Topic: Premier League Prediction Thread 2021/2022 - page 2037. (Read 797520 times)

Liverpool really did play well yesterday; otherwise, they would have been eliminated from the EFL Cup. The first goal from Fulham calmed all Liverpool supporters, as it was a well-executed goal that prevented Liverpool from scoring in the first half of the match. Once Liverpool equalised, all of their players started to play better, attacking Fulham with all of their might. At the 71st minute, Gakpo made it two for Liverpool, and they went on to win 2-1. In my opinion, Gakpo is even more of a striker than Darwin Nunez.

We will also know in that game that the absence of Salah will soon have an impact on the team's performance. While many people believe that Liverpool can function well without Salah, I don't think they can. The game yesterday demonstrated how much the team needs a player of Salah's calibre. When Mane leaves the team, we can see the effects on the team, and if Salah leaves, it will be worse because it will be difficult for Liverpool to find another player of his calibre. Liverpool has advanced to the EFL Cup final because even if there's a second chance match Liverpool will win it , which is something Chelsea can't accomplish against Middlesbrough.

I agree, first game without their star player were completely nervous display of performance from them even they were in complete control in this game but still they were not able to convert their chances in first half which was really frustrating but in second half they bring better chances and after arrival of Darwin Núñez they score two goals which help them for having win in this game.

Now, getting ready for the another challenging match against Bournemouth which is going to play on 21st January at Vitality Stadium after this they will play against Fulham for the second leg of the semi-final which is also not easy so they need to be more motivated and spirited in absence of his star player if they want to keep things at their best and also need to stay at the top of the league table.

Pochettino brought Jackson to Chelsea to fix the striker problem face by the club but up to till now we have not see any impact of him because a good strike should be mentioned in every match they played, my own reason is that I am not satisfied with what is playing mean he is not serving is purpose, take a look at Jude Bellingham in real Madrid he is not a striker but the way he was just scoring goals people started to called in that, despite I knew he is a Midfielder I was still expecting goal from him. This what I expected to see with Jackson but he is not encouraging me at all.

FA Cup still 4th round and Chelsea get difficult opponent team have to face Aston Villa, I don't sure with Chelsea opportunity for winning FA Cup still have many top teams left but difference chance for winning EFL Cup. Currently losses first leg can't get advantage position with second leg have to win above two goals and hope Middlesbrough will play more offensive. In domestic league, Chelsea left 17 points behind Liverpool and seems not get chance yet for winning EPL trophy, left EFL Cup is the only one possibility for Pochettino first season winning one trophy although not really necessary by Chelsea fans.
Chelsea fans have been unusual with their team achievement every season, after era Abramovich ended there are not really special achievement not only difficult winning any trophy yet but failed raise to fourth standings position.

Losing against a team ranked 12th in the second division of the English league, isn't that quite embarrassing for a team like Chelsea?
Currently Chelsea is filled with star players and also coaches who are said to have cool hands in formulating strategies, but in fact so far we can see that the large amount of money spent by Chelsea owners has not produced satisfactory results, I think in this case it is time  for Chelsea to re-reviewing Pochettino performance because after all this defeat deserves to be blamed on him, currently many people say that Pochettino is still in the adaptation stage but in fact I think that in fact this does not apply to Pochettino because previously he knew the English league quite well and for a long time when he managed Tottenham, Chelsea is currently ranked in the top 10 with a winning percentage that is almost the same as its losses in the league, so is there another reason that makes Chelsea keep it at this time?

For me, the first problem arose when Chelsea changed ownership. And until now Chelsea is still not consistent as a team capable of giving difficulties to its opponents in all competitions.
Learning from changing club ownership, that's why I say that management, coaches and coaching staff play an important role in building a team with good synergy.

In Chelsea's current situation, it is difficult to explain who is at fault. And I think it's not the time to continue looking for mistakes, but from mistakes, how to think of solutions so that Chelsea returns to glory like under the ownership of Abramovic, who has a complete trophy cabinet.


It is not wrong that Pochettino is still lacking in terms of achievements in England.

