The Spurs fans have been eagerly anticipating the announcement of the date of the opening of their new stadium but the proposed move has been further delayed until at least March. Now, it looks like the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is ready and will host the EPL match against Crystal Palace, on Wednesday, April 3, 2019.
The grand opening date, which had been earlier scheduled for September 2018 was postponed because of continual building delays. The north London side had been hoping to play their first game in their new White Hart Lane stadium but it was not to be. Tottenham, in order to generate more income, submitted a proposal to construct 330 new homes outside the White Hart Lane railway station but the Haringey’s council delay in making a decision affected their plans to move into their new Stadium in September.
Now, the move has hit further delay which will extend their temporary stay at Wembley. The building contractors say the recent delays is due to building delays and also necessary extra testing needed to pass the new White Hart Lane stadium has fit to be opened.
Daniel Levy, the club’s chairman spoke to the press on behalf of the club:
“I should like to apologise to our fans and thank you for your continued patience. The response from those who attended the familiarisation event was great to hear and reinforced our commitment to deliver an exceptional experience for everyone.
We shall now seek clarity in respect of building test schedules and test event dates and provide further information on these in the next two to three weeks.”
In addition, Spurs’ home Premier League fixtures against Watford, Newcastle and Leicester including their UEFA Champions League home match against Borussia Dortmund will all be played at Wembley. Their next FA Cup match could also be played at Wembley if Tottenham qualify for the next round.
Tottenham had moved into Wembley since the 2017/2018 season and the club and their fans will be looking forward to hosting games in their new £800 million stadium.
As the number of games that Liverpool will play becomes smaller and smaller so does the pressure of delivering a good result rise. The pressure will be sky high when Chelsea come to town in a clash were the home team can’t allow themselves to drop any more points. Another team who can’t allow themselves any mistakes are Chelsea who is 3rd currently but are closely followed 3 teams who would like to unseat them from that position.
Liverpool is in good form as they have won four in a row but last time they played they only secured the victory very late in a match where they showed signs of weakness. It was a match where the end result doesn’t paint the full picture. This time they will face a team who has a lot of issues but they have been heating up lately. Learn how to watch Liverpool vs Chelsea, a crucial match for both teams.
Chelsea won three in a row and have been playing pretty good football mostly because Hazard has been exceptional. If rumours are true and he is set to leave after the season it’s quite interesting to see what Chelsea will look like after losing a player whose dominated ever since he came to Chelsea.
When it comes to this match the premise of it promises to make it one of the best this year. Both teams desperately need a victory and both teams are playing good football. Liverpool is the home team which should give them a slight advantage because their fans are one of the best in the world. They will need all the support they can get because when it comes to form, Chelsea is actually in a better form and have played better lately.
Will Liverpool lose the title or not? Hard question but I’d say no, I believe they will win.
Liverpool’s campaign took another turn for the worse after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United. This was yet another poor result for Jurgen Klopp’s men, who have managed to just two wins in the last five matches. As a result, the club has slipped to seventh place in the table with 12 points. The two Manchester clubs at the top of the table have already been able to open up a sizable seven-point advantage. The Premier League is no La Liga and teams cannot run away with the title with a seven-point advantage inside the first 10 matches. However, there is still plenty of concern at Merseyside.
Club legend Steven Gerrard has tried to dismiss those rumours by claiming that the Reds can still revive the campaign by getting a victory over rivals Manchester United once the season resumes from the short international break. “The frustrating thing for Liverpool at the moment is the international break after a couple of games where they feel they should have done better. With one good result or a couple of good results, they will find themselves back in the top four,” said Gerrard. The break helps Liverpool a lot as the team heads straight into a string of big matches in domestic and European competitions. Aside from facing Manchester United and Tottenham in back-to-back matches, Liverpool also have a crucial Champions League encounter against Maribor.
Gerrard has identified the home match against Manchester United – just after the international break – as the game to reignite the club’s campaign. Even though Liverpool have struggled in this fixture of late with just two wins since 2012, Anfield has always been a tough place for the opponents. Liverpool will find it easier to raise their game after having been pretty flat in some recent encounters. Gerrard has been part of several encounters against United, and he says that the international break is a factor that could play a crucial role in the build-up to this match.
“I think Liverpool will itching once the international break is over and really relishing those games. As a fan, I am looking forward to watching them in those games because I think they can bounce back,” continued the former Liverpool midfielder.
Jurgen Klopp started out exceedingly well at Liverpool, but the 2017-18 season has so far been marred by speculation surrounding Philippe Coutinho. Gerrard is confident that the German manager will get the club back on track.
