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4 things to look out for this weekend

By on January 9, 2015

Will Arsenal be able to adapt Stoke?
The humor in the imfamous John Walters headlock on Alexis Sanchez when Arsenal last met Stoke City in early December is probably lost on Arsenal supporters considering that is exactly how Stoke won that match. They physically clattered The Gunners, and it worked. That same approach has won Stoke both of their past two meetings with Arsenal while the spoils from the last six are shared between the two clubs. Even if Arsenal can learn, don’t look in the prime position to actually implement that adaptation. Arsenal may be able to adopt a more counter-attacking style of play to counteract Stoke, yet even with Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott, adding pace back into their side, returning from injury Arsenal would be out of their depth. Moreover, Wenger hasn’t been able to identify the strong defensive he has been shopping around for in the transfer market, so all bets are on for Stoke to take the game right to Arsenal.

Loic Remy’s chance to prove himself where he has already
Newcastle have almost grown a reputation for growing Premier League forwards and grooming them into top scoring players, then seeing them move on and flop at a bigger club. Andy Carroll can be the biggest example of this, but more recently Loic Remy, who earned himself a move to Chelsea after a successful loan to Newcastle last season, in which he scored fourteen goals from twenty-six appearances, returns to St. James Park with only seven appearances under his belt at Chelsea having fallen behind both Diego Costa and Didier Drogba Jose Mourinho’s pecking order. Now, after recent rumors regarding Drogba’s future at the club, Remy may well get his chance to prove himself again at the place where he originally did just that very feat.

Van Gaal’s relishes fit squad against Southampton
Louis Van Gaal must have relished beating fellow Dutchman Ronald Koeman’s Southampton side 2-1, however, Koeman escaped with dignity fully intact considering Southampton dominated that fixture and United’s finishing got them out of jail. This time around, though, with Angel Di Maria, Daley Blind, and Luke Shaw all back from injury, United will have a full squad and be biting at the bit to teach those new kids on the block who’s boss.

Gerrard to set the tone of his farewell tour
With news that Gerrard will move to a far off galaxy, specifically, the LA Galaxy, at the end of the season, Liverpool’s fixture with Sunderland begins his farewell tour before departing his first and only professional club. But with Liverpool vying for a European position, will Gerrard’s tour get in the way of their chances, and moreover, will it affect the Englishman’s form? At the moment, Brendan Rodgers would be crazy to drop a player who bailed them out against AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup with two goals midweek, so it is up to Gerrard to decide how his Liverpool career will end, teary, or fighting until the very end?

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.