Before start of this season expectations were too high about him but sadly now after end of the first half things are not looking as they needed, but now it's time to give him good support because he can bring positive results and consistency even this is not easy but still possible with players need to be more flexible and motivated if they want to do something good after frustrating lost in 1st leg of semi-final now things going more down for them but still time is into their side for having fight back.

They have the good number of quality players, but their body chemistry is not working, and their depth is also not as they need which is surely coach duty to bring better strategy and give better results now we have to wait for the remaining half of the season about them can they bring positive or again having another poor end.

Although the match was very competitive in the first half, Liverpool dominated the second half. And I would say it is possible because of coach Klopp. He tried to find the weaknesses in Fulham's defense in the first half. And in the second half he made a subtle change in his match strategy. Liverpool benefited from this. They stepped up their attack in the second half. A number of excellent attacks were made by Liverpool's players. And as a result, Fulham was unable to counter Liverpool's attacks even after playing defensive tactics. However, Liverpool were expected to win this match. However, although Fulham is a relatively weak team, their performance was quite organized.

Chelsea management has changed coach several times. But they do not benefit. They can't even find a suitable coach for their squad. Pochettino is the current coach of Chelsea. We have seen before that Pochettino was not successful with PSG. I don't understand why Chelsea hired Pochettino.
Now I will say that changing the coach alone cannot be a solution. I think even if the coach changes, Chelsea will again bring in a coach who is not experienced enough. Chelsea now need an experienced coach like Guardiola or Zidane. Otherwise their position will not change. If they can't hire a more experienced coach then they should trust Pochettino and give them more opportunities and time.

It was a mess for Chelsea last season and everyone expected to see different and positive turn around this season with the players they bought during the transfer windows but unfortunately, as it stands we have to believe that Chelsea is not more a big club but an average club. Losing against a championship side was very disappointing and it will be embarrassing being knocked out of a competition by a championship team. No matter the struggling, losing to a small team like Middlesbrough really put a bad scar on the team, very shameful!

That aside, how can you be confident that they can not move ahead of tenth position regardless of the outcome of their games? I know with current situation it might be difficult but things might take another direction in the coming days, who knows? The season is half way but we can not be so confident and judge them by their recent predicament. We all see how last season ended with arsenal bottling the league and also how Liverpool started this season as well but check their recent position on the table. This is Premier league where impossible seems possible.


I will still blame the couch for Chelsea poor performance because he's like an engine to the vehicle and when the vehicle starts malfunctioning, engine is responsible and not the body. In fact, a competitive team should not go for a mediocre couch like Pochettino who's not bothered with the results and always feel relax with players even when losing. He makes silly mistakes always when making a subs because how can you sub the like of Enzo while Sterling is on the pitch playing nonsense? Sometimes, I use to wonder whether the club owner and the couch are on a secret mission to destroy this great team called Chelsea.

Did you said Ngalo Kante made a little contribution to Chelsea? I beg to differ. How did they win that Champions League of 20/21? Kante was there and protected that back midfield with that first goal they used to lead Manchester City to the end and he was recognized that day for that contribution. The only setback I think he has is that constitent injury but I think he is not the first recongnized player to get such type injury, it is the club dedication that made them like that, I believe if he refuse to play much he could have easily avoided such injuries.

In every season, it is good when the team makes changes to the squad and what Pochetino did was the best and the interest of Chelsea, some of the team he sold where good but old and needed to be discarded which I think most of them already made their mind since the team couldn't do best anymore and new players where the best alternative but there has never been any changes after that and at this junction, the players are not the problem but the playing style and that is coming from him, look at how Fernandez has become less attractive player to the market.


Liverpool are not playing this time, don't expect Liverpool to allow them get through because it is happening in Anfield as their home, secondly they now top the standing and they will likely stay there when they can or probably not come down again because even there last 5 games is scary, not a single loss and there matches is not win based on luck but by perfomance and hardwork, even when Salah and some other Africa players has went for AFCON, the team is stronger and I believe they can do more without him to battle Chelsea.

It was a lucky game for Liverpool last night, how I wish Arsenal had played the way Fulham did against Liverpool I believe the Gunners would have won those two meetings they had but the Gunners lack so many things in that team, no striker who's hunger for goals and the midfield needs someone who's more physical to pair with Rice, but we all know how poor they played out against Liverpool.
Fulham's defense was very shakey last night and if they had gotten a stronger defense line I think Liverpool wouldn't have gotten that equalizer and even to win the game, let's see how the second leg would be like.