From the beginning, Premier League offers two derbies. Man United will open the ball against Leicester, and Arsenal closes the first round with a third-grade meeting against Man City.
On Old Trafford things seem quiet before the start of the Premier League. David De Gea decided to remain at United, despite the rumours that he was heading to Real Madrid. The Spaniard will sign a new five years deal with United. Mourinho’s team looks solid and United did not make many transfers this summer. With two world champions in the first 11 (Pogba and Martial) and a high-class striker (Lukaku), Mourinho has only to strengthen the defense. Marouane Fellaini, the Belgian striker who shined at the World Cup, renewed his contract with Man Utd for another two years. Another player the Portuguese would like to bring to Old Trafford is Ivan Perisic. Rumours also say United entered the race for Willian after Barcelona made two offers below Chelsea’s bid. Another interesting transfer made by Mourinho is that of Fred, the Brazilian midfielder, who came from Shakhtar on a publicly undisclosed amount. Overall, United’s team looks solid and ready to fight for a new Premier League trophy.
Leicester managed to sell Algerian international Riyad Mahrez to Man City for £60m. Therefore, Claude Puel has money to spend. So far, Leicester has secured the services of James Maddison (Norwich), a young English midfielder. In other news, Kasper Schmeichel could leave Leicester, AS Roma and Chelsea being interested in the Danish goalkeeper. Leicester’s team seems balanced, but it is clearly below United’s.
The match between Manchester United and Leicester will start at 21:00 (CET) on Old Trafford, marking the debut of the new season in the Premier League.
Leicester City open up the Premier League weekend with a home game against Crystal Palace. Manager Claude Puel is turning the heat on the teams above them, as Leicester City have been rising up the table in recent weeks. Crystal Palace will be motivated coming into the game after winning the recent match against Watford. Yet, Roy Hodgson knows that his team are not the best when it comes to travelling and getting away results. This is a huge bonus element for Leicester who are aiming for a fifth consecutive win. The start made by Palace against Watford will have to be avoided at all cost for a positive away result.
Brighton vs Burnley
Brighton may be at home for this game, but they are up against a Burnley outfit that has been creating a lot of raised eyebrows over the last few weeks. After managing to overcome Arsenal into the sixth place, manager Sean Dyche will know that his Burnley team can make up a major impact in the current campaign. Brighton may have lost the recent game against Spurs, but the team came in with a much improved performance. The lack of goals from both teams is likely to cause a draw. There is a higher probability that this match will be dull game with a limited number of goals.
Stoke City vs West Ham
Mark Hughes’ future is now in major doubt with the team once again going through a poor result, although the manager himself will be relatively pleased with the response shown by his players in the midweek match against Burnley. Our game against West Ham is of greater significance with the hammers in and around them in the table. A loss in this game will not only put West Ham closer to Stoke City, but may also put Stoke into relegation battle. David Moyes is finally starting to get some positive results. The win over Chelsea and a draw with Arsenal is a confirmation of the same.
Watford vs Huddersfield Town
The late collapse against Crystal Palace is unlike Watford and Marco Silva was not pleased with the result in the latest league match. The inability of the team to convert the chances is proving catastrophic in certain matches, and they are up against a Huddersfield outfit that has struggled for goals and results. Huddersfield make too many mistakes and it was the reason for their downfall against Chelsea. They are unlikely to make much of an impact in the away game against Watford, who are looking to make a return to winning ways. The absence of Tom Cleverley is a blow for Silva.
Everton vs Swansea City
Sam Allardyce is now starting to work his magic at Goodison Park with the club getting a string of positive results that have lifted them away from the drop zone. Allardyce will continue with the same tactics and style of football that has paid dividends over the last few weeks. Swansea may have suffered a heavy defeat in the midweek against Manchester City, but the team will not be up against opposition like City every week. Swansea will go into the game looking to score goals as this decisive factor has let down the team so far this season. The goals from Wayne Rooney have been a positive for Everton.
Former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho is the latest to be found guilty of crimes against the tax authority of Spain, and he has been sentenced to do an incredible seven months in prison. The Portuguese defender has also been fined just under £130,000 for his alleged involvement in the tax evasion process. The Spanish law is in such a way that any punishment below two years in length does not require an individual, who does not have any previous confessions, to serve time in the jail.
Ricardo Carvalho is currently playing with Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG and he has been found guilty of hiding his income while he was playing with Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013. The defender reportedly avoided tax in the region of € 545,000. Even though Carvalho has since returned with the amount and has pleaded guilty of the charges, it is a major blow to his reputation in the game. The play, however, helped him reduce the initial sentence of 12 months and €300,000 fine.
