Nigeria Content Online

It
will be another test for Arsenal’s young guns as they face a Manchester
City side that are buoyed by the closeness to the top of the table
having won all three yuletide fixtures. In the first leg at the City of
Manchester Stadium, Dedryck Boyata’s fourth-minute expulsion helped
Arsenal to a 3-0 victory. Goals were scored by Samir Nasri, Alex Song
and Nicklas Bendtner. Cesc Fabregas even missed a penalty in the 40th
minute.

Today’s match comes
at the right time for both teams as it is a second versus third
confrontation with the winner closer to United, who lead the table.
After Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Chelsea, the only blip on the Gunners’
sheet has been the 2-2 draw against Wigan away. But going into today’s
match, Arsene Wenger will definitely be in high spirits after the
professional demolition job carried out on Birmingham on Saturday.
Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas showed that there is a great combination
brewing between the French man and the Spaniard.

Arsenal’s Robin van
Persie is looking forward to today’s encounter with optimism. “It is a
big game. Manchester City has a great side and we have a great side as
well so it’s game on,” Van Persie said on American television station,
ESPN. The Dutch striker’s return and Cesc Fabregas have surely given a
lift to the Gunners season in the title run-in. Though City have played
a match more, they can even the score of the 3-0 humiliation in October
by beating Arsenal and putting a little distance between them and one
of the contenders for the league title.

City also know that
a win today could propel the side from the blue side of Manchester to a
serious title challenge. After the trip to the Emirates, Mancini’s men
have a supposedly easier fixture list. They will next face the likes of
Wolves, Aston Villa, Birmingham and West Bromwich Albion.

There is the
captain, Carlos Tevez, who will be raring to make up for some missed
chances against Blackpool but there is however doubts about the
availability of Mario Balotelli and David Silva, with impish Silva
limping off in the 1-0 win over Blackpool.

Chelsea face tough Wolves test

This time last
year, Chelsea was top of the table having lost just three times in the
league. But despite fifth position, Chelsea are only six points away
from the two Manchester sides. Chelsea will now be hoping to cast away
the mist that has descended on the team with the trip to the Molineux
Stadium to face bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers today. Carlo
Ancelotti’s men have won just one from the last seven games, and have
thus slumped to fifth place, a Europa League spot. But Ancelotti is
adamant that Chelsea FC is not completely out of the league title race.
“It’s not over because we are improving and I think we can still have a
say on the season,” the Italian manager said after the 3-3 draw against
Aston Villa on Sunday.

He continued that:
“There is a little gap from the top but it is a long season and we can
recover. Everything is open at the moment.” But facing the basement
side is another challenge. Mick McCarthy knows that any win can take
his team off the bottom of the table with the positions between 13th
and 20th separated by just four points. West Ham’s run of two league
wins and a draw has seen them leap up from last to 16th place and
McCarthy must use that as a confidence booster in his team talk.

“We have been down
there all the time so I don’t think our psychological welfare
fluctuates that much,” McCarthy said on his club’s website.

“And as far as I’m aware nobody gets relegated tonight.

We’re in the bottom
three and have got to try and get out of it whether we’re 20th, 19th or
18th.” “We’re still only two points from safety and that’s why I’m not
all doom and gloom and thinking that’s it, everything is over and we
are going down.” Wolves have conceded 34 goals for a second-worst -14
goal difference, and have kept a clean sheet at home just once this
term (1-0 over Birmingham City). Branislav Ivanovic returns for Chelsea
from suspension and will likely take the place of 19-year old Jeffrey
Bruma as John Terry’s partner in the centre of Chelsea’s defence.
Wolves will be without Jody Craddock, Karl Henry and Kevin Doyle.
On-loan from Chelsea midfielder Michael Mancienne is ineligible to face
his parent club.

Tottenham need to maintain push

Everton will be
without talisman Tim Cahill when Tottenham come visiting Goodison Park
today and that could just be the cue call for a Spurs win. Cahill has
scored the majority of Everton’s goals this term and his nine Premier
League goals is eight better than any of the strikers. Before jetting
out to Qatar to play in the Asian Cup, Cahill said: “We’ve got some
massive games coming up which I am not going to be a part of so it’s
going to be hard on the boys,” Cahill told Sport360.

“Tottenham, Liverpool, it’s going to be a hard couple of weeks for
Everton and I just wish all the boys and the manager luck because the
results haven’t been the best. But it’s an honour to be playing for
your country.” David Moyes will also be without defenders Johnny
Heitinga and Phil Jagielka. Alan Hutton is unavailable for Spurs
because of injury while Jermain Defoe and Younes Kaboul are out because
of suspensions.