Chelsea having real troubling time with Pochettino is doing his best to fix the all holes, but it's not easy for any coach to bring the worst team into better shape even he is bringing some positive changes but still it needs more time to have improved and consistent team in first leg semi-final they were in complete control of the match at Riverside Stadium but still their attack fail to keep things on level and allow Middlesbrough to end the match as victorious but still things are under control as they can fight back at Stamford Bridge and have good chance for reaching into final, but they need to improve their attack if they want to have better things in future as now if they are not going to convert their chances then surely they can face problems.

It depends on the management. If the management is impatient, usually they can decide to change coaches easily because most people think that changing coaches is the right decision to make a change for the better, but changing the coach is really suitable is a difficult task because each coach has different experience, even though he has a wealth of experience, if the coaching system does not suit his team's style of play, this is the same and will even further affect the team current performance.
Maybe Chelsea should be a little patient and keep Pochettino until his contract is finished and don't want to changes coach in the middle of this season.

You are right, Fulham did manage to contain Liverpool by not allowing them create goal scoring chances, get less corners etc and they did a great job in the first half...but whatever happened in the dressing room at the break, Fulham went into leap mode and were just off...to make matters worse with the taking of of Willian in the mix these guys all dropped to defend which was a red flag as the best way to defend is to attack which they failed to do and allowed Liverpool back into the game and the rest is history..

Otherwise great comeback for the Reds and showing the quality other players have when theA Listers aren't around.

Was it Graham Potter whose first coach made a lot of mistakes? After that Prank Lampard became an interim coach while then now Pochettino, who equally cannot make Chelsea perform better.

This is hard to imagine because after changing to ownership from Abramovic to Toed Bodhly Chelsea's development is still not good, in fact there is no improvement at all despite spending a lot of money to buy expensive players but not according to expectations.

So we can only observe how Chelsea's process is now, Pochettino was given the task of making Chelsea more developed including buying several players and existing players must be maximized but he is still unable to do it, coaches and other coaching staff play an important role but this has not yet made Chelsea a formidable team.

If I'm not mistaken Pochettino's track record in the premier league is still not good, has he ever won with another team?

I also hope to see a Liverpool - Chelsea finale in the EFL Cup but we will see. I'm just worried about Chelsea as they have a chance to not make it there. That loss by 1-0 against a middle-positioned team in the Championship must be unacceptable for not only the supporters but also the board.  Chelsea had better use their dominance more effectively next time.

Nkunku didn't play in this game by the way and I saw an injury update such as a hip injury for him. Is it really true? I hope it is not because Chelsea really need him in the attacking line to be more effective at finishing. Otherwise their job will be a little harder.

When people say Chelsea don't have a stricker I laugh, was it not Pochettino that brought Jackson to Chelsea? Or is Jackson not a stricker? You can't spend such money on a player and still complain that you don't have a stricker. That being said Chelsea have lost their focus, if it was the Chelsea of those days what kind of defense did Middlesbrough played that they can't break?

The coach is the first person to be blamed for the bad results received by a big team. If Pochettino were not Chelsea's coach, he would not be blamed and continue to get news on the headlines.
That's the risk for a coach in managing a big team. Not the coach, but the team he coaches.

The decline in Chelsea's performance and efforts to restore it to good condition require a process. The first factor lies in management, the second lies in coaches. Management and coaches must work together. The coach must understand the needs of the team, especially the players. If players are difficult to manage, ignore them because football is a team game, not an individual game.

Maybe Pochettino is not suitable to manage a team as big as Chelsea. If Chelsea's performance problems worsen there, then Pochettino must be replaced.

Liverpool have won many games this season that they have started seeing as a team that has forgotten how to loose. That is the kind of mentality that makes teams go ahead to win more than more trophies in one season.

They have to be careful about the player they bring in because if they bring in players that find it difficult to settle into the club, it will affect their games. It took Gakpo and Nunez a long time to settle into the club, and any choice they make has to be a player who will be ready to go.