A number of players have been affected by the Spanish tax authorities coming in with a rigourous measures to clean out any measures to avoid tax. The chase for the unaccounted money has led to even the top stars like Ricardo Carvalho being affected. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the biggest names in the world and they have not been spared either. Back in 2016, Lionel Messi was given a jail sentence for 12 months and was fined close to €4.5 million. However, the Barcelona star did not face any jail term. Cristiano Ronaldo has been allegedly avoiding taxes in the region of €15 million. Even though the Real Madrid star has been repeatedly denying those allegations, he is expected to face formal charges upon further investigation into the same.
West Ham will be making the long journey to Liverpool in order to visit Anfield this weekend. It is a trip that has rewarded West Ham a lot in recent years, as the team has been able to pick up some positive results. There is a greater expectation of the trend repeating, as Liverpool have struggled when it comes to maximising the home fans. There have been far too many draws for Liverpool to be challenging for the league title with just away form alone. Liverpool have been able to get a huge victory in the Champions League action coming into the match.
Manchester United vs Chelsea
The epic duel of this weekend witnesses Manchester United and Chelsea going against each other at the Old Trafford. Most of the games that have taken place between these two clubs in recent years has finished as a draw. It would not be a big surprise to witness the stalemate, although this result would suit Chelsea more than Manchester United. For this purpose, the Red Devils are likely to be slightly more oriented towards attack while Chelsea would be more than happy with a point in the game. However, a victory will put Chelsea firmly in contention for the top four places.
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham
Tottenham have been struggling with away form now and it is a polar opposite from the early season trend when the team were unable to get positive results at home. Now, Liverpool and Juventus are some of the teams who have struggled against Tottenham in European competitions. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, are looking to avoid relegation. However, it has been a tough couple of weeks for Roy Hodgson, as his team have not been able to get a positive outcome in the last four matches. However, Crystal Palace do have home advantage and it has been a significant factor in the past. Even with all the advantages, this game could finish as a draw.
Manchester City hope to become the latest team to get a positive result at Turf Moor. Burnley have been extremely strong at home in the 1st half of the season, but the recent run of defeats has led to the club facing an uncertain 2nd half of the campaign. Meanwhile, Manchester City are racing towards the Premier League title and the midweek results have only confirmed the same. City have been an incredible attacking force and will be looking to score more than a couple of goals at this ground, which has largely witnessed strong defensive teams. Strangely, City are aiming only for their 3rd consecutive league victory.
Bournemouth vs Stoke City
Bournemouth will be looking to build on the impressive victory over Chelsea when they host Stoke City at the Vitality Stadium this weekend. Bournemouth have been able to claim 2 wins in the last 3 games against this opponent. It is a strong set of results, but Stoke have not been unable to get away wins over this opponent. One has to go back to only February 2016 in order to witness a victory for Stoke at the Vitality Stadium. The managerial change at Stoke has not brought about an impressive set of results and Bournemouth will be the team to beat in this game after having just secured a big victory in the Premier league.
Brighton vs West Ham
Brighton and West Ham are looking to shake off a string of stalemate in recent weeks. Both clubs have been involved in plenty of draws – 3 in the case of Brighton and 4 in the case of West Ham. The London outfit come into the game after having just drawn with Crystal Palace. Manager David Moyes is keen on getting the club to a string of victories once again, as he will be available the products of the same compared with a lower points return from the draws. West Ham suffered a big defeat against Brighton earlier in the campaign.
Leicester City vs Swansea City
Leicester City will be taking on a resurgent Swansea city at the end of the stadium hoping to prevent the Carlos Carvalhal outfit from adding yet another scalp in the Premier League. The impressive victory over Arsenal will lead to increased expectation from Swansea in the coming matches. However, the priority for the club will be to avoid relegation and they can do this by getting out of the bottom 3. On the basis of the current run of form, it would be difficult to do not Swansea to making the great escape. Swansea have been in extraordinary form since the arrival of Carlos Carvalhal.
Manchester United vs Huddersfield Town
Manchester United will be looking to quickly recovered from the surprise defeat against Tottenham in the latest league outing. After managing 5 consecutive wins, United last against Tottenham in the midweek action. Jose Mourinho has effectively ruled out the possibility of winning the Premier league now, as Manchester City have been able to open up a huge advantage in the Premier league table. Huddersfield Town, meanwhile, fell to a loss against Liverpool despite playing well. Huddersfield are starting to become as clear favourites for relegation from the top division. It remains to be seen if the big defeat against Liverpool propels Huddersfield to a positive result.
