FK,78)

Dec 13th - League Cup
Round 4
Group A
Newcastle v Liverpool (bet365 Stadium)
Stoke 0-2 Tottenham (St James Park)
M.Dembele(Fabregas)
L.Sane(T.Lemar)

LSTD forgot Stoke tactics because of his hectic week

Group B
Aston Villa 0-2 Brighton (KC Stadium)
Richarlison(Callejon)
Callejon(Pastore)

Can't find any Villa tactics?

Hull City 2-2 Birmingham (Villa Park)
Mahrez(Ziyech), Forsberg(FK)
M.Gomez(Fekir), Fekir(Alonson)
MOTM: Nabil Fekir

A good contest against two well-matched teams, felt like Hull would get some joy down the flanks, two excellent wingers there, whilst Birmingham would pose a threat by having three forwards with lots of freedom. Hard to separate the sides.

Newcastle 2 - 2 Liverpool

A very entertaining game today as two top teams went at each others throats, both had good spells of possession and if it wasn't for Lloris and Courtois it could have been a much higher scoring draw

Salah(Pjanic, 14), Suarez(Salah,53)
Icardi(Dybala, 27), Dybala, Phillip,82)
MOTM - Salah

Liverpool 2 - 0 Stoke
Dybala(Gaya), Icardi(Gaya)
MOTM - Gaya
Portsmouth 0 - 2 Spurs
Morata(fabregas), Morata(Sane)

Everton 2-0 Arsenal (Stamford Bridge)
Sterling(Son)
Lacazette(Kurzawa)
MOTM: Strootman

Chelsea 1-1 Wolves (Goodison)
Mbappe(Neymar) 14; Aubameyang(Immobile) 87
MOTM: Pepe

Wolves set up worked well to stifle a lot of Chelsea's attacking threat, particularly with having 4 in CM when they were defending, which meant the WBs were well covered when the opposition FBs came forward. That being said Chelsea still had enough to get through when Mbappe got down the side of Cahill much too easily. Chelsea kept pushing but Pepe defended very well. The game changed when Wolves made their subs, with Costa and Immobile giving Chelsea much more to deal with and the pressure did tell when a cross into Immobile was knocked down for Auba to equalise. Chelsea had their chances in a more open game but Ter Stegen kept them out in the latter stages.

5 -
L.Suarez
A.Morata
4 -
Aubameyang
3 -
M.Salah
D.Mertens
G.Higuain
P.Dybala

3 -
M.Salah
J.Callejon
D.Silva
2 -
C.Eriksen
Cancelo
L.Kurzawa
Alonso
A.Florenzi
N.Fekir
Neymar
P.Dybala
KDB
C.Fabregas
L.Sane
J.Gaya

Eden Hazard 2 assists

I did Everton and Chelsea last Monday if you check back

Hull v Brighton

Both teams have qualified, just a matter of where they finish, Brighton started brightly and took the lead early through Benzema after lovely work by Callejon, Hull equalised soon after using the same route down the right with Mahrez and crossing in for Zlatan, the game went backwards and forwards and both had chances but no more goals as they both seemed happy with a point that carried them through

Hull 1 - 1 Brighton
Benzema(Callejon,17)
Zlatan(Mahrez, 44)
MOTM - Young De Jong played well on his debut

Birmingham v Leicester

Birmingham started brightly with Fekir teeing up A.Silva for an early lead, but am afraid this is as good as it got for them in front of goal, Leicester dominated large parts of the game and Brums young defense today struggled against a top notch forward line who were involved in each of Leicesters 3 goals, this isn't to say Brum didn't play well, they did in spells but sheer quality was the winner today to see Leicester finish top of the group

A.Silva(Fekir,8)
Ronaldo(Hazard,33), Hazard(Asensio, 51), Ronaldo(Guedes,60)
MOTM - Ronaldo

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5 -
L.Suarez
A.Morata
4 -
Aubameyang
3 -
M.Salah
C.Ronaldo
D.Mertens
G.Higuain
P.Dybala

4 -
J.Callejon
3 -
M.Salah
D.Silva
E.Hazard
2 -
C.Eriksen
Cancelo
L.Kurzawa
Alonso
A.Florenzi
N.Fekir
Neymar
P.Dybala
KDB
C.Fabregas
L.Sane
J.Gaya