West Brom vs Southampton
West Brom were able to claim a major scalp in the FA Cup against Liverpool, but Alan Pardew and his men will be looking to recover from a defeat against Manchester City in the recent league match. A home game against Southampton, who are not the strongest outfit when it comes to beating opponents, bodes well for West Brom in their efforts to climb up the table. Since Southampton and West Brom are both in the bottom 3 places of the league table, this match can be best described as a six-pointer. The 2 clubs will be trying to get out of the position.
Arsenal vs Everton
Everton travel to the Emirates stadium looking to avoid yet another disappointing result in this fixture. Everton have struggled when it comes to matters against Arsenal, and this game has the potential to go around the same route. Everton have been able to claim a 1st victory in a couple of matches during the midweek action. Even though Arsenal endured the disappointment of a defeat against Swansea, the gunners have the potential to bounce back straight away. Manager Arsene Wenger has made some interesting signings in the January transfer window, while also allowing a couple of players to leave. The success of the signings remains to be seen.
Crystal Palace vs Newcastle United
Crystal Palace prepared to become the latest London outfit to try and claim a victory over Newcastle United, who are obsessed with the same throughout his days. Palace were able to come away with a decent showing. Newcastle United will be confident after the recent set of results but they have been taken aback by the poor form when it comes to visit is to London. Recent defeats at the Emirates stadium and to Stamford Bridge are factors expected to bring about a cautious approach from Newcastle. Palace have the potential to win by the odd goal with Christian Benteke on good form.
Liverpool vs Tottenham
Liverpool are hoping to extend Tottenham’s miserable run of results at Anfield, but it will be easier said than done. Liverpool have been able to claim 5 wins in recent games against Tottenham, who may have picked up a victory over Manchester United in the recent game but an away performance against Liverpool at Anfield is a different proposition. Liverpool have been scoring goals for fun while Tottenham also poses of the strongest centre forwards in recent times. Even though Spurs will huff and puff in this game, Liverpool have the potential to get an easy victory.
Watford vs Chelsea
After the price loss against Bournemouth, Chelsea will be looking to bounce back quickly. The club has had a strong away record this season. Watford have been going through a terrible time and date has not been able to raise up even after the arrival of cars year. Antonio Conte refuses to get carried away with goals unlike. The Italian appears to be heading for an exit from Chelsea – less than 2 years since coming to the club. Watford will be hoping that this home match sparks the comeback from the team and avoid relegation at the end of the campaign.
Burnley have been going through a disastrous run of form for a long time and it looks highly unlikely that the team will be able to get to finish in the seventh place. Everton may have a very poor away record, but it is only down to a couple of big defeats against London teams. Otherwise, Sam Allardyce has managed to keep his team in a strong run of form. It is unlikely that the Evertonians will be suffering a big defeat in this game considering that Burnley have only managed 22 goals this season. Everton are not great when it comes to scoring away goals.
Leicester City vs Bournemouth
Leicester City will be able to walk towards the top seven places with a positive result against Bournemouth, but it is easier said than done since Eddie Howe’s team have been able to pick up their recent run of form. After suffering a couple of defeats and dropping points against the likes of Newcastle, Bournemouth have shown a lot of resilience in recent weeks. Leicester have struggled for goals as Jamie Vardy’s form has dipped in recent weeks. The striker’s goals remain the major source of attacking threat for the club in the Premier League as Riyad Mahrez still continues to be a disappointment.
Southampton vs Stoke City
Stoke city may be struggling in the relegation zone but the recent couple of matches have yielded the points for Paul Lambert’s team to keep in touch with safety positions. So far in the campaign, Stoke city have not been cut off from the rest of the league and this is happens to be a good thing. However, they are up against a Southampton fit that has been rejuvenated for the last two months under Mauricio Pellegrino. The South American looked close to losing his job at the club but there has been a sudden spring and results and Southampton are looking up once again.
Watford vs West Brom
The pressure on Alan Pardew keeps getting more and more by the day. After reports about the fallout with the players, a dressing room bust out appears to have happened at West Brom after the loss against Huddersfield last week. It remains to be seen if Pardew will be able to get his players back together and performing as a group. Watford have the potential to take advantage of the infighting that has been going on at West Brom. The team has picked up some decent results of late and it is down to a good scoring form from Troy Deeney.
Liverpool vs Newcastle United
Liverpool seem to thrash every opponent who comes their way and Newcastle cannot be an exception to this regard. The likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have been performing very well in recent weeks and Roberto Firmino has also come in with some decent set of goals in recent matches. Newcastle have been conceding far too many goals and they will be let down by a defence that did not hold onto a 2-0 lead in the last game against Bournemouth. As a result, Liverpool could be heading for another positive result against Newcastle at Anfield – just like in many times in history.
Crystal Palace vs Manchester United
Manchester United managed to answer a lot of critics after coming back from behind to win against Chelsea last weekend but the team has been disappointing with regard to consistency over the last few weeks. As a result, teams like Liverpool have closed on the Red Devils. United will need a big win in order to end any doubts about the place finish. Crystal Palace appeared to be outside the relegation worry a few weeks ago but a long list of problems for Roy Hodgson with regard to injuries has led to the club being back into the bottom three mix.
Swansea City vs West Ham United
West Ham have had some disappointing runs and this has prevented from the club making a push into the top half of the table. The hammers will be available at Swansea have been a strong team in the last few weeks and it will be extremely difficult to expect a positive result that the Liberty stadium. Even if Swansea have suffered a major defeat coming into this game, manager Carlos Carvalhal will be able to motivate his players rather soon. The two teams may be evenly matched coming into this game but there is little doubt that Swansea will look to use home advantage.
Tottenham vs Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield town were able to get a huge set of results in recent weeks but the team have a mountain to climb when they take on Tottenham. Mauricio Pochettino’s team certainly have been one of the best over the last couple of months and they have been able to extend their run without defeats even further. It would take a lot of effort from Huddersfield to get a positive result in this match but the likelihood is that Spurs will come out successful. Spurs though have been placing too much hope and belief on Harry Kane and that could be a problem for the club if the striker gets injured.
Brighton vs Arsenal
Brighton will be hoping to replicate in their recent set of results when they take on Arsenal this weekend. The gunners have been so poor in recent weeks that it would not be surprising to expect a win for Chris Hughton’s men, especially considering that they have been on such a strong run of form over the last couple of games. Brighton were able to get a win over Swansea last time around and Arsenal have just played on Thursday night. The energy levels will be much greater for Chris Hughton’s team in this game. This Premier league outfit could produce a major upset this weekend.
Manchester City vs Chelsea
The titanic clash could witness Chelsea being pushed into more problems as Antonio Conte’s team have been able to get only a handful of wins in the last 10 matches. This poor run of form did seem to change with positive results against the likes of Brighton but the loss against Manchester United once again places Chelsea out of the top four. Manchester city could go one step towards the league title with a victory in this game and Guardiola’s team have been looking outstanding and breathtaking in the last couple of months.
The second round of the EPL proved to be bad for two of the teams that were favourites at the title. Manchester United failed to get even one point with Brighton, while Arsenal failed in two major tests – at home with Man City and with Chelsea, away.
If for Arsenal there are mitigating circumstances, Man United is in a more difficult situation. Asked by SkySports what he thinks about the atmosphere at United, the former Devils player, Lee Sharpe, summed up: “I expect Mourinho to be sacked by Christmas”.
Lee Sharpe added: “The atmosphere is not a good one. Ever since he came, Mourinho is moaning about the players. In Ferguson’s time, all these things were kept away from the press and solved in the coach’s office or in the locker room. Now it’s different and I do not think that’s good for the team”. For the full interview, click here.
Although it has a very valuable squad, United does not seem to find the rhythm. Even worse, Mourinho is facing next a really tough match against Tottenham. Lately, there have been rumours that Pogba is in open conflict with Mourinho, which was denied by the Portuguese. But Danny Mills says neither Alex Ferguson would tolerate Pogba problems. The Frenchman was sold to Juventus in 2012 by Ferguson and then bought back to Manchester by Mourinho. It seems that the problem is not one of the coach vs the player, but rather of the club vs the player.
Anyway, Manchester United will have to regroup and make an honourable figure against Tottenham. Man United vs Tottenham is live on Skysports and also online.
Arsenal plays against West Ham in a match that should bring the first three points to the Gunners. It remains to be seen if they will be able to cross the saddle of the first two stages when they were defeated by two top teams. Zero points after matches with Chelsea and Man City mean that Arsenal still has to wait until they can really enter in the title fight. Unai Emery “managed” to lose the first two matches of the season, a situation not seen at Arsenal since 1986. Even so, nobody is still challenging the position of the Spanish coach, but Emery will have a huge task on his shoulders. Arsenal vs. West Ham will play on August 25th, at 15:00 GMT on Emirates. The Gunners are very much in need of the three points, a victory being essential to keeping a good moral.