Leicester City v Newcastle United (Anfield)
A cracking game on paper and it didn’t disappoint. Both teams setting up to press high but it was Newcastle’s high press that had the most success in the early stages, the work rate of the front three and midfield was phenomenal and helped them get into an early lead. However it wasn’t something they could produce non stop throughout the game and when their energy levels lowered, Leicester found it easy to open up gaps, Thiago in particular was feeding Hazard and Richarlison non stop with both getting the better of the FBs. In the second half Newcastle came out fast again but this time Leicester weathered the storm, whilst at the other end Newcastle kept them quiet. The changes around the 70th minute mark made a huge impact on the game as Newcastle brought on Ozil who started to find space behind Kante. At the other end Leicester were finding it easier to bypass Leicester’s midfield, with young Aleña showing glimpses of his talent. A draw would have been the fairest result but it was Newcastle who got a late winner when Salah got the wrong side of Marcelo.
Leicester City 1-2 Newcastle United
Leicester Scorers: Diego Costa (Hazard) 36
Newcastle Scorers: Suarez (Coutinho) 13, Salah (Ozil) 89
MOTM: Radja Nainngolan



Wolves v Brighton (Stamford Bridge)
A one sided contest in the end, Wolves turned up and packed the middle and nullified Brighton’s game plan allowing them to control possession and create chances as and when they wished. Brighton had more luck down the wing but Benzema never looked like getting the better of the defence.
Wolves 3-1 Brighton
Wolves Scorers: Aubameyang (Eriksen) 30, Aubameyang (Hector) 71, Mustafi (Eriksen) 85
Brighton Scorers: Sokratis (Yarmolenko) 78
MOTM: Christian Eriksen


Chelsea v Tottenham (Molineux)
A game where Tottenham came to stifle their opposition but this limited them going forward and allowed Chelsea to control the possession. Chelsea in midfield always seem to have a spare man and often that was Pogba. Whilst Tottenham had the numbers behind the ball Chelsea still found space, especially the FBs who often weren’t being tracked, but Tottenham had spare men in the box to clear their lines. At the other end with Bakayoko’s inability to play a pass, Spurs were limited to longer balls up towards Balotelli and Icardi, which the Chelsea CBs dealt with well, however Silva was a trouble when he was able to find little pockets but nothing came of these openings in the first half. It was much the same in the second half too with Chelsea plugging away but to little avail. Eventually though things changed in stoppage time, with Tottenham tiring, particularly with the introduction of Jesus and Bailey who began to stretch them, Jesus with his dropping deeper and overloading of midfield and Bailey with his running in behind, Tottenham struggling to know which way to go. The winner came when Jesus dropped off and gave the ball to Busquets who played a first time clipped ball for Bailey to run on to down the side of Rugani and he sent Chelsea to the next round.
Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea Scorers: Bailey (Busuqtes) 108
Tottenham Scorers: —
MOTM: Jerome Boateng

Liverpool v Hull City

A highly entertaining game with some fantastic young players on show for both sides, five goals, chances galore, mistakes by both sides, great entertainment for the near capacity crowd at the King Power Stadium, the game was won with the tactical switch near the end when Liverpool made their subs

Liverpool 3 - 2 Hull City
Morata(Sabitzer, 20),Fabinho (FK,52),Morata(Sancho, 83)
Fekir(Tousart,14), Milik(Fekir,27)

MOTM - Morata should have had more

Liverpool v Chelsea

A great atmosphere for this one in the opening leg of the league cup semi final with two youthful sides on display. Much credit to the managers for assembling a top class set of youngsters. Liverpool in particular having a superb CB pairing with Christensen and Umtiti rock solid as Jesus was well marshalled all night. The visitors however pose a very strong frontline with the wide players in particular certainly causing the home side problems. The game swung back and forth as both sides looked to take an advantage into the second leg. When the opening goal came it was a superb one. Bernadeschi coming off the bench to make an immediate impact, picking the ball up midway inside the opposition half, a weaving run saw him beat a couple of Chelsea players before cutting inside and bending the ball past Muric. This led to a frantic final 15 minutes as the visitors pushed for an equaliser with some superb last ditch tackling keeping them at bay. The homes side appeared to be holding out for an important first leg victory although there was to be late drama at the death. A long ball out from the back flicked on by Poulsen, Mbappe raced in behind and cooley chipped over the onrushing Svilar to give his side a stoppage time equaliser. The tie finely poised and all to play for in the deciding second leg.

Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
Bernadeschi (Umtiti, 73)
Mbappe (Poulsen, 92)
MOTM - Umtiti